The Seventh Continent

As you may have gathered, I have been on an Antarctica kick lately. I'm fascinated by the place - not that I'm all geared up to go. I've often wondered why God would make such a huge place, and it be uninhabitable by man. It's an off-the-wall question, yes, considering the obscene enormity of our universe, which is also mostly uninhabitable. But Antarctica is different. It figures into our human equation.

We live on one of 7 continents. Is 7 just a random number, or does it figure into one of God's patterns? There are 7 days in a week, only there is one day where there is to be no work done. It's a rest day - off limits - or so was the design. In the days of Moses, to do work during this day meant death.

Antarctica is much like a Sabbath continent. It's solitary. It's quiet. It's off-limits. It's white, pure, pristine and unspoiled. Some would even say 'sterile'. For humanity to even begin to encroach upon Antarctica requires a maximum effort and a willingness to risk death. History testifies of the brutal sacrifices people have made in order to simply explore it. For many of the early explorers, you can still visit their huts that are still completely stocked with food, hanging meats, and other supplies. Food does not rot there - it mummifies. Wood petrifies. It's a land outside the rules of any other land. It almost seems 'holy'.

Peeling a Growing Onion

The following is a segment from the Antarctic Journal back in January of 2003. The comments by this scientist are very interesting.

Dr. Barth Netterfield, a cosmologist with the Long Duration Balloon Boomerang project gave last nights lecture on the universe, the beginning of time, where we’re headed, and things everyone wishes they knew but don't. Our universe, he said, went from a singularity (which we don’t understand) to a beginning (which our physics won’t explain) to plasma, hot and dense. It is composed now of normal matter (about 5%), dark matter/particles (about 35%), and something they are calling dark energy because they don’t know what it is (65%). The dark energy is forcing it to expand, and it is cooling as it expands. That expansion is accelerating and will continue to do so forever until it approaches a state empty of matter. It is a Euclidian universe, not curved or bent or closed, and now some 14 billion years old. It was cosmology for the novice, told with such graphic examples that I didn’t glaze over in frustration at the abstract mathematics of it all. When someone asked him to give us perspective on how much we know about the universe in comparison to Galileo, he said it was like an onion. You keep peeling layers off but the onion keeps growing larger. "The more we learn the more there is to know." Which is why we are here in Antarctica.

"The more we learn the more there is to know." Who does this remind you of? Isn't it amazing that what He designs is also a direct reflection of His nature?

Wash It, Then Burn It

Lev 1:4-9 LITV (4) And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it is accepted for him to make atonement for him. (5) And he shall kill the son of the herd before the face of Jehovah. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall bring near the blood and sprinkle the blood on the altar all around at the opening of the tabernacle of the congregation. (6) And he shall skin the burnt offering, and shall cut it into pieces. (7) And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. (8) And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall arrange the pieces, with the head and the fat, on the wood on the fire, which is on the altar. (9) And he shall wash its inward parts, and its legs, with water. And the priest shall burn as incense the whole of it on the altar for a burnt offering, a fire offering of soothing fragrance to Jehovah.

This is an incredible passage. It immediately raises questions, most of which begin with 'why'.

Why did he lay his hand on the head of the sacrifice? In the Old Testament, the priest transferred the sin of himself or the people upon the sacrifice by laying his hand upon his head. If you do a search on this throughout the Old Testament, you'll notice it was NEVER good when God's hand was upon a person or a people. "...and God's hand was heavy upon Pharaoh."

In the New Testament, when the priest laid hands upon someone, life was transferred. Healing. What (who) was the difference? Jesus. It was truly a divine reversal. To that point, the Law stated separation from lepers. Grace stated healing for lepers. Again... Jesus!

Next... WHY! Why cut a sacrifice into pieces, take the legs and take out some of the inner organs... wash them... and throw them on the fire? Because any sacrifice to God must be clean on the outside AND on the inside. No dirt! No sin! Again... lets shift to the time of Jesus.

Joh 13:6-10 LITV
(6) He then came to Simon Peter. And that one said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet?
(7) Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing, you do not yet know. But you will know after these things.
(8) Peter said to Him, You may in no way wash my feet to the age. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.
(9) Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also the hands and the head.
(10) Jesus said to him, The one having been bathed has no need other than to wash the feet, but is wholly clean. And you are clean, but not all.

