Revelation Revelation
While many in our current culture are satisfied to just live a moment to moment existence, there are some who seek a deeper life. Those who want more may seek it in almost any area of “great power” because they know it requires more than simple humanity. Some will seek the power in nature, some in witchcraft or magic, some in knowledge, and some in mind-altering chemicals. A few will seek it directly from God, but this is often the minority.
Why would the God who created the whole universe be the last place people want to go for more power? Is it because they don’t feel they can get it from Him? I don’t think so. I think it’s because of the cost involved. Too many people want power without the price, so they buy into something that promises that to them–even if it’s a lie.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter gives us the key to finding real revelation in truth.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-Fifth by The School of Christ
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November 25
The Key to All Revelation
“In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
COLOSSIANS 2:3
It is not that God desires to give us revelation into the many things, but for us to have the Revelation of Jesus Christ. By apprehending Him we will subsequently gain insight in those “things.”
To seek revelation into the “things” apart from the Revelation of Christ fails to give Christ the preeminence. We dare not circumvent the knowledge of Him in the pursuit of “things,” even spiritual things, for they are all summed up into Him.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
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The author mentions seeking revelation in “things” apart from Christ, and he includes spiritual things. Unfortunately, that desire to have “magic” and “power” without the cost has even taken hold in Christianity. It’s right up there with wanting to go to Heaven but not wanting to die.
However, like it says in one of the currently running television series, “All magic comes with a price.” That series also points out that “love is the greatest magic of all.” The unspoken message here is that even love comes with a price. The difference, of course, is that with love, it’s worth the cost. True love doesn’t even count the cost because it’s focused on the reward just as Christ focused on us instead of the nails at Calvary.
Revelation in The Lord means receiving knowledge and wisdom directly from Him. We seek it from Him because we know it is pure truth. We seek it from Him because we want to draw closer to Him. If we seek it simply for power or authority, or for any reason other than walking in God’s will because we want to please Him, we’re at risk of seeking magic instead of revelation. The Scripture used above is clear when read in the Amplified Bible…
In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.
And, in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), we have the promise and inspiration we’ve been singing about since Sunday School if we spent any time in church as children…
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
I’ve always heard this as compared to seeking physical things (like riches and provisions) from God, but it also works in seeking power, authority, and revelation. If we seek Yeshua and His righteousness, all that is Him and is from Him will be revealed to us as we walk in His marvelous light. That’s the right way to receive revelation because, like Solomon sought wisdom and received both wisdom and riches, we seek God and receive all he has to offer with Him.
Greater Than; Less Than; No Equal
Equals Sign by Flickr user Colin Jagoe, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike
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Here are a few questions to think about… 1. What is the opposite of light? 2. What is the opposite of good? 3. What is the opposite of love? More than likely, your answers are dark, evil (or bad), and hate. Now, a new question… What is the opposite of God? If your answer is satan, guess again. I’ll tell you the answer by the end of this post, but you may get it out of today’s reading from Exodus 7:8 through Exodus 8:10 (8:6 in Complete Jewish Bible since there are more verses in chapter 7).
Our reading begins with God speaking to Aaron and Moses about what miracles to perform in front of Pharaoh. They do as Yahveh commanded, but Pharaoh is unimpressed because he is able to call out magicians to perform the same “trick” with turning a stick into a serpent. Well, except for the fact that Aaron’s serpent ate up all the magicians’ serpents. Still, Pharaoh stayed hard-hearted as Yahveh told them he would be. Even in the face of the miraculous, Pharaoh could not see God as greater than him nor himself as less than God. It’s the same fatal mistake made by the angel Lucifer when he thought he was equal to God.
The next miraculous work performed by Aaron and Moses turns all water in Egypt to blood. The water in the river turns to blood, kills all the fish, and makes the river stink with their death. Even water in jars and buckets turns to blood. The whole land of Egypt is filled with blood, but Pharaoh is so hard-hearted that he actually has his magicians perform the same feat. Now why didn’t he have his magicians make him some pure water to drink? I guess hard-heartedness comes bundled with idiocy or something.
Never-the-less, even after seven days of drinking blood, when Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the people go to worship, he still refuses to let them, so the men warn Pharaoh of the coming plague of frogs. At God’s word, frogs come up from all over the place and swarm the land and homes of all Egypt. And, again, Pharaoh has his magicians do exactly the same thing. Political logic is just illogical. Demonstrating power just for power’s sake has no wisdom. This is why it is so important to make sure that we who believe in the miraculous do not worship the miracles themselves, nor should we worship those whom God uses to perform His great works. Worship should be saved for Yahveh Almighty and Him alone. Not the miracles, but the God OF the miracles. See the wisdom here?
