The Father.4

"I and my Father are one.

Everything that the Father has is mine.

I have come from the Father to this world;

I will leave this world again, and return to my Father."

--Jesus

ONENESS

Every human being has been given a special birthright, the highest calling that anyone can achieve: sharing "Oneness" with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! But what does Oneness with our Creator mean for you and me? How can the invitation to Eternal Life impact our life on earth here and now?

Consider these life experiences rooted in the Character and Will of God, things that we long for and occasionally stumble across or with great effort find along the pathway of life, although imperfectly and inconsistently, yet ever drawing us closer to the Heart of the Creator:

Perfecting Love

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. There is no fear in love but Perfect Love casts out fear." 1 John 4:12, 18

"There is nothing eternal but that which loves and can be loved, and love is ever climbing towards the consummation when such shall be the universe, imperishable, divine.Therefore all that is not beautiful in the beloved, all that comes between and is not of love's kind, must be destroyed.

And our God is a consuming fire."

MacDonald, Consuming Fire

Ponder the progression of love's development in each individual:

• We begin our journey conceived in love. 
• At birth we look up into the eyes of love. 
• As self consciousness develops so our struggle to love the "fearfulness and wonder" of our making.
• As our "neighborhood" expands from sharing with siblings to finding friendships in the wider community so love grows to bless and be blessed. 
• The progression reaches its greatest height, depth, length and breadth (as well as most contrary to nature) when, in conscious obedience to the love of the Father & Son, with grace by the Spirit, we pray for, love, forgive and bless our enemies.

True Worth

Think about this common issue and source of great consternation for physicians: "Why would someone buy prescription medication for his dog, and then so carefully administer it, when he would not do the same for himself? ...you have the answer, derived from one of the foundational texts of mankind [Genesis 1-3]. Why should anyone take care of anything as naked, ugly, ashamed, frightened worthless, cowardly, resentful, defensive and accusatory as a descendant of Adam?"

Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules For Life

God (in an imperfect understanding of the idea) perfectly likes Himself, does not carry the "appalling burden of self-loathing, resentment or hatred of Being under which most humans genuinely stagger." We carry in our Being the image of God, and with it the idea of Divine Goodness and Worth. To have the value of our God-born worth restored is heaven indeed!

The classic Christmas carol, O Holy Night, originally penned in 1843, describes the wonder of worth restored:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Purified Potential

Where and when did this "appalling burden of self-loathing, resentment or hatred of Being under which most humans genuinely stagger" originate?

Eating the forbidden fruit awakened in Adam and Eve consciousness, first of all their nakedness, i.e, vulnerability, inadequacy, weakness, of being unprotected and unarmed in a hostile world. Secondly, they became aware of Good and Evil, the development of morality. "Self-consciousness wrought an awareness of humanity's defenselessness, finitude and mortality. We can feel pain, and self-disgust, and shame, and horror, and we know it. We know what makes us suffer. We know how dread and pain can be inflicted on us--and with that means we know exactly how to inflict it on others. Only man will inflict suffering for the sake of suffering...the best definition of evil we can formulate."

"The original Man and Woman, existing in unbroken unity with their Creator, did not appear conscious (and certainly not self-conscious). Their eyes were not open. But, in their perfection, they were also less, not more, than their post-Fall counterparts. Their goodness was something bestowed, rather than deserved or earned. They exercised no choice. God knows, that’s easier. But maybe it’s not better than, for example, goodness genuinely earned."

(Jordan Peterson, Ibid.)

The snake of chaos introduced into the order of the garden

may have been the Eternal way of saying that choice matters. Could it be that God knew that the nature of man would never reach its potential without challenge and danger? Would He prefer "permanent human infantilism and absolute uselessness" resulting from protecting them from every danger and challenge required to produce competence and strength? Obviously not.

"It is a joy profound as peace to know that God is determined...to have his children clean, clear, pure as very snow; is determined that not only they with his help make up for whatever wrong they have done, but at length be incapable, by eternal choice of good, under any temptation, of doing the thing that is not divine, the thing God would not do."

