Devo 68: A Covenant of Life and Peace October 14, 2010
“My covenant was with him (Levi), one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear me; and so he feared me and was reverent before My name. The law of Truth was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 2:5-7
In this passage in Malachi, the Lord is addressing the backslidden and careless states of the priests of Israel during this time period. The Lord was stating that the covenant He gave to Levi was one of “life and peace.” Levi was the tribe that Aaron and his sons came out of and they were the first priests of Israel. The Lord promised that this tribe would be His priesthood, and through Moses, the Lord gave them many instructions to follow so that the Lord’s name would be feared and reverenced among the people. The covenant was put into place not to allow for carelessness and false grace to ensue, but for the Fear of the Lord and holiness to become a part of their lives.
The problem, however, is that over and over again it was the priests (and judges, and kings) who led the people astray. The Lord was constantly calling them back to holiness. The book of Malachi was the last book written in the Old Testament, just before the “400 years of silence” called the “Intertestamental Period,” or the time of the Maccabean Revolt in Israel. This last book was a call—primarily to the priesthood, to come back to holiness and the law of the Lord and stop leading people astray.
Some of the foremost accusations revolved around the degradation of marriage, marrying daughters of other gods, adultery, divorce, and not taking care of wives, orphans, widows and children. The Lord warned the priests that He would not hear a man’s prayers who abandoned his wife for a newer model. He also said that He would send a prophet who would turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the children back to the fathers, otherwise He would smite the land with a curse. Unfornately, the Lord ended the very last sentence of the Holy Scriptures with the word “curse.” Four hundred years of silence followed that last word. Now days, Jews will not even finish the book of Malachi like it is written because they dislike the last word being curse, so they reread verse 5 at the end of their liturgy practices.
The problem was not just the outward behavior of the priests, but it was way deeper than that. They had no fear of the Lord. They did not honor or respect Him—Creator of the universe, Father of all, and yet they dishonored Him and disregarded His name as though He did not exist.
Unfortunately, these same symptoms are rampant in our society today—and throughout the world. However, we can still take the book of Malachi and apply it to our lives and ask the Lord to change us and make us Holy priests before Him. I Peter 2:9 says that we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.” Under the new covenant, they are no longer only certain ones who are priests, but now the identity of EVERY BELIEVER is a priest.
A priest is someone who stands before the Lord in worship and intercession. Worship is adoring Him and telling Him how beautiful He is and intercession is praying what He tells you to pray. Intercession is prayer on behalf of someone or something else. You can actually intercede for yourself as well, but the idea is that you are an “intercessor” or someone who is a voice for someone else. Jesus was the ultimate intercessor who lived and died for the people. He was our ultimate High Priest who sympathized with our weakness and now we can boldly approach the throne of God as intercessors and priests (Heb. 4).
Intercession and Communion are to different expressions of prayer but they both revolve around friendship and dialogue with God. The amazing thing about the new covenant is that now we do not have to go into a temple made with hands, but we can have fellowship or communion with a God who lives INSIDE US! He is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
Romans 8 is a classic passage that speaks of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His relationship with us in prayer and intercession. See, the Lord wants to make us 24/7 houses of prayer on the inside! In Romans 8:4, Paul says that a life in the Spirit is “life and peace.” I believe He is referring back to this “covenant of life and peace” God made with Levi. As long as Levi was walking in the covenant of God, He had life and peace.
As long as justice was on His lips and he was walking in peace and equity, and turning people from sin, Levi was walking in life and peace. As soon as he stepped outside that covenant however, and used the grace he was given as permission for sin and carelessness, he stepped outside of God’s covering. The grace given of “life and peace” was for the furthering of holiness, not for disregarding the Lord and forgetting about a relationship with Him.
It is the same for us to learn how to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). God has given us the Spirit so that we can walk in the priesthood of all believers and be in constant communion with Him (John 15) and constant intercession for others (Romans 8:26). Paul says that we do not know how to pray as we should, but that the Spirit will help us in our weakness and will intercede for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26).
The Lord gives us the same grace (or ability) to walk in the priestly covenant of life and peace that He gave the priests of Levi. He made each one of us to be messengers with the law of God written on our hearts and lips. Even if we are not Bible scholars at all, the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Truth will come and teach us all things and bring everything He has taught us tom remembrance (John 14:26). Even if we are not able to spend long hours in a prayer room, the Holy Spirit will give us the grace for prayer and worship so that we are a walking, talking, living breathing house of prayer where God is worshipped in Spirit and truth from every place in the world (John 4).
