Weep Between the Porch and the Altar – Part 2

If you haven’t already, I would recommend first reading Part 1 of this series, but to briefly recap, in Matthew 23 Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and their false belief of their own innocence in regards to the slaying of the prophets of old. He then prophesied judgment, saying that they would persecute and kill the messengers he was going to send them, as a way of filling up the measure of their forefathers’ sin “and so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar” (verse 35).

I have chosen to relate this to the story of the priest Zechariah in 2 Chronicles 24 who is described as having been murdered “in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple” (verse 21), but as I mentioned in Part 1, it could also be referring to the prophet Zechariah, although we have no record of him being killed in this manner.

After reading this passage in Matthew 23, I was immediately reminded of Joel’s prophecy in chapter 2 verse 17, which says…

Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

To me there appears to be an obvious connection between this verse and our story of Zechariah, as Joel is calling for the priests to weep “between the temple porch and the altar”, which is the exact same location of Zechariah’s slaying. Now, depending on which view you take on when the book of Joel was written, as well as which Zechariah you believe Jesus was referring to, this can affect how we interpret this passage and connect the dots. Again, as I mentioned in Part 1, I have chosen to take the standpoint that Joel was writing just prior to the Babylonian invasion, which puts him between the two different Zechariahs.

Now, regardless of which of the 4 viewpoints you take of when Joel was written (from the early 9th century BC to the same period as Zechariah the prophet), if we were to go with the view that Jesus was referring to the prophet Zechariah, then it’s possible that Zechariah would have been familiar with Joel’s writings. Also, as was mentioned in Matthew Henry’s commentary, if he was taking sanctuary in the court of the priests from his persecutors, he could have been in the very act of intercession, “weep[ing] between the temple porch and the altar”, crying out for mercy upon Jerusalem just before he was murdered. This is powerful imagery if you were to preach on martyrdom and praying even for your enemies as Jesus did on the cross or as Stephen did while he was being stoned. However, there are a lot of “ifs” in this scenario that don’t make for a very strong connection in this way.

If we take the story of the priest Zechariah from 2 Chronicles 24 who was stoned in the temple court, then again, regardless of the 4 viewpoints of when Joel was written, Joel’s prophecy would have probably come after Zechariah’s murder. In this case, there is a strong reason to believe that this call to intercession was closely linked to the need for repentance for the sins of their forefathers. It seems very symbolic and significant that the Lord would call the priests to weep and mourn and cry out for mercy in the exact location that a brutal act of injustice occurred. This also ties in with what Jesus had against the Pharisees – they were able to acknowledge the sins of their forefathers in slaying the prophets, but they could not identify with them or realize that this same darkness was in their own hearts and acknowledge their need for repentance. Nehemiah was a great example of someone who was able to see the sins of his father, his nation and himself personally, praying…

…let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. (Nehemiah 1:6)

The Pharisees however, perceived themselves to be innocent of the blood on their forefathers’ hands, blind to the fact that they were about to crucify the very son of God and many of his followers and apostles. In fact, Jesus would ensure that they would be proven guilty and that the state of their hearts would be exposed by his promise to send them prophets and teachers whom they would persecute and kill, thus filling up the measure of the sin of their forefathers. This would seal their judgment for eternity and would occur in response to the cries coming from the blood of every righteous person slain. In Genesis 4:10, the Lord says to Cain regarding the murder of his brother Abel, “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground”, and Zechariah, as he lay dying, cried out, “May the Lord see this and call you to account” (2 Chronicles 24:22). This is not unlike the prayer in Revelation 6:9-10 of those who had been murdered because of the Word of God, who called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

So how does this apply to us? The answer to that question is coming in Part 3…

Weep Between the Porch and the Altar – Part 1

Recently I have been reading the book of Zechariah, which is a fascinating book, to say the least. Zechariah had some pretty intense visionary experiences and insight into the end of the age, as well as a unique glimpse into the jealousy of God for Israel. On a completely different note however, I became especially intrigued when I stumbled across a verse in Matthew 23 that appeared to reference this Old Testament prophet. In verse 35, Jesus is coming to the end of a rather harsh rebuke to the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and their false belief of their own innocence in regards to the slaying of the prophets of old. He proceeds to dispense judgment by prophesying that they will persecute and kill the messengers he is going to send them, as a way of filling up the measure of their forefathers’ sin, saying “and so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”

Now, to start off, I’m going to take a rather scholastic approach to this subject in this first blog entry with some research information to help set the foundation for the more applicable content that I will write about in the subsequent entries. Ready? Here we go!

