Peace – Page 2 – Light from the Word

Do Not I Fill Heaven and Earth?

(Jer. 23:24b)

Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there; if I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be light about me, even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You (Ps. 139:7-12). In the beginning, God. In the beginning of creation, God was there creating all that was created. When He spoke, things were created. “Let it be” and existence took place. The world was created in order of things as God planned. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they enjoyed the presence of the Lord in the cool of the day, as He walked in the garden. However, when they sinned, they tried to hide from His presence, ashamed of what they had just done; The relationship was then broken, but God’s presence was ever in the world He created. No place to run from Him as the psalmist so expressed and asked the question, Where could I go from Your Spirit?

As humans, we can never comprehend the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere at the same time. When reading the verse in Jeremiah 23:24b, I came to understand better how it is that God is everywhere: “He fills heaven and earth.” His presence is everywhere we go, or cannot go. It is God Who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22).

The world, in midst of chaos because of sin, still enjoys peace and physical order, because the heavens and earth are filled with God’s presence. It is the presence of the Lord that maintains order in the universe. Sitting above the circle of the earth, nothing escapes Him. The Patriarch Job said, He is Who spreads out the northern skies over emptiness and hangs the earth upon or over nothing; He holds the waters bound in His clouds and the cloud is not rent under them; He covers the face of His throne and spreads over it His cloud; He has placed an enclosing limit [the horizon] upon the waters at the boundary between light and darkness; the pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at His rebuke; He stills or stirs up the sea by His power, and by His understanding, He smites proud Rahab; by His breath the heavens are garnished; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent; yet, these are but the outskirts of His ways or the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice! Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full magnificent power? (Job 26:7-14). These inspired words from the Holy Spirit to the Patriarch Job make us to realize how much do we lack in respect and the honor we due Him. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” What fear means here is reverence; it is to regard Him as holy and honor His holy name. To fear men instead of God, it constitutes an offense to Him; God spoke to Isaiah and said, The Lord of hosts-regard Him as holy and honor His holy name; and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread (Isaiah 8:13).

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You Rule the Raging of the Sea

King Hezekiah of Judah, a righteous king before God, suffered two raging of the sea storms. In II Kings chapters eighteen to twenty, is the story of how Jerusalem was about to be conquered by the king of Assyria, a very powerful king, who God had used in the past to bring destruction of nations. King Hezekiah found himself at his mercy, when he declared his purpose to him through a letter saying, Behold, you have heard what the Assyrian kings have done to all lands, destroying them utterly, and shall you be delivered?… Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. He went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed: O Lord, the God of Israel, Who is enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth; Lord, bow down You ear and hear; Lord, open You eyes and see; hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to mock, reproach, insult and defy the living God…Now therefore, O Lord, our God, I beseech You, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and understand that You, O Lord, are God alone (II Kings 19:14-16,19). This storm of tsunami proportion came to Hezekiah without any warning. Just imagine the devastation King Sennacherib would have caused to the city of Jerusalem, as it would have been in time of war! King Hezekiah’s heart sunk with fear, however, his faith in God led him to the path of deliverance, when he cried to Him. God heard him, and responded by causing chaos among his enemies; He said, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own country. While King Sennacherib was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword (II Kings 19:7, 37). Exactly as God told him. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? The Prophet Jeremiah asked the question (Jer. 10:7).

But King Hezekiah became deadly ill in those days. The Prophet Isaiah came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover (II Kings 20:1). After such great victory, King Hezekiah was facing with a challenge, the rage of the sea, once again. Still young, he pleaded with God for his life saying, I beseech You, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight. Hezekiah wept bitterly (II Kings 10:3). The word of the Lord came to Isaiah then saying, Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the Leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord; I will add to your life fifteen years and deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake. (II Kings 20:5-6). King Hezekiah was miraculously healed according to the words of the Lord God. These two times the raging sea arose against King Hezekiah, it did not accomplish its purpose, for the Lord God intervened through the prayers that went up to Him with sincere heart and in humbleness. Who is like our God? O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like unto You, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You; you rule the raging of the sea, when its waves arise, You still them. (Ps. 89:8-9).

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A Manger, a Crown of Thorns and a Cross

(Luke 2:7; Matt 27:29; John 19: 16-18)

But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah; [yet] of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2).

