Naso

This week's Sabbath reading is titled Naso, or "Elevate!". The meaning of naso in English is "to elevate, lift up, to take a census or a sum, a measure of elevation". In this Sabbath reading, the LORD will give us a look into both His priesthood and kings, and their important role in the command to "Elevate!" the people of God. As we carry on church "life as usual", we have perhaps forgotten the root of our calling from the Torah. We also have been called to be a spiritual priesthood and kingship before God (1 Pet. 2:9-10, Rev. 1:4-6, Rev. 5:9-10). In this Sabbath reading, Aaron, Moses' brother, is serving as the high priest, and his sons are assisting him. His service in the Tabernacle deals with intercession and sin, trespass, peace and atonement sacrifices to God. On only one occasion, told to us in Numbers 6, did God give Aaron a command through Moses regarding what Aaron must speak to the children of Israel: "And the LORD spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons saying, "This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The LORD bless (barak - bless, kneel, adore) you and keep (samar - guard, give heed to, keep watch, save life, to hedge about) you; The LORD make His face shine (or - light, enlighten, glorious, to make shine, kindle) upon you, and be gracious (hanan - show favor, have mercy, to bend in kindness to; to camp, dwell, pitch a tent) to you; The LORD lift up (nasa - lift up, carry away, forgive, exalt, assist, bear continuously, desire, armor, marry) His countenance upon you, and give you peace (salom/salam - peace, welfare, prosperity, health, safety, completeness, contentment, friendship in covenant relationship with God/recompense, reward, restore, repay, restitution, full, to be finished, completed, be uninjured, perfect, to be whole).' So they shall put My name (sem - name, fame, reputation, glory, authority, character, definite position, sign, mark) on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." (Num.6:22-27). This blessing to be said by Aaron to the children of Israel placed God's name upon the people, and accomplished much in the Spirit, as we can see from the word meanings. This blessing was meant to build something prophetically within the people of God, as well as supply their immediate and natural needs. This blessing, as we can see from the word meanings, immediately brings to mind those things that are found in the Person of the Messiah, Jesus: light, forgiveness, mercy, completion, perfection, wholeness, being carried away, marriage, reward. So the prophetic promise of the Messiah is also being embedded in the people through this blessing. The people didn't have to earn or deserve this blessing. It was an obligation of the priesthood to say it as commanded by God. This blessing marked the difference between the people of God and all others. Do we, the priests of the New Covenant, understand and perform this commandment of God? In another portion from this Sabbath's "Elevate!" reading in 2 Chronicles 6, we are given a kingly example of the command Naso, or to "elevate" God's people. God has placed before us in this portion, one of the most glorious and renowned of the kings of Israel, Solomon, the son of David. His glory was so far above all other kings, that Jesus used him as an example of glory in His teaching: "...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field...will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Mt. 6:28-30). In our Sabbath reading for this week in 2 Chronicles 6, the Temple of God has just been completed in Jerusalem. It was a luxurious and glorious temple, and King Solomon is leading its dedication. All Israel was assembled before him as he stood on a platform that had been built before the bronze altar of the LORD so that all of Israel could see him: "...and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven." (2 Chron. 6:12-13). When is the last time we saw a king, or any governmental authority, kneel down, raise his hands towards heaven and pray? As kings before God, which we are according to scripture, when was the last time that we knelt down, and raised our hands to heaven to pray? What did Solomon pray to God about in the dedication of this temple? He asked the LORD to make this temple a place where God's people could pray, confess His name (v. 26), and come to Him for forgiveness (v. 21, 29-30)...a place where the land could be healed as a result of the repentance of God's people (see 7:14). Not only did Solomon pray for such a house of God for the people of Israel, but for any foreigner who would come because they believed the name of the God of Israel (v. 32-33). When Solomon finished praaying, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple." (7:1). Because of the presence of the glory of God, the priests could not enter the LORD's house (7:2). The Prophet Isaiah confirmed Solomon's prayer calling God's house a house of prayer for all nations (Isa. 56:7). Jesus confirmed the Law and the Prophets by calling the House or Temple of God to be a house of prayer for all nations (Mk. 11:15-17, Mt. 21:12-14). As the living, spiritual temple of God, we also are a house of prayer for all nations, as we have been redeemed and called "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (Rev. 5:9-10). As we saw what happened when Solomon prayed, amazing things happen when "kings" humbly and sincerely pray. Our modern politicians, even those who proclaim faith, do not pray publicly. However, there was a speech given by Ronald Reagan on February 6, 1986, that came very close, and which brings to mind the great prayer of King Solomon, and the priestly blessing of Aaron that we read above. This is an excerpt from that speech: "...We also have His (God's) promise that we could take to heart with regard to our country, that 'If My people, which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' Let us, young and old, join together...in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends...and all mankind, now and always. The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America...Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal. Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on earth. If I had a prayer for you today...it is that one we're so familiar with: 'The LORD bless you and keep you, the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace...'. And God bles you all." If you would like to know more about our calling as priests and kings, which Christ has made us, you can pray with me: "Lord Jesus, You have appointed us to minister before God and man as Your priests and kings. By doing so, we speak "naso", elevation to man, and glory to God our Father in Your name. Fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill this important spiritual assignment, not by the agendas of man, but by the command of God, and these precious examples given to us from God in His Word. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