At first it seems obvious that Jesus is referring to the prophet Zechariah who in his book, in the first verse, is identified as the “son of Berekiah”. Logically, this also makes sense for Jesus to start his account of shed blood with the first murder of Abel and end with one of the last of the prophets recorded in the Old Testament. And although there is no record of Zechariah being murdered, here is a possibility mentioned in Matthew Henry’s Commentary…

Perhaps what Zechariah spoke in his prophesying concerning Christ of his being sold, his being wounded in the house of his friends, and the shepherd being smitten, was verified in the prophet himself, and so he became a type of Christ. Probably, being assaulted by his persecutors, he took sanctuary in the court of the priests (and some think he was himself a priest), and so was slain between the porch and the altar.

Alternatively, some find Jesus’ reference to be obviously connected to the story of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, found in 2 Chronicles 24. According to Matthew Henry, the name Jehoiada is very similar to the name Berekiah and it was common for Jewish men to be referred to by more than one name. The clincher however, is that there is a clear account of this Zechariah being murdered “in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple” (vs. 21), or as Jesus said, “between the temple and the altar”.

So which Zechariah is it? I don’t know – and I don’t think anyone can prove either case conclusively. For the sake of this particular series, I will mostly refer to the priest Zechariah, son of Jehoiada in 2 Chronicles 24, but may reference the prophet Zechariah as well, just for argument’s sake.

The next scripture I want to introduce is found in Joel 2:17, which says…

Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ “

I think you can already see where I’m going with this, noting the obvious connection this verse has with our story of Zechariah, as Joel is calling for the priests to weep “between the temple porch and the altar”, which is the exact same location of Zechariah’s slaying. However, before we can go there, I want to examine yet another dilemma we encounter as to the differing opinions on the timing of Joel’s writing…

1. 9th century BC- During the time when Joash was too young to govern and the priest Jehoiada did so in his place (2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 23-24). One of the reasons for this argument being the focus on the elders and priests as being the leaders Joel appeals to, instead of a king. This also happens to be the same period as our priest Zechariah.
2. 8th century BC- Roughly contemporary with Amos who prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah (also called Azariah) of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel (Amos 7:10; 2 Kings 14-15). This school of thought is due to Joel’s placement in the Bible and some similarities in language used by Joel and Amos.
3. 7th-6th century BC – Roughly around Josiah’s reign (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35). Since Joel prophesies only to Judah and Jerusalem, it implies a timing after Israel was no longer a political kingdom (722 BC). This school of thought would argue that Joel’s references to the temple are because it was written before the temple was destroyed by the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC. Many of Joel’s references to the “day of the Lord” and the warnings of a great army also point to the coming destruction of Jerusalem at this time.
4. 6th-4th century BC – Roughly contemporary with the prophet Zechariah. This opinion uses the same argument of the lack of mention of a monarchy, since Judah had no king after the exile. This opinion believes that the references to the temple are actually the second temple which was rebuilt around 515 BC.

Now, I read many different articles on the dating of Joel and nobody seemed to agree with each other. Everybody has their reasons for believing one of the theories above. I found it particularly interesting that two of the opinions line up with both of our Zechariahs, yet ironically I have chosen to go with neither of these, and will be writing from the point of view of the third theory, which places Joel’s writings just prior to the Babylonian invasion – the view that is used in Mike Bickle’s Studies in Joel as well as David Malick’s article (see sources below).

So, I realize this was a lot of facts and possibly uninteresting information, but I wanted there to be an understanding of where I am coming from and the research and reasoning behind my particular point of view for the next parts of this series. Stay tuned!!

Read Part 2
Read Part 3

Sources:
Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Zechariah 1, Matthew 23
Bible.org – An Introduction to the Book of Joel – by David Malick
Hosea, Joel and Amos – by Bruce C. Birch (pg. 126)
Studies in Joel- by Mike Bickle (pg. 4)
Wikipedia – Book of Joel

Horton Hears A Who

As you may know, the Dr. Seuss book “Horton Hears A Who” has been adapted into a computer-animated movie coming to theatres this March. If you’ve never read the story, you can read it here, but the general plot of the story is as follows (quoted from The Internet Movie Database)…

One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry for help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can’t see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbors, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, “After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.”

In recent years, Horton’s motto has become a popular phrase adopted by pro-life groups to support their message that even the unborn have a voice, if you would only listen. Even though we cannot see them or hear them, they are alive and need people who, like Horton, are willing to protect them, even when others refuse to believe in their right to life. In some circles, there have also been some prophetic words linked to the release of this movie and it’s significance for the fight against abortion.

