I was watching some people playing the game “Boggle” where you shake up cubes with letters and then try to make words out of the adjacent letters. The people playing weren’t believers. When they finished coming up with their words, I said to them, “There’s one word everyone missed.” “What word,” they asked? “Jesus – Look it’s right there.” And of course, it was. Then I added, “Isn’t it something how you can miss something even though it’s right in front of your eyes?” They didn’t appreciate my comment. But it’s true – and not just for unbelievers, but even for believers. Even Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize Messiah, though he was right in front of her eyes. There are times in your walk when you won’t see, feel, or sense God’s presence, or His love.rnBut no matter what you see or feel… He’s there, right beside you. He always keeps His word and He promised He would never leave you. Orthodox Jews live by the Laws of Moses as interpreted by their rabbis. Virtually everything in their life is governed by law or one tradition or another. Think of how zealous they are, how careful, how vigilant they are in following what they know of God. How does that compare with most believers? Do most believers you know, know how to treat the Word of God as seriously, or as reverently as the Orthodox treat their laws and traditions? Chances are they don’t. Chances are you may not either. And yet Messiah told us that between the two – the righteousness of the Pharisees, and the righteousness of His disciples, it is to be the righteousness of the disciples under the New Covenant, which is greater. You in the New Covenant are to be more devoted, zealous, loving, pure, self-disciplined, giving, studious, reverent, and more holy than they. If that is not the case, start making it so today. For the New, Covenant is not lower but higher than the Old. Thus the disciples of Messiah are to be more holy and vigilant than the Orthodox.
From Message #1326 - The Fire and the Sword
Today, no matter what you see or feel, live by faith, strengthen what you know is true – the reality, the power, and the goodness of God.
