Promise 75 from Exodus 31:15

Ex. 31:15 - "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death." - This verse does seem a bit extreme, but in its extremity it reveals God's passion about the importance of it. Most western folk really struggle with rest. we need to hear this command over and over again and to fully understand God's intention. We will most likely not drop down dead right on the spot if we work on the Sabbath, it hasn't happened to me yet, however there is a figurative death that does take place when the Sabbath rest doesn't. There is a death of oneness with the Lord. As was written previously, the Sabbath day was consecrated as a holy day, so it was a day set apart specifically for God. When we busy ourselves constantly, we don't stop our minds and hearts at that place of rest. The place of rest is an interactive time with God where He moulds Himself into us and we in Him, the more we remove ourselves from that place or allow ourselves not to go there, there is death in that takes place; The promises God has for us, His words of encouragement, the acts of His miraculous touch and power on us are all memories that begin to die off and we begin to get self-reflective and problem focused. We loose sight of who He is to us and who we are to Him. The enemy takes advantage of our lack of focus on the Lord and uses those times for his purposes. Sometimes spiritual gains seem to die away as we get sucked into past thoughts, temptations and actions. This is the death that takes place. Thankfully, by God's love and mercy, He resurrects the dead when we come into that restful, abiding place with Him and stay in obedience to what He is passionate about.

Promise 74 from Exodus 31:13

Ex. 31:13 - "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you." - God is explaining to Moses the crucial reason why it is important for His people to observe the Sabbath. He is saying, "when you make a conscious effort to observe the Sabbath, you will find during that time, every time, the sign that I leave you, or the stamp of your identity in Me. You will be reminded once again that I am the One who has chosen you and set you apart for Me!" To observe the Sabbath is to step into a personal sanctuary with your Heavenly Father so that He can remind you how much He loves you and He can reveal your role in His kingdom plans. It's like going on an all day one on one fishing trip out on a remote lake or stream removed from civilisation, it's just you and Him, imagine it! Chatting together, fishing together, Him giving some tips on best bait to use for which fish, and there is that sweet time of quietness just being there side by side in comfortable oneness enjoying His presence. The Sabbath day is not a choice but is an expectation that God has for us, that we would love Him enough to want to set everything else aside just for a day with Him.

Healing of stomach and head

Yesterday a young man who works in our ministry center was showing me the medicine the doctor suggested he take for his stomach, for which he has had problems with for years. After assuring him that the medicine was a good one, I suggested that the Lord's healing would be even better, so myself and a colleague prayed for him, taking authority over the pain. When I asked him if he felt anything different during prayer, he said the pain intensified. I sensed at that moment that it was a spirit of infliction, so we prayed again claiming him as God's child and Christ in him allows know authority for anything else to reside in him. When asked again if he felt anything, he said, "It was really interesting, it felt as though a bubble started blowing up inside of me, then it went away and all the pain is gone." Praise the Lord!

Also a while later, I went with a dear Kosovar believer friend to visit and pray for his sister who was diagnosed with a life threatening condition. When we arrived, she was lying down and could barely keep her eyes open, she was alert enough to agree for us to pray. So I prayed for her. Afterward she said she had pain in her head, so she allowed us to pray again. After the prayer, I left the two to be alone together. My friend asked her if she felt anything different during the prayer, she said the pain had shifted to one side. He asked if he could pray for her again, she agreed. After the prayer, she said the pain was all gone. A few days earlier, during the night she heard a voice telling her that she needed to call her brother so he could pray for her because there was healing power in his prayers. This lady follows a different faith, she has never in her life asked her brother to come to visit her by himself. It was evident that the Holy Spirit was working in her heart. After he had prayed for her she was greatly encouraged and she was much more alert, alert enough for them to converse and for her to express her appreciation and to recognise the saving work of Jesus over her life. God is sooo incredibly good!

Promise 73 from Exodus 31:2-3

Ex. 31:2-3 - "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship." - I just love this! God begins by saying "SEE? Take note, I really want you to get this, 'I have called Bezalel by name!'" The holy God Almighty, creator of heavens and earth, called this man by name. He wants us to get this because He wants us to know that He calls us by name too. He purposely picks us out from among all of the people and creation in the heavens and earth and says, "I'm going to fill you up with My spirit. You will have wisdom and understanding and knowledge and you will be able to do many creative things." We never have to worry about whether or not we can do what God asks us to. The promise is right here, plain as day, He gives us all we need to do what He asks us to do. Thank you Lord!

Promise 72 from Exodus 30:10

Ex. 30:10 - "Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord!" - I love it when God very plainly expresses what is meaningful to Him. The atonement of man to God is a precious and holy act. When we were created, we were created in the image of God. God was reflected in us and us in God. Sin separated us and broke the oneness with Him. Atonement brings us back, at-one, with God once again. It erases all that which separated us from being one with God. I am not saying that when we are one with God that we are God, not at all, what I am saying is that the oneness recaptures the like image with God that God intended us to have at creation. Jesus made atonement possible. So the promise is, that God the Father delights in being one with us as we accept God the Son, Jesus' sacrifice for our atonement on the cross. We can look like our Daddy once again!

Promise 71 from Exodus 29:45-46

Ex. 29:45-46 -

I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God." - I never get tired of hearing this promise from God. He will dwell among His people. Jn. 15:4 says, "Abide in Me and I in you." God can choose to be anywhere He wants but He chooses to be in you and in me. That is such an incredible thought. No one knows us better than those who live with us, (if we allow them). God knew us better than anyone and loves us anyway. He still chooses to stay with us and have that intimate relationship with us. What a great God.

Promise 70 from Exodus 29:41

Exodus 29:41 - "The other lamb you shall offer at twilight and shall offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generation at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory." - During the consecration of priests God was very specific about what gets burnt up outside of the camp and what gets burnt up at the doorway of meeting as a soothing offering to the Lord. Now we don't hold the same traditions as the Jewish people; At the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, He became the blood sacrifice once and for all generations, so we do not have to burn lambs, rams or bulls on an alter, but we are not separate from a symbolic meaning that can be drawn from this passage. I look at my heart as the alter where I offer that which costs me nothing before Him. Just as we become fiery passionate for things of this world like our team winning the world series or world cup, or us winning the lottery, those fires can continue outside the camp if you will. God equally expects us to come to Him (at the doorway) with fire in our hearts for things of the Kingdom, for those things that excite His heart. We should come to the alter with a burning passion for more of Him, to know Him more and to love Him more. When we go to our personal place of meeting with Him, with that fire in our hearts, He promises to meet us there. He promises to speak to us and He also says that He will consecrate that place with His glory. His whole presence will surround us within the glow of our fiery hearts, in that moment of meeting.