The Manger

Before his death, Jacob prophesied of the tribe of Judah: The scepter of leadership shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the obedience of the people (Gen. 49:10). This prophecy was fulfilled many years later in the birth of our Savior, YAHSHUA. In those days it occurred that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole Roman empire should be registered; all the people were going to be registered, each to his own town; Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David ( Luke 2:1-3). That happened close to the time for Mary’s delivery. And while they were there, the time came for her delivery, and she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7). Was YAHSHUA laid in a manger where all kinds of animals were feeding as tradition tells us? In Micah 4:8 the idea is refuted, for the prophet gives us the exact location where Messiah was to be born and the type of manger He would be laid on: And you, O Tower of the Flock, the hill and stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, unto you the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the Daughter of Jerusalem. Messiah was to be born at the “Tower of the Flock”. This was a watch tower used by the shepherds in ancient times for the protection of their flock from enemies and wild beasts. It was also the place where chosen ewes were brought to give birth to their young ones; after their babies were born, they were wrapped in swaddling clothes for their protection. These were special lambs, chosen for temple sacrifices. Only these lambs would be feeding in that place. It is without a doubt that God chose this place many years earlier for His Son to be born; a significant picture of what was to come in the person of His Son, the Lamb of God.

After His birth, the perfect Lamb of God was wrapped in swaddling clothes and was laid in a manger at the “Tower of the Flock.” John the Baptist declared: There is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).

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The Upstairs Room

It was close to YAHSHUA’S last Passover, when He sent two of His disciples to a definite place to prepare it for His last Passover Super with them. He said, to them, go into the city, and a man carrying an [earthen] jar or pitcher of water will meet you; follow him. And whatever [house] he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples? And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready; there prepare for us (Mark 14:13-15). He had come to the end of His earthly ministry and needed a time alone with those called apostles to warn and to teach them and to prepare them for the ministry He was leaving behind for them to continue. That was the time and place when YAHSHUA, alone with His disciples, ministered to them by washing their feet; the time when He constituted the new covenant of His blood; the time when He gave a new commandment- to love one another as He loved them; that was the time and the place where He uttered His priestly prayer for them and for us. There were many disciples who followed Him, but He chose only twelve to be His messengers. These were the ones He explained the meaning of the parables to, who experienced a deep relationship with Him as His friends, who experienced the mount of transfiguration, and who witnessed His anguish at the Gethsemane Garden in the crucial moment of His decision. The last words from YAHSHUA to His disciples were printed in their hearts to change yesterdays and today’s world. Peter’s life was changed from a coward to a courageous outspoken man for the sake of the message he was given to tell; The doubtful Thomas died as a martyr in India for obedience to go and preach to all the world the message of salvation. John died on the Patmos Island, after they tried to kill him by putting him a caldron with boiling water. All died as martyrs for their Messiah. Nothing would stop these disciples from taking a stand for their Master, after the upper room experience.

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I Call To Remembrance My Song in the Night

(Psalm 77:6-9)

Music is the most effective relaxing method available to the troubled soul, because it scares evil away from the mind and heart. One example of this is found in the life of King Saul. When the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented and troubled him, Saul’s servants said to him, Let our Lord now command your servants here before you to find a man who plays skillfully on the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play and you will be well. One of the young men said, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who plays skillfully, a valiant man, a man of war, prudent in speech and eloquent, an attractive person; and the Lord is with him. So, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep. and David came to Saul and served him. Saul became very fond of him and he became his armor-bearer; Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he pleases me. And when the evil spirit from Gpd was upon Saul, David took a lyre and played it; so, Saul was refreshed and became well, and the evil spirit left him (I Sam. 16:14,16,18-19,21-12).

