March 5th Class

Hey Girls!  

It's a full day today and tomorrow for me, 

so I will be posting a summary of this mornings class, 

along with notes, sometime Friday evening.

In the meantime, know that your precious-selves are among my most

favourite women on this planet,

 and I'm blessed each and every time we gather together!

Debbie Smith, Linda Madu, Jeanne Gillespie, Sally Bell, Cat Abbott, Angie Chamaschuck, 
Debbie Brown, Edna Hayward, Jan Olson, Wendy Leonberger

Missing - Wendy Southcott, Sue Robb, Marlene Bogdanovich, Pat Fedorko, Kaitlyn Laity

Saturday morning and just about to head out soon into this glorious day, with my guy!
Just couldn't do it though before posting this for you...

The moment we are born into this world we are seeking provision, whether we are aware of it or not.  Even from within the womb, provision is our life-line, and so this particular class was deep, to the very core of who we are.

After looking through the beginning of our homework, based on Genesis 22: 1-19 we had a period of discussion and then we began looking at the following scriptures...

In Isaiah 50:10 we saw a rhetorical question being asked, the answer being that any one that fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His servant (Jesus) will not walk in darkness, but have light.  This is why we are to trust in the NAME of the LORD and rely on our God.  We also know from John 1 that Jesus Himself is the Light and is a wonderful truth and verse to put alongside Isaiah 50:10.  It had us personalizing this truth by asking of ourselves... when all seems dark and you don't know what to do or how to handle it, do we truly then trust in His NAME, in all that He is, and rely solely upon Him.  It is a good question.

This post will really be more of a running list of the scriptures that I took the class through so get your running shoes on, here we go!

Exodus 6:1-7 Jehovah is a Name that goes with covenant.  He is a covenant keeping God.  He will always stand by His Word

Isaiah 42:5 The covenant was fulfilled in Jesus Christ

John 8:24 Jesus IS God.  Two separate Personalities, yet One in Purpose and in Attributes

John 8:56-59 The EGO EIMI, the Deity of Jesus

John 8:27-30 Jesus and the Father are One

John 8:31-33 here we see Jesus having equality with the Father, as Jehovah

Genesis 22:1 Here we see that faith is not faith until it is tested.  Faith is hanging onto the Word of God through every trial, every test, every situation of life.  At this point we stopped to looked at Hebrews 11:1,6 to see what faith is... it is the assurance of things hoped for the EVIDENCE of things not seen.  We discussed this at some length, so you girls that were there, pop into the Comment Cafe and share the depth of what you were able to glean from this discussion!  Faith tells us that we already have the thing... good place to begin a conversation!  We also saw that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  Another good point of sharing in discussion.

Genesis 22:2 Isaac was the one who through the covenant promise would come.  We also saw that a burnt offering was always a voluntary offering, an offering of love.  This gives us even greater insight into Abraham and his faith and love for God.

Genesis 22:3 I loved how Linda Madu jumped right into this verse with such passion during our class time!  And yes, Linda this is exactly right!  Abraham stated that "we will worship", "we will return".  He had no doubt that even though he was making his way, in obedience to God, to lay his son on an altar, offering him as a sacrifice and put him to death, his faith was so great in the knowledge that his God is a covenant keeping God, that whatever was to transpire, that even if Isaac was to die, that because the covenant promise was to come through Isaac...God would have to raise him from the dead and that both he and his son would walk together, back down that mountain.

Abraham would do what God asked.  He would take that which he loved, not hold it in a clenched fist, but trust in the NAME of God, open his hand and give it to God.  

The question of course arises, what are we clutching onto, when everything we have is God's, it came from Him.

James 1:7 Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.

God cannot go against His character, His Name, or His Word. 

Psalm 138:2 He has exalted His Name together with His Word.  So what are we afraid of releasing to God?  Abraham's journey up the mountain was not an easy one, he was going to have to put his son to death, he was going to have to trust in God's Word.

Hebrews 11:17-19 gives us a closer glimpse that the day Abraham received the command, was the day that he said yes to God, in obedience.

             Abraham laid Isaac on wood                    God laid Jesus on wood

             his only begotten son of the promise        His only begotten Son of the promise

             as a sacrifice                                             as a sacrifice

             on Mount Moriah                                       on Mount Moriah

             his beloved son                                         His beloved Son

Romans 11:36  Girls, God can ask whatever He will because all things are from Him and through Him and to Him!  All things belong to Him and the most wondrous thing of all is that in whatever He asks... He also provides, and He will provide it in the same place as He provided for Abraham, on Mount Moriah.

Genesis 22:12 shows us that as Abraham was ready to plunge in the knife, the word came to him, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, for now I know that you fear God... since you have not WITHHELD your son..."

What are we withholding from God?  Who gave it to me?  To Whom does it belong?

Genesis 22:13 This is a picture

Genesis 22:7-8 God will provide HIMSELF!!!

Genesis 22:14 In the Mount of the LORD it will be provided.  Our provision was made on Mount Moriah where God provided Himself.  That ram that was offered in the place of Isaac is a picture of Jesus, offered in your place.  In place of you, in place of me.  

He is Jehovah.  Who has given us Jehovah.  The Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jehovah, and all that that Name means.  Nailed to a cross.  The sacrifice that provided for me, provided for you, everything that we will ever need.  Provided for me His Son.  His only Son.  Whom He loves.

So, the class ended with this.

Where do we run in our time of need?  In our time of darkness?

Run to the Name of the LORD.  The One Who does not change or altar.  Who has always been, always is, and always will  be.  Jehovah, The Self Existent One.  Jireh, The God Who Provides.

There was one more bit of discussion before we all headed out.  Some of the girls were wondering why the Name Jireh, which if actually translates as "sees", is it taken as "provides".  We have already studied His Name El Roi as the One Who Sees so what is the difference?  The difference is this... because The Father sees, He provides.

He sees our darkness, our situation, our trial and need, and when He sees He must provide.  We are given deeper insight into this in Philippians 4:19.  He has obligated Himself to provide for us and He can do no less.

He IS our New Covenant.  His seeing is equal to His provision.  

Know His Name Jehovah-Jireh

Pray to Jehovah-Jireh... knowing that you already have the thing!

He stands true to His Name

He cannot altar or change

Trust in the Name of the LORD

Run into His Name and all that He is

Hang onto His Word and trust in His Word... and know Hime as Jehovah Jireh

The LORD will provide

When we KNOW His Name

no matter how dark it gets

we can trust and rely on our God

so go ahead girls...

hold those clenched fists open

and KNOW that your God will Provide!

No time to proof, so I'm asking for a liberal dousing of grace from you all! 

with much love and joy in serving,

Come on in, 

pull up a chair, 

and join in on the conversation in...

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