Believer’s Testimony

We were on vacation and I mentioned “The Lord” to an acquaintance in conversation, he stopped and acknowledged his mutual faith. I added, “The Lord’s name is Yeshua”, just so there was no misunderstanding. The next day I had an opportunity to ask him about his faith. One of the things we talked about is that many people believe in God even as a small child. I’m not saying it is doctrine or test, just a fact which many experience. There is a witness of the Spirit among Believers, even among sects that tend toward exclusion, if the sole topic is the Lord, Yeshua Messiah (Jesus’ Hebrew name). Everything that divides us is apart from Yeshua and the Spirit. “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’ ” (Revelation 19:9-10)

Babette’s Feast Movie

This movie is a true gem. It is a simple story of simple people who have a basic faith in God. It is set in Danish Jutland, a harsh and sparse land. A pastor and his two young beautiful daughters live out their lives in a small community of Believers, but are visited by two young men, who recognize their talent and beauty. Years later they encounter and harbor a French women who is a refugee from the Franco-Prussian war. This is a foreign movie, so it has subtitles, but is rated 7.8 on IMDB. It has no crime, violence, vulgarity, or sexual content which is so typical in Hollywood movies. What it does offer are eternal truths evidenced over a lifetime of humility and surrender. Hidden among what appear to be missed opportunities, unfulfilled dreams and ambitions are the answers of God’s word, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Psalm 85:10) The conclusion explains so beautifully how mercy is infinite and that which was lost is found, even that which we rejected is restored in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Water

Water is generally liquid, but frozen solid and vaporized as well all around us in clouds and the atmosphere. It consist of oxygen and hydrogen, gases that are practically never in a solid or liquid state, yet combined they form the substance we can not live without, water. We and most things in our world consist of water. Water was there in the beginning as God Created the world. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) After the world is destroyed by fire, still in heaven there is water, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Revelation 22:1) Water has a central role in the Bible’s story of mankind. The seas and rivers are connected with our story, Yeshua walked upon the water, and we are baptized in water representing death, resurrection, purification and renewal. Read about the living water of life in John chapter 4.