House

There is an event recorded in all four gospels, which most indicate occurred during the week that Jesus was crucified. During that week of Passover, Jesus cleansed the temple in Jerusalem. He tore the place up. He even used a whip of cords to drive out the religious exploiters, and their animals, as well. In short, He went on a rampage during the most crowded and busiest time of the year for temple activity. People from all over the world would have come to the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. It is thought that this cleansing took place in the outer most court of the temple grounds, the court of the Gentiles, which is logical, but scripture does not specify this.
Jesus never minced words when dealing with the religious and their total and deliberate misunderstanding of the kingdom of God. They also taught this same misunderstanding to others:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."
                                                                                                              Mt. 23:15
However, His actions on this day rose to a whole different level. I have often wondered why Jesus became so violent about the situation, and I thought I must be missing something deeper in these accounts. I can start my search by looking at an amalgamation of this event from the four gospels:
"Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables (meaning banquet, feast, place for consecrated loaves) of the money changers and the seats (meaning exalted seat of rank for teachers and judges) of those who sold oxen and sheep and doves. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen. And He would not allow anyone to carry (move) wares (vessels) through the temple. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise." And He said to them, "It is Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (see also Isa. 56:7), but you have made it a den of thieves (see also Jer. 7:9-11)."  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him but were unable to do anything, because all the people were astonished at His teaching, were very attentive to hear Him."
                                                Mt. 21:12-14, Mk. 11:15-18, Lk. 19:45-48, Jn. 2:13-16*
His actions fulfilled several prophetic scriptures (Ps. 69:9, Jer. 7:9-11, Isa. 56:7).  In the one gospel account in Matthew, children began to sing and declare that Jesus was the one who comes in the name of the LORD, which also angered the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus' identity of Messiah was revealed through His action. He also took the occasion to declare that if they destroy this temple, in three days He would raise it up again. After He was raised from the dead, Christ's disciples remembered Him saying this and concluded that He was referring to His own resurrection (Jn. 2:18-19, 22). These are all important points. To me there is yet even more to the story.
If we go back and look at the beginning of the temple, we can learn more. The house of God originated in a covenant promise made to King David:
"When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows (stripes, to smite, to strike) of the sons of men."   2 Sam. 7:12-14
The purpose of building the temple was to house the name of God. Both the Hebrew word for house, and the second letter of the Hebrew aleph-beth which also means "house", not only mean a physical building, but a "name". It is a place to be "within", and to abide. It incorporates all of the generations of a family that came before, and all of the generations that will come in the future. We know that David's son, Solomon, actually built the physical temple, which fulfills this prophecy in part, but the Son of David who really builds the house for His Father's name, is King forever. This would refer to the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus. Though Jesus did not commit iniquity, as mentioned here, He was made to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), and He was indeed stricken, and striped by the whip as a result. So we can understand that Jesus established a temple for His Father's name. To me, His statement "Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up", not only referred to the raising of His physical body, but He was also declaring that His resurrection would establish a spiritual temple for His Father's name. We are that living temple. When He was raised, we were raised with Him (Col. 2:12). As we know, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are that temple that was established and raised up by Jesus after three days. Even as the Spirit and the glory of God filled the natural temple so that the priests could not enter or stand to minister, we, as the temple of God's name, also have been filled with that same Holy Spirit and glory (Jn. 17:5, 22, 24, 1 Cor. 3:16).
This temple that the son/Son of David would build for the Name of God, would be a very special place: both the natural temple, and the spiritual temple, which we are. Part of the prayer of Solomon upon the dedication of the newly built temple was the following:
"Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. Now, therefore, arise, O LORD God to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness."   2 Chron. 6:40-41, 1 Ki. 8:29
The prayers that would be said toward and in the temple of the Name of God, would be miraculous prayers. These prayers and supplications would result in forgiveness and restoration, teaching and rain (including spiritual rain) in times of drought, deliverance from famine, pestilence, plague, sickness, victory against the enemy, forgiveness of the sin that has led to captivity, and favor and mercy from captors, repentance that restores the soul and body (1 Ki. 8:30, 33, 34,35-36, 37, 44,46-47). Even the prayers and supplications of foreigners and strangers who are not Israel can be heard by God in this temple (v. 41-43). The Hebrew root word for "temple" means to prevail, overcome, endure, have power/ability, to gain or accomplish, to attain.
One gospel account of the cleansing of the temple said that immediately afterwards, Jesus did miraculous healings in the temple. Jesus cleansed the natural temple, and the spiritual temple, which is us. He violently drove out those things and beings that defiled the holy temple to His Father's Name. He drove out the sitting (immovable, a place occupied, a fixed abode) money changers (to cut into small pieces, to sheer a sheep), those who bartered and sold oxen (to feed, Christian teachers promoting the spiritual welfare of the members of the church, to seek, to enquire, to consider, to reflect, to make search), sheep (flocks, multitudes, to walk forward, ago, prior before, extreme age: eternal things), and doves (gentle, effervescent wine: Holy Spirit). He drove out the defilers that sought to be seated in, to possess, and to buy and sell, to trade the precious things of God, and the precious people of God. He also drove out those who had been dedicated to God, but had allowed themselves to be bartered, bought, sold, and traded by men, and by the wrathful (root-given up to the love of money: see Rev. 12:17)) powers of  the world.
No wonder Jesus became so violent in His zeal for His Father's house. We are His Father's living house, the house of the Father's Name: Yeshua, God of salvation, and the Name of His Son, Jesus, Who has been given a Name that is higher than any name. We are the house that the Son of David built out of His death and resurrection. We are the house of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God, the house of miraculous, life-changing prayers
of supernatural deliverance in the Names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
"...Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."   Eph. 2:20-22
 We need to understand the importance of this. The world needs the cleansed, living, praying temple of God now more than ever.

