Offerings

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is T'rumah, meaning "Offering." The title comes from the first two verses of the reading in Exodus 25: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering (teruma - see below). From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart (leb/lebab/labab - heart, mind, soul, emotions, understanding, wisdom, inner part [of a man], center, conscience/ravished my heart, be wise, make the heart beat faster, transport with love) you shall take My offering." (Ex. 25:1-2). 

     All of the reading portions for this Sabbath, Ex. 25, Ex. 27, 1 Chron. 22, 1 Kings 5, 1 Kings 8, 2 Kings 12, deal with the building of the tabernacle or the building of the temple of God, the places that housed the presence and glory of God. What kind of offering will build these physical and, as we will see, spiritual sacred places? It is very important for us to understand the kind of willing offering that the LORD is requesting in order to build His house, the place of His dwelling among His people. The tabernacle and temple were the most important physical structures to Israel and also play a major role in scripture. However, for this Sabbath, the title tells us that it is the teruma offering that the LORD wants His people to consider.

     The Hebrew word for "offering", which is also the title of the Sabbath reading, is teruma/rum. Teruma contains both a positive and negative meaning. The positive, powerful and awesome meaning in the Hebrew is: "offering, heave offering, burnt offering, a present offered especially in sacrifice or as a tribute/exalt, lift up, high, offer, give, heave, extol, lofty, rise up, set on high, be lifted up, become powerful, exalt as victor, exalt with praise, be extolled with praise, cause to grow." Jesus said of the willing offering of Himself: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up (see above) from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die." (Jn. 12:31-33). This willing teruma "lifted up" offering of Himself, turned the world upside down. It is this same offering that draws "all peoples" to Him and to salvation. We can see how important it is for us to understand the teruma offering.

     The teruma offering is to come from our heart, our deepest part, according to the above verses. The meaning above for "heart" is beautiful. However, there is also a negative meaning connected to teruma/rum, "offering", including: "rotten, wormy, breed worms, presumptuously, proud, haughty." We will see where this negative meaning in connection to the teruma offering of the heart might come from. 

     The Hebrew words in the verses above that are translated as "heart" can also carry a negative meaning: "be deprived, be void of heart, empty and void, imbecility and dullness of human understanding compared with the divine wisdom, to wound." We need to look into our hearts as we bring our offerings to the LORD. An offering that has the potential to exalt and lift up the LORD, cast out His enemies, and draw all peoples to Him, can just as easily become an offering that is rotten, full of worms and our own self-importance, self-righteousness and pride, empty and void of heart towards the LORD.

     A Perfect teruma Offering for sin, Jesus, was sent by God (see Heb. 10:5-7, 14, 2 Cor. 5:21) to elevate, lift and raise us also from the lowliest state to a state of honor, to a state that causes us to be seated with Messiah/Christ in the heavenly places (see Eph. 2:4-7). This is the power of Messiah/Christ's teruma offering. This is the same offering that builds the House/Tabernacle of God.

     How can an empty heart and, as a consequence, a wormy rotten offering, affect the House of God? 

     The prophets wrote of how the LORD refused the offerings and sacrifices of His people because the condition of their hearts had become corrupt. (see Amos 5:21-24, Isa. 1:11-13). Jesus spoke of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of the time, who congratulated themselves for minutely following the Law of Moses pertaining to tithes (the giving of the tenth to God) but ignored the weightier principles of the Law: justice, mercy and faith... and the love of God. He called them blind guides full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (see Mt. 23:23-28 and Lk. 11:42). Their hearts contained no real love for God or His principles and character.

     While the house of God is built by the teruma offerings brought based upon the obedience, love and worship of God within our hearts, it is also destroyed by the neglectful, rebellious and unloving hearts of God's people as we will see.

     Only the finest and most precious elements were used to build the tabernacle and then the temple by those of willing hearts and according to the heavenly *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega pattern (tabnit - pattern, plan, likeness, form, similitude, figure, resemblance) (see Ex. 25:9) shown to Moses by the LORD. This *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega pattern of the tabernacle and later temple reflected the resemblance and form of the Messiah/Christ (see *note below). Israel carried upon their shoulders the prophetic promise and likeness of Jesus Messiah/Christ with them as they moved the tabernacle from place to place in their journey. The furnishings within the tabernacle were placed in the pattern of the cross and the encampment of the tribes around the tabernacle was in the form of a cross.  However, the people began to depend and take assurance from the presence of the physical edifice, however, rather than the grace, glory and atonement provided by the presence of the LORD who dwelt among them.

