The Dove's Call

Verse:  He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."
 - Acts 1:7-8

Topic: Does God still do miracles today?

Personal Piece:  For those who don't know we are nearing the end of the 50 day countdown to Pentecost.  Interestingly enough it has also turned out to be the countdown to the end of my wrestling with God that started little over a year ago.  God has been teaching me so much over the last year and while I wouldn't say it was a "dark time" or even a necessarily difficult lesson, it has been by far the most confusing lesson I have ever had to learn.  God has been tearing down into my roots and growing me up on stronger foundations.  Having been a Christian since I was 4 years old, this is a necessary process to move into adulthood and maintain my faith in who he is.  I can't depend on the habits and thought processes that got me through high school I must "let go of my childish ways" (1 Cor. 13:11).  But beyond that, God has been growing a new spiritual gift within me.  He has been teaching me to discern between spirits.  Not only good and bad spirits but also "almost good" and good.  He is teaching me to discern where the spirit of man is pushing him out, even in the lives of Christians I look up to.  What better time to hit the climax of this time then right on the eve of Pentecost when Yahweh poured out his spirit on man and filled them with his power.

Thought of the Week: The room was silent, the only sound was the occasional whispered prayers as those closest to Yeshua huddled together in an upper room.  It had been 10 days since Yeshua had left them.  The roman soldiers were still looking for his body, desperate for some kind of proof that the disciples had only stolen his body.  Every sound caused them to jump, wondering if perhaps the Roman's had come to arrest them.  It had been ten days and already doubts were beginning to sneak in.  He had told them to wait, to not even leave Jerusalem until they had received some kind of gift. But what if it never came?  Or what if like the times before his time frame was different than theirs? And what could this gift possibly be?  He had said they would be witnesses to the world but looking around this packed out room it sure didn't look like a room of witnesses.  The people trembled, the eyes were filled with fear though they tried to hide it.  They all struggled to pray, as they wrestled with the question on all their minds.  Why did Jesus have to leave?

These were the thoughts that may have plagued Peter's mind as he sat with the other devoted followers of Christ on that special Pentecost.  How many previous Pentecost's had he come to Jerusalem, hoping that Yahweh would fulfill his promise of power.  For 1500 years the Jews had made this pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  The prophet Jeremiah had promised that God would one day write his laws on their hearts (Jer. 31:31-34) and Pentecost was the day they looked for that fulfillment.  But after 1500 years, could Peter dare to hope that this was the Pentecost they had been waiting for.

Then it happened, a mysterious sound moved through the room.  It sounded like the storm winds he had heard so often on the Sea of Galilee, but the room was sealed and more than that the wind could be felt but not on the skin like most wind.  This wind could be felt in his soul.  Something was happening within him that could not be explained.  The soul wind was heavy on him and he felt like he might burst.  What was happening?  Someone cried out and he looked to see what looked to be a fire in the middle of the room, the fire began to separate and settle above each head in the room until all were consumed.  Something unexplainable was happening inside of him.  He wanted to laugh and cry, all at once.  He felt like singing, dancing shouting, falling to his knees.  Finally he did the only thing he could, he opened his mouth and what came out were words that he had never heard before.

Tears began to stream down Peter's face and suddenly he knew, knew with absolute certainty that Jesus was not gone.  He was here in this room.  No, he wasn't in the room, he was inside of him, inside each of them.  They were all speaking in the strange language and it was beautiful.  A language from the heart, words spoken privately between Jesus and himself.  Peter jumped to his feet and raced to the door.  He couldn't contain it anymore, he had to share with the world.  He didn't care if they laughed, he didn't care if they arrested him.  He had to speak, had to tell the whole world that Yeshua was alive, that he was still among them, that he was coming back.  Oh, there was so much to say how would he ever find the words.  But he didn't have to worry about that, did he?  Yeshua was there, Yeshua would do the speaking, he need only open his mouth and allow Yeshua to use him. This was just the beginning of a grand adventure.

We don't know for sure how exactly Peter might have felt before and after the spirit of Yahweh fell upon his people for the first time.  I have nothing to go off of but my own experiences and I can tell you it is nothing short of miraculous.  There are many churches that believe that speaking in tongues and doing miracles is a thing of the past, something saved only for the early disciples.  Yet there is no account of the moment that God decided to withdraw his spirit, there is nothing in the feasts that indicate that that was part of the deal.  There is no logic in a God who would give us a book filled with over 4000 years of miracles to show us how powerful he USED to be.  I believe that his spirit still lives within me, pushing me to do things and say things I would never do on my own.

