God’s presence brings blessing

In 2 Samuel 6 David left the Ark of God at the house of Obed-edom. David did this because He was afraid of the presence of God because Uzzah was struck dead because he touched the Ark.   

Obed-edom’s house was however blessed beyond comprehension: 

2 Sam. 6:11-12(NLT) 

The Ark of the LORD remained there in Obed-edom's house for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.

Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's household and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration.  

Because David saw the blessing on Obed-edom’s house, he brought the Ark back to the City of David. The Ark was God’s dwelling place, and wherever His presence is, there He will command a blessing! 

As we saw yesterday – we are the temple of God and God’s Ark with the mercy seat is inside of us. This implies that we carry the presence of God inside us through Jesus Christ! 

If you carry His presence inside of you, He will command blessings over your life! Not because of whom you are, or of what you’ve done… but because of Who’s presence is inside of you! 

Shalom!

Anina

The mercy seat today

The Temple of Solomon had three parts and in the third part – the holy of holies - the mercy seat of God was found. 

Today we are the temple of God and our spirit represents the holy of holies. But where in our spirit would the mercy seat of God be? 

Many times the Bible refers to our spirit as our hearts. Today the mercy seat of God is located right inside of us… inside our hearts! 

The mercy seat is established in your heart by accepting Jesus Christ. The veil is torn and you can enter freely into God’s presence. 

If you have been journeying with us, you would remember that inside the Ark of the Covenant - that was covered by the mercy seat - there were three items: 

The Ten Commandments that represented the law. Aarons Rod that represented God’s fruitfulness and new life and lastly the golden pot of manna which represented God’s provision. 

Inside of your heart you will find the law, God’s fruitfulness and new life and God’s provision! 

The law:

Jeremiah 31:33(AMP)

But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 

Aaron’s rod:

2 Corinthians 5:17(NLT)

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 

Pot of manna:

Psalm 111:5(AMP)

He has given food and provision to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever and imprint it [on His mind]. 

Everything you need to live a fulfilled life is already inside of your mercy seat! 

Shalom!

Anina

God’s presence at a place called mercy

 The whole of last week, we spoke of mercy. This week I want to draw the mercy seat of God back to us as human beings.
God said in Exodus 25 He will meet and speak with us intimately speak with us at the mercy seat.

 The mercy seat of God was in the Holy of holies in the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon. This was the third part of the Temple and the Tabernacle. So both the Tabernacle and the Temple consisted of three parts – the outer court, inner court or holy part and the holy of holiest.

 The Tabernacle of God was replaced with the Temple that was built by Solomon, but it was destroyed a few years after Christ. But there’s still  a temple where God dwells and it also consist of three parts!

 1 Corinthians 6:19(NLT)

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself…

 This temple also consists of three parts:

 1 Thessalonians 5:23(NLT)

²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

 In essence the outer court of the Temple is represented by the body, the holy part is represented by our soul and the holy of holies is represents by the spirit.

 Figuratively a veil hangs over a person’s spirit that has not as yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Savoir. The moment you accept Jesus as Savior the veil is torn, God’s life brings life into that person’s spirit and God will meet intimately with that person!

 Tomorrow we’ll see where God’s mercy seat is today.

 Shalom!

Anina

A Man named Mercy

There once was a man named Soul who was walking in a garden. He was whistling a real sweet tune for he was saved and had the joy of the Lord.
But he was a "baby Christian". As he was walking a beautiful and seductive woman came out from behind a tree. Soul was very startled. He said, "Hello, I'm Soul, what is your name?"

She replied, "I am Temptation, I have what you want."

"What do I want?" replied Soul.

"You want to do all things which are of the flesh," said Temptation.

Soul replied, "all right then, lead me."

So he and Temptation went off and fulfilled the desires of the flesh. When Soul returned to the garden, he met a man named Condemnation. Condemnation said, "Hey, I see you have met my friend, Temptation."

Soul said, "Yes, who are you?"

