Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Meekness for the Preakness: Are You Chomping at the Bit?

Preparing to run with the horses..


Are YOU

"Chomping at the Bit"?

Definition: be champing/chomping at the bit  also be chafing at the bit
to be very keen to start an activity or to go somewhere.
the expression can be traced back to the equestrian world. In the world of horses, a bit is a small metal rod attached to a harness or bridle. This metal bit fits inside a natural space within the horse's mouth. The bit serves several purposes, from discouraging the horse from eating wild grasses (false doctrine)  to guiding his or her head while connected to the reins  (being led by the reigning Holy Spirit). A horse will instinctively chew and bite at the metallic bit as long as it remains inside its mouth.
 Our soul nature does not immediately adapt to or accept guidance.

Chomping at the bit is usually related to a few things, generally:


-pain
-confusion about the bit  -- I.E. lack of understanding

-rider using reins incorrect/harsh bit -- Poor counsel

-anxiety   --Lack of confidence (faith) in God's goodness toward us.

A well trained horse is best prepared for success.  It knows the voice of the
trainer, the commands and proper responses. It has become accustomed to being ridden, and  is ready to race the Big Race!.?


"Thoroughbreds must be born knowing to play out their role in the ritual?" 





It took a great amount of work, 
time and insight to get each 
of those horses to the gate, never mind into it

Q: {WAIT! What??? I have to get into a gate??? 
What happened to
"launching", "release into destiny" and "soaring like an eagle"?!?}   
A: Yes. You do. You must qualify for Inheritance.
You have been created, called and groomed. Now we see if you are qualified- matured. 
 An entire process, involving repetition, patience, kindness and compassion had to occur over a period of days, weeks and months before the horses would be ready to enter the gate and come exploding out of it, safely.
Baby Steps
The first step involves introducing the horse to the starting gate as a concept.  Horses, especially Thoroughbreds, are claustrophobic.
(Let's be real here, NONE of us really like restraint, right?)
 They detest tightly-enclosed spaces.  Confining a horse to a 12' x 12' stall is challenging enough for the horse's psyche:  shrink that space down to about 2.5'  wide and 8' long--and you have the potential for a horse who loses her mind, and injures or kills herself and everyone around her. 

  Hmmmm.  How many "wounded thoroughbreds" do you know in the Body of Christ?  
Could it be due to lack of meekness on their part 
or another's?  Taking offense is like the horse 
who fights while in the starting gate.
 An injury could delay his release! 

The Process, Pared Down...

Gate Training is the process by which Thoroughbreds are introduced to the starting gate and being "certified," as it were,
 to be in a race. 
Depending on the age, temperament and learning curve of the horse, the process generally involves first, just walking the horse up to the gate.  That's it.  Just showing the gate to the Horse: 
"Here, Horse:  this is the starting gate."
Once you've been given preparation for fulfillment 
of a vision- you meet the gate.
A series of similar introductions, involving hand-walking the horse into the open gate, then walking in with a rider on back.  Then closing the front of the gate, and standing in that tight, enclosed space. 
"Calm, calm, it's OK, Horse."

Next will come opening the front of the gate, and walking the horse out of the front.  Then opening the gate as it would in a race, and galloping out of the gate.
These steps all lead up to a horse earning her gate card, the certification that s/he has successfully passed all the steps necessary to be in a race that begins in the gate. 


 A powerful Thoroughbred that has learned the way of the course and tempered itself to respond to the bit will receive many winning trophies. They  learn to
accept restrictions and confinement of their massive power and ability.

The Believer who understands 
his/her position in the Body is also valuable.
Once we understand that we neither 
earn nor war for our inheritance, we
can be sure and steady in our progress. We have blinders on in a good way- we see the course laid out for us
 and we run the race.
We need Meekness for the Preakness!
The Hebrew word translated "meekness" is anav or anaw, meaning "depressed (figuratively), in mind (gentle) or circumstances (needy, especially saintly): humble, lowly, meek, poor ;which prefers to bear injuries rather than return them"  --  aka humility.
Meekness, according to Aristotle,is the middle standing between two extremes, 
getting angry without reason, 
 and not getting angry at all.

When we are in a waiting period, meekness is of extreme importance:
it keeps us from losing strength caused by running out ahead of the course.
We must allow meekness to be cultivated within us so that we may stay
in God's timing.
It is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness, not in weakness, but in power.
It is a balance born in strength of character.


