Love

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."  1 Cor. 13:1-3
Usually we only hear or read these verses and those that follow them from 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings. At this Passover/Resurrection season, I was drawn to think about these verses. The Apostle Paul was a no-nonsense taskmaster when it came to teaching true doctrine to his churches, yet he preached the above as the most important thing to seek in his spiritual life, and it had nothing to do with doctrines, holy behavior, do's and don'ts. Religious excellence and charitable behavior on their own have nothing to do with it, even though Paul was a most excellent candidate in all of these things: he had a death experience, and saw paradise, then returned to the living. He was given direct revelation from Christ. He was schooled in the Torah all of his life by the most expert teachers of his day. Of his Jewish background, and scriptural learning, he could out boast anyone. Of spiritual gifts and apostolic authority, there was no one greater. Instead of these claims to excellence, he talks instead about a more excellent gift. It is a gift so great that it makes all other spiritual gifts and knowledge nothing by comparison. Even Paul the Apostle, if he is without this greatest gift, becomes nothing. Without this great gift, even mountain-moving faith becomes nothing. This greatest spiritual gift that Paul is talking about is, of course, love, also called "charity" in some translations.
The Greek word used is agape, and it does indeed men "love". The meaning, however, is not really expressed completely to us by that one word, "love". Agape is not just an emotion of the heart, but an attitude of the head that dominates a life. In describing the word, the Concordance says it means "affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love, love feasts, dear". The root word agapao means "love, beloved, to welcome, to entertain, to love dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented with a thing". This root word brings to mind the declaration of the Father regarding His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased (Mt. 3:17, Lk. 3:22, 2 Pet. 1:17). We then continue back to another root word, phileo, which means "to approve of, to like, sanction, treat affectionately or kindly, to show signs of love, to kiss as a mark of tenderness (therefore the irony in Jesus' question of "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Lk. 22:48), personal attachment. Back further, we find the root, philos, meaning "a frend, associate, wish one well, companion", and most interestingly, "friend of the bridegroom who asks on his friend's behalf the hand of the bride and renders him various services in closing the marriage and celebrating the nuptials".
The Concordance explains that it derives its connotation of the word "love" from that word's use in the Song of Songs, which describes love in several chapters and verses. We could say that the revelation from King Solomon and one importance of this poetic and mysterious Book in scripture is the unveiling of "Love". This verse from Song is among the several noted:
"He brought (go in, enter, come with, attain to) me to the banqueting (wine) house and his banner (large military standard, as was used over each of the twelve tribes of Israel, to look, behold, chiefest, to cover over, the idea of shining bright light, conspicuous, distinguished, furnished or arrayed) over me was love (love, desire, friend, lover)."  S/S 2:4
We might then be able to say that in our Communion (like the house of wine) with Jesus, He has set a standard over us as a thirteenth tribe, and that tribe is the tribe of Love.
The Song of Songs also associates the love shared between the lovers with fragrance in several verses. The spices and oils of this fragrance include myrrh, frankincense, henna blooms, fragrant powders, spikenard, saffron, cinnamon, lilies, Rose of Sharon, cedar and fir, and others. Of the Bridegroom it is exclaimed, "Your name is like perfume/ointment poured out. No wonder the young women love you. Draw me away!"  S/S 1:3-4
The priests of the tabernacle were anointed with a fragrant oil which set them apart, or sanctified them. It was the fragrance of their office. The fragrance of holiness was not found in their performance of the Law, but in the fragrance associated with Love, the fragrance of the Name that is poured out. When the alabaster box was broken in love and devotion to anoint Jesus, it sent forth a fragrance (Mt. 26:7-13). Like the alabaster box, when Jesus' body was broken, did it send forth a fragrance? If so, it was the fragrance of Love.
The Law and the prophets are not fulfilled with men's religious attempts at righteous acts, but in Love (Mt. 22:36-40, also see Deut. 6:5).
Man often defines "love" as the allowance or tolerance to do whatever we desire without fear of correction or censure, but this is a lie, a counterfeit. As we can see, Love, instead, is the womb, the primordial sea, that produces righteousness, holiness, and perfection rather than license and self-indulgence, that remedies sin, and does not produce the sin that harms ourselves and others. Authentic Love is patient, and kind; it does not envy, and does not parade itself in arrogance. It does not behave rudely, and is not selfishly pursuing its own interests. It cannot be provoked, and does not think evil. It does not rejoice in wickedness, but in truth. Love believes, hopes, endures, and never fails (1 Cor. 13:4-8). Love is indeed the greatest gift, as Paul said.
Jesus told us to abide in His words, and He gave us a new commandment. Our identity to the world as disciples of Christ is known in the Love we have one for another:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love (agapao) one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  Jn. 13:34-35
Peter was referring to Prov. 10:12 - "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." - when he wrote: "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 1 Pet. 4:8
Therefore we can say that as the blood of Christ was poured out, Love was poured out to cover our sins. For God so loved the world that He gave (see above, the gift nature of Love) His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16). On this Love hangs all the Law and the prophets. On this Love hangs the purpose and will of God for us from before the beginning.

