One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
Psalm 27:4-5 (ESV)
As I meditate on Psalm 27:4-5, I am aware that the psalmist, like me, not only desires, but is seeking holiness–something that only comes from God. Holiness cannot be summoned up or acquired through human effort. It is best understood to be transferred from the holy One, God Himself. To be near God–in His presence–is to have the best chance at holiness.
The psalmist also seeks to see God and inquire of God which speaks to me of communion, of fellowship with God. This also takes place in God’s presence. For the Israelite this would have meant being in the Tabernacle or the Temple where the glory of God resided in ancient Israel.
In Psalm 27:5, the psalmist goes on to speak of the protection of Adonai who “will hide me in the day of trouble.” Then, in what is beautifully intimate imagery, the psalmist says that God “will conceal me under the cover of his tent.” To be in His tent suggest being part of his family, is to be no longer a stranger, no longer alien to the household of God. The final image of the verse is one of protection. “He will lift me high upon a rock,” out of the way of trouble, far from the reach of my adversaries and enemies.
Who is like our God? Only God can extend intimacy to me–intimacy cannot be grabbed for or taken; it must be given, opened to me. Like the psalmist, I desire intimacy with God. To see Him, to be with Him, to speak with Him, to be hidden by Him, to be taken into His family and to be protected by Him. Thank You, Abba, for this offer of intimacy you make to me through the sacrifice of Messiah.
Qumran, Israel
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As a believer in Adonai, I am a communication from God. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3) He writes a letter to me on my heart, but at the same time, He is writing a letter to those around me. It is His love letter to them. I am the ambassador, bringing the message of hope and restoration to them. (2 Corinthians 5:20) The message is His. The heart is His. The life is His. For it is as true of me as it was of the Apostle Paul who wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
As a living epistle, I evidence the completed covenant Adonai made to put His Torah within us, and “write it on [our] hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:33) It is important to remember that despite what it may sometimes appear, my flesh and the adversary have no access to edit the letter Adonai is writing on my heart. He alone is the “author and finisher.” (Hebrews 12:2)
If I accept these assertions of scripture, then I must ask, “What is my life saying?” “What is God saying through me to those around me?” It is also important to ask, “What is God saying to me –what is the content of the letter He is writing on my heart?” The answer may be more than I want–it might be greater than I can understand. Remember that Adonai knows how to write epic stories. He wrote Esther from captive to Queen. He wrote David from shepherd boy to King. He wrote Joseph from slave to second to Pharoah. He wrote Saul from killer to apostle.
Adonai wants to write on our lives that we might seek to know our Author and receive the goodness He has promised. He writes, so that as His epistles, we might be read of all men-as a witness to the manifold glory of God.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
We throw words like mercy and forgiveness around like inflatable beach balls across the well-worn net at the ocean’s edge. It is all kingdom entitlement with little consideration of the underlying truth. Being able to ask for mercy is a privilege. It implies that there is One who has the capacity to punish and harm–it is He from whom we seek mercy. In asking for mercy from God, we are acknowledging His right to bring judgment and just consequences. He alone is God. Let your words be few.
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2.
Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. Philippians 3:13-14 CJB
I love that he calls them brothers. Despite having just finished giving his credentials in Judaism to them, he reflects his renewed priorities in Messiah Yeshua. He doesn’t think of them as talmadim (disciples) as a Rabbi would, but rather he calls them (us) brothers–suggesting an equality unheard of in his culture and religious system prior to his meeting Yeshua the Messiah on the road to Damascus.
