What Do You See God Doing?

                           

Once in speaking to the Jewish authorities, Jesus said these words: “The Son does nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing.” The very words that He uttered should also go for every believer. Fortunately for us, we have been given room to fail, time to grow, and abundant grace to cover us through it all. Never could I count the times that I have acted on my own, not seeing what the Father was doing, but only what my flesh was dictating. Have we not all blundered here? I’m sure it isn’t I alone who has taken falls. In fact, who is it that can total up their sins? But I’d really like to center in on the second part of Jesus’ statement: “ but only what He sees the Father doing .”

How often do we see what the Spirit is doing in our lives, and then go on to walk right in step with Him? And in the end it is we ourselves who must be certain that truly it is God who walks beside us, and not a deceiver. For we know that we couldn’t turn to the world to support our conviction; they cannot understand the things of the Spirit. And there may be times when few, if any believers, will support the stand that we choose to take. What then? It is for this reason that we must be fully convinced that God has spoken. Whether it be to move forward, stand still, or backpedal, we must be convinced. In this we can surely believe that Jesus never failed, even as He never failed in any of His comings and goings. Do you remember the day when He received a message that His good friend Lazarus was sick? Nevertheless He remained where He was for two more days. This may have confused some who were with Him. They may have felt that He appeared cold or indifferent in light of the news. But it wasn’t that at all. It simply had to do with the statement He once made: “The Son does nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing.” On that day, as always, Jesus saw what the Father was doing. He was remaining still. He moved not from His place. However on the third day the Father arose. It was then that the Lord spoke to His disciples, saying, “Let us go to Judea again… our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” The disciples interjected that if he slept he would get well. It was then that Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”

But how was it that the Son was always aware of what the Father was doing? Was he able to follow His every move simply because he was His Son, or because he himself was divine? Divine or not, it’s written in scripture that Jesus learned obedience through the things that he suffered. I think that we believers would be fooling ourselves if we thought that obedience was all that he needed to learn. We may tell ourselves that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Though somehow I believe that our focus is much more on the God part. Our Lord was quite human also. And because he was human, he had to learn many of the things that humans have to learn. When he was a young boy he no doubt had to learn how to pray. I doubt that when he was a child that he was having some otherworldly quiet times with his heavenly Father, just because he was the Son of God. When he was a young man there must have been times when he had to learn to be patient in prayer until he sensed the presence of the Spirit. Before his life was over we can be sure that he came to know all of the difficulties familiar to the human race. Yet because of his closeness to the Father, through the Spirit, he overcame each one. Still, the closeness wasn’t a given - not for Jesus the man. He would only become intimate with the Father through the same vehicle by which all men could do so. This would be through a life of prayer. And in this he never failed.

The number one thing concerning every believer’s walk with God, is and has always been, a good healthy life of communion with Him. Everything else will stem from this. As our time in His presence goes, so will we come to know Him; as we come to know Him, so will our relationship with Him be. If the time we spend before the Lord each day is pleasing to Him in quality, quantity, and depth of communication, then He will open up to us. He will reveal much about who He is, about who we are, and how we fit into the grand scheme of things. He may even unfold mysteries, those which His beloved apostle Paul spoke of. According to what we put into our time spent before the Almighty, to this degree will we receive of Him. If it is little, we’ll be granted little in return. But if much, then the same will we reap. Not only this, but we will see what He is doing. We will see it because He chooses to reveal it. We then will know when to move and when to be still; when to cast our pearls before another and when to withhold; when to speak and when to hold our tongue. At times God will even show Himself to us on another’s path. Often this is because the one to who the path belongs cannot detect Him; the reason being that their vision is poor; their vision is poor because they do not exercise it in the moments that He calls for them to sit and behold Him. And so, He turns to His child who sees, so that they may relay a message. Unless the one whose vision is weak is among the newborn babes of the kingdom, with eyes barely opened, this would truly be a sad picture of the believer. Ideally the Lord would love to speak directly to every soul born of Him, but it cannot always be.

I am convinced that the reason so many today do not hear from God is because the quiet times of the average believer are sporadic and without a lot to say. However, to sit before Him daily, in meditation, praise, supplication, and to just speak to Him of all that’s on our mind, will be more valuable to our spirit man than we’ll ever know. Still, not only are our times before the Lord sporadic, but when we do come before Him we speak only of the big things: What ministry should I be involved in? Touch me with your healing hand. Bring salvation to my loved ones. These are definitely valid requests and I am not making light of them. Yet it is wrong to want to hear from God where it concerns only what appears to loom large. He is not always taking giant steps as He walks with us. Don’t despise the small matters - that which seems to us rather trivial, even though when the words were spoken we knew that they were His. They may be words He’ll build upon in the future. And enjoy the pleasant strolls with the Lord; savor the places of rest. Too often are we in a hurry when we come to Him. We come simply to say what we have to say, and depart. Our aim is to take four giant steps and be on our worldly way. Yet His desire for us is to sit back, settle in, and soak in His Spirit for a good long while. This done on a daily basis will change our lives, even to the overflowing of our souls.

The union that is depicted in the bible between our heavenly Father and His child is surely one of intimacy. In fact, we can safely say that no relationship that we are acquainted with in our world could be more intimate. However, the marriage union would come closest. Here we’ve been clearly shown in scripture that God takes a man and a woman and makes of the two, one. Yet in the spirit world the believer is brought into a oneness with the Triune God, thus surpassing what has been done on earth. This great mystery occurs in places far more supreme and superior to what we have come to know in the shadowy land in which we live. This oneness has not to do with the flesh but with Spirit and Truth; for it is into high places that He has called us - even into His Person.