Godly meekness is impossible unless we first learn of our sonship and the right standing we have through Christ which is neither earned nor deserved. 
  While pride destroys self and others, and prompts us to break out of the starting gate prematurely, humility serves, protects  and builds.
With meekness solidly in place,  we can dream of joining  the ranks of those belonging to the 
 Triple Crown ( Father, Son & Holy Spirit) Champions!



See you next time with Ready to Run!!

Monday, April 29, 2013

WHOOOOOA! First you train, then you reign!


whoa:  verb imperative \ˈwō, ˈhō, ˈhwō\
1—a command (as to a draft animal) to stand still 
2: cease or slow a course of action or a line of thought : pause to consider or reconsider —often used to express a strong reaction (as alarm or astonishment) 
  Slow down!  Training requires self control which develops wisdom. You may know many facts regarding a topic, but you are useless to a team
 if you do not know how to apply them!
 We cannot be stubborn and insist
upon the merits of our knowledge, our great desire to serve,
  or even our gifting.


 Zeal without wisdom is DANGEROUS!



Rome wasn't conquered in a day and you can't climb Everest in 24 hours.

Experienced climbers know that small steps repeated will cover more ground faster than an enthusiastic sprint. They have learned the value of diligence, persistence and consistency.

WE MUST BE TEACHABLE!

"But I have been prepared! I have submitted,
 and learned and have experience, 
and, and..."

   Jeremiah had been faithful and transparent.   He expressed his frustration to the Lord, and the Lord replied with a proverb:


“If you have raced with men on foot
    and they have worn you out,
    how can you compete with horses?
                 If you stumble in safe country,
    how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

Jeremiah12:5
First, this parable is telling! 
It tells what Jeremiah has been doing, and points to what is to come. 
                 He was a passionate man. His zeal for the Lord had matured and he had grown into one who knew His ways.

 Yet God had more for him than what he had already experienced. And God knew what Jeremiah needed to sustain himself for the duration of that mission!

Sometimes we get frustrated when things are not moving in the way or at the speed that we think they should. But as a horse learns to accept the bit, and follow the lead of the trainer, they settle down and skill develops.  There is a oneness between the horse and trainer.
   But he has yet to be ridden! 

See how training begins...
 Horses getting fit for the first time are also generally “babies,” and while you are trying to get them fit you are also providing lots of education, like switching leads learning the lay of the land, your voice as the trainer. Getting a horse fit and ready to run for the first time may take many months.

After a couple weeks, the training routine falls into a familiar pattern.
 Five days a week you will be galloping up to a mile
 and a half. 
The seventh day the horse will have a day off.
  Each week the workouts will get a little longer and faster. 
{Sound like any trials you have encountered?} 


 

   So, YES, you have a destiny, and YES there is a new season ahead for you!

The question is, will you relax enough to grow into it?


Next Time:  "Are You Chomping at the Bit?"

Meekness for the Preakness

"And they're off!"

   It's Springtime- and time for the Triple Crown!
What takes only moments to observe is years in the making for those who race!
The past few months the Lord has been speaking to me about Running with the horses- from Jeremiah 12:5  "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan?"   He has been revealing many truths that have shed much light upon different seasons and situations.  Be sure to stay tuned for all three parts of this message!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Change of Address: Welcome Home!

Abide.
One word. One powerful, life giving, life altering word.

a·bide  

/əˈbīd/



Verb
  1. Accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation):
  2.  "I would abide by their decision".
  3. Be unable to tolerate (someone or something): "I cannot abide a lack of discipline".

Synonyms   stay - stand - endure - reside - dwell - remain - bear




 WHERE DO YOU LIVE??




A call is going out to all who call themselves "Believers in Christ".

For too long we have neglected the truth and full meaning/invitation given by our Father.
It came in the form of  the cross, and our RSVP was to be returned after the opening of the tomb. When the veil was torn in two in the temple, God opened up His front door to us!
And many have responded, but few have understood the invitation.
WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE VISITORS ! We were invited to abide IN Him, not just with Him. Oh how many miss the truth and the magnitude of what has been accomplished on the cross!!!  Heaven was shut before us until Jesus extended His arms and welcomed us in. At the time the sword was thrust into Jesus' body,   the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom.
Exod 26:31-34 "You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy."