He gives us three things in this short passage that are worthy of comment and meditation:
Forgetting what is behind me In making this statement, Paul is telling us that his past is no longer going to be in the center of his thoughts and focus. This is important to think on for a moment. Our past grows in size and importance often as we age. It can loom as a great disappointment–failed relationships, failure in career, failure in faith and pleasing God. It can also loom large a great point of success as it did with Paul. He lists in Philippians 3:5-6, his claims to religious fame–these are things of considerable importance in Jewish culture. We may also have great accomplishments in career, academia or even in religious circles. What Paul is saying is to work on forgetting those things, both good and bad, and move forward with God. It is true that our past forms us, it carves us and imprints on us–but Paul is letting us know that it is not the end of the story in our relationship with God. He is telling us to work to forget what came before and who we were before we met the Messiah and live with God in the now by the power of the Spirit. (Galatians 2:20)
Straining forward toward what lies ahead The verb “straining” is a strong action verb. It suggests intentionality and going beyond oneself, going beyond one’s current location. We are not to be pew-sitters or Youtube watchers only, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling–get out of our chairs, get out of our houses, get out of our normal routine, seek the kingdom of God. To strain for what lies ahead means to be longing for God’s coming kingdom as well as for opportunities to share the love God, the beauty of His majesty, the comfort of His close presence. Straining implies I am making an effort to see God’s kingdom come. Life with Adonai is not a spectator sport.
Keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize To keep pursuing requires steadfastness, determination and diligence. We must decide to follow Yeshua as the example of righteous living. We must continue steadfastly and with determination in Adonai’s commands, and we must use diligence to follow the dictates of Torah–the instructions for righteous living.
What is the goal? The goal is to live righteous lives as true witnesses of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–Adonai. The goal is to keep Torah by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must be the witnesses that God’s word is true and that His ways are pure and holy. This life of righteousness will impact the world around us–it will show us to be different. It will cause us to stand out, which is exactly what it was intended to do. “Be holy as I am holy,” says the Lord God Almighty.
What is the prize? Eternal life with God. To rule and reign with Yeshua. To be forever in the presence of Adonai–never separated from Him. Eternally His.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 Amp)
With God everything is about motive, about intention, about the heart. Yeshua is warning in this passage those who would seek to serve God while keeping an eye on the world and what it can offer. The divided heart is not a new problem. God, through the prophet Hosea accuses the Jewish people of having a divided heart because of their love of idolatry. (Hosea 10:2). David also speaks of the divided heart in Psalm 12. “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. (Psalm 12:1-2)
In the Apostolic writings, James offers a stern warning against double-mindedness. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask in trust, doubting nothing; for the doubter is like a wave in the sea being tossed and driven by the wind. Indeed that person should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord, because he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8) The remedy is offered by James later in his letter. “Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded people!” (James 4:7-8)
Let us consider our hearts before God. Are they divided? Do I hold things in my heart above God? Is He second to my desires, my ambitions, my job, my kids, my hobbies? Search this thing out for it is no small matter. To have a divided heart is to be unfit for the God’s kingdom–the coming kingdom–the forever kingdom.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (CJB)
This verse offers insight and encouragement.
If anyone . . .
As many Pastors like to say, “anyone” means “anyone.” Thus, we should not understand this as the passage for the super-holy or the seasoned saint. This can be taken to heart by the recent convert and even the one just plucked from the fire. That “anyone” in Christ is a new creation.
United with the Messiah . . .
In other translations, this phrase is rendered “in Christ.” In the Amplified version, “in Christ” is further explained as being “grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior.”
We are united with Messiah when we believe that Messiah (Christ) is who He said He was (God incarnate) and did what He said He did (provided a once-for-all sacrifice for sin, so that mankind could be reconciled to God through the blood sacrifice of the Messiah (Jesus Christ).
Belief not just in the existence of a historical figure–because that has never been in doubt, but belief in what Yeshua said about Himself and the connection He made between Himself and the teachings of the Hebrew scriptures. One cannot believe in Yeshua without believing and relying on the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament). These were the only scriptures in existence at the time Yeshua said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39
New Creation
Being united with Messiah is more than simply a state of mind. This belief must be accompanied by actions that confirm a change has occurred. Being a new creation requires being born again. (John 3) Being born again speaks of the new life or new creation possible when one is born from above–born as a result of the indwelling Spirit of the one true God.
This new creation (birth) should be evident by new life, new patterns, new choices, and other marks that one has been changed from within, not by mere changes rooted in human effort. James said that true faith is accompanied by works. It is a yoke (the yoke of heaven) to be taken upon one’s self. It is a life committed to righteousness–the righteousness laid out in Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This life now; however, is not lived by obedience to rules, but rather obedience to the Holy Spirit planted within making the creation new and guiding the new creation in the ways of God. This should be evident and should testify of the work of creation in the individual’s life. Being born again, being a new creation–these are not hidden works. They will be evident to all who know us. Even if we are not perfect–we will be different and more righteous than before–fresh and new!