     In one instance, the prophet Jeremiah exposed this false assurance of a people who had turned away from God, yet relied upon the physical presence of His temple to keep them safe from their enemies. The prophet wrote the warning Word of the LORD: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these." (Jer. 7:3-4).  The Word of the LORD reminded Jerusalem of how He allowed His tabernacle in Shiloh to be destroyed: "And now, because you have done all these works,...and I spoke to you rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh." (Jer. 7:13-14). The LORD was willing to see the House called by His name destroyed because it no longer contained the love and devotion of His people.

     David wrote that the sacrifices and offerings brought to the LORD meant nothing without coming from a heart of delight in God, in His Word, in His righteousness, faithfulness, salvation, loving kindness and truth as shown by David's declaration of these things before others. (see Ps. 40:6-10). This is the kind of heart-birthed teruma offering that builds the House of the LORD. As David described this kind of offering in the House of God, he included this prophecy concerning the coming Messiah/Christ: "Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me." (v. 7). Again we see the true meaning and power of the teruma offering connected to Jesus Christ.

     In a powerful correction to His own people who brought corrupt "wormy" offerings out of a neglectful and corrupt heart, the LORD allowed His house where He placed His name, His House by which His own people identified themselves as different from among the nations, both the tabernacle and two temples, to be destroyed by enemies that overran Israel, such as the Philistines in Shiloh, the Babylonians in Jerusalem and the Romans in Jerusalem. Judgment begins in the house of the LORD based upon the hearts of His people towards Him. (see 1 Pet. 4:17, Ezek. 9:3-11, Mal. 3:5-7).

     In Malachi, the LORD prophesied of sending the coming Refiner, even the Lord Himself, for whom the people were waiting and delighting. Then the LORD asks: "But who can endure (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-sons-of-Levi (the tribe of priests serving in the House of the LORD), and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness." (Mal. 3:1-3). The LORD's own priesthood, the Levites, which served in His House, had to be purged, cleansed, purified and refined in the spiritual fire of the Refiner, the Messiah/Christ. They had become cursed because they did not glorify God and they did not take His Words to heart. (see Mal. 2:1-2).

      In the week of His crucifixion, Jesus broke out into a holy rage of zealousness (Jn. 2:13-17, Ps. 69:8-9) for God's House, as prophesied, when He came to the Temple in Jerusalem and drove out the money-making profiteers who had set up their lending and selling of offerings in the Temple. After Jesus cleansed the Temple in this manner, the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple to be healed. The priests and other religious leaders were not pleased "and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching." (see Mt. 21:12-16, Mk. 11:15-18). Was Jesus zealous to the point of overturning rage for a physical building only? And especially one that He knew would be destroyed within a generation of His death and resurrection? I believe that He was fighting for much more than the physical temple.

     I have to wonder at the greater meaning of all of the scriptures, only some of which are covered by this Sabbath reading portion, dealing with the House of God and the offerings pertaining to it. Many chapters of scripture are dedicated to revealing the most minute details regarding these things. Ezekiel received a vision of yet another future temple, and both the prophets and Jesus described the role the House of God would play in the events of the latter days before His return. It is not a small topic in the Word of God. It seems to me that both the House of God and the teruma offerings of His people reflect the true heart of the people towards the LORD - do they view Him and His House as an empty but necessary religious obligation, or are they seeking Him, honoring Him and lifting Him out of love, reverence and gratitude?

     How we view the House of the LORD and the teruma offerings that we bring take us to a New Testament revelation: Because of the willing eternal teruma offering of Jesus Messiah/Christ out His love of His Father in heaven, the House of God is now built, not of curtains or stone, but of living people. Those who are part of Messiah/Christ are living stones being built into a spiritual house. We are..."a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5). As Peter compares the believers in Christ to a holy priesthood, then the offerings that we bring are not just on our own behalf, but like the Levitical priests, the offerings are brought to the LORD on behalf of all of the people. Are we able to see the far-reaching effects of the teruma offering? What a wondrous privilege and calling have been given to us!  Is this the way, in the role of holy priests, that we view the offerings that we bring to God? Think of the implications of such teruma offerings, and their effect upon all people.

