Intercession and the Heart of God - When Mercy Triumphs over Judgment

Written and published by Jean-Louis 

http://thelightseed.blogspot.com  

The Lord is concerned about the lives of His people and what injustice has been done to us. But it is not for us to prove ourselves or God to others. The Lord will prove Himself and His power, if, when and how He wants. Our duty is to follow Him, to obey Him, to love and serve Him with a willing and whole heart. He will take care of the rest and  signs of confirmation will follow the believer. 

In Exodus chapter 3, we read that when God sent Moses to Pharaoh to give him the message to free the Hebrews from slavery, He gave him 2 signs (to the Hebrews) which should have been enough to identify him and establish his position as a leader capable of proclaiming the Word of the Lord and accomplishing the works that accompany the proclamation through the power of God.

The first one was for judgment and the second was for merciful healing and deliverance.
Both of these are manifest proofs of God’s work in response to prayer.
After the demonstration of His power changing the staff of a Moses the shepherd into a snake and changing it back to its original shape, The Lord doesn’t stop at the sheer manifestation of His power, but wants to be recognized as a judge, a healer and deliverer so “that they may believe that the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you”.

First sign: the judgment.

We read in verse 6 that following the Lord’s command Moses placed his hand underneath his robe near his heart and when he took it out it was leprous like snow.I John 3:19-20 declares: “We shall know by this that we are of the truth and shall assure our heart before Him, in whatever our heart condemns us; While the judgment takes place, it is covered by the garment of Moses that covered his heart. I John 3:20, 21 continue: “For God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts doesn’t condemn us, we have confidence before God”.

God in His mercy covers our sins. The mercy seat on the top of the Ark of the Covenant was overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim, a gesture echoed in Psalms 17:8:“Hide me in the shadow of your wings” and 36:7;” And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” I Peter 4:8 gives us a perfect example of the covering of love in the New Testament: Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins.” Peter, the apostle to the Jews knew that his readers were acquainted with the Old Testament Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.”

Second sign: healing and deliverance.
Then, the Lord said to Moses: "Put your hand into your bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold it was restored like the rest of his flesh.” This sign as a prophetic demonstration is a graphic illustration for the rebellious Hebrew children once they were out of Egypt, at the time when people complained to Moses about their lives in the desert and started questioning Moses authority. Numbers 11:12,15 records Moses’ complaint to God: “Was it I who brought them forth that You should say to me: “carry them in your bosom as a nurse (or foster father) carries a nursing infant to the land which you swore to their fathers.”

Here we see both signs carried out in sequence again, but this time it is not Pharaoh who questioned Moses leadership position, but his own brother and sister Aaron and Miriam, grumbling and murmuring against him. So now instead of finding comfort and help from his own family, he finds himself isolated and burdened beyond his own capacities.

Fortunately, God comes to his rescue and reminds him and every one else of the same lesson that he taught them in Egypt: Judgment of sin, consequence of sin, repentance, mercy, forgiveness, healing, restoration and moving forward.

Once again, we can look at the steps. In verses 4 through 9, God calls Moses, Aaron and Miriam to the tent of meeting to appear before Him. God defends Moses saying: “He is faithful in all My household …and he beholds the form of the Lord”; then turns to Aaron and Miriam and asks them: “Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?”

The Lord was angry and departed from the tent of meeting. The tent represents the place where God meets with His people just as now in the new covenant of the blood of Jesus, he meets with us individually in our body His temple where He dwells and corporately as well when 2 or 3 of His believing children are gathered together in His Name.  It also represents the covering away from the eyes of others.

In this instance, God wanted to protect Moses and called Aaron and Miriam to step out of the tent into His presence to be judged. And when the cloud of the presence of God had lifted up, Miriam was covered with leprosy, a symbol for sin. Aaron and Moses both interceded for Miriam for her forgiveness, healing and restoration. Moses himself requested from God that Miriam be isolated for 7 days away from the camp. But she was still part of the family and all the people of Israel waited for her return to move on.

In the New Testament, we find such an instance of the love and mercy that believers are commanded to show one that has been caught in a sin that affects the whole congregation.

 In II Corinthians 2:6-8 Paul, after having asked the church to discipline and put out the man who was having an incestuous relationship calls them to forgive and comfort him with these words: “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow such a one be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.”