Do you see it? It's the same picture. We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Peter was such. But Peter had need to be washed - by the Priest. Peter was already clean on the inside - as only Jesus can make us. So Peter says, "If you must, then, Lord wash all of me!" And what did Jesus say? "Peter... I don't NEED to wash all of you. Only that which has been in contact with the world." The feet!

Don't miss the point, though. It wasn't really about Peter's gnarly feet. It was a demonstration to Peter that once made clean by Jesus, we are truly clean. However we can all get pretty dirty in our worldly dealings. The trials of life hammer us... get us down... make us... tired. They drive wedges between us and God that keep us from drawing near to Him. You might call them 'virtual wedges', because nothing truly separates us from God once we are His. It's a perception that the enemy uses. The cure? To get our feet washed. We do this for our brethren because Jesus did it for us. We are... priests.

Ponder

The devil really doesn't care if you had great services on Sunday at church. What he cares about is if you pour any of that out at work on Monday.

Not About Us

Exo 40:26-27 MKJV
(26) And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation in front of the veil.
(27) And he burned sweet incense on it, even as Jehovah commanded Moses.

This was the first point that Moses or the Levitical priesthood had ever burned incense to God, per God's instruction. I would imagine that out of all the unpleasant business the priests had to tend to, burning incense was a favorite task. It was peaceful. It didn't involve blood. It smelled GOOD. Do you think that there were ever times when the priest thought, "Hmmm, I think I'll skip the incense today." Or, "Lets change this stuff up some... I'm getting tired of the same old smell."

No.

God had already warned the priests, "You shall offer no strange incense on it" (Exodus 30:9). The message was clear. God said, "This is not for you. This is for ME." The penalty for not doing it God's way was NOT GOOD!

And yet, we treat worship the same way. If it's the same song as last week, people get offended. If it's too heavy or too light, people find a different church. If someone plays an instrument... or someone doesn't... for some reason we take that as a burden upon ourselves. What a backwards way of thinking! Shame on us if we ever do this! "It aint about you or me, so get over it and worship Him!"

You Hoarding Sand?

Exo 38:24-26 MKJV
(24) All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
(25) And the silver from those numbered of the congregation was a hundred talents, and seventeen hundred seventy-five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
(26) a bekah for every man, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand, five hundred fifty men.


SJ (8:21:04 AM): one... the people were loaded. Dude, that is a LOT of gold.
Mills (8:21:18 AM): yeah i thought so
SJ (8:21:36 AM): they got the gold from the Egyptians... right?
Mills (8:22:12 AM): ummm... for some reason I always though they got some from Egyptians, but the rest was given to them in the wilderness
SJ (8:22:41 AM): as far as I know... they got it all - Exo 12:36 And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they granted their request, and they plundered the Egyptians.
Mills (8:22:52 AM): okay
Mills (8:22:59 AM): tracking
SJ (8:23:02 AM): may I ask...
SJ (8:23:10 AM): why??? so they could buy sand from the hyenas?
Mills (8:23:44 AM): hehe... for the Ark
Mills (8:23:47 AM): ?
SJ (8:24:00 AM): you got it.... for serving God. That's the only reason.
Mills (8:24:02 AM): the tabernacle
SJ (8:24:23 AM): same reason He gave you and I a $5 raise last year bud
Mills (8:24:34 AM): got it
SJ (8:24:46 AM): we're in the desert... kinda... anything we buy here is going to be sand

He Doesn't Want To Hear It

Exo 34:2-3 MKJV
(2) And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me in the top of the mountain.
(3) And no man shall come up with you, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mountain. Also do not let the flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.

It's a confusing thing to read a verse like this. Is God just picky?

Remember that God had just sent Moses down with His instructions, and before instruction could be delivered, the people fell into a grievous sin of idolatry. Do you think God wanted to see those people? What were they worshiping? A cow. Do you think God wanted to see cows?

Remember, too, that this was before the perfect propitiation for sin - Jesus - had been sacrificed. God's anger burned!

