Friday, May 27, 2011

I need the presence of God

Mahesh Chavda

When the doctor remineds me that the maintenance medicine will stop working eventually, that I will die sooner or later, I ran fast to my Father tonight.  I resist the doctor's words and tried to wipe them off of my mind. I am not ignoring the fact that I am on the maintenance medicine, but I would rather acknowledge the promise of God. The only way I can be delivered from those unwanted words from the doctor and from the stress of work is to run to the Father's presence. I went to Mahesh Chavda's youtube, which I found the other day, and remained in the presence of God  in the film for awhile.

The glory of God is present if we ask for it. My Father's promise is still good. His words will not go back to Him in vain. They always accomplish their purpose. Our strength is in the presence of the glory of God.

主治医が 薬が効かなくなるのも時間の問題だ~と軽く言った時 彼から背を向けて父なる神様の元に走りよりました。彼の言葉を頭に残しておきたくない!開放されるには神様の臨在の中にいくしかないと知っているから、走りました。このYOUTUBEは以前みつけてお気に入りにしてあります。この場の力を借りて暫くその中にじっとして神様のそばにいました。
そして力をいただいたのです。神様の言葉に偽りはないのです。

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Just like Kaleb - Joshua 14:11

In Joshua, Kaleb says this:
 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.
He was 85 years old when he said this. I want to be like him.

I want to be a strong grandma when I have grandchildren someday!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Consecration means "filling of the hand" pt. 2 - Leviticus 9:1

This section is called Sh'mini (Eighth) and it starts with chapter 9.

Leviticus 9:1 (NIV)
On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. Here is the rest of chapter 9.

After the seven-day inaugural service(after their hands were filled), on the eighth day, the priests entered the tabernacle to minister. They performed the first sacrificial service of the nation. Moses AND Aaron went into the tabernacle (it used to be Moses alone!), and after they came out, Aaron blessed the people. Then the fire from heaven came down and consumed the alter offering!
All the people saw the glory of God.

Chapter 10
Then something happens. Aaron's sons did their own things and God's fire consumed them. The Bible says they offered "different fire"(or wrong kind of fire).

The people saw God's fire consuming the sacrifice and saw the glory of God first. Then they saw God's fire consuming the priests who offered wrong kind of fire.

Consecration is "filling of the hand." We save special time with God to be filled with His presence and thoughts, and that causes us to do God's will, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Not our own ideas.

Jesus, forgive me if I put my own thinking into action and assume that it is God's will. Please let me have what you give to me and I may be sent out by you. I am grateful for God's grace who will never give up on us.

Consecration is "filling of the hand" - pt. 1

Leviticus 8:22, 28, 29, 31, 33

22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. (KJV)

The underlined word is ordination in NIV and NAS.

It is consecration and ordination in Amplified Bible.


According to the Blue Letter Bible, the word for consecration/ordination ("millu" in Hebrew) is this.

According to the Strong's Dictionary, the Hebrew word "millu" also means "filling." Interesting.

F.B. Meyer says:
Consecration, according to the Hebrew word, means "filling the hand." Too many of us suppose that the consecrated soul renounces all - nay, it receives all. The nets are full of fish; the baskets are full of the broken pieces; the soul is full of grace and glory.



Thank you, LORD.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

leviticus 6

I imagine that I was one of the Israelite.
I imagine the fire in the sky at night and white cloud in the blue sky during the day.

Exodus 13:21-22 (English Standard Version)

21And(A) the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

 In Leviticus 6, the LORD told Moses to keep the fire going on the alter.
 Now they are staying in one spot and they still see the fire at night and white stuff in the sky during the day.

Leviticus 6:9 (ESV)
 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

I imagine fire at night and white smoke in the sky during the day.

I love it!

Easter and Passover

Every year I wonder and still don't know the answer to this one question.
Who decides when the Easter Sunday is?
A lot of people say, "I thought the passover always came right before the Easter." I thought so , too. But it still doesn't answer my question. I understand why Passover date changes every year. Their calender is different from our 'modern' or 'regular' calender. I can't fully explain but it has something to do with the moon. Then why doesn't the date of Easter change with it? Easter date changes every year (it seems like), but doesn't go along with the Passover day. I feel like it should either change according to Passover, or if it is ignoring the Jewish culture, I feel like it should stay on the same date every year. It is strange. Am I crazy to think like this?

A few years ago Easter happened before Passover! Can that happen?? Then I wondered when the day of Pentecost would be... but no one was talking about it around me.... Without a bias, I sincerely think that Passover date would be always right. Then the day of Pentecost comes 7 weeks after Passover since it is a Jewish event. I have a feeling that many Christians don't really connect the Jewish ceremony and this Pentecost event have some connections. I certainly didn't hear about it for many, many years until I started to be interested in the Jewish culture. We are not bound by law, but just as we would like to know everything about someone we love, I would like to know these things accurately, realizing that we are now living in grace at the same time.