Notice that the man up to the point of being dis-fellowshiped (Dis-membered, ouch, that hurts spiritually and socially outcast. What is that if not judgment?) was under the covering of the church body, the authority provided by God through the elders and the other members and that his punishment was to be removed just as Miriam´s was in the passage above. But then, they were re-integrated into the body of believers after following the steps outlined by God.

Our prayers for ourselves and intercession for others when we release our lives to God result in sin being revealed and judged in our hearts and sometimes manifested out in the open.

Therefore, let us carry ourselves and if necessary our brothers and sisters who suffer from some kind of servitude in our hearts under the protective cover of discretion and confidentiality unless the Holy Spirit directs otherwise. Let us lift each other up to the Father´s heart of God to receive forgiveness, comfort, healing and restoration according to Galatians 6:1

Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13b.

Good Morning, Lord. A Commentary On Psalm 19

Saturday, July 23rd, 2016

Reposted from gracethrufaith.com
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Psalm 19 is one of the best daily prayers I’ve ever found. Commit it to memory and use it in your prayers each morning. Just like your daily bath or shower makes you physically clean, praying Psalm 19 makes you spiritually clean.  It’s a great way to fulfill 1 John 1:9,  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”


Let’s go through Psalm 19 and I’ll show you why I believe it’s such a good one to know by heart.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

These verses refer to the Hebrew Mazzaroth, later corrupted into Babylonian Astrology. Hebrew tradition holds that Adam, Seth, and Enoch picked 12 constellations of stars, each with a major star and 3 minor ones (called decans) and named them in such a way as to tell the gospel story.  Being a nomadic people who slept in the open with their flocks, generations of fathers could point out these constellations to their sons at night and use them to teach the redemption story. This was to give hope to the sons, who had heard stories of the fall of Man and his expulsion from the Garden. It taught them that one day God would send His Son to redeem them. Their faith in God’s promise, written in the stars, is what saved them from their sins.

Evidence shows that the Sphinx in Egypt is a monument to the Mazzaroth with the head of a woman (Virgo) and the body of a lion (Leo) combining the 1st and 12th signs and completing the circle of redemption. Some experts contend that the particular kind of erosion the sphinx has experienced could only have occurred if it had spent a period of time under water. If so, it’s a pre-flood memorial to the Gospel in the Stars.

In ancient Babylon, the 12 constellations were given different names, most of which bore no resemblance to the original Hebrew, and the 12 signs of the Zodiac were born taking God completely out of the picture. The Babylonian names survive to this day and are the basis for the false religion we call astrology.  This was one of the enemy’s early attempts to deprive mankind of the Gospel story.  There is speculation among archeologists and astrologers alike that the Tower of Babel may have been dedicated to the study of astrology.  Signs of the Zodiac have been found in the ruins of similar ancient towers.  In Israel the study of Astrology was a sin punishable by death (Deut. 18:9-12 KJV).
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:5-6)


The rising and setting of the Sun each day also give evidence of God’s creative powers in providing the light and warmth necessary to sustain our lives day in and day out. How could this happen by chance?
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11)
God’s Laws, while impossible to keep in their entirety, are the standard for behavior that He requires of us.  Neither arbitrary nor oppressive, they are perfect as He is perfect, and making them part of your life is the sure path to prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8).  Even people who don’t believe in the Creator who ordained them are blessed by incorporating His laws into their lifestyle.

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19:12-13)

But even the best of us falls pitifully short of achieving the standards God’s law sets forth.  Our behavior is so contaminated by our sin nature we don’t even realize the extent to which we violate them.  So David’s prayer was not just for God’s help in preventing him from consciously sinning, but also for forgiveness for the sins he wasn’t even aware of committing.

In Old Testament times, the evening and morning burnt offerings temporarily set aside the unintentional sins of the nation. From the time of the Exodus to the coming of the Messiah these offerings were part of their daily lives.  The evening offering was kept burning all night to atone for the sins they committed during the night and the morning offering covered them all through the day.  Two lambs gave their life every day to show the people the extent to which sin had permeated their lives, literally causing them to violate God’s laws day and night.

