Julie Vivienne podcast

The Amazing Prophetic Significance Of Hanukkah Part 2

Part 2 of The Prophetic Significance Of Hanukkah.
"Hanukkah" means "dedication" and this 9th Hebrew Feast was, established in remembrance of the re- dedication of The Temple of GOD and its altar in Jerusalem to the worship of The LORD after it had been desecrated by a forerunner of the Anti Christ, the Selucid leader Antiochus IV who called himself "Epiphanes" meaning "god manifested" and rose to power across the Middle East and all of the then known world establishing the Selucid Empire. Many succumbed to his one world government that he set in place over his domain and his one world religion of the worship of pagan deities such as Zeus as well as the worship of himself. He put a huge statue of himself in The Temple and declared himself to be "God manifested" . He sacrificed a pig to Zeus upon the Temple altar of burnt offering. The historical accounts of this are in secular history books and in the books 1st and 2nd Maccabees.
The Maccabees, (seen as canonised Scripture until the Reformation, but still retained in some Bible translations). The horrifically persecuted remnant of believers under the cruel reign of Antiochus IV, in 175-164 BC, are remembered in Hebrews 11:34-38. They were a group of priests and ordinary men and women who continued to worship The Living GOD and put the military generals and armies of Antiochus IV to flight, by their faith in GOD Who fought on their behalf with great signs and wonders. They took back The Temple of Jerusalem which had been defiled by Antiochus IV and is referred to as "the abomination of desolation"
See Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:21,
1st Maccabees 1:54 The LORD Jesus speaks of this in
Matthew 24:15 and makes it clear that Antiochus IV, cruel as he was, was actually merely the forerunner of another yet to take his place on the world stage....
Antiochus IV was a man of lawlessness.
He ordered the Jews to profane the Sabbath, and to profane the Hebrew festivals and Holy Days. He orderd them to set up idols and to eat animals seen as unclean under the Law of Moses. They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and commanded to forget the Word of GOD.
The Maccabees however, by a miracle of GOD, took back The Temple, cleansed it and re- dedicated it to GOD. They re lit the Menorah, the 7 branched candlestick, and GOD miraculously caused the one and only small jar of sealed holy oil they retrieved to burn for 8 days instead of the usual one day. Thus, for Hanukkah, which means Dedication, they then used a special Menorah with 9 candle branches, 4 on the left, 4 on the right, and the middle 9th candle is called The Servant Branch which is used to light the others. The terms "Servant" and "Branch" are used throughout the Old Testament as references to The Messiah..
Messiah The Servant-
See the 4 Servant Songs of Isaiah in Isaiah 42:1-9, 49:1-7, 50:4-7, and 52:13-53:12
Messiah The Branch-
Isaiah 4:2 and 11:1
Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15
Messiah both Servant and Branch -
Zechariah 3:8
The LORD Jesus told us several times that He did not come to be served, but to serve ( See Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45 Luke 19:10) In Luke 22:27 He decares "I am among you as one who serves" and in Mark 10:45 He declares that He came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a, ransom for many. ( Mark 10:45)
In Philippians 2:7 we read that The, LORD Jesus Christ made Himself nothing and took the form of a, servant, being born in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself and was, obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ( In the Roman empire, crucifixion was specifically designed as, a brutal, agonising and profoundly humiliating form of capital punishment reserved for the lowest classes of society such as, slaves, non Roman citizens, enemies of the state and "humiliores" - those on the lowest social strata.)
The Servant Branch on the Hannukah Menorah is used to light the other candles.
The LORD Jesus Messiah is The Light Of The World ( John 8:12 and 9:5) and we are now called the light of the world , as He lights us with His flame, to shine for Him in this dark world. (See Matthew 5:14-16 and Philippians 2:15). We who are born again of His Spirit are now Temples of The Living GOD and commanded to shine forth His light in us in all the world wherever we are.
( 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 6:16). Let us cleanse our lives and rededicate ourselves to the true worship of Him with all of our lives and maintain His light of life within from the oil of The Holy Spirit. Christ Himself is our High Priest. ( Hebrews 4:14-16) and He has given to us The Holy Spirit to ignite and maintain within us His Light and Life. We are, like Him, called not to be served but to serve and to be His light in this dark world.
Shalom shalom