As I started thinking about those things and started googling, I found this web site. A lot of Christian people may think I am crazy, but I would like to pay attention to what this person has to say.

12/11/09

Friday, April 29, 2011

Not because of my righteousness!

Deuteronomy 9. God repeats the same message 3 times when He wants to talk to us!

4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you.

5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

God is not a respecter of a person. Whosoever goes to Him can be saved. Whosoever goes to Him can be made whole, because of Jesus. Some people are offended if someone says, "healing is for everyone." It is true that even believers get sick and die. I don't have good explanations because I don't understand all that, either, but I can tell you that I was not offended. When some people told me about their healing from cancer right after I was first given the diagnosis of terminal cancer, I was afraid that healing may not be for me. Then someone told me that healing was for everyone, and I was not offended at all. I was given faith and hope. After that I had to run the race in front of me. I just kept believing while I was doing whatever was necessary and good for my body.

I did whatever I could do physically, but these verses remind me that God is the God who keeps promises. His words do not go back to Him in vain. His words always accomplish what He promises.

There is no other God like our Father.


Thursday, April 28, 2011

Skin infection

Chapter 13 is about skin infection.

Dr. Feinberg in Walk Leviticus! says the infection is different from Hansen's Disease or contagious leprosy.

The title at the beginning of chapter 13 in English Standard Version says "Laws About Leprosy "and the second verse says "and it turns into a case of leprous disease." New American Standard Bible calls it leprosy also.  It is confusing...is it because of the nature of the Hebrew language?

I use New American Standard Bible for study, and New Living Translations when I try to capture the big picture instead of studying words. I have also been using King James version because I can check the corresponding Hebrew words.

In King James Version, it says "and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy." It says 'like the plague of leprosy.' So I see that it is not leprosy in the original language.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Victory in Jesus

Last September my oncologist told me I had 6 months to 2 years to live, and he said there was probably no chance of remission. It was stage IV lung cancer.

Today, after 6 months, I had the result from 3rd PET scan. The tumor continues to decrease in size. My friend (PA) said it could be scar. Something still showed in the scan, but the radiologist stated that there was no evidence of avid activities.

I thank you, Jesus, for bringing me the healing! The scan still shows something, but I believe it will continue to shrink. Because God's word says, 
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. (Nahum 1:9)

My Father spoke to me through his words, dreams, and faithful family and friends' prayers and support.  He continues to prove His faithfulness.

Joy is springing up within my heart.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

It's just my opinion

Usually I don't tell people my opinion. I am quiet, but I do have opinions.

I think about "being religious." What does it really mean? I think it depends on who defines it.

A few years ago my son wanted to go to a concert of a certain group. The name represents something opposite from God. I don't think a lot of people know the meaning of the name, but I happened to know it because I saw a scary picture of that name in my English-Japanese dictionary over 35 years ago. I was amazed that I remembered it the minute I heard the name. When my son mentioned the name, my face must have changed because he asked me if everything was okay. He loved God then just like he does now. I don't want anyone to be drawn into something that looks like something harmless, when actually it may well be, and the name concerned me. It was deceiving, I thought. So I explained the reason why I don't like it.

He said, "Mom, Christianity is not a religion. I can go to the concert and still love God, don't worry," or something like that. I said, "If Christianity is a relationship with God and not a religion, why do you want to go to that concert of that group with that name?"  Being religious or choosing out of love for God?  Am I being religious? I must have looked like a religious mom, but I believed I was guiding him into the position where he could choose a path because of love; love for God, and not because he was a good Christian. 

I feel the same about some cute fortune-telling items. There are so many of them! I ignore them as much as I can because I used to depend on those things to guide my happiness. After Jesus became my Lord, I do my best to ignore them all, because if I open myself up to those things, my heart will think about it. Jesus is my Lord and God. I totally ignore some popular movies, too.. People say those movies remind them of righteousness and evil, God and evil. They maybe right, and they may cause you to think of God more, but I don't want them in my heart because I tend to dwell in the image for a long time. Just like former alcoholics don't want to have a drop once in awhile, it is better for me to stay out of those things. : ) I stay quiet when my friends and family (except my own children) are open to it, though, because this is my opinion! I am not trying to change them.

Many years ago a theology came to my mind. I named it "a neighbor's underwear theology." My kids used to run away when I use this theology to explain my thought.  My theory is like this:

If I just have my neighbor's underwear in my husband's and my room for no reason, would it be okay? Of course not. But I can say to my husband, "I have no feeling for it, nor does it do anything to me. It's totally harmless. It doesn't have any power over me, so why is it wrong? I still love you."

The underwear has no business being in my room.  That is exactly my point! Fortune telling items and movies have no business being in my life. I don't want their help to cause me to think of God. God says he is a jealous God. Lord, may you be the only one in my life!