The Holy Spirit has always been the Church’s greatest secret, but especially for the fragmented Church, its greatest mystery. Our most valuable connections are not man’s devices, such as the internet or social media — which have their place — but the Holy Spirit. We are accustomed to other means because of their obvious utility. What has the Church always had as both its Source and resource, but the Holy Spirit? How did the Early Church achieve such incomprehensible results without our modern devices, but through the Holy Spirit? “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13 KJV). Disconnected from man’s devices, God is able to replicate and communicate His intentions and movement through the Holy Spirit. His Word is used to communicate to us by His Spirit. And, prayer is used to communicate with Him — and, to the rest of the Body of Christ. When His Spirit is moving upon us, then we can believe and pray He is similarly moving upon others. Use the assembling of the local church and the fellowship of disciples and believers, where possible and available, but do not neglect the Holy Spirit and prayer. Naturally, the enemy does not want us to fully appreciate our advantage. We neglect prayer because we do not well understand nor control it. “Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Psalm 60:12). LORD, inspire us to pray like we believe prayer is more effective and valuable than man’s devices. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.
Prayer and Intercession
Blessings and Curses
We like the idea of being blessed, but we are repelled by the concept of being cursed. Esau’s insistence on receiving the family blessing from Isaac was maddening elusive to him though he sought the blessing “carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:17 KJV). What’s so special about blessings and curses, since we bless our food every day before we eat? “I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6 NET). Do we possess such power with God? The weight of our pronouncements before God may wither in light of our confidence of receiving our own daily blessings, but shouldn’t we aspire great things before Yahweh? LORD, may we be emboldened to bless those who love You and cause curses to come down upon those who oppose You that there may be diamonds in the rough like Saul of Tarsus enlisted in Your cause. Amen.
Help, LORD (Psalm 12:1)
We are always a prayer away from help. God’s “throne of grace” is ever open to us in our “time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV). Thrice, God rapidly responds, “I will help thee” (Isaiah 45:10, 13, 14). When our crisis is deepest, His help is closest. He knows we are then most open to a dramatic application of change in our teachable moment. Trust, try, and “prove Me now” (Malachi 3:10) is our Lord’s call to action. What thing in the back of our mind has the Spirit of God been whispering, “Change”? You, fill in the blank. “Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke [of man’s traditions], the putting forth of the finger [in scornfully pointing out those who do not comply with those traditions], and speaking vanity [using those false traditions]” (Isaiah 58:9). When the Spirit of God has sufficiently arrested our attention about whatever change He wants, He then challenges us, “Prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). The surest path is “straight forward” (Ezekiel 1:9, 12), and we know the outcome will bring us safely Home. LORD, You are our help. Come to our aid. Supply what we have not. Open our eyes to receive the understanding we need. Thank You, and may Your name be praised evermore. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen.
Center of the Earth
Is Jerusalem the center of the earth? We know Creation took place in the Middle East at the confluence of four named rivers, one of which was the Euphrates (Genesis 2:14) in a region once called the Cradle of Civilization and still identified as the Fertile Crescent. Biblical history establishes Jerusalem as the “city of David” (2Samuel 5:7), the capital of Israel and where Solomon built the Jewish Temple. For Jews, Jerusalem is the center of their earth. And, for Christians, the Gospel would spread starting from Jerusalem “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 KJV). Jesus ascended back to heaven from the Mount of Olives east and just outside of Jerusalem (1:12) and will descend to the same spot at His Second Coming (Zechariah 14:4). Rome destroyed the Jerusalem Temple (70 AD). The Crusades took and lost Jerusalem. Islam built the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Three of the main religions of the world are monotheistic and Jerusalem centric. Modern Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital, and the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem in the 21st century. Any wonder David the Psalmist enjoined, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6)?
Advice to Married Couples (Part 2)
Paul the Apostle gave marriage counsel to all NT readers. Specifically, he advised Christian couples about their together walk. Each belongs to the other, granting rights to the other over their own body. 1Corinthians 7:1-5, especially verse 5, encapsulates his advice. “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency [lack of self-control]” (1Corinthians 7:5 KJV). Fasting and prayer protect our relationship with God, while a couple’s together walk or agreement is both manifested and strengthened by their intimacy. LORD, strengthen the marriages of our brothers and sisters that Satan would not cleave them apart in dissension and divorce. Amen and amen.
Divine Council Retrospective
Since early 2022, when I became familiar with Dr. Michael S. Heiser’s scholarly book, The Unseen Realm (2015), I have attempted to synthesize his Divine Council perspective with my Christian worldview. As a lifelong reader of the KJV, I’d never heard the expression “divine council,” since Psalm 82:1 was translated as “congregation” (KJV) not “divine council” (ESV). “God [Hebrew, elohim, singular] has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [Hebrew, elohim, plural] He holds judgment” (Psalm 82:1 ESV). Multiple gods? Yes, but only one Almighty God. Heiser’s title The Unseen Realm and the Divine Council perspective allowed me to rethink my understanding of what takes place in the heavenlies — building a better foundation. For example, in Spiritual Warfare, notice how Paul links our struggles with the heavenlies. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). Another example, in Divine Healing, observe how an evil angel or “messenger [Greek, aggelos, angel] of Satan” (2Corinthians 12:7) is linked with a “thorn in the flesh” (12:7) and the struggle for healing. And still another example, in Prayer and Intercession, how can we avoid connecting the Courts of Heaven with Yahweh’s Divine Council? “Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted” (Isaiah 43:26 NKJV). We may differ, ignore, or misunderstand the Unseen Realm, but its concepts still affect us in our Supernatural Religion.
We Need A Miracle 