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| LENT: Preparing the Way -
The Spirit of Knowledge |
April 1, 2009 |
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" 'Not by might nor by power,
but by My Spirit,'
says the LORD Almighty."
(Zechariah 4:6)
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"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him -
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and He will delight in the fear of the LORD."
(Isaiah 11:1-3a)
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Dear Friend,
Our Lenten journey has brought us one week closer to Easter, the most important festival on the Christian calendar. Our time of personal reflection these past six weeks, in prayer and study of the Word of God, have given us an opportunity to reflect with awe and thanksgiving on the great sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who provided salvation for sinners through His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection!
Today, as we continue our time of meditation looking at the seven-fold Spirit of God, we find ourselves visiting the garden - not the Garden of Gethsemane (we will journey there next week when we walk through the Most Holy Week), instead, we return to the Garden of Eden. It was in this garden, in that fateful moment when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that our need for a Savior was birthed (reference Genesis 3).
By taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, our ancestors sowed the first seeds of the flesh; in doing so, they inaugurated a long and painful history of sin that would necessitate the redemptive work of a Savior to pay for our sin-debt with His life. "...you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
Tasked simply with trusting in the Lord and enjoying the blessings of a compassionate and loving Heavenly Father, Adam and Eve revealed the inadequacy of human beings to participate fully, and freely, in the vast goodness of God apart from the presence of His Spirit. It is this knowledge that should lead us to repent of any attempt to walk independently of our God, and instill within us a passion to know more fully the One, who not only Created us for His pleasure, but redeemed us to live eternally in His presence. "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11).
Let us rejoice in the goodness and grace of our Lord as we "apply [y]our heart to instruction and [y]our ears to words of knowledge"; living our lives to please Him in every way, and "bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 23:12 and Colossians 1:10).
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)
Grace and peace,
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
Psalm 27:4, 13-14; 73:23-26
P.S. I pray that you will join us for the upcoming 40-day HARVEST journey! This online daily devotional journey will begin on Easter Sunday as we walk with Jesus from His glorious Resurrection to His Ascension! The Lord has so much to reveal to us as we meet Him in His Word each day. I pray that you are growing an insatiable hunger for righteousness that can only be satisfied through the spiritual nourishment found in the wonderous Word of God! If you are not currently registered at www.trumpetandtorch.org, please do so now so you can take part in this exciting new journey! Take time now to familiarize yourself with the Temple side of the website where you will find your daily devotionals and your personal online journal. If you have any questions please submit your request to info@trumpetandtorch.org. Visit our Email ARCHIVE to read past prayer and devotional emails.
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Begin your mealtime by reading and meditating on Isaiah 11:3b-9.
"...the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea." (v.9b)
The seven-fold Spirit of the Lord is described beautifully in Isaiah 11:2. The Spirit of the Lord gives believers the wisdom to undertake wise purposes, the understanding to comprehend and judge between good and evil, counsel to carry out the Lord's plans with wisdom and understanding, and the ability to accomplish those plans with miraculous power and authority.
The Spirit of the Lord also provides access to greater knowledge of God. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain" (Psalm 139:6). We are limited in our human knowledge to those things we observe or experience. The knowledge of God is vast and unlimited - this knowledge involves knowing God as a person and desiring to know what He is teaching us. "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold" (Proverbs 8:10).
The Scriptures provide a beautiful picture of the extraordinary wealth that the knowledge of God has to offer the discerning believer: "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures" (Proverbs 24:3-4). As diligent students of the Word of God the door to this vast storehouse of knowledge is unlocked to us as we daily spend time with our Lord each day.
The desire to know God and His teachings should be as much our hope as it was for David and all the other faithful and obedient servants of the Lord (reference Psalm 51). The Scriptures reveal the importance of seeking the knowledge of the Lord, for without it, "...my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Time and time again the Israelites would become comfortable, enjoying the blessings of the Lord, and would soon "forget" the One Who had provided, and cared, for them. Their personal neglect for the Word of God led to their national destruction. Today we are experiencing a similar collapse as the once strong pillars of "morality and religion" have fallen because we have allowed the foundation this nation was built upon (the Word of God!) to be buried under a heap of tolerance, deception, immorality, idolatry, and corruption.
May we find ourselves in these difficult days, rejecting the knowledge of the world, and, instead, passionately pursuing greater knowledge and understanding of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood and gave His life so we could have an intimate and personal relationship with Him and the Father. May the Spirit of the Lord open our eyes to "know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2b,3); allowing us to speak with wisdom and understanding in a world that lacks true knowledge of the One True Living God!