Our Father God IS Love (1 Jn. 4:7-8, 16).

Remembrance

As we enter the Passover and Resurrection season, it brings to my mind our experience in Communion, the Table of the Lord. Our Communion comes directly from the Passover Seder, which Jesus shared with His disciples the night He was arrested. He showed His disciples the presence of Himself as the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Deliverer, contained in the Passover of the LORD*.
The Passover commemorates the LORD's miraculous deliverance of His people, the children of Israel, from the bondage of Egypt (siege, entrenchment, enclosure, siege-works, rampart, to shut up, enclose, to show hostility to, be an adversary, treat as foe, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), distress), and began their journey to the land of promise. The Passover is to be kept in all generations as a memorial or remembrance of this great deliverance.

Jesus, the Pesach Lamb of God who was crucified on the Passover, fulfills this same miraculous deliverance as His body and blood, His death, burial and resurrection, freed us from the bondage of darkness, sin, and death, and established a new covenant of everlasting life.

Jesus said that whenever we partake of Communion (intercourse, fellowship, intimacy), we do it in remembrance (to remember, to weigh well and consider) of Him (Lk. 22:19).
The Apostle Paul, who was not one of the original twelve disciples, was taught the Communion in a revelation he received from the Lord. The Lord used the same words in revealing the communion to Paul: "Do this in remembrance of Me...this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (1 Cor. 11:23-25). Paul explained to the Church:
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim (KJV-shew) the Lord's death till He comes." (v. 26).
As you can see, there is a proclamation attached to partaking of the Communion of remembrance. The Greek word used here means as a messenger, or angel coming down in place or time. The Hebrew word for "proclaim" is kara which means "call out, recite, cry out, proclaim, utter a loud sound, to summon, invite, call and commission, appoint, give name to: from the root word meaning to encounter, to meet".
As we partake in Communion, Paul warns that we are to do so in an attitude of self-examination. It is not done as a religious ritual, but as a powerful place of unity with the Lord. It has great importance to those in the Body of Christ. Our redemption from the bondage of sin and death came at a great price which was the body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out:
"For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."   1 Cor. 6:20
Part of our partaking in Communion involves "discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:29). This involves, I'm sure, considering the Lord's physical body sacrificed in great pain for me, for us. The phrase "the Lord's body" also means to me, fellow members of the Body. We, collectively, are "the Body of Christ" with Christ as the Head of the Body:
"...so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."    Rom. 12:5 (and also Eph. 4:15-16).
This concept of the Lord's body is what I would like to look at, and share with you. On a certain occasion, I had thought to bring and have Communion with a man of faith who was in the hospital. However, before I could arrange the visit, he was discharged, and I could not physically be with him. I was troubled that I had not been able to act upon this strong desire to share Communion him. I felt that I had missed carrying out what the Holy Spirit had been moving me to do. I then heard the question in my spirit, "Do we only do things in the natural?". I answered, "No, of course not." So I assembled the elements here in my home, and began to have Communion as a form of intercessory prayer for this person who needed miraculous healing. I also included others for whom I had been praying, but with whom I could not physically be present. "We" had communion together in the Spirit as co-members of the Body of Christ, remembering the death of Christ till He comes.
I believe through this special occasion of prayer and Communion, the Lord taught me something about "discerning the body". It is about discerning my connection to the Lord, and His sacrifice for me, but also about becoming aware of my spiritual connection to, and interdependence upon like members of the Body of Christ. What do you think? If you agree, perhaps you will consider this joining of intercessory prayer and Communion as part of "discerning the body" the next time you come to the Table of the Lord, whether in church, or in your private tabernacle. 

"Do this in remembrance of Me."

*Christ in the Passover, presentation of Jews for Jesus

Dwelling

It has been said in real estate sales, that when considering the purchase of a home, the three most important things to take into account are "location, location, location". The same can be said of our spiritual homes.
The world is not the place of our spiritual home. We who are in Christ were not born here, our dwelling is not here, and we will not be dwelling here in the future. We are aliens here, and need a special environment in which to live and thrive. What makes us aliens here?
Scripture describes us this way:
"But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become sons (children) of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."   Jn. 1:12-13
Jesus described us this way:
"...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  Jn. 3:5-6
Jesus said that like Him, we are not of the world (Jn. 17:9, 14, 16, Jn. 15:19).
The Apostle Paul tells us not to be conformed (to fashion one's self to another's pattern) to this world (Rom. 12:2). Our minds are to be transformed by this knowledge. In another place, Paul wrote:
"...seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden  with Christ in God...you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world..."
                                                                                                  Col. 3:1-3, 2:20
We often describe ourselves incorrectly as "born again", based upon an incomplete and insufficient translation of Jn. 3:3. The word "again" used in that verse principally means "from above, from a higher place, of things which come from heaven or God, from the very first". The root meaning of the word is "up, upwards, from above, on high, of the quarters of the heaven, of time formerly, of the heavenly Jerusalem". The Hebrew language uses the word "al", translated as "above" to describe this place. So we are more accurately described as being "born from above", rather than "born again". Do you see how this makes a big difference in our understanding?
So how do we aliens find a dwelling place here in this world? I think the best place to answer this is from the end of the story, which will point us back to where we need to be now:
"...the accuser (AKA the great dragon, that serpent of old, the devil, Satan who deceives the whole world) of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea... Rev. 12:10-12
There will be a difference between those who inhabit the earth, and those who dwell in the heavens. The words "heavens" and "dwell" that are used here are important. "Heavens" is the Greek word "uranos", which can mean the physical heavens, but also encompasses "the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings". Also "those blessed qualities associated with the Gospel".
The word "dwell" used above is the Greek word "skanoo", which including its roots means "to fix one's tabernacle, abide in a tabernacle or tent, to occupy (as a mansion) the tabernacle of old-a symbol of protection and communion, the earthly house of our tabernacle, tent made of green boughs, skins, or cloth*, vessel, chosen instrument, to cover, a shadow: image* cast by an object as light falls on the object and representing the form of that object." (I asterisked *cloth and *shadow/image, because they brought to my mind the Shroud of Turin. In a way, we could say that the Shroud, and the image of Christ cast upon it, also represents the place of our tabernacle, the covering of our dwelling. It seems to fit well here.)
At the time described in the verses from Revelation, a time of the devil's wrath, and great persecution of believers, where one "dwells" will make a big difference. Those who tabernacle in and with the heavens will be able to rejoice through this time.
God established the principle of tabernacle with His people Israel, and commanded a feast to teach it to all generations. His people are to build tabernacles of tree boughs, and dwell in them for seven days. It is a feast of rejoicing. These structures are called "sukkah":
"You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths (tabernacles, shelters made of boughs) for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt (upper and lower Egypt, lay siege, to bind, shut up, show hostility, be an adversary, distress, beset, assault): I am the LORD your God."   Lev. 23:41-43
This feast has other things to teach us, including a prophetic significance dealing with Christ, but for the subject we are dealing with here, I am looking at the actual "booths" themselves, and what they might mean to us.
Those who are Gentiles with a few exceptions, have not recognized nor understood the importance of the teaching of this feast. We have lost this knowledge, and perhaps it is time to rediscover it. Psalm 91, a beautiful Psalm, describes the supernatural protection found in a special dwelling place:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (veil, covering, curtain) shall abide (lodge, dwell, rest, remain, endure) under the shadow of the Almighty."
Where we dwell spiritually will ultimately affect the future of the whole earth as well. In 2 Peter, the apostle tells us that where our hopes, our spirit, our hearts and minds look eagerly forward to, or dwell, will even hasten the return of Christ, the coming of the day of God, and the "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:11-14). The hastening of the day and the return of Christ is not just for our benefit, but will preserve life on earth from total destruction. Jesus said:
"For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened (lopped, mutilated, abridge, curtail) the days."   Mk. 13:20
In another place, scripture says that all creation waits to be delivered from bondage into the place in the Spirit of our glorious liberty. It is accomplished by the groans of our own eager waiting within our tabernacles (ourselves) of our adoption (Rom. 8:18-22). Our tabernacle is constructed from this hope in Christ, and in the Holy Spirit (v. 24).
The Apostle Paul wanted to differentiate the spiritual dwelling place of new covenant believers:
"But you have come to Mt. Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."   Heb. 12:22-24
If our dwelling place is not of this world, then why have we been placed here? We are here to be salt, for cleansing and preserving, and light, for illuminating the darkness with the truth of God's salvation and love in Christ.
Where is your dwelling place? Where we dwell makes all the difference in the world. It's all about location, location, location.

Our Father has commanded that we dwell in tabernacles in the heavens while we are still in the world.

Generations

The LORD indeed did something  enormous when, about five thousand years ago, He sought out Abram and told him to leave his homeland in Ur of the Chaldees, and travel over a thousand miles to a different land. As God changed Abram's name to Abraham ("father of a multitude"), and promised him that his seed would be as infinite in number as the stars (Gen. 15:5, Gen. 17:1-7), He was not just founding a family line, or a people, or even a nation, but also a called out assembly of people out of every nation of earth, looking down many generations and individuals, even to you and me. God had each one of us in His sight, and He provided the Gospel of Salvation for us, when He called Abram out of Ur:
"Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."   Gal. 3:6-9
The LORD said to Abraham, "In you...", not "By you...". When the LORD looks at what we see as a single individual, He sees every future person, or generation, who is inside us, just as we were present and destined inside our preceding generations. This is the infinite power in the seed, and this is just one reason why each life is purposed and important.
By this same principle, what the LORD teaches each of us individually is not just for ourselves and our lifespan here on earth and our own eternity in heaven, but for all of our future generations as well. I am not just speaking of our natural generations of related descendants, but of our spiritual generations of faith. While Abraham eventually had several natural children, his infinite descendants are in the spiritual generations of faith that followed in the likeness of Abraham's faith. Jesus defined Abraham's descendants as those who do the works of Abraham, including believing the truth spoken by One sent from God, Himself (Jn. 8:36-40). This is a principle that the scripture from Galatians is teaching us.
(*Interesting to Note:Jesus' implication in the Jn. 8 verses that we might be able to garner is that He is the One who taught Abraham from God. The verse from Galatians quoted above agrees, saying that "The Scripture" foresaw us and preached the Gospel to Abraham! And Jesus is The Word of God (Jn. 1:1-2,14, Rev. 19:11-16).
The importance of Abraham as a physical and spiritual progenitor of God's called out assembly of people ("ekklesia"), both Jew and Gentile (Rom. 1:16-17), is found in God's statement:
"And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." Gen. 18:17-19, also Gen. 22:18
The reason the LORD knew Abraham, and sought a relationship with him was for our benefit. According to Galatians also, the LORD taught Abraham the Gospel for our benefit, those future generations.
When God spoke to Abraham, and revealed secret things to him, He did it with Abraham's descendants of faith in mind. The LORD was revealing these things to us in Abraham, therefore, before we were even born, for the purpose of our salvation. Such is the mind and heart of the Father towards us.
How did God reveal the Gospel to Abraham, that Abraham, in turn, passed to his future generations? He revealed it in the most powerful and intimate way possible, as the LORD took Abraham to Mount Moriah, and brought him to the point of the near sacrifice of his son of the promise, Isaac. At that same time, the LORD revealed the principle of the substitute sacrifice of atonement to Abraham, which would be supplied by God and not man, His only begotten Son, when He revealed the Ram of sacrifice (El) caught in the thicket instead (Gen. 22:13-14). The Son of God, Jesus, would be sacrificed in the flesh at that exact location as well, many generations later. The LORD taught Abraham the resurrection from the dead when Abraham declared that both he and his son, Isaac, would return from Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22:5), even though he had been commanded to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:1-2).
The LORD even taught Abraham about the New Jerusalem, the city of God, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband, revealed in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 21:1-3):
"By faith Abraham believed when he was called to go out...for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God...Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude - innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore."   Heb. 11:8-12, also see Gen. 22:17
Abraham was told and shown all of these things for our benefit, as a blessing to us.
Sometimes, our vision is limited to what we can see now, and we become caught up in this limitation all too easily. However, the LORD is not limited in that way at all. He declares the end from the beginning, and He created and sees all that exists in time, before time, and after time. The LORD spoke this to us when He said"
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways", says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."   Isa. 55:8-9
Abraham learned these things in order to teach us, and we learn these things in order to teach countess future "others" who are in us by their faith).

Our Father foresees and speaks to the generations.

Prejudice

The image above is Norman Rockwell's painting "Freedom to Worship". It depicts people of different types - young and old, of different ethnicity and race, worshipping together. It is a beautiful depiction. Rockwell was known best for depicting American life, usually at our most noble, or charming moments, but he also tackled our problems and difficulties, even our shame. Another painting by Rockwell is a 1964 painting titled "The Problem We All Live With".  This painting depicts a true event involving little 6 yr.old Ruby Bridges of New Orleans, dressed immaculately, with her hair done just so for this special day as she attempted to attend her first day of school. She had to be escorted by four guards in the midst of racial slurs and taunts. Those who know God, those who know Christ, those who are led by the Spirit of God, identify this racial hatred immediately as evil, or it is to be hoped that we do. Prejudice does not just seek to destroy the souls of the ones hated, but the souls of the haters also.
The scriptures describe the Kingdom of God, those redeemed by the Lamb, this way:
"...For You (the Lamb, Christ) were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."   Rev. 5:9-10 (also Rev. 14:6)
Jesus ministered to all types of people from different ethnic groups, different religious, social and economic standings, and people who were judged by others to be "untouchable" for various physical or even religious reasons. Many despised Him for this.
Jesus also taught that one of the signs we should watch for that would point to His soon return would be racial and ethnic ("nation") hatreds and violence, as well as severe persecution against those who hold faith in Him (Mt. 24:7-9).
We are indeed seeing an increase in manifestations of these terrible prejudices today, as Christ's return draws near. It is an evil that dwells in the hearts of men, and appearing with disturbing frequency. Because prejudice so deeply pervades our hearts, I think Rockwell's title, "The Problem We All Live With", is very true.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote:
"The heart is deceitful (sly, insidious, slippery, attack at the heel, assail insidiously, supplant, circumvent, overreach, swell up) above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick, malignant disposition of mind); Who can know it? I, the LORD, search (penetrate, examine intimately, investigate) the heart (the understanding, soul, inner man, conscience, determination of will, seat of appetites, emotions and passions), I test the mind (interior self, inmost mind), even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."   Jer. 17:9-10
The LORD spoke this to Jeremiah regarding His knowing those who trust in Him, but we know that the same truth applies regarding the LORD's ability to see who we really are, even in the innermost man that we often avoid examining. He also knows our prejudices. The word "prejudice" comes from the Old English "prae" +"judicium", meaning "to judge in advance". It is one of the greatest wrongs that can exist in any legal system, and as it turns out, in the spiritual realm as well.
Jesus confronted these prejudices in His ministry, and He confronted these prejudices among His disciples, and later, apostles. His followers had, and still have, an important task ahead of them of taking the gospel, and making disciples of all nations, and there would be no room for prejudice of any kind. In Christ's command is the very obvious message that the gospel is to all. However, in spite of Christ's personal example in ministry, as well as this direct command, at least one of His disciples had a problem with this precept.
In Acts 10, during the early years of the Church, Peter received a revelation that he was to consider nothing "common" that God called "cleansed". This appeared to him three times. Immediately messengers from a gentile named Cornelius came to his door asking Peter to minister to his household. The Holy Spirit had told Peter that they would seek him out, and that Peter should go with them. Peter went to Cornelius' house, and before he began preaching, he told Cornelius:
"...You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean....In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him."  (v. 28, 34)
As Peter began to preach the gospel to them, the Holy Spirit fell and baptized the members of Cornelius' household, and the many that he had gathered in his home. The Jews with Peter were astonished that even the gentiles could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (v.45).
However, the scriptures tell us that even after this emphatic demonstration, Peter still harbored prejudice against gentiles, and preferred not to associate with them when Jews were present. Peter feared what the Jews would think of him. Paul wrote that he had to correct Peter to his face about this issue (Gal. 2:11-13). Peter's behavior affected the Church. Barnabas, who ministered with Paul to the gentiles was influenced by Peter's prejudice: "...so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy."
Paul, in the same Book of Galatians, conveyed his own revelation from God:
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 
                                                                                                         Gal. 3:26-28
Prejudice, like other evils of the heart, is deceiving and sly. It hides itself behind reasonings and practicalities, behind customs and traditions. In any case, prejudices can affect the ministry of Christ tremendously. Prejudice in the Church can rob the Church of precious giftings and purposes, of completion, and, perhaps worse, it can unjustly and falsely deem a fellow believer in Christ with a degree of unworthiness before God because of physical characteristics, or station in life. Prejudice can prevent the preaching of the saving gospel to an individual whom God has called to hear it, but to whom man has despised the telling of it.
We may look at ourselves and say that we have no such prejudices, but, as Jeremiah revealed, God looks upon the places inside us that we refuse to look into, and sees everything. Racial and ethnic tensions are on the rise. As Norman Rockwell illustrated, these destructive and ungodly prejudices are "The Problem We All Live With." However, we are meant to shine the light of the truth of God on this evil that hides in men's hearts, even in our hearts, and our lives are to reflect this truth. Our churches should  reflect this truth also.

Our Father's beautiful, holy kingdom is out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

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Manna

There is a wonderful miracle of provision in scripture dealing with the feeding of God's people while they were in the wilderness. In Ex. 16, the LORD miraculously feeds the children of Israel quail in the evenings, and a miracle bread in the mornings after the people complained about missing the food they had while they were slaves in Egypt. The LORD promised, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you." (Ex. 16:4). The bread which appeared as the morning dew lifted was called "manna"(exclamatory question of how, why, by what means,), because the people asked "What is it?" It looked like white coriander seeds, and tasted like wafers made with honey (Ex. 16:31). It is also revealed to be the food of angels (Ps. 78:25). Israel included the manna as one of the items placed in the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies (Ex. 16:33-34, Heb. 9:3-4). The Israelites were provided manna to eat for forty years until they came to the border of the promised land (Ex. 16:35).
The miracle of the manna from heaven was very precious in the memory of Israel. It is referred to in other scriptures as Israel encouraged itself remembering the love and care of God for His people:
"The people asked, and He brought quail, and satisfied them with the bread from heaven."
                                                                                                     Ps. 105:40
"You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, and told them to go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them."     Neh. 9:15
It is important to remember here, however, that the people who were eating the manna, complained about it, desiring instead the sweet treats of Egypt. They said:
"...but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"   Num. 11:6
When Moses heard these complaints against the miraculous provision and deliverance of God, he was heavily burdened and discouraged with the people.
As precious and miraculous as this manna was to Israel, a greater manna would come. Jesus revealed that this miracle bread from heaven also had a prophetic significance which He had come to fulfill. The people challenged Jesus to perform a sign to prove who He was, and to prove that what He was telling them was true. Jesus had just performed the miracle multiplication of the fish and loaves feeding thousands, but evidently this didn't count! They mentioned the sign of the manna from heaven given to Israel in the wilderness. Jesus answered:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread (root: to raise up, lift up, elevate; to remove, to carry away, such as sin) from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world...I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger... Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;  and the bread which I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." 
                                                                                        Jn. 6:32-51 (excerpt)
Jesus went on to say that they must eat His flesh, and drink His blood or they will have no life in them. They must feed on Him. Many turned away in great offense and distaste at hearing that (Jn. 6:51-57). This is manna. Many believers today would turn away also.
I don't think that the "manna" of the New Testament is the same as the gospel message which is to be given to all. Manna is for those who believe, for those who come to Christ. This is "the children's (child/son) bread" (Mt. 15:21-28), and not necessarily meant for anyone else's, or a stranger's, consumption. An exception might be if the stranger is specifically seeking out Christ, and then they can handle perhaps a crumb of the bread. This is the power in the purpose of manna.
In another place in scripture, the resurrected Christ fed His disciples fish and bread that were provided miraculously for breakfast, which He prepared Himself (Jn. 21:9-14). Jesus then had a conversation with Peter in which He asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. After each time that Peter answered affirmatively, Jesus commanded, "Feed (to supply the requisites for the soul's need) My lambs", "Feed My sheep", and "Feed My sheep" (v. 15-17). Jesus was not speaking of natural food for the hungry, but the Bread of Life that if one eats of it, he will not die. 
Jesus said that only those who have been drawn by the Father, have the opportunity to eat of the Living Bread of Christ:
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God". Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."  Jn. 6:44-45
This post came about because I dreamed that I was visiting a church for breakfast.  The church workers were carrying out large steam trays of food for those who came. Some of the workers were elderly and frail looking, and I felt sorry to see them working so long and hard to prepare our food. The church workers were dressed in the white kitchen outfits with hair coverings, like one might expect to see in professional food preparation. It was obvious that they had experience and efficiency in preparing this quantity of food for others. I got up and walked to the steamer trays of food that had been put out, but I could not find anything healthy to eat. Instead of seeing eggs and toast as expected, the foods in the trays were various sugary desserts. Even what was supposed to pass for bread was really fried dough covered in sugar. I walked from tray to tray, but there was nothing I felt I could eat. My plate remained almost empty.
Why was the church I visited in the dream serving all of that sugar? My guess is that rather than offering the authentic Manna of Christ to the people, they were trying to counterfeit the  honey taste of the Manna that comes from heaven with the sugar. However, only the heavenly Manna gives everlasting life. Sadly, that church probably didn't have any of the authentic Manna to offer.
We have been given the opportunity to eat of this Manna, learning from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and God has entrusted us with this same Bread to feed to others so that they might live also: "Feed My sheep, feed My lambs". This is the food for the sheep. Why would we feed them anything less? Our natural bodies have begun to suffer various serious illnesses because of the diet that we have been fed and have chosen. As in the case with our natural bodies, many who have been called to Christ by the Father still crave sugary spiritual food that will not bring life. If this sugary diet continues in the church, the church will begin to see, and is seeing now, the spiritual diseases that result. However, we must bring them the Bread of Life in spite of that unhealthy preference. Feed the children what they need to live, not necessarily what they crave. We must "feed the sheep" the food for which Christ gave Himself, and commanded His disciples to provide.
Like the children of Israel in the past, some may complain over the Manna, and look instead for the sugary food they crave, but eventually they will understand that this Living Bread, created from Jesus' own flesh, has brought them everlasting (olam: from the most ancient times, antiquity, continuous existence, unending future, hidden time. Root meaning- hidden, secret, veiled from sight) life (Jn. 6:40). As we can see, the eternal life we have in Christ has a "hidden" quality to it. Manna, also, may be hidden, and is given by Christ Himself:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."
                                                                                                        Rev. 2:17
Let us be thankful if we have someone in our lives who has been given to us, the sheep of His pasture, to point us to the manna of Christ, someone who takes the responsibility of feeding the Lord's sheep seriously. These are those who edify the church (Eph. 4:11-13). Let us also seek and treasure the hidden manna given to us by Christ, through His Spirit.
Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread.

Our Father has rained Living Bread from heaven.

Goodness

 

As you know, the LORD has revealed His names throughout scripture, Those holy names  give us an understanding of who He is, His character. I would like to study an unusual example of one of these revelations.
Moses made a request of God. He asked God if he could see His glory. The LORD allowed all His goodness ("tuv/tove"- to be beautiful, pleasant, to do good to someone, to confer benefits, be favorable, joyful, good, pleasing, delightful, act rightly) to pass before Moses. The LORD told Moses that His goodness would pass before him while the LORD proclaimed His name, saying to Moses, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" * (Ex. 33:18-23). There was a three-fold covering to protect Moses from the consuming glory of God as He passed by: He placed Moses in the cleft of the Rock, covered him with His hand, and proclaimed His name of His goodness as He passed by. On another occasion, the LORD again passed by Moses, proclaiming the name of the LORD (Ex. 34:5-8). This is what the LORD proclaimed as He passed:

"And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity (perversity, depravity, guilt, to bend, twist, distort, make crooked) of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." So Moses made haste  and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped." Ex. 34:6-8

As we can see above, the character of all the goodness of God includes the readiness to forgive in the face of sincere repentance (Rom. 2:4), freely applying grace and mercy, but never allowing unrepentant guilt to go unanswered in order to insure justice. However, part of the quality of His goodness is "longsuffering". He will wait for as long as possible to judge. Peter puts it this way:

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (judgment, see v. 3-7))...but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."  
                                                                                                      2 Pet. 3:9

Throughout scripture, in the fullness of all His goodness, longsuffering, mercy, and grace, the LORD witnessed His name (as proclaimed above) to the greatest "villains" in the Bible. As the Just Judge, He sent His witnesses to these people before the moment of their destruction to present them a choice. Here are some examples:

When the time of the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made generations before to Abraham was at hand to deliver His people out of slavery, The name of all the goodness of God in the person of Moses, passed repeatedly before Pharaoh. Moses was not only the prophet of God, but he was someone with whom Pharaoh was acquainted, having grown up in the same royal household. Pharaoh disregarded Moses even in the face of many confirming signs and wonders.

King Saul, full of fear and disobedience, was given to pass before him both Samuel and David to witness the truth of God's name of all His goodness. David was an example before the king of one who trusted in the name of the LORD (1 Sam. 17:45). David did not have fear in the face of men (even big ones!), and even ministered to King Saul in anointed music to relieve him from the torment of evil spirits. Saul did not receive the testimony of these witnesses.

King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel ("Ba'al exalts, Ba'al is husband to, unchaste") who commanded the worship of the blood thirsty, abominable false-god Ba'al in Israel, and persecuted to death the prophets of God, had the witness of all the goodness of name of the LORD before them in the person of the great prophet Elijah ("My God is Jehovah"). They did not heed the witness of Elijah that God had passed before them.

Haman, the great villain in the Book of Esther, who planned genocide against all of the Jews, was given a witness in the goodness and truth of God's name. These witnesses were his wife, Zeresh ("gold"), whose advice he often sought and trusted, and his counsel of wise men. They told Haman:

"...If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him."  Est. 6:13

However, Haman by this point, had become consumed by his hatred and resentment of Mordecai and the Jews, and did not heed all God's goodness as it passed by.
Herod the Great was already a murderer of his father-in-law, several of his wives, and two of his sons. God sent witnesses before him, in the form of wise men, to tell Herod of the birth of a new King of the Jews (Jesus). These wise men revealed to Herod that the appropriate response to this birth was to seek out and worship this child, in the same manner as Moses bowed and worshipped before "all My Goodness". Herod, immediately connected the birth of this child with the coming of the Messiah, and sought the child out, not to worship Him, but to murder Him. He murdered the children of Bethlehem and the surrounding area in this plan (Mt. 2:1-18). The opportunity was given to Herod to come before the Messiah, but he refused it. One of Herod's successors, Herod Antipas, was given the same opportunity to know the goodness of God through John the Baptist, who bore witness to the Light, the Messiah, and called Herod to repentance. Herod killed John as a present for his beguiling step-daughter (Mk. 6:17-28). Shortly thereafter, Herod Antipas was allowed to meet and speak to the Goodness of God, Jesus. However, as the Goodness "passed by", He was abused and mocked in Herod's court (Lk. 23:6-11).
The son of perdition, Judas Iscariot (consider oneself equal to, to claim for oneself the rank, nature, authority which belongs to God), heading towards his own terrible destruction, was given the gift of all God's goodness in the opportunity to walk with Jesus for three years during the time of Jesus' ministry. Judas betrayed the Person of the Goodness of God, and chose coins and death instead.
Pontius Pilate was about to become notorious in history. Before that however, he was given the opportunity to come face to face, and share a conversation with Jesus. After meeting all God's goodness, he still consented to His death for political expediency, symbolically washing his hands of any guilt for Christ's crucifixion. However, after "all My goodness" passes by, but is rejected, iniquity is not so easily washed away as with ordinary soap and water.
Not all of the reactions to God's goodness were negative in scripture. Many lives, even the lives of foreign pagan kings, were changed dramatically because of the witness of the goodness of God that the LORD placed before them. One example is the extreme effort that the LORD expended, including the sign of the resurrection of the dead, to show His goodness to the evil people of Nineveh, which brought them all to repentance. Even His prophet had trouble dealing with all of the goodness that God had extended to these sinful people. God said to him:
"And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left-and much livestock?"  Jonah 4:11
The Just Judge of Israel, in order to perform perfect justice, extends all His goodness, with His mercy, grace, truth, forgiveness and longsuffering to man, including evil men. In some cases, it may be their last opportunity to be rescued from the destruction racing towards them. God told Moses that it is His omnipotent character to decide to offer His goodness, even to the most evil of men*. It is up to man whether or not he will accept it. Psalm 107 says:
"He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (v. 20-21).

Our Father, in His perfect justice, causes all His goodness to pass by each of us.