Prayer is a Noun, not always a verb!

Last year, I was asked to serve as a core leader with Intro to IHOPKC.  I gladly volunteered and had one of the best times of my life in doing so.  I truly served Him with all of my heart.  I LOVED IT!!  After the internship was over, I got a seasonal job selling insurance with a wonderful company.  However, even though I thoroughly enjoyed my job, the one thing that I walked away with in my heart was a pronounced reality that man was not made to sit and sell for 10 hours a day.  It is just not what we (or more specifically I was created for).  After the sales insurance training began, I went on a 40-day fast/detox SPECIFICALLY seeking God for direction.  I was reading the Bible chronologically and at that time was reading the Book of Acts very slowly.  Here is what transpired

“These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (Acts 1:14 emphasis mine).

That was the first spoken utterance from the Lord during this time concerning my calling and direction.  I AM AN INTERCESSOR!  I am devoted to prayer.  I need to be secure in my calling, no matter what other voices come and talk to me.  The next one came shortly thereafter in an early morning meditation.  Same book.  Similar revelation.  

“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4, emphasis mine)

To be devoted to means to commit one’s heart, i.e. their entire being, to someone or something.  THAT’S ME!  I am in deep. 

Also, the Lord was encouraging me a few days later through Acts 10 and 11, the story of Peter taking the gospel to the Gentiles, beginning with Cornelius.  I felt that the way that Cornelius was divinely set up by the angel to hear the gospel, and Peter was also divinely prepared to deliver it, so my support raising would share a similar reality.  God would be preparing people BEFORE I ask them to partner with me.

But the most special, personal revelation of all was the Hebraic reality behind Psalm 109:4.  In English, it says, 

“In return for my love they act as my accusers;

But I am in prayer.”

In Hebrew, the last part says, I AM prayer.  It’s a noun, not a verb.  That’s me!  I’m a prayer to the Lord.  That sealed it.  I was seeking the Lord for direction, very earnestly, and He revealed Himself to me in a profound way.

So, this next season, I will devote myself to prayer, along with others, and BE a prayer to the Lord.

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What is a whole heart?

WHOLE HEARTED-LEV SHALEM

In 2 Chronicles 25:2, it says that Amaziah "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart."  The phrase 'whole heart' in Hebrew is lev shalem.  It means a whole, unfragmented, uncompromised heart.  The parallel verse in 2 Kings 14:4 states that Amaziah did what was right in the sight of the Lord "yet not like David his father".  It implies that David had an unfragmented heart towards the Lord, a lev shalem.  He didn't compromise his relationship with the Lord, no matter who or what was coming against him.

By Amaziah not having a whole heart, he got into all sorts of trouble and a premature death.  Let's look at how not serving the Lord with a whole heart leads to a miserable life.  Amaziah did not take away the high places; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on them.  High places were places given to idol worship; the worshippers believing that the higher up they were, the closer they were to god.  What is the highest place on a human?  Their head.  For our purpose, we'll say it's our mind.  The mind is the true battleground for the human.  The mind, the will, and the emotions are all united in one entity called the soul.  There are many aspects of the human heart and soul, just as there are many chambers in the physical heart.  When the Psalmist says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul AND all that is within me" (Psalm 103:1), he indicates that there are chambers inside of us that can bless the Lord.  The high place of the mind is where we entertain thoughts, which lead to feelings and actions.

Amaziah did what was right in obeying the Law of the Lord.  He put his father's murderers to death.  But not their children.  The law of Moses states that the sons will not be put to death for the sins of their fathers.  He was obedient to the law here.  Yet, he hired Israelites to be in his army, for which the prophet later rebuked him because the Lord was not with Israel the way He was with Judah.  He was still victorious in his battle because "God has power to help and to bring down" (2 Ch. 25:8).

But after his victory over the sons of Seir, he brought their gods back home and bowed down to them.  One can see that not having a whole heart ('lev shalem') like David's, led Amaziah to give in to idol worship.  He left a chamber in his heart open and idol worship crept in.  This gave way to other sins.

After this, Amaziah, in his arrogance, wants to confront the king of Israel in a face off.  The king of Israel rebukes him saying, "Your heart has become proud in boasting" (2 Ch. 25:19).   The heart that is not fully given to the Lord will leave itself open to pride, boasting, and many other critters that should be kept out.  In this case, his heart was divided between serving the Lord and serving himself.  James says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  This scripture is fulfilled in Amaziah's life:  "But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of the Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom." (v. 20)

Amaziah died a miserable death.  His heart was not fully given to serving the Lord.  It was fragmented and compromised.  He allowed other things to creep in and lead him down a path of destruction.  What an example for us today.

"Lord, give us a whole heart.  Bind up the chambers that are open and vulnerable to compromise.  Create in us a 'lev shalem'-a whole heart.  In the Name of Jesus."

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Hebracize me!