The Amazing Prophetic Significance Of Hanukkah Part 1

We are currently in the Hebrew feast of Hanukkah. This is part one of a mini study on the prophetic significance to Christian believers today concerning this feast.
The word "Hanukkah" means dedication and is also known as the Feast of Dedication. See John 10:22
John states clearly that it was the time of this Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, in Jerusalem which, being Jewish, The LORD Jesus kept and attended.
There are 9 Hebrew feasts each year.
See Leviticus chapter 23 for the 7 feasts ordained during the time of Moses. The 4 Spring feasts are
Passover/ Pesach, Unleavened Bread/Hag Hamatzot, First Fruits/ Hag Hanikkurim, and Pentecost/Shavuot which have all been fulfilled in the birth, death and resurrection of The LORD Jesus Christ and the outpouring of The Holy Spirit with the birth of the Church in His first coming upon the earth.
The 3 Autumn feasts: The Feast of Trumpets/ Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah , the Day of Atonement / Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles/ Sukkot which will soon be fulfilled in the Rapture of the true Church of Jesus Christ the Great Tribulation and the national Atonement of the nation of and in the Mellenium/ Messianic Kingdom and the Second Coming of Christ Jesus.( The 8th Day of The Feast Of Tabernacles /Sukkot will be fulfilled in GOD's creation of the new heavens and the new earth)
There are two other Hebrew feasts:
Purim which was established in the time and the Book of Esther, and Hannukah which came into being during the time of the Maccabees in 175 to 164 BC and written about in 1st and 2nd Maccabees which were once cannonised Scripture but have been removed from many Bible translations leading to ignorance concerning this very important Hebrew festival and it's amazing prophetic significance for us today.
Look carefully at 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. This refers to the coming son of perdition/ The Anti Christ / The Beast. There was however in the time of the Maccabees a forerunner of The Antichrist in 175 to 164 BC. Antiochus Epiphanes IV rose to power across the Middle East and declared himself to be God and desecrated The Temple of God in Jerusalem. He stopped the daily sacrifices and offerings for sin and ordered all Jews to stop worshipping GOD and anyone who taught from God's Word was horrifically tortured and killed. He sought to establish a one world government and a one world religion with a statue of himself being worshipped in The Temple of Jerusalem A remnant of priests and ordinary Jewish people however rose up and refused to bow down to this wicked ruler. The Lord Jesus speaking to the Jews made it clear in Matthew 24:15-22 that the prophet Daniel had spoken both of Antiochus IV and one which is soon to come upon the world 's stage : The Antichrist. See Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11.
This man gave himself the name "Epiphanes" which means "God Manifested" All of this is documented in 1st and 2nd,Maccabees. Jews were forbidden to keep or even own The Word of GOD. Many Jewish people at that time fell away from their faith but there was a remnant, the Maccabees, who refused to bow down to these wicked legislations and continued to preach the Scriptures. These are the people referred to in Hebrews 11: 34(b) - 38
Antiochus IV desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 9:27 when he sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal in the Mosaic law, upon the altar and stopped the sacrifices for sin, and declared himself to be God manifest: "Epiphanes". He also built an idol of the Greek god Zeus and a statue of himself to be worshipped.
In Matthew 24:15 The LORD Jesus made it clear that another, like Antiochus IV, who had already lived and died, less than 200 years before the earthly ministry of Christ, and was very recent history, was coming in the future. With the supernatural help of GOD, the Jewish remnant made up of priests and ordinary men and women, defeated the mighty generals and armies of Antiochus IV. I encourage us all to read 1st and 2nd Maccabees in order to know this very important history. We live in a time now, where many church denominational leaders are falling away from true faith in The LORD and His Word and have bowed themselves down before the god of this world system denying the Word of GOD. Let us be inspired by the amazing faith of the Maccabees.
We will continue this study in Part 2 of the Prophetic Significance Of Hanukkah.
Shalom shalom

