Five and Grace

Posted on November 19, 2012 by abdicate

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I have consistently stated that the number five infers grace in the Scriptures. I’ve also consistently linked the letter hey (ה) with grace, so I thought it most important to show how and why. In reality the letter hey is a window in Ancient Hebrew meaning it reveals something; to say behold! to say look!. The rabbis agree: they do not know what it reveals. Windows illuminate and permit the light to shine through and nothing is hidden. The fact that they cannot see what the window illuminates only shows their condition:

Exodus 34:33 (KJV) “And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.”

Exodus 34:35 (KJV) “And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.”

Exodus 40:21 (KJV) “And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.”

There’s a saying “Where the old conceals, the new reveals.” We can see that the Glory of God was being concealed, whether the reflection of God in Moses’ face or the Mercy Seat; they were concealed.

But what in the New Testament is being “revealed” about this?

2 Corinthians 3:12-16 (KJV) “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.”

How and when was this veil taking away?

Matthew 27:50-51 (KJV) “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”

So the veil commanded by God to cover the Mercy Seat was ripped by God when He died on the cross. This is the Good News (Gospel): that man has become reconciled with God, and that His Mercy Seat is revealed. If one cannot see that, they are lost and not His children.

2 Corinthians 4:3 (KJV) “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:”

Two things you should notice about how the veil was ripped: top to bottom; hung on a rod. First, the veil was ripped from top to bottom. If it had been ripped from bottom to top, they could have said someone did it. But it is said that the veil before the Holy of Holies in the Temple was 30 feet high, 15 feet wide and 4 inches thick. The ability of someone ripping it from top to bottom is almost impossible because of the height and thickness. Even if someone were to tear it from the bottom and pull to the sides, they probably would not have been able to lift it. It would have taken a team of men to tear it. Next, it hung on a rod. When God ripped the veil in two, it would have acted like curtains on a window, revealing the Mercy Seat of God. Another word for mercy is grace.

So you ask, how does the number five come to mean grace? Hey is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and holds the value of 5 when written as a number. If you look at the Hebrew calendar depicting the full year, we are in the fifth millennium so every year starts with the letter hey, meaning 5000. The year 2012 is 5773 (ה׳תשע״ג) in the Hebrew calendar. Everything in the Scriptures is by design, so let’s look at the occurrences of the number five (I’ll let you find the Scripture references):