Now to go back several months to July 7, 2007, there was an event titled “The Call” where thousands of people gathered to fast and pray. Just one of the many issues they touched on that day was about praying for the ending of abortion and Lou Engle gave a riveting talk on the parallels between “Horton Hears A Who” and our call to stand for life. This was followed by an introduction of two young women who God called to be prophetic messengers by writing another children’s book that would teach this upcoming generation about praying for the unborn. Their book is titled “Justice Loves Babies” and they went on to describe how the Lord led and equipped them to write this book about a little boy named Justice who was praying for the safe entry of his sister Destiny into this world.

This event occurred just a few days before my husband and I discovered that we were pregnant, but it wasn’t until almost two months later that I was reminded of this story and I had the thought that Justice could be a good name for our coming baby. I mentioned it to my husband, who wasn’t convinced at first, but over the next few days, we both couldn’t shake the idea and separately, we were both being prompted by the Lord that this was the name we were supposed to give to our child, whether it was a girl or a boy. So, ever since then, we have been praying for our baby Justice and the destiny that God has given this little life, believing that he or she will be one who will be a prophetic messenger of their generation, standing up for those who cannot fight for themselves and speaking up for those who do not have a voice of their own. We believe there is much significance to this name of Justice, as there are many profound scriptures on this topic in the Bible, yet it will remain to be seen exactly how God unfolds this theme in the life of our child. However, here are 3 keys verses that God has highlighted to me…

“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Psalm 33:5

“In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” Isaiah 42:4

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Luke 18:7-8

As you can see, Jesus loves justice and is very committed to establishing justice on the earth, yet he has ordained it to be connected to the unceasing prayers of the saints. This is just one of the many reasons why my husband and I have chosen to give our lives to worship and intercession at the house of prayer in our city that one day hopes to go 24/7.

But to go back to how I started this blog entry, with “Horton Hears A Who” – it was only this week that I found out the release date of this movie would be on March 14th, the same day our baby Justice is due to arrive! Some may find this a coincidence, but I believe it is only confirmation of our baby’s name and destiny, as well as an encouragement that the Lord will bring forth justice and defend the cause of the oppressed, including the unborn who are at risk of being killed before ever having a chance at life.

I believe that there are people whom God is calling to be prophetic messengers, both those who are already alive on this earth and those who are living in the womb. I desire to be used of God in this way and I hope our child will answer this call as well. Yet, I also have the conviction that these messengers will find themselves in much the same predicament as Horton, who was mocked, ridiculed, persecuted, and even imprisoned for his beliefs and his message. Answering this call will not come without a cost. Choosing to give yourself to a life of prayer and proclamation of God’s Word is not an easy one – there are risks, obstacles, and opposition in both the spiritual and natural realms. Yet I believe that the reward in the age to come will be more than worth the price we may pay now! As Paul put it…

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:8-11

Moving the Heart of the Judge

I’ve been reading and meditating on Psalm 106 over the last few days and my thoughts are still very incomplete, but I’m going to attempt to make sense of them through writing…

They exchanged their Glory
In verse 20 and 21 it says, “They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them…”  This hit me personally and I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, for how many times have I had the choice directly in front me to either choose communion with Glory or exchange Him for something so much lesser and I have chosen the lesser?  When I choose to give my time, energy or resources (essentially, my worship) to something other than the Lord, how often do I reflect on the immense, infinite value of what I am giving up in exchange?  I don’t think I have a true revelation of the Glorious One, the God who has worked miracles and awesome deeds on my behalf and who saved me from the most horrific eternal destiny of hell that was my lot. 

I then was listening to a teaching by a woman of God name Shelley Hundley who was “coincidentally” (read “divinely”) speaking from this very same passage and she went back to the telling of this story in Exodus where the Israelites are getting a glimpse of their beautiful and terrifying Glory in a way they had not yet seen.  In 20:18-21 they are trembling in fear as they gaze upon a mountain shrouded in thick darkness, surrounded by thunder, strikes of lightning and engulfed in smoke.  While they had been invited by God to come close, up to the boundaries He had set for them, they shrank back in their fear and remained at a distance instead of embracing this gift of the fear of the Lord that God wanted to give them in order to keep them from sinning and keep them in intimate relationship with Himself.  As a result, in Exodus 32, when Moses takes too long to return from the mountain, Shelley proposed that the reason they created the idol was for the simple reason of boredom!  They had been given the opportunity to gaze upon the Glory of the Lord and be completely fascinated by His power and beauty, yet instead they distanced themselves and grew bored, exchanging Him for a lifeless golden calf crafted in the image of a soulless creature that eats grass!  Again, I ask myself, how many times have I exchanged the opportunity to be fascinated and captivated by my heavenly, eternal Glorious One in order to give my affections to something that is earthly, temporal and fading away?  Too many.

