A Devotion for Palm Sunday

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As we celebrate this coming Palm Sunday, as Jewish congregations prepare to celebrate Passover, may the Old Testament types add to the dimension of our faith and understanding of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Consider for a moment that on that same day thousands of lambs were being ushered into Jerusalem through the same Eastern gate, also known as the Golden Gate, as Our Passover Lamb. But I wonder how many who were enthusiastically waving palms, saw with spiritual eyes the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world, among all the other lambs.

The lambs were being brought into Jerusalem five days prior to Passover, to be examined by the priests. They were to be examined for blemishes or disfigurement, as only perfect lambs were found worthy to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. It is interesting to note that the priest did not examine the sinner who brought the sacrifice, rather the priest looked to see if the sacrificial substitute was worthy.

Likewise Our Lamb was brought into the city five days prior to Passover, to also be examined. He was brought before Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Ciaphas, the high priests, and the ultimate judgement was made by Pilate when he declared, “I find no fault in Him.” Praise God for our Lamb who was found worthy to be sacrificed for our sins.

As we worship this coming Sunday let us with a loud voice declare with the heavens

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!” Rev. 5:12

 

I am Hanging on a Branch Of the True Vine

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Dear Father,

Protect me from myself, that is my own self-confidence, for in the day of trial it will fail me.

Protect me with a confidence that only comes from my total trust and dependence on You, and my relationship to You, because of Your mercy and grace paid for by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb of God.

Help me in my daily walk, that I will not deny your presence in my life by my actions and words before the world.

Help me realize more and more that time spent with You is not a nonproductive activity but rather my very life line to the power to live for You!

Dear Child,

Draw near more and more, that I may teach you, that I may feed you manna from heaven and the water that will give you eternal life, and will refresh you daily during your pilgrim walk.

It is easy not to deny Me while in My presence in the *Holy Place, the test is when you leave to walk in the* Outer Court, where you mix with the world. It was before sinners that Peter denied Me! Walk in the *Outer Court in the strength which I will impart to you in the *Holy Place, not in your own strength and self-confidence. Self will fail you! For self must die!

Many worship Me in church but the test comes when they leave My house! It is not how high you jump before Me, but how straight you walk in the *Outer Court. Many swear their love for Me in My presence, but when the test comes in the *Outer Court, they deny Me by their actions and words!

Lean on Me and allow self to die! That I might rule and guide you in your walk!

Have confidence in who “I AM”.

                                           Thus saith Papa

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Zechariah 4:6  Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Challenge: Are you battling in the spiritual realm, clothed only in the armor of self confidence in your own fleshly will-power, or are you totally relying on and yielding to the power of the indwelling Spirit?

*The Holy Place is a type of the church where priests would draw near to minister to God.

*The Outer Court is a type of the world where the priests would minister to others.

Page 153 excerpt from “Developing a Secret History with God”

This Book and accompanying Study Guide will revolutionize your quiet time with God. Available now at Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ Walmart/Kindle Nook / Ibooks/ Lulu/ Rhema Publications/ Cl France or a bookstore near you.

 

 

Walk the Way of the Word

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Dear Child,

Take heed and walk the words I feed you, only then will that manna remain fresh, or else it will become the stench of hypocrisy.

To stay fresh and stay alive you must digest it that it may become part of every cell of your being.

Just as Israel ate of the manna which I provided, only that which they ate did not deteriorate and begin to stink.

Hypocrisy is a stench! Words but no walk!

Only that which you walk will give life to others! The rest is dead works!

                                                         Thus saith Papa

Luke 12:1 Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

James 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

John 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

During Israel’s wandering in the wilderness God provided them manna everyday to feed upon. They had to pick it fresh every morning, early before the heat of the sun melted it. The manna deteriorated if not eaten that same day, IT COULD NOT BE STORED IF NOT ABSORBED. What a lesson that is to us! Similarly we must feed on the nutrients of the Word everyday but only that which we swallow and absorb can we store by hiding it in our hearts. Only while it is stored in our hearts will our manna stay fresh as it becomes part of our very being, the same way a piece of physical bread becomes part of us as we swallow it and it takes nutrients of life to every cell of our body. Our manna takes spiritual life to every fiber of our being that we may live by the Word. Only as we choose to obey does the Word become alive, otherwise it is only the cold letter of the Word.

 To ‘ABSORB’ means ‘ to take in and appropriate’ or ‘to make part of the existent whole’. 

Many today are suffering from spiritual anorexia where the heavenly manna gets no further than their minds or at most they only chew it over due to a lack of appetite. While others are weak because of spiritual bulimia where they may swallow the word but it is thrown up because they do not obey it and appropriate it to their lives.

CHALLENGE: Is there the stench of hypocrisy in our lives from “thrown up” words, which we do not walk?

Excerpt from “Developing a Secret History with God” page 130  This book will revolutionize your quiet time with God

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The Love That Will Set You Free

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Dear Child, 

I set your spirit free to worship Me, for where My Spirit is there is liberty!

Not by conformity to man or as people pleasers, but to please only Me.

For when you fully comprehend My love for you, you can do anything, for then you are free!

Why worry what people may think, when I am the only Judge?

I am the one who knows you the best yet loves you the most.

All  the  hurts I see, all the past I see, all the struggles I see, all the shortcomings I see but I have set you free! 

You are free to become who I created you to be, lay down the struggles and just be the you I had in mind when I formed you in your mother’s womb.                                                                  

My child, My love for you will never change!

                                                   Thus saith Papa

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free you shall be free indeed!

CHALLENGE: Delight in the vastness of His love and be free!

 

Conflicts are Lessons in the School Room of Life

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Dear Child,

A deep relationship is not the result of a relationship without problems or offenses, but is a relationship which overcomes problems and offenses, and matures because your spiritual muscles are being exercised as you respond to one another.

The working out of problems causes the roots to grow deeper together and your history with the other person grows deeper and less shallow.

You exercise your spiritual muscles by obedience to the Word and the Spirit.

Work out those lessons I am giving you as an opportunity to learn as you fellowship with others.                                                    Thus saith Papa

Prov 27:17  Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

My daughter, Angela, has written a thought on this subject, which I think is very appropriate at this point. Angela writes, ‘ We have gotten to the point in our society where all relationships are disposable ( whether it be personal, work, family, or church ). Whenever a situation arises that we don’t like or doesn’t happen to meet our expectations we choose to “opt out” of the relationship. The consequences of this choice is devastating to our families, churches and communities. We have seemed to have lost the ability or desire to work through problems – confronting wrongs, admitting our own faults, covering each other in love; it appears to take too much energy. It is much easier to close the pages of one relationship and open the new and exciting pages of another one. The saddest result of this situation is the disappearing of depth in our society. When we choose to cut off relationships we also cut off the root of history we developed during the years of that relationship. We are left with shallow and superficial relationships that leave us yearning for a depth of intimacy we never seem able to attain.

Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Col 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Our relationships with each other, are living lessons, “where the rubber meets the road” opportunities to put our words into action. Situations where we may be conformed to His image, that we may not only talk like Jesus but also walk like Jesus.

CHALLENGE: How can we learn to forgive if we never have the opportunity to forgive?

                             How can we be conformed to His Image without learning to forgive?

Excerpt “Developing A Secret History with God” page 102

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