George MacDonald, The Last Farthing

Righteous Wrappings

In a cosmos that is defined by chaos and order, the development of mankind from sleeping consciousness to God-like potential for Creative Good is learned by aiming for the greatest possible good for both ourselves and our "neighbors". Each step worked out in understanding and doing the Will of God just as Jesus did accepting limitations on our Being, suffering temptation and hardship, betrayal by friend and family, standing against tyranny and overcoming death in sacrificial service to others is the "overcoming" Jesus promises to reward us with Hope fulfilled!

"To the one who conquers, overcomes, prevails, gets the victory," says the Watcher, Judge, Redeemer, Rewarder, "I will

• give to eat of the tree of life, 
• ensure he shall not be hurt of the second death, 
• give to eat of the hidden manna, 
• give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it 
• give power over the nations, 
• give him the morning star, 
• clothe in white raiment, 
• not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels 
• make a pillar in the temple of my God,
• write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, I will write upon him my new name, 
• grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

Revelation 2-3

Encouragement to Thrive

Would God rather have sons or slaves? Is it better or worse to have both partners in a relationship strong? With a "spark of the Divine" in us are we not "low-resolution" versions of God able to bring order out of chaos by speaking Truth into action? Rather than being "tortured by our limitation and constraints of Being" we are capable of using the time, talent and treasures entrusted to us to meet Physical needs such as water, heat, electricity, housing, clothing, transportation and health-care; Emotional and Mental needs such as nurturing and education; Spiritual needs such as proclaiming the Truth of the gospel and teaching to lead godly lives in obedience to the Words of Jesus!

Fearless Fellowship

A man named Tom Wilson recently died after a two year battle with stomach cancer. But he'd spent a lifetime battling the Lord of Life with a false confidence in his own idea of goodness, strength and self-reliance. As his once

capable body wasted away, the dawning of his need for a savior broke through! The realization that things he'd done to betray his faithful wife, that he'd fallen miserably short in even his own conscience, that he had nothing to offer a God who required perfection was at once overwhelming. He wept. And then the love of God in Christ Jesus brought Peace that Passes Understanding as he prayed, "Jesus, all that I know about me I give to all that I know about you!"

The transformation from a man who's spiritual nakedness was exposed and wanted to hide from God to firebrand for God was evident when his closest childhood friend, Dan (a faithful follower of Jesus), stopped by to make sure Tom was spiritually prepared to die. He was greeted by Tom with this warning: "Dan have you been saved? I just want to make sure we are both going to be in the same place friend!" It was Dan's turn to be overwhelmed...with joy!

"He hath shewed thee, O man,

what is good;

and what doth the LORD require of thee,

but to do justly,

and to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Micah 6:8

Oneness with God. Don't leave home without it! It will change your life. When your life is changed then there is hope for the world!

The Father.3

"The One who has sent me is present with me now.

There is no separation between us, for I always do what pleases him.

In fact, in seeing me you have seen the Father.

Why then do you keep saying, "Reveal God to us?"


Do you not believe that I am one, and equal with my Father?"

--Jesus

Were you aware that "seeing" is not as easy as just pointing your eyes?

Professor of Clinical Psychology, Dr. Jordan Petersen explains how our physical ability to "see" is limited by a number of factors, including our willingness to see things as they truly are:

"...vision is expensive—psych​ophysi​ologi​cally expensive; neurologically expensive. Very little of your retina is high-resolution fovea—the very central, high-resolution part of the eye, used to do such things as identify faces. Each of the scarce foveal cells needs the first part of the multi-stage processing of seeing. Then each of those 10,000 requires 10,000 more just to get to stage two. If all your retina was fovea you would require the skull of a B-movie alien to house your brain. In consequence, we triage, when we see. Most of our vision is peripheral, and low resolution. We save the fovea for things of importance. We point our high-resolution capacities at the few specific things we are aiming at. And we let everything else—which is almost everything—fade, unnoticed, into the background. If something you’re not attending to pops its ugly head up in a manner that directly interferes with your narrowly focused current activity, you will see it. Otherwise, it’s just not there.

"Seeing is very difficult, so you must choose what to see, and let the rest go...people are blinded by their desires (as well as merely incapable of seeing things as they truly are). ... Your eyes are tools. They are there to help you get what you want. The price you pay for that utility, that specific, focused direction, is blindness to everything else. This doesn’t matter so much when things are going well, and we are getting what we want (although it can be a problem, even then, because getting what we currently want can make us blind to higher callings). But all that ignored world presents a truly terrible problem when we’re in crisis, and nothing whatsoever is turning out the way we want it to. Then, there can be far too much to deal with." (12 Rules For Life, Dr. Jordan Petersen)

A post circulating on the internet illustrates the degree of willful blindness people exercise in spiritual matters:

"In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.
The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:
'Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.
A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24.
The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence. 