They shed innocent blood
The next thing that pierced my heart was verses 37-43 which starts off by saying, “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.  They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.”  It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection with this verse and the spilling of innocent blood that is occurring today through the abortions of millions of babies in North America.  While it may seem to some that abortion is only the removal of a piece of tissue, the reality in the spirit is that these living babies with a soul and spirit are being sacrificed to the gods of this age – convenience, selfishness, fear, lust, call them what you like, but there are real demons feeding off the blood of these innocent ones.  I know it sounds harsh, but we must see abortion for what it is – demon worship and murder. 

The passage goes on to describe how the Lord was angry with his people for these horrible acts and brought judgment upon them, yet still they would not turn from their sin and were “bent on rebellion”.  Another reality is that there is real judgment coming in response to our sin.  We are naive to think that we will escape judgment, for even if we die before the end of the age and miss the end-time judgments, we will certainly face it when we come before the throne of God.  I truly don’t mean for this to be a doomsday post, but I want the reality of the Word to grip our hearts!  I don’t want to read this and gloss over the weightiness of what it says - we need to be pained over this and understand what lies ahead if things don’t change!

Moving the heart of the Judge
And yet, while judgment is imminent, there is hope.  When the Israelites built their golden calf, Psalm 106:23 says, “So he said he would destroy them–had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.”  The Lord is longing for a people, like Moses, who will walk in intimacy and friendship with Him to such a depth that when they stand in the place of intercession on behalf of a sinful and wicked nation, that their weak words actually move the heart of God and turn away His wrath!  He is crying out for this generation to respond to the call of Joel 2:12-14, “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’  Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.  Who knows?  He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing…”  I long to have revelation of Jesus as a Righteous Judge who will not allow injustice to go unpunished, yet who is fiercely in love with people and is more merciful than we know.  We must know this so that we will approach His throne of grace with boldness as Moses did and stand in the breach that He might have mercy on us.  The cry of repentance for exchanging our Glory and shedding innocent blood must ascend to heaven, as a people who are friends of the Judge rise up in intercession to move His heart…

“But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented.”  (Psalm 106:44-45)

Making Ready a People Prepared

Lately I’ve been reading and meditating on Isaiah chapters 61 to 63 which contains several scriptures pertaining to the coming of the Messiah, both His first coming and His second.  The verse which stuck out to me recently though was Isaiah 62:10 which says, “Pass through, pass through the gates!  Prepare the way for the people.  Build up, build up the highway!  Remove the stones.  Raise a banner for the nations.”

Prepare the way for the Lord
I believe this verse has many layers of meaning, but it’s especially important to view it through the lens of Jesus’ return to the earth.  This is quite clear from the following verse where the Lord instructs Isaiah to proclaim, “See, your Savior comes!  See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.”  The Lord desired for Isaiah to preach a message that the Savior was indeed coming, bringing with Him both a reward for His people and vengeance for His enemies.  Yet, before this message could be proclaimed, obstacles needed to be removed and the path built up and prepared so that the people would be able to receive the message.  This a similar calling to what was given to John the Baptist who was a forerunner that was to ”pass through” ahead of others and go before to prepare the way of the Lord… 

A voice of one calling in the desert: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 40:3-5

Make ready a people prepared
In the case of John the Baptist, a key aspect of preparing the people’s hearts was to call them to participate in the baptism of repentance.  For them this was an outward act to demonstrate the inner response of their hearts to turn from their wicked ways and return to the Lord.  But what is the Lord saying to the forerunners of today?  What do we need to do to prepare both our own hearts and also the hearts of those who God desires us to proclaim this message of His return to?  How can we remove the obstacles in the way, the things that are hindering us and them from being ready on that day?  How can we do what is necessary to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord”?  (Luke 1:17)

Watch and pray
I think a key component to being prepared for the Lord when He returns is found in Jesus’ talk with His disciples in Matthew 24 and 25.  After warning them of the signs of the end of the age, Jesus exhorts them to be like the faithful and wise servant who was found watching and waiting for his master’s return and the five wise virgins who kept oil in their lamps and were ready when the bridegroom appeared.  Among other things, I believe this speaks of prayer, for when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, he implored the disciples to “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation”.  (Mark 14:38)  Prayer is one of the most strategic ways that we can keep our hearts alert and on guard, full of oil and lit with the fire of passion for Jesus, as opposed to slumbering and being caught unaware when He returns. 

Remove the stones
Intercession on behalf of others is also critical for the removing of the obstacles in their way – we need to be watchmen on the walls of our cities that are never silent day or night (Isaiah 62:6-7), warring for the demonic influences over people to be taken out and for the blinders to be removed so that they are able to “see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  I believe this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people – that they are unable to see Jesus for who He is and that He is the express image of the Father.  Many, including myself, do not have a correct view of Jesus or the Father and we need to intercede for wisdom and revelation to know Him better (Ephesians 1:17) and also preach about who He truly is, tearing down the wrong mindsets and ideas of what He’s like and how He feels about us.