     Paul wrote that we are temples of the Holy Spirit of God, because the Holy Spirit is within us as believers in Christ: "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 3:19-20, see also 1 Cor. 3:16-17). Wormy and rotten offerings from an empty heart without love for God is not acceptable in His spiritual House any more than they were acceptable to Him in His physical House. Paul wrote that our great offering is to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, being transformed from the thinking and ways of the world "...that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom. 12:1-2). Are we viewing the offerings that we bring to God with the mind of the world, or with the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit? Not only do we present physical offerings to God but also ourselves as a spiritual offering proving the will of God for and to all men.

     Finally, we are given, in the Book of Revelation, a new heaven and a new earth, a picture of the City of God descending from heaven, and with it, a special tabernacle with God: "Then I, John, saw the holy city (see also Mt. 5:14-16), New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as (hos - even as) a bride (see Rev. 19:6-9) for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with (meta - amid, among, after) men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.'...But I saw no temple in it, for the LORD God Almighty and the Lamb (referring to Jesus) are its temple (naos - sacred edifice or sanctuary at Jerusalem, spiritual temple consisting of the saints from all ages of time joined together by and in Christ)." (Rev. 21:1-5, 22). For the first time, I see this city descending from heaven, not as a city in the usual brick and mortar sense that we may think, but as a Body of living stones, the glorified resurrected believers, the Bride of Christ, and in the heart of this living Body, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have made their dwelling place. This is the ultimate result of the exalting, lifting and rising teruma offering (see meaning above) from the heart that is transported by the love (see leb/lebab/labab above) and delights in God.

     From this I am seeing that the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) pattern of the tabernacle and its furnishings given to Moses was always based upon a living tabernacle which is built from the willing teruma offering of Messiah/Christ and those who are joined with and in Him. 

     If you would like to learn more about teruma offerings of the tabernacle, you can join my prayer: "LORD God and Father, You are teaching deeper things about Your tabernacle, the offerings, and the heart of Your people. I know that these things have great significance in Your Word, and in Your plans for all people. By Your Word and Spirit, let my heart and mind be transformed so that I am able to learn, understand and live these things. You are the God of the living, and Your salvation and glory are for the living, and Your desire is to dwell forever among and within living men. Help me to understand the power and prophetic significance of the teruma offering, in the likeness of Your Son, brought to You with a heart of love. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Law&Spirit

