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| I receive you (Photo credit: Tony George) |
IN THE PALMS OF HIS HANDS
Author Guardian
No idea what this message is going to be about except that I had a picture/ vision of a hand inscribing words onto a scroll : and so this message/study came to ,lets start typing and see what happens
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Lord God in Jesus precious name we come to you now and ask that you speak in Jesus name amen
THE NAIL PRINTS IN HIS HANDS
YOU ARE THE NAIL PRINTS IN HIS HANDS
In Psalm 69:1-3 we read where David had cried out so much his throat was parched and his eyes
where swollen ! he felt like he was slipping deeper and deeper into the mire or mud
The more he tried to move the harder it got, the more he tried to escape the deeper he sank,
he was running out of his own strength...
He relates to being in deep water which is a similiar picture and we see David relating to pictures
in the same way as Jesus plants pictures into our minds or stories through pictures
These simple pictures relate a great deal about the situations we are in
And we see again in Psalm 69:14-15 David repeats the same words
I wonder how many times we go through the same life situations but with a slightly different
pattern ? the things that have happened in the past keep on reappearing over and over again ?
Like constant reminders, like constant toothaches, o but life was simple, if only we could avoid
these walls that try to snare and trip us up ?
David repeats over and over again about his enemies all through the psalms and again gives a picture of his enemies outnumbering the hairs on his head
Again we see this also not just a the life of David but as a constant reminder that the Psalms are
also prophetic and relate to Jesus
Here in this story of Davids life in the Psalms we are also reminded of Jesus and His ministry
I wonder if we were to write or as we write a Psalm of our lifes how it would reflect the life of Jesus ? Do you think Jesus had enemies ? do you think Jesus sank deeper into the mire ? do you think Jesus had problems ? do you think Jesus cried out so much His throat was parched ? do you think His eyes were swollen ? do you think He and shall we go on ?
In Psalm 69:19 onwards we see the story or picture of Jesus although the story of Jesus begins in Genesis and in fact before that, but we may only see the story of History from Genesis onwards
Unless of course God grants us revelation
In fact the whole of the Psalms can be seen as the life of Jesus or is it David ? or is it me and you ?
Maybe one day when you have time or when I have time we can sit alone and read out the Psalms and put our names in the place of Davids ?
And so in Psalm 69:20 we see a broken heart ! where else do we see a broken heart ?
And so in Psalm 69:21 we see the bitter wine being offered instead of the sweetness
Where else do we see sour wine offered for thirst ? John 19:29 maybe ?
So we come to the Marah waters of bitterness and we see Jesus "the tree" or "branch"
Not until the branch is broken or "cut" do we see the sweetness Exodus 15:22-27
Not until we come to the "Tree" the "Cross" do we get lifted up
Thirst does'nt have to be a physical thirst where we need drink and neither does sour wine have to be in an actual cup, we often relate it to thirst where we are thirsty for water but there is a much deeper thirst than that, a thirst that goes far deeper than the physical
In the same way there is a hunger that is far deeper and can take us far further into the mire of despair than physical hunger ever can
In the same way there is a sourness that can be offered that is offered in bitterness, there is an enemy who can poison us with words and a person who can kill by feeding us with the wrong things
I wonder why Jesus was thirsty on the Cross ? I wonder what He hungered for ?
I wonder what He was thirsty for ?
I wonder what hurt more ? the sour drink or the scorn and mockery ?
I wonder why He was so thirsty ? could it be the separation that He encountered at the point where He took on the sins of the world ? the sins of you and me and took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved ?
Could this be the far deeper and far greater hunger and thirst ? could this be the far greater sourness and bitterness ? In our own lifes Hunger and thirst for the wrong things can lead us into the mire and into deep water
Hunger and thirst can lead us into all kinds of trouble, we can search unknowingly for years never quite finding what we are looking for ...can't we? sort of wandering around going in this direction and that direction, hurting oursleves and others in the process
And then one day maybe we find what we are looking for ! only to find that it does not bring that fulfillment we thought it might...
We might even spend our whole lifes searching for that something ...never quite knowing what it is
But we have this sort of "thirst" and "hunger" inside of us that keeps driving us on
It becomes our motivation , it becomes our direction. it can become our "director"
What do we build our lifes on ? who do we build our lifes on ? Have you ever experienced a deep thirst for something in life , sometimes so deep you don't even realise its there ?
