Psalm 23; Isaiah 43:1–2; Jude 1:24–25
The Lulav
DAY 166
THE SECRET OF THE BLESSED LIFE
WHAT IS A blessed life?” asked the teacher. “And how do you live it?”
“A blessed life is a life that’s been endowed with God’s favor and blessing.”
“But if God blesses, why are some blessed and others not? Why do some of His children live lives that are especially blessed and others do not?”
The teacher led me to the well in the middle of the open square where the students would often gather together. On the well’s circular stone ridge he placed two cups, one upside down and the other right side up. He then lifted up a bucket of water drawn from the well and held it over the two cups. “The blessing,” he said. He then poured the water over the two cups. Then he lifted the upside-down cup and turned it right side up. It was, of course, empty.
“The blessing was poured out on both cups,” he said, “but only one is filled with the blessing. The other is empty. Both were blessed . . . and yet only one is blessed. You see, there are two parts to being blessed and living a blessed life.” We began walking away from the well as he continued talking.
“Isaac was preparing to give a blessing to his firstborn son, Esau. But it was his other son, Jacob, who ended up receiving the blessing. He received the blessing because, more than his brother, he set his heart on receiving it.”
“But Jacob went about it the wrong way,” I said.
“He did,” said the teacher. “But his desire to receive the blessing, and his willingness to go to any length to receive it, was not wrong. You see, it is not just the giving of the blessing that was crucial, but the receiving. And so, there are two parts to a blessed life. Most people focus only on the one; they want the blessings to be given to them. But they miss the other part. You see, the blessing has already been given. It’s here. It’s pouring out from the wells of salvation, the wells of Messiah’s redemption. But who is the one who is blessed? The one who receives the blessing. And who is the one whose life is especially blessed? The one who especially receives the blessing, the one who values it so much that they go to any length to receive it. So if you want to live an especially blessed life, then make it your aim to become especially great at receiving the blessings of God, and doing whatever you have to do to receive it. For a blessed life is not simply the life that has been blessed . . . but the life that has received it.”
The Mission: The blessings of God are pouring down. Open your heart and life to receive them. Focus on receiving that which is already given.
Genesis 27:15–29; Ephesians 1:3–12, 18–20
The Blessing
DAY 167
THE TEMPLES OF DESECRATION
IT WAS EVENING. I and several others of the students were sitting around the campfire listening to the teacher.
“Who was the most famous person,” asked the teacher, “ever to celebrate The Festival of Chanukah?”
He waited for a response, but no one said anything.
“Jesus,” he said, “Yeshua. Most people have no idea that He did or that Chanukah is found in the New Testament. But it is written: ‘It was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was wintertime, and Yeshua was walking in the temple . . . ’ Do you know what the word for dedication is in Hebrew?”
Again there was no response.
“It’s Chanukah. The Feast of Dedication is Chanukah. Do you know why it’s called that?” There was no response. The teacher continued. “In ancient times, the Temple of Jerusalem was desecrated by pagan invaders. Idols were set up in its courts. It became, in effect, a pagan temple filled with degradation. In the end, the Jewish people drove out the invaders. They found their Temple defiled and desolate. They removed the idols, cleansed its courts, repaired its chambers, restored its vessels, rekindled its holy lampstand, and rededicated it to God. The Temple’s rededication was called ‘Chanukah.’”
“But God has another temple,” he said, “another holy dwelling place created for His presence.”
“But God’s Temple could only be built in Jerusalem,” said one of the students.
“There is another,” said the teacher, “many others. The temple is you. Each of you were created to be the dwelling place of God’s presence, the holy temple of His glory. It’s man. Man was created to be God’s temple. But now the world is filled with the temples of desecration.”
“What does that mean?” asked another of the students.
“Every life is made to be a temple filled with God’s presence. But without God’s presence we become a temple desecrated, defiled, darkened, filled with idols . . . a temple created to be holy but fallen from its purpose.”
“So, what do you do,” I asked, “if that’s you?”
“You open the doors of your life and you let God come in. You let Him take out your idols, cleanse your impurities, restore your purpose, light up your heart, and fill your life with His presence. For when you rededicate the temple to God, God will fill it with His glory . . . In other words, you become the temple of God and your life becomes . . . Chanukah.”
The Mission: Today, celebrate your own Chanukah. Remove the idols. Cleanse your chambers. Rededicate and reconsecrate your temple to God.
Ezekiel 36:25–27; John 10:22–23; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16–7:1
Rededicating the Temple
DAY 168
THE LAW OF COSMIC MOTION
IT WAS THE warm afternoon of a sunny day. The teacher and I were sitting under the shade of a nearby tree.
“Newton’s First Law of Motion,” he said. “An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by another force.”
At that he threw a small rock up into the air, then caught it as it came down.