The Apostle Paul walked in revelation from the Lord, and preached the Gospel of salvation in synagogues and among the Gentiles in various nations. His writings comprise most of the New Testament. He was trained in the Law of Moses under one of the most respected and honored rabbis of his time, Gamaliel the elder, who was a Pharisee as Paul was, and who also held a chief position in the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish Council during the first century. Gamaliel is still known today as one of Israel's greatest teachers of scripture. Gamaliel is mentioned in the New Testament in Acts 5:33-42. Early in the history of the Church, the apostles were brought before the Council for judgment, and Gamaliel, one who was respected by all, said of their forbidden preaching: "...I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it - lest you even be found to fight against God." This advice was accepted by the Council, and the apostles were ultimately released. Later in time, Paul would have an encounter with Christ in His glory speaking to him from heaven, and Paul would become a dedicated believer and then teacher to the churches he founded. Paul said of his own Torah background before he personally encountered the glorified Jesus: "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city (Jerusalem) at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictures of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today..." (Acts 22:3). The high priest and Council of elders of Jerusalem could attest to Paul's zealousness for the law (v. 5). With these credentials, as well as having been a student of Gamaliel, Paul was welcomed to teach in any synagogue. If someone was looking for a Torah expert, one probably could not find a greater expert than Paul. Yet Paul said of himself: "...I was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent man...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." (1 Tim. 1:13, 15). Paul said that he found mercy with the Lord, because the persecution that he did, he did in the ignorance of unbelief (v. 13). Even as an apostle, Paul acknowledged in a letter to the Church in Rome what many of us would have difficulty admitting: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice....For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (rom. 7:18-25). Because of his very personal understanding of this struggle, and his deep study of the Word of God, Paul never lost his great gratitude and zeal for what Christ had mercifully achieved for him. Paul is an example of someone who studied the Law and the Prophets, but still missed God in the time of His visitation (Lk. 19:41-44), and severely persecuted those who did receive Him. How did Paul account for this duality? He marked the difference between those who worship God in the Spirit, and those who worship God in the flesh (in which dwells no good thing -Rom. 7:18 above). This is what Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi in Greece: "For we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things (of fleshly identity and accomplishment) were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." (Phil. 3:3-7). Jesus also spoke of the time when true worshippers would worship God, not according to their natural circumstances and characteristics or religious dogmas, but "in spirit and truth", because God is Spirit. Jesus spoke this revelation to a Samaritan woman of immoral reputation, the last kind of person with which the religious Jews would discuss spiritual matters (Jn. 4:23-24). However Jesus waited alone at a well just for the purpose of encountering her in order to reveal this life-changing truth. Paul said that all of his ethnic and "religious" identity and strict observance really meant nothing when contrasted with his faith and life in Christ. Yet we may argue that our flesh keeps us alive, moves us through work and life. However, the Word of God disagrees: "...they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being..." (Acts 17:27-28). We do not live because of our flesh, but we live in Him, the Lord God, who is Spirit. Our minds fight against this idea, but even our minds need to be washed and regenerated in the Word of God (Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 5:25-27). Even this must be a work of Word and Spirit together. What does all of this have to do with this week's Sabbath reading portion? Hopefully, we will see! This week's portion is a double portion titled Nitzvarim (meaning "are standing", from Deut. 29:10) - Va yelech (meaning "Then he went out", from Deut. 31:1). In this Sabbath reading portion, Moses speaks with great concern about the Israelites understanding of God: "Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: 'You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes...Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive (yada - see below) and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day." (Deut. 29:2-4, excerpt). They were eyewitnesses, and had experienced the miracles of God, but spiritually, they didn't have a clue as to who God was because the LORD had withheld this from them. Moses knew that he would die soon, and he dreaded what would become of the people of the LORD because they were without this spiritual revelation of God. Moses as a prophet even saw the time, almost a thousand years in the future, when the Israelites would go into captivity because they had turned away from the LORD. (Deut. 30:1-4). After returning the Israelites from this prophesied captivity: "And the LORD your God will circumcise your (aleph-tav [same as Alpha and Omega Jesus in Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13]) heart and the (vaw [nail]-aleph-tav) heart of your descendants, to love the (aleph-tav) LORD (YHWH - yod, he, vaw, he - "Behold the hand, behold the nail") your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (hay/haya/hava - life, live, revival, renewed, sustenance/live, save, revive, quicken, restored to life and health, revive from death/to breathe, to show, declare)." (Deut. 30:6). This is a work of transformation by the Spirit , as we see the Hebrew word for "life", accomplished by the aleph-tav LORD, not by man's determination or flesh. The end result is a circumcised aleph-tav heart of love for the LORD, rather than a religious observance of the flesh. This is what leads to life, a life revived from the dead. Moses said to them: "...for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death?" (Deut. 31:27). He wanted to impress upon the Israelites that the Word of God is not just words written on a tablet or page, to read and know with the head, "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it...I command you today to love the (aleph-tav) LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land...