Are you searching for something but your not quite sure what on earth it is ?
And this does'nt just equate to the young either it relates to anyone
There is a God hole in every heart, like a vacuum, and that vacuum will keep on wanting and wanting and wanting but never quite find Fulfilment, that hunger may never be satisfied and that thirst may never be quenched
Not until we go to that Cross and we see that hunger and thirst for what it is
Not until we taste the sourness of the enemy and that which the world has to offer as nothing
Not until we come to the end of our lifes, our own selves and we give up Not until we come to the place of hunger where we see all that the world has to offer placed before us
All the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time ( seeing more than the normal eye can see )
Matthew 4:8-11
Not until we rise up with Him at the Cross above those things and find our hunger and thirst ...a hunger and thirst for righteousness
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" Matthew 5:6
Why you say would we hunger and thirst for righteousness ?
Well you hunger and thirst for God ? He is our righteouness ! 2 Corinthians 5:21 God can fill and does fill that emptiness in the heart, that vacuum that keeps wanting more and more
But it will never be satisfied will it ? not until we find God
We are the nail prints in His hands, we are the Nail Prints in Gods Hands, we are the Nail Prints in Jesus' Hands...
We put those nails there and held Him to the Cross, it was our sin that held Him there
We were the crowd that jeered and scorned and He was and is the friend of sinners Isaiah 53 and Luke 7:34 Luke 15:2 We who were once enemies of God Romans 5:10 are reconciled with Him having Himself , that is God Tabernacling within us
In simply language.....we who were once apart from God and enemies of God, can have that emptiness inside, filled and have God in us
We were those enemies of David offering the sourness and making David weep in the mud of sorrow and heart break
We were once those enemies of God offering the sourness and making Jesus weep in the mud of sorrow and heart break
We might have been the person we disliked ! we might have been the very person we had unforgiveness for !
We might have been the person we could not tolerate !!! we might have been the very person we did not believe should be living the way we were !
Now we turn the table around
We might be the person they dislike ! we might be the very person they have unforgiveness for !
We might be the person they cannot tolerate !!! we might be the person they do not believe should be living the way they are !
Why does God say .....LOVE YOUR ENEMIES ?
Maybe your / our enemies were YOU AND ME once upon a time....
Maybe your own worst enemy is you, maybe my own worst enemy is me !
Turn it on Myself
I might be the person I dislike ! I might be the very person I have unforgiveness for !
I might be the person , I cannot tolerate !!! I might be the person I do not believe should
be living the way I AM !
You are the nail prints in His hands, place it now in His hands
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HIS HAND CAN PULL YOU UP
We see that Hand coming down to save us, to pull us up , we can't do it can we ?
How we relate to the story of the baby Jesus so innocent and meek and defenceless ?
So unable to defend Himself, so open ...so so so
But was He ?
How many times have you been in a situation where you were so vunerable without knowing it ?
Jesus had the armies of heaven watching, we know that the spiritual is far greater than the physical world around us don;'t we ? O thats kind of ummm, that means I have to let go ? stop struggling ? no it does'nt, you will struggle
And you might go deeper into the mud/mire/water/storm/
Its only natural that you would do your best to get yourself out if trouble
But then when you have done your best , that Hand comes down to help you up
To raise you up, to lift you up, to pick you up from the way side
How vunerable do you think Jesus was at the Cross ?
How vunerable was David ? how unprotected are we ? mere flesh and blood
But WE ARE in His hands are'nt we ?
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WRITTEN BY THE FINGER OF GOD
You know we can lie to ourselves ?
We can make excuses to compensate can't we , we can tell ourselves a story to make oursleves believe we are right, in fact we can tell oursleves the same story over and over until we end up believing our own story
We can actually deceive ourselves..
But deep down inside we know the truth really, don't we ?
We can tell ourselves all kinds of things and untruths and we also may listen to the wrong voices as well, those voices that are not of ourslves...very confusing is'nt it ?
This is why we need discernment, this is why we need the gifts, this is why we need God,
This is why we need the armour - Jesus, this is why we need the giftings of and with the Holy Spirit through Love, ...so we can have the giftings without love ? yes we can use them without love or without God...we can walk away from God and still have the gift that God has given us
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CUT IN STONE
The word there, translated "engraved" is literally to cut, God has literally cut us into his hands. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Revelation 2:17
In biblical times when someone was taken to court and they were acquitted they were given a white stone as a symbol that they were innocent, it was also given to athletes who had won events
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." I Corinthians 9:24
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WRITTEN BY THE FINGER OF GOD
Wow , imagine the stone tablets being written on by the very finger of God ?