"I am Condemnation, I come after Temptation ... we work hand-in-hand. And for the time that you have spent with Temptation you now have a debt that you must repay."

Then Condemnation jumped on Soul's back and began to beat him. He hit him in the face and kicked him when he was down. This went on for several days. On about the third day a man named Mercy came running and said, "I command you Condemnation to stop beating Soul."

Condemnation snickered, "Make me."

So Mercy unsheathed his sword and cut Condemnation in two. As Soul watched in astonished pain, he was overwhelmed by the power of, Mercy. Mercy walked up to Soul and said, "I have dealt with Condemnation before. He should not show up around you anymore."

Soul replied, "How can I ever thank you?"

"Well," replied Mercy, "I was sent here by God, and He told me to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. His name is Redemption."

Redemption walked up and said, "Hello Soul, I see that you are not doing well."

Soul replied, "Not until Mercy came along. It is a pleasure to meet you Redemption."

"Well", said Redemption, "I am glad to meet you ... but are you ready to accept me?"

"What do you mean?" asked Soul.

Redemption said, "Well, when you accepted Jesus and decided to walk with Him, you chose to accept the things of Him and His love. I am a part of Jesus' love. I help you feel forgiven. You will never have to deal with Condemnation again. Temptation may come around, but I have someone I would like for you to meet that can help you with that. Her name is Grace."

Grace walked up to Soul and said, "Hello Soul, I have been waiting for you. As a matter of fact all three of us have been waiting to meet you. I will help take you out of the way of Temptation whenever she comes around. There is one more person we want you to meet ... her name is Faith."

"Hi Soul, I am Faith, and I will help you stay strong and keep your beliefs strong," said Faith.

Soul began to cry. When he began to cry Redemption said, "It's going to be ok ... this is what we are here for Soul. Jesus gives you his Mercy to redeem you, and keeps you saved by Grace through Faith. Jesus loves you Soul."

Soul said, "And I love you Jesus. God Bless You ALL!"

Author unknown.

In His presence through mercy

Yesterday we saw that inside the Ark of the Covenant there were the 10 commandments, Aaron’s rod and the golden bowl of manna. The mercy seat was the cover that came over these three items. Symbolically this means that inside God’s mercy there is forgiveness for breaking the law, there is new life and there is nourishment for your spirit. 

The Greek word for “mercy seat” in is hilasterion, which means “that which makes expiation” or “propitiation.” It carries the idea of the removal of sin. 

The original Hebrew word translated as “Mercy Seat” is kapporeth, and means as a noun to cover, a lid or a top. As a verb its meaning is to pardon, to atone for or to cover a debt. 

In essence the mercy seat is all about God’s forgiveness. But the above the mercy seat God’s presence would also be… 

For me it signifies something of God’s character. He chooses to let His presence hover over mercy. It is as if mercy is part of His presence… that you cannot go into His presence without mercy! 

If you long to dwell in His presence, mercy must be a part of your life! Receiving mercy from God and extending it to others! 

Matthew 5:7 (AMP)

Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!  

Shalom!

Anina

Inside mercy

Yesterday we saw that the mercy seat was the top cover of the Ark of the Covenant that stood inside the holy of holies. God said to Moses that He would meet and speak intimately to him from above this mercy seat.

Inside the Ark of the Covenant there was three items: the golden pot that had manna, Aaron's rod that budded and the 10 commandments. Each of these items was placed there for significant reasons.

Exodus 30:6b(AMP)

…before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony (the Law, the tables of stone), where I will meet with you.

The mercy seat was over the Ten Commandments or God's Law. This is significant because God shows us that He places His mercy over the law. All of us broke the law in one way or another, but under His mercy there is forgiveness.

The second item was Aaron's rod. This was a dead stick that blossomed to show that God chose Aaron as the high priest. But even inside the Ark this rod kept on blossoming. Showing us that no matter how dead something was in your life, under mercy new life will enter! It also symbolizes our new life in Christ and our fruitfulness if we stay under His mercy.

