Sabbath – a Time of Worshipping the Father and our Lord Jesus through His Spirit of Truth, Leading us to a Place of Resting in His Presence.
The Garden Catalogue For Today
Come to Me (John 6, I Am the Bread of Life)
Do you want to know what God wants from you?
What’s the work that you should do?
Jesus said: This is the work of God
To believe in Me
Come to Me and feed and be taught by the Lord
Come to Me and believe in the One sent by God
I am the Bread of Life eternal
And I’ll satisfy your deepest need
You’ll never thirst again, you’ll never hunger
You’ll live forever in Me
I will raise you up on that final day
To live with Me
I will not reject you
As My Father draws you near
I will not reject you
Don’t you waste your time on food that rots and dies
But food that lasts eternally
True Bread from heaven giving life to all the world
Who believe in Me
I need You, I need You, Jesus
You’re the Bread of Life eternal,
Life for all the world
And the only food I ever really need
I need You, I need You, Jesus, Jesus
(c) Sharon Jane, 2015 www.livingstream.net
The Mystery of heart pain
J Cahn The Mystery p 171 The Priest’s Separation an extract……
That which is Holy is that which is set apart for the purposes of God. Every degree of holiness is matched by an equal degree of separation ….because it is written 1 Peter 2:9
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
So, if we belong to God …we’re a priest. And every priest and holy vessel must be separated from everything else, set apart for God….. How does this happen today we might ask?
He separates His priests from the ‘world system’…by using vessels of this life to take them from the world and bring them to Himself. He uses the disappointments of your life ……the rejections …the heartbreaks, the crises of your life……the wounds, the sorrows, the disillusionments, the frustrations, the troubles, the failures, and the brokenness of your life. He uses everything, whatever it takes to separate you to Himself – through the fear of the Lord.….as His Priest – to form a singleness of our heart and action.
So he uses all things, the good, the bad, for holy purposes. And more than that, all of these things were, in the end and from the beginning holy and sacred…..no matter how they came, or how they felt, or what they involved.. They were by reason of their purpose, sacred. They were all the vessels in the separation of the priest. And He will continue to use such things in your life….as much as they are needed, to bring His priest back to Himself, and closer to Himself…..and to greater realms of the holy …for that which is separated to God is holy.
Today, give thanks for all those things that have brought you to God – even those things that have been heart aches – as the holy separation of the priest. Exod 28:1-2, Ezek 44:16, 2 Tim 1:9.
We discover the answers to the mystery of our pain, in the Power of God’ S-WORD that Heals our hearts as we surrender to Him by His Spirit. We need to choose to be set apart as Holy before the Lord for His purposes. We rejoice to be those who testify to what it means to be set free from darkness. Like David, this shift from a ‘divided heart’ to ‘Give Me An Undivided Heart’ Ps 86:11; comes through the fear of the Lord to dwell in the Lord’s light and Blessing of His amazing grace, truth and forgiveness. We are in the journey to wholeness with the Lord uniting our heart so that we are no longer torn as His Shalom peace prevails.
Paul the Apostle challenges the believers in Corinth about their divided hearts, calling them to come out of the worldly lusts, to be fully set apart and made Holy by returning whole heartedly to the Lord – perfecting holiness in the fear of God in 2 Cor 6:11-7:1.
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Call Corinthians’ to Repentance………
7 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God… coming into the Lord’s Peace and growing in the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Heb 12: 1-13 The Race of Faith
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Discipline of God
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the [c]chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no [chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Jer 32: 38-40 God desires one heart and one way for His people and Priests
38 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
May the Lord Restore our hearts to wholeness through His Word and bring His encouragement through the Psalms
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He [a]knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Steadfast to the End
by: Rev. Terry Mason, Director of International Development
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“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).
This sage advice from the apostle Paul applies to each of us today. We live in perilous times of world history. Is your faith and walk with the Lord ready to withstand whatever may come? Are you steadfast, immovable and abounding in the work of the Lord?
Trees
Have you ever tried to move a tree? Trees give us a word picture of an immovable force. One Biblical example is in Isaiah 61:3, “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
When a tree is young, the sapling is easy to uproot and move, but once the tree has firmly taken root, it is very difficult to move. In fact, if you try, you may just end up hurting yourself in the process. Some of the most difficult work that I have ever done was trying to dig out a mature tree. Finding and cutting through the roots—well below ground level—is not for the weak of heart. It requires real determination.
Pastor Mark Witte recounted a literal run-in he had with a tree. He learned first-hand just how strong and immovable a tree can be. As a young boy, he was in his grandparents’ yard playing ball when a ball was hit in his direction. He kept his eyes on the ball as he moved to intercept it—without realizing that the trajectory he was on led him directly into a large old tree. Ouch! His small stature was not enough to move the tree. His subsequent bruises reminded him of the strength of that tree.
