Matthitjah Posted November 19, 2003 Group: Royal Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 1,285 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 17,917 Content Per Day: 2.27 Reputation: 355 Days Won: 19 Joined: 10/01/2002 Status: Offline Share Posted November 19, 2003 Greetings Saints in Christ Jesus, Our Father, We draw by this invocation into a relationship. A closeness. He is our Abba. He draws us close and upholds us in His powerful arms. He draws us near as we reach up like little children with outstretched arms. He lifts us up and holds us close to His chest and rocks us. We hold on as He carrys us . We allow Him complete control and trust. Like a child. When He runs faster we cling tighter to the hem of His garment. Knowing that our Father will not let us into harms way. We submit to His Will! Just like a child we prepare to ask for provision or wisdom. Daddy why is the sky blue? Daddy can I have candy? Only we ask for Spiritual things. As well provision to further His Will! Peace, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneAccord Posted November 20, 2003 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 147 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,587 Content Per Day: 0.20 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/03/2002 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 20, 2003 Well, I think we all have a pretty good grip on OUR FATHER.... Let's move on to: WHO ART IN HEAVEN There's quite a few ways we could approach this. God is in heaven, we are on earth. Not only is God in heaven but He created the heavens and the earth. When we cry out to our Father, we are sending a prayer into the heavenly realms. There is a veil between the heaven and the earth. I think of it sort of like this present reality, the earth as we know it, exists parallel to a spiritual reality that we cannot see and there's a sort of partition that separates them, which I am calling the veil. As sinners we cannot penetrate this veil. When Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, they could no longer enjoy God's presence, the veil was formed and carefuly guarded by the cherubim with the flaming sword. The veil in front of the Holy of Holies symbolizes this. Only the high priest could part the veil and go into His presence on our behalf. Today Jesus is our High Priest and He pleads our cause at the right hand of God. The veil was torn when He was sacrificed (Matt 27:41), which gives us all access to God, but only through Jesus The veil was torn, but not abolished, there are many still under the veil (2 Cor 3:14-18). I believe the Holy Spirit helps to carry our prayers to heaven. In Luke 3:21 we see Jesus being baptized, "and while He prayed, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him." I believe that likewise when we pray, the heaven is opened and the Holy Spirit carries our prayer to heaven, where God is. This same Holy Spirit who came down when the heaven was opened for Jesus lives in our heart and cries out for us "Abba, Father!" (Gal 4:6) When we pray, our prayers are going to heaven, filling the golden bowls (Rev 5:8). Our prayers penetrate the veil. As the smoke from the burnt animal sacrifices was a pleasing aroma to God, so today are our prayers a sweet-smelling incense (Ps 141:2). When we stand before God in prayer we are like Aaron who put in the incense and made atonement for the people, who stood betwen the dead (this world) and the living (heaven) (Num 16:47,48) When we say, "Our Father, Who art in heaven" we are asking God to listen to us from His throne in heaven, to open the heaven and recieve our words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneAccord Posted November 20, 2003 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 147 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,587 Content Per Day: 0.20 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/03/2002 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 20, 2003 WHO ART Today we would translate this, "You are". God, You are....... One of the names for God is I AM. In Exodus 3:4 in the infamous burning bush scene God reveals His name to Moses. It translates something like "I AM THAT I AM". Much could be written about this name, and indeed has been, but the essential revelation here is that God is. God exists. He is, He has always been, and He shall always be. He is the great I AM. We who believe respond to say by saying, "You are, God, You are." We believe that You exist, God. When we pray "Our Father, Who art..." we are saying "We believe in You, yes, You are, You really are..........." WHO ART IN HEAVEN is all about faith! It takes faith to believe that He is, and to believe that heaven exists, because we cannot see heaven, it is invisible to us, hidden. It takes absolute childlike faith to say, "Our Father, Who art in heaven"! To believe in something that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man"(1 Cor 2:9) And then of course, the subject of HEAVEN is huge, but suffice it to say that our God lives there and we all long to go there and dwell with Him........