What the feasts do show us is that after Pentecost there will be a dry season.  On the Jewish calendar there are about 3-4 months between Pentecost and the fall feasts.  The Jewish feasts follow the harvest cycle and this 3 month period was the driest part of the year.  But it was also the time that the harvest grew and prepared to be reaped.  We are in that dry season.  Every day we must fight against the weeds, and the birds and the hot sun (see parable of the sower) in order to be harvest-able when Jesus returns.  Some days we have to fight to feel his spirit, we have to fight against distractions and chemical imbalances and secret sin in order to experience the miracles that he intends for us to see. That's what I fight for.  Some days I win and some days I lose but I will always keep fighting.

Digging Deeper: For the account of Jesus' departure and the following day of Pentecost read Acts chapters 1 and 2.  The rest of Acts tells the story of the numerous miracles performed through God's spirit.  1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 gives a detailed explanation of the numerous giftings of the Holy Spirit as well as proper use of them in the church.

The Parable of the Sower can be found in Matthew chapter 13

For more on the feast of Pentecost check out "Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts" by Dr. Richard Booker.  I also highly recommend "The Code of the Holy Spirit" by Perry Stone which I read over the course of these 50 days and was given a completely new outlook on the Holy Spirit.

Challenge: Spend some time to get to know the person of the Holy Spirit.  There are numerous books on the subject and the apostle Paul speaks a lot about him throughout the New Testament.  So whether you do a Biblical study, a book study or just dialogue with God about it take some time to figure out who the Holy Spirit really is and what his role is in our world and in your life.

Of Priests and Kings: The Kingly Priest

Verse: For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! - Romans 5:10

Topic: How can I be faithful in a world of distractions?

Personal Piece:  This week has been quite the whirlwind.  My sister returned from nine months working in India.  My family is always looking for excuses to get together so her return turned into a week long family reunion.  Between surprise birthday parties, dinners, church, movies, board games and lots of laughter it was a very wonderful week.  Just what the doctor ordered.  It's so easy to get caught up in the monotony of life and get lost in my own head.  I'm always thankful when I have sometime to be with my family, take off the mask that so many expect me to wear and just be myself for a little while.

Thought of the Week: This month I have been talking a lot about this concept of priests and kings and what God's intention was when he established Israel as a nation.  When Israel was first established they had no king.  It was God's intention that the people seek his face for their guidance. In the early days the prophetic mouthpiece that God had set up was considered to be the highest position in the land with the high priest not far beneath him.  These two men were responsible not only for the natural well-being of the nation but even more so for their spiritual well-being.  God spoke to these men directly until the nation became so corrupt that they demanded a king.  They didn't want God's direct leadership anymore.  So God gave them what they asked for and the people became even more separated from God.

But God had given King David a promise that one of his descendants would always be on the throne. I'm sure the people of Israel believed Yahweh had broken his promise when Israel fell and a Babylonian king took over who had no connection to David.  For nearly 1000 years the people were under the rule of foreign nations rather than a son of David.  I can't even imagine that.  So often God gives me promises and I feel like I've been lied to after just 5 min of the promise not being fulfilled. The next day I feel like an idiot wondering why I ever allowed myself to hold onto a promise that was so unrealistic.  The people of Israel waited A THOUSAND YEARS.  The man who God had given the promise to wasn't even alive to see its fulfillment and yet his faith did not waver.  He knew God's word was good.

The people were waiting for a king to rise up and take his place in Jerusalem.  A strong warrior who would take back the nation from captivity and establish them as a world power once again.  Looking back we can see how small minded they were (aren't we all).  It's often only after God has finally fulfilled his promise in his own way that we can look back and see how he was moving in his own direction all along.  God had no intention of establishing a king.  That had never been his intent from the time he had initially established Israel.  Israel was meant to be led by a priest and who better to lead Israel in holiness then...God himself.

God became a man and lived among humanity.  He taught them the truth, showed them his heart and opened his arms to any who were willing to come.  Many people look down on Judas for betraying the Messiah but how many of us can honestly say that we wouldn't have done the same thing to a man who was going against everything we had grown up to believe.  Many of the people who followed Jesus, did so with the expectation that he would one day pick up his sword and rescue them. When Judas realized that wasn't the case he believed that Jesus was a heretic (he did after all claim to be God) and according to the law heretics had to be killed.

