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| Are you a trailer up on blocks........... |
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| or a skyscraper? |
Okay, since this week is supposed to end tomorrow I am giving you the week in retrospect and also all at once! Can you handle it? Of course you can!!!! I have faith in all of you! Its myself I lack faith in. Oh well, let's get started since we have a lot of ground to cover.
It is week six in the Counting of the Omer. I am going to give a refresher for those who may have just joined in. At Passover something unique begins. It is called the Counting of the Omer. It requires taking 7 of the 10 attributes of God and going through them on a weekly and daily basis in a cross-match fashion. Seven days and seven weeks. Each day is assigned a different attribute and each week is assigned a different attribute; therefore each day has a daily and weekly attribute assigned to it. For example week one is the week of Chesed (Loving kindness) and the fourth day is Netzach (Beauty), making the fourth day of week one Netzach of Chesed or Beauty of Loving Kindness.
Every day there is a type of devotional or soul searching a person goes through following this protocol to re-order one's life. This is a process where we re-evaluate our life and put it back on God's pathway. This process is carried out every year. There are 49 days in the Counting and on the 50th day a special celebration takes place, but the explanation for that will have to wait. Right now you should be focusing on preparing yourself for what is to come, sight unseen! Can you do that without knowing what is to come, just knowing there is a promise from God that something is coming?
Okay, let's get started. The week of Yesod - Commitment
Day 1: Chesed of Yesod - Love of Commitment
We love commitment, do we not? We are committed to everything in America! We are committed to watching our favorite shows, teams and sports, gun rights and the environment. Now don't throw stones if you are for or against any of the examples I gave. I am not taking sides or saying that any of these are right or wrong. I have a program or two I watch, I have teams and sports I keep up with, I am a gun owner and I hunt for food, and I also do as much as I can to recycle and protect the environment. There is nothing inherently wrong or right with being committed to any of the above examples. I know you could find arguments for or against some of them, but within reason there is nothing sinful about any of them.
The question is, what does love have to do with them? Can you remember the post where I gave you the definition of love? Love is.....God. If God is love, then He must be the basis of our commitment. This is where we must start on ALL our commitments. What I am afraid of is that we commit to everything except the things which really matter. I mentioned a few things, but how committed are we to marriage, our children, poverty and peace and hunger? How committed are we to helping young people who may be at risk of becoming another mass shooter? Can you see the glimmer in the shard of mirror? (See post from Dec. titled: Shattered Mirrors and Diamonds Once Lost Now Found)
Is God the basis of your commitment?
Day 2: Gevurah of Yesod - Discipline of Commitment
Our commitment must have discipline in order to function properly. You know us as a human race. Some of us would commit until we had no hours left in which to sleep, while others would never commit. There are also some of us who just can't say no to anything, so we would commit to too many things or we would be so committed to one thing that we would be doing everything in that endeavor. We would be unwilling to relinquish control to anyone else and others would be unable to receive a blessing from serving in that capacity. Still others get so gung ho about the things they commit to, they forget about obligations at home. Are you one of these people? You need disciplinary boundaries to stop yourself from over-committing.
Do you have a problem finding time to commit to anything, because you see too many other things that hinder you? Maybe you won't commit, because you find something wrong with everything that is brought before you to commit to. You have too many disciplinary boundaries and need to lift some of them. Give yourself some freedom to commit.
Seek God's wisdom about the thing or things He would have you commit yourself, your time and money for today.
Day 3: Tiferet of Yesod - Beauty of Commitment
The beauty of commitment is a well laid foundation upon which that commitment can be built. It is impossible for you to build a foundation without first having a firm foundation yourself. Do you have a foundation, laid by God, upon which to build a commitment? If not, this is the best place to start. You must get this first step right. Yeshua (Jesus) is the cornerstone which has already been laid.
If you have the foundation you can use it to build upon in any commitment you undertake.
Day 4: Netzach of Yesod - Enduring of Commitment
Commitment requires long term devotion. A foundation built to last. A foundation which is built incorrectly will cause the building to crumble, but a correctly built foundation will give strength and stability for centuries to come. The rains may come and the winds may blow, but the walls will stand firm! Is your commitment more like a trailer up on a couple of concrete blocks or a skyscraper with a foundation reaching several stories underground?
Day 5: Hod of Yesod - Humility of Commitment
True commitment requires humility. "foundation whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10. I used the Kentucky Derby horses as an example of humility during the week of Hod. Humility is taking a wild stallion and under the direction of a master, bringing him under control in order to be useful. It is not beaten down, but bringing that wild strength under the control of a master to be used for good. The horses which ran in the Derby yesterday would have been of no use if they had never been under the training of a master. As long as that horse listens and obeys the master he will be a great and mighty machine, capable of accomplishing great and mighty works . Left on his own he will be just another stallion on an open range. Chances are he will never be known or seen.
Are you willing to allow yourself to be in subjection to the Master as you go about your commitment? If God is your architect and builder how can you not let Him give you instructions on the rest of the building?
Day 6: Yesod of Yesod - Commitment of Commitment
Is your first commitment to your commitment or is it to the One who is committed to you? Before any commitment can be fruitful you must first be committed to your commitment with God. It is essential that you spend time every day in His Word and in communion with Him. This requires commitment on your part. Spend the day renewing your commitment with Him!!!! His mercies are new every morning!!!
Day 7: Malchut of Yesod - Maturity of Commitment
The end result in any commitment with which you are involved should be God and His righteousness. If you are not ultimately pointing people to Him, you should go back through each of these steps to resolve the issue. It matters not what you are committed to. If you are a child of God, your commitment to everything should point to the Father. Your commitment to spouse, children, work, sports, gun control, environment, poverty, school, politics, playground safety, equal rights, health care, quilting, music or whatever.
Even Yeshua was diligent in pointing the way to God in His commitment while here on earth. Dwell on these 7 things between now and Wednesday and we will then begin the final week in our Counting. Oh my friends, the culmination of this counting is beginning and I can feel the excitement in the air.........you do not want to miss it. IT IS WORTH WAITING FOR!!!! Oh how I want to give you a hint. If I quoted the scripture, many of you would know exactly what I am talking about, but I don't want to spoil it. I want you to focus on these things first and not run on ahead. FOCUS!!!! YESOD - COMMITMENT!!!! Are you committed? Until Wednesday, May 8, Shalom!~~~~~~~
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