(for brevity's sake I skip other Old Testament verses he cites and jump to the author's conclusion)  

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.Your adoring fan.James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia(It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)'"

Funny stuff, eh?

Good-natured teasing is certainly different than willful blindness, don't you agree? 

The same internet used to promote this professor's comical views of ancient Hebrew wisdom, which represent the Creator's earnest and ongoing attempt to civilize the human race, has wonderful commentary available about the historical context and value-added effects these laws had on civilization.

But academics and influencers scoffing at God's revelation of His redemptive reach is certainly not a new thing! Just ask Jesus who endured the same hostility from people who purported to understand the mind of God but failed to see and embrace His heart! Or, for that matter, ask anyone who has committed themselves to seeing the highest possible good in God's Creative Continuum! 

And their scoffing is, historically speaking, not good-natured, but rather malicious and pernicious! If the (willingly) blind lead the (ignorant) blind the result is always the same...cliff falling! Sadly, a lot of people get led off steep cliffs by the bemused blinded.

Dr. Petersen reminds us: 

"What you aim at 

determines what you see."

So let us follow this sage advice from a faithful follower of Jesus:

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:2,3

The Father.2

"No one knows who the Son of God is, except the Father in heaven; 

and no one can know who the Father is, except the Son; 
and those to whom the Son will reveal him. 

Until now you have not known him as I do; but I have come, sent from him to you." 

-Jesus

A Duty To Know

There is a nearly perfect icebreaker for small group discussions called "The Quaker Questions" that really help people get to know one another. The questions go like this:

1. Between the ages of 7-12 where did you live and how many siblings do you have?
2. During that same time period, what transportation did your family use?
3. Who were you personally closest to during that time period?
4. At what point in your life did God become more than a name for you?

The answer to the last question reveals the many ways God makes Himself known to people. Whether its a magnificent mountain view, an inspirational speaker, a brush with death, a terror in the night, an enlightened moment when the Word of God came alive, the vast majority have some point in life when an event happened that the only way to account for it was in seeing some aspect of God made real.

Jesus reproached people, especially those who considered themselves spiritual guides, for not perceiving the character and calling of God revealed in the Son of God.

Do people have, in fact, a duty to see God in Jesus? Could we see Him were He to visit this planet in physical form today? Would we be such that He would care to reveal himself? Who are those He would and could reveal Himself to?

Now, as then, it would of course be the childlike in heart, the truest, the least selfish. 

It would not be:

• the highest in the estimation of man or church
• those intent on knowing Jesus' history rather than knowing Jesus' heart 
• neither necessarily denominational or non-denominational churchman
• no one with so little of the mind of Christ as to imagine Him caring about stupid outside matters
• not the man who holds fast to his 'plans of salvation', systematic theology, or legalistic rules of righteousness
• not the one who refuses the leading of God's Spirit to take him to unfamiliar places
• those barren of soul who cannot receive the meaning and will of the Master because they will not do what the Master tells them

But it would be:

• those who are most like the Master in helping, healing and saving
• that do the Will of the Father
• that build their house on the Rock by daily putting His words into practice

The question today as then: "Are there enough like Him to know Him at once by the sound of His voice, by the look of His face?"

There are multitudes who would at once be taken by a false Christ fashioned after their fancy, and would at once reject the Lord as a poor impostor. One thing is certain: they who first recognized Him would be those that most loved righteousness and hated iniquity!

Let us be those people!

(adapted from The Knowing Of The Son, Unspoken Sermons III, George MacDonald)

The Father.1

"What do you think of Jesus Christ? Whose Son is he?"

--Jesus

I recently did what every modern American is relentlessly badgered to do: find out whether 15 minutes could save me 15% on car insurance!

Lo and behold I actually saved over 50%! And my new auto insurance provider said I could save EVEN MORE!!! All I need to do is put a little "tracking device" in my car so they can "monitor" my driving habits for 90 days! They assured me they would only be watching four items: braking, acceleration, miles driven and night time driving. Not where I stop for lunch, who I flip off in the lane next to me, or how I react when I spill coffee on myself!  


