Tag: Temple

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Spiritual Intelligence: En Garde!

And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying:

‘I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

Good morning friends. The prophet Haggai declared these words thousands of years ago, at this time the nation of Israel was slowly recovering from one of her weakest seasons in living history. The walls of Jerusalem had just been rebuilt, and the new temple which was no way in comparison to the grandeur and splendour of the last had just been commemorated, and Ezra’s reformation was underway.

After this prophecy, I suspect Haggai would have been asking The Lord questions like; When Lord? How long? Or even, Did I hear correctly?

The kingdom he prophesied against are the governments of this world. This shaking will bring them all to their knees, as they finally bow to the superior and everlasting kingdom of God. This is evident with the diplomatic cracks that have come to public light within the very foundations of institutions like the UN, EU, NATO , G7, G8 and G20. For instance: “allies” spying on each other, proxy wars; selfish interest and greed forcing a lack of cooperation on climate change, Syria, Iran, Ukraine, fair trade, and other issues of common interest.

But in spite of the devil’s agenda, God’s plans for the ultimate redemption of humanity is still underway. Dear friends, as sure as Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection is; so also is His second coming and judgement. With this in mind, we draw courage and strength from the words of our dear friend, Peter:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

This eminent judgement will sift the wheat from the chaff. According to Simeon the Intercessor at His first coming:

Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against

En Garde!

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~ Sabali

*Help make my new book (Echoes of Mercy, Whispers of Love) a success by supporting my fundraising campaign using this link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/echoes-of-mercy-whispers-of-love

Be part of something awesome!

Much love,
Clem

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Spiritual Intelligence: Ever Increasing Glory

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Good morning friends. In Paul’s effort to shed more light on the new and old covenant, he came up with these verses. This powerful analogy illustrates the transformation process that starts inwardly first, then outwardly over time, as we commit our lives to God. Initially it takes a while for anything tangible to begin to manifest, not dissimilar to a seed buried in the soil. It dies, shoots out of the ground, then it starts to grow. The rate of growth it dependent on variables like: the nature of seed, the season it was planted, the weather conditions, the quality of the soil etc.

So often times, we are not likely to see any tangible difference immediately; this is because the most important changes often happen inwardly first. From the spirit, to the mind, then in activities through the body. As long as we are continue in prayer, outreach, meditation, contemplation, study, service; the growth process is guaranteed to continue till we drop our mortal vest. This is the desired goal my friends, an ever increasing growth as we behold His face as in a mirror! The beauty is that we don’t see our faces in the mirror, but we see His face radiating from the mirror as a catalyst for this incremental change.

I close this thought with a statement from prophet Haggai at a point when the temple was rebuild. The walls of Jerusalem had also been rebuilt, there was revival in the air. The older folks were in tears as they remembered the glory and splendour of Solomon’s temple, the younger guys were ecstatic – God had shown up once again! Amidst it all, the prophet presciently spoke of this new covenant and it’s ever increasing glory:

For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

And this ever increasing change dear friends, is true liberty.

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~ Sabali

*Help make my new book (Echoes of Mercy, Whispers of Love) a success by supporting my fundraising campaign using this link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/echoes-of-mercy-whispers-of-love

Be part of something awesome!

Much love,
Clem

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#spiritualintelligence

Spiritual Intelligence: Conspiracy

A conspiracy can be defined as an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons.

With that in mind, let’s look at an incident that occurred while God’s people were in captivity thousands of years ago. After years of rebellion against Jehovah, and a lack of emotional or spiritual will to change; inspite of corrective efforts from the men and women inspired by God, God’s people finally ended up under the powers of a vicious enemy nation – the Babylonians.

The Babylonians had a tradition of seeking out young, gifted and talented young people among their subjects to serve in the royal courts. Among those of Hebrew descent was Daniel. He was a fine young man, with an unflinching faith in Jehovah, who served the king with integrity.

As is always the case when one stands out, his non-Jewish colleagues were envious of him, so they conspired against him. After a long deliberation, they agreed to strike where it will hurt him the most – his devotion to Jehovah. They knew Daniel expressed his devotion through regular prayer and worship, so they presented a flattering proposal to the king, that everyone should worship the king for the thirty days, and anyone that violated the decree should be throne to the lion’s den.

According to scriptures;

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

Daniel knew the faithfulness of God. And because he was given to study and meditation of the holy writ, he understood the provision Jehovah presciently made for those among His people who still believed in Him while in captivity. This covenant was enacted at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, during the reign of King Solomon thousands of years back. Let’s have a look at some excerpts from that chapter;

“When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to a land far or near; yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

Armed with these verses, Daniel had all he needed to be victorious in the line of fire. He was caught while praying, arrested and brought before the king. The decree stood, so he was throne into the lion’s den. While there the hungry lions were powerless against him. He was vindicated, and his conspirators were throne into the lion’s den. They were completely torn apart, and their bones were broken in pieces. After this mind blowing encounter, the king made this profound statement;

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.
He delivers and rescues,
And He works signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

So I decree that every conspiracy against God’s people, turns out to be a reason for the demonstration of His power. And that the faithfulness of His people is rewarded, while His enemies are brought down. Amen.

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~ Sabali