Even now, God sees His people but now He sees the blood of His son. He does not see their sin! But guess - who - comes - along - to remind Him? The accuser, the devil. However, Jesus, at His right hand, reminds the father that we are His, and although the devil has his chance now... his time runs out. The Father will not permit Him audience forever! He does NOT wish to be reminded of anything, nor will He be! For those under the blood of Jesus, He has blotted out their sin! That is good news!

Groveling For Gravel

Exo 34:1-2 MKJV
(1) And Jehovah said to Moses, Cut out two tablets of stone like the first. And I will write upon the tablets the words that were in the first tablets which you broke.
(2) And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me in the top of the mountain.

The first time Moses had ascended the mountain, God carved and inscribed two pieces of stone with His instruction to His people. Moses trekked down the mountain with this 'embodiment of the Law', and shattered it out of righteous anger over the sins of the people.

If the significance of this is not starting to become apparent - Jesus is always the stone and He fully fulfilled the Law. He was sent 'down' and broken over the sins of man. But that isn't what I want to dwell on.

Ever since the broken body of Jesus, people have gathered at the foot of the mountain and groveled for gravel - the broken pieces of Truth. Religious groups cling to their one little piece (which DOES have truth on it) while unwilling to climb the mountain - alone - and receive again the WHOLE truth of Jesus from God Himself. If we want the entire picture - or at least all we can handle of Him - we have to embrace a personal journey with God. We cannot lean upon the teachings of others and expect to walk in any kind of power or revelation. See, when Moses returned the second time - he glowed. Yes, he had to cut the stones himself - the second time. We are required to 'work out our own salvation with fear and trembling'. We cannot adopt for ourselves the relationship that others have with God. It's easy to identify who glows, and who is carrying around a chunk of gravel.

The Holy Arks

The Ark of Noah, and the Ark of the Covenant, and the mind… are all the same. The similarities between the three are striking.

First, let’s notice the choice involved. Noah had a right to refuse to build the ark. It would have cost him his life.

Moses had a right to refuse to build the Ark of the Testimony, but this, too, would have cost him his life.

The two physical arks hold the means to life. They are very nearly a means to an end – a means of arriving at a different level. Noah’s ark brought all that was required to start a new life. Because of his ark, he and his family lived out their lives in a different environment. With the Ark of Moses, the people also had a means to live in a different environment! What did this ark hold? Their instructions for living (Torah)! Their sustenance (manna)! Their promise (Aaron’s budding staff)!

The two physical arks were HOLY. How so? By definition, holy means: Set apart to the service or worship of God. These two arks were of one purpose – to preserve the people. The Ark of the Covenant was the very seat of God! But without God in our midst, we will not be preserved. Once God closed the door to Noah’s Ark, the rains came. When the rains came, you can bet that many, many pounded on the sides of the wooden ark. It was Uzza who put his hand out to steady the Ark of the Covenant, which killed him. The arks were holy.

Noah’s ark was pitched with pitch – inside, and out (Gen 6:14). The Ark of the Covenant was coated with gold – inside, and out. In the midst of both was wood (flesh). It might be said that it is not about the flesh… it’s about the ‘covering’. It’s not just about the appearance from the outside… but what about the appearance on the inside?

From the Ark of Noah went forth a dove. Yes, peace was ‘released’ from this ark. Israel, too, had peace because the Ark of the Covenant went before them. God’s Presence with His people will always release peace to His people, because He is Peace.

Now… our mind. We also must choose to renew our minds daily to conform to the likeness of Jesus:

Rom 12:2 ESV
(2) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If our minds are conformed to the mind of Jesus, then we carry the means of life. This is not just a key to get us into heaven. This is something we can give away! Noah was said to be righteous. His family was ‘never’ described this way. Because of the righteousness of Noah, his family had life. He gave it away!

Our mind is holy.

2Ti 2:20-21 ESV
(20) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.
(21) Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

The scripture says that as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. (Proverbs 23:7) We can only release what we carry. If we have peace in our hearts, then we can impart peace, just as the dove flew from the ark.