As the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) Jesus replaced these twice daily burnt offerings with His once-for-all-time sacrifice (Hebrews 10:11-14). And it covered conscious as well as unconscious sin.  Since He has already paid the penalty due us, we need only confess to be forgiven.  Some dispute this, arguing that our original confession should be sufficient for life.  However John the Apostle reminded us that if we think we’re without sin we’re liars, fooling ourselves. But if we confess our sins, as David did, including even those that are so much a part of our behavior that we’re not even aware of them, God Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-10)  Our original confession saved us forever, but maintaining an intimate relationship with God in the here and now requires confession whenever we sin.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

God, Who judges the motives of our heart knows the difference between the sincere confession of a humble and contrite sinner and the mindless mouthing of words we’ve learned to say without feeling. David closed his prayer with the hope that God would count him sincere as he offered his confession, and judge his motives favorably. Good advice for us too.

Today, when there’s so much emphasis on self, it’s easy to forget that we’re created beings who’ve been given incredible talent and ability to use as we see fit, and a guide to living that will assure success beyond our wildest imagination.  Beginning each day by declaring the glory of our Creator, acknowledging and confessing our sins, and protecting our relationship with the One who is the author of all our victories is a great antidote for the self-centeredness that can so easily overtake us.

In the days ahead our way of life will be challenged in ways we would never have imagined just a few years ago.  It’s more important now than ever before that we stay close to our Lord and Savior, to avail ourselves of His blessing and His protection.  Knowing and praying Psalm 19 will help us do that. Selah 10-30-10

The Greek Geek Aπολύω: Divorce

Republished from blogos.org

By Chris Conner

Jesus said, "And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." Matthew 19:9

Stop. Before you read this give it a chance. You might find more grace and mercy on this subject than you ever knew. We are going to talk about divorce, but we're going to talk about it in context, which will provide some very interesting insight.

"The man who hates and divorces his wife," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "does violence to the one he should protect," says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 2:16 (NIV)

First: in Malachi 2:16 the personal pronoun "I" is not in the Hebrew or the LXX text. Even though it may not say, "I hate divorce, says the Lord," we all know that God hates the breaking of covenants. The better rendering of this would be: "'The man who hates and divorces his wife,' says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'does violence to the one he should protect, says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.'"

The word "divorce", or ἀπολύω (transliteration: apolyo; phonetic pronunciation: ap-ol-oo-oh) means "to free fully, i.e. (literal) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexive depart), or (figurative) let die, pardon, or (specifically) divorce; (let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty.)"

Now from the beginning we know that God only wanted one husband for one wife: "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement'" (Genesis 2:18). The ideal in life is: "One man for one woman." The reality is: "We live in a real world in which there are many divorces." The Bible not only acknowledges the concept of divorce but also legislates it: "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house" (Deuteronomy 24:1). This verse never demanded divorce but allowed it to take place. A person does not have to divorce; he/she may want to forgive that person and be reconciled. Moses' legislation would have discouraged divorce because, now, you had to take the time to write up the bill, get witnesses, take it to the proper authorities etc. This would allow you time to "cool off" and re-think the issue.

To read further, click Blogos - The Greek Geek

Sin Leaves Scars and God Loves Us Anyway

Posted on May 31, 2012 by shekinah419

Standard

Reblogged from servehiminthewaiting.wordpress.com

There is a medical condition that causes the skin and other soft tissue to shrink and harden.  It is called Scleraderma.  Like scar tissue, the skin draws tight and thick and hard.  Sin is like that in our life.  We are born as sinners, and the longer we live, and the longer we remain subject to sin, the more damage it does in our life.

We are not only subject to our own sins, but often are victims of the sin of others.  From sexual abuse, to violence and crime, the damage accumulates.  One only has to look around at the pain and suffering and the evil in this world, to realize this is true.

But God did not intend for us to live this way.  And He did something that makes a way for us to escape the cycle of sin and damage and harm.  Jesus, God’s only son, who never sinned, came here and he lived as a fully human being, facing the same sinful temptations we do, yet He did not sin.  He then shed His blood on the cross to make atonement for all the sin of this world, so that we could be reconciled with God, whereas before, our sin created a divide between us and our Creator, Christ became a bridge by which we could again draw near to God.