So, let us take up that life and peace and enter into our identity as priests of the Holy God. Let us ask Him to truly give us the Fear of the Lord that enables us to live lives of holiness and dedication to Him. Let us lead others into the law of the Lord and become living houses of prayer.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Amanda
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Devo 67: Missions & Prayer: The Love of God & the Fear of the Lord
Devo 67: Missions & Prayer: The Love of God & the Fear of the Lord
October 12, 2010
“'From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My Name shall be Great among the Gentiles; In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,' says the Lord of Hosts." Malachi 1:11
Have you ever had a moment where you had a sudden perspective change concerning something you have been passionate about for a long time? This happened to me recently. It wasn’t necessarily that my perspective changed completely, but it was like my eyes were lifted higher and I saw something from a different point of view.
The Lord has been stirring my heart tremendously concerning the uniting of Missions and Prayer. I have been burning every day for the lost and for a Spirit of travailing intercession that births souls (see Rom. 8:26).
I have been passionate about missions and evangelism my whole life, and I have also been a person of prayer. When I was in college, I was in the Missions department trumpeting prayer; Now at the House of Prayer, I have been trumpeting missions. I have always been like, “God, what am I doing here? I’m an evangelist, how long am I going to sit in this chair? Why can I never fit in with the rest of everyone else?”
Well, recently I had the opportunity to be a part of an evangelistic campaign in the area, and I was doing the work of missions and evangelism over 40 hours a week for over a month and a half—on top of my normal prayer room and house of prayer staff responsibilities. As I worked with them, I loved it and wanted to just jump full-swing into a mission organization. However, the Lord made it clear that He wants me to continue being a part of the House of Prayer for right now. He said that He needs “missions people” in the prayer movement and “prayer people” in the missions movement—because He wants the two to be completely married and no longer separated. He needs people with the DNA of both to be in both movements.
As for the perspective change, I cry over lost souls all the time—lately nearly every day. I go through seasons where the burden is more strong or less strong, but I am always asking for the salvation of the lost.
Thursday, however, the Lord drastically changed my perspective to the fact that it is not just lost souls I am crying out for but it is the fact that Jesus is worthy of all worship, honor, power, and praise from every nation, language, tribe, and tongue. I can’t just cry over the fact that people are dying and going to hell, but also over the fact that Jesus is worthy of worship from people who are rejecting Him. He is worthy of songs and prayers of thanksgiving and lives of worship from literally every person on the planet.
Only the combination of the Love of God AND the Fear of the Lord can bring about this perspective. Sometimes we get so caught up on mercy and compassion that we completely forget about justice and we make God out to be the “bad guy” who is trying to kill all the people in the world while the people are looking at a beautiful, wonderful, loving, Holy God who they are turning their eyes away from and denying.
Jesus is not willing that any would perish but that all would have eternal life. However, we must also understand that Jesus is worthy of worship. He is worthy of the praise from every person and winning souls and praying for the lost should always be God-focused and not man-focused. Only God can truly give us a heart for the lost. His heart is way more broken over the sin and depravity of man than ours will ever be.
The passage in Malachi is a wonderful piece of writing that brings the Fear of the Lord and Love for the Son together to bring the reality that every nation should worship the Son of their own free will because He is worthy, but nevertheless, they will worship Him. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. However, now people have a choice. When that time comes, they won’t.
The book of Malachi was not written to the lost, however, but it was written to the priests and the people of Israel who had lost reverence and honor for God and His law. They had put God on the backburner and had lost the Fear of the Lord. God said that regardless of how they responded His Name would be great among the nations and incense would arise from every place.
Malachi addressed the injustice primarily regarding the institution of marriage, which God loves, and he addressed adultery and divorce which God hates. Malachi used the terms God loves marriage and hates divorce in chapter 3.
He also addressed the lying and man-pleasing lips of the priest who God would come to purge and that the priests were to teach the law and not change it to please the ears of the hearers.
Malachi ends with a promise that God would send Elijah who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He also says that if those hearts are not turned, He would smite the land with a curse.
In all, Malachi is about repentance and the Fear of the Lord. The Lord is Holy and to be revered and His plan will come to pass. He gives man freewill, but He is also sovereign, and those who deny Him will perish, and those who turn to Him will be as happy as a fatted stall-fed cow turned out to pasture in the springtime (to use Malachi’s expression in ch. 4). Also, he says that to those who Fear the Lord, “The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…”
These passages were written to the priests whose job it was to stand before God and worship Him and they were to be the messengers who taught all others to worship Him. His name shall be great among the nations and He is worthy to be worshipped.