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 your length of days..."" (Deut. 30:11-20, excerpt). When Moses referred to the Word being in their mouths, which is profession and confession, and in their hearts, which is faith or belief, it brings to my mind the way of personal salvation that Paul wrote of in Romans 10:8-11: "But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is directly from the command of Moses to the people of God. The transforming Word resides in our hearts and mouths because we love the LORD God, as Moses said. Jesus also said that this is the great commandment of the law (Lk. 10:25-28, Mt. 22:35-40). Moses stressed that the LORD Himself was with them, and would cross over before them into the Promised Land to defeat the nations inhabiting it: "The LORD your God Himself crosses over before you...He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you...do not fear nor be dismayed." (Deut. 31:3, 6,8, see also Mt. 28:18-20). The people had already seen the LORD and His mighty miracles, and Moses told them that the LORD went with them, but He was still far from their hearts. Moses wanted the people to know God by the Spirit, as he knew God. How could he communicate this vital thing to a people who had declared that they did not want to hear directly from God? (Ex. 20:18-21, Deut. 5:23-27). Yet, it was knowledge that was necessary for them to understand if they were to live, and Moses was running out of time. In another reading portion from this Sabbath in Isaiah 61, the prophet wrote: "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me..." (v. 1). We know that Jesus proclaimed this same prophecy fulfilled as He read it in the synagogue (see Lk. 4:16-21). It is by the Spirit of the LORD that miraculous transformation occurs in this chapter of Isaiah. There is, by the Spirit of the LORD, a relationship between the LORD Messiah and His people, who are made priests and ministers of God, that is compared to a Bridegroom and a Bride (v. 10). It also says: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in My God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness." (v. 10). The earth and the nations will witness this revival and transformation in God's people by the Spirit of God (v. 11). We can see that we do not clothe ourselves, according to Isaiah's prophecy, with these spiritual garments, but the LORD clothes us as He pardons our sins. It is a spiritual transformation, not achieved by the flesh. In a similar example from scripture, the prophet Zechariah records a vision in which the High Priest Joshua has his filthy garments removed from him as the Angel of the LORD says: "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes." And then the Angel of the LORD tells Joshua to keep the LORD's commands, and walk in His ways. (Zech. 3:1-10). In Isaiah 63, another Sabbath reading for this week, regarding mention of the love, lovingkindnesses and mercies by which the LORD redeemed His children who had turned from him, the (aleph-tav) Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of the LORD, is mentioned three times, including, "But they (Israel) rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit" (v. 10). It is interesting to note that Isaiah also prophesied in this chapter of a people who call God their "Father", but of whom Abraham was ignorant, and Israel does not acknowledge, yet the LORD their Father from everlasting redeemed them (v. 16). The term "everlasting" is connected to the Father" in only one other place in scripture. It is found in the prophecy of the birth of the Messiah, the Savior (Jesus) and His titles and names in Isa. 9:6-7. The concept that Paul taught regarding the importance of the Spirit of the Lord in the life of the believer has its roots in Moses and the Prophets. It is by the Spirit of God that the people of God are revived and restored. The Word of God (Jesus: Jn. 1:1-3) and the Spirit of God were never meant to be separated from each other. Jesus, the Word, is in fact the Baptizer or Sender of the Holy Spirit upon man (Mt. 3:11, Jn. 15:26). Scripture was not written by men's beliefs, but is given by inspiration of God (theopneustos/pneo - divinely breathed in/to breathe, to blow, breeze) (2 Tim. 3:16). Scripture is not subject to man's (flesh) interpretation, but must be joined with the same Holy Spirit breath by which it was created: "...knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private (idios - his own, part, pertaining to self) interpretation (epilysis/epilyo/lyo - unloosing, interpretation, application, explanation/unloose, untie,/to loose, break, destroy, dissolve, break down, to do away with), for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet. 1:20). In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Jeremiah wrote the Word of the LORD concerning the true and ultimate disposition of His Word, and it just happens to repeat what Moses had told the people of Israel that they must understand: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the (aleph-tav) house of Israel and the (vaw-aleph-tav) house of Judah - not according to the (aleph-tav) covenant that I made with their (aleph-tav) fathers...My covenant which they broke (see Deut. 29:25), though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the (aleph-tav) house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My (aleph-tav) law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his (aleph-tav) neighbor and every man his (aleph-tav) brother, saying, 'Know (yada - know, perceive, distinguish, confess (see Rom. 10:8-10), admit, acknowledge, revealed, know by experience) the (aleph-tav) LORD', for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). This, the LORD said, He promised with love out of His everlasting love, and loving kindness (v. 3). If you would like to learn more about the work of the Spirit of the LORD in our obeying, and living by the Word of God, and His essential transformational work in us, you can pray with me: "Dear Everlasting Father, I ask that You show me the work of truth by Your Spirit in my life, and by Your Spirit, put Your Word in my heart, mind, and mouth, so that I can be changed by it, and conformed to it. Help me not to rely on my flesh or my own understanding in order to walk with You and in Your ways, but guide me by Your Spirit. Deliver me from false confidence in my own righteousness, and clothe me with the salvation and righteousness of my Savior, Jesus. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

