Stop Hiding--Gen. 44

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For twenty years, ten brothers hid a secret deep inside their hearts.  They had followed a devilish plan to get rid of their favored, tunic-ed, arrogant, little brother.  They lied to their father, causing him grief beyond words, their explanation calloused and unfeeling.  They went on with their lives as if nothing sinful had happened.  They could do that because they were now avenged, delighted that their brother would not be around any more.  Yes, they thought the trouble was over.  But it was only the beginning of the trouble they would feel in their hearts for the next two decades.

Little did they know that their sin was being woven into My perfect will for the entire nation of Israel.  Their extreme jealousy set into motion My plan to move all of Israel to Egypt, to a land where the natives would have NOTHING to do with foreigners.  My Israel, My precious nation, would dwell 430 years in a country in which they would never be allowed to integrate.  Israel would not be polluted by Egypt.  A pure and holy Israel was My desire.  But something must draw them to Egypt.  Enter a severe famine in all the land, and one man, Joseph, the favored brother, who would keep My Israel alive and unpolluted.   Evil used for good?  In My economy, I can use everything to bring about good.  And I chose to use the ugly sin of ten brothers to accomplish My good purposes.

I can also use your evil for good, but too often you are hiding, not from Me, but from the reality of the sin you have committed.  The ten brothers did, telling themselves many lies that they soon believed.  You, My precious one, do the same.  You cover your eyes as if to say to Me, "If I cannot see it, then maybe, just maybe, You won't see it as well."  So many times you ignore your sin instead of confessing it.  That is what happens when you cover your eyes to it.  When you cover your eyes, you have no ability to look into Mine.

Come to me, and remove your fingers slowly.  I know that it is painful for you to look at Me.  But look straight into My eyes.  In doing so you might still feel pain, but it will be much less severe than the pain you feel as you carry around in your heart the reality of who you are without Me. Dare to strategically move just one finger so that you can see Me.  My eyes are full of love and forgiveness.  My eyes will enfold you into Me.  Come, see, be set free . . . in Me.

Taking Steps--Gen. 40

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Learning to trust Me in all things is My progressive work in you.  I am taking you to a place of balance, true balance, that can only be found in Me.  As with everything that pertains to Me, there are two sides of the same coin.  When it comes to the issue of trust, there are two sides of the positive coin, as well as two sides to the negative coin.

Let Me show you the negative coin first.  They are polar-opposite concepts.  On the one side is the fatalistic view.  It sounds something like this:  "I will just sit here and wait on God.  He's going to do what He is going to do, so it makes no difference if I do anything at all.  This is His deal."  Now for the other extreme, this side of the negative coin looks like this:  "Okay, so this what I am going to do.  It seems right to me, and I don't want to trouble God with this.  I can do this on my own.  Surely this is what God wants me to do, isn't it.  This is what God desires, right?"  Not necessarily.

You doing nothing or you doing everything reveals your lack of trust in Me.  When you operate in either of these scenarios, you are the one in control, not Me.  Neither of these is the pathway that I have ordained for you.  Let Me show you what I do want you to do.  The positive two-sided coin will make it clearer.

The first side of the coin is this:  You must know and trust My will for you.  My will is revealed through My Word and through My conversations with you.  Follow that with surrendering your will to Mine.  That shows Me that you trust Me.  When you fully trust Me, you are ready to turn the coin over. 

The other side of the positive coin is what I expect of you.  We have a relationship.  You entered that relationship through no work of your own.  I came to be your Savior, coming to earth for the sole purpose of dying as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of all mankind.  You only had to receive that to become Mine.  But now, in this relationship we both will be working to accomplish My will.  This side of the coin is the work you will do.  It is critical in this process for you to act upon your complete reliance on Me.  This is NOT the time to sit back and do nothing.

I have shared with you My particular plan for you in this season of your life.  You have trusted in Me and My will for you, but now it is time for your continued work toward accomplishing what I have called you to do.  Follow Joseph's example.  It was completely within My sovereign will for him to be imprisoned falsely.  But it was also in My will for him to be released, so that he could do even greater things for My kingdom and people.  He didn't just sit in jail waiting for Me to "break him out."  He took every opportunity presented to him to do the things that aligned with his understanding of My will, that he was to be free. 

After having interpreted the cup-bearer's dream in a favorable way, Joseph asked only one thing from him.  "Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house."

Joseph took steps that were completely in line with My will for him.  You see, one might know and trust My will for them to be a runner, but they will only truly  be a runner when they lace on their  shoes, head out the door, and begin to put one foot in front of the other.

It takes both My will and your obedience to do what aligns with it for you to actually live within it.  Live in the peaceful balance of trusting Me and My will for you and acting obediently upon those things that align with the fulfillment of My will.  Choose the positive coin, both sides of it, by taking the necessary steps.  I am with you always, My precious one.

