“So none of the other things can work?”
“No. None of the other things are the Bridegroom.”
“And who is the Bridegroom?”
“The Bridegroom is God, the One for whom we were created.”
“So we have to find Him.”
“More than that,” he said. “A bride doesn’t just find the Bridegroom; she marries Him. So it’s not enough to find God; you must marry Him.”
“Marry God? How?”
“By joining every part of your life and being—your deepest parts, your heart, your soul, your wounds, your longings, your desires, everything—to God. Only then can you be complete. Only then can your deepest needs and longings be fulfilled. For the mystery of our hearts is the mystery of the bride. And the bride can only find her completion in the Bridegroom. And the Bridegroom of our souls . . . is God.”
The Mission: Put away anything that substitutes for His presence, and join all that you are, your deepest parts, to your Bridegroom.
Deuteronomy 6:5; Song of Solomon 1:1–4; Ephesians 5:28–32
The Mystery of the Calah
DAY 7
THE POWER OF THE YUD
THE TEACHER LED me out into the desert ravine where we sat down in the sand, face-to-face. He picked up a stick and, with the slightest of movements, created the smallest of marks in the sand.
“This can change your life,” he said.
“An apostrophe?”
“A yud.”
“What’s a yud?”
“A yud is a letter, the smallest of Hebrew letters . . . barely more than a dot, so small you could miss it. From the yud came the Roman letters I and J. And from the yud came the Greek letter iota.”
“As in ‘not one iota.’”
“Yes, or as in ‘not one jot.’ It all comes from the same tiny letter.”
“So it’s the smallest of letters. Why is it significant?”
“That’s the point . . . as the smallest of letters, it is most significant. It is the yud that begins the greatest and most sacred of Hebrew words: The sacred Name of God, YHVH, begins with a yud. The land of God, Israel, begins with a yud. The City of God, Jerusalem, begins with the yud. And the name Jesus, in Hebrew, begins, as well, with a yud.”
“And what does it all mean?”
“The greatest of words begin with the smallest of letters. In the same way, the greatest works of God begin with the smallest of strokes. Life itself begins on a scale so small, it can’t even be seen. It’s the secret of the yud.”
“And how does one apply it?”
“We are called to the new and to change. But by nature we avoid both newness and change. So how do you change? How do you go from a life of failure to a life of victory? It’s an overwhelming prospect. How do you do it? With the yud. You start by taking the yud of steps, the smallest of steps but toward the greatest of changes. You don’t start out with a great victory, but you take the yud, one small action, one little step toward that great victory. You take that one step, that yud of courage, that iota of change, that smallest stroke of new beginnings, the yud of the life you’re called to live. You begin the greatest of things with the smallest of strokes. You begin by applying the secret of the yud.”
The Mission: Today, take the smallest of actions, but in a new direction, the first step toward the life of victory you’re called to live—the yud of a new journey.
Job 8:7; Acts 3:4–9
The First Step
DAY 8
THE MIDBAR
HE TOOK ME out in the desert to an immense valley surrounded by reddish mountains, which turned increasingly purple and blue as they extended out into the far distance.
“What words come to your mind,” said the teacher, “when you look at the desert wilderness?”
“Dry . . . barren . . . hot . . . austere . . . severe . . . hard . . . forbidding . . . ”
“And when people go through hard times—times of loss, crisis, tragedy, loneliness, conflict, hardship, problems, separation, tears—they speak of going through the wilderness. And yet the wilderness is a holy place. It was in a desert wilderness that God gave His Law, His Word, and where He revealed His presence. The wilderness is holy.”
“So the hard times in our lives are holy?”
“For those who are His children, yes.”
“How so?”
“In Hebrew, the wilderness is called the midbar. Midbar comes from the root word dabar. And dabar means to speak. What is the wilderness? It is the midbar. And what is the midbar? It is the place of God’s speaking, the place of His voice. It’s where God especially talks to us. Why did He bring His people into wilderness, into the midbar? So He could speak to them. He brought Moses into the midbar to speak to him through a burning bush. He brought Elijah to the midbar to speak to him in a still, small voice. So too He brings us into the wilderness that He might speak to us.”
“What is it about the wilderness that makes it the place of God’s speaking?”
“Look around you,” he said. “What do you see?”
“Rock, sand, mountains—not much.”
“That’s why,” said the teacher. “God speaks, but we don’t hear. We have too many distractions. But in the wilderness the distractions are gone. So God brings us to the wilderness that we might hear His voice. Therefore, do not fear or despise the wildernesses of your life, and don’t despise His removing of the distractions. Rather embrace it. Draw closer to Him. And listen to what He is saying. Seek to hear His voice, and you will hear Him. For the wilderness in your life is not just a wilderness. It is holy ground . . . the midbar . . . the place of His voice.”
The Mission: Put away the distractions, those things that keep you from hearing. And go into the wilderness, the midbar, and seek the voice of God.