How many of us can say that we have not done the same thing in our own lives.  We have these expectations for Jesus.  We expect that once we become Christians our lives will become miraculously better.  We expect that bad things will stop happening and that our lives will somehow become perfect.  When it turns out that that isn't the case we blame God, we declare him a liar with our actions.  We deny him or turn our backs on him and his laws  And it all comes down to our developing an opinion of God that isn't accurate.  As my brother and sister-in-law would say "You think you know but'cha don't".  None of us truly can and that's part of the adventure.

Jesus came and established himself in a priestly and prophetic role long before he established himself as any kind of king.  Though he is more than worthy to be king, it was more important to him that the people be reminded of what holiness looked like.  He wants all of us to come to him first as the priest that stands before Yahweh on our behalf.  He wants us to see him as the one who came to direct us in paths of holiness and who came to show us how to live amidst the distractions.  Jesus was the priest who became king.  The only man who could ever be both.  He became the permanent bridge between us and God as Moses, Joshua and David had once been.

This world can be so distracting we install faster technology so that we have more time but then realize we don't really know what to do with all that time so we plug into louder and louder entertainment until we can no longer hear his voice.  Jesus came to teach us how to slow down and enjoy life.  He came to show us what's of true importance.  And he made it simple and timeless. "Love God and love others".  How do we remain faithful in a life of distractions, we simply love God (our high priest) and we love others (directing them to the high priest with our example).  God is a king but he is first and foremost a priest.  It's what he wanted the people of Israel to see and it is what he still wants us to see today.

Digging Deeper:  For more about priests and their duties check out the book of Leviticus.  The book of Hebrews gives an in depth examination of how Jesus fulfilled the role of priest

Challenge: Keep a log with 3 columns.  In the first column mark the ways you showed your love for God throughout the day.  In the 2nd mark the ways you've shown your love for others and in the final column write down the distractions that may have taken away from the first two.  After a week examine how the three columns balance out.  Is one column longer than the other.  Keep in mind that some things that we use to "recharge" should be placed in the distraction section.  Though it may not seem like it the only true way to recharge is to spend time with God and let that time overflow onto others.  If you do a second week ask yourself how you can re-balance your columns so that you are "charging" with the right "outlets"

Of Priests and Kings: The Faithful King

Verse: He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. - Psalms 103:9-10

Topic: How can I be faithful in a world of distractions?

Personal Piece: This week was a bit of a struggle for me emotionally.  Sometimes the people we consider to be friends can be rather insensitive.  Sometimes it can feel like we're all alone even while surrounded by people.  That's what the last couple days have felt like.  For those who don't know me, I've never really struggled to make friends, I've just struggled to keep them.  I love meeting new people and getting to know people's quirks and what sets them apart.  Unfortunately not many people feel the same way about my quirks.  People love to judge and make themselves look better.  Throughout my entire life the number one message I have gotten from those who call me friend is "You're important, but not as important as..." fill in the blank.  It's in these moments that I must turn to Christ.  In these moments I have to crawl up onto his lap and sob into his shoulder and beg to know why and how long.  He rarely gives me an answer but he always brings me comfort and I must choose to trust him.

Thought of the Week:  Last week we talked about a priest named Eli who led the people of Israel and allowed them to live in sin.  He chose to do nothing and because of his inaction the Ark of the Covenant was taken and he and his sons were killed.  His successor was a prophet named Samuel who was a strong man of God but he was unable to bring Israel back to its roots and restore the priesthood.  The people begged for a king and the separation between God and man became even deeper then before.  Yahweh stopped using the king as a mouth piece as he had done before.  As we read through the book of First Samuel we see that the first king, Saul, was used by God at first but as the glory and power of kingship became greater, the Spirit of God became less and less prominent in his life.

Last week I talked about how the prophets and leaders of Israel became two separate entities after Saul became king with two exceptions.  The first exception was Saul's successor David.  David is hands-down the most well-known of all the kings of Israel.  Not only because of his kingly conquests but because of his devout faithfulness to God.  David wasn't raised in the courts, he wasn't from a rich family and had no dreams of ruling anything.  He was a mere shepherd but he had a deep desire to go deeper with God then anyone had gone before.  God chose him to be the king and David did not disappoint.

David was in the same world as Saul, he faced the same Philistines and followed the same God.  But Saul wanted to please the people and David longed only to please God.  He wasn't going to allow anyone to influence who he was or what he believed.  He had encountered God and he wasn't going to let idols of the people distract him from following God.  Even when the promises seemed so far away he knew it was in God's hands.  He restored the Ark to its rightful place in the Tabernacle, establishing God back to his rightful place.