Run From Temptation--Genesis 39

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Eve was not prepared to run from the temptation that the enemy slyly sent her way.  Neither was Adam.  It is easy to say to yourself, "Yes, I know I gave in, but it is our nature to do so.  Just look at Adam and Eve.  I promise I will try harder the next time."   Yes, My precious one, they fell, and now that is the nature of all mankind.  But this is not My way.  It is Satan's way for you. He would MUCH prefer you think of Adam and Eve when he is attempting to pull you away from Me.  Let me show you a better example

Joseph is the one I want you to study.  I want you to keep him in the forefront of your mind, and push the example of the first man and woman far from your thought.  For I do not want you continuing in your sins because you have not been trained to think differently about the topic of resisting temptation.  I want you to see My way of handling temptation, and exactly how you can avoid falling prey to it.

Look at the story of Joseph from today.  Here is a young man who has been betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and now lives in a land that is not his own.  I have blessed him in such a way as for him to find favor with a very prestigious man.  Joseph is raised up to a position he would never dreamed of.  It wasn't long before his master's wife took note of him, and desired him greatly.  Satan's temptation was not sly at all.  "Come lie with me," were the wicked words  that spewed forth out of the mouth of  this forbidden woman.  So many times she approached the handsome, young Joseph.  But he never gave in.  Over and over again he turned down her suggestive request.  And over and over again the words came, "Lie with me."

When you are reading the Word it often seems as if events take place quickly, one after another.  But this is not the case.  Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery.  Two years before Joseph became the governor (at age 30) he was sent to prison for his "supposed" sinful act with Potiphar's wife.  When he went to prison he was 28 years old. That means that  he spent approximately 11 years running from from a severe temptation! 

How did stay strong for 11 years?  My precious one, there is no answer other than the fact that when temptation came, Joseph refused to "bite", he kept himself away from where she was, and eventually he was in a position where he had to run. 

I have promised you that when you are tempted, I will supply a way out.  Follow Joseph's lead.  That is the way out of every temptation.

• Refuse the temptation INSTANTLY, and over and over if necessary
• Do not put yourself in a place where the temptation can easily occur
• If necessary, leave everything and RUN FROM IT!

Oh how I want you to do more than understand the concept of running from temptation.  I want you  to apply what you know the very next time temptation comes your way.  Be on the lookout.  Evil is everywhere.  Be prepared by thinking about these 3 steps over and over again, so that when you are tempted, you will "see" the the way out I have provided.  It is through the door of refusal, the door of wisdom, and the door of quick escape.  You have the key to pass through all three doors, because you have Me.  I am the Door and I am the Way.

Bow Down Before Me--Gen. 37: 5-11

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Joseph's brothers had a problem.  While they certainly were jealous of Joseph and resented their father's partiality toward him, that was not their biggest problem.   No, their  biggest problem was revealed when Joseph began to tell them of the dreams that he was having.  Their issue was what rose up in them in ferocious indignation.  Their problem was their stubborn pride.

Did you catch the words that they used?  "Reign over us" and "rule over us."  Can you hear how they despised such a concept?  When Joseph tells his father the next dream, you can clearly see the same type of response in Joseph's father, Jacob, when he says this:  "Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?"  Such a concept was inconceivable to them; it was ridiculous.  They simply could not accept that there would be a day when they would do such a thing.

But before you think them unique, My precious one, I want you to consider something.  How willing are you to embrace the concept?  Though you might say to Me, "You are my Lord, and You are my Ruler," you have many places hidden in the deepest parts of your heart that reveal your same loathing of this idea of bowing down to another, and especially before Me. 

At the core of every human being is the desire to be self-ruled, wanting to reign over their own lives, bowing down to no one and nothing except their own desires.  Ultimately, this was at the core of My fallen angel, Lucifer.  It is the root of the original sin of Adam. And it is what allowed Eve to be so easily deceived.  Sin and death are the results of such pride.

But you now belong to Me, and you have received the free gift of grace that I offer to those who choose to believe and truly follow Me.  The price has been paid for the wickedness of pride.  So why do you still struggle with the idea of bowing down in total humility and dependence on Me? Why do you strive to rule over your own life? Don't you see that this is the spirit of the world?  It is not of My Spirit.

You must forsake your "self" sins (self-reliance, self-dependence, self-absorption, self-sufficiency, selfishness, self-satisfaction, self-indulgence, self-elevation), and then you will be completely free to bow at My feet, resting entirely in my Sufficiency, dependent and reliant on only Me. 