So now, I look at the uniting of missions and prayer not just with the Love and Compassion of God for the lost, but also with the Fear of the Lord and reverence that His name should get all the worship He deserves. He is worthy of worship and praise from every nation, tribe, and tongue and He desires a Holy priesthood throughout the earth who chooses His name because He is worthy.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
October 12, 2010
“'From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My Name shall be Great among the Gentiles; In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,' says the Lord of Hosts." Malachi 1:11
Have you ever had a moment where you had a sudden perspective change concerning something you have been passionate about for a long time? This happened to me recently. It wasn’t necessarily that my perspective changed completely, but it was like my eyes were lifted higher and I saw something from a different point of view.
The Lord has been stirring my heart tremendously concerning the uniting of Missions and Prayer. I have been burning every day for the lost and for a Spirit of travailing intercession that births souls (see Rom. 8:26).
I have been passionate about missions and evangelism my whole life, and I have also been a person of prayer. When I was in college, I was in the Missions department trumpeting prayer; Now at the House of Prayer, I have been trumpeting missions. I have always been like, “God, what am I doing here? I’m an evangelist, how long am I going to sit in this chair? Why can I never fit in with the rest of everyone else?”
Well, recently I had the opportunity to be a part of an evangelistic campaign in the area, and I was doing the work of missions and evangelism over 40 hours a week for over a month and a half—on top of my normal prayer room and house of prayer staff responsibilities. As I worked with them, I loved it and wanted to just jump full-swing into a mission organization. However, the Lord made it clear that He wants me to continue being a part of the House of Prayer for right now. He said that He needs “missions people” in the prayer movement and “prayer people” in the missions movement—because He wants the two to be completely married and no longer separated. He needs people with the DNA of both to be in both movements.
As for the perspective change, I cry over lost souls all the time—lately nearly every day. I go through seasons where the burden is more strong or less strong, but I am always asking for the salvation of the lost.
Thursday, however, the Lord drastically changed my perspective to the fact that it is not just lost souls I am crying out for but it is the fact that Jesus is worthy of all worship, honor, power, and praise from every nation, language, tribe, and tongue. I can’t just cry over the fact that people are dying and going to hell, but also over the fact that Jesus is worthy of worship from people who are rejecting Him. He is worthy of songs and prayers of thanksgiving and lives of worship from literally every person on the planet.
Only the combination of the Love of God AND the Fear of the Lord can bring about this perspective. Sometimes we get so caught up on mercy and compassion that we completely forget about justice and we make God out to be the “bad guy” who is trying to kill all the people in the world while the people are looking at a beautiful, wonderful, loving, Holy God who they are turning their eyes away from and denying.
Jesus is not willing that any would perish but that all would have eternal life. However, we must also understand that Jesus is worthy of worship. He is worthy of the praise from every person and winning souls and praying for the lost should always be God-focused and not man-focused. Only God can truly give us a heart for the lost. His heart is way more broken over the sin and depravity of man than ours will ever be.
The passage in Malachi is a wonderful piece of writing that brings the Fear of the Lord and Love for the Son together to bring the reality that every nation should worship the Son of their own free will because He is worthy, but nevertheless, they will worship Him. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. However, now people have a choice. When that time comes, they won’t.
The book of Malachi was not written to the lost, however, but it was written to the priests and the people of Israel who had lost reverence and honor for God and His law. They had put God on the backburner and had lost the Fear of the Lord. God said that regardless of how they responded His Name would be great among the nations and incense would arise from every place.
Malachi addressed the injustice primarily regarding the institution of marriage, which God loves, and he addressed adultery and divorce which God hates. Malachi used the terms God loves marriage and hates divorce in chapter 3.
He also addressed the lying and man-pleasing lips of the priest who God would come to purge and that the priests were to teach the law and not change it to please the ears of the hearers.
Malachi ends with a promise that God would send Elijah who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He also says that if those hearts are not turned, He would smite the land with a curse.
In all, Malachi is about repentance and the Fear of the Lord. The Lord is Holy and to be revered and His plan will come to pass. He gives man freewill, but He is also sovereign, and those who deny Him will perish, and those who turn to Him will be as happy as a fatted stall-fed cow turned out to pasture in the springtime (to use Malachi’s expression in ch. 4). Also, he says that to those who Fear the Lord, “The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…”
These passages were written to the priests whose job it was to stand before God and worship Him and they were to be the messengers who taught all others to worship Him. His name shall be great among the nations and He is worthy to be worshipped.