Our Father has built a house for His Name, hakal HaShem.

*The account of the cleansing of the temple in Jn. 2 does not specify that it occurred during the week of crucifixion.

"PRAY!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC4kbteMLCg&sns=em

Messiah

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon
        1135-1204

"I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the mashiach, and though he may tarry, still I await him every day."
--a popular paraphrase of Principle 12 of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith

"Nine red heifers were offered from the time that they were commanded to fulfill this mitzvah until the time when the Temple was destroyed a second time. The first was brought by Moses, our teacher. The second was brought by Ezra. Seven others were offered until the destruction of the Second Temple. And the tenth will be brought by the King Moshiach; may he speedily be revealed. Amen, so may it be G‑d’s will."

I think I have been praying incorrectly. Lately, I have had to re-evaluate, and re-prioritize in prayer.
There is nothing wrong with making our requests known to God:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests (root- to ask, beg, crave, desire) be made known to God."   Phil. 4:6
The meaning of the word "requests" tells me that whatever I bring to the Lord should be heartfelt. Hannah prayed so fervently, and with such deep emotion, that the priest thought she might be drunk. But when we are praying, what is it that we are begging for, craving, and desiring? It could very well be things that have nothing to do with what the Father wants to hear. Usually, I spend most of my prayer time praying for the needs of my household, or for the needs of others. Most of the time, these needs are financial, for provision, which always seems to be lacking. Sometimes these needs are serious and pressing, and I spend many words, and much time petitioning the Father over them. "Father, we need this", or "Father, we have great need for that. Please open a door, and make a way." 
However, I looked at this again, and went back to the Word, after reading the quotes above from Rabbi Maimon, also know as Maimonides. It turns out that there is something vitally important that I have been overlooking.
Jesus, in discussing prayer, assured us that the Father already knows what we have need of before He is even asked (Mt. 6:8). So, for what then should we be asking, praying, desiring, begging, craving? Let's look at what Jesus says NOT to do:
"...do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."  Mt. 6:7
He describes these wordy, repetitious prayers as like heathens' prayers. That's not a good thing. He also says:
"For after all these things (everyday needs expressed in v.25-31) the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."  Mt. 6:32
So praying for these things, these daily needs over which we become so anxious, shows no greater understanding than the unknowing Gentiles. That's not good either. In Luke 12:29-30, Jesus talks about the same thing again as being things that the nations of the world seek after, and pray for, and again assures us that the Father already knows that we need these things. Jesus expresses this instruction three different ways! But these are the very things for which I have spent most of my time and effort praying!
So our prayers for our needs, which is often how we pray, are the same incorrect prayers of the heathens, the Gentiles, and the world. My prayers are like those of unbelievers, the uncircumsized, and the unsaved. That's really not good.
James says, "...Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." Ja. 4:2-3
James says we pray this corrupted way because we have lust and warfare in our hearts that come from our desires for pleasure, and our friendship with the world. He even calls us adulterers and adulteresses! He is not writing to unbelievers, but to Jewish believers ("the twelve tribes abroad", Ja. 1:1).
Paul also teaches this about prayer:
"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."  Rom. 8:26-27
Jesus tells us that we are not praying correctly in many cases. James and Paul agree that we are not praying what the Spirit is praying, but rather what the world is praying.
So what then, do Jesus and the Holy Spirit say we should be praying first, and foremost?