Return with fasting and weeping
Another passage of scripture that contains several instructions on how to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ return is Joel 2:12-17.  There’s too much here to go into great detail on each item, but the Lord calls for the people to return to Him with all their heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.  If we desire to be prepared and desire to make ready a people prepared, then repentance, fasting, and mourning need to be an essential component of our daily lives.  If we do not want our love to grow cold (Matthew 24:12) then we need to turn from our sin and turn to the Lord wholeheartedly – holding nothing back.  He wants our whole hearts – He desires for us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).  I believe that adding fasting to your repentance is an incredible accelerator to the process, as you are choosing to kill the desires of your flesh and live by the spirit (Romans 8:13-14).  Also, when we are able to connect with the reality of how our sin grieves the Holy Spirit and we can mourn over our spiritual condition and the condition of our cities and nations, our hearts will be tenderized and the gift of weeping and groaning will allow us to enter into partnership with the Spirit in intercession (Romans 8:26).

Raising forerunners
So what does this have to do with raising forerunners?  As a soon-to-be mother, I have been impressed on my heart with the importance of my calling to make ready my children to be ones who are prepared for the Lord’s return and who will also be forerunners that will prepare others.  Imagine what it was like for Elizabeth, realizing the destiny of the child she carried within her and how vital it was for her to raise him as the Lord had commanded and teach him the ways of God, instructing John about his destiny to prepare the way of the Lord and ready the hearts of the people for their coming Messiah!  I feel this same urgency, this same weight of responsibility.  I know that the child in my womb has an incredible destiny and purpose and it is my role to disciple them and prepare them for it, with the help of Holy Spirit.  I certainly cannot do this on my own and sometimes the thought of it overwhelms me, but I also must trust that the Lord has given this child to us and will equip us to train him or her in the way they should go.  I have a new appreciation for the story of Samson’s parents, who when told of the special calling on their unborn child’s life, cried out to God, “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”  (Judges 13:8)  God answered their prayer and as I make this prayer my own, I believe He too will come and teach my husband and I how to raise this little forerunner in the making.

Urges, Cravings & Impulses

What is a fasted lifestyle?
Living a fasted lifestyle is about much more than just fasting food, it’s also about living a surrendered life in the areas of food, our finances and our time.  Fasting is voluntary weakness – choosing weakness on our own accord for the sake of love.  This can include fasting food, or it could mean living a simpler life financially so that you are able to give more money away or so that you are able to work less and give more time to prayer, or it could mean choosing to give up the time you spend watching your favorite TV show in order to spend time reading your Bible.  All of these are forms of living a fasted lifestyle – making choices to live our lives by the Spirit which will surely cause us to feel weak (in other words – grumpy, hungry, or discontent) by not satisfying the desires of our flesh.

“Yield”
In this post, I wanted to talk about one way to live a fasted lifestyle, which is to be wary of giving in to urges, cravings and impulses.  In life, you will both need & desire certain foods, possessions and activities.  Yet it takes discernment to know when these are the growling of the flesh.  This is definitely not an easy thing to discern since our desires can often overpower our ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit clearly. Lately however, this topic has really come to the forefront in my pregnancy, since as a pregnant woman, you are constantly validated in your cravings and encouraged to satisfy them.  This is so tempting to listen to!  I’m essentially being told to give in to whatever whimsy or fancy I have for any type of food at any time!  I truly don’t understand the logic in this, when it’s clearly not healthy or beneficial for my well-being or the baby’s (unless I’m craving vegetables)?  Yet this mindset is prevalent throughout society in ALL areas!  We are constantly being told to give in to our urges and impulses for that big juicy steak, or that big screen TV, or tickets to the latest popular event.  “Eat, drink, and be merry!  Spend, spend, spend!!! Relax and enjoy yourself for a few hours – you deserve it!”  I have an especially vivid memory of a huge McDonald’s billboard with a gigantic picture of their irresistable fries (my personal favorite) with one simple word – “Yield”!

“Their god is their stomach”
But how do we combat these messages that bombard us on a daily basis??  I think a part of our answer lies in Philippians 3.  In verses 18-19, Paul mentions those who are enemies of the cross of Christ – now, this may mean unbelievers, but earlier in the chapter he talks about sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so I believe it could also refer to believers who aren’t willing to enter into the fellowship of His sufferings – and goes on to describe that “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.“  So, if we don’t want our stomach to be our god or the desires of our flesh to control us, then it is imperative that our vision be fixed on what is eternal and not what is earthly.  In this same chapter Paul speaks of where he has chosen to focus his gaze – “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  He is looking to Jesus and looking to heaven – to that which is eternal and lasting – instead of the temporary and fleeting pleasures of that Big Mac I crave, or the newest fashion trend I itch to have, or the urge inside to waste my time with the empty fascination of a television show.