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God Is Working Salvation in the Midst of the Earth

“Timely spoken words are like apples in the platter of gold!” Invisible, but certain, is the work God is performing to save us. Faith applied in these days, when confusion has taken its seat with loud noises, leading many astray, is the most necessary feeling for peace. The tangible things we embrace, hoping to bring relief to the mind of our troubled soul, is just transitory in its existence, they are just things; not able to bring the spiritual comfort and hope we long for. Our cries increase while turmoil continues day by day. We ask, “O God, why do You cast us off forever?” In a desperate cry, with sobs that reached the soul in our anguish for deliverance, we remain in the presence of our God. The invasion of demons has taken over the earth, engulfing many with fear and terror; no longer a comfortable world to live in. The end, perhaps. The end has come and we are not prepared to believe the truth. Longing for the old times, when there were peace and order, and respect for others; when fear laid low, when oxygen was what we breathed in and carbon dioxide was what we breathed out, when we laughed and sang and danced to the tune of the songs we liked; when children were desired and protected; when the food we ate was natural and GMO free. In these thoughts we remain solitary pondering the outcome of all things.

Like the Psalmist however, when his nation was going through difficulties, we must find a song in our darkest night in remembrance of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the past. He said, I will earnestly recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember the wonders of old; I will meditate also upon all His works and consider all His deeds (Ps. 77: 11). Therefore, the soul of men must rest in the fact that God is consistently faithful to His Words and will perform that which He promised. Valleys and deserts are places to connect with God in faith and hope, and not to connect to fear and despair. We will see “the light at the end of the tunnel” when our eyes will be directed to God’s promises and strength, even in face of a storm. As the psalmist says, Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth (Ps. 74:2). Many a night we will still face troubles that will make us scared and fearful; many days will come with trouble beyond our control; that will be our way of life until the consummation of all things takes place. However, there is a place of sure peace and security right now near to the heart of God, where we will remain emotionally stable and secure; where we will not be afraid of the terror of the night, not of the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday (Ps. 91).

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God’s Timing and Our Reasoning of Space in Time

Time is a space given us to live here on earth, until eternity takes over that space and time is no more: No clock, no days of week, no night. No more division between light and darkness (day and night). Time is a well-organized concept to accomplish what we need to do, so that life will be worthy living. It does not wait for us to get ready; it constant moves forwardly. Tomorrow never gets here, for when it comes, it is no more tomorrow, but is today. The things we must do in the today’s space of time, we’d better finish it, if we want to see results today. Sometimes, we get ahead of time in its purpose, not realizing the confusion and despair that will follow in circumstances we did not expect. So, it is that we, not knowing the future in its short or long term, battle to get ahead of time disregarding the results in our life and in the lives of others. Time then, becomes a blame game in the words, “There was no time or I did not have time.” Why, under the sun, don’t we consider the relationship between our space of time and God’s sovereignty over our time?

Time is registered in a calendar where we mark our future plans. It is also registered on clocks, on our watches, indicating when we should proceed with our plans. However, God’s timing for everything must be considered. Reasoning our space in time outside of His timing, is very wrong. Leaving Him outside of when the fulfillment of our plans should take place, is with certainty, a failed plan. Solomon said, The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the answer of the tongue (Prov. 16:10). Getting ahead of His timing to accomplish our plans when we want, and not when He wants, is foolish. The word WAIT is an important word in this scenario. What does it mean to you and to me? The twiddling of the thumb, which is the visible expression of what is going on inside of us, expressing frustration? It shouldn’t be so, for the word wait renders submission, it renders peacefulness of heart, in the stillness of the soul before God, as we wait for Him to perform His perfect plan in us and through us. In this fast computer age, fast airplanes, fast cars, fast everything, molding us to fast pace, it does us great harm in the spiritual side of life when it comes to waiting. Nevertheless, our space in time means to wait, we liking it or not! Life is waiting, waiting for time to come, waiting for the bus, waiting for food to cook, etc. etc. James puts God’s timing in perspective: He said, Co me now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet, you do not know about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are but a wisp of vapor that is visible for a little while and then disappears; you ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that (James 4:13-14).

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Iniquity, As Ice On God’s Love

Iniquity, the condition of men’s heart, runs deeply into generations from the beginning of time. Its roots reach far into generations, controlling men’s behavior and bringing them generational curses of diseases. Because men sinned, they are the recipient of its evil fruit. Iniquity is the inherited weakness in men’s DNA and in his soul. Therefore, Paul said, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, because all men sinned (Rom. 5:12). The transfer of sin from generation to generation constitutes the sin of iniquity. It is its power taking over our desire to do good. David said, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me (Ps. 139:5). Iniquity, is above all other definitions, the root of evil. It remains with a generation even to the third and fourth generation. (Ex. 34:7). Iniquity is willful sin; it is the hardness of the heart toward following what is right. The Prophet Micah gave this warning: Woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they perform and practice it because it is in their power (2:1).

