Last week when I was researching Faith, for my ladies meeting bible study, I discovered a word that will forever change my thinking about Faith.¬†¬† In Hebrews 11, our “hall of faith” chapter – it talks about all the men of faith in the word who lived their life with the greatest faith man has ever seen.¬† Abraham, Isaac, Jacob did magnificent things by faith. Even Enoch was taken to heaven in a chariot, a product of his faith. Yet, in Hebrews 11:39, it says, “none of them received what had been promised.” But their faith was not in vain! They did not die empty handed, not having received their blessings…instead, what they toiled for is waiting for us, their heirs, to posess. “So that only together, with us would they be made perfect.” We not only have an ownership in the fruits of their faith-labor, but we have responsibility over them! We have a responsibility as heirs to Abraham to walk in these blessings daily….for the perfection of their faith, and ours.
I see it like the ultimate inheritance….one that is out there just sitting in some courts lock box, unknown to us, until one day that box is opened revealing ownership to a wealthy estate. The day the letter is read and the keys to the property are handed to us, is not the day we become the owner – the property is already ours, sitting there in that little dark vault, with our name on it, claiming our inheritance.
When I read Hebrews 11, my heart just leaped with this new understanding. Just because I can look around at my life right now and pin point my obvious situation, does not mean that “someday” hasn’t arrived yet. I’m rejoicing today, that despite my sometimes hopeless situation, bills to pay, car repairs, the groceries to purchase, fighting the flu and every other issue in life…MY name is written in the pages of time as an heir to a promise, an heir to Abraham’s blessings.
Claiming “yes, Abraham’s blessings are mine” sent chills through the air in my home and gave me a new freedom, a new way to worship God, for my inheritance and my blessings!
Has it really been two and a half months since my last posting!¬† Wow.¬† While I’ve still been “mostly” faithful to journal with my beloved paper and pen, [a pilot precise V5 roller ball extra fine blue or black] I felt the need today to come catch up my blog thoughts and maybe add a few notes of inspiration.
Last month, August 20th or so – Keith and I moved into our new home in Montgomery, AL.¬† We’ve scaled the wall and eaten pigs feet (no, not literally), we have been more than conquerors because Jesus has been our lighthouse, our navigator, our ultra GPS – our “God Positioning System” if you would…it’s been a crazy off roading experince that ultimately began just over 2 years ago.¬† In August of 2007, Keith and I sat at a table of decision, he pulled out the giant Sam’s – sized bottle of olive oil, and began to pray and anoint our finances and everything in our home.¬† Every door post, every piece of furniture, every photo, everything seemingly got covered!¬† I was cleaning up grease for weeks!! (just kidding)¬† That night, that prayer moment with my husband began us on a 2 year journey that we will remember for the rest of our life.¬† It was really the beginning of a slow death to ourselves, as Paul puts it.¬† And it all began one night applying the anointing oil in our life.
Anointing. It’s often a forsaken prayer model, but even our Savior, just before his death on the cross took the time to allow himself to be anointed by a woman at Bethany, in one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, touching scenes of his ministry.¬† (Cece Winans describes it best in her song, Alabaster Box)¬† There is power when we apply the oil in our life, and utilize the act of anointing. ¬† It’s not an instantly physical or mystical thing that takes place, like Lucy Pevensie’s bottle of healing oil in Narnia.¬† No, it’s a spiritual power that comes from doing something in the physical and receiving it in the spiritual.
When we pray, we can trust, with confidence that God will answer our hearts cry, he says “Ask and Ye shall receive.”¬† But, he follows in Matthew to say, “whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” The key condition there is “Believing!”¬† Many of Gods directives are conditional.¬† “Seek and ye shall find.”¬† The condition of seeking is needed in order to establish the finding.¬† Praying without believing is like playing ping pong by your self.¬† It just won’t work.¬† You need to have someone on the other side of the table volleying the ball back to you.¬† You can stand there all day long hitting a ball in an empty room hoping it somehow will make it’s way back to you, but it simply never will.¬† Empty prayers are those that are prayed without a right relationship with God.¬† “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you WILL be saved.”¬† You will have a team mate, a ping-pong buddy for life!¬† LOL.
The bible says in James 2:17, “Faith without works is dead.”¬† The anointing is part of utilizing the “actions” represented through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, just like water baptism, communion or laying on of hands.¬† Let me take this a bit further and say, these symbols don’t have to just be used in the four walls of a church building (come on somebody!), remember WE are the church…we are the body of Christ.¬† The body is NOT the building.¬† And the most sacred representation (Eph. 5) of Christs love-relationship to his church “the body,”¬† is marriage — and the love of a husband for his wife.¬† When husbands and wives come together in loving unity, praying together, taking communion together (yes, at home, not at church), anointing each other, “washing with the word” – we are, to put it plainly, kicking the devils butt!¬† He HATES for marriages to succeed.¬† That’s why our divorce rate is through the roof, because the enemy knows if he can destroy marriages, he is destroying the very sacred representation of Christ’s love for his Church.
Ladies, your husband is under attack with temptation, frustration and fatigue, because the enemy has an all out assignment to destroy Christ, and everything that represents him.¬† If he tears the husband away from the family, it’s like tearing Christ away from the Church…and God grieves.
So don’t just pray for your spouse.¬† Believe for him.¬† Don’t just believe for him…work for him, helping him, with acts of service, remembering always, you are representing the church, “as she pours her love for the Master, from her box of Alaster!”
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