BEING DEPENDENT ON GOD

       

Bible verses are taken from the New King James version unless stated otherwise.

 

We often hear the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” But that is not in the Bible. The Lord wants us to be totally dependent on Him for our guidance, actions, and purpose in life. A picture of this is given to us in the story of Joseph found in the book of Genesis from chapter 37 to 50. We pick up the story in chapter 39 after Joseph had been sold into Egypt and had been bought as a slave by Potiphar, Pharaoh’s Captain of the Guard, who became his master.

Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and the Lord made all he did prosper.  Joseph found favor in Potiphar’s sight, and served him. Then Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his house, and put all that he had under Joseph’s authority. It was from the time that Potiphar had made Joseph the overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

Potiphar, his Egyptian master, saw how prosperous Joseph was because the Lord was with him. Potiphar did not know what or how much he had as it was all being taken care of by Joseph. The only thing the master concerned himself with was the food he ate. Can we trust the Lord that much? As much as a man could trust another man? Or more?

The Lord wants us to be even more dependent on Him than Potiphar was on Joseph. If we were able to leave all our cares and concerns in the Lord’s hands, we would have the freedom to do what the Lord calls us to do, and not be as stressed or uptight as we often are. In 1 Peter 5:6-7, we are instructed to “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you.”

To “cast” means to throw or to toss something to a different location, and once you cast it, it is no longer in your hands. That is what the Lord wants us to do; to throw all the things which concern us into His hands for Him to take care of. Just as Potiphar put all that he had under Joseph’s authority, let us put all our cares, concerns, and worries in life into the Lord’s hands. Once we “cast our cares on the Lord,” they are no longer ours to be concerned about. They are now the Lord’s responsibility to take care of, as they are now under His authority.

  So often we will not let go completely. We can, but we don’t. Why? We keep holding on to our troubles and find it hard to surrender them completely to the Lord. We should absolutely TRUST HIM to the point that the only thing that should concern us is His will (and guidance) for us at the present moment. We can then give the present moment 100% of our attention. By saying that, I don’t mean that we should not take any action. The Lord will guide our steps and our path. He promises that, “His Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105). We don’t need to stress about things. We just need to learn to be dependent on the Lord and trust Him for our guidance and direction. Read His Word, the Bible.

I have been disabled all my life, and have lived my entire life from a wheelchair. In my earlier years, I used to be able to crawl and transfer myself in and out of my wheelchair, in and out of bed, and was able to do many other transfers on my own. But when my right hip began to deteriorate when I was in my early forties, I could not do as much for myself. I had to learn to become more dependent on others.  I know I had been dependent on others for many things before my hip deteriorated, but now the Lord was bringing me to a higher level of dependence on Him, as well as on others. It was hard at first. I still find it hard waiting for someone to get me up in the morning. I wake up very early and have to stay in bed until someone comes to get me up, but I use that time now to pray.

Jesus invites those who are tired and heavy laden to come to Him. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). When we are burdened, stressed and uptight about how our bills are going to be paid or how we are going to provide for the future, Jesus tells us to come and rest in Him. Roll all the heavy burdens off your shoulders and onto the Lord’s, then just rest in His presence where your spirit can be still and you can hear the Father’s voice.

The Lord is the One who is going to meet your every need according to His riches in glory. With a heavenly Father with that kind of wealth, we, as His children do not need to be stressed about anything. We just need to be dependent on Him, just as a baby or little children are dependent on their earthly father. Little children need to be completely dependent on their mother or father for everything. In Psalms it says, “As a father loves his children, so the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence.” (Psalm 103:13 Amplified Bible). The Father has the same kind of compassion for us as His children, but to a much greater degree than an earthly father has for his children.

Our Heavenly Father will not only meet our needs, He will grant the desires of our hearts if we will delight ourselves in Him. Just as a human father longs to grant the wishes and desires of his children’s hearts, so our Father has promised to grant the desires of our hearts if we delight ourselves in Him. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4). In the same way that we can depend on and trust our Heavenly Father to meet our needs, we can also depend on and trust our Father to grant the desires of our hearts.

He is always faithful, even if He does not come to us on our timetable. His timing is always perfect. Just as we bring our needs to our Father, so let us surrender our heart’s desires to Him as well. The next verse says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5).

In this New Year, let us become fully dependent on our heavenly Father and then watch Him work on our behalf. He will do amazing things.     