The device is now discretely attached inside my car.  The smiley faces on my phone app tell me I'm doing a good job and proudly shows me trip by trip the wonderful savings I'm going to enjoy when this exercise is over. (Don't tell my wife but I'm already thinking about the fun things I'm going to do with all this extra money!)

It occurred to me after listening to a recent podcast featuring host Ben Shapiro and his guest Scott Adams, author of the comic strip Dilbert, that even though, presumably, a human being set up the computer algorithm to track my driving habits, no human will ever see this data unless requested. The reality is that a machine is going to assess my driver skills and bequeath the savings I've "earned".

The reason I referenced the Shapiro podcast is that the day's conversation centered on modern politics and specifically the communication skills of the current president.  Adams made a rather chilling prediction: (paraphrased) whenever Donald Trump's presidential term comes to an end, it will be the last of free elections.  Just as computer algorithms dramatically influence the public's buying decisions (like saving more money on car insurance by allowing yourself to be monitored by a machine), so they will dramatically influence political candidate choices."

The question philosophers are aggressively grappling with in today's internet connected world is: do people really have "free will?"  It is an age old question but the information age has added a whole new layer of complexity to the debate.

Why? Because our perception of what we think we do is usually woefully skewed from the reality of what we actually do. That is not new, but how we spend our life's resources -time, talent and treasures- has a brand new way of being measured! For example, in the past if you really wanted an accurate understanding of how you spend your money you could tally your purchases from your checkbook/bank/credit card statement over the past six months!  (NO WAY I spent that much money on Starbucks!)

But in today's world all that activity is being recorded on The Web! When called into question on some or other activity, such as browsing Facebook while on the timeclock at work, we would vehemently dispute how much time we actually take vs what we perceive (especially if we were being docked pay!)  But Facebook knows and Google knows.  And people who engineer our growing addiction to all things technological know.  

Now we are discovering that they are not only engineering our buying habits but our social values. Organizations like Dennis Prager's PragerU are suing YouTube for pulling conservative commentary. Twitter has admitted to "shadow banning" certain speech. Facebook is working overtime to make censoring "hate speech" a moral imperative.

Something else that is not new: man's desire to be the savior of other people!

I think a better question regarding free will, then, is this: "Do individuals really know themselves?" For as the prophet Jeremiah laments: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" True freedom is acknowledging that we really don't know ourselves and truly need a Savior.  Just not the man-made kind!

So the question Jesus posed to his disciples millennia ago is ever more relevant today: 
"What do you think of Jesus Christ?"
By walking with Him, trusting in Him and obeying His word we can truly know and save ourselves from engineered manipulation of both the well intentioned and nefarious.

Food For The Soul.6

"Are you thirsting spiritually? Come to me and drink; for they that believe in me, as it has been written, "Out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water.""

--Jesus

The farm where I now am employed raises grass fed cows and organic crops. There is much "ritual" in securing the certification of Organic Farm, including filing vast amounts of paperwork and yearly inspections to prove the farm has followed the regulations defining "organic" to the letter.

Beyond making the decision to eat food that is chemical free (and more expensive), the average consumer knows little of the extra effort it takes to produce food labeled "organic".

But the average American is highly insulated from the many issues involved in raising food for human consumption. For example, there is not a day on the farm where weather is not a factor in effecting the timing of pasture management, planting, tilling or harvesting crops. This blissful ignorance has its casualties on a culture. One Arizona farmer commenting on the effects of a recent drought in the southwest United States wondered, with tear filled eyes, if Americans pray much anymore.

Droughts come in a variety of forms. Man-made economic droughts that produce starvation on a horrific scale, such as the people of Yemeni are experiencing now in their conflict with Saudi Arabia, or Venezuala's courtship with communism, are examples of droughts of principled compassion.

Another form of drought is, of course, lack of or too much rain. One thing I've learned on the farm is that soil condition has much to do with the land's capacity to use the moisture it receives. Fields must be managed to hold or drain the water they receive.

However, spiritual drought may in fact be the worst kind of all! That is, when people abandon our essential relationship with, and dependence on, God's providence.