So now, I look at the uniting of missions and prayer not just with the Love and Compassion of God for the lost, but also with the Fear of the Lord and reverence that His name should get all the worship He deserves. He is worthy of worship and praise from every nation, tribe, and tongue and He desires a Holy priesthood throughout the earth who chooses His name because He is worthy.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Devo 66: The Parable of the Talents
Devo 66: The Parable of the Talents
August 31, 2010
I really got some significant revelation today concerning the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. In college, I remember this parable really stuck out to me and I had this fear because I knew I had been given many gifts, calllings, talents, and a very good Christian upbringing, and it made me nervous because I was afraid that there was no way I could sow everything I have been given.
As a result, I have been feeling for the last four years that I must always be sowing every gift and talent I have or I am not being a faithful steward. Because of that, I continue getting into cycles of overcommitting, working myself into the ground, and trying to do too many things at once. A friend called me out last week and said that I cannot possibly focus on everything I am called to at every moment of my life.
So last night, I realized that this mindset I had was a result of a wrong view of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and the minas in Luke 19. This morning I was asking the Lord about it and got some major revelation. I’m going to unpack it here.
So the context of the parable of the talents in Matthew is within the chunk of Matthew 24 & 25. This is about the endtimes and how Jesus was actually not going to take over the kingdom on earth right then, but he was going to wait a while, and the people needed to watch, pray, and be faithful until He comes.
He gave many different signs that would happen before He came and made it clear that it wasn’t Him unless they saw the flash across the sky.
Then, he shifted into talking about faithfulness until He comes. The parables of Matthew 25 are in the context of waiting for His return.
There are three parables in Matthew 25. The first one is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13). The second is the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30). The third is the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). (It is actually more of a real story of what will happen).
The first parable is about watching for the Lord’s return, not being burned out when He comes, but being full of the anointing that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
The third parable is about taking care of the poor, oppressed, blind and naked. It is about works of justice. The master said that he threw the goats out of the kingdom because they thought they knew Him, but they did not take care of people, therefore he cast them into hell.
The first parable is about intimacy and the third parable is about works of justice. And right in the middle is the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents is not just about DOING good works, nor is it just about BEING intimate with God and the knowledge of God, but it is about both. It is about being faithful in being intimate with Him and doing works out of that intimate relationship with Him. This parable is about being faithful in all that he has commanded us to do until His return—being faithful to sow in the Spirit in relationship and deed.
I read David Pawson’s commentary and it was saying that the primary focus of Matthew is the balance of word and deed. He says that we must balance the indicatives of what Christ does for us with the imperatives of what we do for Him. If we only focus on what God does for us, it can lead to license (how I live does not matter), but if we only focus on what we do for God, it leads to legalism.
The parables of Matthew 25 balance intimacy and works of justice, which shows us where the grace for what we do for God comes from.
John 15 talks about abiding (Gk. menene; abiding, being verb) in the Spirit and the love of Christ which is where we find the grace to do what He did in giving up His life (in John 15:13). This is the “being” of remaining in His love.
Galatians 6 uses the word “walking” in the Spirit which incorporates the act of doing (Gk. peripateo; walking, action verb). Walking in the things of the spirit comes out of being in the Spirit. This is what the first and second commandment is about and what the first and third parable of Matthew 25 is about, and the parable of the talents right between them ties it all together. Be faithful in what He has given you while you are waiting for His return.
The statement Jesus keeps coming back to throughout these parables is reference to the coming of the Son of Man and eternity. The beginning and end of each new thought in Matthew 24-25 occurs with the reiteration of looking for His coming and a perspective of eternity. We have to realize that what we are sowing is not just for this age, but also the age to come.
A parable similar to the talents in Matthew is the minas in Luke 19, and this parable gives perspective on the relationship between this age and the next. The owner gives each servant minas and sees how they invested it, then when he returns, he gave them each authority over the number of cities that corresponded with how much they gained from their investment.
This is what the reign of Jesus will be like when He returns and gives authority to those who sowed into the kingdom in this life. He will give them authority over cities and nations.
Another similarity between the parable of Luke and Matthew is that the Lord told this parable in both instances to reveal to His disciples that He was not going to take over the kingdom and overthrow Rome at that exact moment. He was warning them that it would be a while before He comes back and does that, and that they needed to be faithful in the meantime because they might lose their way in the waiting.
Even though he was giving this revelation in Luke, he still got on the donkey right then and had the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But, he still warned that he will not be taking over now but it was a picture of His coming return. All of the followers were crying out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When the Pharisees protested and told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said no that even the rocks would cry out if they were silent.