Giving

This entry is for "the givers", and you know who you are. Many of us give faithfully to a ministry, a church or a synagogue, a leader of a congregation, a building fund, a denomination, a critical need, an emergency, a church program such as "missions", or the church food pantry, and so on. The needs are very real for ministries, but the "supply" often seems to fall short of the need. I think that in the times ahead, economic pressures on ministries may even increase. It is time to examine our giving.
For some of us perhaps, as conscientious as we try to be regarding the giving of tithes and offerings, we can often leave out the most important factor. Although we are sincerely trying to fill a need with what we have in our pocket, we are leaving out the Miracle Worker, the Multiplier, our Father in heaven. This is about the heart of the one who gives. We don't want to be like ones who honor God with their lips, but who have removed their hearts far from Him (Isa. 29:13, Mt. 15:8).
Paul said:
"Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus ("lovely, "devoted", root meaning-superimposition of time, place, order, etc.) the things sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma (fragrance of incense or the pleasing smell to God of sacrifice), an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches (root-to fill, to be filled) in glory (good opinion concerning (God) resulting in praise, honor, and glory, judgment, splendor, belonging to God) by Christ Jesus."   Phil. 4:18-19
Our offering is made not to a church, or to a need, or to a leader, but to God. His riches in glory in this case, as Paul describes, are created from praise, honor, glory given to Him with our offerings. He then supplies us from those riches. This is a supernatural conversion of an act of loving worship from a giver's heart, into a miraculous supply. Our Father certainly knows when we have bypassed Him, and have tried to supply the need from our own natural riches, whether large or small. These needs cannot be met by natural wealth. These needs are met when we give in glory, honor and praise to the One who turns natural wealth into supernatural abundant provision. Natural wealth is depleted. The supernatural wealth of God in Christ never runs out. Give to God with all praise, honor, thankfulness, gratitude, love, devotion, loveliness, holiness, glory, and He will abundantly supply from the riches in His glory created by what our heart offers to Him. We make a great mistake when we leave our Father out of the picture of giving, when we leave Him out of our hearts in this activity of worship. He is the whole, miraculous, vital ingredient. Giving in God's kingdom is not about what is in your wallet, but about what is in your heart. The sweet savor that comes up to Him doesn't come from the smell of our money when we offer it. It comes from the sacrifice of love from the soul that should be offered to Him with and through that giving. 
When even something meant for good, like giving, comes out of our own strength, it is limited by the flesh through which it was given. Giving out of our own strength is giving without Spirit, without the miracle life that it was created to have. In another place, the scriptures say, "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."  Col. 3:23-24
It is also interesting that God, according to the Philippian scriptures, supplies us with His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. When Jesus performed the miracles of the multiplication of the fish and the loaves, He offered them first to God with a blessing to Him: "And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed (to give thanks) and broke and gave..."  also, "Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them...and likewise the fish, as much as they wanted."   Mt. 14:19, Jn. 6:11
I know Jesus did not offer empty words and feelings to His Father, but heartfelt thanks. From that kind of heart of giving, came the miracles of loaves and fishes by which He fed thousands, to be forever remembered throughout the earth. We also know the attitude and heart with which Jesus gave with thanks and love to His Father, even in the giving of His own life. In the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine that represented His own body broken, and His own blood poured out for us, He gave thanks (1 Cor. 11:24, Mt. 26:26). The term, Eucharist, which we use in connection with communion, means "thanks". This is the heart that Jesus had toward the Father in giving, that He could give heartfelt, miracle working thanks to Him even in His own death. That very love and thankfulness assured the miraculous multiplication from the giving of Christ in His death, burial and resurrection that no man could have anticipated. That multiplication of souls and lives continues today, and will continue past the end of this age, and past the end of measured time itself. If I reduce my own giving from this height of glory to God, into an exercise of duty, or natural effort, thought and expectations, I remove it from the realm of exponential multiplication power in God's riches in glory.
When we are first saved, many of us are thrilled to be able to give something back to God. I couldn't wait to give. I would search for things to give, even after I had given in the form of money. All I wanted to do was to express my gratitude and love, even in this small way, for the supernatural thing He had done in my life. Have we lost that precious love and appreciation in our giving?
To one of the churches, Ephesus, Jesus said this:
"...and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love....repent and do the first works..."  Rev. 2:3-5
From these verses, and from looking at my own experience, I can clearly see that the works we do out of our first love, are different than the works we do without that earnest love. This would include our giving as well. While Jesus recognized the natural, even obedient efforts that the church at Ephesus made for His name's sake, He warned them and us to return to our first fresh love and gratitude to Him, and the resulting works we had previously done. This is where the life is. This is where the miraculous is. This is where God's riches in glory are. Jesus said that the failure to restore that first love in Him would cause our lampstand to be removed from us (v. 5). What is a church or a believer without the lampstand of Christ in the midst? It is not much at all.
To all of "the givers" out there: If you can relate to what I am talking about, join me, and together we will stir up our first love in every work of faith, especially our giving, bringing us into the miraculous realm of our Father's riches in glory.
"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."
                                                                                                              2 Cor. 9:7-8

