5 July 2016
Abraham was called – a friend of God – he walked with YHVH.
We all want to be called a friend of God. But, it is a journey and our Abba wants to take our hand, and walk us through the process. Every day of my life, as I walk with Him, my friendship with YHVH is build.
It is amazing for me to realize that Abraham started out his journey with YHVH in Ur of Chaldea. Not the best place to be found at. The meaning of Ur of Chaldea is ‘flames of destruction’. Just like you and me, we all originally came out of the flames of destruction. Most of us came out of Ur of Chaldea. Maybe you are still in the flames of destruction? It is only Christ Yeshua that can redeem us out of that place.
To get out from there we have to obey His voice and repent of the sins that brought destruction into our lives. This is the starting of the sanctification process. Yeshua saves us, He sanctifies us and allows us to let the old self pass away. This in itself is a process of fire – but, this is life giving fire. In the fire, the old nature is being burned out of us. Along with all the guilt and shame – this is how the old Retah has died. He saves us from the flames of destruction as we invite Him into the fire. And then, all of a sudden, you are not just coping, but, as you surrender more and more you are changed into His image and likeness. You can find yourself today, still in the fire, but together with Yeshua, you don’t even smell like fire. Just like Sadrach, Mesach and Abednego in the fire (Dan 3).
Out of the fire He will help you to enter the place of Yonder. That means the place of success, peace, joy, new beginnings - being in the place of the perfect will of YHVH for your lives. There you will do exactly what you are created to do. After all the time in the fire, He will bring you into this place called Yonder. There you don’t follow your own will any longer, but His will for your life.
Seven times YHVH appeared to Abraham and those are the seven steps to take us to Yonder.
The first time God met Abraham at Ur of Chaldea, He saw in him a spirit of discontentment. That means He could see that Abraham was not happy with his condition and present state of being. He did not want to serve the idols of his fathers. Abraham’s heart was wrapped in death. He knew in his heart that he was made for more. He knew that he had to make a choice, because he didn’t want to live an empty life. Life is filled with choices and not everyone chooses life in Christ! Even if there is fire in people’s hearts, some still chooses ‘self’.
God met him again and promised him the land. Then Abraham built an altar and pitched a tent - meaning he prayed and was always ready to move when God spoke. Our Abba Father wants us to keep moving from faith to faith. Step by step. The journey with God will keep you out of your comfort zone. You have to be willing to go into God’s direction and not your own. In our pain we make our own plans and make vows around our pre-conceived ideas. I so remember how Aldo once wrote to me, “Mom, Wisdom said that he cannot help you, unless you let go of your pre-conceived ideas”. God’s ways are not our ways, my friend. I had to learn that surrender means – to let God lead the way. It is never the way you thought it would be. To be on a journey with God means you have to listen carefully everyday to hear a ‘now word’ where to pitch your tent (the next step) - every day. His Holy Spirit will guide you step by step. He is always going to the future, moving forward, never back!
Then God promised Abraham a son, through Sarah. He was 100, and she 99. You are going to be a father for the nations. He had the promise in his hand, but he had to wait 25 years. Not like most of us who gives up after one year? One month? One day? Just make sure that you don’t love your promise more than you love YHVH. Will you still love Him – with or without the promise? Test your heart today!
How do you handle it when you have a Word of God in your heart, but that word (promise) does not line up with what you face every day? God is a God of patience and He wants us to have fellowship with His patience. His word that He gave you is a seed and only faith allows the seed to grow. We want the harvest of the seed, NOW! But, the wonderful thing that I had to learn was that the growing time is the most important time. In the waiting time many things take place. We change from glory to glory, our faith grows, we become mature and we become ready for the harvest time. This is the time where the fellowship with God is so important. Having fellowship with His patience causes us to change into a person who will also have patience with others. As you fellowship you hear His voice, “Just trust Me my child, stay content, stay in Me, eat every day fresh manna so that you will receive your NOW WORD today. Believe Me even if you don’t see anything. Fellowship with Me will work patience in you. Remember Retah, tribulations work patience in you.”