The basic point of all three parables is to be faithful until He comes, and that He is not coming until the events of Matthew 24 happen. Right now, we are in the waiting period and we must be faithful to “get oil” in a relationship with Him and also do the works of the kingdom until He comes. Basically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Written on August 31, 2010
August 31, 2010
I really got some significant revelation today concerning the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. In college, I remember this parable really stuck out to me and I had this fear because I knew I had been given many gifts, calllings, talents, and a very good Christian upbringing, and it made me nervous because I was afraid that there was no way I could sow everything I have been given.
As a result, I have been feeling for the last four years that I must always be sowing every gift and talent I have or I am not being a faithful steward. Because of that, I continue getting into cycles of overcommitting, working myself into the ground, and trying to do too many things at once. A friend called me out last week and said that I cannot possibly focus on everything I am called to at every moment of my life.
So last night, I realized that this mindset I had was a result of a wrong view of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and the minas in Luke 19. This morning I was asking the Lord about it and got some major revelation. I’m going to unpack it here.
So the context of the parable of the talents in Matthew is within the chunk of Matthew 24 & 25. This is about the endtimes and how Jesus was actually not going to take over the kingdom on earth right then, but he was going to wait a while, and the people needed to watch, pray, and be faithful until He comes.
He gave many different signs that would happen before He came and made it clear that it wasn’t Him unless they saw the flash across the sky.
Then, he shifted into talking about faithfulness until He comes. The parables of Matthew 25 are in the context of waiting for His return.
There are three parables in Matthew 25. The first one is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13). The second is the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30). The third is the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). (It is actually more of a real story of what will happen).
The first parable is about watching for the Lord’s return, not being burned out when He comes, but being full of the anointing that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
The third parable is about taking care of the poor, oppressed, blind and naked. It is about works of justice. The master said that he threw the goats out of the kingdom because they thought they knew Him, but they did not take care of people, therefore he cast them into hell.
The first parable is about intimacy and the third parable is about works of justice. And right in the middle is the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents is not just about DOING good works, nor is it just about BEING intimate with God and the knowledge of God, but it is about both. It is about being faithful in being intimate with Him and doing works out of that intimate relationship with Him. This parable is about being faithful in all that he has commanded us to do until His return—being faithful to sow in the Spirit in relationship and deed.
I read David Pawson’s commentary and it was saying that the primary focus of Matthew is the balance of word and deed. He says that we must balance the indicatives of what Christ does for us with the imperatives of what we do for Him. If we only focus on what God does for us, it can lead to license (how I live does not matter), but if we only focus on what we do for God, it leads to legalism.
The parables of Matthew 25 balance intimacy and works of justice, which shows us where the grace for what we do for God comes from.
John 15 talks about abiding (Gk. menene; abiding, being verb) in the Spirit and the love of Christ which is where we find the grace to do what He did in giving up His life (in John 15:13). This is the “being” of remaining in His love.
Galatians 6 uses the word “walking” in the Spirit which incorporates the act of doing (Gk. peripateo; walking, action verb). Walking in the things of the spirit comes out of being in the Spirit. This is what the first and second commandment is about and what the first and third parable of Matthew 25 is about, and the parable of the talents right between them ties it all together. Be faithful in what He has given you while you are waiting for His return.
The statement Jesus keeps coming back to throughout these parables is reference to the coming of the Son of Man and eternity. The beginning and end of each new thought in Matthew 24-25 occurs with the reiteration of looking for His coming and a perspective of eternity. We have to realize that what we are sowing is not just for this age, but also the age to come.
A parable similar to the talents in Matthew is the minas in Luke 19, and this parable gives perspective on the relationship between this age and the next. The owner gives each servant minas and sees how they invested it, then when he returns, he gave them each authority over the number of cities that corresponded with how much they gained from their investment.
This is what the reign of Jesus will be like when He returns and gives authority to those who sowed into the kingdom in this life. He will give them authority over cities and nations.
Another similarity between the parable of Luke and Matthew is that the Lord told this parable in both instances to reveal to His disciples that He was not going to take over the kingdom and overthrow Rome at that exact moment. He was warning them that it would be a while before He comes back and does that, and that they needed to be faithful in the meantime because they might lose their way in the waiting.
Even though he was giving this revelation in Luke, he still got on the donkey right then and had the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But, he still warned that he will not be taking over now but it was a picture of His coming return. All of the followers were crying out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When the Pharisees protested and told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said no that even the rocks would cry out if they were silent.
The basic point of all three parables is to be faithful until He comes, and that He is not coming until the events of Matthew 24 happen. Right now, we are in the waiting period and we must be faithful to “get oil” in a relationship with Him and also do the works of the kingdom until He comes. Basically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Written on August 31, 2010
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