"His Word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9
Dear Faithful Feaster,
I pray, by now, you are feeling the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes only through feasting on the Word of God; and that you are experiencing a personal refreshment in your relationship with the Lord as you seek Him daily in prayer.
This Monday, September 29th, begins the next feast on the Hebrew calendar: The Feast of Trumpets. This seventh month (Sept/Oct) is a busy month of celebration and feasts. This particular feast announced the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the coming Day of Atonement (a time of confession and repentance). One of the purposes of the Feast of Trumpets is to present the nation before the Lord for His favor.
There are trumpets sounding all across this nation calling believers to fast and pray. The response is truly a move of God as Christians are humbly stepping up to the plate to seek God on behalf of the sins of the Church and the sins of the nation. It is important that we respond to our Lord in this most critical hour.
Our allegiance to God is being tested like never before and every follower of Jesus Christ must answer the question Elijah posed on Mt. Carmel: "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).
On that particular day the One, True, and Living God answered by fire! Today, we are poised for another trial by fire and it is critical how we answer Him to determine whether or not we will be consumed.
"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call,
who will get ready for battle?"
(1 Corinthians 14:8)
We sit on the verge of a great battle erupting over Truth. It is a battle many faithful followers and prayer warriors have been fighting on the spiritual battlefront for years. For them, seeing the troops begin to rally and step into formation is both an encouragement and a sign of hope. We cannot, however, face this battle in our own strength. That is why these 40 days of preparation are critical to God's strategic battle plan. His desire, through our willingness, is to arm us with His Truth, clothe us in His Power, and send us out to battle with His praises! (Reference the victory at Jericho in Joshua 6; Gideons victory in Judges 7; and Jehoshaphat's victory in 2 Chronicles 20).
"Send forth Your light and Your truth,
let them guide me."
(Psalm 43:3)
The strategy calls for the troops to be purified, cleansed, and consecrated through the Word of God and prayer (reference Ephesians 5:26; 1 Timothy 4:5). "Prayer and the Word of God are inseparably linked together - power of either depends on the presence of the other" (Andrew Murray). This is why the disciples set everything else aside to devote their full attention to the Word of God and prayer (reference Acts 6:4). We, as good Bible students, and disciples, must commit to the same!
Many of you faithful feasters have already realized that we cannot fast (as God intends) without feeding on the Word of God. Without this important spiritual nourishment we limit the power of our prayers and the necessary strength we need to stand each day. While we are being emptied physically, it is necessary that we are being filled spiritually. His spiritual nourishment keeps us both burning, and breathing!
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
(Psalm 119:105)
The Word of God is our lamp - it is our only source of light in this dark world. This is why Jesus told us, "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning" (Matthew 12:35). Our spiritual armor includes putting on Truth as the belt around our waist (it holds everything up) and taking up the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God) - His Word is to gird us, guide us, and guard us (Ephesians 6:14a). We cannot fight, or expect victory, in any battle if our ammunition does not include the Word of God and prayer!
"Let us walk in the light of the LORD."
(Isaiah 2:5)
The first spoken words of creation were, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). Light makes life possible! As bearers of God's light we carry His life wherever we go. We are to "walk in the light, as He is in the light..." (1 John 1:7). We are to keep His Word upon our hearts, our minds, our hands, and our lips (reference Deuteronomy 6:4-9). We are to think, speak, and act according to the Scripture with every breath we breathe; however, we can't do that if we are not spending time in His Word.
"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed.
Instead, he puts it on a stand,
so that those who come in can see the light...
Therefore consider carefully how you will listen.
Whoever has will be given more;
whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has
will be taken from him."
(Luke 8:16-18)
We must weigh carefully what Jesus is telling us: His Word should be burning in our hearts instead of burning up space on our bookshelf. If we don't begin to burn through the pages of this treasure we have been given - we may no longer be given the freedom to seek Him in His Word. If we are paying any attention to the opposition against Christianity today, we would realize that possibility is already beginning to surface as particular passages from the Holy Bible are being targeted as hate speech and even being restricted from being spoken from the pulpit. Are we forgetting the 400 years of silence between the Testaments?! Do we remember the persecution of our brothers and sisters who have been martyred so that we could enjoy the freedom to indulge in the delicacies of God's Word, while we, instead, choose the artificial substitutes of the world?!
"You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden."
(Matthew 5:14)
That city, however, can be overtaken and destroyed. The Lord tells us in Revelation chapter 2, "If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place" (v.5b) Why? A lamp without light is useless. And we dim our ability to illuminate the world when our lives are clouded by sin and we forsake the reading of His Word and dependence upon God. Instead we should be burning so brightly for Jesus that it is His joy to place us high on a stand. When we passionately pursue Him in His Word, feasting on the abundance of His heavenly storehouse, we effervesce with His goodness and we, ourselves, are set on fire!
"For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn."
(Psalm 89:17)
The NIV commentary explains: "To have one's horn lifted up by God is to be delivered from disgrace to a position of honor and strength." Our Lord is the lifter of our head. Through faithful and confident reliance on the Lord, and waiting on Him patiently while pressing into the Word and prayer, we will be placed in a position to let our light shine before men that they may also sing the praises of our Heavenly Father (reference Matthew 5:16).
"When Your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart's delight,
for I bear You name,
O LORD God Almighty."
(Jeremiah 15:16)
In order to become bearers of light and truth it is essential that we become intentional about feasting on the Word of God (while we still have the freedom to do so). Like Jeremiah we should take delight in eating His Word. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John :35a, 53) - and no life means no light! We need to get hungry for His Word!
"I will make my words in your mouth a fire!"
(Jeremiah 5:14b)
His Word is the fuel that keeps our lamps blazing.
His Word illuminates our path and radiates through our lives to a watching world. If we are to reflect His Light, we must be filled with His Light. This requires constant attention and intentional filling of His Word and nurturing of His presence in our lives. We need only to look at the parable of the ten virgins to be reminded of the importance of remaining diligent, being faithful, and making the necessary preparations lest our light not be found burning brightly when our Bridegroom returns! (reference Matthew 25:1-13).
Faithful one, continue to feast, savor every morsel, let every word you ingest do the necessary work to cut out those areas of your life that are blocking Him from shining brilliantly through you!
"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkeness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and His glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of you dawn."
(Isaiah 60:1-3)
May your heart be set on fire for Christ as you continually burn for Him!
Keep delighting in Him - invite others to the feast (thousands more have started feasting this past week for the next 40 days) - and let your light shine!
Devoted one, He is delighting in you - radiate for Him!
Blessings,
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
For Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet.
Till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
Her salvation like a blazing torch."
(Isaiah 62:1)
Spiritual side note:
How did our spiritual light begin to grow dim? History points to a specific time frame when a grand scheme unfolded in a full scale rejection of our traditional values: In 1962 (Engle v. Vitale) prayer was removed from our public schools; in 1963 (Abington v. Schempp, Murray v. Curlett) reading the Bible in schools followed suit. In removing these pillars from which the foundation of all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding is supported and nurtured, we no longer have a moral, or spiritual, leg to stand on. Add in the removal of the Ten Commandments from our public schools in 1980 (Stone v. Graham) and we see a complete picture illustrating why we are drowning in a flood of moral relativism and spiritual apathy. The only way back is through repentance. The Scriptures tells us, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength" (Isaiah 30:15). This is the only path to the national security we desire and need! More on that next week as we come to the end of our current 40-day fast and observe the Day of Atonement!
"The LORD is my light and my salvation -
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life -
of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:1
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