When we acknowledge God, and admit to ourselves and Him, that we are lost and floundering in sin in this life, when we admit to ourselves that nothing really makes any sense unless there is Someone greater than us, Someone in charge, and we admit that we have rebelled against Him, wanting to be our own “god”; when we admit that we are sinful and evil, and come to Him humbly and ask for salvation, He doesn’t just “clean us up” or fix us.  He literally births new life in us.  “Unless a man be born again, He cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven”. When we are born again, all the past wrongs on our balance sheet, are wiped away.  Yet the consequences don’t go away with them.  There are still those scars.

David was a lowly shepherd, but He had great faith in God.  He understood that He was just a small and weak human being, and yet he also understood God is a great and mighty God.  By that faith he slayed the giant Goliath, was anointed by God’s priest Samuel, to be the King over all of Israel, and was known as “A man after God’s own heart”, and yet he sinned grievously against the Lord in polygamy, in adultery, and in murder.  And yet when God confronted him, he was humble.  He did not try to make excuses.  He confessed and repented.  You can read David’s confession and repentance in Psalm 51.

Even though he repented, there were waves and waves of consequences that continued to wash over David’s life thereafter.  When we read about David we sometimes have a hard time understanding how such an upstanding “man after God’s own heart” suddenly fell so far and so hard one day.   But the truth is, our sin is never sudden.  There is always a progression.  It generally starts with a small compromise, and goes from there. 

 As David was blessed more and more by God, he became comfortable and complacent and took for granted God’s favor.  It was the custom of his time and culture, for kingdoms to expand and alliances to be made via marriages between kingdoms.  Though polygamy was clearly forbidden by God, David went along with this worldly custom.  How often do we do that?  Because something is so “common” and no longer taboo by cultural standards, we make the mistake of thinking God has lowered His standards.  That never happens.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

David got into a habit of collecting wives.  It is doubtful he just walked out on that roof one day and decided he had to have Bath-Sheba.  Probably he inadvertently discovered her routine of rooftop bathing and “just so happened” to amble up to the rooftop about that time each day to indulge in a little voyeurism.  Lust took root, and having been so lavishly blessed by God, David made the grave mistake of thinking maybe he was somehow an exception to God’s rules.  Regardless, he was obviously willing to take the chance.
Lustful thoughts gave birth to sinful deeds.  As we know, David committed adultery with Bath-Sheba and then had her husband Uriah purposely sent into the heat of battle where David knew he would be killed.  A child was born out of the union, but God did not allow the child to live.

After David’s fall from grace, he was never able to discipline his own sons, knowing he himself had failed to toe the line.  As a result, his son Amnon rapes his own sister Tamar.  As David had Uriah killed, so Absalon murders Amnon.  And on and on sin’s ripples and repercussions spread.  More damage, more scars.
That is what sin does in this world.  It is viral.  It is deadly.  It causes damage, decay, and death.

We often think of God as a spoil-sport up in the sky who just doesn’t want us to have any fun.  We fail to understand that the “thou shalt not”s are for the purpose of sparing us that pain and suffering and heartache.  God is so wise and loving.  When we were kids we often didn’t understand the dangers of things we did, and were mad or disappointed when mom or dad said “no, don’t do that”.   But they knew things we didn’t know.  And so, certainly, does God.

God’s way is always the better way.  Yet so many people are not even willing to consider trying life “God’s way”.
When you get saved, you start a new life.  You are no longer in it all alone.  Being reconciled with the One who created you, now you have a Heavenly Father and in a lot of ways, “the buck no longer stops at you”.  I don’t know about you, but being the grown up, the parent, the one in charge, the one with all the responsibility, gets to be kind of heavy sometimes for me.  It is a great comfort to know that there is Someone else in charge, and over me.

The Christian life is not easy in this world.  It requires swimming against the tide, taking unpopular stands, denying the flesh.  But because God is merciful and gracious, it is so good to know that even when we mess up, and we can mess up pretty bad, God is able to work all things together for Good.  That is something we can never do.

I don’t know about you, but I am glad there is a God and I’m not him.  I know there are people in this world who want nothing more than to be “in charge”.  But when you really have those responsibilities on your shoulders you soon learn it’s not as fun as you thought it would be.  Because it means huge responsibility.  Pressure.  Demands.