Lastly the Golden Bowl of manna that represents God's provision in our lives. The Jews knew manna as “the bread from heaven”. But this manna was only a type of the real Bread from heaven.

John 6:33(AMP)

For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.

Under mercy there is also nourishment for our spirit!

There is no better place to be than inside God’s mercy!

Tomorrow more about this wonderful place called mercy!

Shalom!

Anina

Meeting with God

Have you ever met with God? I don’t mean just reading your Bible and praying, I mean knowing that you were in His presence and sharing intimate conversation with Him!

According to the Bible it is possible to meet with God and speak intimately with Him. It is possible to meet Him in this way at a place called mercy…!

Exodus 25:22(AMP)

There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you…

In these next few days I will share with you about the mercy seat of God. What is was in the Old Testament and the relevance of the mercy seat in the New Testament.

In Exodus 25 God commanded Moses to build Him a dwelling place – the Ark of the Covenant. This Ark was built of acacia wood, overlaid with gold. It was a box with two cherubim (angels) on top and four rings where poles would go through to carry the Ark whenever the Israelites moved.

When the Israelites camped it was placed in a sacred tent, the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle had three areas: the outer court, inner court or holy place and the holy of holies. The Ark of the Covenant was placed inside the holy of holies, divided with a thick curtain to the holy place. Only the High Priest could go into the holy of holies, once a year to meet with God.

But where exactly was the mercy seat? The mercy seat was the cover on top of the Ark, the place where God’s presence would be!

I believe that even today, God’s presence is also to be found at a place called mercy!

Tomorrow more about what was inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Shalom!Anina

Power through grace

There is a gospel song with lyrics that says that we mustn’t have the love of power, but we must have the power of love!

Power is an interesting subject. Many men and women, wants power. And the more power you acquire, the more power you want! Power in any sector of life, is usually acquired through strength, influence and even sometimes manipulation. This is even a phenomenon that we get in the church…!

But Godly power is directly the opposite of what we as humans perceive power are.

We used this Scripture yesterday:

2 Corinthians 12:9(NIV)
⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

God’s power comes through grace… Remember that grace is something we receive, that we don’t deserve. And grace doesn’t work through human strength, but through our weaknesses!

God’s greatest display of His power was when Jesus was on the cross! Through human eyes a defeat. But through Godly eyes, the greatest victory of mankind! Demonstrating the power of love and not the love for power.

Do you need Christ’s power? Acknowledge your weaknesses, receive His grace and His power will rest on you!

Shalom!

Anina

Jars of clay

Yesterday we read a story about a water pot that had some cracks. We saw that these cracks watered the ground which in return brought new life forth in the form of beautiful flowers.

In a sense all of us are also broken pots – chipped by circumstances or broken in hurtful relationships. The Bible describes us as jars of clay:

2 Corinthians 4:7(NIV)

 ⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We are just the pots – the Living Water inside of us, is Jesus Christ. He is the treasure and through Him life-giving power is released!

We need to allow the Living Water to flow through us, but also - just like the water bearer lifted the two pots on his shoulders - we need to allow Jesus to lift us up and carry us where He wants to take us.

But He will only lift you up when you acknowledge your weaknesses, when you know that grace works through weak vessels and you can even boast about it!

2 Corinthians 12:9(NIV)

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

God never works through human power – He works through our weaknesses – so that ultimately, we will say: “It was not me, it was Him!”

All the glory to our Father, who works miracles through our weaknesses.

Shalom!

Anina

Grace in brokenness

 

 

Last week we said God’s grace brings new life. This Sunday I focused on how God use grace in our brokenness to bring us new life.

I used the following story:

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream…..

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” The pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said,“As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot,

“Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.“

Out of your brokenness, God will bring new life!

Shalom!

Anina

Starfish

Starfishes have always been one of the most beautiful animals for me!

It is only recently when God drew some parallels for me that a starfish actually became a symbol of grace as well!

A starfish has 5 arms and the spiritual significance of 5 is grace! But that is not the only reason why a starfish became the symbol of God’s grace for me. We said that God’s grace gives new life… and that is exactly what a starfish is all about!