 

 

                                          

OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

 

All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version

          After the Lord God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and dry land, and every animal, He created man in His image. “Then God said, ‘Let Us (the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all three in One) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” (Genesis 1:26a). “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7).

          We can clearly establish from these two verses that God created Adam, the first man as a full-grown man from the dust of the ground. Scripture does not tell us how old, or at what stage of life Adam would have been. He did not experience every stage of our human existence as we do. We do get a glimpse as to the age and stage of life Adam might have been when God created Eve (from one of Adam’s ribs) to be Adam’s wife, and to bear children. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it;…” (Genesis 2:28a).  From this verse, we may conclude that Adam and Eve may have been in their early to mid adulthood, as they were in the child bearing years, although we know that God can cause women to bear children at any age.

       God created man to have a relationship and fellowship with him. God would walk in the garden where He had placed Adam and Eve, in the cool of the day. (See Genesis 3:8). But Adam and Eve sinned and ate of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the very tree God commanded them not to eat of, which broke man’s relationship and fellowship with God. What Adam and Eve did, not only affected them in a negative way, but it affected all of mankind and nature for all time. “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope: because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20-21). 

        Even though God pronounced consequences on man and nature, the break of relationship with man broke God’s heart to the point where He knew He had to take action. A plan was put in place by, and involving the Trinity. As we had to have a great High Priest who could identify with us at every stage of our human existence, a member of the Trinity had to be willing to take on human form. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary.  

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the city of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And having come in, the angel said to her (Mary), ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’…And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS…Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26-28, 31, 34-35).

        Unlike Adam who God created as a full-grown man, Jesus came into the world as you and I do, being conceived in our mother’s womb, and developing for nine months (in most cases) in darkness. Can you fathom such an incredible thought? The second person of the Trinity, God the Son, would subject Himself to being conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. As part of the Trinity, He created all things. “For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus developed for nine months in darkness as all babies do, before coming forth into the world as a helpless baby. He knew what it was like to be totally dependent on others for all His needs. Mary and Joseph took care of Jesus just as they took care of their other children.

      Some of us have read the Christmas story over and over again for years. We may even have it memorized. How many presentations of the Christmas story have we gone to over the years? Yet, have we ever considered the humiliation it took for the Son to leave the glory He had with the Trinity and become a tiny seed in Mary’s womb, being conceived by the Holy Spirit.

      Jesus experienced being a child, playing and being educated with other children. He had to learn the Torah and all the Jewish traditions. Scripture gives us one small glimpse into Jesus’ childhood. One of the Jewish traditions was the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem once a year. When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary took Him with them. When it came time to leave after the Passover, Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem to make their way home to Nazareth. When Joseph and Mary could not find Jesus with them, they went back to Jerusalem and found Jesus in the temple. “Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions…So when they (Joseph and Mary) saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:46, 48-49).

      Jesus also knew from experience what it was like to be a teenager. He went through purity and all the struggles and challenges that any teenager experiences. Some people question whether or not Jesus knew who He was and what His destiny was. By the way He answered Mary in the Scripture I just quoted above, I believe that Jesus knew His destiny. Yet, until the time came for Jesus to begin His public ministry, He was subject to His parents. Jesus would learn the trade of carpentry from Joseph. “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers, James, Joses, Simon and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55). Jesus worked as a carpenter with Joseph. Jesus knew what it was to work with His hands and to work hard.

       Often, when we think of Jesus, we think of Him coming to earth as a baby, being born and laid in a manger, and all the events that surrounded His birth: the shepherds being visited by angels, the kings and wise men seeing His star. Then we skip over to Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan river. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness being tempted of the devil. Following His time in the wilderness, Jesus began His public ministry for three years. Then came the purpose for which He was destined – to suffer, to die on the Cross for our sin, that we might have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Then Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the Father’s right hand to be our great High Priest, ever making intercession for us before the Father.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16).   

        How many times do we skip over these events so quickly, especially as we get ready for this Christmas season without thinking deeply about them? Think about how much it cost the Father to send His Son, whom He loved so passionately, knowing that Jesus would be beaten and die on the Cross. Think of how humiliated Jesus was when He was conceived in Mary’s womb, and entered the world as a helpless baby. After Jesus went through every stage of humanity, He further humbled Himself and died on the Cross for you and I. “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross.” (Philippians 2:8).