As long as David's eyes were on Yahweh the kingdom had victory and prosperity.  Sadly, David's story does not end on a very happy note.  Though he served Yahweh throughout his life he eventually became distracted as well by the things of this world, he too stumbled and needed a prophetic mouthpiece to get him back on track.  His sin, though forgiven, brought much destruction to not only his family but the entire nation.  Every king after David dealt with deeper and deeper separation from God and until even the prophets were not loud enough for the people to hear.

Throughout the old testament we see accounts of the different prophets who pleaded with the people of Israel and Judah, warning them of God's anger and pleading with the king to lead the people in holiness.  A few of the kings tried but none could restore the priestly connection that they had once had and their deaths always led to a deeper return to the darkness.  Finally Yahweh had had enough and after hundreds of years of speaking through the prophets he decided not to choose a mouthpiece. For over a hundred years there was silence from God.  The temple was destroyed the Jewish people scattered and fighting for something stable.

I can't imagine what that time must have been like.  For hundreds of years God had been speaking through the prophets, begging for the people to listen, begging for them to repent and live holy lives and then suddenly...silence.  A world shrouded in dark silence, the God they had taken for granted had seemingly turned his back on them.  Perhaps he had finally been pushed too far.  After 4000 years the God of the Universe was without words, he had said all that he could possibly say and there was nothing left but to wait.  Wait, until the world noticed that he'd pulled away and came looking for him.

Yahweh had given a special promise to David because of his faithfulness.  A promise that 1000 years later had still not been fulfilled.  Yahweh had promised that someone from David's bloodline would always remain on the throne.  When the people were taken into captivity, I'm sure that it felt like God was failing to keep that promise.  Not only was there no descendant of David on the throne but there was no king at all.  It seemed like Israel had truly fallen and Yahweh had completely turned his back. But the story wasn't over yet there was still one more king to come.

To Be Continued...

Digging Deeper:  For the full story of King David check out 1 and 2 Samuel.  For more about the kings that followed after David check out 1 and 2 Kings

The Bible itself does not tell us what happened during God's period of silence but for more information you can check out the Books of Maccabees which tells more of what happened in Israel during this period of time.

Challenge: The past two entries may not have had a clear life lesson but that doesn't mean they aren't there.  Read through the entries again and ask God what he's trying to teach you.  Then share what you're learning in the comments and don't forget to take the survey at the top of the page.

Of Priests and Kings: The Rebellious Priest

Verse: I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.  I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. - Psalms 101:3

Topic:  How can I be faithful in a world of distractions?

Personal Piece: Man, does it feel good to just sit for a couple hours.  I feel like  I've been going non-stop for the last week...which I have been.  Early mornings and long days have made for a busy week but though I've been exhausted it has been a good kind of exhausted.  Last week I did something that God has been asking me to do for over a year.  When the Chick-fil-A I work at first opened a little over a year ago the stress was so high that friends who had worked together for 2 or 3 years began to turn against each other.  God told me to pray for Chick-fil-A and asked me to do a Jericho March around the restaurant.  I never did.  Not until last week.  Though I could not see with physical eyes I could feel the walls of division start to crumble.  While there are still communication issues and gossip, I can feel the difference in the atmosphere.  God is moving, removing the strongholds and replacing them with joy.

Thought of the Week: Over the last few moths, I have talked a couple of times about Moses and a little bit about his successor Joshua.  These were two incredible men of God and during their lifetimes the nation of Israel was a holy and powerful nation.  They weren't warriors by any means but they had Yahweh at their side and that made all the difference.  Other nations trembled and panicked when they heard they were coming, not because they had a huge army or fancy weapons but because other nations knew that the Israelite God was far superior to their gods.  Despite their faults (of which there were many) Israel made a name for itself simply by living their lives in faithful devotion to their Creator God.  Then Joshua died and everything changed.

When Joshua died, there was nobody to take his place.  In all of Israel there was no one who had truly encountered God and desired the level of holiness that he demanded.  They followed his rules but didn't allow their hearts to be changed and that was when the enemy was able to strike.  Over and over and over again the the people were distracted by the sin of the other nations, pulled into the darkness, enslaved and mistreated by the enemy and then pulled out by their faithful God whose heart they had broken.  Even the priests became corrupt and did not respect God's demand for holiness.  Yahweh became so angry that he began to look for someone else to lead the people.  Someone in tune with his heart,  who would be receptive to his leading and would have the strength to lead the people in the direction they needed to go.  But he looked and found no on.  At least no one who was born yet.