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (which is in Jesus:see Rom. 5:21, 1 Cor. 1:30, 1 Jn. 2:1, Heb. 7:2), and all these things (the daily needs) shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."  Mt. 6:33, and Lk. 12:31-32
Jesus, immediately after telling us how not to pray, says that we should be seeking first the kingdom of God. He says that it is the good pleasure of the Father to give it to us. Haven't I sought the kingdom in my love for Jesus and the Word of God? This is where I need to stop and ask, "What is "the kingdom"? The word used here means "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule, the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah, the reign of Messiah", from the root meaning "leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king."
The kingdom is not a "what". It is a "Who". It is specifically, the Messiah and His triumphant rule, not only in heaven, but His rule and reign in me, and here on earth.
Jesus says this is to be our first priority. Among our requests (see above), the return of the Messiah to rule and reign, should be our greatest desire, begging, and craving.
What is the Spirit, who Paul says prays the will of God through us, praying from within us so earnestly and deeply? According to Revelation 22:17and 20, the Spirit is saying "Come". The Bride of Christ is to have this same prayer on her lips, and in the deepest desires of her heart, with fervent desire (Lk. 22:15), begging and craving. Jesus is saying, "Surely I am coming quickly", and the Revelator says in agreement, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
What about all of my needs, and the needs of the others for which I have been praying? Ultimately, our praying and seeking for the kingdom, and the reigning Messiah, works for our benefit. Jesus said that having prayed for, and sought the kingdom in this manner, all of these other things concerning our lives shall be added to us. The source of all of these things is in the triumphant rule and reign of Messiah, the Prince, and His kingdom.
Rabbi Maimon, was one of the most important figures in the history of Torah scholarship. According to the quotes at the top of the page, one of his most heartfelt desires was the coming of Messiah. He awaited King Messiah "every day", he said, and prayed that God's will would hasten His coming, in effect praying, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." It is taught that whenever the Jews make even a mention of the Messiah, they are to also include a prayer for His soon coming, as Maimonides did. Shouldn't this be our most heartfelt desire also, we who have beheld Messiah's face, the face of Jesus? Shouldn't the return of our King, Messiah, be the most frequently and fervently expressed request in our prayers? Scripture says that if we will seek this first, our Father will give us all other things. That's how important this is in the will of the Father. Jesus said that we won't see Him again until we have fervently prayed and desired His return (Mt. 23:39, Lk. 13:35, Ps. 118:25-26).
God knows all those things that we need, but tells us to seek this first.

Our Father says to seek His kingdom, the rule of His Prince, His Messiah, first.

"Even So Come"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s0Zb189Sco

Humility

I have wanted to write about the humility of our Father, but I haven't quite known the meaning of the quality of humility. I don't think we can know it, until the circumstances of life have brought us to the condition and experience of humility. We think we know how to be humble, and scripture tells us to have the quality of humility, but I don't think we truly know what it is.
The dictionary defines humility as "a way of behaving that shows that you do not think that you are better or more important than other people". Another definition is "the quality of having a modest or low view of one's importance." It comes from the Latin word humilitatem meaning "lowness, insignificance".
1 Peter 5:5-6 says in part,
"...Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble'.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, 
that He may exalt you in due time." 
The word humility used here means "a sense of one's littleness", from a root word which means "not rising from the ground, lowly in spirit, humble."