Did you know that a starfish is actually not a fish? More interesting is that when a starfish loses one of his arms, it will grow back after time. The most interesting is that the broken arm can actually develop in a whole new starfish! New life for something that was broken!

His grace will give you new life – even if you are broken!

This reminded me think of the story of a starfish that you might have heard:

One day, a little boy walked on a beach where hundreds of starfishes washed out on the shore. If starfish wash out on the beach and they don’t get back into the sea they will die. So this boy would walk, pick one up and through it back into the sea. An old man watched this little boy and thought “How silly! Does he really think he’s making a difference?” So he walked up to the boy and asked him whether he thought he is making a difference because there are hundreds of starfish. The boy picked one up and said: “It makes a difference for this one!”

Grace makes a difference for one – it will make a difference for you!

Without the little boy’s help – the starfish would die, lying helpless on the beach, but the boy gave new life to each starfish that he threw back into the sea!

Jesus wants to pick you up; He wants to give you a new life through His grace! But, unlike the starfish, you need to allow Jesus to pick you up!

Let Him pick you up today!

Shalom!

Anina

Who is John Newton?

Yesterday we said that when you are endued with God’s grace, it will bring new life!

Somebody that was endued with God’s grace was John Newton. Although you might not know this name, I guarantee you, you will know the legacy of grace he left behind.

John Newton was born in 1725, almost 300 years ago. He owned a slave ship, trading with human being. Once there were a terrible storm on sea and some of his men were thrown overboard and died. He thought that it was his last day… but his life was spared. He knew that grace was give – something was given to him that he did not deserve – his life! He took slaves lives away by selling them, but his life was given back.

A second time in 1753 he had a stroke and could not go on his ship. A few weeks later he got news that his ship was attacked by pirates and his first captain in command was killed. He knew that was supposed to be him! More grace was endued on his life and new life started to grow inside of him!

Finally in 1755, his new life was born through grace. He left the slave trade, even became an activist against it and became a minister of the Word.

Then in 1773 he wrote his legacy of grace:

AMAZING GRACE

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,   
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
and mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
a life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,   
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

May you experience His amazing grace today!

Shalom!

Anina

Amazing grace

Sunday, with the inauguration of our new building we preached about the amazing grace of God.

Many of us use the term grace allot, but we don’t really understand the full meaning! There is even a significant difference between grace and mercy:

Mercy is when you deserve to be punished, for something you did wrong, but the punishment is taken away! Grace is when you receive something you did not deserve!

Sunday I made the statement that God’s grace brings new life, and used Mary, the mother of Jesus as an example. The angle said the following to her:

Luke 1:28(AMP)

²⁸And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [endued with grace]! The Lord is with you! Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women!

She was endued with grace – meaning empowered or bestowed with grace. But something interesting happens in your life when you are endued with grace:

Luke 1:31(AMP)

³¹And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.

When you are endued with grace, you will become pregnant. New life will start growing inside of you! For Mary it was our Lord Jesus Christ! For you, it might be any area in your life where you need new life – maybe your marriage, your job, your relationship with God! Even that dream that you treasure in your heart… maybe you’ve given up on your dream. Allow God to endue it with His grace and new life will be given to your dream!

Grace will turn disgrace in amazing grace, grace will turn disappointment in divine appointment, grace will glorify you; and grace will bring new life!

Will you ask God to endue you with His grace today!

Shalom!

Anina

God didn’t honor my prayer

After a lot of hard work, preparation and excitement, we launched our new church building yesterday!

Saturday night at about 1 o’clock, after we were certain everything was in place for the big day, I talked with Father and asked Him to bless the day ahead and please to let it not rain. Our new church has no facilities for the children and we only had gazebos where under they would have their Sunday school. We also made some food and the plan was that we would sit under the trees and enjoy a meal together after the celebration service!

The day started sunny and the people started streaming into the church. When the service started some people were standing outside because there were no more places left inside.