What Is Man? Part 2.mp3

Today is Part 2 of our study "What Is Man?"
We looked yesterday at Psalm 8 and Genesis chapter 1 and saw that the pinnacle and ckimax and focus of all that Elohim, GOD created was man.
Everything else that He has made in the stellar heavens and upon the earth is secondary to the passion and obsession of GOD's heart and mind : man- human beings made in His own image.
See Genesis 1:26-27
We are each an eternal spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. See 1st Thessalonians 5:23
Man is made in the image of GOD Himself meaning that we alone, of all GOD 's creation, have the capacity of intimacy and fellowship with GOD Himself.
Angels are His servants.
We are His children.
See John 1:1-4
In Christ The Word of GOD was life and the light of men.
Circle the word men, people, human beings in your Bible.
John 1:12 tells us that to human beings is given the right to become children of GOD.
By believing on Christ, and what He has done for us in dying for us and taking the punishment for our sin, and being raised from the dead for our justification, we are able to be born again of The Spirit of GOD and made a new creature in Him.
See I Peter 3:18
Romans 5:8
Romans 4:25
John 3:16
2 Corinthians 5:17, 21
Returning to Psalm 8 and now looking at verse 2.
Out of the mouth of tiny babies, sucklings and infants GOD has ordained and perfected strength and praise. The original Hebrew text uses the word "oz" meaning "strength". The Septugint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses the word "ainos" meaning "praise". The pure unadulterated praise of children and babes demonstrates GOD's power to silence the enemy of GOD, Satan.
This is because all human beings are made in the image and likeness of GOD.
Can a babe in the womb recognise and praise GOD?. YES!
See Luke 1:41-44
Jumping John The Baptist from the womb of Elizabeth recognised The Son Of GOD in the womb of Mary, even though within the womb of Mary, the physical form of The LORD Jesus would have been at the very beginning stages BUT HE was in that tiny physical embryo in ALL of His fullness and glory.
Selah
The eternity spirit of every human being is within the womb of a pregnant woman in all it's fullness even though the physical body is at the beginning stages of formation.
Selah
In Matthew 21:16 The LORD Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2 to silence the religious leaders who did not recognise their Messiah, but the children did. They cried out "Hosanna To The Son of David", the title for the promised One.
John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from within his mother's womb. See Luke 1:14-15
Never in the Bible is any animal said to be filled with the Holy Spirit, no angel either but only human beings.
The Bible does not say anywhere that any animal will live after they die. There is no evidence in Scripture or anywhere else that GOD continues to create angels.
The only being in the universe who keeps on originating and living eternally, either in Heaven or Hell, is a human being because only people are made in the image of GOD.
See Genesis 1:26-27 and look at Genesis 5:5 which shows us that the image and likeness of, GOD is passed down from generation to generation.
See also Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9
The beginning of human life is a truly magnificent thing and should be seen as a declaration of the glory and majesty of GOD. See Psalm 8 verses 1 and 9
Wherever people are conceived and born the Name of GOD is shown to be majestic. It is the work of Elohim GOD Himself.
See Psalm 139:13-16 that highlights intentional intricate design
Every human life is both planned and precious
See Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 49:1
We are known as individuals and called by GOD our Creator from eternity past.
Selah
The cooing and babbling baby are bearing witness to their unspeakable dignity in creation and to the majesty of GOD's Name in all the earth and GOD is praised.
Psalm 8:1,9
Let us therefore note and tremble in the fear of The LORD, that to treat the supreme pinnacle of GOD's creation with contempt is to spit in the face of The Almighty Himself.
The truth of GOD's word stands sure, you cannot claim to worship and glorify the Majesty of GOD whilst treating His supreme creation with contempt or disdain whether within the womb or without, whether young or old, whether able or disabled.....
Fear The LORD, Elohim, the Creator and Judge of all.
Selah
Shalom shalom

