Time To Get It Back!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: ~ Psalm 23:2 KJV
Building on this past Wednesday’s invitation to pray and fast, I can’t possibly emphasize enough how important it is for all of us to unplug, get out of our routines, and just be still and listen. As I shared, God primed me on the eve of my retreat this past weekend with Matt. 4:1-11 just as Jesus was primed for battle in the Jordan {Matt. 3:16}. EXCEPT, rather than being primed to face Satan, I was being primed to meet the Father! So, let me try to unpack this for us all…
The three Matt. 4 temptations; stones into bread (flesh), pride (world), and power (devil) were defeated by Jesus’ unflinching obedience to the first commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind {Matt. 22:37}. Interestingly, God revealed two misunderstandings this past week. An amazing patriot and dear sister’s misunderstanding of fear of the LORD {Prov. 23:17}, and my own misunderstanding of Psalm 23:2 until this very week. Both misunderstandings lead us to experience a different Father than the One I have come to know. The sister’s misunderstanding was cleared up rather quickly with the help of a mutual friend. * My misunderstanding was cleared up with this past week’s revelation re: The most comprehensive, revealing, enriching, nourishing, and empowering Bible study in the entire Bible…Psalm 23!
If words matter, then nothing matters more than the Word of God: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. (KJV) He makes me to lie down in green pastures. (NKJV) He makes me lie down in green pastures. (NIV) He makes me lie down in green pastures. (ESV) He lets me lie down in green pastures. (NASB)
That last four versions/interpretations, along with the sister’s common misunderstanding of the use of the word fear presents our Heavenly Father in somewhat of a tyrannical and forceful light…when the exact opposite is true. Our Abba Father made us FOR the experience of lying down (comfort) in green pastures (bountiful). In other words, in spite of every evil, tragedy, and hardship this world can throw at us, He created us with the ability to live a good life. Amen? Doesn’t understanding this fact motivate us to love our Father with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind even more?
I said to a friend this week, if we Christians demonstrated our love for our husbands and wives the way we show our love for God, our marriages would surely be doomed. But how and why? This came to me just this morning: * Fear of the LORD ~ Imagine the fear a six-year-old child feels suddenly separated from his or her father in a crowded mall…The fear of being separated from our Father is primordial. Satan has managed to engineer and oversee that separation…effectively removing the foothold of fatherhood and replacing it with his own.
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. ~ Hebrews 5:8,10,12
Back to the most fruitful six verse Bible study in the entire Bible. Who did God maketh whom He loved enough to provide green pastures and still waters {Psalm 23:2}, restore his soul and teach him the higher path {Psalm 23:3}, strong enough to pass through the valley of the shadow of death {Psalm 23:4}, and worthy enough for a place at the table, His anointing {Psalm 23:5}, and a place in the house of the LORD with our Father for ever {Psalm 23:6}? A man both king and priest…after the order of Melchisedec!
Ye have need that one teach you again…to break the foothold of Satan and his dark triad of lust (psychopathy), pride (narcissism), and manipulation (Machiavellianism) with the light of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost).
Satan’s foothold is very strong on every cultural and institutional mountain. It’s going to take so much more than attending church, a weekly Bible study, and inspirational posts on Face Book to break it. Its one thing to talk about discerning, submitting, and aligning to the will of God. But words and faith without action in the face of Drag Queen Story Hours and Churches flying Pride flags is cowardly and meaningless. He maketh us to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not curl up in the fetal position in fear before it…and make no mistake, that is exactly where we are. Remember, He did not maketh us to be Godless paupers, He made us priestly kings to protect! And a father who allows that which he loves with all of his heart, all of his soul, and all of his mind to be mocked, isn’t a father at all, but a slave of the devil.
“You have never lived until you almost died, and for those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected shall never know.” ~ Guy De Maupassant
Beneficence Continuum (On Spiritual Warfare)
- Seek firstly to do no harm (if possible).
- Seek secondly to prevent evil or harm.
- Seek thirdly to remove evil or harm.
- Seek always to practice good.
“Despotism may govern without faith, but Liberty cannot.” ~ Alexis de Tocqueville…in our nation, we are the rulers, and we are called to be “the salt of the earth…the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14)…Bonhoeffer warned that blind obedience to the rule of men would always result in serving the devil.
Happy Father’s Day!! Next week we’ll look at an action plan to regain the foothold of Fatherhood! Amen?
Standupnsing 
Amen brother. “He makes me lie down in green pastures” has always conjured up an image of complete rest. We can’t rest if we’re fearful that the wolf is at the door. We rest when we know the Shepherd will do anything to protect His sheep including scourging and death. That’s our Lord. In the midst of threats, attacks and lockdowns we can truly rest knowing He’s aware of it all and is working it out for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Happy Father’s Day.
Thank you, pastor Chip. If there is one enemy I long to see destroyed, it is the Sony corporation. As a father of two boys who entered their teenage years at the cusp of the 21st. century, I was confronted with this Japanese devil who enslaved the minds of millions of young people all over the world. Our children in America were more exposed than others because we parents had the money to buy them those vile video games, like Warcraft, without knowing what they contained. The Sony corporation, as it turned out, had paid highly qualified psychologists to make these demonic games addictive…Yes, they made addicts out of millions of young Americans, and Ron Luce, a Texas pastor, wrote a book about it in his book: Battle Cry for a Generation.
Fighting this satanic addiction in my sons took all my spiritual and emotional energy and drained me over the years. With God’s help, I managed to draw my sons away from these games, but I have to admit that it was a close call…FATHERS today are fighting evil forces which their predecessors never had to contend with. Satan has used the internet to deceive and destroy. As a father, on Father’s Day, I therefore recommend to my Christian comrades that they read “Battle Cry for a Generation. Ron Luce does what any great Christian leader does: he reveals the wiles of the devil.
So my friends, God bless all, especially fathers. America must encourage men to be men, in Christ, and that means good fathers.
Eric M