Rain is a symbol of God's grace and without it every calamity which usually follows from want of rain, namely, scarcity of provisions, famine, and pestilence. Rain is also the symbol of God's favor "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3.

That the Lord will come; it has been the faith of all the saints, the Lord comes to fulfill every word that has spoken in its season.

To help humans overcome their tendency toward ungratefulness, indifference and arrogant self-reliance, God instituted a variety of Old Testament festivals for the Jewish people to celebrate. Bible teacher Ray Vander Laan describes these festivals and how, unbeknownst to the participants, they were actually preparing for God's coming in Jesus to earth!

Jewish Feasts

In the Old Testament, God instituted a religious calendar for the Israelites to follow. Within each year, there were seven specified feasts (Lev. 23), four in the spring and three each fall. Through these feasts, the Jewish people celebrated their history, their faith, and the blessings of God. Through Jesus' life, the hope of each feast was fulfilled in a dramatic way.

Passover

Why

To remember God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, when God passed over Israelite children and killed the firstborn of every Egyptian family.

When

In the spring, on the 14th day of the 1st month

What Happened

Most Jews traveled to Jerusalem for celebration of Passover. Each family brought a spotless lamb to the Temple for sacrifice. These lambs reminded the Israelites of the lamb that was eaten on the night they were delivered from Egypt. The lamb also reminded Israelites of the blood price that must be paid for their sin.

Connection to Jesus

Luke 2 records the story of Jesus and his family traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Jesus slaughtered the family's lamb, an action that meant he was recognized as a responsible member of the spiritual community. Later, Jesus died on the cross at the exact moment of the Passover sacrifice. Like the Passover lamb, none of his bones were broken, and his blood made the final atonement for the sins of the world.

Unleavened Bread

Why

To remember the escape from Egypt and God's provision of bread from the earth

When

In the spring, on the 15th day of the 1st month >
What Happened

The feast began by offering the first sheaf of grain to God through a special ceremony in the Temple sanctuary (Lev. 23:10-11). Another aspect of this feast involved the baking of unleavened bread, called matzo. God commanded that the Israelites eat only unleavened bread for seven days after Passover as a reminder of their sudden deliverance from Egypt, when their bread literally had no time to rise.

Connection to Jesus

Jesus burial coincided with the offering of the first grain. During his ministry Jesus described himself as "the bread of life. In God's faithfulness, he provided the true "Bread of Life" from the earth by raising Jesus' body from the grave.

First Fruits

Why

To celebrate God's gift of harvest

When

In the spring, 15th day of 1st month

What Happened

Israelites sacrificed the first part of their harvest, flocks, and earned money in recognition that God was the giver of every good thing. The people also acknowledged God's ownership of the land by bringing seven fruits to the Temple. One of these fruits included the pomegranate, a crop easily destroyed by foul weather. By giving these first fruits to God, the Israelites expressed their dependence on him and their trust that he would provide the rest of the harvest.

Connection to Jesus

The Feast of First Fruits coincided with Jesus' resurrection. When Jesus' followers returned to the tomb on the morning of the celebration, it was open and empty. Jesus became the first fruits of those raised from the dead

Shavuot - The Feast of Weeks

Why

Thanksgiving for the end of harvest and the anniversary of receiving the Law

When

50 days after Passover

What Happened

Joyful crowds gathered on the Southern Stairs, brought their offerings of wheat to the Temple, and celebrated the good harvest God had given. In Jewish tradition, true thankfulness to God was best shown by giving to others. So when the grain was harvested, the corners of the field were left standing to be gleaned by the poor. The people also celebrated the giving of the Law. This ritual paralleled Israel's history, which began with deliverance from Egypt on Passover and concluded when they received the Law.

Connection to Jesus

Shavuot coincides with Pentecost. Some scholars believe that the arrival of the Holy Spirit may have taken place on the Temple's Southern Stairs where the pilgrims gathered. Luke 24:53 states that the disciples remained in the Temple every day after Jesus' ascension to praise God. Peter was enabled to speak many languages, which would have made the gospel understandable to the people of varying backgrounds who traveled to Jerusalem for Shavuot

Rosh Hashana

Why

To prepare for God's judgment

When

In the fall, on the 1st day of the 7th month

What Happened

Rosh Hashana celebrated the beginning of a new religious year. The people celebrated by attending religious services and considering God's sovereignty and his future day of judgment. The shofar was blown-a sound that reminded Jewish people of their ancient past, God's great power, and their call for faithfulness in his coming judgment.