  • The fifth word (in Hebrew) of the Scriptures starts with the letter hey and when a prefix means “the” as in “the heavens”.
  • The fifth day of Creation, God filled the waters with life. Living waters.
  • The first instance of the number five (aside from its use to determine the ages) was when the five kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were attacked by Chedorlaomer and Lot was taken. God sent Abram to overtake Chedorlaomer and he brought back all the goods and kidnapped people, including Lot. Again the five kings were saved by Abram and his 318 men. Interestingly, this is the only time the number is mentioned in Scripture and 318 is the sum of the prime numbers from 7 to 7 squared and of which, there are twelve prime numbers:  7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, & 47. The fact that these men were “born in his house”, and lead by Eliezer (אליעזר), Abram’s heir apparent, whose name letters sum to 318. This shows the utter intricacies of the Scriptures, that the primary salvation will come from Abram’s loins and from the twelve tribes of Israel. That’s so far-fetched you say; well, do you have a meaning to 318? 🙂
  • Five is mentioned is when Abraham asks for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared if there are fifty (5 x 5 x 2) righteous and he lowers the count by five twice and then by ten three times – asking for mercy (grace) overall five times for others.
  • Joseph is by far the greatest example of the life of the Lord Jesus, so one would expect grace to abound and thereby the number five. Joseph was sold to the world for 20 (5 x 2 x 2) pieces of silver. He is 30 (5 x 2 x 3) years old when he stands before Pharaoh and begins his mandate. Joseph feeds his step-brothers but gives his blood brother, Benjamin, five times as much food. Grace is unmerited favor: Benjamin got more for just being who he was; he did nothing to earn it. Next Joseph reveals himself to his brothers when there are yet five years of drought remaining and he tells them how he was sent ahead to save them according to God’s will. Pharaoh commanded that they not worry about anything, that all Egypt was theirs and the good of the land. More grace: they didn’t earn it, but were blessed because of who they were – Joseph’s brothers. When they leave to go get Jacob all are given a change of clothes, but to Benjamin, he is given 300 (5 x 5 x 12) (!) pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. When they return Joseph presents five of his brothers to Pharaoh to seek permission to stay in the land of Goshen (גשׁן – letter meaning: travel, provision, life). They found grace in the eyes of Pharaoh.
  • Next, if a man steals an ox, he is to restore it fivefold, to find grace.
  • The entire tabernacle is made up of measurements of multiples of five as well as all the measurements of spices for the anointing oil: 1500 (2 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 5 × 5) shekels of spices and 5 quarts of olive oil. The oil was used for blessing, healing, and anointing – to make holy. More grace.
  • Next the first peace offering made to God by the people of Israel was by Nahshon the son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah where he gave five rams, five he goats, five lambs. Interestingly his name means: Diligently Observant son of People of Liberty! His sister, Elisheba, was wife to Aaron, and his son, Salmon, was husband to Rahab after the taking of Jericho. Each tribe made the same peace offering to God.
  • The firstborn of man or beast are redeemed to the Lord with five shekels of money. Here is a clear example of linking redemption to the number five, paying the price, if the previous examples were not enough.
  • Next are the five kings that ruled the land and hid in a cave. Joshua knew where they were and had the captains of war place their feet on the backs of their neck with the promise of God that this is what will happen to their enemies if they’d trust the Lord.
  • Israel fought for five years to take the land and the land was divided up among the tribes. A land they lived off of from farms they did not plant and houses they did not build. Grace and more grace.
  • Another example is when the five lords of the Philistines were stricken with a plague of mice and emrods because they had the ark of God. As a trespass offering to God, they made five emrods and five golden mice so that God would lift the plague from them.
  • Next, David picked five smooth stones to fight Goliath. His name means to reveal, and the letters in his name mean travel, control, deed, mark.  He came from Gath which means wine-press. Through the grace that David believed in, God delivered Israel, overcoming insurmountable odds with a shepherd boy and a smooth stone under God’s control to hit the mark and Goliath was crushed like a grape.
  • David also took five loaves of showbread which was meant for the priests alone.
  • Abigail brought David five sheep and five measures of parched corn when her husband, Nabal, lived up to his name by being stupid with David’s men and refused them. She brought these and 200 loaves, 100 clusters of raisins and 200 fig cakes – multiples of five – as a trespass offering to David. Later her husband died and David called to her to become his wife and she came with five damsels with her. Seeking grace, she became a queen!
  • Solomon’s temple was filled with measurements of multiples of five. God’s dwelling place is full of grace.
  • The fifth time Noah is mentioned in the Scriptures it says: Genesis 6:8 (KJV) “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. “
  • The fifth time Ruth is mentioned in the Scriptures it says: Ruth 2:2 (KJV) “And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.”
  •  The fifth time David’s name is mentioned after meeting Saul, the Scriptures says David found favor in Saul. 1 Samuel 17:37 (KJV)  “…And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”
  • There was a boy whose lunch was five loaves and two fish. Jesus took them, blessed them and gave them to the people and fed 5000 men besides the women and children  and he had them sit in groups of 50 (5 x 5 x 2)! They took up 12 baskets full after the people had their fill. The people didn’t have to do ANYTHING except be obedient. And each apostle received their own basket in the end for being obedient! Grace is Unmerited Favor!  This is where this clinches it for me. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked to heaven, blessed and broke them. Imagine you see Jesus having two fish in one hand and the five loaves in the other holding them up to the Father. Father in Hebrew is ab (אב) and Jesus reveals the Father John 14:9 (KJV) “Jesus saith … he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…” so remember that the letter hey (ה) means a window. If you put this window between the letters for father, you get the word love! (אהב) The heart of God the Father is love, Jesus, Lord God is Love and Grace. John 1:17 (KJV) “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” So if you see Jesus standing there with the fish in one hand (the meaning of the letter nun – נ – is fish), the number two is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is beyt (ב), together beyt and nun spell the word Son (בנ). And the loaves in His other open hand (open hand is the meaning of the letter yod – י) and with the five loaves; the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter hey, which together spells the word Jah (יה) meaning God. And finally, the numeric value of the letter nun is 50, fifty is Jubilee and the day in which the Holy Spirit was given (Pentecost means 50 days from Passover). In this picture of Jesus holding the two fish and five loaves, you have God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in love to give grace! John 1:16 (KJV) “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” The word “for” here means “anti” or “opposite, in place of” which gives us the understanding that when grace runs out, there’s more grace.

I know that it seems coincidental and a bit “mathematical” but it’s there for you to see. Do you see? In these days of cynicism, how much coincidence is required for one to believe? What if this is correct and accurate? If the Word of God is inspired, wouldn’t it contain more than just feel-good sermons, but integral nuances that would point to what the Author wanted to convey in the plain text as well as deep within? How many examples are required before one takes serious the Word of God? I hope to kick the fence you’re sitting on, and fall one way or the other. I’m not selling anything or guiding you to some site to buy a product or go to some church or donate to my charity, I’m here to point out the wonderful gems written in plain view for those wanting to know more about Jesus. Christians especially have such a warped sense of who God is. Grace is the reason we all stand before God either to eternal life or eternal damnation: we are inexcusable! Romans 2:1.