What Is Man Part One.mp3

Part One of "What Is Man?"
Psalm 8.
Oh LORD our Lord
Oh Yahweh, The I Am That I Am our Lord.
The Almighty GOD is the Sovereign Majesty and at the same time is personal to people because we are made in His likeness and image. We are not animals. We are created are like GOD.
See Genesis 1:26
We are each an eternal spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body.
See Ist Thessalonians 5 :23
The Creator Name of GOD is Elohim, a plural word which seeks to convey the overflowing inifinite majesty and glory and power of GOD. It also indicates GOD as being Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Elohim is the Name of GOD as the Creator of all and Judge of all, He Who overflows in Divine Majesty.
Selah
Psalm 8:3
The immense unfathomable universe is described as being merely the work of GOD's fingers. He didn't even need to use His entire hand! He ordained and set in place the moon and stars.
There was no random big bang! There is no such thing as evolution! These are man made nonsensical theories made by people to try and disprove to their own eternal consciousness that there is not really a Creator and Judge: Elohim.
Psalm 147:4-5 Our Heavenly Father has determined and knows the exact number of the stars and both gives and knows each individually by name. His understanding is infinite and beyond measure.
Selah
See also Isaiah 40:28
Despite the wonder of wonders that Elohim has created in the stellar heavens and upon the earth, the focus of the creation narrative in both Genesis chapter 1 and Psalm 8 is man : the pinnacle of GOD's creation.
Genesis 1:16 says that "GOD made the stars also", almost forgotten to be mentioned, and in Psalm 8 this is reiterated in telling us that these are just the work of His fingers. It's like He flicked them into place in a milli second. The supreme emphasis and focus of the Creation narrative is NOT on the universe or the creatures and plants etc of the earth itself but on mankind.
Man is the pinnacle of GOD's creation.
Genesis 1:26 starts with the word "Then". The pattern in the text up to verse 26 has been "And GOD said.
Psalm 8:4 also is the emphasis :
What is man that you are mindful, always thinking about and caring about him?
In Job7:17 Job asks the same question: What is man that You make so much of him, and that Your very heart, Your passion is set, fixed obsessively upon him.
Human beings are the pinnacle of GOD's creation.
GOD's heart, mind, attention, focus, passion and obsession is with people.
Psalm 8:5 states in the Hebrew text that GOD made man a little lower than Elohim, with a capital "E", which is GOD Himself. Some of our English translations stick to the original Hebrew text and some don't. Tragically the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament treats the word "Elohim" as if it has a small "e", elohim, which can be translated as "heavenly beings" or "angels". But the original text was in Hebrew.
Man is created in the likeness of GOD Himself meaning that we have the capacity for intimacy and fellowship with GOD Himself.
This is why Satan hates human beings so much.
Satan/Lucifer wanted to "be like the Most High"
See Isaiah 14:12-14
Angels are GOD's servants, they do not fellowship with Him.
GOD gave His beloved man the crown of glory and honour. ( Psalm 8:5)
Selah
We will continue this study tomorrow but to finish, please consider this statement :
No one can claim to worship and glorify the majesty of GOD while treating His supreme pinnacle of His creation with contempt.
Selah
Shalom shalom

My Shepherd Has Set His Heart Upon Me

Believers with spiritual maturity, lead by the Holy Spirit and bearing in evidence the Fruit of The Spirit (See Galatians 5:22-25)we will always find that these believers are familiar with deep waters and firey furnaces of testing. They have learned to not be dependent on others for their happiness or spiritual strength. They have been tested and have proven that the very Life of, GOD is within them. They exhibit grace abd and mercy to all those around them. The LORD Jesus Christ has both been revealed to them and is revealed in them. They have been tested in their inner man by the fire of trials. Our only strength is GOD Himself.
This is the witnesses of both The LORD Jesus Christ upon the earth and the apostle Paul.
Satan constantly came against them but our LORD Jesus has raised up a standard against him
(See, Isaiah 59:19 and 1John 4:4)
We find peace and rest in our Shepherd, Whose heart is set on each of us. ( See Job 7:17-18 and Psalm 23 and 1Peter 3:2)
In 1 Thessalonians 3:3 the apostle Paul says "That no man should be moved/ shaken by these afflictions: for you yourselves know that we are appointed this ."
See also Acts 20:23. The, Holy Spirit affirmed to Paul that in every place he would go to, chains of imprisonment, hardship, affliction and suffering were prepared for him and waiting for him.
Selah.....
Afflictions prove that GOD has set His Heart upon us. We will be tested and tried often so that His love and His care is revealed to us.
In John 15:18-20 The LORD Jesus declared
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you"
Mark 8:34 "And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
We must learn to encourage ourselves in The LORD as David did in 1 Samuel 30:1-6 He turned to his Shepherd and The Lover of his soul.
We as born again believers have to learn to live from the inside out. In the trials of life we learn to turn to The Holy Spirit Who dwells within us. (See Romans 8:9,1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16)
Everything is with Him and in Him.
When GOD sets His heart upon us, we will be tested and tried often. But, the longer and harder our affliction, the more deeply GOD has set His heart upon us to show us His love and care for us and to fulfill His ultimate purpose in each of us which is that we should be conformed to the image of His Son. See Romans 8:28-29
Selah
Shalom shalom