Connection to Jesus

Jesus, in keeping with this tradition, described a coming judgment that will be announced by the blowing of the shofar (Matt. 24:31).

Yom Kippur

Why

A day for the nation to seek forgiveness. God passed judgment of the people onto a scapegoat

When

In the fall, 10th day of the 7th month

What Happened

In preparation for Yom Kippur, the people fasted as a form of self-denial, repentance, and confession of sin before God. On the feast day, a priest entered the Most Holy Place and God appeared in a cloud over the ark of the covenant. Blood from sacrificed animals was sprinkled on the Most Holy Place and the altar to atone for the sins of priests. The high priest then placed his hands on the head of a scapegoat, symbolically transferring the sins of the people onto the goat. Subsequently, the scapegoat was taken out into the wilderness to die, symbolizing that God had forgiven the people's sins.

Connection to Jesus

The New Testament describes how the Day of Atonement applies to the death of Jesus: Jesus' blood, instead of the blood of the goat, now symbolizes atonement (Heb. 9:11-14). The death of Jesus fulfilled the ancient role of the scapegoat; through Jesus' death, sins are truly forgiven.

Sukkoth - Feast of Tabernacles

Why

To remember when the Jewish people lived in the wilderness before entering Canaan.

When

In the fall, on the 15th day of the 7th month.

What Happened

God commanded that booths be constructed to remind the Israelites of their history of wilderness living. The Israelites ate their meals and prayed in these booths for seven days as a reminder of God's protective care. Succoth took place at the end of the dry season and was coupled with a water ceremony and fervent prayer for next year's rains. Solomon dedicated the Temple during Sukkoth as a fitting picture of God coming to live among his people.

Connection to Jesus

In the context of Succoth, Jesus dramatically presented his message. On the "last and greatest day of the Feast," in the midst of the water ceremony and prayers for God to send water, Jesus proclaimed, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37-38). Some scholars also believe Jesus was born around Sukkoth, which would be a fitting picture of Jesus "tabernacling" among his people.

Jews For Jesus offers more detail on how Jesus used this particular festival to call all men to himself.

Jesus used water, another main element of Sukkot, to show that he was the fulfillment of the feast.

In Jesus’ day, special observances and traditions were developed to mark the seventh day of Sukkot, known as Hoshana Rabba, the Great Day.” The most notable of these was the Simchat Beit Hashoevah, or water-drawing ceremony, which went as follows:

Imagine a whole parade of worshipers and flutists led by the Temple priest to the pool of Siloam. The priest had two golden pitchers, one of which was for wine. He filled the other with water from the pool. As the musicians played, a choir of Levites chanted Psalm 118: “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them. I shall give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.” (v. 19-21) Psalm 118 is a prophetic psalm, which contains the words: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This was the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (v. 22,23)

After the Scriptures were chanted, the whole procession headed back to the Temple and a silver trumpet sounded three times. The priest approached the altar, where two beautiful golden basins were waiting. He poured wine into one basin as a drink offering to the Lord. And he poured water from the pool of Siloam into the other. The whole ceremony, with the parade and the flutes and the singing was so wonderful that one ancient rabbi wrote: “Anyone who has not seen this water ceremony has never seen rejoicing in his life.”

The ceremony was to thank God for his bounty, and to ask him to provide rain for the crops in the coming year. It is said that this ceremony developed from a reading of Isaiah 12:3-4, which says of a future time:

Therefore you will joyously draw water

From the springs of salvation.

And in that day you will say,

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name.

Make known His deeds among the peoples;

Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

So on the last day, that great day of the feast, it is recorded that Jesus stood up and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water'” (John 7:37-38).1 This was astonishing; nobody had ever dared speak like this. Jesus was saying that he was the wellspring of salvation of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote. He was the Messiah, the Lord’s anointed one. It is no wonder that Jesus chose the day of the water-pouring ceremony to invite everyone to come to him. If only the people would believe in him, he would quench their spiritual thirst.