Just produced a few Hebrew Nuggets videos now on you tube. Hebrew is a pictorial language where the symbols were joined to make words. Due to the oral style of communicating, much was required of the hearer. By transmitting one story from one gerneation to another, or family to family, clear language was needed. Exploring some of the uniqueness of the Hebrew language leads to deeper insight into the heart of God, Who created language and communication. Come on the journey and explore it with grace and truth.

 https://youtu.be/cvIYQBkUX4U

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An (UN) Natural Connection

"A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue"-Pr. 17:4 Our old, sinful, demonic-led flesh ALWAYS pays attention to the negative side of life. Our flesh, our old man craves that which is less than and negative. It's a natural connection. This is why the old man must be crucified, raised in newness of life. We dont' just put a nice suit on him and dress up the old man to make him look better.. He must be put to death, as Paul tells us in Colossians 3. Where this old man, this old way of thinking, continues, just validates that a deeper death is needed. The lies and negativity finds a place of agreement within the heart. If there is nothing to connect to in the heart, the lies fall away and lose their power. Natures attract each other. Just like lies are received by the sinful, fallen nature, so are the insecurities and wounds in one person welcomed and received by another. "He who has a crooked mind finds no good"-Pr. 17:20 We see the positive side of this in the book, GOD'S SMUGGLER, by Brother Andrew, When he smuggled Bibles into a foreign country, he didn't speak the language. He encounters one man walking down the street and he says that their spirits recognized each other. This man was a believer and the Holy Spirit in him noticed the Holy Spirit in Brother Andrew. Their was an internal spiritual connection that they had when they discovered each other. What you behold gets filtered through your inner man. If your inner man is dirty and defiled, that's what will come through. No good. Just bad. Even if you're beholding beauty, your heart fliter will taint it because it is tainted. Once again, the necessity for a new heart and a need for transformation. "He who is perverted in his language falls into evil"-Pr. 17:20 Speech is a driving force in one's life. "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of"-Luke 6:45

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Jesus and Islam don't mix!

Been in Ezra 4 today. In light of this weekend's Islam symposium, it has a lot of treasure to be mined out! "The enemies of Judah and Benjamin" came to offer their assistance to build the house of the Lord. They claimed to be sacrificing to Israel's God, thinking that they would be allowed to help. The builders knew that these enemies weren't serving the God of Israel, even though they claimed to do so. In their rejection, they "frightened them from building." This intimidation prevented the returned exiles from building the house of the Lord FOR 16 YEARS! How powerful fear can be! There is only one God. THE Father. He has a Son. Jesus. There is no other. All other gods are false gods. Only He who acknowledges BOTH Father and Son are legitimate worshipers! The Muslim Jesus is NOT the Son of the Father. No intermingling the deities. Allah is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When they come to the Christians and desire to build with us, we must be willing to risk rejection and persecution. We boldly proclaim that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the Supreme Ruler of the Universe! We bow down to Him only!

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GO FORTH IN SPITE OF OUR FEARS!

CONTENDING WITH THE NATION OF ISLAM IN THE LAST DAYS

When Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, they were "terrified because of the peoples of the lands" (Ezra 3:3). In spite of their fear, they still offered burnt offerings on the newly built altar. Burnt offerings symbolize entire consecration to the Lord. It was a 'whole' burnt offering, given freely over to God. It represents a TOTAL surrender to the fire of His love. It was COMPLETELY consumed on the altar. It is entirely possible to offer yourself to the Lord in complete surrender, even if you're afraid. As Ray Comfort says, "Courage is not the absence of fear. But going on IN SPITE OF fear." Joshua was told 4 times in Joshua 1 to "be strong and courageous". Why? Because he was going to need much courage to face all of the enemies in the Promised Land. It says that they offered "burnt offerings morning and evening" (3:3). They worshiped the Lord even though they were terrified. This is truly an example of a 'sacrifice of praise'. In taking the gospel to the Muslims, we will most likely be afraid and in need of God's inspiring confidence and strength. But will we offer ourselves entirely to Him, in spite of our fears? Will we go for Him, bearing His reproach outside the camp? Will we "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4)? Will we love not our lives even unto death (Revelation 12:11). I can hear the Lord say, "Be strong and courageous;" "You can do it;" "Fear not, for I am with you." The God Who gives encouragement through the Scriptures (Romans 15:4) persuades us to stand up for Him in this crooked and perverse generation. He is compelling us by His love and grace to go forth boldly and preach the good news to the Muslims in our midst. It may be intimidating at first, but allow His perfect love to drive out your fears. Let's offer ourselves to Him and His purposes in this generation. IN SPITE OF how we feel, He is with us, compelling us to go. They have already been prepared by His tender love and they are waiting for us to tell them about the Father and His beloved Son, Jesus! We don't have to 'go' into all the world to do so. He has brought them to us! Muslims from all of the nations have come to live in America. The harvest is ready! Let's do it!

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What we don't believe may kill us.

I was meditating on Jeremiah 40 this morning. The king of Babylon placed a man named Gedaliah in charge of the city of Jerusalem. Johanan came with a group of men and told Gedaliah that the king of Ammon sent Ishmael to kill him. "But Gedaliah...did not believe them" (40:14). He told them that they were lying about Ishmael. In the next chapter, Gedaliah is murdered by Ishmael, just like the group said. He refused to believe the truth and what he didn't believe killed him.

I had an old roommate in college whose dad used to be an Olympic kick boxer. His doctor told him that he had a blood clot in his foot. He needed to have an operation or he would die. He didn't believe the doctor. He died several days later. What he didn't believe killed him.

Just like Gedaliah, unbelief will eventually kill us, whether in the natural or the spiritual. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin "because they do not believe in Me" (John 16:9). The root of all sin is unbelief. We really don't believe that God is Who He says He is. And we don't believe hat He means what He says when He speaks. Unbelief is worse than cancer. It will eventually kill your spiritual life and perhaps, like my friend's dad, kill you physically.

Let's put unbelief to death before it puts us to death.

Heavenly Father, I plead the blood of Jesus over everyone who reads this post. I take authority over the spirit of unbelief and release the faith to believe that You are Who You say You are and Your Word is true. "You are God and Your Words are true" (2 Samuel 7:28). May we believe and live. in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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