Not to leave the faithful with a sour tone, I want to point out what this year in the Hebrew calendar says to those watching the news. Those that have read my study on the chronology of man according to the scriptures know that this year isn’t 5773, but much later, however, God knows we’d be watching with the incorrect calendar. The year 2012 is 5773 (ה׳תשע״ג) in the Hebrew calendar. Look up the meaning of each letter and you’ll find it says: the, covenant, provide, see, travel. The covenant [people – us] are provided the means to see travel! The Rapture! Wouldn’t that be great if He comes this year?! Next year, 5774 (starting 5 Sep 2013) will mean: the, covenant, provide, see, establish! The covenant people will see the establishment [of the bride of Christ]! God bless and I hope you enjoyed this note.

 

 

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Man and Wife

Posted on October 21, 2012 by abdicate

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Genesis 1:26-27 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Genesis 5:2 “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”

In fact the word create in Hebrew is bara (ברא) with the letters meaning Son (בר) and strength (א) – to create is the Son’s strength!

John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Notice too, that God called them BOTH “Adam” as in the “human species”. In Modern Hebrew, “Human Being” is literally “son of Adam” – ben Adam – בן אדם. Before I get into the meaning of the word “Adam” please read these verses:

Ephesians 5:23-30 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.”

Notice that Jesus sanctified and cleansed the church with the washing of water by the word – a most curious phrase.

John 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

So the “water” is the Spirit and the Word is Jesus. Another gem is the word for mother in Hebrew: אם with the meaning of “strong waters”. In Modern Hebrew, it also means nation, womb, people, race, etc.

  • א – is leader, or strong, or sacrifice
  • ם – (this is the form when “m” – מ – is the last letter of a word) is water, chaos, or spirit

Genesis 3:20 “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

Eve in Hebrew is Havah (חוה) meaning “life giver” and by letter “protector (ח) and (ו) grace (ה)”!

So let’s look at the word for “Adam” in Hebrew: אדם

  • א – is leader, or strong, or sacrifice
  • ד – is door, or path
  • ם – (this is the form when “m” – מ – is the last letter of a word) is water, chaos, or spirit

So the meaning of Adam is “man opens door to the Spirit” and it can also mean “man opens door to chaos”, which is what Adam did; he opened up to the wrong spirit! Though we have free will, it really boils down to two choices: participate in God’s will, or not. God gives us the power to succeed through obedience, but if we are disobedient then we suffer loss, not so much from punishment, but more of an absence of God’s blessings. This is why God says He’ll heal the nation when HIS people repent. If a Godly nation becomes lost, it’s HIS people who are at fault.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Even in churches today, “preachers” are saying the “problem is Washington” when in reality it’s the first 15 rows of the church or the pulpit!

So what is “man” and “woman”?

Genesis 2:21-23 “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

The word for woman here is אשה (ishah) and the word for man here is איש (ish). There are a few words for man, but this one is when man is in dignity – meaning obedient, righteous, and correct. So let’s look at the letter meaning of these words.

  • א – sacrifice, leader, first, man
  • י – hand, work, deed
  • ש – destroy, consume, provide

So this man is “man’s work provides” and “man’s work consumes”.  I debated with myself concerning this last definition, but I realized that is exactly what we do. We work to provide for the family, but it’s the Lord that gives the increase. We cannot create, we can only consume, but it’s the Lord that sustains us. This is why many of the mezuzahs on doors have the letter shin (ש) on them. It represents God; El Shaddai (אל שדי) translated as “God Almighty”. However, שד means breast as in that which provides required nourishment – everything a baby would need. The letter yod (י) means “my”; so the full meaning of El Shaddai is “God my breast” as in “God is all I need to be nourished and provides for me.” The individual letters שד mean “consumes door”. What happens when a baby is hungry, besides cry, they open their mouth – the door. Exactly what Jesus meant:

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written (Deu 8:3), Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

So now let’s look at אשה (ishah) – woman – and the letter meanings:

  • א – sacrifice, leader, first, man
  • ש – destroy, consume, provide
  • ה – reveal, window, grace

So the letters for woman mean “first to provide grace”. What traditional home isn’t where the father is the “law” enforcer and the mother is the one who dishes out “grace”! If this isn’t enough to warm the cockles of a cold heart, let’s look at what happens when a man and woman become one. As we can see that separately they reveal differing aspects of God, together they show even more. If you combine the letter of man and woman separating the common letters from the unique letters, you get the following:

איש (man) + אשה (woman) =  אש (fire) + יה (God) + אש (fire)

Notice that both man and woman turn into “sacrifice consumed” (the meaning of fire)! When a man and woman marry both must sacrifice their passions (fire) to compromise for each other, give and take, and allow God to work in their midst, otherwise they’ll become a conflagration – an extensive fire that destroys a great deal; fire + fire! There are two things I notice about this layout of fire on each side of God. One, both “fires” are identical words. Though men and women are not the same, they are certainly equal, one flesh. Eve came from Adam’s rib, not his foot or his head. The second is that in order to keep the balance, the difference, between man and woman requires God’s input into their individual differences as well as what they have in common. He is the pivot point.