        Jesus Christ came into the world for one main purpose, and that is to draw us back into relationship and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. If you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, you can pray this prayer: “Heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sin that I would be cleansed of my sin which I confess to You. I accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord now. Please bring me into a relationship with You. I surrender my life to You now.” If you have a Bible, begin reading the book of John which is the fourth book of the New Testament.

 

                                                 

IN THE SOLITUDE

 

All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

We live in such a busy and noisy society. We are about to enter the busiest time of year with Christmas around the corner.  Everywhere we go, all we hear is noise, and its going to get noisier. It is often hard to find a quiet place which is free of any distractions. Our whole society thrives on noise. It’s as if we are afraid to be quiet, even for a while. In Psalm 46:10 it says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” I have now found the perfect time and place to spend time with my Abba Father. I cannot physically get myself up in the morning, but have to wait for the PSW (Personal Support Worker) to come and get me up and ready for the day around 7:30-7:45. Yet I wake up somewhere around 4:30 most mornings. I use that time to spend with my Abba Father before the call bells start ringing with residents needing help, or the PSWs talking to each other in the hallway. I consider the early morning hours as my secret place where my Abba Father is waiting to have fellowship with me. Jesus said, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Mathew 6:6).

John the Baptist was ordained to be a prophet, the forerunner for Jesus. An angel predicted John’s birth and ministry.

“But the angel said to him (John’s father), ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John…For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb…He will also go before Him (Jesus) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” (Luke 1:13,15,17).

A description of John the Baptist’s ministry is given as far back as Isaiah, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every high mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth.” (Isaiah 40:3) and is repeated by Luke. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness; Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked place shall be made straight, And the rough ways smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-6).    

The angel told Zachariah that John’s ministry would be to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord. “He was to prepare and make ready a people for the Lord.”

Even though John was ordained to be a prophet from before he was born, he had to spend time in the wilderness so he would know the Lord’s voice for himself. “While Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of the Lord came to John in the wilderness.” (Luke 3:2). Matthew also gives an account of John’s time in the wilderness. “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.” (Matthew 3:1,4).

Scripture does not tell us how long John the Baptist was in the wilderness. But it must have been a while as we are told what he wore and what he ate. John knew the message he was to preach just before Jesus was in the public eye. “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1). John also baptized many people in the Jordan river as a baptism of repentance. This was to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus Christ.

The Lord always wants to get us alone with Him so we hear His voice clearly. “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:2-3). In the solitude, we can draw close to the Lord and feel His presence. It is so awesome to feel the Lord’s presence. When you are really there in His presence, you do not want it to end, I know I do not. I long for the stillness, for it is in the stillness that we know He is God. I’m not only speaking of a physical stillness, but also of a stillness of our mind and heart. In order to hear what the Lord wants to say, we must be “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Lord cannot speak to us when our minds are racing and our hearts are anxious. The Psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10). It is in that same stillness and quiet that the Lord can speak to us. I find those times in His stillness and presence so precious. I never want to leave the Lord’s presence.  

When I was living alone in my apartment and people would come to visit, some would say, “It is so quiet in here.” I would respond, “Yes, that is the way I like it. I can concentrate on what I am doing. I can also feel the stillness of the Lord.”

Jesus Himself knew the importance of spending time in His Father’s presence. After Jesus had been baptized by John, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” (Luke 4:1). Jesus had to experience the temptations of the devil so He could identify with man in his temptations. There is an interesting fact here. Jesus faced all His temptations in the solitude of the wilderness where He was completely alone. Very often, the Lord has to get us alone to test us, especially if He is preparing us for ministry, or for a higher degree of ministry. It was after His time in the wilderness that Jesus began His public ministry. “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.” (Luke 4:14).     

Jesus’ time in the wilderness was not the only time He spent in solitude. He often spent all night in prayer with His Father. “Now it came to pass in those days that He (Jesus) went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:14). There were other times when Jesus would rise early to pray. “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35). If Jesus, the Son of God, found it necessary to spend time in the presence of His Father, how much more necessary is it for us to seek out a solitary place to spend time with our Heavenly Father.

As we head into this Christmas season and all the busyness it brings, let us not forget what we are celebrating. The reason that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year is because God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, so we could have a relationship with our Father.