It’s a battle
There is a spiritual battle being waged for my heart and I feel the pull of these things hourly!  Where will I choose to give my energy, money and time?  Will I give in to the urges, cravings and impulses of my flesh?  On what and on whom will I choose to fix my gaze?  Will I live for what it fading away or for what will last forever?  The spirit fights against the flesh and right now, the flesh is winning out.  This needs to change and I need to get a violent zeal within me that will scream “NOOOOO!!!” to the world’s command to “Yield”.

The Great Canadian Wish List

The Great Canadian Wish List
CBC News has started a group on Facebook called “The Great Canadian Wish List” where anybody can make a wish for Canada, invite their friends to support it & then on July 1st, the top results will be reported about on CBC TV, CBC Radio, CBC Newsworld and online at cbc.ca/wish.

Their hope is to provoke discussion and the free expression of ideas and they have certainly succeeded, as the debates and arguments abound regarding several issues such as abortion, gay marriage, our nation’s spiritual condition and saving the environment. It has also evolved into a sort of competition for the top 2 spots on the list – pro-life vs. pro-choice.

We Are Not Our Own
As I browsed the pro-choice group, I think I was most bothered by their main image which portrays a female icon with the phrases, “My Mind, My Body, My Choice“, for herein lies the greatest deception of them all. I happen to be reading the book “Body By God” by Dr. Ben Lerner, which is a book designed to help you improve your body and health by applying principles found in both science and the Bible. The very title itself is a clear statement about our body – it’s by God – designed, created, and shaped by Him (see Genesis 1 and Psalm 139). As Dr. Lerner puts it, “No person can make another. The body is not by man; the body is by God”. Yet he continues to go even further by saying, “Your body is not your own! Your body is not only by God, it is for God, and it is God’s.” In other words, “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his…” (Psalm 100:3) or as Paul states it, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

This deception that our bodies are our own, when truly they are God’s, is a terrible and destructive line of thinking that has invaded our society’s paradigm, yet not only with our bodies – we think this way about everything. We think our possessions are ours, our money is ours, our time is ours, our mind is ours – yet the Bible also says that “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) Yet we are primarily selfish creatures looking out for #1 – ourselves – with little regard to how our decisions affect others or how they line up with God’s ways. David Sliker, an author and intercessory missionary at the International House of Prayer recently wrote a post on this very topic of humanism on his blog where he quoted Psalm 2:1-3, which says “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.‘” David goes on to expound this text and what that will look like in the coming days…

The result of this concerted effort to reject God and His Son will be the apex of humanism itself, or the exalting of man and his capacities and capabilities in a manner that is seemingly able to effect his own salvation without the interference of biblical morality or the “restraint” of the law of God. In the minds of the sinful man, “salvation” means the achievement of Utopian ideals related to perfection in society and perfection in man himself.

In the world’s eyes, legalizing abortion and gay marriage are a signpost to our progressive thinking, open-mindedness, tolerance and our rise to perfection as mankind, while holding to the moral values and guidelines as laid out for us in scripture is to actually regress. Considering how God feels about these subjects is simply not a part of their rationale, for it is primarily about what they want and what they feel they have the “right” to do. Somewhere along the line we came up with this twisted idea that we have the “right” to choose what to do with the lives that were never ours to begin with. The very breath in our lungs comes from God and it is He who has every right to ask us to live our lives according to His ways. And His ways are not bondage, as the world perceives them to be! His commands are not chains to be broken off! His commands were given to bring us abundant life, freedom and joy beyond anything we could imagine for all of eternity! He is not an angry God trying to take away our “fun” or force us into slavery to Him – He is a loving God who put rules in place as boundaries to protect us and keep us in a close relationship with Himself, since sin is what separates us from Him.