Now if you combine all the letters of man and woman you get the word for foundation – אשיה with the letters meaning of “first provide the work of grace”. These two are the foundation for a family. We see the opposite of this everywhere now-a-days with so many divorces. No one takes the blame, and part of this is because neither prepares to be married before the wedding ceremony. So let’s look at the words groom (חתן – chatan) and bride (כלה – kalah).  Groom is:

  • ח – fence, protect
  • ת – sign, covenant, mark
  • נ – ן (final form) – seed, life

So groom means “protect covenant life”. The man needs to first determine in his heart that his life is now linked to a covenant long before the wedding is consummated. This is why a written contract was drawn up and sealed with wine when a couple was betrothed. A new Covenant.  Sound familiar? The son would go home and build a house or an addition to the existing home for his bride. Only when the father felt the house was indeed a home fit for a bride, would he allow his son to get his bride. Only then would a wedding night occur, never before. Later, after a the marriage, it is up to the father to protect his family.

The letters for the word bride mean:

  • כ – palm of hand, open, power to suppress
  • ל – learn, teach, authority
  • ה – window, reveal, grace

So bride means “open to teach grace”. It’s the mother’s job to show her children refinement and gentleness and grace. Bride can also mean “suppress her authority for grace.” If you take the first two letters they spell the word all (כל) in Hebrew. So the bride is also “all grace”. It is also required for the woman to submit to her husband as the man is to submit to Christ. Read Ephesians 5.

Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

The first letters of each word groom (חתן) and bride (כלה) forms the word for power – כח with the letters meaning “open fence”. Think about it; power, God’s power has no limits, no hurdles, and cannot be fenced in.  The remaining letters make the word gift – לתנה. Together the man and woman become the gift of power, but what is this “gift of power”? It is to become one like God is One! On earth, the most powerful unit is the family.

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Matthew 19:5-6 “And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

The letters for the word gift (לתנה) mean “authority of the cross is life of grace”; the gift of salvation!

Ecclesiastes 3:13 “And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.”

Romans 5:17 “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Finally, let’s look at the word for family (משפחה). Since the man and woman a joined, a family is born.

  • מ – water, chaos, from
  • ש – consume, destroy, provide
  • פ – mouth, speak, words
  • ח – fence, protect, full expression of love
  • ה – window, reveal, grace

Therefore the meaning of family is “flowing provision to speak the full expression of love, grace”. While this begs the question, how does this mean family? Well, you have to look at what a family is supposed to be. First, they’re a continual source of provision. When one member has a need, the others are there to help. A family is also one that produces fruit, the full expression of love. And finally, the family is supposed to be one of grace and forgiveness. When you look at this word through the eyes of Scripture, you find none other than the plan of salvation. When the flowing waters of life speak to the full expression of the love of God, grace occurs!

John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 1:16 “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

I hope you see the theme God put into His word and the letters and that is grace. No matter the sin in our lives, God’s grace will always super-abound.

Romans 5:20 “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”

That is meaning of the word in Greek for the “more abound” in this verse: it’s “super-abound”! It’s just like the sun. Scientists say that of the energy the sun puts out, only a small fraction reaches the earth, the rest is lost in space. This is just like God to be so plentiful that we have all we will ever need. Just like Paul says:

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

When we are weak, God’s power is more than sufficient to make me strong! Grace for grace! All glory is God’s!

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Firstfruits and Tithes

Posted on October 12, 2012 by abdicate

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I am always so very blessed when I find something as wonderful as a gem in the Scriptures. I have two things I would like to share today: berashiyt (בראשות) and ma’aser (מעשר). Berashiyt in Hebrew is “in the beginning” and is the first word of the Scriptures. If you remove the first letter beyt (ב) you have the word firsfruits (ראשות).  I Corinthians 15:23 (KJV) says that Christ is the firsfruits. So if we take the letters spelled out in the first word of the Scriptures and look at their individual meanings you have the following:

  • ב – beyit – house, in
  • ר – resh – man
  • א – alef – sacrifice
  • ש – shin – consume
  • ו – vav – nail
  • ת – tav – sign, mark, covenant

Please note that בר (bar) means son or literally “in man” as seen by the definition of the letters. Using the rest of the letter from the word berashyt, you have the plan of salvation:

Son, sacrifice, consume, nail, cross (the shape of the letter in Ancient Hebrew – see the chart). Nothing in the Scriptures is there by mistake. Every letter points to Yeshua (Jesus) the Christ.

