The Full Spectrum Rainbow-Part 3

Starting back to where we left off, the next color in the Full Spectrum Rainbow is Yellow.

Yellow is the color that stands for God's Glory. As Jesus is the light, His Glory reveals great brightness. Revelation1:12-16 tells John's account of His Glory and describes it as "the sun shineth in his strength, "vs 16. It is so bright that we are not able to look on it in our mortal bodies, lest we die, as the Lord told Moses when He hid him in the cleft of the Rock. One day we will be able to see the Lord face to face in His full glory and dwell with Him forevermore, I Corinth. 13:12. This will be possible because of the everlasting life we have, which leads to the next color.

Green. It stands for everlasting life.We all should know John 3:16."For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should NOT PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE!" This life is ETERNAL SALVATION! Just as the Lord has placed in nature "evergreen" plants that never die, even it the coldest of temps, neither can we die eternally if we have tasted of God's goodness of salvation! It is ours just for the asking! Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved." The Lord wants to be your Saviour and intercessor in Heaven, praying for you, His own. His intercessory power brings us to the next color.

Blue. This is the color that represents the Lord's Holiness. In the Old Testament, the Levite priests wore blue robes when in the Temple as they performed the priest's office of burning incense before the Lord. This was done when they would offer prayer for the people of Israel, and enter into the HOLIEST OF HOLIES. Thank the Lord that today we no longer have a man as a type of the Lord Jesus doing so on earth, but Jesus Himself is doing so! We can pray directly to Him, as He sits on the right-hand of the Father making intercession for His children. Hebrews 7:19,22-27 says, "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did;by the which we draw nigh unto God.By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.And they truly were many priest, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death; But THIS MAN, because HE CONTINUETH ever, hath an unchangeable preisthood. Wherefore He is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God BY HIM, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession form them.For such an high priest became us, who is HOLY, HARMLESS, UNDEFILED, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Who needeth not daily to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this He did ONCE when He offered up HIMSELF!" AMEN & AMEN! Jesus is our Holy, Perfect Priest offering prayer with groanings which cannot be uttered to the Father, according to HIS WILL. Thank God He is praying for us!

The next color is Indigo, a bluish, purple color. We should have heard of this color from school, learning about crops that were grown on plantations here in the South.This color represents God's Grace. When studying for this color, it was the one that blessed my heart the most! :) In Victorian times it was a color that could only be worn by royalty, their children, or the elite. When we become God's child, He gives us new GRACE CLOTHES for our New man to wear while here on this earth. These clothes are exchanged for the GRAVE CLOTHES our old man wore. Colossians 3:9&10 talks about putting off the Old man and putting on the New man. It is only by God's grace that we can do this! In Luke we see a picture of New Grace clothes when the Prodigal Son returned home, Luke 15:22."But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the BEST ROBE, and put it on him;...". It is by God's Grace that He bestows His Goodness upon us as our Heavenly Father and wants to give us the best, even when we don't deserve it! One day in Heaven the Lord will then give us our white robe, like a bride arrayed for her husband. This robe will not be indigo, but fine linen, which is the righteousness of the saints as stated in Revelation 19:8. What a day that will be!

Thank the Lord for His glory, Everlasting Life, Prayerful intercession, and Grace clothes for His children! The next post will conclude this study.

The Full Spectrum-Rainbow Part 2

My last post on the Rainbow discussed how the facts concerning it represented the Lord in that it is pure, shows the Godhead, and is Eternal. The full spectrum rainbow, or seven colored rainbow, also represents the Lord in itself.

When the pure white light of this rainbow is split, or refracted, in three ways, the seven beautiful colors of the rainbow are displayed. These were once invisible to the naked eye until is was refracted. Romans 1:20 says "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are MADE, even HIS ETERANAL POWER AND GODHEAD; so that they are without excuse." When we look to God in faith for who He is, He reveals His beauty to us that we could not see before salvation. The natural man cannot understand the things of God (I Corinthians 2:14),and are only learned upon faith being placed in our Creator. The things of God are then clearly see, as the verse above says, through eyes of faith  and belief in God's Promise.