Finally, Pharaoh gets it enough to realize that he needs Moses to intercede with God for the frogs to be taken out of the land. He promises that if Moses will intercede, he will allow the people to go worship. Moses tells him that he will not only intercede, but he will allow Pharaoh to choose the time. Pharaoh requests the frogs be taken from all but the river by the next day. And I love Moses’ answer to Pharaoh’s request: Moshe said, “It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that Adonai our God has no equal.”
And just in case you haven’t quite grasped my point from the question at the top, the answer to what is the opposite of God is NOTHING. In order for satan (ha satan meaning “the adversary”) to be the opposite of God, he would need to be as purely evil as God is good; as purely hate as God is love. But God has no equal even in the opposite sense. God is greater than all, and absolutely nothing or no one is greater than–or equal–to Him. And yet, He cares enough for us to create for us, walk with us, talk with us, listen to us, lay down His own life for us, and prepare an eternity for us. Hallelu-Yah!!
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With Almost All of My Heart
Concrete Love Declaration of David to Crystal, Decorated and Photographed by Crystal A Murray
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When my husband David first declared his love for me, he said he would love me forever and three days because forever and a day just wasn’t long enough. After a hard year in 2009 that included a huge flood in our basement, David decided to re-declare his love for me by adding a permanent reminder to the new cement work we put in as part of our future flood prevention efforts. On the morning of our 19th wedding anniversary in 2010, I decorated the heart and took the above picture as a forever memory.
Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that a couple can stay together for a long time and still keep saying they want to keep each other forever. So many things happen on the way to forever, and it takes more than romance to get all the way there. Both of our first two initials are enclosed the heart image to show our dual commitment. We share far more than a last name. We share a lot of good times, but we also share some bad times. It’s in getting through the bad times that you learn whether someone is really in it for the long haul. If you love someone with almost all your heart, you may not have the heart you need to make it through the inevitable difficulties of life and love.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 18:6 through Deuteronomy 18:13, we have two main subjects. In the first, Moses tells Israel what to do should a Levite that is not part of the ministry decides he wants to join the ministry team. I was a little confused on first reading because I thought they were all only ministers with no inheritance. With some research, I was reminded that some Levites could own land passed along to them by parents who received it as an offering. It appears they did not have to work in the temple, but this passage says that if they decide to serve in the presence of The Lord, they are to receive the same share as the other Levites plus whatever they may receive from the sale of their ancestral property.
The next part of the passage deals with some of what God considers to be abominable practices. Moses reminds Israel that these horrible practices are why God is driving out the former inhabitants, and he gives Israel a warning not to follow the ways of the former tenants of the land. Among the abominations are all types of witchcraft and sorcery. Here’s the exact words from today’s text in verses 10 and 11…
Apparently, participating in these things takes away part of the heart a person promises to God. I’m guessing that because, after telling the people that these things are abominations to God, Moses says (in verse 13), “You must be wholehearted with Adonai your God.” I knew that tapping into those things could open the door to evil spirits, and I knew that it meant taking on power and authority other than what God gives us according to His will, but I never thought of it as taking away part of the heart we say we are dedicating to Him.
Many years ago, I had friends who owned a discotheque in Southern California. I was a valley girl who loved to dance, so I was there about four nights a week. When disco died down, the owners turned the club into a magic club, and I continued to hang out there. I was always enthralled with illusion and slight-of-hand tricks, and at seventeen, I thought maybe I would like to be a part of that sparkly world. I talked to one of the magicians who was a member at L.A.’s famous “Magic Castle.” While he couldn’t reveal the actual secrets of a membership there, he did share things about the beliefs of some of the members that made me second-guess my desires.
I was not saved back in those days, but I also wasn’t totally sold out to a life of Godlessness. Thankfully, the part I was holding back was because of a fear of committing some kind of unforgivable sin. Even though I was not yet following Yeshua, I was a believer in God Almighty, and I knew some Bible teaching from years of Sunday School. Something in my heart felt a weirdness associated with those that claimed to practice “real magic.” I now know that “something” was a “Someone” and that it was the Holy Spirit leading me away from a world that could have trapped me in darkness.
Having lived with part of my heart set aside from the life I was living, I have experienced how to give only some of myself and how to hold back the most important parts. In a life of sin, it was a method of self-protection, but I don’t have to live that way anymore. Now, I serve a God who loves me and cares for me to the point that He has every hair on my head counted and numbered. I no longer have to hold back because of fear or for any other reason. I serve God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and I can understand why it’s exactly what He desires. I’m grateful that God protected me even when I didn’t know it, and that He only allowed me to love a world without Him with almost all of my heart.
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August 19, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | all my heart, Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, illusion, Israel, love, magic, Moses, Scripture, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, wholehearted | Leave a comment