Now let’s look at the second word for today: ma’aser (מרעש) meaning tithe. Hebrew is a language of root words. That is, they add prefixes and suffixes to build on the meaning of the root word. The letter mem (מ) conveys the meaning “from” or changes a verb into the noun of that word. Like the root word “to bake” when adding the mem means “baker”. Removing mem from ma’aser, means riches or wealth (עשר) – aser. So tithing (ma’aser) comes from riches or wealth. But wait, that’s not so. The meaning of mem would be the one who is tithing, not from riches. In fact the real meaning of ma’aser means the one giving the tithe becomes rich because of his action! If you change the pronunciation of aser to asher (same spelling) you have the word for happiness and wellbeing. Now we have all these meanings of the word, let’s look at the meaning of the letters of ma’aser (מרעש).

  • מ – mem – from
  • ע – ayn – to see, eye, experience
  • ש – shin – shaddai (the symbol used throughout Israel to show that God most powerful – El Shaddai – God Almighty)
  • ר – resh – man, head

The one who sees God as the head – will become rich. Not just materially, but in anything that matters. If you put God first in your time, energy and finances, you shall be blessed with riches and wellbeing.

Romans 11:16 (KJV) “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

So if you give of the firstfruits of your life – time, energy, money – God will truly bless you. For if the firstfruits be holy, the whole is holy! Abraham gave a tenth of all he had to Yeshua – yes Jesus, read Hebrew 7 – and look what happened to him.

(I haven’t written in a while because I was moving to Europe for work.)

Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV) “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

 

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The burden of Damascus

Posted on August 9, 2012 by abdicate

My dream last night was:

My wife and I were sitting outside, south, in the desert, when looking towards the north I saw a nuclear blast. I knew it was Damascus. With my phone, I took a picture. I told my wife to look and we watched in horror as the mushroom cloud grew. Then we saw another missile head towards us and explode closer to us, so much so that we could see the dirt fly up. We went inside the house to take cover. I wanted to share my photo with the world but I could not get the internet working. We then saw thousands of birds arrive in our back yard. I told my wife they were fleeing the blast. They were very beautiful, colorful birds, small and large. We stopped and prayed for God’s protection over us from the radiation. After trying to see the picture I took, I asked my wife “Is this a dream?” And she said, “No, it’s real!”

Then I woke up.

The thing was that the blast wasn’t like any blast I’ve seen on TV, it was much smaller and quickly dissipated. Isaiah 17 says that Damascus will cease to be a city. It is currently one of the oldest in the history of the world.

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Grace and Truth

Posted on July 27, 2012 by abdicate

Now that we’ve look at the Name of God given to Moses and the Messiah’s Name Y’shua (Jesus), let’s look at His mission – to bring Grace and Truth.

John 1:14 (KJV) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” 

Grace

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pronunciation: chen (guttural h)
trans-literal spelling: (chn)
Hebrew:  חן
meaning: separate, life; secure, people; and my favorite: life Seed!

We are to live a separated life:

Proverbs 18:1 (KJV) “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. “

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (KJV) “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. “

We are to live a peculiar life

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

We are protected

Psalms 91:1-2 (KJV) “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

The Jewish rabbis teach that het (ח) in the word life (חיים), whose full expression is love; so much so that life literally uses the plural form (ים–) of alive – “alives”.

John 10:10 (KJV) “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Read more about grace.

Truth

pronunciation: ‘emet
trans-literal spelling: (amt)
Hebrew: אמת
meaning: leader, waters, covenant

The spelling is the first, last and almost middle letters of the Hebrew alphabet and in order. As I’ve show in another study, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet refers to Jesus (the sacrifice, cross). Since this is Jesus, it’s not surprising that in the midst of this two-letter word is the letter that represents water and what’s the middle of a man, his belly. Therefore truth is Jesus, the Leader (Sacrifice) with waters that brings about a covenant.

John 7:38 (KJV) “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Psalms 36:9 (KJV) “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”

Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV) “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

Jeremiah 31:31 (KJV) “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:”

Proverbs 18:4 (KJV) “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.”

Isaiah 58:11 (KJV) “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”

John 4:14 (KJV) “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 14:6 (KJV) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

 

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Salvation – what is it?

Posted on July 22, 2012 by abdicate

Now that we’ve looked at the meaning of Jesus – Salvation – what is it to be saved and why. Because God is fully holy and requires holiness, which we don’t have, God sent the manifestation of His Word to become flesh, live a holy life without sin, and die for you and me. By doing this Jesus (meaning “salvation” in Hebrew) took our punishment and we take His holiness. He is our substitute. Since no one is without sin, any comparison to another would simply show everyone guilty. One slightly rotten apple or the putrid mush at the bottom of the barrel – all are rotten apples. Jesus alone is perfect so we are judged by being compared to Him and Him alone, not each other. There is no “participation” trophy in life.