Deuteronomy 8:2–16; Psalm 46:10; Jeremiah 29:12–13; Luke 3:2
The Midbar
DAY 9
THE SHAMAYIM AND THE ARETZ
HE LED ME out in the darkness of the night to a sandy expanse. There we lay down and gazed up into the star-filled skies.
“It’s so vast,” said the teacher, without turning from his upward gaze.
“The sky?” I answered. “I would think it is.”
“In Hebrew, the word for heaven is shamayim. The word for earth is aretz. When you hear a Hebrew word that ends with im, it’s a sign that word is plural. So what does this tell you?”
“The word for heaven is plural . . . but the word for earth is not.”
“Correct. Shamayim, heaven, is plural, but aretz, earth, is not. And it’s not just the words; it’s what the words represent.”
“Which is . . . ”
“That which is earthly is singular. That which belongs to the physical realm is finite. Everything that is physical is limited. That’s why, no matter how much of the earthly realm you get, no matter how many earthly possessions you possess, it can never fill you or bring you completion.”
“Because they’re limited,” I said, “because they’re finite.”
“And so a life focused on the physical . . . ”
“Is a life filled with limitations.”
“But if you empty your heart of physical things . . . ”
“Then you empty yourself of limitations.”
“So the things of earth are finite,” he said, “but the things of heaven are infinite. The physical is limited, but the spiritual is unlimited. Only that which is spiritual, the infinite, can fill the heart.”
“But how does one get away from living in the earthly realm?”
“One doesn’t,” said the teacher. “You can’t escape living in the earthly realm–but you don’t have to live of the earthly realm. You must deal with earthly things, but you don’t have to fill your heart with them. Set your heart on that which is heavenly. Fill up your heart with that which is spiritual. For heaven is shamayim, and shamayim has no limitation. And, therefore, a heart filled up with that which is spiritual and that which is heavenly . . . ”
/> “Becomes unlimited.”
The Mission: What are your possessions? Today, let go. Free up your heart of its earthly possessions. And fill it up with the spiritual and heavenly.
Isaiah 55:9; Philippians 4:8–9
The Hebrew Mysteries I–IV
DAY 10
THE SERPENT’S BLOOD
DO YOU SEE it?” asked the teacher.
“Behind the rock,” I replied.
It was a snake, brown and black, and slithering in the desert sand.
“What do you know about snakes?” he asked.
“I know to avoid them.”
“Nothing more?”
“Not much.”
“What you should know is that snakes are cold-blooded.”
“Why is that important?”
“You’re warm-blooded. And because you’re warm-blooded, you can run and keep running. But a snake, being cold-blooded, is limited in its ability to endure, to keep going. Therefore, you can outlast it.”
“That’s good to know,” I replied.
“In the Scriptures, the serpent is a symbol of evil.”
“Why is that?”
“Not because snakes are evil in themselves but because they provide a representation of evil. They often move by twisting. And so the nature of evil is to twist. A lie is the twisting of the truth. The impure is the twisting of the pure. And evil, itself, is the twisting of the good.”
“So then if snakes are cold-blooded, then, so, in some way, is evil?”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “Evil is cold-blooded. What that means is this: Though evil may have its day, its victories, its time to move and strike—it remains coldblooded. Therefore, it can never endure. No matter how powerful the evil may appear, no matter how triumphant and unstoppable it may seem, it cannot last. Deception is cold-blooded. Hatred is cold-blooded. Slander is cold-blooded. Oppression is cold-blooded. All evil is cold-blooded. And so the power of evil is only for the short-term and the momentary. Its days are always numbered. And in the long run, it always fails.”
“But the good is not cold-blooded,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “So, in the end, the good will always outlast the evil. Therefore, persevere in the good, keep going in what is true, keep standing for what is right, and you will overcome and prevail in the end.”
The Mission: In the face of whatever evil, trouble, attack, or sin you’re dealing with, don’t give in. Don’t give up. But press on in the good.
Isaiah 54:17; Matthew 24:13; John 1:5
Snake Busters I–VI
DAY 11
THE FACE IN THE WATERS
WE WALKED FOR some time until we came to a pool of water hidden at the foot of one of the desert mountains. We sat down by its edge.
“Smile,” said the teacher.
So I did.
“No,” he said, “smile into the waters. Lean over the waters and smile.”
So I did.
“Now make a face of anger.”
So I did.
“Now open your hand and stretch it over the waters as if giving a gift.”
So I did.
“Now do the opposite.”
“What’s the opposite?”
“Stretch your hand to the waters, close it and withdraw it, as if taking something away.”
“I’m not seeing the point of this.”
“Oh, but there is a point,” he said, “and the point is critical for you to learn. When you smiled at the waters, there was a man smiling back at you.”
“My reflection.”