Our Father is calling us back to our first love in our giving.

The Doxology

The Doxology (Another Version)

Hearts

Christmas is approaching, and I don't think it is a coincidence that at this time, an incident was brought strongly to my remembrance from when I was young.
My Mom had a booth at an indoor market, something like the photo above. This market assembled together vendors who sold all sorts of food, household items, clothing, you name it. She sold there for several years, and also selling in a booth across the aisle from her was an older couple, the Newmans. Mr. and Mrs. Newman were very close to my Mom, and Mrs. Newman would often walk across the aisle to lean on my mother's counter and shoot the breeze. Finally, Mrs. Newman just kept a chair there, and spent the day sitting and talking with my mother between customers. Once I got into high school, I spent Saturdays at the market, helping Mr. and Mrs. Newman at their booth.
One day, Mrs. Newman gave us the terrible news that she had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. We were all broken hearted. For me, it was like losing a grandparent. As the weeks and months passed, Mrs. Newman had difficult days more and more often.
One day, we were standing together at my mother's booth, when Mrs. Newman, who was Jewish, asked my Mom if she believed that there really was a heaven. Even though I was only in high school at the time, I knew what Mrs. Newman was really asking her gentile Christian friend: "Is salvation really true?"
I know at this point in my story, many of you are thinking that this was the perfect opportunity to open the scriptures, and give the Gospel to this Jewish lady. I would think that also, but my Mom was not a Bible scholar by any means.  I remember when I first discovered salvation, I couldn't figure out what the Holy Spirit did! I thought I would ask my Mom, who had been raised in a Southern Baptist church until her young adulthood. When I asked her what the Holy Spirit did, she answered, "I don't know." While my Mom was never able to give "chapter and verse", she knew God and Jesus, in whom she sincerely believed.
So, when Mrs. Newman asked her whether heaven was a reality, my mother answered that she absolutely, without a doubt, believed that there was a heaven for us when we died. Mrs. Newman, just looked at my mother's face for several seconds, as if she was looking to confirm that faith that she heard. Satisfied, she nodded her head.
Yes, I know, you might disagree with my Mom's blanket statement regarding the promise of heaven. However, that day, not too long before her death, Mrs. Newman wasn't looking for a Bible lesson. She needed to look into the eyes of someone she loved and trusted, whom she could depend upon to give her an honest answer, the most important truth she could hear at that point near the end of her life. And that's exactly what she got. She got faith and truth from a friend's heart.
That very simplified expressing of the Gospel that day, put all men's great knowing to shame, because it was spoken from the treasure of my Mom's heart to her dear friend.
We can know a great deal of scripture, or not much, and however much we know of it is of great value. However, the truth we know in our hearts, and communicate from our hearts is the real treasure. Heart-held truth is powerful and convincing:
"...The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."   Rom. 10:8-13
Sincere words from our hearts convey not only our own faith and truth, but the love and care we have for the person with whom we are sharing. For God's word, and the gift of salvation that He gave us in His Son, were gifts that originated from, and were wrapped in His love for us (Jn. 3:16-17). The love and the gift cannot be separated. As we bring that same gift to others, we can't forget the wrapping of love that came with it. People can discern whether we speak from a place of genuine caring for them, or not.
I very much believe, especially because God has brought the memory so vividly and repeatedly to my mind at this time, that when I get to heaven, I will see my Mom and Mrs. Newman standing together at a counter, shooting the breeze, waiting for me to join them. At the same time, He is reminding me not to leave my heart out of His gift to all men, because the heart is the most important ingredient.

Our Father gave us His Word from His heart.

"The Father Heart of God"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGgasHvEkDc