Fusion

fusion- the process or result of joining two or more things to form a single entity.
      - the merging of diverse, distinct, or separate elements into a unified whole.
      - the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy when certain light elements unite.

Above are some definitions of the word "fusion". I found that the definitions added clarity in our topic today. There are people for whom I am currently praying that desperately need a healing miracle. The situation is literally "life and death". Perhaps you also have people in your prayers who desperately need a miracle. I wondered, "Where are the miracles of Christ?" I have indeed seen miracles, and received them myself, but I cannot say that miracles, signs and wonders are routinely pouring from my life as I would hope to see. As I once again began to pray, I thought, "But healing isn't a thing...He's a Person."
Fundamental truths that I learn regarding salvation, healing, everlasting life, resurrection, atonement, sacrifice, life, holiness, righteousness, faith itself, prosperity, deliverance, peace, joy, prayer, and many other parts of our walk, are thought of as "blessings", "promises", "works", etc. Thinking of them in that manner though makes all of those powerful fundamental truths become "things". However, all of these are an aspect or quality of a Person. I create a distance from the Person when I think of these aspects as things to be achieved or received. Saying,  "I need healing", "I need provision", "I need a miracle", "I need deliverance", in a way de-Personalizes, making an aspect of the Living God into a thing we receive from Him. I hope I am explaining effectively what I am feeling in a way that it can be understood.
Our Father has always been a very personal God. Although He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present in character, God has always dealt very personally with the individual: from the greatest kings to lowliest leprous outcasts; from small children, even children who have not yet been born (Ps. 139:13-16, Jer. 1:4-7, Lk. 1:41-44), to people who were very old; with sinners, and with those whom He called righteous.
From the beginning, God walked and talked with Adam in the Garden, and was personally connected to him. God knew immediately when His preciously created man fell.
When God introduced Himself to Moses, He spoke the very personal "I AM...". He used His personal relationship with men, to identify Himself to other men: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
When God provided His salvation, He didn't send a thing, He sent a Person, whose very name IS "Salvation", Yeshuah, Jesus.
Salvation isn't a concept, or even a miracle. He is a Person. Healing isn't a doctrine or an answer to prayer, He is a Person (Ex. 15:26) . Peace and joy aren't just things we all desire, but a Person (Jn. 14:27, Neh. 8:10). The provision of everything we need for our lives is a Person (Jn. 6:35, 48, Gen. 22:14, 2 Pet. 1:3).  Resurrection and everlasting life isn't a goal, promise, place, or thing. He is a Person (Jn. 11:25). Faith isn't just a thing we should try to have and speak. He is part of a Person, as in "the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20). The force of life in all men isn't a thing to be debated regarding "when" or "how". He is a Person (Jn. 1:4). Even light is not a thing, but a Person (Jn. 1:9, Jn. 8:12). Truth is not a thing, but a Person. Our daily spiritual walk and progress is not an effort we make, but a Person: "I am the way (road; journey; course of conduct; a manner of thinking, feeling, deciding; a progress; a mode or means), the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). Is it possible to "become" what we are called to become if we think of all of this as doctrines, tenets, blessings, works, things, rather than Christ, Himself? 
The victory of Christ is not to make "things", even miraculous things, available to me. The victory of Christ is to reconcile me (bring back a former state of harmony: definition-pleasing combination of elements in a whole) with Himself, and His Father, my Father (Rom. 5:10-11, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Col. 1:19-22, Eph. 2:13-18). The victory of Christ is to make me one with the Persons of the Godhead. Jesus prayed to His Father:
"...for those who will believe in Me...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." 
                                                                                                           Jn. 17:20-24
The commands, "Be thou holy as I am holy", and "Be thou perfect as I am perfect", are not for the purpose of demanding that I attain some sort of spiritual goal I don't think, but to call me to a fusion with the Person who is holy, with the Person who is perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Col. 1:21-22) until it can no longer be differentiated where I end and He begins. Then I become holy also, and then I become perfect also. The Father wants us to find Christ and cling to Him, meld into Him. We understand that scripture tells us that we have received Christ, that it is "Christ in us, the hope of glory", and "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...", but our walk is often about ourselves, and what we do, and who we are, rather than this fusion with Christ. There is no "us" or "me" if I am one, fused, with Him. There is only Him. Jesus also said:
"Abide (Grk-meno-remain, not to depart, to be held, kept continually, to remain as one; Heb.-yashab- dwell, remain, to sit down, seat, marry) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If  anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." 
                                                                                                         Jn. 15:4-6
The fruit comes with abiding in and with Christ, as a branch is one and the same with a vine. Jesus also said:
"If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me: but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jn. 10:37-38,  AND
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   Jn. 14:10-14
Usually we read these verses with the emphasis on the works. However, I am now reading them here with the emphasis on that to which the works point: the fusion relationship. The "works" came from Christ's fusion with the Father, His inseparable relationship and identity with His Father. He said even if we don't believe Him, believe the works that He does, because the works are His Father's.To Jesus, the words and works were evidentiary of the fusion with His Father. Even His own identity was secondary to this fusion relationship: Believe Me or not, but  believe the works of the Father in Me.
We look for the works apart, but do not sacrifice ourselves to the necessary fusion into the Father's identity, as Jesus did. Jesus speaks above about going to His Father. We accept that the greater works that Jesus spoke of would result from His bringing His blood offering to His Father. It is also the result of the even greater fusion accomplished once His flesh body was cast off. That last separation, that veil, which was His flesh, is rent, and the way into the reconciling unity that He provided for all of us with the Father is completed (Mt. 27:51, Heb. 10:19-20).
In John 17, Jesus prayed that the world will come to the knowledge and belief that Christ was sent to us from God because we are one in Christ and the Father. We wonder why we seem to see such indifference of the world toward the Christian faith, even its disgust. Is it because they have not seen the Christian faith as it has been intended all along? Trying to bring the world to Christ when we have not been willing to come totally to Christ ourselves is futility, and would seem also hypocritical. The Holy Spirit has come to us for the purpose of fusing us into Christ, but we, perhaps unaware of the opposition of our natural mind, desire to keep the distance and separation, and retain our separate identity. If we want to see His glory, if we want to be "Exhibit A" to bring the world to belief, if we want to see the "works" as they were always intended, then it will require fusion with the Person of Christ.
What is the beginning point of this process? Perhaps just the acknowledgement of the depth expected in our relationship with Christ, and the Father. Keeping this at the forefront in our minds, which tend to pull us the opposite way. Having my focal point as entering into Christ, and He into me, growing into the unity, the knowledge, the perfect, the measure of the stature of His fullness, growing up in all things into Him-Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15). Saying as John the Baptist said, "He must increase (become greater, cause to grow, enlarge), but I must decrease (make less or inferior in dignity, make lower, to lesson in rank, influence, authority, or popularity, smallest, least)." (Jn. 3:30). Perhaps understanding that the real meaning of taking up my cross daily and following Him is not only about others persecuting me for my faith as He was persecuted, but that I lay down my own life, my own identity, freely- no man takes it from me - in order to enter into Christ and the Father:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..."
                                                                                                              Gal. 2:20
Look at what we have been called to do according to the above verse. This is the standard that has been set for our relationship with and in Christ. Are we prepared to enter into Him in such a way? Is the world seeing Christianity in its intended fullness as stated above? Or have they only seen people who talk, but are not being? Are those coming with prayer requests who are perishing, either spiritually or physically, receiving that above effective standard of care from me? It is a standard in which I cease, and He lives instead. This is where I can, from this experience, also be directing those who have needs: "Come, fuse into Jesus and into the Father with me."
These are going to be my first steps in understanding.
I've had it all wrong. Healing isn't a thing, He's a Person. As we pray for needs, whether for ourselves, or someone else, let us, as a first step, seek a deeper fusion with the Person who IS all in all (1 Cor. 12:6, 15:28, Eph. 1:23).

