This is sort of a continuation of the previous post talking about Eden and the rivers surrounding it.
Dear Jesus - Please open our minds to see ourselves in Your Word today...
Have you ever wondered about the story of Aaron’s rod? It wasn't until I saw the rod in the context of the bigger picture that I understood the beauty of the story. Before this - I just saw it as a test of leadership. And while that was meaningful - to my mind it was more instructional that beautiful. But - when I saw the rod transformed by the process of dwelling in the sanctuary - well that was beautiful!
Let's go back a bit. What was that ‘rod’? It was a walking stick. Completely dead wood. However, when it was placed in the Garden sanctuary (Num 17:8) over night that dead rod budded and brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds. The 4 rivers of Eden did their work! The characteristics of the rivers that flowed from Eden which symbolize the life available to each of us in the Sanctuary are listed below:
Dear Jesus - Please open our minds to see ourselves in Your Word today...
Have you ever wondered about the story of Aaron’s rod? It wasn't until I saw the rod in the context of the bigger picture that I understood the beauty of the story. Before this - I just saw it as a test of leadership. And while that was meaningful - to my mind it was more instructional that beautiful. But - when I saw the rod transformed by the process of dwelling in the sanctuary - well that was beautiful!
Let's go back a bit. What was that ‘rod’? It was a walking stick. Completely dead wood. However, when it was placed in the Garden sanctuary (Num 17:8) over night that dead rod budded and brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds. The 4 rivers of Eden did their work! The characteristics of the rivers that flowed from Eden which symbolize the life available to each of us in the Sanctuary are listed below:
- Increasing
- Budding
- Rapidly with speed & energy
- Fruitful
And what symmetry with what occurred with the rod:
What does it mean to be spiritually dead? I have no passion, no desire, no motivation for spiritual or the holy things of God. I'm not really interested in praying, sermons are not really intriguing. I'd rather watch a favorite TV show, read my cooking magazines, go to the latest restaurant than 'study the Bible'. When I need 'time away' - I’d rather take a vacation and spend Sabbath at the beach than look up the community of believers wherever I'm staying. My life - with the Bible, in the church - hasn't changed my personal habits & life to the point where I crave Jesus. And worse - I perceive this is ok because I'm really not a bad person. Maybe it's just me I'm describing...
When I read about the life & the love of Jesus the emotions and feelings that creates are not on the same level with the emotions I experience in the profound relationships in my life. My marriage. My child. What about you?
And yet – somewhere in my mind/heart I feel that my life is not what it is supposed to be, it doesn’t have the purpose & meaning I suspect it should. Intellectually, I know the Bible is a profound book – but there is no life. The intellectual understanding + the spiritual experience does NOT equate to an emotional response. This is unsettling. Because I know the Bible clearly states that the devils 'believe and tremble'. So obviously my walk needs to be something more than an intellectual exercise. What is the answer?
- Went from 'dead' to 'alive'
- Budded and brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms
- All of this occurred over night!
- Yielded almonds
What does it mean to be spiritually dead? I have no passion, no desire, no motivation for spiritual or the holy things of God. I'm not really interested in praying, sermons are not really intriguing. I'd rather watch a favorite TV show, read my cooking magazines, go to the latest restaurant than 'study the Bible'. When I need 'time away' - I’d rather take a vacation and spend Sabbath at the beach than look up the community of believers wherever I'm staying. My life - with the Bible, in the church - hasn't changed my personal habits & life to the point where I crave Jesus. And worse - I perceive this is ok because I'm really not a bad person. Maybe it's just me I'm describing...
When I read about the life & the love of Jesus the emotions and feelings that creates are not on the same level with the emotions I experience in the profound relationships in my life. My marriage. My child. What about you?
And yet – somewhere in my mind/heart I feel that my life is not what it is supposed to be, it doesn’t have the purpose & meaning I suspect it should. Intellectually, I know the Bible is a profound book – but there is no life. The intellectual understanding + the spiritual experience does NOT equate to an emotional response. This is unsettling. Because I know the Bible clearly states that the devils 'believe and tremble'. So obviously my walk needs to be something more than an intellectual exercise. What is the answer?
The rod was in the sanctuary all night. The answer is that I must get into the Garden - into the Sanctuary! The amazing thing is this: knowing our condition – the Bible says Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. We have to abide, we have to dwell. Word of God, Prayer, Inviting the Holy Spirit to live within.
We say – I’ve tried to do devotions & prayer - it doesn’t change me emotionally or personally. I know more stories or facts, but I’m not experiencing what the rod experienced. I don’t wake up every morning feeling Increasing/Budding/Speed & Energy/Fruitful towards Jesus. This was me.