Being pitched on the inside and the out, once we have made our mind to think the thoughts of Christ, we are designed to rise above the troubles that come our way. Do we avoid them altogether? No – we feel the rain, and the waves, but we do not perish because we are pitched – inside and out. In Genesis 7:18, it says the ark floated “upon the face of the waters”. The Hebrew word for float is ‘al’, which is the same word that is used in Genesis 1:2 when it said God’s Spirit ‘floated’ over the face of the waters. If we dwell in the Spirit of God, we dwell above the chaos, and we wait upon His WORD to come and create peace where before there was none. Can we sleep in the boat with Jesus?

Blessings today!

Psalm 110

Psalms 110:1-7 HNV
(1) The LORD says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet."
(2) The LORD will send forth the rod of your strength out of Tziyon. Rule in the midst of your enemies.
(3) Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
(4) The LORD has sworn, and will not change his mind: "You are a Kohen forever in the order of Malki-Tzedek."
(5) The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
(6) He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
(7) He will drink of the brook in the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

There are scholars who believe Psalm 110 coincides with the year 2010. Whether true or not, it's a captivating Psalm - full of Prophecy. The Psalms 110-116 could indeed describe a 7-year period of rejoicing in Heaven, and not-so-good times on earth. Let's just examine it briefly.

Vs1: We know that Jesus will sit at the right hand of the Father until the Father says... GO, Get your children. I will now make your enemies my footstool.

Vs 2: The Rod of Strength out of Zion - a name for Jerusalem - is a picture of the rule of Jesus from the holy city. This is a future reference that would begin during Millennial Reign of Jesus. Yes, He will reign in peace, but that does not mean He will not have enemies. Even though Satan will be bound, people will still harbor evil thoughts.

Vs 3: This is quite captivating. I can't tell you dogmatically what it means, but I know what it says to me: God's people will be with Jesus during His day of Power. In Holy Array - means dressed for the task at hand, which is to return with the King, voluntarily, to watch the General reclaim what the enemy thought he would never lose - the world. "You have the dew of your youth." Perhaps this speaks of a glorified army following the King. An army who now has eternal youth and strength.

Vs 4: The beauty of the scriptures and the Hebrew language is that it is living, so may or may not say many things at once. This verse apparently is speaking of Jesus - the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. But it was just speaking of His people, who are... guess what... high priests in the order of Melchizedek because we are descended from Jesus!

Vs 5: Once again... the Lord is at your right hand. Yes, He is!

Vs 6: He will crush the ruler of the earth - this is the devil. His time is short.

Vs 7: This is a cryptic verse: He shall drink of the brook in the way. The Good Shepherd always finds water. The brook is the water and replenishment of the Holy Spirit. He shall lift his head; or He will lift His head in victory. The lifting of one's own head is a tout of victory.

The entire Psalm seems to indicate that the Father sends the Son to do a new thing. War. With Him are His holy ones... and the war is marked by total victory. This does seem to indicate an Armageddon reference. We'll study the following Psalms further.

The Power of a Choice

God wishes to be loved by choice. He created angels - magnificent servants - but they were not created in His image. Man was His masterpiece. Why did man make the choice he made in the garden? Why did he survive the choice?

The answers are many, depending on the scholars you listen to. I believe that along with the wonderful power to choose, coupled with a finite mind with limited perception, Eve was deceived by the serpent who could not stand (and still can't) anything that is made in HIS image. Why did Adam follow Eve? Maybe he, too, was deceived. Maybe he loved Eve, and was afraid of losing her, so he followed her lead to insure they would not be separated. It's conjecture. I certainly would have considered it.

But even today, we have multiple trees in the garden. Most are good. Some are evil. God is a god of reward, and there can be no reward if there is no choice. We who are in Christ live in this blessed limbo of choice: good choices yield reward; bad choices yield no condemnation. Yes, there are consequences, but no condemnation. That is good news!

This presents another scenario. The very presence of God inspires - even demands - worship. Ask John, who fell at the Glorified Lord's feet as though dead. Ask him if that was a simple act of reverence. I think not. The reason that God does not manifest Himself 'more' in our worship is because if He did... we would have to worship Him. The very stones would cry out - as Jesus said.