Our Father has sent a Person, Jesus, for our reconciliation and fusion into Him.

Halal

 The Hebrew word halal is a glorious word. It  means "to shine, to be clear, to be brilliant, to flash forth light, to be praised, to be praiseworthy, glory, celebrate, rejoice, to sing". It sounds like a word that would be used regarding the Lord's glory and presence. It may surprise you to know that halal is a Hebrew word for "marriage"! In the language of God, this is what marriage is meant to be: halal. We can understand why Paul said that marriage is a type of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:25-28). Marriage was always meant to be this, even before the beginning, since Christ was the Lamb sacrificed before the foundation of the world. Neither Adam and Eve nor other men, created the concept of marriage, and they did not define it. Halal takes natural man and transforms him, which is why the LORD said that men leave (azab- forsake, leave behind, abandon while at the same time repair, restore, set free) father and mother, and instead become joined into a halal oneness, or echad, with his wife (Gen. 2:22-25). Echad is an interconnected plurality in the same way of the trinity plurality of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Halal marriage leaves behind the natural condition of man, and restores and repairs the original divine echad. This halal marriage, like the union of Christ and Church, shines with glory, and sends forth that light. Yes, marriage encompasses love, but it is the sacrificial type of love, like the sacrificial love of Christ (see also 1 Cor. 13). This is what makes it shine with glory. It is the glory of Christ, which is the same glory as given Him by the Father, born out of His sacrificial love.
Man tries to define marriage in many ways, some being more profane than others, but seldom do we hear the true purpose and quality of it as God intended it. Shouldn't the Church have the true understanding of marriage, especially as we, the Church, have been spiritually defined by it in scripture? It is very evident in many cases that most of the Church does not understand halal. Can we be shocked that the world desires to define marriage in an equally ignorant manner?  If we want to pull down those carnal strongholds (root meaning: used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage, to hold one's self to a thing, to adhere or cling to, to be closely joined to a person or thing) of falsehood regarding marriage that we empowered, we need to cast down our own reasonings that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Other disobedience is punished when our obedience is fulfilled first (2 Cor. 10:4-6). We are not to look at marriage based on outward appearance or considerations (v. 7). That is not halal marriage. This is where our warfare begins-inside our own minds, souls, and flesh.
I would like to look briefly at two marriages in scripture that I think illustrate halal. In Gen. 24, Abraham sends his servant back to his own people to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Abraham makes his servant swear to find the correct bride from Abraham's own people by putting his hand under Abraham's thigh (includes the meaning *shaft of the Holy Candlestick of the tabernacle which divides into three branches). The servant travels back to Abraham's homeland, but seeks God's help in identifying which woman is the right woman for Isaac. He bases his request to God on a spirit of generosity and sacrifice to be found in the unknown woman. Rebekah ("ensnarer of men by beauty") comes to the well, and not only gives the servant a drink, but waters all of his camels also. In fact, she runs repeatedly to water them. She runs to keep emptying buckets of water from the well into the trough as needed for thirsty camels (root-ripen fruit, recompense, to deal bountifully with). Though she is outwardly beautiful, it is her inner qualities that identify her as the halal bride. Even before the servant finds out that she is indeed one of Abraham's kin, he puts a golden (shimmer, golden splendor of the heavens, of the sun, of the purest oil, brilliant like gold) nose ring or earring on her, and golden bracelets on her wrists. To shorten the story, although Rebekah has the beauty to capture any man of her choosing, she chooses of her free will to leave her father's house and country, and accompany Abraham's servant to far away Canaan to become a bride for the master's son, a man whom she has never met. As she nears Isaac's tent, she does so covering her natural beauty, and Isaac receives her as his wife (Gen. 24:65-67). As the years go by, it is because of this halal bride Rebekah, and the revelation that she receives from God, that the patriarchal blessing and covenant inheritance is to be given to Jacob, rather than Esau. Jacob, renamed Israel by God, produced the sons and grandsons that became the tribes of Israel, from which Jesus came into the earth. Rebekah's halal marriage established the way for the coming of the Messiah.
In another example of halal, Ruth ("friendship, female companion, mate, neighbor woman") leaves her natural family and homeland, and freely chooses to accompany her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem in Judah. Ruth attaches herself to her mother-in-law in every way. Her mother-in-law was named Naomi ("my delight, favor, grace, beauty, brightness, splendor"). Ruth said to her mother-in-law, Naomi:
"Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God;
Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried;
The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." 
                                                                                                             Ruth 1:16-17
This kind of commitment to Naomi, and to Naomi's spiritual identity, laid the groundwork for the halal marriage that would soon enter Ruth's life.
After traveling back to Naomi's homeland, Ruth sacrificially gleans in the fields to feed not only herself, but Naomi. This causes Boaz to first notice her, and ask others about her identity. On her mother-in-law's advice, Ruth places herself at the feet of Boaz, who becomes her kinsman-redeemer. Looking at the situation based on natural considerations, this would seem an unlikely marriage. However, this was a halal marriage and from this marriage came the family line that produced not only King David, but again, as in Rebekah's case, established the way for the coming Messiah, Jesus, the Son of David. 
Marriages created in man's image produce various things, some of which man considers good. However, halal marriage produces Christ.
Halal marriage was created to personify kingdom glory, and the image and reign of Christ here on earth. As we are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity (Rev. 19:6-9) as a halal bride who has made herself ready, part of making ourselves ready should include gaining the revelation of what marriage in God's heart truly means. Also, because of the direct connection between halal marriage and the Lord Jesus Christ, I am sure that it must be the halal bride who joins with the Spirit to say, "Come!...whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."  Rev. 22:17 (see also Jn. 4:13-14, Jn. 7:37-39)

Our Father has ordained and purposed halal.