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As I encounter the Holy God, El Shaddai, Y-H-W-H, HaShem, Adonai . . . call Him by any one of His myriad of names–as many as there are aspects of His character and people who desire to know Him–I’m confronted with unwelcome truths about myself.
I am unholy. I become painfully and shamefully aware of my sinfulness in the presence of his holiness. It is impossible to enter into the divine presence without sensing how unlike Him I am. He is righteous, pure, just, merciful . . . I am not. If I were not to remember the righteousness of Christ that became mine the moment I believed, I would be desolate and inconsolable, eternally separated from the only true and living God.
I am finite. My end is clear and unmistakable in the presence of His infinite nature. I am but dust, like grass, a vapor His Word declares. With Him, I would be insignificant, a dust speck on the face of the sun were it not for the significance He has given me, ordaining my days before the foundation of time, laying paths for me to walk in, calling me by name, collecting my tears . . .
I am temporal. God is eternal and in His presence, I am pulled temporarily into the eternal realm, but my feet are planted here–in the temporal realm. The eternal part of my being calls to me, bids me seek that eternal nature of God. It is only through connecting with God that my temporal nature can be made eternal–it is only through Yeshua and the covenant of His blood that I have the promise of eternal life with God.
My heart isn’t always right. The presence of God reveals the state of my heart. It is the light that exposes darkness, revealing everything that tries to keep secret, hidden. It is impossible to hide from God.
The character of God sometimes frightens me. Sometimes I find that I have taken for granted my relationship with the Creator. I remember His righteous standards, and I fall short. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It is right to fear Adonai. It is right to give honor and glory to the King of Heaven. In His mercy, He remembers that I am mere dust and draws me close. He alone is God. There is no other.
I am not alone in this terror of God. Job experienced this terror. “This is why I am terrified of him; the more I think about it, the more afraid I am.” Job 23:15 (CJB)
Isaiah responds similarly, “Woe to me! I [too] am doomed! —because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!” Isaiah 6:5 (CJB)
Fear should lead us to worship for surely He is worthy of our praise and adoration.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Psalm 62:5-7
I love this. My own struggles reflected in the psalmist’s description. The psalmist says, “my soul, wait.” He is instructing his soul. He is saying to himself, “don’t become anxious, just wait. God will come through.” He confirms that all that he wants or needs is found in the one true and living God, Y-H-W-H.
Our soul is the entirety of our being–mind, heart, and emotions. I hold nothing back–leave no thought to flutter away to other concerns. Every ounce of my being is focused on, expecting Him–His glory and majesty, His provision, His protection, who He is and what He has done. The Psalmist confirms this when he says, “He only . . .” (Emphasis added.)
The Psalms says, I wait “for God alone.” This single-minded devotion is a natural out-flow of the command in Deuteronomy 6:5 (the Shema) to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” The Psalmist is modeling for us the life lived under the yoke of heaven.
I confess with the Psalmist, I have no other Gods before Him. He is my heart’s one desire. Worshiping God is what I was made for, but it is also what I most enjoy.
And so I wait as the Psalmist waited. In the waiting, God comes. After He comes, I wait enveloped in His presence. His Shekinah glory lights me up!
I wait silently. As Solomon said, “God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.” In the silence, I am filled with expectation–hope. Hope for provision, hope for protection, hope for healing, hope for renewal, hope for revival, hope for the future here and with Him–the endless eternal with God.
The Psalmist gives voice to his expectation in verses 6 and 7. Speaking of Adonai, he says, “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense . . . In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”
God is my rock–unlike sand or soil, He doesn’t shift or move. He is reliable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is my rock of strength–a place where no enemy can reach me. He is my hiding place. In Psalm 27:5, the Psalmist tells us “in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
My experiential knowledge (not mere book knowledge) of God’s character as my rock and my strength–allows me to say with the Psalmist–“I will not be moved. I will not be shaken.”