That veil was 15 feet high, and 18 feet long. As to the weight of it, the Bible does not say.

Tradition says that two horses hooked to it would not have 

been able to pull it  in two, it was so thick, but the Bible 

never says that.


The veil being torn in two speaks of the body of Jesus Christ being broken on our behalf to make access to Him possible. 

The presence of God was uncovered and all are now

 invited to enter through the way Christ opened.


 Abide. 
An active word, not a passive word. To  abide requires a decision- a weighing of priorities.
Look again at the definition above. It includes endure-that is active-you cannot be passive as you are enduring, it necessitates a constant state of decisiveness. As you endure, you must repeatedly revisit that initial decision to "stay, stand, remain, bear".  If that decision is upheld, then you are dwelling, choosing your residence


    We were invited IN, to stay, to remain in HIs presence.

Never were we invited to visit. 

Yet, sadly that is what has been accepted as the norm. We awake, we might say a quick prayer, or better, spend a time in "devotions", yet we still leave!  We don't realize what was given to us!  His very presence- the door to the Holy of Holies was opened to us. Constant communion (fellowship, not bread and juice), wisdom, counsel, and friendship with the One who was, Is ,and Is to come is there waiting for us, not for a moment, not for a dedicated hour of "quiet time", and not for our gatherings that take place weekly. But 24/7, 365, FOREVER!!!!  Forever began that day the sword entered, the veil was torn and the Front Door to God's Living Room was opened to us!

   We MUST change our mindset regarding this. It is a paradigm shift in the way we think, approach and steward our lives. Those "saints" who seem to know the Lord in a deeper way, in a way that we might secretly desire, long for but have regrettably assigned  that wonder to " a select few" are the ones who not only heard the gospel, believed it and responded, but they accepted the invitation to stay. They have learned how to abide in His presence.

They daily, CONTINUALLY practice His presence. They have developed the awareness of Him at all times. They know that He speaks softly but mightily, sense His gentle but sudden staff of guidance in even the smallest of movements. God is not confined to specific rooms in their hearts. They understand that He is too large to "come into their lives". Which is why HE extended the invitation to them/ us...


   God is not someone they visit;


 They moved in!!

  They do not set aside a "time" or place for 

                Him. He is too grand, to limitless to fit into

their schedule, their lifestyle.   They live IN Him.  

  So, what about YOU?  


 Are you ready to make   that Change  of Address?  



HOW? you may ask? 
   

* First ask the Lord to reveal this truth to you- to breath 

upon it  and make it rhema-and not just written (logos).


* Practice being aware of His presence 

throughout the day.

* Rid yourself of preconceived notions of  how God will relate


to you.  Like any Father, He relates individually , personally and uniquely with each child.

* Understand that Bible Study, prayer time are vital, but don't relegate Him to those times alone.   
 This involves a shift in  our expectancy.  
As "Brother Lawrence" stated in his book Practicing the Presence of God: 
"That in order to form a habit of conversing with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him; we must at first apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty."
 Begin to restructure attitudes and thought processes that once divided your time with the Lord 

and your daily activities. IF you are living IN Him, you are with Him  in the car, the store, the  

laundry room, board room, bathroom and kitchen!














What's Goat got to do with it?

    Prayer,  talking, communication between God and man is covered with goatskin. What am I talking about?  Read Numbers chapter 4. God gives specific instructions regarding the tabernacle items and how they are to be cared for:
11 “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the altar. 12 They must take all the remaining furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying frame.
The altar of incense  ( = prayer) is to be covered with in blue (= heavenlies) and then goatskin. Why goatskin? The goat was a sacrificial animal. This drab color tells us of Jesus in His humility and poverty. Goatskins were worn by the poor and throughout the Bible represented extreme poverty.

When we come before the Lord of Heaven, we must be mindful of the poverty that covered our life before HE became our covering. His sacrifice lies between us and heaven. WE can only approach the Father through Him. 
   A goat was used on the Day of Atonement. After the high priest completed the blood sprinkling in the Holy of Holies he would go into the court of the tabernacle and lay his hands on the head of the " scapegoat" ; confessing over it all the sins of the people. The goat was then led away, by a man standing ready, into the wilderness, and there let free, to signify the carrying away of Israel's sins which God had forgiven. 
   The vessels/instruments that represented prayer in the tabernacle are object lessons to us, reminding us of that truth.  Our lack, need, sin, nakedness is covered by Jesus' sacrifice. 
    Goatskin is a simple, humble reminder of our own simple nature, and the manner of which to approach the King of Heaven;  humility and gratitude.  