As Adam willfully chose sin over God’s authority, only through calling on God and accepting His free gift of eternal life, His grace, will you be free from the law. The law demands holiness, but we’re already damaged goods, so we’re doomed. God is also love, and seeing our impossible plight, sent Jesus to die for our sins. Christians are not perfect, nor are we judges (though it may seem that way to you by the means we have to communicate the truth) we are only holy in God’s eyes because we have accepted His gift, nothing more. God loves you, specifically dying for you. You need only to accept what He did for you on the cross and ask Him into your heart. Anyone who calls on the name of God shall be saved. Period.

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Name of God

Posted on July 19, 2012 by abdicate

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The name of God given to Moses is יהוה (reading right to left) – yod (י) hey (ה) vav (ו) hey (ה). In the KJV Bible it’s the all-upper case word LORD. When the Jews come to this word in the Scripture, they substitute the Name with “Adonia” (אדון) which means “Lord” so as not to mispronounce the Name of God. The problem is, now they don’t know how to pronounce it. The reason this happened is because there are no vowels in Hebrew, which brings about the pronunciation. However, to say Judah (יהודה) in Hebrew it’s pronounce “ya-hoo-da”, so if you remove the “d” (ד) you get the Name of God, “ya-hoo-ah”, which seems correct to me.

The gem to the Name of God is what it means in paleo-Hebrew. The Name of God in the Hebrew Scriptures is יהוה and the pictograph for this is:

 open hand (י), LOOK! (ה), nail (ו), LOOK! (ה)

What does this image reveal?

The meaning of the name of God has a dual meaning via the pictograph:

Work of Grace and Grace!

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Salvation (Something saved)

Posted on July 11, 2012 by abdicate

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Hebrew doesn’t have vowels per se, but uses silent letters which are used as placeholders. Hebrew is a very logical language based on root words with prefixes and suffixes added to convey the meaning intended. So “yeshua” (ישׁועה) (translated Jesus in English from the Latin from the Greek Iesous) is “something saved” whereas “yesha” (ישׁע) means “liberty, deliverance, prosperity”. The difference is the vav (ו). Remember the vav from Genesis 1:1 (http://www.abdicate.net/blog/?p=188) represents the Man Jesus connecting heaven and earth, hence Yeshua, the Man of yesha (salvation). How is it then that “yesha” and “yeshua” are have the same meaning without the “u” – vav? The vav is considered a soft letter meaning that with or without it, the word is still spelled correctly. The other letter hey (ה) is a suffix meaning from where the action came from; literally “what comes from salvation” – Liberty, Deliverance and Prosperity! In the King James bible yesha is translated as “safety, salvation, saving”.

English Pronunciation: Yeshua
Transliteration: Yshvah
Hebrew word: ישׁועה
The meaning of salvation according to each letter from the chart above:

deed (י), changes (שׁ), and (ו), experience (ע), revelation (ה)

Notice the meaning by letters: The deed (work on the cross) changes you (you’re no longer dead, but alive) and you experience a revelation – that God died for YOU saving you! When Yeshua entered Jerusalem on the donkey, the crowed yelled out “Hosanna” which is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew “Yeshuah-na!” meaning “Salvation Now!” The –na suffix indicates request for immediate action.

Isaiah 12:2-3 (KJV) “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

Jacob declared “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.”

Every time “salvation” is used in these verses, and others, you can change it to Yeshua – ’cause that’s what He is!

John 7:38 (KJV) “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

For those who don’t believe in Jesus or that His Name is in the OT, have them read these verses in the Hebrew and they’ll say His Name – Yeshua (Yesha in the text).

Isaiah 62:11 (KJV) “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”

Isaiah shows “salvation” is a person!

Habakkuk 3:13 (KJV) “Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.”

In Hebrew, “salvation with thine anointed” is “Yesha et Mashiach” and can be translated “Salvation your Anointed One” or Yeshua (Jesus) Your Messiah or Jesus Your Christ! Notice in this verse not only has Yeshua’s Name given but His title “anointed (mashiach)” meaning Messiah!

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Paleo-Hebrew

Posted on July 9, 2012 by abdicate

After learning about this awesome gem concerning the ancient Hebrew language, I had to learn more.

Aleph and Tav (right to left)

Hebrew is a very rich language. The only other language that has a similar depth of complexity is chemistry. If I write H2O or NaCl you would say they are water and table salt. If you have enough understanding of chemistry to identify them by their chemical annotations, then you also know that H2O has an electrical charge, a weight, a shape, and consists of three atoms, two hydrogen and one oxygen, and that they individually have properties worth exploring.

The Jews believe that the first thing God created is alef and tav (את), the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet (alef-beyt). Each letter has a meaning all its own. When combined with other letters they paint a picture of the meaning of the word. Here is a list of some of the meanings of the letters and what they looked like (click to enlarge):

“Alef” has the image of an ox head and has the meaning of “sacrifice, leader, first,” and of course “ox”. “Beyt” looks like a floor plan (other images have it look like a “tent”) and means “in” or “house”. Bethlehem (בית לחם) means “House of Bread”, Bethel (בית אל) means “House of God” (reading right to left).  Notice that the last letter, “Tav” means “mark, sign or covenant”.