Not only does the invisible become visible in the full spectrum, but the number of colors, and the specific order they are placed in stand for a certain characteristic, or attribute, of the Lord.There are seven colors in the rainbow, and in the Bible the number seven represents completeness or perfection. Matthew 5:48 and Colossians 2:9 say that God is perfect and that He is complete. Since I Corinthians 14:40 says, "Let all things be done decently and in order," we can know that the order of the colors were made that way for a specific reason.

The order of the colors create the acronym ROY G.BIV, as we were taught in school. This makes red the first color. Red in the Bible always stands for the Blood.Not just any blood, but the Redeeming Blood of our Saviour. Ex. 12:13 says,"And the blood shall be to you for a token....and when I see the blood, I will pass over you..". When God looks down from Heaven, the first color He sees of the rainbow is red, or the Blood. The blood has to be the first thing that the Lord sees when He looks down on us in order for our sins to be taken away. It is applied to our souls, just like it was to the doorposts so many nights ago in Egypt, to give life to those inside the home.I Peter 1:18&19 says it takes the precious blood of the Lamb to purge our sins.Our sin has to be dealt with before we can have fellowship with the Lord, which takes us to the next color.

Orange. This is the color of fire, or purging of sin, to have fellowship with the Lord. Hebrews 12:29 says,"For our God is a consuming fire." The Lord is the fire that tries our hearts and purges us to keep us clean of daily sins after we are saved, to keep us in His fellowship.(Not salvation, but in FELLOWSHIP.) Isaiah 6:6&7 tells of Isaiah's vision from the Lord where he was purged with a live burning coal on his lips, taken from the altar of God. He was already serving the Lord, but when he looked to the Lord, he saw in himself sin that he was unaware of. It has to be purged for fellowship and growth as stated in I John 1:7. The more we learn in fellowship at His feet as Mary did, the more of His glory we will see.

The Full Spectrum will be continued in the next post, due to length again! :) I will keep discussing the rainbow until each color and fact is covered.Thank God for the invisible things He teaches us as His child, His Redeeming Blood, and Purging of sin to keep us in His Fellowship!

God's Promise-The Rainbow

I am resending these posts out in my stand against the Supreme Court's Decision on Gay marriage. This is THE TRUE MEANING of the RAINBOW!!! PLEASE feel free to share and send them to as many people as you know, and take a stand too! #JesusAlreadyWon is the hashtag I started.

 God's Word is full of promises. But, have you ever stopped to realize that there is one that we can physically see today? This promise is the Rainbow.The rainbow was first mentioned in scripture in Genesis Chapter 9. The Lord chose the rainbow to be the token, or sign of the covenant He made with Noah after the Flood. This covenant, or promise, was that the entire world would never be flooded and destroyed by water again,Genesis 9:9-17.The Lord said that "....when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud;" Gen. 9:14. If we look at the facts that pertain to rainbows in general, we can see that it is a type of the Lord Himself.

A Rainbow is light. It starts out as pure white light. I John 1:7 says,"...that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." He is the source of all light because He IS THE LIGHT! The only Person or One that could be pure is Jesus. I John 3:3 says, "...even as he is pure."

The rainbow's pure white light has to be dispersed or refracted in THREE different ways to be seen as the seven colors known as the spectrum. This is displayed when light is shone through a prism, which is THREE sided! In the Bible, the number three represents the TRINITY!  I John 5:7 says,"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." We see the fulness of the Godhead in the light of the rainbow!

Even though WE can only see an arc of a rainbow, it is actually a full circle! If you were to fly in an airplane when a rainbow appeared, you would see a complete circle! The symbol of a circle in Scripture is a type of God's eternal existence. He has no beginning or end to His existence but to us He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, (Revelation 1:8). Revelation 1:18 says, "...behold I am alive for evermore, Amen."

