Blessings Friends,
Blessed, blessed Shavuot! What an amazing time to be alive and abiding in the risen Christ! I just wanted to encourage you in this season of Pentecost to take a moment to withdraw from the distractions of the world and draw near to the Lord.
Great and mighty things are being released from Heaven, but we will miss them if our priorities aren’t in order.
Shavuot, or Pentecost, commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai fifty days after Israel left the bondage of Egypt behind. It was on this same day over a thousand years later that the Fire of God fell upon a handful of devoted disciples of the risen Messiah. Those who locked themselves away and waited on Him.
Peter told onlookers on that day,
“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.’” Acts 2:16-18 NKJV
Believers ever since have prayed for his day to come in all its fullness. So why haven’t we seen it, yet? What is God waiting for?
As an intercessor, my heart has ached for the healing, restoration, and unity that can only come by the supernatural power of God’s Holy Spirit. The Lord has shown me that He longs to fill His faithful servants to do just that, and so I pray for more of Him. One day as I was on my face crying out for more of him, I heard His voice very clearly in my spirit.
“I AM not withholding anything from you.”
As His words sunk in and hit the mark, I realized, if it wasn’t Him…it must be me. That is when my pleading changed. I no longer pray for Him to give me what He has already given me. I pray instead for Him to reveal what it is in me that is preventing me from receiving all of Him. Anything that takes up room in my life that rightly, through the sacrifice of His Son, belongs to Him. I pray for His sanctifying fire to purify me through and through, that I might be one with Him.
I believe we as a church have come to see the gifts God gave us at Pentecost as merely something we either receive or reject.
It’s so much more than that!
Part of the celebration of Shavuot includes the reading of the book of Ruth, the story of a woman willing to leave everything she ever knew behind to travel to a new land, worship the God of that land, and live as a native of that land. In return for her faith, she was rewarded with a husband, family, and all the blessings of the bloodline of Abraham.
The giving of the Torah at Sinai was not just the giving of a gift—or the exercise of a domineering God as some believe.
It was a proposal.
“My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.” Song of Solomon 2:10
It was the Father of the Bridegroom inviting the bride to set herself apart for His precious Son. To step away from the filthiness of the world and let Him prepare her for a great wedding feast, anointing her with His oils and ointments, feeding her with bread from Heaven and the living water from the rock, clothing her in vesture that would never wear out.
Of course He knew when He extended the invitation that her vesture would eventually be washed in the very blood of the bridegroom until it became white as snow. He knew that the bread from Heaven would become the body of His precious Son, and that the water of life would not flow from just any stone, but from His side. He knew that He would have to come and make His home inside of His bride to enable her to be truly set apart, sanctified just for Him.
And the proposal stands. He continues to woo us into His presence by His Spirit. He continues to call us,
“Leave the world behind, and come into My chambers. Let Me show you all that I AM and all I’ve created you to be. Let Me love you as only I can!
“Be My bride!”
Are you ready to leave all you’ve ever known and believed behind and step into the bridal chamber? Are you ready to forsake all, and be prepared to meet your groom?
Are you ready to dwell in the Shechinah Glory?
Your groom is awaiting your answer.
God’s grace and peace be yours,
Rebecca