“When I threw up the rock, it was an object in motion. But then it stopped rising. It was acted upon by another force, the force of gravity. Newton’s law applies to forces within the natural world. What if we take it to its ultimate level? What about the motion of the world itself?”
“What do you mean?”
“The world is fallen. Its motion is that of a fall, the motion of sin, of evil. So how do you stop that motion, the motion of the fall? How can you end sin and evil?”
“Many religions and ideologies would say you just turn away from evil and turn to good.”
“How?” asked the teacher. “An object in motion remains in that motion . . . ”
“Unless acted upon by another force,” I said.
“Yes, so it could only happen through another force. So what is the other force? It can’t be of the world, but must be other than the world, beyond the world. What is other than and beyond the universe?”
“God.”
“Yes. So the answer can only come from God. But how?”
“‘Unless acted upon . . . ’ The other force must act upon the object.”
“So the force must come into contact with the object in motion. Therefore, the presence of God must come into contact with the fallen world to act upon it. And what is the cross? It is God taking all the motion of sin and evil and bringing it to an end. And what is the resurrection? It is God giving the world a new motion, the motion of life. It is God giving the fallen the motion of rising. And that’s why the only way to truly change the motion of your life is by the motion of God, by the motion of His life. And the only way to change your heart is by the motion of His heart. But unlike this rock, it’s your choice to let it happen. So the key is to let Him act upon you . . . to receive the presence of God and let the force of His life and the power of His love act upon and change the course of your life . . . For an object in motion will stay in that motion . . . unless it comes into contact with the motion of God.”
The Mission: Today, seek to receive the cosmic motion of God’s love, God’s life, and God’s salvation. And let it change the motion and course of your life.
Ephesians 2:1–9; 1 Peter 2:9�
��10; 1 John 3:16
Apprehending the Momentum of Heaven I–II
DAY 169
THE MOON BRIDE
HE TOOK ME out in the early evening. It was a full moon, and its light illuminated us to the point where I could have taken notes right there had I chosen to do so.
“Do you remember what the Song of Solomon is about?” he asked.
“It’s a love song between a bride and groom.”
“And in its deepest realms?”
“An allegory of God and His people, the Lord and Israel, Messiah and His bride, God and us.”
“And we are the bride,” he said. “In one of the verses of the Song of Solomon the bride is described as one as beautiful ‘as the moon.’ Do you find the moon to be beautiful?”
“I guess if you look at its surface, it’s not very beautiful.”
“No, it’s filled with imperfections, markings, irregularities, patches of darkness, and craters. And yet it’s called beautiful and connected to the beauty of the bride. And it’s fitting. For as the moon is filled with imperfections, irregularities, and darkness, so too is the bride. And as the moon is filled with the scars of past wounds, so too are we.”
“Then how can the bride be called beautiful?”
“Her beauty is the beauty of the moon. The moon isn’t beautiful in itself. Neither are we. The moon’s beauty is in something other than itself. Its beauty is in its light. And its light is not its own, but of the sun. The moon is beautiful inasmuch as it reflects the light of the sun. If it were able to look at itself in a mirror, it would only see imperfection, scars, and darkness. But if it forgets about itself, and looks into the face of the sun, then it shines with the radiance of the sun. And that is the secret of the bride’s beauty.”
“That we aren’t beautiful in ourselves, but that our beauty is in that which is other than ourselves.”
“We are as the moon and He as the sun. And as the moon’s light and beauty come from the sun, so our light and beauty come from God. If we focus on ourselves, we only see imperfections, scars, and darkness. But if we forget about ourselves and focus on Him, and see the beauty of His light, then we ourselves will shine with His brightness. And His light will overcome our imperfections. And we become beautiful. Never make the mistake of living a life focused on yourself. Forget yourself. Turn to Him. Dwell in the beauty of His presence. Then your life will become a reflection of His, and you’ll shine with the light of His radiance.”
The Mission: Today, turn your focus away from yourself and to Him. Let your imperfections be lost in His radiance. And let your life shine with the light of His beauty.
Exodus 34:29; Song of Solomon 6:10; John 3:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18
She Like the Moon
DAY 170
THE SERPENT AND THE HEDGE
WE WALKED ALONGSIDE a garden lined with a hedge-like fence. It was a low fence and made up of intertwined sticks and thorn branches. The teacher picked up a stick and struck one of its corners. I watched as a snake emerged from the branches and slithered away.
“You know,” he said, “there’s a Scripture that relates to this, to hedges and serpents. It’s in the Book of Ecclesiastes: ‘Whoever breaks a hedge shall be bitten by a serpent.’ In the natural it makes sense. Snakes dwell in hidden spaces, like hedges. So if you break down a hedge, you risk being bitten by a serpent.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You don’t think it applies to you, do you?”
“Not very much.”