The Infinite Value Of All Human Life

All human beings are made in the image of GOD
See Genesis 1:26-27
All human life is sacred from conception in the womb to a natural grave.
The LORD Jesus spoke of our value to GOD as human beings comparing our value to that of sparrows.
See Matthew 10:31
Luke 12:7
Sparrows are common around the whole world.
Sparrows are often seen as a nuisance. The 18th-century French naturalist Count de Buffon (Georges-Louis Leclerc) held a very low opinion of sparrows, referring to them in derogatory terms within his influential work Histoire Naturelle. He described them as "vile" and "despicable" birds. Compared to other types of bird they are often seen as a nuisance and have no colourful plumage and they multiply in great numbers.
Yet The Father knows about every one intimately .
See Luke 12:6 and Matthew 10:29
In the days of the earthly ministry of The LORD Jesus Christ, sparrows were often sold in the market place as food for the poor. They were the cheapest bird you could buy. They were sold either in pairs or in fives. The market price was a penny for a pair or two pennies for five. Even dedicated bird watchers today ignore the scruffy sparrow.
Yet each one was and is known by our Heavenly Father.
How much much more then does He care for a human being created in His own image whose soul is worth more than the whole world.
What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, Luke 9:25)
Archbishop William Temple's quote, "My worth is what I am worth to God; and that is a marvelous great deal, for Christ died for me," emphasizes that human value comes from GOD's immense love, demonstrated by Christ's sacrifice, making every human being infinitely valuable and equal in GOD's eyes.
All human life is sacred from conception in the womb to a natural death. As followers and lovers of The LORD Jesus Christ we must oppose abortion and assisted suicide.
John 14:15 says that if we love The LORD we will keep His commandments
ment is "You shall not murder".See Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17.
If you or I were the only human being that needed salvation Christ would still have died for us. He is not willing that ANY should perish but He desires that ALL human beings should reach repentance. See
2 Peter 3:9
Every time we see a chirping sparrow, let us remember that GOD knows that sparrow and that we are each of far more infinite value to Him and how intimately He knows each of us and loves us.
Every human being is made in His own image and ONE human being, whether in the womb or out of the womb, young or old, in whatever state of physical or mental health, whether a law abiding citizen or a serial rapist or murderer..... is of infinitely more value than ALL the birds and animals in the entire world....
See Romans 5:8
Selah
Shalom shalom

It Is Time To Fly

Deuteronomy 32:9-11 reveals to us some remarkable ways in which The LORD, ABBA Father raises His own children, His people, and brings us into maturity in our Christian walk.
Verse 11 says "like an eagle that stirs up its nest"
After some time of caring for her young, mother eagles deliberately change the nest from a cosy warm feathered home into a place with sharp rocks and thorns. The eaglets cry out in pain as the thorns stick into them. The mother eagle is training her young to leave their comfort zone and learn to fly and live independently.
Verse 11 goes on to say that the mother eagle "flutters over its young"
Actually she beats them with her own powerful wings that up to then had given them protection. The nest becomes a place of extreme discomfort. The eaglet climbs to the side of the nest to try and escape. Then, the mother eagle spreads her wings out wide, and the eaglet hops on to her back. The mother then soars up higher and higher into the sky carrying her young. Then suddenly without warning she will dive out from under the eaglet leaving the eaglet in the air. The eaglet falls fast towards the ground screaming with fear. With the instincts GOD has placed in it however, it stretches out its wings but they are not yet ready to support it and fly. Suddenly however the mother swoops underneath and bears it up on her own wings.
The end of verse 11 says " spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions"
This process is repeated over and over again until the eaglet's wings have gained strength and finally it catches the air currents and flies independently.
Many ornithologists have thought that the Bible', s description of an eagle carrying her young was merely figurative, but in recent years certain reliable observers have actually seen this process taking place and have confirmed that every phrase in Deuteronomy 32:11is accurate. This should be of no surprise because Elohim The Creator has created the eagle to do this.
A report concerning the golden eagle comes from Arthur Cleveland Bent, one of America's greatest ornithologists:
"The mother started from the nest in the crags and, roughly hand-ling the youngster, she allowed him to drop, I should say, about ninety feet; then she would swoop down under him, wings spread, and he would alight on her back. She would soar to the top of the range with him and repeat the process. Once perhaps she waited fifteen minutes between flights. I should say the farthest she let him fall was a hundred and fifty feet. My father and I watched him, spellbound, for over an hour." (A. C. Bent, Bulletin of the Smithsonian Institution (1937)
This description of the eagle in Deuteronomy 32:12 is a description of how GOD Himself brings us His own people into spiritual maturity.
See Isaiah 40:29-31
Waiting for The LORD is not a passive position but an active position of trusting in Him no matter how we may feel the ground has given way beneath us. We may feel we are falling but GOD is faithful and He lifts us up on His wings of The Holy Spirit. He teaches us to walk in The Spirit, in His Ways. Our flesh may scream out as He parents us and pushes us out of our comfortable places. What was once cosy becomes a place of thorns and sharp rocks, forcing us to move out. But we must learn to rise upward on His Wings.
See Exodus 19:4-6
Our individual journey in this life may take many twists and turns but the destination for all of GOD's own children is the same: GOD Himself. We are His passionately treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. See also Peter 2:9
Revelation 1:6 and 5:10
Our Father has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
See Hebrews 13:5
Deuteronomy 31:6 and Joshua 1:5
The Holy Spirit trains us to walk with Him and fly with Him by faith day by day on our journey, our pilgrimage to Himself. Like Abraham we may be commanded to leave all that is familiar and comfortable and go out to unfamiliar terrain. See Genesis 12:1
Selah
Shalom shalom