The rainbow is also mentioned in two other places of scripture.Each place it is mentioned, it is seen in a different color.  One is Ezekiel 1:27 &28. Here the rainbow is seen in the vision the Lord gave Ezekiel of His Glory. It was a complete circle around the Lord and was the color of amber, yellow, and fire. This symbolized God's glory and Holiness.He was reminding Israel of His Holiness in judgment of their sin and rebellion.In Revelation 4:2&3. Here the rainbow was seen in Heaven, round about the throne in a complete circle again. This time is was emerald green.It was seen in John's vision just after he was told to "come up hither," a picture of the rapture.Here the green color is typical of eternal life, and assures us of the eternal life only He can give to His redeemed, (vs 2-4.) John 3:16,"....but have EVERLASTING LIFE! "

The first time the rainbow was mentioned to Noah, it was the one that we call the FULL SPECTRUM, or the one that shows every color that light is dispersed into. My next blog post will discuss this rainbow, as it is a full study in itself! It is one of the most favorite studies I have ever done in God's Word!

The Rainbow shows that He is pure, the Great 3 in 1, and the He is Eternal! Thank the Lord for this visible promise He has given to us and that it will never end! "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you...." (Gen.9:15).

Hide & Seek

As a child, other than playing tag, I think Hide and Seek was our most favorite game to play. Who doesn't remember running to hide while someone counted,to usually whatever number they wanted, and coming to find you? Well, now that we're "all grown-up," we are still GOD'S CHILD, if we are saved. He still wants us to "Hide and Seek."

Exodus 33:18-23 gives the account of Moses asking the Lord to see His glory. The Lord had just commissioned Moses to take the people up, and Moses was seeking to not only know God's way, but to KNOW the Lord, and see HIM in His glory, (vs.13 &18). The Lord told Moses that He would make all of His goodness pass before him, and proclaim the name of the Lord, (vs 19).Moses was going to be allowed to see Him as He passed by from behind, because no man in His mortal flesh can look upon God in His glory and live,(vs.20). The Lord told Moses,"Behold, there is a PLACE BY ME, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a CLIFT OF THE ROCK, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by,"(vs.22). Moses was going to be HIDDEN in the clift, or opening, in the middle of the rock, while he was SEEKING the LORD'S face and glory. While Moses was hiding there, he was protected by God's own hand, to shield him from the brightness of HIS GLORY, that would have killed him in his flesh. Only after the Lord had passed by BEFORE Moses, could he look upon the Lord's back parts. If we desire to know the Lord, to see HIS GLORY, and be close to him, we HAVE to hide ourselves in the clift of the rock. This clift of the rock is JESUS. Jesus is proclaimed as the Rock that the church is built upon in Matthew 16:18. He is our foundation for Life, and the strength that upholds us, as He did Moses.When He was on the cross, He was pierced in His side by a sword. This CLIFT of HIS SIDE (vs. a place by me)is where HE HIDES us for salvation and cleanses us with the blood that flowed from it, and COVERS us with it for safety.

Song of Solomon 2:14 says, "O my dove, that art in the CLEFTS OF THE ROCK,  in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance..". The Lord considers us His bride, and loves and protects us as the doves that are hidden in the rock for protection. The phrase "secret places of the stairs" speaks of the secret place of prayer and SEEKING God's face that leads to "Higher ground", just as stairs are a means of going upward, Matthew 6:6.May we learn in the secret places to live a holy life that pleases the Lord to allow us to live on higher ground, and have fellowship with the Lord.

Lastly, Psalms 27:4&5 say, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I SEEK after; that I may dwell in the house of Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.For in the time of trouble he shall HIDE me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock." The word pavilion here means in military terms a tent raised on posts as an ensign or banner. It also means in reference to kings, a covering where his armories are stored for safe keeping. Jesus was raised on a cross of posts over 2,000 years ago, and covers us 'neath the banner of the cross!" He covers us with His Hand for safe keeping and keeps us close to HIS ARMORY, or where HIS POWER of defence is!  The "secret of his tabernacle" once again refers to the quiet place of prayer and seeking God's face in the place of worship.Tabernacle also refers to the body. We are once again HIDDEN in HIM, in the body of Christ! When we are set upon THE ROCK, as the psalmist said, HE up holds us!