Now the first (Alef א) and last letter (Tav ת) together have no English meaning, but Hebrew scholars says it’s used to link an object to a verb. The first time it’s used in Scripture is found in Genesis 1:1 and is the fourth and sixth word of the sentence.

Here is Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew.

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

הָאָרֶץ

וְאֵת

הַשָׁמַיִם

אֵת

אֱלֹהִים

בָּרָא

בְּרֵאשִׁית

ha-a-retz

v-et

ha-sha-ma-yim

et

Elohim

bara

Beresheet

the earth

and

the heavens

–

God

created

In the beginning

The gem and Spiritual explanation isn’t really understood until you get to the book of Revelation when Jesus states He is the Alpha and Omega ΑΩ, being the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the Beginning and the End. If you were in the Genesis 1:1 sentence looking at the reader, the את is on the right hand of God (אֱלֹהִים)! Who is seated on the right hand of God?a Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the Alef and Tav!

a Mark 16:19 “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”

In this first verse of Genesis you see that “את” surrounds the word for “Heavens” and there’s that vav in the second “את” and is translated as “and” because it “hooks” Heaven and Earth together. Jesus is the “Connector”, the vav, the Man, between Heaven and Earth, even testifying to the manner in how the connection would be done – via the cross! Since God “spoke” everything into existence it’s an amazing picture image within the written text that Jesus, the Alef and Tav (Alpha and Omega), the Beginning and the End, is the Creator. It is the hint of what was to come when the Word would become flesh, indeed the Word of God made flesh. In Genesis 1:1, the letter vav combines with Alef and Tav to show the Sign of the Lord of History, the One Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus, the Living Word – to connect Heaven and Earth in the most literal sense. The culmination of all history revealed in the Final Book prophesied in the pattern of Hebrew letters in the first verse of the First Book! Hebrew used to use pictographs like the Egyptian hieroglyphics. See the end to view a chart of each letter in paleo-Hebrew.

Here’s the pictograph form of those two letters (right to left):

The symbols have the meaning of: an ox head and a cross; a sacrifice on the cross; a strong mark; first covenant. Twice in the first verse of Scriptures, you have the plan of salvation! Scripture is replete with signs, gems, and guides you to Jesus; you just have to search them out! When we were kids and we wanted to make a pact, we’d spit in our hands and shake. In Hebrew Covenant is (brit – בּרית) and reveal is (ע) which when combined is עבּרית and that is the word for Hebrew or in paleo-Hebrew Covenant Revealed!! Wait! There’s still more. Let’s look at the paleo-Hebrew letters for the word Hebrew (עבּרית):

 “See (ayin ע), in (beyt בּ), man (resh ר), hand (yod י), mark (tav ת)”

Whose hand is marked that we need to see!? Jesus – the Savior! A new covenant revealed!

Jeremiah 31:31 (KJV) “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: “

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Meditation: Key for Fruitful Christians

Posted on June 20, 2012 by abdicate

Psalms 1:2-3 (KJV) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

One who meditates on the word of God day and night is one who occupies their mind on God instead of the what-ifs of life. So if you hear sermons and even memorize the Scriptures, but you don’t meditate, you’ll become like what Jesus said:

Mark 4:18-19 (KJV) And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

So if you meditate (mutter, whisper – הגה – hagah) the word of God throughout the day, you’ll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. To meditate on this part, you realize that trees live long lives, those with deep roots weather the storms of life. The tree is planted, meaning it’s not just “there” but specifically planted and if planted, then tended. Moreover, there are rivers, plural, for one tree, meaning God’s abundance is more than you’ll ever need. Now this tree will bring about fruit in his season. Before there is fruit, the tree brings about flowers. But a flower cannot bring fruit, but only when a bee pollenates it. The word for bee is דבורה – deborah – and the root of this word is דבר – debar – meaning word, thing, speak, matter, object, pest, message, commandment and guide. The bee is the word of God. This is why you can hear a message and it speaks to you, but someone else hears the same words and it does nothing – the bee (God’s word) did not come to them. When you share God’s word (preach) through the Spirit you are acting like the bee, pollinating people; planting the seed in them, to grow and eventually produce fruit, continuing the cycle. Furthermore, the bee produces honey which in Hebrew is דבש – devash.

Deuteronomy 30:14 (KJV) But the word (debar) is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Romans 10:8 (KJV) But what saith it? The word (rhema) is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Paul quote Deuteronomy and the word in Hebrew is debar, and in Romans it is rhema, meaning utterance.

Jesus used this word rhema in this verse:

Matthew 4:4 (KJV) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

And Paul uses it here:

Romans 10:17 (KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God.

But how can they hear:

Romans 10:14 (KJV) How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Now you understand why the Lord says to mutter His word – you are allowing the Holy Spirit to pollinate you!