We were overwhelmed by all the people and we were so intensely aware of God’s grace and goodness. Many friend and family came from far to share in our joy and celebrate with us.

Just when I finished preaching, an extremely loud thunder stroke hit the church – some of the children outside even screamed! Amazingly it did not damage the sound system!

After this, showers of rain poured down – my first thought: the poor children. At least there were enough gazebos to stand under. It kept on raining till the end of the service and even while we dished up some food.

That evening I thanked God for one of the best day’s in our ministry thus far. I did however hesitantly ask Him why He allowed it to rain? Why didn’t He honor my prayer request? He could’ve just held it back for an hour and it would have made life much easier and comfortable for us!

He told me to go to one of the chapters that one of our leaders got for the day. It was Isaiah 45. When I got to verse 8 I understood:

Isaiah 45:8(AMP)

⁸Let fall in showers, you heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness [the pure, spiritual, heaven-born possibilities that have their foundation in the holy being of God]; let the earth open, and let them [skies and earth] sprout forth salvation, and let righteousness germinate and spring up [as plants do] together; I the Lord have created it.

God allowed showers of righteousness on our church. One of our other leaders also said he experienced that God is saying it is a new beginning – a cleansing and washing away of the old – not only for Salem, but for the whole community of Danville!

Our God is alive, in control, amazing, good, all powerful and extremely good! He sometimes doesn’t honor one prayer, because there is something more significant He want to give us than just our comfort!

Shalom!

Anina

Four Seasons of a Tree

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are - and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
(Big Al)

Shalom till Monday!
Anina

 

Seasons around the Sun

Our year is divided into four quarters – summer, autumn, winter and spring. These seasons affect us in almost every aspect of our lives.
Margaret Jackson Minnicks says seasons dictate to us how we dress, what activities we engage in and what we eat. In the summer, we wear cool clothes and open shoes. We go to the beach, to the park or to other outdoor events. We love those watermelons and something cool to drink.  

Winters look and feel differently – we dress warm and enjoy nice warm soups.

Seasons have a lot to do with our moods and our attitude. If you usually in a better mood when you are in a season that you really like.

The seasons are not the same all over the world. The seasons occur depending on where you live geographically. The seasons change in our lives depends greatly on where we are spiritually.

Interesting enough, seasons is determined by the sun. The earth tilts on its axis and as it goes around the sun the sun shines more on the southern part of the earth in winter. It shines on both in spring and fall and it shines more on the northern part in summer. Where the sun shines the most, it heats it up the most. Where it shines less, it heats it up less.

This has a lot of spiritual significance - spiritual seasons depend on our personal relationship with the Son. If you allow the Sun of God to shine in your life, the winters will not be so cold and the summers will be more enjoyable!

James 4:8(AMP)

⁸Come close to God and He will come close to you.

Make sure that no matter what season you are in, that you always stay close to Jesus. Every season will be full of “Son” shine!

Shalom!

Anina

Seasons of change

Today we as a church literally moved into a new season. We moved out of our premises of the past 2 years. It was an old pub that we transformed into a church, and we really had some glorious times there!

It is however an enjoyable change of season because for the first time we are actually going to have church in a proper church setting.

But not all seasons of change are always so enjoyable – most people don’t like change, but a sure thing in life is the fact that change will always be a part of life!

Ecclesiastes 3:1(AMP)

 ¹TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven…

I don’t know in what season of your life you are right now. It is encouraging to know that if you’re going through a difficult time, this also will pass.

But there is even a more encouraging thought than to know that winter seasons will change into spring. This encouragement we find in Malachi:

Malachi 3:6a(AMP)

For I am the Lord, I do not change…

Even though there is a season to everything, there is not a season of change to Someone. He walks with us in our summer seasons, and He is there in the difficult winter times!

Our Lord is our comforter, our ever-present help no matter what mountain peak or desolate valley you are walking through today.

So take heart, He is the un-changeable rock that will not be moved through your seasons of change!

Shalom!

Anina