No matter how old we are, we NEVER need to stop HIDING AND SEEKING. What better place is there to be here on Earth, "HIDING " in Jesus, and "SEEKING" His face for salvation, safety, and solace?

He hideth my soul, in the cleft of the rock,
that shadows a dry thirsty land.
He hideth my life, in the depths of HIS LOVE,
and covers me there with HIS HAND!

Diary of a Worn-Out Mom!

We often hear of the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 and think-"That's the PERFECT MOM, there's no way I could do everything she does!" But, have you ever stopped to think that this is how she is viewed in the perspective of the Lord and those around her? This is not her own accreditation of herself. When thinking about all that we as Moms do and reading this passage of scripture, I see that from OUR point of view, it's a "Diary of a Worn-Out Mom!"

Whether we are a stay at home mom, or we work, we have a duty everyday to our family. This job was divinely given to us from the Lord (Gen.3 & I Timothy 5:14).  If you stay at home you care for the children, keep house, get groceries, pay bills, and the list goes on and on!If you work, you have all of these responsibilities AND go to a job everyday. But neither mom is better than the other. Just because you may be blessed to stay home doesn't make you weaker than the working mom. Just because you may work doesn't mean you are stronger than the stay at home mom. The reason for this it that each one of us ONLY get things done through God's help. He has promised to not give us more than what we can bear (I Corinth.10:13), but we have to LET HIM HELP US!  Verse 17 of this chapter says, "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms."Sometimes things are out of our control and we have no say over our circumstances. Sometimes we have them in control. Which ever the case may be, He knows all about them. He is the one that is there to help us bear the burden. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavey laden, and I will give you rest." We can "gird our loins" in strength through His Word, or Truth as it says in Ephs. 6:14. We need to have it close to our hearts and hid in them to give us the strength we need to make it through the day and any problems that arise.
 
 Why do we do the things we do? We love our family.Verse 18 says that she perceives that her merchandise is good. Verse 27 says she looks well to the ways of her household. If we didn't love or care for our them, none of these things would matter.Whether we are married or single moms, our husbands and children see our love as it is displayed to them, and it makes a difference. Verse 18 also says that "her candle goeth not out by night." Our families need to see the Light of God in us,and it assuredly will not go unrecognized.Verse 28 says, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed;her husband also and her praiseth her." To the mom that is saved and her husband is not, keep on loving. Even though it is hard and you have a load to carry in instructing your children in the Lord. DO NOT BE WEARY!Your instruction to your children will never leave them, (Prov. 6:22). The Lord  can and will use your witness to speak to your husband, (I Coritnthians 7:16).  It may be later than sooner, but God works IN HIS TIME!
 
When we take care of our responsibilites that the Lord has given us, and put HIM FIRST, we will have success. To the Lord true success IS faithfulness to HIM. "Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come." Although things may not turn out the way we think they should have, rest assured your labour is NOT IN VAIN! Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." The Lord's reward will surpass any we could imagine for ourselves. Only heaven will reveal all that you have done, and the Lord remembers EVERYTHING for HIS service and for our families. So, until then Worn-Out Mom, remember that " a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised, " Verse 39. It will be worth it all to hear HIM  say "Well done." (Matthew 25:21)

The Piece

We have been on a month-long treasure hunt at our house! My son has lost his Mario Bros. DS game and has been very upset about it. If any of you know him, you know he LOVES his video games. Just about every morning he asks me when he wakes up," Moma, are we gonna find my game today?" I tell him that we just have to keep looking for it and we prayed to find it. But, still no game has turned up! So, it continues on.When studying for my Sunday school lesson this week, the Lord brought this to my mind.It was the parable of the lost sheep and coin found in Luke 15.