God doesn't want forced worship any more than He wants forced love. He wants us to desire Him. Is it possible that if everyone were worshiping Him with all their heart, He would manifest Himself more often and in more power? After all... if we all freely give everything to Him in worship, then our choice has already been made.

Give It Away

Luk 17:33 LITV
(33) Whoever seeks to save his life, he will lose it. And whoever will lose it, he will preserve it.

Pastor says that you only get to keep what you are willing to give away. It's yet another irony in a bible full of ironies. We must die to live. There is fullness in denying the flesh. That which seems right only leads to death... ironies. So if I love my life, I will lose it? John said it like this:

Joh 12:25 LITV
(25) The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to everlasting life.

What exactly does this mean, then? Because I had a great time at the lake yesterday.

It means that if we are living for anything other than God's purpose in our lives, we are in danger of taking nothing permanent - or of value - out of this world. We will lose it - whatever 'it' is. Some people speak of legacy. What kind of legacy are we leaving? Is it a statue in a museum that tells 100 visitors per day how many yards I ran in my career? Or maybe it's simply my child, who is on fire for the Living God and tells everyone at school about Jesus. That - has - value!

I've heard the argument made that God gave Jesus for us, yet He didn't really lose Him, because He knew He could raise Him from the dead. What a horrible thought to think (I'm guilty). Yet God received Jesus again to Himself only because He was first willing to give Him. This is why Isaac came back down the mountain with Abraham. This is why the one servant was called 'evil' when he buried the money entrusted to him. Here is what the master said:

Mat 25:27-28 LITV
(27) Then you ought to have put my silver to the bankers, and coming I would have received my own with interest.
(28) Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

There is no reward for no risk. We have what we have so that we can give it away.

He Didn't Come to Bring Peace

Mat 10:34-35 LITV
(34) Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
(35) I came to divide a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law.

We think of Jesus as a peace-maker. We think of Him as non-confrontational, meek, maybe even timid. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What a statement! "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

As Christians, we think of Jesus as being our peace, and He is! But we have a somewhat flawed view of peace. Jesus was talking about Shalom - the Hebrew word for peace. Yes, Jesus was thinking Hebrew, even if it was being recorded in Greek. Shalom does not mean the absence of conflict, but rather that nothing is missing or broken. Wholeness. Nothing...is missing... or broken. Peace.

Think about it. That's not what we want when we ask for peace. But that's the peace that Jesus promises. Does that mean He doesn't provide rest from conflict? No! But when we ask for 'shalom', we are asking for the ability to sleep 'through' the storm. Good stuff! That is His promise to us, and yet, He said He didn't come to bring 'shalom' to the world, but the sword.

Jesus came to draw a line. The one side is for God, the other is for ourselves. Do we live for God? Or do we live for ourselves? The presence of the line brings the sword - conflict. It creates rifts in families, relationships with co-workers, friends, you name it. Can you see why Jesus did not apologize for this? It's the line that presents the choice that we must all make.

But realize this: no matter which side of the line we find ourselves on, there is conflict. Why not choose the side that offers 'shalom' in Him. The other side only offers death.

An Unusual Disappearance

Mat 27:51-53 And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, (52) and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, (53) and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

This was quite an event that must have caused a huge stir in Jerusalem! Can you imagine? The earthquake cracked open all the tombs and all these dead people start walking out of them! After Jesus is resurrected, all these previously dead folks start walking through the city.

How is it that only one apostle wrote of this event? Only Matthew! Were the others so aghast?

Remember, Jesus was our First Fruits, and upon His appearing to Mary, He instructed her not to touch Him. But just a short few days later, He told Thomas to come forward and feel His hands. What changed?

He ascended - secretly - to heaven and presented Himself in the Temple of God as First Fruits, as all priests do on that day. But a First Fruits presentation is a 'bundle'. He took those who had resurrected with Him.

Funny, though, that there is no mention of them rising with Him. In fact, there is no mention of them again. Why? Because it's also a picture of another event that will happen secretly - the rapture of the church. The First Fruits is one thing - a guarantee that there will be more harvest coming.

After the rapture, the powers that be will do their very best to not mention the event if they can help it. After all, an informed public is very difficult to control.