What We Truly Need
But I digress, for I have still yet to reach my main point. I’ll have you know that I did join “The Great Canadian Wish List” group and I supported the wishes of “Abolish Abortion in Canada”, “Spiritual Revival in our Nation”, and “Restore the Traditional Definition of Marriage”. I would probably also support many other noble wishes to end poverty and disease or save the environment, but the problem with most of these is that we are looking to ourselves for the solution instead of looking to God. I will always stand for protecting unborn children, but the fact is, that even if abortion was made illegal in Canada, it might change the behavior of men and women and save the lives of many babies, yet their hearts would remain the same. I am all for the changing of legislation in our country, but more than this, I long for a change in the hearts in our country. What good is behavioral alteration if the hearts of people still scream in rebellion against God and His ways? If they still have no regard for God, then we have gained nothing, for their souls are still lost. So taking that into consideration, the greatest wish for Canada needs to be for spiritual revival and for the hearts of people to return to the Lord God with weeping and repentance, for He truly longs to show them compassion and loving-kindness instead of judgment. (Joel 2:12-13) God is also the only one capable of bringing eternal restoration to the earth and He is the only one who is capable of ruling the people of the earth with justice.

What is our Response?
Consequently, the response that is most needed by the body of Christ today is to call out for the return of Jesus to the earth and for Him to bring speedy justice in answer to our unceasing prayers. (Luke 18:7-8) Let us fast and weep and mourn and call solemn assemblies (Joel 2:12-17) to cry out on behalf of our nation and our world and fill the bowls of prayer in heaven. (Rev. 5:8) Let us see His kingdom come and His will done by interceding for revival, appealing to the courts of heaven to affect change in the courts of the earth. I know it seems weak and it feels weak to simply pray when it feels like we should be signing petitions and making phone calls to politicians and marching down the street with signs, but I am becoming more and more convinced that in the “weakness” of prayer there is greater strength than we could ever imagine. For what would take us decades to try and change in our own strength, God could come and do in a moment!

Turning & Resisting

Return to Me
There is a key portion of scripture in Joel 2 in which the Lord says, “…return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” The prophet continues on to say, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity…Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly…” (vs. 12-17) There is far too much going on in this text to expound fully, but the basic message is that when there is sin in the land and coming judgment, the Lord calls His people to respond by fasting and praying in repentance and turning back to Him with their whole hearts. Only then is there hope that He may relent from His anger and perhaps release blessing instead.

Little Foxes
Yesterday I was listening to the webstream of the prayer room at IHOP where they are in the midst of a 40-day fast and Mike Bickle was leading the people there in a time of personal repentance and turning. It was very reminiscent of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Mike encouraged each person to fix their thoughts on the Holy Spirit and submit to His leadership over their lives, asking Him to reveal any areas of sin that needed to be repented of and dealt with. He referenced Song of Songs 2:15, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards…” which is the bride crying out to Jesus, asking Him to help her remove the little sins that sneak in and ruin the garden of her heart. It’s not necessarily the obvious sins of murder, adultery, or theft that God is going after, but He wants to rid our hearts of the “little foxes”, the inconspicuous sins that we pass off as not being that bad – things like complaining, gossip, or pride. Then, once Holy Spirit had highlighted these things in our hearts, we were challenged to determine to not do those things again and turn from our sins, recognizing that we may very possibly fall into them again, but still making a firm decision to resist to the best of our ability.

Resisting Sin
So, as I listened, I was meditating on the passage in Joel 2 and speaking to the Lord & asking Him to show me what I needed to repent of and turn from in my life. I began to write down the things that He was showing me, yet none of them were really new to me – He has tried to confront me on these issues before, but I realized that instead of resisting the devil (James 4:7-10), I had been resisting the leadership of the Holy Spirit, not wanting to submit to His correction. I have knowingly been facing the same temptations over and over again, but usually giving into them instead of really fighting them, making excuses that I was too weak to resist them. And then, I was suddenly reminded of a verse that I had heard preached about – Hebrews 12:4 which says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Basically saying that I was not yet resisting to the point of allowing myself to feel the pain of turning from sin and putting to death the desires of my flesh. I don’t know why we think that killing our flesh won’t be painful or a struggle! In Joel 2:13 it also says to “Rend your heart” which means “to tear violently” – that definitely sounds painful! Yet I have definitely not yet resisted temptation to that point of pain or really fighting and saying “NO!” I’ve been more like a passive dog that rolls over onto it’s back as soon as another dog attacks it, completely surrendering to its opponent without a fight.

Jesus our Example
Yet, earlier in Hebrews 12 it is giving us the example of Jesus as inspiration for us, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame…Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” I need to fix my gaze on Jesus and how He truly resisted sin to the point of shedding His own blood for me so that I would not grow weary in my battle to do the same. His life and death are my example so that I will be able to “…throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…” (vs. 1-3)

Turn To God, Turn From Sin, Turn Away His Anger
Then, this morning I was reading Daniel 9, a great example of someone who was embracing the weakness of fasting and prayer and confession on behalf of himself and his nation, and again I saw the pattern of turning. In verse 3 Daniel says that he turned to the Lord God, which was then followed by the recognition for their need to turn from their sins in verse 13, culminating with the desired result that God would turn away His anger and wrath (vs. 16) and instead restore them in His great mercy (vs. 18). For us to turn individually is just the beginning – we need to cry out for a widespread turning so that He will have mercy on our nation of Canada, bring a revival of souls coming into His kingdom and a restoration of righteousness and holiness in our land.