As you may know, parables are "earthly" stories that the Lord used to teach us "heavenly" or spiritual truths. The Lord taught a great deal by these parables, and some of them are my favorite portions of Scripture. It has always amazed me how the Lord used everyday examples to teach us something, and the simplicity of them. Luke 15:3-7 tells of the shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one of them.This shepherd left the 99 and searched until he found it. We would think with 99 others that losing only one would not have seemed that important. But, vs 5 says,".. that when he hath found it, he LAYETH IT ON HIS SHOULDERS, REJOICING!" The shepherd responded as if this was the only sheep he had! It is the same way with us when Jesus, Our Great Shepherd saves us from sin. Multitudes had been saved before us ,and he has an untold number in His fold, but he loved us SO much, that he treated us as His only child that had been lost and is now found. II Peter 3:9 says that Jesus is, "...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." EVERY SOUL that God has created is precious to Him and not one is better than the other, for God is no respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34). He loves us and wants to save us from eternal death, sin, and fear. He cares for us as well. Verse 5 says he laid the sheep on his shoulders. We were in a helpless state and could not come to Him on our own. HE was the one that sought us out. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10.

The second parable He used when teaching this truth was of a woman that had 10 pieces of silver-the equivalent of 10 cents in Roman money. She had lost one silver piece, or 1 cent. How many of us bother to pick up a penny when we see it on the ground? Not many. Some would say it's just a penny and good for nothing. Others think it takes pennies to make dollars. But, to the woman, this money was her TREASURE. She did not take one piece for granted.She lit a candle and even swept the whole house to find the missing piece. Nothing was left  unturned until it was found.  Jesus considers us His Jewels or treasure as well. Malachi 3:17,'...in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Also in Matthew 13:45&46, Jesus tells of a man that gave all he had to find a pearl of great price. This is how Jesus sought us out.He left the throne of Heaven to come and seek out our lost soul, the missing piece. He held nothing back in His love toward us. He considers us His missing piece that completes his fold, or His treasure. It NEVER grows old to the Lord whenever another missing piece is found. Luke 15:7 says, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth...".

Thank the Lord if you are saved, that you ONCE were lost, but now are FOUND.Thank God that He came and looked for you when you couldn't come to him. If you are still a lost piece, you can be found. John 3:16 says, " For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then, the Lord will say of you, "Rejoice with me; for I have found THE PIECE...". (Luke15:9)!

Help Is On The Way

No one is ever happy all the time, despite what their smile says. We all know how we feel on the inside, but better yet, the Lord knows it just as well. He even knows why we feel that way, even if we don't understand why. When we have troubles, sadness, or burdens, whether or not we admit it, WE NEED HELP.

Even though the saying "God helps those whom help themselves" is true, it IS NOT IN THE BIBLE. When it comes to matters of the heart, HE is the ONLY one who CAN help. It matters not how spiritual a person may seem, we are all human and have not "arrived." We NEVER stop growing or needing the Lord's help while here on this earth. When troubles come,it is very easy to get down and saddened, or even depressed. Psalms 42:6a says, " O my God, my soul is cast down within me...".The great King of Israel David, whom God said was a man after his own heart, even said, "My God, my God, why art thou so far from helping me, and the words of my roaring?" Psalm 22:1. Sometimes it seems as if God is far away from us and is not listening or helping. Our prayers may seem to go no higher than our ceiling. But, God NEVER LEAVES US, nor FORSAKES US! (Heb. 13:5). He has promised to ALWAYS be there for us and He cannot go back on HIS PROMISES. Sometimes it may be because of sin in our lives, either known to us or we may not even realize it. If it is something we know we need to get right, let us confess our sin, and be restored into fellowship of the Lord. I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If we don't know if we have done something wrong or if it is something the Lord is trying to show us, we need to pray and ask the Lord to reveal it to us. He will gladly do so to help us. Psalm 139:23&24 says, "Search me O God, and know my heart:try me, and know my thoughts:And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." He will not punish us for doing so(James1:6), but will help us as a loving Father because we are his child.