Seeing yourself bowed down, prostrate before Me, is not the same as bowing down to Me.  Neither is simply talking or writing about the importance of bowing down.  To bow in My Presence will require an action on your part.  I cannot do that for you.  It will come from true surrender to Me.

The Drink Offering I Require

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Jacob disobeyed My command.  He went his own way, and there was a tremendous price to pay.  You see, I called him to return to Bethel, the place where he first met Me.  But after he was reunited to his brother Esau, instead of coming "home,"  he chose to go to Shechem.  It was a disastrous decision that left his daughter's life in ruin, and two of his sons became murderers.  But most of all, he had separated himself from Me. He had listened to his own voice, instead of Mine.  So I spoke to him again, commanding him to return to Bethel, our special meeting place.

Jacob's heart was receptive.  But he didn't just pack up his family and belongs and make the move.  This time, before doing anything else, he set things right in his heart.  And he asked his family to do the same.  His instructions to them were clear and precise.  He said, "Put away your gods from you, purify yourselves, and change your attire." (35:2)

Jacob understood what it would mean to follow My ways, now.  It would require him to put away everything in his life that was set before Me.  Then he would have to remove the "residue" of the impact of those gods by allowing Me to change the filthy garments of his character.  By letting Me in to his life in this manner, he was building an altar of worship to Me. (35:3)

When Jacob, whom I now called Israel, arrived in Bethel, he wasted no time returning that point where I first met with him as he was fleeing from his brother Esau, whom desired to kill him.  Twenty years later, My Jacob, came back to Me, with more than a simple belief in Me.  He returned with a holy desire to be pleasing to Me, to sacrifice all  for Me on his altar of worship.  It was there that he poured out a drink offering to me, a hin  (gallon) of wine, over the pillar of stone he built to honor Me.  Little did he know that the wine he poured out to me was less important to Me than the sacrifice of his whole life to Me.  Jacob, My Israel, poured out his life when he put away his gods, purified his life life, and "put on" new spiritual clothing by "changing" his character.  That is the drink offering I require.  It was the drink offering Paul, thousands of years later, referred to when he said, ". . . I am being poured out as a drink offering. . ." in Phil. 2:17.

My precious one, I will require the same thing from you, but you must return to that place where we first met.  Come to Me, lay down your life to Me by putting away your gods, allow the Spirit to purify your heart (motives, will,  emotions), and change your robes.  I have set aside for you glorious robes of RIGHTEOUSNESS!

My child, the glass of your life that you wish to pour out to Me is filled with your spiritual life blood.  Tip it over; pour it out; empty it completely.  And I will fill you with Myself.  THIS is the drink offering I require.

Full Surrender

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It is an easy mistake to make.  My children have stumbled on this throughout history.  I require obedience above altars, but often My children offer up their altars and sacrifices in place of true obedience.  Jacob, after wrestling with Me, began to do some very right things.  He began to walk in faith, even leading the way to meet his brother, Esau, instead of cowering in fear at the end of the procession.  He humbly made peace with the brother that he had gravely deceived, in the days that Jacob walked apart from Me.  Yet, Jacob, whom I had renamed Israel, found it difficult to walk in his new name, meaning "God rules".  Once again Jacob deceived his brother by committing to follow Esau southward to Seir, but instead he let Esau get a few days journey ahead of him and then headed north to Shechem. 

In the end, much sorrow would come to Jacob for this decision, for it is in Shechem that his daughter would be raped, and his sons would take out their revenge on the guilty party.  Yes, he did some right things, but I told him to return to the place where he first made a vow to Me, to that place where he dreamed of a ladder to heaven, to that place where he built a pillar for Me and anointed it with oil.  I called him back to Bethel, but he went his own way.  He was not surrendered to My will, therefore, he could not obey Me.  Israel went against his name, and chose to rule his own life.  In Shechem, he erected an altar and he called the place, El-Elohe-Israel, God, the God of Israel (Jacob), his true time of conversion.  But his altar-building was more important to him than his OBEDIENCE to My word.

My precious one, are you making the connection?  You do some very right things as well, but just like Jacob, you have learned to put right sacrifices ahead of the one sacrifice I require of you--your surrender to My FULL will.  Even after you conversion, you have stumbled on the idea of FULL surrender to Me.  Like Jacob, you push others out to meet meet Me more intimately, yet you cower behind them, afraid of what this might mean in YOUR life.  You speak right things, yet you do not follow your own teaching.  Repentance, Surrender, Obedience.  You speak My words all the time, but  "Sayin' ain't doin!'"   Your teaching is one of the altars you have set up.  Yes, they are good words.  But where is your obedience to My word that I have put in your mouth?