Most trees are solid. They withstand violent storms and all kinds of weather. God called the nation of Israel an olive tree. The olive tree was an integral part of the Jewish peoples’ lives during biblical times. When God used the olive tree as an image for Israel, they knew immediately what He was saying to them—that they would be strong and hearty; that regardless of the enemies that came against them, they would be virtually indestructible, outliving their enemies; and that they would always bear fruit and be a light to the nations.
We should seek to make our lives more like the trees around us. They are strong, resilient and full of life due to their deep roots. We also need deep foundations. I am reminded of Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) teaching in Matthew 7:24–27 about building a house on firm foundations, the bedrock of His teachings. He said that if we obey His teachings, the storms of life could blow against our lives, but we would not fall. However, those who hear His words and do not do them is like a house built on the sand, which will fall when life’s storms come against it. The enduring truths of God’s Word will guide and strengthen us for life if we hold fast to them.
Perilous Times
God’s Word makes it clear that in the latter days, as mankind’s history nears its end, life will become increasingly difficult. Those who believe in the one, true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and try to live by His guidelines, will experience significant opposition.
In 2 Timothy 3:1–5, Paul warned his protégé, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
Sadly, that list sounds all too familiar in our day, even at times from within the Church. Verse 4 says that in the last days, some will hold to a form of godliness, although they will deny its power. We need to be on guard and keep our own faith strong and steadfast.
In Matthew 24:5–7, Jesus (Yeshua) warned His disciples that at the end of the age there would be false prophets, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes around the world. Yet that these would only be signs of the beginning of the end. He warned that we should not be deceived.
Falling Away
Jesus (Yeshua) continued in Matthew 24 to warn that many would fall away because of the intense persecution of those days. The love of many will grow cold as lawlessness increases. Then in verse 13, Jesus taught that the one who endures (is steadfast and immovable) until the end will be saved.
Paul also wrote about this falling away or apostasy near the end of the age. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3a, he admonished, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first.” And to Timothy he wrote, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:1–2).
The Last Days
In our Christian understanding, the end of the age or the great day of the Lord, is drawing ever closer. We see the signs of the times happening at an increasing pace. Can you feel the pressure rising daily? Jewish commentators speak of this time as the Final Redemption, when Messiah will come and put all things right in the world to the glory of God. All nations will stream up to Jerusalem to serve the living God. Many in the Jewish community see what is happening in the world and also acknowledge that time is short.
We read about this time in Isaiah 2:1–4, “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
With this approaching time in mind, how should we live our lives? Many Christians long for this time to come so that they can leave this godless earth and go to heaven. However, a Hebraic mindset views it very differently. Dwight A. Pryor, of blessed memory, explained in his book, A Continuing Quest, “Greek thought stresses an other-worldly spirituality, with our ‘true home’ in heaven…We are not saved just to be taken out of this world but to help bring God in the world, to extend His redemption and advance His kingdom in the earth—a goal that one day shall be consummated in Zion.”
Strong to the End
As we remain in the world while sin and lawlessness increase, how can we continue strong in our faith, faithful to the end? Here are some reminders from the Scriptures to meditate on and put into practice.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.” 2 Peter 3:17
“With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalms 119:10–11
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NASB
“If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…” Colossians 1:23a
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul admonishes the Thessalonian believers that they should not be quickly shaken from their composure or be disturbed. Also, in Philippians 2:12b, 14–15, Paul tells them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
In Hebrews 3:12–14, the author warns, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”
In 1 Timothy 4:13–16, Paul gives wise advice that is relevant for all of us today. “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”
As we ground ourselves in reading, exhortation and sound doctrine, as we meditate on these things, giving ourselves entirely to them, we will stand firm, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord no matter what may lie ahead.
Photo Credit: Click on photo to see credit
Ps Susan Hammer – Cry of an Eagle Revival Ministries (South Africa)
Why are we using the BREAD for Communion
Click Here for the Notes from the above communion session.
Joh 6:53-57
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Heb 10:20
20 By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;
Our Worship Song for the Week:
Worthy Is The Lamb – Song by Hillsong Worship
Ps Jeff’s Special Today: “Not hearing the cry of the poor”
Today’s issue is not hearing the cry of the poor. Proverbs 21:13 states: “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.” And the Lord Jesus said: ” For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7:2)
Being candid with yourself and the Holy Spirit, is this old pattern of thinking someone else will handle the poor still blocking your serving your Almighty Creator today? Is there any remnant of this old pattern needing to be confessed to Him, your Teacher (Matthew 23:10)? Are there any old vows you made in this area that now need to be removed? Do you think this is only applicable to the disciples 2,000 or 3,000 years ago? Do you have any residue of a residue of this issue for such a time as this? Was it connected to your upbringing as a child? Was it a family pattern in any way?
God bless you as you seek His Holy Spirit Wisdom and Comfort on this issue. May you go forward on His path, “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