“But it does very much, and it’s a crucial key for you to know. It could end up saving your life. Hedges are what you put around gardens and anything else that needs to be protected. You put hedges around that which is alive and that which is precious to you. So you must build hedges around that which is alive and precious in your life, around your family, your marriage, your children, your relationship and walk with God, your integrity, your purity, and your calling . . . to protect them.”
“How and with what hedges?”
“Hedges not of sticks and thorns, but of godly parameters, godly boundaries . . . hedges built of safeguards, decisions, guidelines, principles, and standards . . . parameters concerning what you will and will not allow . . . lines you will not allow to be crossed . . . whatever is needed to protect such things from harm.”
“And what about serpents?”
“In the spiritual realm, the serpent represents evil, the enemy, and the satanic. ‘Whoever breaks a hedge, a serpent will bite him.’ The darkness, the sin, the evil, the temptation, the danger, and the enemy are waiting for a broken hedge. So build the hedges you must build to protect that which is precious in your life. Build them strong and firm. And once you build them, never break them. And you’ll be kept far from serpents . . . And your garden will be fruitful.”
The Mission: What is it that is precious in your life and that you need to protect? Build strong hedges around it and, having done so, don’t break the hedge.
Proverbs 22:5; Ecclesiastes 10:8; 1 Peter 2:11; 5:8–9
Snake Busters I–VI
DAY 171
THE SEPARATION OF THE PRIEST
THAT WHICH IS holy,” said the teacher, “is that which is separate, set apart for the purposes of God. Israel was called to be a holy nation. In order to be a holy nation, it had to be a separate nation. Within Israel were the Levites. As God’s ministers, theirs was a more holy calling. So they had to be separated from the rest of Israel. And from the Levites, God called the cohanim, the priests, with a holier calling. So the cohanim had to be separated from the Levites. And from the priests, God called the high priest with an even holier calling. So the high priest had to be separated from the priests. Every degree of holiness was matched by an equal degree of separation. That which is holy must be separated . . . And this has everything to do with you.”
“How?” I asked.
“Because it is written, ‘You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession . . . ’ So if you belong to God, you’re a priest, one of His cohanim. And every priest and holy vessel must be separated from everything else, set apart to God.”
“But the days when people were separated like that are gone.”
“Yes, so now He separates His priests by other means . . . by whatever it takes to separate them from everything else and bring them to Himself. He will use everything to bring you to Himself, to separate you from the rest of this world, the rejection of men, disappointment, heartbreak, crisis, hurt, sorrow, disillusionment, unfulfillment, discontentment, trouble, abandonment, failure, whatever it takes to separate His priest from the world and to Himself.”
“So then all things are used for holy and sacred purposes.”
“And more than that,” he said. “All 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, holy. They were the vessels in the holy separation of the priest. And He will continue to use them, 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.”
The Mission: Today, give thanks for all those things that brought you to God—even the heartaches—as the holy separation of the priest.
Exodus 28:1–2; Ezekiel 44:16; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 2:9
The Priest’s Separation
DAY 172
THE PROPHECY NAME
THE TEACHER LED me into one of the rooms used by the students to study the scrolls. There was no one there, but one scroll was left out on a wooden platform and opened to its beginning. He began to read from its text.
“‘Va yomair Elohim y’he or, va y’he or.’ ‘And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light.’ Notice what God did. In the world, we speak of that which is. But God speaks of that which is not. He spoke the light when it was not, and then it was. This is the way of God . . . not only
with light, but with people.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was an old man whose wife was past the age of bearing children. But God gave him the name Avraham or Abraham, which in Hebrew means father of the multitudes. He gave him a name of that which was not . . . and then it was. Abraham became the father of nations. His name was a prophecy. Then there was the man who was rejected by his family, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. But God had caused him at birth to be given the name Yosef. Yosef means he shall increase. And so he would. He would increase even to become the ruler of Egypt.”
“Joseph,” I said.
“And then there was the man who lived in fear of his enemies. But God had caused his name to be Giddone. The name means he who strikes down. He would end up a hero who against overwhelming odds struck down the enemies of Israel.”
“Gideon.”
“He too was given a name of that which was not . . . and then it was. And then there was a man of great passion but little stability. But God had given him the name Kayfah. Kayfah means the rock. By the end of his life, that’s exactly what he would become, a rock of strength.” He rolled up the scroll. “We see ourselves as we are. But God sees us not as we are, but as He called us to be. He gives you an identity not based on your past but based on your future, what you are to become. The secret is to receive that identity and believe it before you see it. Live it as if it is. So your name is no longer Rejected, but Beloved; no longer Weak, but Mighty; no longer Defeated, but Victorious. He has given you a name of that which is not. Receive it and it will be. Live by your prophecy name. It is as simple as, ‘Let there be light.’”
The Book of Mysteries Page 25