Fruit

Tonight begins Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, memorializing God's giving of the Torah, His Word, on Mt. Sinai, and also when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the waiting disciples in the upper room. We also call this feast, Pentecost. I would like to look at this giving of the Word and the Holy Spirit in a slightly different way to memorialize this special day.
Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."   Mt. 7:16-20
John the Baptist said the same thing, even before we heard it from Jesus. He said:
"And even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit  is cut down and thrown into the fire."
John was not warning the heathen sinners of his day. He was severely warning the religious folk. These were ones who seemingly obeyed the Law of Moses stringently, and voiced their strong disapproval of those whom they thought did not obey the Law. However, John said that they were not bearing the good fruit expected. So what kind of fruit did John, and by his anointing, the Holy Spirit, expect to see?
When we consider our lives as believers bearing fruit, we have certain ideas in mind: perhaps the concept of witnessing, and leading others to salvation, perhaps it is the good works and giving generated by love and faith. Maybe it involves having the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives. All of these things are wonderful, but Jesus wasn't speaking of these things as good fruit, because He went on to say that He was not talking about prophesying in His name, or casting out evil spirits, or doing wonders in His name, or even knowing Him as Savior (Mt. 7:21-23). I would have thought these things would be great fruit, but evidently Jesus was looking for something else. He went on to say that the fruit that impresses Him is whoever hears and does His sayings.
There are many verses in scripture of sins to avoid, and of commandments regarding those things that are to be done. All are vital truths to save us from death and destruction. Jesus, being an extremely smart man (because He is God), broke it down for us in a very simple, but devastating way. When asked what was the great commandment in the Law, He said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."   Mt. 22:35-40
Jesus said that all of the lists, and all of the commandments are summed up in these two points. I can't even get past point one. Yes, I love God. I truly do. I think He is the most amazingly awesome Being who ever was, is now, or ever will be. However, I know I am not being honest if I claim to love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind. I love other things also, so I cannot be loving Him with ALL my heart. My mind is usually occupied with things besides Him, so I cannot be loving Him with ALL my mind. Often I like to do things that I desire to do, so I am not loving Him with ALL my soul and will in those many moments. I think that if we loved God in that totality of manner, we would be holy and perfect as He is holy and perfect. We wouldn't have the time or the energy to be anything else! However, putting that debate aside, I fall apart anyway at the second commandment that carries the same weight as the first: the one about loving my neighbor. I doubt very seriously if I would die for any of my neighbors, even though they are very nice. Let's get real. Even those of us who believe God and do love Him, can't even get to first base in keeping the two commandments that incorporate all of the other commandments, and all of the prophets. God sent Jesus not because of lists we didn't keep, but because we didn't love Him:
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."   1 Jn. 4:10
Jesus said that it doesn't matter what else I do for the kingdom of God. If I fail at His sayings, I am not bringing forth good fruit. John the Baptist identified the good fruit as fruits worthy of repentance (Lk. 3:8). Repentance is always necessary for not keeping the sayings of Jesus, the Word of God, summed up by those two great commandments of which He spoke.
Generally, we do not see repentance as creating fruit, especially not greater fruit than doing wonders in the name of Christ! We view repentance as a sad and heavy task, and one that we prefer to urge others to do. However, the fruits worthy of repentance are so powerful, so great, that John the Baptist could see them, or the lack of them, from a mile away. Evidently, you don't even have to be a prophet to discern their presence or lack. These fruits are even obvious to the common man, who easily identifies the place where he can find grapes and figs, and where he can't find them according to Jesus (Mt. 7:16). Those without these precious fruits were called "a brood of vipers" for their lack: barren, worthless trees only worthy to be cut down and thrown into the fire. So what is the greatness in the fruits worthy of repentance that we should run to obtain them- that we should consider ourselves totally lacking if we don't have them?
Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding their repentance, and the fruits it had borne in their lives:
"For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a Godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear of this matter."   2 Cor. 7:10-11
Since the sorrow of the world produces death, contrarily we can say that the Godly sorrow of repentance produces life. Let's look in more detail at the fruits that were created from the repentance at Corinth mentioned in the verses above:
diligence (KJV-carefulness): speed, earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything. Await eagerly. Disciples listening to their teacher's instruction (at his feet), to put one's foot on the vanquished, footstool.
clearing of yourselves: defense, answer for one's self, defend a person or thing, to exculpate.
indignation: (root) a curved arm, closely enfolding (Lk. 2:28-Simeon took baby Jesus up in his arms).
fear: a reverent awe or fear, overcome at a wonder of God (Mt. 28:4, 8, Mk. 4:41, Lk. 5:26).
vehement desire: longing, pursue with love, intensely crave.
zeal: excitement, fervor, ardor in embracing, fervent in spirit (like water boiling), glow (like heated metal) (Acts 18:25, Rom. 12:11).
vindication (KJV-revenge): to avenge an injured person, to vindicate one from wrong, to protect/defend, carrying out justice (Lk. 18:8, 21:22 (that all things might be fulfilled), Acts 7:24 (said of Moses).
proved (KJV-approved): to show, establish, prove, exhibit, to place together, to stand with (2 Cor. 10:18, Col. 1:17-"by Him all things consist").
clear: exciting reverence, sacred, pure, immaculate, pure from every fault, most holy thing, a saint (1 Pet. 3:1-2, 1 Jn. 3:3, James 3:17 which also mentions "good fruit"). 
As David recounts the fruits that were created from his repentance before God in Psalm 51, (A Prayer of Repentance) he mentions a clean heart that is created in him, a steadfast spirit that is renewed in him, being able to remain in the presence of God, the Holy Spirit remaining with him (v. 10-11), the restored joy of salvation, God's Spirit generously upholding him, resulting ability to teach transgressors the ways of God, and converting sinners (v. 12-13), singing aloud of God's righteousness, and speaking praise, God's doing good to Zion and building the walls of Jerusalem (v. 18). All of these things were fruits that would flow from one man's sincere repentance. Not only is the repenting individual abundantly blessed by the fruits of his repentance, but David wrote that those fruits show outwardly to others changing their lives as well. David expected the whole nation to be benefitted from the fruits of his repentance. 2 Chron. 7:14 tells us the same thing. If God's people, who are called by His name, pray, and sincerely repent, He will heal their land.
This is the fruit that John the Baptist saw as lacking in the religious folk of his generation. This is the fruit that Jesus said that all men would be able to discern, and without which, the tree is only fit for the fire. John said, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance."
Surely these fruits are worth seeking. Let's seek repentance and the fruit that can change everything.

Our Father has called us to bear precious, powerful fruits of repentance.



 

MercySeat

We are familiar with the Mercy Seat. It was the only piece of furniture in the holiest place in the tabernacle of the congregation. It, like the rest of the tabernacle, was given to Moses after the pattern of the heavenly things. Once a year, on the Feast of Atonement, the High Priest, and only the High Priest, after careful preparation and sanctification, would enter the Holy of Holies, and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice with his finger seven times (Sabbath completion of God's work/rest) upon the Mercy Seat to make atonement for the sins of Israel. The only purpose in entering the Holy of Holies was to get to the Mercy Seat.
If the High Priest was not properly sanctified, or tried to approach the Mercy Seat on any other day, he would not remain alive.
Concerning "mercy", this week the Lord had me following a trail of spiritual breadcrumbs inch by inch along a path without knowing where that trail was leading, or what I would find as I walked, except I knew it was "something".
I started in Psalm 136, where the following phrase is continually repeated:

"...for His mercy endures forever."

After recounting many of God's wonders, even the works of creation itself, this phrase above is repeated in the Psalm. This phrase appears 86 times in scripture in several books of the Old Testament. God is trying to tell us something. In Hebrew, the phrase would be expressed using chesed (mercy, kindness, goodness, favor, desire, ardency, zeal, love, grace) olam (everlasting, perpetual, from the most ancient time, continuous existence, indefinite, unending future, concealed, time out of mind beyond past or future). "Olam" extends further back than the measured past, and further beyond the imagined future. God, through the scriptures, tells us repeatedly about this quality of mercy. It is olam. Interestingly, chesed mercy also includes the idea of "reproach, wicked thing, put to shame or contempt, reproof". Undeserved pardon doesn't exist without the prerequisite of the guilt of a crime.
According to Psalm 136, all of God's wonderful works mentioned were works that were attributed to, or came out of, chesed olam, not just during measured and known time here on earth, but before and after known time. It is surely a wonderful, genius God Who chooses to create out of enduring mercy, Who enfolds His creation within chesed mercy.
Let's get back to the Mercy Seat. The Hebrew word is "kapporeth". Kapporeth is not just a physical thing, but a place. It means "place of atonement, golden plate of propitiation, the Throne of God." The Mercy Seat, or kapporeth, is the Throne of God. Paul referred to it as "the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16). In the earthly tabernacle, the presence of God would appear over the Mercy Seat, so we must also assume according to the pattern, this is the Seat of the presence of God in heaven. It is necessary that this Seat be covered with sacrificial blood, because of the holiness of God. That holiness, by its very nature, breaks out against and destroys all that is not holy, therefore the need for the blood of sacrifice that sanctifies by covering sin. The root word used in kapporeth is "katar". It means "to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cleanse, cover with pitch" (which covered Noah's ark, and baby Moses' ark of bulrushes, both of which preserved life in the face of God's and Pharaoh's judgment). In the earthly tabernacle, the Mercy Seat covered the Word (Tablets of the Commandments), the miracle Bread of life (Manna) provided by God without any work on man's part, and the Resurrection (budded rod of Aaron).
God spoke to Moses from the kapporeth, or Mercy Seat:
"And there I will meet with you, and I will speak (commune, KJV) (Heb. "dabar") with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."  Ex. 25:22, Ex. 30:6
And at that place, Moses in turn spoke to God:
"Now when Moses went in to the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony..."   Num. 7:89
God speaks from the Mercy Seat, and it is there that we speak to Him. The creation was spoken into being, according to Gen. 1. John 1 tells us that the creative Word was Jesus. Can we then believe that this Word was spoken from that heavenly kapporeth? The Word is the building block of creation, but it flowed from the Mercy Seat of God.
Here is what I discovered as I followed that trail of spiritual bread crumbs that I mentioned at the beginning of this piece. This kapporeth, or Throne, from which God speaks the Word (Christ), is a living throne. The kapporeth, according to its meaning, is The Propitiation. The kapporeth cannot be separated from the body containing the Word, the Bread, and the Resurrection. To me Jesus Christ IS the kapporeth, as Paul wrote that He is our propitiation:
"...Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (mercy seat, merciful, make reconciliation) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance (holding back) God had passed over the sins that were previously committed..."   Rom. 3:25  and
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (mercy seat) for our sins."  1 Jn. 4:10
Propitiation is about the blood of the Lamb slain for our sin, but I think it is also about the place, the kapporeth. The two cannot be separated.
The veil before the Holy of Holies, which was torn in two, was Christ's flesh (Heb. 10:20). The contents of the ark, which was the Word, the Bread, and the Resurrection, also refer us to Christ. And the covering, or katar, over that Mercy Seat for olam eternity is His own blood from even before known time. Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation. He is the Alpha-Omega, the Beginning and End, which is the defining quality of chesed mercy. Because of this, we can come to the place of the Mercy Seat without fear-not because of who we are, but because of what He provided for us from His own body.
If God is enthroned above the Mercy Seat, then He must be enthroned upon Christ. You may say that God cannot be enthroned upon Christ, because Christ is seated at God's right hand (Col. 3:1). However, if we look at the root meaning in Greek of that phrase used in Colossians, we see a different thing. We see the kapporeth:
sitteth- stays, remains, exists, is, present (note: it does not specifically mean "to sit")

right hand- used as a place receiving one (Moses and High Priest received at Mercy Seat)
                - to receive or grant access to (the Mercy Seat granted access once/year,
                  and now, forever)
                - not to refuse intercourse or friendship (God spoke to Moses as a friend)
                - the thing offered in speaking, teaching, instructing (Ex. 25:22 re Mercy Seat)
                - to give ear to, to embrace, approve, not to reject, sustain, endure ("mercy
                  endures forever")

I can see more clearly why Paul would often greet the churches with the salutation, "Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord."
I hope I have been able to express to you what I discovered following the trail of spiritual bread crumbs. It led me to the Mercy Seat from which I believe God spoke into existence all creation, and completed His work. It led me to the Mercy Seat where God also speaks to me, and I may speak to Him. It led me to the Mercy Seat where I receive the friendship, instruction, approval and embrace of God, and the place where He gives ear to and answers my prayers and petitions. It led me to Christ, my Mercy Seat, the Living Word of God, in a new way, and to His blood, sacrificed to make a way for me into the Holy of Holies to this place before God. It led me to Christ Who laid Himself down, so that God may be enthroned upon Him. This is the finished work of God, by which I can enter into His rest that He provided for me.
I just followed the trail of Bread crumbs that He left for me. So can you. It will take you right there.