There will always be repercussions for lack of obedience.  The way you have been feeling spiritually is a sign of "altars above obedience."  The remedy is clear; obey My words and My will.  Set your goal to seek My face.  Strive after ME!  MY Presence!  For I am the Showbread, your BREAD OF LIFE, the Living Word.  Ingest Me and digest Me!  Search ME out!  I am here.  I can be found, if you would but surrender your all and come to Me!  I know that you are weary of how you live your life.  Let Me revive you.  Let me resuscitate you...              

(Gen. 33; Ps. 27:8; Matt. 11:28)

Jacob's Surrender

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This morning the Lord spoke these word to me.  Maybe they are words He wants you to hear and receive as well.  Blessings to you as you listen to His voice.

"My precious one, you are much like My servant, Jacob.  In the same way that I had to wrestle with him, I must wrestle with you.  You see, Jacob was a man who relied on his own resources rather than simply trusting Me.  Even when I set an army of angels in his camp, he still needed to do things his way.  As a result, he was marked by his fear and distress. 

You, too, tend to rely on your own thoughts, ways, and plans.  I am with you, My child; I am right beside you. Why is it that you come to Me in the morning for your spiritual meal, and then you gorge yourself on your flesh for the rest of the day, ignoring My Presence and My will?   When you go after your own way of doing things, you set Me aside and away from you.  I am your Help,  I am your Protection, and I am the Way!

How will you ever know Me as this if you do not surrender yourself fully to Me?  You are wrestling with Me even as Jacob did.  You are strong and you are unrelenting, but there must come a time in this battle when you are satisfied with just clinging to Me, a time when you are utterly surrendered to My power and My will.  That is when you will succeed in all that I have for you to do.  Jacob had to discover this the hard way.  I prefer that you take the easier course and simply submit yourself to My rule.  When I changed Jacob's name to Israel, he was changed on the inside.  Jacob the con man became Israel, the one whom I ruled. 

Let Me change you like I changed Jacob.  I desire for you to humbly surrender all that you perceive as your strengths, those characteristics and attitudes that you are using to move you along your spiritual journey, for they are not capable of accomplishing that in you.  They distract you from Me.   Your divided attention reveals that you trust yourself as much as you claim to trust Me.

I am calling you to wave the white flag.  Let Me lead you on My path, even hold you captive, for in this surrendered state you will find not only the greatest freedom that you have ever experienced, but also the greatest victories you have ever known.  Do you not know that until I conquer you, you will not be able to conquer those tasks that I have set before you?

Victory and power will ooze forth from you when you surrender to Me and to the idea that your proud self-will and self-reliance are stumbling blocks to the work I desire to do in  and through you.   Jacob realized this after he struggled and strained with Me.  He knew this kind of surrender, but not until I touched his hip and dislocated it.  For the rest of his days he would painfully remember that one encounter with Me.  I would prefer that you would surrender without the fight. 

Wave the flag, my precious one.  Surrender the battle, and let Me RULE your life."

GOD'S VISION

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 (Read Genesis 13-14)

You have seen today in this passage of Scripture that Abram, after defecting from the path I had for him by going to Egypt during the famine, did not trust in My provision for him.  He attempted to "take care of himself" and he failed miserably.  He could have lost his life by such self-dependence.

Having seen the error of his way, Abram returned to the last place he had been found walking in My path.  He returned to the "tent of his beginning and the altar of his first worship."  The time he wasted had to be put behind him, in order for him to move forward, and this new beginning had to begin at the same point where he left the correct course.  Abram went back to his tent near Bethel and he called out to Me in surrender.

Having heard his prayer, I was now ready to move him forward in My plan.  I showed him the land that I was promising to give him.  Not only was I willing to show it to him, I had him walk about the entire land of promise.  I left it to him where he would now live.  Having considered it, he chose to move his tent forward in My plan by pitching it near the oaks of Mamre in Hebron.  There he began to dwell in the land, and he built an altar where he could worship Me.

You see, by the definition of the names of the places Abram dwelt in, his surrender and obedience could clearly be seen.  By saying their names Abram would constantly be reminded of the state of his journey.  He dwelt by the oaks of VISION (Mamre) and in COMMUNION (Hebron) with Me.

My precious one, I desire this same thing from you.  My desire is that you dwell, live, abide in My vision, My plan, My purposes for you which can be found and lived out when you are in close communion with Me.  This will require that you return from your journey to Egypt, where you have walked in your own self-reliance, self-provision, self-sufficiency.  It will require that you come back to the place where I first called you to, the vision of what I can do through you if you would surrender to Me.  It will require your surrender (again) and your full obedience to the journey of MY choosing. 

I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans for a future and a hope.  This is My VISION; live in it.  And come now and COMMUNE with Me at the altar of surrender and obedience.  This is the worship I desire of you.