Those hard , cold stone tablets, that were meant for a people with hard hearts
Exodus 31:18
When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."—Hebrews 8:10.
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them (Romans 2:14-15)."
Wow Imagine the finger of God writing on our hearts ? can you imagine each individual having the finger of God writing on their hearts ? how personal ? how intimate ?
I wonder what He writes ? Mark 12:30-31
No longer on cold hard stones, but on and in hearts
I wonder has anyone ever managed NOT too break the ten commandments ?
!.You shall have no other gods before Me
Who has never had another god ? car? house ? money? relationship ?
2.You shall not make any graven idolatrous images
Graven image of worship ? same as above
3.You shall not take God's name in vain
Have you misrepresented Him ? 4.Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
Have we always been Holy ? 5.Honor your father and mother
Have you always respected your parents and honored them? without a day being rebellious ? without a heart thought of rebellion ?
6.You shall not murder.
Is not hatred murder ? we can murder in our hearts ! with our words ...I wonder how many people have died inside ?
7.You shall not commit adultery
Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery...
8.You shall not steal.
Have you ever taken something that does not belong to you ? be honest ...
9. You shall not lie
We can lie to ourselves , sometimes we tone down a lie by calling it "a white lie"
10.You shall not covet
Have'nt we ever looked at what someone else has and wanted it ?
Then one of them, a "lawyer", asked Him a question, testing Him, Matthew 22: 35-40 Jesus takes the ten commandments and takes it further to the heart...this is why God writes on our hearts
'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself"
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THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Daniel 5:1-31 Mene , Mene , Tekel , Parsin
We probably know the story of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar without going deep into theology and meanings , we look at this simply
And simply we have here someone who broke all the commandments and who like the prodigal son squandered those things that were not his and we know that Nebuchadnezzar ended up eating with the animals ....does this remind you of another story ?
So he ate the food of animals and like the prodigal son he finally acknowledged that God was the God of high and God indeed was King
But the Nebuchadnezzar of today still takes those things that do not belong to him and worships those things which are made of silver and gold, he wants those things that belong to his neighbour and the wealth , glory and fame.
He still commits adultery with these things and lies to himself and to God and he even kills to obtain these things
So we see Belshazzar came to nothing and all his great riches and fame came to nothing more than a lesson story written by God
We can see the fingers of the Hand writing on the wall or we can know the fingers of God writing and on our hearts
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Isaiah 44:5
One will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel.
WRITTEN IN THE PALMS OF HIS HANDS
Isaiah 49:16
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;your walls are ever before me.
Wow God inscribes your name into His hands ? this is a two way thing here is'nt it ?
We have God inscribing into our hearts hebrews 8:10
10This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people
He inscribes our name on His hands wow, two way communication !!
And so we come back too Psalm 69 and 70 And we see the dependence on God alone as babes of God
And as we feel as if we are sinking down into the "mire" of hopelessness and despair...
As we feel so vunerable and alone, as we put God above all things and put Him first above those things that would seek to pull us down, as we seek to love God with all our hearts and with all strength.. as we let go of the situation, as we hold up our hands and realise that He indeed
is God, He can pull us up and raises us up out of the miry clay
As our thirst is for Him alone He can replace the bitterness with His sweetness
We see that David took that which did not belong to him, he took bathsheba and had the husband put to death and killed, he broke every commandment, the same as we break every commandment and if we say we have not we are lieing to ouselves
But now we see that God has inscribed a new commandment into our hearts, that finger of God has
written His love in our hearts, Jesus Himself with His nail pierced hands lives in us
Our names are written and indeed cut into the very hands of God Himself
In Gods Grace we go on and His love compels us, no longer does He cut into a stone or a slab, no longer does He inscribe into a cold hard tablet of stone, but through Jesus He engraves His very self into our hearts, let that greatest gift, be your greatest goal,the gift of God
Allow His rule and Kingship and let that inscription be seen by all
Pray with me
Lord God in Jesus name I allow your rule and Kingship in my life, I will let your rule of love take over, I will let your words rule my heart and I will choose your ways instead of mine, I give you my troubles, my confusions and my burdons and I lay them in the Palm of Your Hands In Jesus Name amen