The Proverbs tell us repeatedly the rewards of humility:
"By humility and fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life."

"The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility."

"Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honor is humility."
                                                                        Proverbs 22:4, 15:33, 18:12 

Those who are entrusted with honor, are those who have the quality of humility first. In man's heart is the desire for honor and acknowledgement, the desire for eminence and respect from our fellow man. This is the exact opposite of humility. Jesus said that it was those who humbled themselves that would be the ones to be exalted (Mt.23:12). He also said as the disciples debated who was greatest among themselves, that the greater one is the one who serves, not the one who rules. He told them that He, Himself, was among them as One who serves (Lk. 22:26-27). Jesus turned down worldy kingdoms offered to Him, in order to be a servant of His Father (Mt. 4:8-10). And as we know, Jesus did as the Father showed Him to do. So if Jesus came as a servant, that same servanthood exists in the Father.


Humility is also essential in prayer before the LORD:
"If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."                      2 Chron. 7:14

Being humble is the first requirement in the verse above. It is of the first importance.
This same quality in prayer is repeated in other scriptures:

"Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, says the LORD."
(Spoken by the LORD through the prophetess Huldah to King Josiah.)  
                                                          2 Chron. 34:27

"LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear."
                                                          Psalm 10:17 

The highest realms of the Kingdom of God are inhabited by the humble, and the Father inhabits that place with them. The greatest spiritual heights, the most exalted of the holies, the place where the Father lives, is the place of humility. He fills it, and it surrounds Him, and in that place of humility where He dwells, revival is found:

"For thus says the high and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity,
Whose name is holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."
                                                       Isa. 57:15   

To "revive" above means to be delivered from sickness and discouragement, from faintness and death. It means to restore and preserve. It is a place of revelation, breath, and life. To inhabit that place, to be with Him, we must be like Him. 

Luke 21:1-3 (Fran's Amplified Version)

“And Jesus, the Son of Man, the Savior, received sight, beheld, took heed of and discerned with His Spirit Eye, the rich men (the wealthy, the abundantly supplied, the ones to be completed and filled with the Holy Ghost) casting (throwing, casting out, letting go of)  their gifts (what’s supposed to be the expressions of honor for God, their supposed sacrificial offerings) without even caring where it fell or to what purpose it would be used for) into the treasury (into the place where the treasures are all kept, the special rooms in the court of the temple – the peculiar places of the Body – where all that’s needed for service is kept and where the priests of God themselves live – the place where they themselves are as a tribe, the nation of trumpets, the watched over ones).  And He also saw a certain poor  (needy person, one who toils daily for their substance, who is the image of the great gulf, the chasm fixed between those who are needy of things and of flesh and those who are needy of the Spirit of God the Redeemer in their own spirits/hearts) cast in two mites (the two, the witness of their being stripped, peeled and scaled back like a stripped husk from all the outer, meaningless, natural, temporal things; and He declared, decreed, spoke the Word over the fact that, that stripped down, humbled person, had thrown in more (a greater and more superior quality, a more excellent part as offering unto God the Father) than all the rest of them.”

The above verses are the result of Scripture study by a friend. What she discovered in the familiar verses about the widow who gave the two mites, is not just a lesson on giving, although it is that also. It is a picture of the value of a humbled individual in the eyes of God. This is an individual who has had the circumstances of her life peel away from her all pride. She lived through things that removed all the outer false glory and temporary beauty of man's self-importance. To the others giving that day, she must have seemed of no importance, her gift too small for notice. But as Jesus looked at her with the eyes of the Spirit, He saw that, in her humility, she and her gift were the greatest of them all.

Would we allow the LORD to peel back our pride through difficult lessons and circumstances? Or would we do everything in our faith and power, to escape from that peeling and scraping away? Would we, having had all things taken from us, still be willing to give the pittance we had left, because we had gained a humble, worshipping heart before God? Would we be willing to give up other people's esteem and good opinion, as we were (seemingly) diminished in their sight? If we lost all of the temporary comforts and ease of the world, would we become humble, or bitter?

Will we welcome the process of becoming humble before God and man?

                                                      

Our Father is humility.


"Humble Thyself in the Sight of the LORD"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZqv7ww-UJk