On the journey to Yonder, Abba Father teaches Abraham, and all of us, to always put Him in the centre of our lives. Put Him in the centre of your money, your family, your successes, your ministry, your relationships, your pain – yes, in the centre of your everything. That is how you allow YHVH to do His will and His plans with your life. He is saying to you and me, “Put Me in die middle of your pain, your marriage, your difficult situation, your everyday life – just keep me in the centre”. That is the only way your life will be a story of hope and not one of despair.
I am El Shaddai – meaning Many Breasted One. He was saying to Abraham and you and me, “Retah, if you don’t nourish yourself in Me, the world would love to nourish you.” In your pain, you can nourish yourself with self-pity, alcohol, drugs, success, sport, love for money, unhealthy relationships making you forget to count the good blessings and taking your focus off the journey to Yonder. When your life falls apart, you will always have a choice – to draw strength from the world, or from the Many Breasted One and draw power from Him and be sustained!
Somewhere between now and a place called Yonder (place of miracles, place of destiny), Satan will always try to attack your family. That is why you will find YHVH always speaking to us about our family. He spoke to Abraham about Lot and he had to intercede for him and his house. Are you willing to intercede for those in your family – those who have the nature of Lot? What about your children? We cannot stop praying, it doesn’t matter what you see!
How wonderful that I can testify today that Gods Word is true. No weapon formed against us shall prosper Is 54:17. Yes, the enemy tries all that he has in us, against us – But God YHVH will not leave us nor forsake us. Because He is faithful, He is a God of families. And I am so aware of the fact that Satan tries to break up families now, more than ever! But, we serve a faithful God! Whatever Satan fights in us, God wants that out of us. We cannot enter into our destiny with the nature of Satan still in us. That is why the fire is so very important in our lives.
Now, God asked Abraham to go up to the mountain and offer his son as a burned offering unto Him. All unto God – Abraham and Isaac took hands and chose to obey YHVH. Yes, this is YHVH’s plan, that we and our children will take His hand and listen carefully what the next step is for all of us – as we go on the journey up Yonder. The altar was build and willingly Isaac lay down his life, just like Yeshua did at Calvary. He did what he had to do, go as far as he could do to obey the Father’s voice – still there was no sign of relief and he thought this to be the end .The next moment he saw the answer. He did not see the answer before he did what he was supposed to do – surrender! We all need to lay down our lives to Yeshua. That in itself is many times the most painful of the whole story - to ‘surrender’ self. It is often so painful that we can’t even see hope anymore. But, as we surrender just like Abraham - then we see the answer. Our Abba Father always comes through for us just in perfect timing.
Are your children in His hands, did you surrender them completely? Are you afraid that you would not be there to walk them through the process, or did you surrender them completely into His hands?
There where you feel that there is nothing left in you. Where all is breaking in pieces around you, where you are afraid and have lost hope. My dear friend YHVH is calling you out of a place of destruction. He said I have a plan with you and your family. “Come up Yonder! Come, My child. Come lay down your will, stop making your own plans. Stop worrying about tomorrow. Don’t fight My plans, I can take everything that the enemy uses against you and turn it into My glory. All your wasted years, all the evil that was done against you – I can turn it all around. As you surrender to Me. If you obey My voice, lay down your life and your plans.”
Empty hands, face bowed down – Your will, not mine any longer.
“Yes My child, this is where you will find Me - Yehovah Yireh (God will provide) at a place called Yonder. There YHVH announces – I will bless your family!”
Abba Father, thank You so much that Yeshua gave His life for me. Thank you that you did not spare your Son, but, gave us His blood so that all my sins can be washed away and I can come up Yonder.
How we love you Yeshua.
I am travelling and ministering, with my youngest son, Josh in Indonesia, what a privilege to spend time together with my teenager. Teaching him how life is not all about us – but about serving and loving unconditionally. “Mom, I will do whatever I have to do on the trip to help you with the books in Jakarta and Bali. But please can I just surf in the sea when we are in Bali – please mom, please?” I just smiled, “Yes you can – because I love you!”
Our Abba smiles on us all and says “Yes – because I love you”.
Greetings - Retah and Josh
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