Rich, our leader from Hume, shared with us that as Americans we think in words: God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and so on. The Jewish people think in pictures: God is our Rock, Fortress..I think I have become Jewish, because my mind is filled with pictures of a place that is in my blood and feel the urgency to go back and see more of the glory of God (yes, I know that the earth is full of His glory and I see it all around me...there is just something about that place...)!
My desire is to share some "pictures" with you that have changed my life forever and have grown my love for the LORD Jesus by leaps and bounds. This is quite a discipline for me, because writing doesn't flow from me, yet the Lord uses it to cement things He has and is teaching me. Plus, if there is any way to peak your interest in visiting the Land the Lord chose, I am jumping in your suitcase!
First Stop immediately after leaving the airport:
Gezer (means "
increase")
Some insight into Gezer:
*It's a tel-a hill, 26 civilizations are on top of each other.
*A great place for a city because it is near water, food, defensible, on the via maris trade route.
*18 miles north west of Jerusalem
*Town was apart of Ephraim's inheritance.
*A Levitical town
As Joshua began to conquer Canaan, the Israelites defeated the King of Gezer near Lachish, but the Canaanites were never completely driven out. David struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. King Solomon inherited Gezer because it was a wedding gift to one of his wives from her father, Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. He used forced labor to build up the wall around Gezer and the town itself (Joshua 10; Judges 1:28,29; 2 Samuel 5:22-25; 1 Chronicles 20:4; 1 Kings 9:15-17).
The Gate
This is the first picture etched in my mind and has had significant spiritual ramifications in my life.
It was hard for me to put my mind around the fact that we were sitting on part of a gate to a city that was thousands of years old!
This was a Solomonic Gate, as Solomon built similar gates in various cities.
It wasn't simply a gate with a door that swung back and forth. A person entering or leaving the city would have to walk through a small tunnel where there were rooms or chambers on either side of you and above you. This would aid in protection of the city because the gate is the weakest part of the city.
As I contemplated why the gate was so significant, these thoughts rushed into my mind: the gate opens and closes; it serves as a filter of who comes and goes; prepares someone to enter the city; a place of influence, prestige, justice, prominence. With a little research through God's Word, I discovered that the Gate is the place to be! If one wanted to know what was going on, hear important announcements, hear God's Word, to seek a decision from judges, or to buy food. It seems similar to what Twitter, Costco, Life Group, Court, People magazine all lumped into one place is to us today. (I photo boothed this drawing of what a city gate may have looked like. It helped me envision the hustle and bustle better.)
A place of influence...
While sitting at the Solomic Gate, we were asked a couple of questions:
Where does God have me to influence others?
or
Am I being influenced by the world?
I continued with more questions for the Lord to search my heart:
How can I be distinct and different from the natural current of our culture?
&
How am I influencing our culture and others?
Influences in our modern context:
Social Media Church Family Friends My home
- Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, movies, tv
- Podcasts, pastors, professors, leaders
- Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, inlaws, kids
- One on one conversations, life group
Obviously this is not an extensive list, but seems overwhelming, none the less, so where do I begin?
MY HOME! It makes absolute sense! This is my primary place of influence. Whoever enters through our door, my prayer is that they sense the peace of Jesus Christ: a sacred, safe, warm place where all can find Jesus in every corner, oozing with His love. What do I allow through our "gate" or front door? If I allow things that are just ok or blatantly sinful to enter, it's as if I would allow an enemy to enter my fortified city. We would never allow that! That would defeat the whole purpose of having a gate: to filter who can come and go.
I read in a Bible dictionary, "to have the gate, is to have the city". Who is the authority of our "gate"? Who filters who comes and goes?
Jesus
He is the Door
He is the Gate
He is the Authority of our home
The Lord answered my question quite simply: with Christ as our Door, we, the Downs, will only allow such things to enter our home that lift up the name of Jesus and cause Him to be recognizable.
Some things are easy for us to figure out what to allow, other things are subtle, and Satan, the father of lies, who love nothing better than to trick us into thinking the little things are ok and won't hurt too much. But the question must remain, are we distinct and different and filled with grace or do we look like the norm of our culture? O, how abiding in Christ is the answer!
What tv shows and movies will I watch at home? This is one the Lord has had to convict me with more than once. I like tv and to enjoy a good show. I began to watch a show this summer online and the Spirit began prodding my heart to stop. Great action but it began to include sensuality and the Lord is so clear that there should be no hint of it, so it took some weeks before I made the commitment to stop watching it all together. I sensed my flesh desiring more and knew that was my queue to be done. Upon seeking the Lord more extensively about Jesus being my Door, I made a clear decision- ENOUGH. The thing is, it wasn't horrible, just not best or even good. Psalm 15 and Philippians 4 kept coming to mind. Yes, Lord, I humbly submit to You! You have all my affections and I willingly surrender this to you. It's been a few weeks. The thought enters my mind to watch it and I quickly say, "nope, not gonna go there" and then fix my gaze on Jesus!
More areas: my conversations, books I read, magazines, my time, what I eat & drink, etc.
Will you read John 10 and then I would LOVE to hear where the Lord is leading you in this or what you are wrestling with.
If you actually made it through this post, you may not have had any idea that you would really be on a pilgrimage (a long journey with a purpose), that is only the half of what the Lord has stirring in my heart concerning The Gate!
Thank you for the accountability from some of you to make sure I took the time to journal this today. The Body of Christ blesses and sharpens me!
1 comment:
You are the gate . . . which I will enter in. Glory. I can hardly wait for next Wednesday for the next glimpse into the Holy Land!
Post a Comment