Sometimes we haven't done anything wrong and troubles or sadness are piled upon us. Doubt may be accompanied with this sadness as well.An example from the Bible of this is when John the Baptist had been thrown into prison for preaching the Gospel. He had done nothing wrong. Jesus' own testimony of John was "..there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist..." Luke 7:28a. This trial had put doubt in John as to whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, when he had proclaimed Him as the Lamb of God! Jesus sent word to him by his disciples that he indeed was the Messiah with just the right words we needed to encourage his heart. God will do the same for us. One of my favorite verses to read when I am down is Psalm42:5 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? HOPE THOU IN GOD: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance" When we look upon His face, or countenance, He will help us through the Holy Spirit, (Psalm 27:8). "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord" Psalm 31:24."Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to HELP in time of need." Heb. 4:16.

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted,
Tell it to Jesus, Tell it to Jesus,
Are you grieving over joys departed,
Tell it to Jesus alone.
 "I had FAINTED, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.Wait on the Lord:be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:wait, I say on the Lord." Psalm 27 13 & 14. Help IS on the way!

Bird of TWO Feathers

Have you ever felt like you had a split personality, or that there was a war going on inside you between two different people? Well, if you are a child of God, there is! No, I'm not crazy! :) It plainly says in God's Word that when we are saved by God's grace, that we now have a Spiritual man and a Fleshly, or Carnal man (Romans chapter 6).There is a perfect picture of this in the Bible's account of the raven and the dove in Genesis chapter 8.

Genesis 8 finds Noah on the end side of the flood, waiting on God to see when they could leave the ark. The waters were departing from the earth, vs 1-3, and the ark now rested on the mountain tops of Ararat (present day Eastern Turkey border with Iran). Remember Noah had no window to look out of except the one located in the TOP of the ark. This allowed him to only see the sky and keep his eyes on the Lord! Verse 6&7 says Noah opened the window and sent forth a raven to see if the waters were dried up from the face of the earth. Verse 8 says he also sent forth a dove. Why were these two birds chosen?
 Both were on the ark and had been spared the judgment of the flood. They had been saved, and found sanctuary in the Ark. This is a type of a Christian when saved, and has come to the Ark of the cross for salvation. We have a old nature, the flesh, and a spiritual man, or nature after salvation. The raven represented the fleshly nature, and the dove the spiritual nature.

A raven is a scavenger. They feed on dead things and roam, not wanting to stay in one place. They are also fearful creatures that stalk or sneak up on their prey. Noah knew the habits of this bird. So, in order to find out if there was still carnage floating on the waters, and if there was any dry land that was uncovered, he released him first. The Bible says in Gen.8:7, "And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth." This bird found PLENTY to feast on, and was so engaged in doing so,that he NEVER returned to the ark. As Christians, we know what sinful habits we used to partake in before salvation, and we should "let them go" as Noah did. If we do not, they will keep us from the Lord and walking in the Spirit. "Romans 7:18-25  states .."that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing;..". Romans 13:14b says, "...Make NO PROVISION for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof;". To be carnally minded is death, Rms 8:6.We need to "mortify" the old man and purpose that we will not walk in old desires and sins that will prevent us from "returning to the ark,"to have fellowship with God, Galatians 5:24.

The dove is a creature that feeds on fruits, berries, and cornmeal and bread! Doves have a wholesome appetite.Noah knew this as well, and knew that if none of these were present, it would return to him.Gen.8:9a says, "But the dove found NO REST for the sole of her feet, and she returned unto him into the ark..." How can we have a wholesome appetite and stay walking in the Spirit? Galatians 5:16 tells us to "..Walk in the Spirit, and ye SHALL NOT FULFILL the lusts of the flesh." Ephesians 5:18b & 19 read, "...but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." The world has NOTHING wholesome or profitable to our spiritual man. Reading our Bibles daily, feasting on His Word as the dove eats bread and praying helps to fortify our spiritual man. The last half of Gen.8:9 says, "..then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark." James 4:8 says, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." As Noah, stretched out his hand to pull in the dove when she drew near the ark, the Lord will pull to Him in fellowship when we come before Him.

It is a daily battle to live for the Lord. One day this will end, praise the Lord, (I Thessalonians 5:13-18). Until then, the more we starve the "raven," the less we will see of it. When we feed the "dove", we are promised life and peace, (Romans 8:6). Which "bird of a feather" will you flock with today?