To continue, the leaf shall not wither. Leaves are green. Trees whose leaves are green year-round are called evergreen. Green in vernacular means new or young – he’s green. Green is also a primary color and most pleasing to the eyes. A leaf brought hope to Noah (Gen 8:11) and fear to the enemy (Lev 26:36) and shall bring forth medicine (Eze 47:12, Rev 22:2) – healing to the nations by bringing the word of God!

Finally – whatsoever he doeth shall prosper! The best idiom is “garbage in, garbage out“. If you focus on the junk of the world, you’ll be filled with the junk of the world. But if you mutter the word of God then you will be able to prosper in life because of the goodness of His word will fill you. Goodness in, goodness out. This is the bread of which Jesus spoke.

The following is recommended reading for Christians who find themselves weak in Spirit. George Mueller opened 117 schools and hosted over 120,000 kids in orphanages. While having never received government support and only accepting unsolicited gifts, his organisation received and disbursed £1,381,171 (£90million in today’s money). Read what he said was the most important act a Christian can do – and it’s not prayer.

Soul Nourishment First

A Booklet by George Mueller

May 9, 1841

It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost, for more than fourteen years.

The point is this:

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit.

Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, while meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experiential communion with the Lord.

I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning, early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon his precious Word, was, to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul.

The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer. When thus I have been for a while making confession or intercession, or supplication, or have given thanks, I go to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it, but still continually keeping before me that food for my own soul is the object of my meditation. The result of this is, that there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my meditation, and then my inner man almost invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened, and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me that which, either very soon after or at a later time, I have found to become food for other believers, though it was not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word that I gave myself to meditation, but for the profit of my own inner man.

The difference, then, between my former practice and my present one is this:

Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer, except when I felt my soul to be more than usually barren, in which case I read the Word of God for food, or for refreshment, or for a revival and renewal of my inner man, before I gave myself to prayer.

But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour, on my knees, before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc., and often, after having suffered much from wandering of mind for the first ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to pray. I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart, first being nourished by the truth, being brought into experiential fellowship with God, I then speak to my Father and to my Friend, (vile though I am, and unworthy of it), about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.

It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this point. In no book did I ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet, now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is, to obtain food for his inner man. As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow.

Now, what is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. When we pray, we speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire, and the season, therefore, when this exercise of the soul can be most effectually performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us. We may therefore profitably meditate, with God’s blessing, though we are ever so weak spiritually; nay, the weaker we are, the more we need meditation for the strengthening of our inner man.

Thus there is far less to be feared from wandering of mind than if we give ourselves to prayer without having had time previously for meditation. I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways, than I had ever had before; and after having now above fourteen years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it.

In addition to this I generally read, after family prayer, larger portions of the Word of God, when I still pursue my practice of reading regularly onward in the Holy Scriptures, sometimes in the New Testament, and sometimes in the Old, and for more than twenty-six years I have proved the blessedness of it. I take, also, either then or at other parts of the day, time more especially for prayer. How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon one.

This is what his friend said about George Muller:

Further Recollections Of Mr. Müller

MR. PERRY furnishes also the following reminiscences:

As George Müller was engaged in free, homely conversation with his friends on a Sunday afternoon within about three weeks of his departure to be with the Lord, he referred to two visits he had made during the previous week to two old and beloved friends. He had fully appreciated that, though they were about ten years younger than himself, his power to walk, and specially his power to continue his service for his Lord, was far greater than theirs. So that he playfully said, with a bright smile:

“I came away from both these beloved brethren feeling that I was quite young by comparison as to strength, though so much older,”

and then at once followed an ascription of praise to God for His goodness to him:

“Oh, how very kind and good my heavenly Father has been to me! I have no aches or pains, no rheumatism, and now in my ninety-third year I can do a day’s work at the orphan houses with as much ease and comfort to myself as ever.”

One sentence aptly sets forth a striking feature in his Christian character, viz.:

George Müller, nothing. The Lord Jesus, everything. In himself worse than nothing. By grace, in Christ, the son of the King.

And as such he lived; for all those who knew and loved this beloved and honoured servant of Christ best would testify that his habitual attitude towards the Lord was to treat Him as an ever-present, almighty, loving Friend, whose love was far greater to him than he could ever return, and who delighted in having his entire confidence about everything, and was not only ready at hand to listen to his prayers and praises about great and important matters, but nothing was too small to speak to Him about. So real was this that it was almost impossible to be enjoying the privilege of private, confidential intercourse with him without being conscious that at least to him the Lord was really present. One to whom he turned for counsel, in prayer, or in praise, as freely as most men would to a third person present; and again and again marked answers to prayer have been received in response to petitions thus unitedly presented to the Lord altogether apart from his own special work.

His leaf never faded, he was ever-green!!!

Now see how Jeremiah puts it:

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (KJV) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

 

 

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