At the end of the day I am happy knowing that God is over all and He is big enough and smart enough to fix what I screw up or make something good out of the worst messes I am capable of making, and believe you me, I can make some real doozies!
I thank God for His Word and the testimony of a very real man named David and that God didn’t exclude David’s failures when He wrote the Bible.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for loving us, and for your gift of Salvation.  Thank you, Jesus, for dying for such a hopeless sinner as me.  I don’t know what You see in me that You loved me that much, but I thank You, Lord and I can’t help but love You for loving me that much.
God you are an awesome Father.  Praise the name of Jesus!

Distance, Separation and the Cure

Looking Forward to 2013

Written and posted by Jean-Louis - http://thelightseed.blogspot.com





“See. I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to their fathers: or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5.

The ministry of reconciliation

“Therefore if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. As ambassadors committed with the ministry of reconciliation, as though God were making an appeal through us, we implore you on Christ‘s behalf:
Be reconciled to God."
2 Corinthians 5:17-20.


Distance and separation

And the space between ourselves sometimes
is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow
we take up the basin and the towel.

Read more, The Basin and the Towel

Definition of “Far away” in The Fuegian language of
Tierra del Fuego. A seven syllable word which means:

“They stare at each other, each waiting for the other to do what each wants but is not able to.”

One can appreciate the rich and insightful imagery of primitive language, but the question remains: Is it a matter of inability or unwillingness?

When the Lord Jesus was approaching the hour of His death, He himself prayed giving us a model prayer: “Father not my will, but yours be done”

What keeps us separated? Basically it is our pride and unwillingness to humble ourselves. We prefer to remain in a prison of our own making, when the key has been given to us that could release us from being captive to our own will and stubbornness.

Every argument won in a verbal conflict at the detriment of forgiveness and reconciliation ends up being one more brick we use in building a wall of separation protecting us from the very ones that Christ has sent our way to help them in their struggle to find forgiveness and freedom from spiritual captivity.

Every argument won ends up being one more shovel full in digging deeper the ditch of distance between persons whose ministry is to be a bridge builder, not a wall builder or a ditch digger.

The remedy

Do we have the key? Only God can give us the key to freedom.

Isaiah declares: “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
The fear of the Lord is the KEY to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:6.

Do we need a sure foundation in our present time of confusion, perplexity, and contemplating our navel and worshiping the earth to find the solution with the greatest brains as guides in our cultures of death?

The Lord Jesus to John the apostle in Revelation chapter 3:7: “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

There is a time and a season for everything under the sun, but Jesus is sending his servants to proclaim that "NOW is the day of salvation and that there is no other name under heaven but the name of Jesus by which man can be saved"

The only way men can experience real peace and reconciliation with others is to first be reconciled with God

Oh, that we would heed the command of our Lord Jesus to build bridges and tear down brick by brick the strongholds in our hearts that we have erected patiently, day after day, month after month until it becomes the very fabric that makes up the callous covering of protection keeping other people from being welcome in our hearts.

So looking forward to this New Year’s eve, this is my hope and prayer for the New Year for the readers of this blog that do not know the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Be reconciled first with God through recognizing and accepting the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for you, He brought peace to us who were enemies of God; receive the pardon and salvation that are already paid for by His blood shed for you on the cross and the free gift of eternal life available to all who humbly turn to His light and life from their slavery to sin.

If you already know the Lord Jesus, His peace to you and may His grace and love abide and rule in your heart as you seek to do His will, to be fruitful and keep looking for His soon return.

Heavenly Father, by your grace and the power of your love through your Holy Spirit, free the prisoners in our families, our churches. You alone can penetrate through and behind those brick walls and fill those ditches of separation. You alone can heal bitter, broken hearts and restore us to our call to love you and serve you as we obey your command to love each other sincerely from the heart and serve our brothers in humility and submission to your will and purpose in our lives.

His Name is a strong tower and we are victorious by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony that Jesus alone is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and worthy of our praise. Blessed be His holy Name. Amen.

Jean-Louis
12/3/2012 Edited and from previous posting 12/2009.