Healed Of Leprosy Of The Heart

When GOD spoke to Moses at the burning bush He revealed to him the state of his heart and indeed the state of the heart of us all without Christ Jesus. See Exodus 4:6-7
In Scripture leprosy is a potent symbol of sin, uncleaness and spiritual separation. ( See Leviticus 13-14)
The Biblical Hebrew word for leprosy is "tza’ra’at" and refers to impurity requiring spiritual as well as physical purification and healing.
GOD was showing Moses, and us, that the condition of the human heart is one of sin.
( See Genesis 6:5, Ecclesiastes 8:11 and 9:3,Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 15:19) Only GOD can deal with that sickness. He dealt with it through the death and resurrection of Messiah, Jesus. When we trust in His redeeming blood and receive a new heart in being born again.
( See Ezekiel 36:26-27,Hebrews 8:10)
Unless we are born again we are spiritually dead and our nature remains in total opposition to GOD. See Ephesians 2:5 and John 3:3,6-8
Moses had tried to deal with the slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt his own way. But in order to go back and fulfil his calling Moses had to know that GOD's way was the only way. The mantra of fallen man is "I did it my way" Only the blood of Jesus Christ, GOD Himself however can deal with the root of our separation from GOD and spiritual death, which is sin itself. See Hebrews 9:22 and I John 1:7
When "self" is in control, we hurt others. We bring reproach upon the work and the Name of GOD. When we operate in the flesh we will always administer death and not life. GOD was showing Moses that he could not use that old nature from Egypt. The fallen nature will always be leperous. There must be a new nature. ( John 3:3)
When we stand before The LORD on Holy Ground, our inner man is exposed to us. We must see the depravity within for ourselves.
Thanks be to GOD for the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us from all unrighteousness
(See 1John 1:7-9)
The apostle Paul before his conversion had been religiously zealous and had hurt many people. But in
Galatians 2:20 he declares that his old nature has been crucified, it has died and he now lives by faith in Messiah Jesus The Son of GOD.
The apostle Peter operating in his own flesh and his own strength had messed up badly in his impulsive behaviour, even cutting off the right ear of Malchus the servant of the High Priest ( see John 18:10)and denied his LORD three times ( John 18:15-27)
But GOD restored him just as He restored the hand of Moses.
1 Peter 1:13-19 he declares our redemption with the precious blood of Christ Jesus.
Worshipping GOD on holy ground changes us because the inner motives of our hearts are exposed to us by The Holy Spirit that we might repent and be healed.
We all must learn to live this life from the inside out, to depend upon Him Who lives within His own.
Hallelujah what a Saviour.
Selah
Shalom shalom