We are measured not by our own talents or worth, but by His completed work on the cross.
 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Intercession in view of the Tabernacle

  Often  people view prayer as boring, or just too difficult. 
The truth is that this often stems from a lack of understanding about 
prayer's what, how , why.  This blog focuses on Intercessory prayer. But it is good to define the various types of prayer so that one has a clearer picture of WHAT prayer involves and then you know HOW and WHY you pray specifically at a given time/situation. Then we will be able to move on the seeing how all this works via the pattern of the Tabernacle.
  Petition vs. Intercession: 
Simply put, petition is a form of prayer that asks for something. It is a
"vertical" type of prayer from one person to the Father.
Intercession is both vertical and horizontal in that the one interceeding  is standing beside another person, or in a situation( which of course involves people) and before God, on their behalf. 
Intercession involves not just asking, but a breaking, and a binding and the use of God given authority to bring freedom from the onslaught of the enemy. 
The structure and pattern of the tabernacle is seen in our preparation and practice of intercession. Intercession is a priestly practice.

The first step toward intercession involves one's own heart. A soldier never goes out into battle unprepared. Intercession is both bearing another's burden, and doing battle to see that burden lifted.  The preparation begins with your own heart. A pure heart is vital to seeing results in intercession.  A time of quietness, reverence and cleansing before the Lord is necessary. 
  

The Lord commanded the priests to put on garments of fine linen, which were created according to His design. These represent the righteousness of Christ. As we accept Christ's sacrifice, we "put on Christ".  This was done before any service was rendered. 
 For the Levites, this garment was  a prayer shawl worn over the fine linen; The High priest, the only one permitted to go into the actual presence of God wore very specific garments. Each part is a symbol of our Christian faith and the truths  reflected in it.
 
As they entered the tabernacle, the  brazen laver was first seen:
 It was a polished metal which created a mirror effect. You were to see
yourself in that laver- your sin and your cleansing. This act of cleansing was a requirement in order to proceed toward the presence of God and 
the ministry of the priesthood. 
Too often we find ourselves questioning our "unanswered prayers". Could it be because we didn't take the time to reflect, inspect and repent, first? 
We just rushed right in and gave a list of petitions, when the Lord was really wanting the act of intercession? 
Next in the tabernacle journey is the Brazen Altar.



The Brazen altar represented the sacrifice of Jesus. 
There were four horns on the altar- four representing the points of a compass- North, South, East and West. The sacrifice covered all the earth- is available to all men.  The horns were the horns of a bull, the highest sacrifice in animals due to its expense. The expression "grabbing onto the horns of the altar" expression comes from this. We lay hold of the gift given in Jesus' sacrifice, one that not even a bull could accomplish- and find forgiveness and freedom from bondage.

You have heard it said that you can lead where you won't go? Well, to intercede for another while you have unresolved sin or bondage will be futile, and most likely lead to great frustration and discouragement.  
Those that work in altar ministry should/must know these truths. If everyone who desires to minister to others practiced just these three steps toward the tabernacle, wouldn't we see a great change come over the Body of Christ?  How many more positive results to prayer might we find?    Selah.
You might be amazed to learn that a great majority of believers minister in their own knowledge and strength and the effect is minimal.  The next post will shine light upon God's plan for us to minister in His power and grace!


I would also like to recommend a really intriguing article found HERE.


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Looking toward Sunday

The past two meetings we have established that:
1. God's original plan was for man to rule the earth
2. We rule in accordance with His direction
3. Prayer is fellowship with the Lord and intercession creates a meeting between us, God and other individuals

That's a VERY condensed version of our meetings!
This coming meeting goes even deeper and some things about prayer might surprise you as we delve deeper into this multifaceted topic!  Once you get beyond the traditional thoughts regarding prayer, you find how fascinating and marvelous it really is and you will never want to return to that place of indifference and ambivalance! :) 
   Why do we often have to pray about a matter more than once? Isn't that an indication of lack of faith? What is "warring" in prayer?


   See you Sunday when we discuss these and other aspects of intercession!