“And when you glared at it, the face of an angry man glared back at you. And when you stretched your hand out to the waters to give to it, the hand in the waters stretched back to give to you. And when you reached toward the waters to take from it, the hand reached back as if to take from you. This is the law of reflection. As you do, so it will be done to you. If you bless others, you will be blessed. If you withhold blessing, your blessings will be withheld. If you live by taking, it will, in the end, be taken from you. If you live a life of giving, it will, in the end, be given to you. Condemn others, and you will be condemned. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Live with a closed hand, and His hand will be closed you. Live with an open hand, and His hand will be opened to you. What you give will be given back. What you take will be taken back. Therefore, live a life of love, of giving, of blessing, of compassion, of an open hand and heart. Whatever you do, remember what you saw here. Live your life in view of the face in the waters.”
The Mission: What is it that you seek from life and from others? Today, make it your goal to give to others the very thing you seek.
Proverbs 27:19; Luke 6:37–38; Galatians 6:7–10
The Face in the Waters
DAY 12
THE COSMIC LOVE
DEFINE LOVE,” SAID the teacher.
“Love is to want the best for another,” I replied.
“Yes,” he said. “And to put it another way, love is to put yourself in the place of another, to feel their feelings, walk in their shoes, weep with their tears, rejoice in their joys, take upon yourself their burdens, and give to them your life.”
“I like that.”
“The Scriptures declare that God is love,” he said. “If God is love, He must be the greatest love, the ultimate love. Do you believe God loves us?”
“I do.”
“Then what must love do?”
“Love must put itself in the place of another.”
“So what would be the greatest possible manifestation of love?”
“That God . . . would put Himself in the place of another?”
“And how would that actually manifest? What would be the greatest manifestation of love?”
“God would have to put Himself in our place . . . He would have to walk in our shoes.”
“Yes, and feel our feelings.”
“And cry our tears.”
“And take upon Himself our burdens,” he said, “and our judgment . . . and our death, to save us, to give us life. He would give His life.”
“Then if God is love,” I said, “that’s what He would do.”
“Then,” said the teacher, “the greatest possible manifestation of love has already manifested . . . on our planet. God putting Himself in our place. And so there is no greater love you could ever know,” he said. “When you feel it and when you don’t, it doesn’t matter—it doesn’t change anything. Nothing you do can alter this love. No good work can increase it. And no sin can lessen it. When you feel it and when you don’t, it’s there nonetheless. We cannot change it—we can only receive it and be changed by it. We can only let it change us. For the greatest possible love has already been manifested. God has come down. It is only for us to receive it and to do likewise.”
The Mission: Today, practice the divine and cosmic love. Put yourself in the place of another—your feet in their shoes, your heart in their heart.
John 15:12–13; Romans 5:6–8; Philippians 2:5–9
God in Our Sandals
DAY 13
THE EAST-WEST CONTINUUM
IT WAS DAWN. We were watching the sun rise over the desert landscape.
“Kedem,” said the teacher. “It’s Hebrew for east, a most critical direction.”
“Why?” I asked.
“The Temple of Jerusalem was built according to the kedem. It had to face the east. The altar of the sacrifice was at its easternmost end. The holy of holies was at its westernmost end. Everything else was in between. So everything in the Temple existed on an east-west continuum. Everything that took place in the Temple took place on an east-west continuum. Most importantly, on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, the sins of Israel were atoned for, removed from the people, on an east-west continuum. The high priest would offer up the sacrifice in the east, and then sprinkle the blood on the ark of the covenant in the west. He would journey back and forth on an east-west continuum. And the closing act of the day would see the sins of the people symbolic
ally removed from the west to the east.”
“But why is that more significant than if it was a north-south continuum?”
“Because,” said the teacher, “the earth is a sphere . . . and it turns on its axis on an east-west continuum. Therefore, the earth has a north pole and a south pole, but no east or west pole.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“How far is the north from the south?” he asked. “Since there are two poles, the distance is limited. All north comes to an end at the North Pole. And all south ends at the South Pole. If the Temple had been built on a north-south continuum, then sin would have been removed a few thousand miles from the sinner. But how far is the east from the west? East and west have no poles. Therefore, they never end. East and west are infinite. They go on forever. In fact, the Hebrew word for the east, kedem, also means everlasting.”
“But back then no one knew the earth was a sphere.”
“God did. And all this is a shadow of the atonement of Messiah, our salvation. So in Messiah, how far does God remove your sins from you? An infinity away . . . an eternity away. And if you had all eternity, you could never find them again. As it is written, ‘So far has He removed our sins away from us . . . as far as the east is from the west.’”
The Mission: Today, take time to ponder and take in the love of God that removed your sins as far as the east is from the west—and live accordingly.
Leviticus 16:14; Psalm 103:10–12
The Mystery of the Kedem
DAY 14
KISSING GOD
THERE WAS A gathering in the school’s open-air tent. It was a time of worship and praise. We were just outside the tent listening.
“What do you think of,” asked the teacher, “when you hear the word worship?”
“Singing, hymns, prayers, words of praise . . . ”
The Book of Mysteries Page 3