Why? We can know the why & the fix - that's the beautiful thing to me about this picture. We're not left in ignorance! Here’s how it works:
Why? We can know the why & the fix - that's the beautiful thing to me about this picture. We're not left in ignorance! Here’s how it works:
Right now – we are stuck in our old ways of thought, our patterns of failure – we may not even really know precisely what these are. When we study – something happens. No – not when we read and certainly not when we read something that is 10% WORD and 90% someone elses’ opinion however inspired. It is when I study. BIG DIFFERENCE. Put simply - there is only 1 WORD that is life-changing.
The WORD of God IS the expression of God’s thoughts & feelings. (The Bible says Jesus is the WORD!) When I open the Bible, I pray and ask Jesus to allow His thoughts & feelings to enter into my heart. As I read the Bible, my thoughts & feelings come into comparison/contrast with Jesus' thoughts & feelings. They will go deep into my heart and challenge my motives, my desires, my feelings & needs. This gives the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to enter into my mind and amplify/emphasize/exaggerate God’s Word to my soul. I begin to realize this is the correct way of thinking (conviction) and because the Holy Spirit is coming into me - I WANT to think this way (life change), I desire this way. Then I express (like tears that go out of my body and I can't get them back in) my thoughts & feelings OUT through prayer which literally allows my thoughts & feelings to go out and God’s thoughts & feelings to stay.
Frustrated with my husband, I grabbed a quiet space, fell to my knees and expressed my thoughts and feelings in prayer. It wasn't pretty. Something like: OK Jesus, this is a big pile of ugliness but here goes! Believe me - I was SPECIFIC in my expressing. All those words I wanted to say to my husband - yep - I said them to Jesus. And do you know - it was ok! In fact, it was great! Sure - there was weirdness as I thought am I seriously going to do this? But let me tell you - it was a much quicker conversation than I would have had with the hubs. And I left the conversation feeling oh-so-much-more-resolved than I would have had I not been conversing with Jesus. I suspect you know just what I'm talking about... ;-) After that - I'm hooked! Because I need a whole lot less of me and a whole lot more of Jesus IN me...
Frustrated with my husband, I grabbed a quiet space, fell to my knees and expressed my thoughts and feelings in prayer. It wasn't pretty. Something like: OK Jesus, this is a big pile of ugliness but here goes! Believe me - I was SPECIFIC in my expressing. All those words I wanted to say to my husband - yep - I said them to Jesus. And do you know - it was ok! In fact, it was great! Sure - there was weirdness as I thought am I seriously going to do this? But let me tell you - it was a much quicker conversation than I would have had with the hubs. And I left the conversation feeling oh-so-much-more-resolved than I would have had I not been conversing with Jesus. I suspect you know just what I'm talking about... ;-) After that - I'm hooked! Because I need a whole lot less of me and a whole lot more of Jesus IN me...
Here's the beautiful thing to me about the Sanctuary. Jesus knows precisely where you and I are at today. It doesn't scare Him and He isn't judging it. He's just here. Trying everything He can to get us closer to Him. He designed an amazing life for you - for me. He foresaw the pain, struggle and bitter disappointment that would be in our path. Knowing this, He made sure there would be a way of escape. He created a way of escape from the sin-factor we were each born with. He designed a sanctuary for me so that every single day of my life in this world I can be filled with the physical attributes of Increasing/Budding/Speed & Energy/Fruitful that replace my stony heart with His heart of flesh.
Since I've started doing this - I can now look back and see the specific things that have fallen away. Was it painful? No - not really. One day I was standing in the freezer aisle in Safeway looking at pints of ice-cream. I suddenly realized there was no addiction holding me there. It was gone. Sure - I wanted some. And I got it & ate it. But turns out - it was just ice-cream. It didn't change my life. It didn't excite me like Jesus does. It didn't fix any of my problems. Just ice-cream. In that moment - I realized this was just another thing filling my life with Jesus had squeezed out. Thankful? You have GOT to be kidding - right? Oh yeah. And the more things like this happen - the more I see my emotional response to Jesus growing. I'm on my way - no turning back...
Thank You Jesus. Thank You that before I was born You made a way of escape. You created a method and a plan for me to follow that would ensure my brief life on this sin-filled earth could still be increasing, budding, full of speed & energy and fruitful. There is NO OTHER God like You!
Since I've started doing this - I can now look back and see the specific things that have fallen away. Was it painful? No - not really. One day I was standing in the freezer aisle in Safeway looking at pints of ice-cream. I suddenly realized there was no addiction holding me there. It was gone. Sure - I wanted some. And I got it & ate it. But turns out - it was just ice-cream. It didn't change my life. It didn't excite me like Jesus does. It didn't fix any of my problems. Just ice-cream. In that moment - I realized this was just another thing filling my life with Jesus had squeezed out. Thankful? You have GOT to be kidding - right? Oh yeah. And the more things like this happen - the more I see my emotional response to Jesus growing. I'm on my way - no turning back...
Thank You Jesus. Thank You that before I was born You made a way of escape. You created a method and a plan for me to follow that would ensure my brief life on this sin-filled earth could still be increasing, budding, full of speed & energy and fruitful. There is NO OTHER God like You!
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