Then a woman came to the Tabernacle who had reached the end of her rope and Yahweh smiled.  She wanted nothing more than the honor of having a child.  A simple task for the God of all things.  She had asked so many times before but he refused time and time again because he needed her to be different, he needed her to know him in a way that none of the others, not even Eli the high priest knew him.  He needed her to be desperate so that he could step in and fill her empty places.  She came and knelt before him with open hands, weak knees, and a voice that wouldn't even work and he granted her request.  The son that was born, Samuel, was dedicated to the Lord and raised in the Tabernacle.  1 Samuel 3:1 tells us that the people no longer heard from the Lord and the visions and prophecies that had led Moses and Joshua were rare occurrences.  But God had been preparing Samuel from conception to be his mouthpiece.

Samuel would sleep "where the ark of God was" (1 Samuel 3:2).  There are many commentaries about whether or not Samuel was actually within the Holy of Holies or somewhere just outside of it. The Holy of Holies was the center of the Tabernacle and was considered to be so filled with God's holiness that any who entered there could potentially be struck dead if they did not go through the proper procedures.  Whether Samuel was in the Holy of Holies itself or right outside we know that Samuel was in the place that was as close to God as he could possibly get.  Like Joshua before him he was taking every opportunity to be in the presence of God.  He didn't allow anything to get in the way of knowing Yahweh.  That's when Yahweh spoke.  That's when a boy no older than 13 was called to be the mouthpiece for an entire nation.

Unfortunately, Israel had had enough of listening to Yahweh.  They were corrupt and did whatever they pleased.  They followed whatever whims made sense to them at the time, even going so far as to remove the Ark from the Holy of Holies and bring it to war with them...without the permission of Yahweh.  A little spoiler for you, God does not like when people mess with his house.  The Israelites lost the war, Eli and his two sons died, the ark was stolen and the presence of Yahweh was lifted from Israel.  God still put the attacking Philistines in their place.  He made them seriously sick and defamed that temple and humiliated their god not once, but twice.  Finally, the Philistines brough the Ark back to Israel

All of this sets the stage for what I have come to call The Second Defining Betrayal of History (the first being eating the forbidden fruit).  Since the very beginning, Israel had been a kingdom of priests.  While other nations were defined by their armies and politicians, Israel had always been defined by its priesthood.  The priests and prophets brought purity and guidance to the people, they listened to the whisper of the Holy Spirit from the Holy of Holies and brought the word of Yahweh to the people.  He spoke to them clearly and told them his desires.  But the people looked to the other nations and saw what seemed to be "greener grass".  Samuel had led them throughout his life but he was getting old and sons did not follow his ways.  The people were afraid that they would be leaderless again and instead of trusting that Yahweh would raise up a mouthpiece as he had always done, they demanded a king.  The other nations had human kings to lead them, why couldn't they?  In this moment, the people demanded something that would bring an even greater separation from God then they already had.

After this moment, there is a shift in the people Yahweh speaks through.  The king was not the mouthpiece of God like Moses, Joshua or even the Judges had been.  He was a human ruler who would follow his own whims.  He was someone who could be bribed and manipulated.  He was a man who could take what and who he wanted and could use his position for selfish means.  If he was wise he would listen to the prophets and priests that Yahweh chose to speak through and lead Israel in faithful submission to God.  The foolish kings would reject the prophet that God had chosen and go his own way, leading the people of Israel in idolatry and faithless rebellion.  Before the second betrayal there was no separation between leaders and prophets.  The prophets were the leaders and the leaders heard God's voice.  After the second betrayal you were either a king or a prophet but rarely both.  With only two exceptions...

To Be Continued...

Digging Deeper: The story of Samuel can be found throughout 1 and 2 Samuel, this week's story was taken from 1 Samuel 1-8.  For more on the kings of Israel check out 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings.  The story of the Philistines taking the Ark of the Covenant can be found 1 Samuel 4-6.  Israel's request for a king can be found in 1 Samuel chapter 8.

For more on Samuel in the Holy of Holies click here.  This  article may be a bit difficult to understand for the non-academic but it draws some intriguing parallels between Joshua and Samuel toward the end.

Please leave comments and questions down below,  I'd love to hear from you.  And be sure to check your answers in the survey at the top of the page.  I'd love to get to know my readers better.

Challenge: Leave a comment or do the survey at the top of the page.  Or do BOTH!  I'd love to hear from my readers and hear your thoughts on this or any of the other entries that have been posted. Have a fantastic week.