Our Father has provided the Mercy Seat for us from olam everlasting to olam everlasting.

Mother

 

In some countries, this weekend will bring a celebration of mothers. Some countries celebrate "Parents' Day" at this time of year. If you have this day of remembering and honoring your mother, you are keeping the command of the LORD when He said, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you." (Ex. 20:12). Honoring mother and father has a long term effect and blessing upon your life, according to this commandment.

We have a mother whom we often neglect to remember and honor. From this mother came all that we know about God. Our Heavenly Father describes Himself as married to her (Isa. 54:5-8, Jer. 31:31-33, Hos. 2:7), so if Israel is our Father's wife, then she is our mother as well. This mother, even in the face of persecution to death, kept the oracles of God for us, the future generations that she did not yet know, and could not even imagine:

"What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles (logion- the words or utterances of God: Root word = logos: a word uttered by a living voice, the sayings of God) of God." 

                                                                                                              Rom. 3:1-2

Because of the faithful dedication of our mother to this commission to keep these oracles of God, other nations recognize the unique relationship that our mother, and consequently we, have with God (Deut. 4:4-8). Not only did our mother keep the oracles in the form of the Old Testament, but in the writing and keeping of the New Testament. The New Covenant, was prophetically revealed to her and planted within her as a seed of promise (Jer. 31:31). And when the time came, our spiritual mother, the Jews, kept and delivered to us the new oracles of God for us, as well.

Our mother kept the oracles of God, and she birthed in faith the Son of God, and consequently the rest of us. In the Book of Revelation, this dedicated and faithful mother is described:

"...the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne...Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent...And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."  Rev. 12:4-17 (excerpt)

With the sacrificial heart of a mother, Israel and the Jewish people received spiritual blindness so that we might be able receive the good news of salvation. They gave up their knowledge of the Messiah for a time specified by God. We may think that this blindness was not chosen by them, but their prophets told them beforehand that it was by the word and will of God (Isa. 6:9-13). Would we have been willing to give up our salvation so that others might receive it? Paul told us that their blindness and falling was for our benefit (Rom. 11:8-11). However, as keepers of the oracles of God, our mother, the Jews, also knew that God promised that all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26-27, Isa. 59:19-21). As a mother nurtures hope in her heart for future days, our spiritual mother keeps hope in that promise of God. Shouldn't we also sacrifice - at least in a prayer of agreement with her hopes in the Word of God? It is indeed the least we can do for "Mom".

We cannot and must not separate ourselves from the mother who gave birth to us, who nurtured us diligently, and still provides the daily bread that feeds our souls. Paul makes clear that our roots are Jewish, as he defines the Jew not solely by a physical identity, but as one who is circumcised in the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). As we see with Abraham, Moses, and so many others in scripture, without the faithful obedience of these many generations of Jews, we would not have had the blessing that we walk in today. In Romans 11, Paul describes our Jewish parent this way:

...as life from the dead (v. 15)

...as a holy root (v. 16)

...as the root that supports us (v. 18)

...concerning the election, ... as beloved for the sake of the fathers (v. 28)

We became partakers of this root and fatness of our mother who is described as an olive tree (v. 17). As Proverbs 23:22 says, "Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise (hold as insignificant, disrespect) your mother when she is old." 
We should never become haughty children, believing we are now superior to the one who mothered us, or in thinking that we have surpassed her in understanding, and are now no longer in need of her (Rom. 11:20).

This Mother's Day, as we honor our natural mothers, let us also honor our spiritual mother, the Jews, who sacrificed so much on our behalf. Let's not ignore or neglect our relationship with her any longer. God promised her that her children would be returned to her (Isa. 49:22-23). This is not only the return of her natural children, but also the joyous return of her spiritual children, "the rest of her offspring... who have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Without "mother", we wouldn't be here. Without "mother", we wouldn't have found our salvation, our joy, our hope, and our eternal future.

Our Father provided a faithful "mother" for us.



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