The Hannah Season

So, in my last post, I talked about the Esther Season – the time in my life where God was preparing me for my future husband.

Now, I am beginning a new journey into what I’ve decided to call the Hannah Season. As I’m sure most of you know, Hannah was the mother to the well-known prophet of the Bible, Samuel. Her story can be found in the first 3 chapters of the book of 1 Samuel and she is a godly woman with many admirable qualities that I would hope to emulate.

1. She was a woman of prayer – I too want to be a woman who cries out to God on behalf of my children, before they are even born. Since, I believe they already exist in the heart of God and He has known them from before the creation of the world, than surely my prayers matter even now!

2. She had open hands – before she even had children, she dedicated her child to God. I want to do the same, knowing that my children belong to God before they belong to me. By giving them back to the Lord, I am placing them in the safest possible place.

3. She persevered – she sought the Lord earnestly and passionately, fasting and crying out to God persistently for this desire of her heart. In the same way, I want to persever in prayer for my children, being an intercessory warrior on their behalf!

4. She worshiped and believed – even before she saw the answer to her prayers, she gave worship and praise to God. I believe she had a spirit of faith that believed the Lord had heard her prayers. Praise and faith are qualities I want to display in my home and instill in my children.

5. She was a woman of integrity – even though she may have been tempted to change her mind once she found herself with her beloved son in her arms, she did not back out, but followed through on her vow and kept her commitment to God. By God’s grace, I hope to be a mother who keeps her promises and who lives righteously both in public and in private, setting a godly example for my children.

I’m sure there are even more qualities that could be extracted from Hannah’s story, but I think the part that I am identifying with most right now, is her simple desire for a child. And in some ways, I feel the same emotions of when I was longing to find my husband – the uncertainty of when and how and what will they be like? There’s a knowing that they exist, but they remain nameless and faceless until the day that God decides the time is right.

So, I find myself with a new journal. It’s a little brown suede notebook (couldn’t choose anything too feminine or masculine) that will soon start to be filled with prayers for my future child, letters to them, and I’m not quite sure what else. But it’s fun and exciting to engage with God about my future children before they are even conceived, and to allow Him to prepare me to be the kind of mother He would desire for me to be. It’s again a season of prepartion and molding and shaping…

The Esther Season

When I was approximately 20 years old, I felt the Lord speak to me that He was bringing me into what I coined “The Esther Season”. The Esther Season was a period of time that He was going to use to prepare me for my future husband. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of Esther, she is the young woman in the Bible who was chosen to become the new queen of King Xerxes. Before she met the King, she spent a year in preparation, being submitted to beauty treatments and learning about how to be a queen. Similarly, I was desiring for the Lord to work in my life to make me beautiful (in spirit) and to prepare me to be the kind of wife He would want me to be for my future husband, who I was also waiting to meet. At this point of my life, I had already been praying for my future husband for approximately 7 years (since I was 13) but now I felt prompted to create something to record my journey through this special season. Therefore, I bought a journal and filled it with the following…

1. A list of “must-have” qualities I was looking for in my husband.
2. A “bonus” list of qualities I wanted in my husband, but weren’t a requirement.
3. Prayers for my husband.
4. Letters to my husband.
5. Lyrics to love songs and poems.
6. Pictures.
etc.

Keep in mind that I had no idea who I would be marrying – but it was something to remind me to pray for him and it was good for me during those single years when it sometimes gets lonely and you wonder if you’ll ever find him!

So, when the time came that I finally met the man I was going to marry, it became even more special. I could now write prayers for him, knowing what his needs were. I could now write letters to him and write a name and picture a face! I could now record the love songs that I had written myself for him! It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed putting my love and time into this creation. After we became engaged, I was going through several old journals from when I was a teenager and I found more prayers that I had recorded for my future husband from as far back as 13 years old and 15, which I then copied into this journal as well.

It was amazing to see how God has been so faithful to answer all of my prayers! And God even took the silly, seemingly unimportant desires of my heart and fulfilled even my “bonus” list! He is so good! What was really special though, was when I surprised Joe on our wedding night with this journal as my gift to him. It actually moved him to tears, seeing all the prayers and letters I had written before I even knew him. But God had known! And this journal is still a special momento to look at today.

Now, I told you all this to tell you of a new season and a new journal that the Lord has prompted me to begin…one that I have decided to dub “The Hannah Season”.

More to come in my next post…

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