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Jeremiah chapter 2 lays out the causes of an unfortunately all-to-familiar phenomenon in the life of a God-follower: Falling away. In modern church-speak it may be called apostasy or drifting. Those who fall away lose their taste for the things of God, His Word, His presence, and His people. They are often lacking self-awareness and personal accountability for their conduct. They may seek to blame others for their failures and for their own apostasy.
To “fall away” is really a misnomer. Falling suggests lack of control or choice. Make no mistake, falling away is a choice–a series of little, seemingly inconsequential choices. It may be simple things. For example, Psalm 1:1-3 outlines warns against bad company. Moses warned them about the choices in the wilderness, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
In Jeremiah chapter 2, we are given additional valuable insight into why Israel had fallen away from God, and how He viewed their apostasy.
Falling Away Occurs where there is Ungratefulness
Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and the shadow of death, through a land that no one crossed and where no one dwelt?’ I brought you into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. Jeremiah 2:6-7 (NKJV)
God notes that His people either disregarded or forgotten all that God had done or them in bringing them out of Egypt and caring for them the forty years in the wilderness. They have so disregarded what He had given them as to defile it by their worship of idols and other related abominations. He accuses them of being ungrateful for His provision of the land of Israel with its bounty. This ungratefulness has contributed to their falling away.
Falling Away Occurs under Poor Leadership
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; the rulers also transgressed against Me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Jeremiah 2:8 (NKJV)
God, through the prophet, describes the situation where the priests, those responsible to teach and guide the people in spiritual things, did not have a relationship with Him. He goes on to say those entrusted with political leadership sinned against His law, and finally, the prophets, who were to speak the word of the Lord to the people, failed and turned to idols. The Israelites didn’t have elections to choose their leaders as we do today in state and federal government, but they did have the ability to speak out against corrupt and ungodly leadership, especially in the house of God. Leaders can be wrong and misleading. It may be intentional or a drifting away from the truth. We must be diligent to always test what is being said from the pulpit or the lectern against the absolute truth of God’s Word.
Falling Away means forsaking God for false Gods and Self-reliance
“Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate,” says the Lord. “For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NKJV)
This passage is so sad. God counts apostasy as a two-fold offense. First Israel rejects the true and living God, who has been faithful to them–who has given life and sustained life as the fountain of living water. Instead of living water, they choose polluted water, the kind that comes from broken cisterns which cannot even hold the rain water but allow it to be defiled by mixing with the dirt around it. Non-potable, unuseable, unable to sustain life. It is a choice to die, and God says as much through the prophet Jeremiah.
Self-reliance and self-confidence are two enemies of the believer today. It is easy to build up your personal strength rather than your reliance on God. It is a subtle difference, but one which can lead to less trust in God and more on one’s own abilities and resources. Life comes from living water. The living water comes from God–He is the source of living water–the water that brings with it life. We need to come to that fountain and forsake the broken cisterns of our own making.
Falling Away occurs where there is Resistance to God’s Correction
“Why will you plead with Me? You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord. “In vain I have chastened your children; they received no correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.” Jeremiah 2:29-30 (NKJV)
Correction is an essential part of being a child of God. It speaks of a close and ongoing relationship between each of us and God. We know we are loved because He corrects and teaches us. Moreover, one who receives correction is wise. (Proverbs 15:5) When we refuse God’s correction and ignore His discipline, we become distanced from Him and apostasy consequence.
Throughout the writings of the Major and Minor Prophets, God warns Israel about apostasy and falling away from Him. He gives them opportunities to come back and be restored to relationship with Him, but in the end, judgment falls in Israel and they go into captivity because they fail and refuse to return to God. May we learn the lessons taught in the pages of the Hebrew Bible. God is not mocked. What a man sows, that will he reap.
Let us consider ourselves: the company we keep, the hardness of our hearts, our resistance to God’s correction, the weakness of the leaders we follow, and the tendency in our hearts towards self-reliance. Be warned that such attitudes and conduct lead to a falling away from God. Beloved, choose life! Return to your first love.
It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page.
Rooted and Grounded 