Abba, Father, I …

Has the Lord forgotten the Jews?

for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye (Zechariah 2:8 NIV)

That the Jews are as the apple of the Lord’s eye, is not in doubt. Certainly the Lord has not plucked off his eye, has He?

Of course, that verse, and perhaps 99% others that were promised to the Jews, apply equally well to modern Christians, since we too partake of their blessings.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 17:8 NIV)

Blessed indeed

In this dispensation, Jews still enjoy the blessings, the material blessings,  promised to them through Abraham. You really have to be blind to not see that. I am sure you know the statistics about such things as the number of Nobel prizes won by them, etc. I do not have to prove it to you. The Jews will always be blessed, materially. The Lord keeps His promises.

How about Christians? Are we  blessed? Of course. But it is my belief that modern Christians should spend very little time, perhaps just 0.1% of their time, thinking of ( not seeking ) the material promises in the Scriptures. To see why, see the Blessing series i wrote earlier.

How about Spiritual things? Right now, a Jew who is not born again is no different, spiritually, from a gentile.

He is a Jew materially, but a gentile spiritually.

So, be careful when you hear some of the modern preachers gush about the Jews, leaving you feeling that perhaps if only you could celebrate some of the Jewish ceremonies, you would be a better Christian.

Yom Kippur
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Oh, the paradox of the love of God!

Consider these verses in Jeremiah 31:

³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

Yet despite that, he did beat them up:

² This is what the LORD says:
“The people who survive the sword
will find favor in the desert;
I will come to give rest to Israel.”

⁴ I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.
Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.

⁸ See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him, I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the LORD.

He promises : favor because he had sent the sword among them, rebuilding since He had torn them down, a return home since He had exiled them to distant places.

How could He do these to Israel?

Because He loves him, therefore He beat him!

⁶because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

They that know Him, just know it :

“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf,
and I have been disciplined.
Restore me, and I will return,
because you are the LORD my God. ( Jeremiah 31: 18)

And they that know his voice in this way that He speaks to His children, cry out in pain, but follow him still:

¹⁹ After I strayed, I repented;
after I came to understand, I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

They that know Him, wonder why at His weird ways, but accept it, as is :

¹¹ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,

They that know Him, ask not why, trusting that since He be the potter, He knows what He doeth:

⁹ “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’? ( Isaiah 45:9 NIV)

They that know Him, when they ask why, and He answers them not, hold their anger still, for they are reminded that :

¹² because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father  the son he delights in. (Proverbs 3:12)

They that know Him in that way, are wise in this matter and are therefore greatly blessed:

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding, (Proverbs 3:13)

What does it mean for you today?

If you are a child of God, then

• That difficult situation you are in
• That lack of what you so desperately need
• That delay in getting what you want
• That relationship that is so damaged or is eludes you
• That grave illness that gives you torment
• That deformity and un-goodly member of your body that you so wish you could alter
• That sudden and untimely death of a ought-to-be-still-alive person

Is all part of the complex process that confirms your son-ship to Him.

⁷ I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things. ( Isaiah 45:7)

Why it is difficult to understand His discipline
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This placeholder is the final ( kindof ) conclusion on the blessed series.

……

This is place holder for part 5 of the blessed series.

……

To understand this post, you must read it in the right context. That means you need to read parts one , two and three. Find them here. This is part four of the Blessed series.

Today’s topic will be strange to most people. It will be difficult especially to those who have lived in the “west” ( where there is generally plenty of stuff ) or have lived the “western” lifestyle. It will also be strange to those who may have not have had much stuff to begin with, but have now acquired the western mindset and forgotten where they came from.

I came to these conclusion after much thought, some revelation from on high, and a sincere look at my own experience.

Having nothing

First, let me state that no child of God can have nothing.

³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ( Romans 8:32 NIV)

But there is that state, where a child of God decides to have a little, the just-barely-enough, which in the eyes of the world, amounts to nothing. And having that nothing, not out of coercion or laziness, but out of choice, for reasons we shall shortly see. And, in having the nothing, to be still joyous and be pleasing the Lord, and not cause His name to be ill spoken of.

That is what i mean by nothing.

Why we went to the Lord

Many Christians communicate with the Lord, their Heavenly Father, the way infants and little children communicate with their parents: on need to have basis.

An infant demands the attention of its parents when it’s needs are not met. They will give you no peace, till they have had it “their way”. Once they have what they need, they will generally leave you alone and be preoccupied with  themselves. Until they have the next need.

Toddlers are much better. There are times they seek you for your own sake. But they also do fall into the want mode once in a while. But their demands are mainly motivated by what they see out there: what Luke has, or what “the girl in my class” has, or what Hannah Montana is wearing, or what the Disney Channel has just advertised on TV ( and boy, do they fill the TV with adverts! I pity the little kids, they do not stand a chance ), or that toy or pair of shoes that is displayed on the store shelf.

A truly balanced grown up ( say your spouse) would seek communication with another grown-up because of the existing relationship between them. ( A balanced grown-up, i say. I know there are many baby grown-ups out there who seek others to please them.)

Are you better than the kids? Be honest and take an inventory of the times that you sincerely seek out the Lord in prayer. When do you pray? What was it that you wanted?

But, He is our Father?

Yes. So it is alright o approach Him thus:

³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ( Romans 8:32 NIV)

After all He said “ask…”.

While as a child it is okay to only seek the Lord when you have need, material need, as you grow up, that selfish reason should be reducing. It would be great when you are all grown up so that you can seek the Lord out, not for the sole purpose of getting something from Him, but so that you can just spend time with Him.

Huh?

Okay, if you do not get that, let us not dwell on it. Let us leave it at that.
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