And how did people respond? “Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, ‘This certainly is the Prophet.’ Others were saying, ‘This is the Messiah.’ Still others were saying, ‘Surely the Messiah is not going to come from Galilee, is he?'” (John 7:40, 41) The crowd was divided among those who believed Jesus’ claims and those who didn’t. And in the middle stood Jesus, who knew that ultimately he was the very corner stone that the builders were about to reject.

Just as we are dependent on God's favor and grace in sending rain for our survival let us look forward with eager anticipation to His coming again to establish His Kingdom and the Rule of Love. 

Food For The Soul.5

"If you understood this, you would beg me to give you living water as well; for whoever drinks natural water soon thirsts again,

but whoever drinks of the water that I give will discover a well that springs up within, overflowing with eternal life."

--Jesus

Lauren Daigle: How Can It Be?

Begging Jesus

What is the difference between psychological and spiritual needs?

Recall the story of the woman at the well. Jesus asked her for a drink of water. Thinking this odd, she pointed out the social repercussions of his request. Ignoring the comment, he went to the heart of his mission: an inclusive invitation to eternal life, that is, to know the Savior and worship the Father!

But suppose this troubled Samaritan woman, instead of encountering the Savior of the World, had met a modern day psychologist. Let renowned Professor of clinical psychology Dr. Jordan Petersen describe situations that happen far too often:

"Therapists with a little second-hand knowledge of Freud often axiomatically assume that a distressed adult in their practice must have been subject to childhood sexual abuse. Why else would they be distressed? So, they dig, and infer, and intimate, and suggest, and overreact, and bias and tilt. They exaggerate the importance of some events, and downplay the importance of others. They trim the facts to fit their theory. And they convince their clients that they were sexually abused--if they could only remember. And then the clients start to remember. And then they start to accuse. And sometimes what they remember never happened, and the people accused are innocent. The good news? At least the therapist's theory remains intact. That's good--for the therapist. But there's no shortage of collateral damage. However, people are often willing to produce a lot of collateral damage if they can retain their theory [and justify their behavior].

When you are remembering the past, as well, you remember some parts of it and forget others. You have clear memories of some things that happened, but not others, of potentially equal import—just as in the present you are aware of some aspects of your surroundings and unconscious of others. You categorize your experience, grouping some elements together, and separating them from the rest. There is a mysterious arbitrariness about all of this. You don’t form a comprehensive, objective record. You can’t. You just don’t know enough. You just can’t perceive enough. You’re not objective, either. You’re alive. You’re subjective. You have vested interests—at least in yourself, at least usually. What exactly should be included in the story? Where exactly is the border between events?" (Dr. Jordan Petersen, 12 Rules For Life. emphasis added)

The process of convincing Samaritan Woman that He had something she needed included an accurate description of her present condition. "Go call your husband," Jesus directed her. "I have no husband," she replied. "Correct," he pressed, "the truth of the matter is, you have had five husbands and the man you are now with is not your husband!"

She could very well have shared a similar story to one of Dr. Petersen's clients: "I knew about all this when Miss S came to talk to me about her sexual experiences. When she recounted her trips to the singles bars, and their recurring aftermath, I thought a bunch of things at once. I thought, “You’re so vague and so non-existent. You’re a denizen of chaos and the underworld. You are going ten different places at the same time. Anyone can take you by the hand and guide you down the road of their choosing.” After all, if you’re not the leading man in your own drama, you’re a bit player in someone else’s—and you might well be assigned to play a dismal, lonely and tragic part." (Ibid.)

We, sadly, are all "denizens of chaos and the underworld." Its why Jesus came to this corrupted world.

Jesus took no time to probe Ms. Samaritan Well Lady's past to figure out why she found herself in the present condition. She found herself face to face with Being-Who-Knew-All-Things-But-Didn't-Condemn-Her and drawn to Answers to questions choked away by faulty memory and the difficulties of this world. The change in her was marked and effervescent! Her testimony to the Savior changed an entire town!

To know God is the Only Answer to the haunting questions every human being struggles with: why am I here and who could love the mess I've made of myself?

Psychology may help uncover the how you came to be such a mess or give some catharsis to your supposed victimhood, but it can never answer the essential question:

How Do I Become Right?

Dr. Petersen points out and the Samaritan Woman testifies:

The present can change the past,
and the future can change the present.

But Only a Righteous Savior can do that!