Mankind under such condition, is hopeless, and seemly without a way out of it. That’s why man needs a Savior, a Redeemer to uproot this evil from all of us, for we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23); we are condemned to die spiritually when without our Savior YAHSHUA’S redemption. Paul said, For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am doing… O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from this body of death? O thank God! He will…(Rom 7:18-19,24).

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Set Your Minds and Keep Them Set On What Is Above

The direction in which the eyes take us is the place where we will end up. Sometimes in a ditch, when our eyes are focused on the phone or something else while driving, walking or running. As a result, death happens on many occasions when it happens while we are behind the steering wheel. It is a responsibility that weighs on each of us when we get in our vehicle. Our eyes, the light of the body, must be in tune with the brain to perform in the way that is safe. Distraction before disaster is a sure thing, as “pride is before one’s fall.” How many times do we utter this phrase, I wasn’t thinking when something happened that didn’t have to happen? The mind, the most precious body’s utility, is the master-in-chief of all decisions we make in life. In hearing bad news having a personal affect, it takes the mind hours and days processing the whys of circumstances, reasoning the facts which in many cases, were in part, results of our bad decisions. The whys flow in the gray cells without stop, robbing us of peace, all because we are setting our mind in a horizontal position, while the Bible tells us to set it vertically, for it is from above that help will come. Paul instructed us to do so, if in fact we have been raised with Messiah YAHSHUA, through our new birth in Christ. Why then should we lose our spiritual position when we are confronted with trials? Has our Lord forgotten us in our most needed time? Where are we spiritually positioned when all seem to fall apart, why can’t we remain with Him, and why is it so difficult to do so?

Reasonable questions must have answers to re-direct us to where we must be at all times. Psalm 91, well known to all seemingly Christians, gives us the foundation of the answers we are looking for. For us to benefit from the promises this psalm offers, we must be seated with YAHSHUA Who is sitting at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly sphere (Eph. 2:6). It is as the psalm states, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (vs. 1). From there, we can testify that the Lord is our refuge, our fortress, therefore in Him we will trust (vs. 2). Spiritually or physically, we will be affected one way or the other, depending where we find ourselves to be when facing our troubles. Be found in His shelter is the sure way to be the recipient of His protection from all harm, even in our own trials. If we are in Messiah for reason of the new birth, then we must fix our mind on Him not only in times of our struggles, but at all times. That’s the only way our faith will not falter. Paul told Timothy, constantly keep in mind YAHSHUA Messiah. When we experienced the new birth, we died for the world, and our life is [now] hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3) (paraphrased). To be hidden in Christ, it is to dwell in the secret place of the Almighty (Ps. 91).

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I Want to See Jesus

Life in its entirety is empty without the desire to know its Author. When the Creator walked this earth, many rejected Him, although His life was a beam of light, comfort and healing for all who met Him. From blindness to the lifeless unto life, YAHSHUA stood tall and confirmed Who He was. The masses followed Him and few had to struggle to see Him, as Zacchaeus for being short in stature, as the woman with the blood flux, could only touch Him to receive her healing. Without the help of the media, the world in those days depended very much on word of mouth. YAHSHUA was so sought for, that sometimes, He had not even the time to eat. The Samaritans asked Him to remain with them a while, after His encounter with a Samaritan woman at the well. Two days He remained with them at their request, for the harvest was truly ripe. People upon hearing about Him, came from far places to see Him. The Greeks in particular, who went up to worship at the Feast; they came to Philip, and made the request, Sir, we desire to see YAHSHUA. Philip together with Andrew told YAHSHUA (John 12:21-22). It is not registered if they had a chance to see Him or not, but the fact remains that their desire was to see YAHSHUA, even though, their theology was polytheistic; they assumed that there were many gods and goddesses. The Apostle Paul when in Athens, was grieved in spirit when he saw that the city was full of idols; Acknowledging their theological obsession, he addressed them by saying, Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, to an unknown God. What therefore you worship in ignorance this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things (Acts 27:16, 22-25). It was that God, the only true God that the Greeks desired to see. It was the “Unknown God” Whom they wanted to see and know.

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