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesusisGod2 Posted November 20, 2003 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 61 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,065 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 1 Joined: 05/29/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/03/1958 Share Posted November 20, 2003 Amen One Accord, During your fixin dinner and chasin after dem chillen, you must of been doing some meditating on the subject at hand. I really cant add much too that but I would like to add one definition of heaven out of the dictionary: An eternal state of communion with God, everlasting bliss This too fits heaven, when we pray to God and have communion with Him, we have touched upon eternity, God is eternal. So one can say that heaven is not only a place where Gods throne is, but through faith it is a state of mind where we are as well. Paul says we should boldly approach the throne of grace, now this throne of grace is in heaven, the same place we are through faith when we pray. This goes along with the "who art in heaven" we must believe. we cant see it with our natural eyes but we can see it through the eyes of faith. I hope I am making some sense, I am having trouble expressing in words what my spirit feels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneAccord Posted November 20, 2003 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 147 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,587 Content Per Day: 0.20 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/03/2002 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 20, 2003 So one can say that heaven is not only a place where Gods throne is, but through faith it is a state of mind where we are as well. Yes, this is probably what Jesus meant when He said that the kingdom of heaven is within. Jesus lives in our hearts and He lives in heaven at the right hand of God. We carry a piece of heaven in our hearts, our inheritance. This veil between the earthly and the heavenly realms lies over our hearts........2 Cor 3:15.But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 3:16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. There is much we could say about the heart and the heavenly kingdom...... He also said elsewhere that the kingdom of heaven is near. I think the spiritual realms are indeed very near, literally all around us and within us yet we see through a glass darkly. God on His throne is right there at the table with us when we pray, yet heaven is a far country..........the Bible is so rich with these kinds of paradoxes........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adstar Posted November 20, 2003 Group: Royal Member Followers: 12 Topic Count: 75 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,399 Content Per Day: 0.43 Reputation: 1,307 Days Won: 1 Joined: 09/01/2002 Status: Offline Share Posted November 20, 2003 Well to say Our Father and not say WHO ART IN HEAVEN leaves open other possibilities. If we say who art in heaven we are clarifying who we are really talking to. If we say our Father hallowed by they name we could be talking about anyone. But when we say "Our Father who art in Heaven" then we are making it clear who we are calling too. All praise They Ancient Of Days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Teri Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 One Accord excellant. I think if people aren't responding much it's because your doing such a good job we are reading. Or at least that's what is going on with me. So we are here and continue on. In Yeshua's love Teri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesusisGod2 Posted November 21, 2003 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 61 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,065 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 1 Joined: 05/29/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/03/1958 Share Posted November 21, 2003 Hey OneAccord, This is some great stuff. The more I thought about the dictonary definition of heaven last night, and one of the definitions being an eternal state of communion with God. I couldnt help but think about the fact that when we have communion with God, we actually step out of this state we know as time through faith (who art in heaven) and into eternty with our Father. This is an awesome thought that my wife and I were throwing around on our way to church last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneAccord Posted November 21, 2003 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 147 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,587 Content Per Day: 0.20 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/03/2002 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 21, 2003 Jesusisgod2: I most definitely follow you on the time/eternity musings. We live in time, He lives in eternity. Our lives here on earth are stuck in the constraints of time, heaven is completely outside of this in eternity. "when we have communion with God, we actually step out of this state we know as time through faith (who art in heaven) and into eternty with our Father." Our time in prayer and communion with God is about as close to heaven as we can get while we're here, no wonder Paul urges us to pray without ceasing....... We can also look at the scriptures about walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh in this light. The Spirit of God is of heaven, not of earth, not of the flesh. He is of eternity, not of time. He came from heaven and He has constant access to heaven, and He lives in us! Therefore we have this access to heaven/eternity living in us. It's like being hotwired right in to the heavenlies! When we pray we speak into eternity! Awesome isn't it????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesusisGod2 Posted November 21, 2003 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 61 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,065 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 1 Joined: 05/29/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/03/1958 Share Posted November 21, 2003 You go girl, excellant insight, whats next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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