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LUNCH BOX
Begin your mealtime by reading and meditating on
Exodus 33: 12-17 and Numbers 11:11-17.
"If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways
so I may know you and continue to find favor with you."
(v.13a)
Moses was a great leader because his desire was to know God. "...Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God" (Exodus 32:11). Moses understood the importance of having the very Presence of the Lord be his personal guide, and petitioned the Lord, on behalf of the people, to not allow them to even take a step without the Lord first going before them.
The Spirit of the Lord opens our eyes to the knowledge of God and brings clarity to the path we are walking and the purposes for the course we are on. This window of heavenly perspective enables the follower of Christ to discern, with greater understanding, how the Lord would apply His counsel and teaching to the current situation. Moses had his eyes opened to the great burden he was not meant to carry on his own and the Lord's plan to provide help to His servant.
"Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders
and officials among the people...I will take of the Spirit that is on you
and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the
people so that you will not have to carry it alone."
(Numbers 11:16,17)
Like Solomon, Moses knew that to lead the people of God as the Lord intended, would require having the mind of God. "Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" (2 Chronicles 1:10). How critical it is that the children of God do not check their faith at the door when they serve in the public arena. Without the wisdom and knowledge of God, those who lead will only bring their followers to destruction. The mind, apart from God, does not work to the full capacity for which the Lord created it. Only through the indwelling Spirit of the Lord can the hearts and minds of God's children be open to the teachings of the Word of God, and as a result, lead others into all Truth. "The lips of the wise spread knowledge..." (Proverbs 15:7).
May we continue to pray for godly leaders who will daily seek the Lord in His Word and apply that knowledge and understanding to the position the Lord has placed them in. May we, as believers, return to seeking the Lord with all our hearts so the Lord will bless us with "...shepherds after [His] own heart, who will lead [us] with knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:15).
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DINNER TABLE
Begin your mealtime by reading and meditating on Matthew 13:11-17.
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven
has been given to you, but not to them."
(v.11)
We've heard the old adage, "It's not what you know, it's who you know that counts". For Christians, our faith is all about Who we know. Our salvation comes from a person - Jesus Christ. Through His redemptive work on the cross we are able to experience an intimate and abiding relationship with the living God.
Modern technology has afforded us the opportunity to expand our social networks to reach people in distant countries who we don't even know. Building relationships (our relationship with the Lord being our primary relationship!) is an important part of our Christian journey, affording us opportunity to put our faith into action and lead others to the knowledge of the saving grace of Christ Jesus.
"We know that we all possess knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know
as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God."
(1 Corinthians 8:1-3)
The Scriptures explain, if we have "all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). Our desire to know the Lord more fully should not detract from exercising that love towards others. Jesus came in human flesh to express His love in a tangible personal way, showing the full extent of His love by shedding His blood on the cross for the salvation for mankind. "...who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4).
The Spirit of the Lord guides us "...in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Corinthians 2:14). May we, as diligent students of the Word of God, not just be hearers, but doers also, so that the knowledge we have been taught and entrusted with is used for the edifying and building up of believers, and for the evangelizing and saving of those who are lost in a world lacking true knowledge and understanding. "...lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel" (Proverbs 20:15).
"This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge
and depth of insight"
(Philippians 1:9).
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Heavenly Father, your creation is glorious, "day after day they pour forth speech,
night after night they declare knowledge." Your knowledge, Lord, is beyond
human understanding, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too
lofty for me to attain.." How blessed we are, though, when we seek after you, for you
are found by those who seek you. May it be our one desire is to know you more fully.
There is no greater investment than the time we spend in your word, for it is worth far more than gold and yields a far greater return. We praise you for the knowledge of your word
through your Holy Spirit. Help us to speak the truth of your word in love and
lead others to the knowledge of Christ. We praise your name that you made your
"light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Christ." Continue to fill us with the knowledge of your will
and give us courage to speak your word boldly and to live our lives for your glory.
We long for the day when "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God,
as the waters cover the sea." Use us as your vessels to pour your life-giving
water on this dry and thirsty world. We give you all the praise and glory and
honor. In Jesus Name. Amen.
(Psalm 19:2; 139:6; Proverbs 8:10; Habakkuk 2:14; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 13:2;
2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 4:15 ) | |
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