Beware The Poison Of Pride

1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says that the end of a thing is better than the beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Proverbs 16:18 warns us that pride always leads to destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride is deadly.
If we allow pride to take root within us we deceive ourselves.
Satan/ Lucifer is the ultimate example of the destruction of pride but we wlso see in the life of King Uzziah, a man who started off so well and was blessed mightily in many ways by The LORD and was a highly renowned king. Yet, he ended his days as an outcast excluded from God's house because of pride, arrogance and anger. See
2 Chronicles chapter 26.
He reigned as king for 52 years and did many wonderful things and at first he did what was right in the eyes of The LORD ( 2 Chronicles 26:4)
As long as he walked in the fear of The LORD, GOD caused him to prosper in military might, in architecture, agriculture and industry and was greatly admired for his achievements.
BUT see 2 Chronicles 26:16
When he was strong he became proud and began to self destruct. Not satisfied with being a successful king he sought to grasp the role of priest which was not his calling or office. In His grace GOD rebuked him through the ordained priests. Instead of repenting however, his prideful arrogance and inflated ego caused him to flare up in anger.
Leprosy then broke out on his forehead at the altar of incense.
In the old covenant leprosy represented sin.
Leviticus 13:42-46 tells us that leprosy of the forehead was the worst type of leprosy because it represented pride, arrogance, self will and selfish ambition. The Hebrew word for forehead is Metsach (מֵצַח) and means forehead or brow, a term used in the Scriptures to denote the physical front part of the head but also symbolically for the mind, thoughts and the will. It has to do with stubbornness, arrogance and pride (hard forehead), and also Divine marking/sealing, representing allegiance or ownership like the seal of GOD or the mark of the Beast. Names written on the forehead reveal the person's character and their allegiance of heart.
The golden plate on the turban of the High Priest was engraved with the words "Holy To The LORD"
Revelation 17:4-5 On the woman's forehead is written "Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth."
In Revelation 14:9 and 17:5 the followers of the Beast are marked on their foreheads.
In Revelation 22:4 followers of The Lamb of GOD Jesus Christ have His Name upon their foreheads.
Thus the significance of Uzziah being struck with leprosy on his forehead.
2 Chronicles 26:21 tells us that he remained a leper unto his death and lived as an outcast and excluded from The House of The LORD.
Such a tragic ending to his life and long reign as king. Even in death his body was buried away from the family graves in relative dishonour because of the curse of leprosy which represents sin.
Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools"
We must all guard our hearts from the deadly poison of pride. Every day is a gift of God's grace to examine our hearts and take the opportunities given to us by GOD in His mercy and grace to repent of sin.
Selah..
Shalom shalom

The Grace And Glory Of Gratitude To GOD

In Nehemiah 12:45-46 we read of songs of both thanksgiving and praise to GOD.
The people Israel are now regathered in their land after 70 years of captivity in Babylon.
The Hebrew word for "Thanksgiving" is "Todah" which comes from the root word and is closely related to "yadah" meaning intimacy of knowing someone. It is our thanksgiving that leads us into intimacy with GOD Himself.
In Hebrew the word for "thanksgiving" "Todah" is spelled with 3 Hebrew letters :
Firstly "Tau" which means The Truth
Jesus Christ is The Truth (John 14:6)
The 2nd letter is "Daleth" which means a Doorway. Jesus Christ is The Door, the doorway to salvation ( John 10:9)
The 3rd letter is "Heh" which means the Presence of GOD. In this one Hebrew word "Todah", the Gospel is proclaimed.
We come to The Truth,The Living Word of God, we go through The Door Who is Jesus Christ Himself into The Presence of The Living GOD. Hallelujah! Whatever our own circumstances this day, we can give thanks with a grateful heart to The Holy One because He has given Jesus Christ His Son.
Psalm 100:4
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His Name"
Note thanksgiving is separate from praise but thanksgiving leads to praise.
Psalm 7:17
"I will give thanks to The LORD because of His righteousness, I will sing the praises of The LORD Most High"
Whilst intimately related, thanksgiving and praise are separate.
We enter His gates firstly with thanksgiving because this Hebrew word speaks of Messiah Himself, The Truth and The Door of salvation into The Presence of GOD. Christ Himself is the gateway into the Presence of GOD.
Philipians 4:6-7 says that with thanksgiving we are to present our requests to GOD.
2 Corinthians 4:15 says that overflowing thanksgiving glorifies GOD.
See also
1 Timothy 4:4-5
" Offer to GOD the sacrifice of thanksgiving" Psalm 50:14-15
As the beautiful worship song says :
"Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to The Holy One
Give thanks because He has given Jesus Christ His Son"
(Words and music by Henry Smith)
Shalom shalom