Surely this must describe the union with God that every Christian longs for. But how is it attained? How do we ascend to those secret places on high, even as the psalmist wrote of? Salvation is free; of this there is no doubt. But all who have come to abide under His shadow, and into the secret place of the Most High God, have gotten there by no other means than by striving for it. It must be sought out diligently day after day. It is no other place but here that we will be surrounded by a fortress of angels, and where deliverance becomes our daily bread. Here is where the child of God is not moved by fears and doubts, for truly he has come to trust in the One whose wings he takes refuge under. He will witness the demise of many, though he shall be kept with strength unfailing. The one who comes to the secret place will never fall prey to evil, but instead he has thrust the darkness beneath him. Valiant is he in the warfare to which he has been called, and victory is his strong drink; he masters the sword and the shield. Truly he has been set on high, for he has drawn near to his God; he calls to Him and the answer is without delay. Forever he is shown the wonders of His salvation, even unto life everlasting.

He who has come to dwell in the secret place of the Most High is also the one who lives life abundantly, just as our Savior once stated. His hope for the future is forever bright, while faith soars to worlds unknown. Lastly, it’s the attribute most exalted that the Father sets upon his head - the golden crown of love. And it makes the man a king.

No doubt it is difficult for many to believe that such a life can belong to one who is earthbound. Nevertheless the writer of the 91^st Psalm declared it so. Not only this, but he in no way suggests that the high places are restricted to spiritual giants or perfect Christians, of which we know they do not exist. Our God loves the common folk. It is the common and humble people of the earth who have set their vision on Him, that He desires to lead to the secret places. Still, all of it depends on us. In actuality it takes nothing more than a strong union with Him, which comes from a life of unbroken communion; to press in until we have found our place in the Son; to turn from this world and raise our vision to the heavens. From all this will grow intimacy, through which will sprout faith and love. And these will ever flourish in accordance with the life that has been set apart to Him.

How He longs to reveal to His children the things that He has ordained - even the deep things. But He cannot. We come and go too quickly from before His presence; and so He speaks little to us. But for all who linger there, that they may know Him - for these He unveils hidden treasure, and they themselves are hidden on high. It is in those high and holy places that they’ve become abandoned to their God. And there do they always perceive the things that the Father is doing.

　

　

-J. Pecoraro



　

　

　

　

　

　

O GREAT DAY

Upon the clouds – where hearts run Free,

And with the Fairest Lover,

There rode a cosmic cavalry

And Glory was their cover.

How songs rang out on the Newborn Day.

They were songs of Joy and Power,

As all sat Tall in vast array,

Each rider like a Tower.

Hope was once their weary test

Concerning the Great Day.

But now all hope was Manifest

As their Captain led the way.

Such Majesty upon His Head

Could Ne’er be told nor written.

And with His Sword so marked by dread

All foes would soon be smitten.

How His Eyes burned o so bright.

They’d lay each rebel Bare,

Exposing in them what was night

And Knowing every hair.

He wore a vesture dipped in Blood;

This to His enemy’s shame.

Yet by that Flowing Crimson Flood

This Warrior gained a Name.

His Name to none He could not show –

Not to those who knew Him best.

For God and God Alone would know

His Triumphs and His Quest.

 

Now there filled the endless skies

Innumerable white steeds,

And fierce, resonant battle cries

While attesting to the Creed.

Columns advanced side by side –

No, none could see their end.

They rode as Deep as they were Wide.

Now Conviction would not bend.

Then all did halt at His Command.

Throughout heaven there was Silence,

As the Captain gazed on a Bloody land

And beheld the peoples’ Violence.

  

To all He signaled – to Far and Wide.

Into a canter broke each steed.

One matched another stride for stride;

Was Glorious indeed.

Suddenly the pace sped up

And hard they all did ride.

Heaven’s Wrath had Filled the cup

With earth no place to hide.

Now the horses Rent the Skies

With pounding hooves of Thunder.

Lightning Flashed, blinding eyes,

And clouds were torn Asunder.

They rode with Fury, every man,

Hearts never so Awoken.

Though as Filled with Fire they ran,

The ranks were never broken.

Soon would start the great descent

To touch down in the east,

A mighty army Heaven-sent

To lay hold of the Beast.

As they alighted on the earth

The Nations were Amazed.

So long they’d heard of a mass Rebirth –

Still, minds were Sorely dazed.

Dismounting from the fairest steed

In the presence of Perdition,

The Captain glared at Satan’s seed

And at all his coalition.

To the Dark One it was shown

That now had come his Final hour,

As they bound him to a Great millstone

And Stripped away his power.

Then the Captain turned to a Weary World

And He vowed that Peace and Love,

Would be upon the earth Unfurled –

He had brought it From Above.

His army raised His Banner high.

He wiped the world’s Tears –

The Prince who rode down from The Sky,

And He Reigned A Thousand Years.

-  J. Pecoraro

In The Mount Of The Lord It Is Provided

We do not know all of the thoughts that raced through the mind of Abraham as he journeyed with Isaac and two of his servants on the way to the land of Moriah. There he would truly be tested. Was he submitted so fully to his God, that he’d sacrifice to Him the son of his love? The journey to Moriah would be at least two days long. During that time, did every one of Abraham’s thoughts have to do with faith? Was there none of doubt, fear, or suspicion? It is however evident, that by the time Abraham left his servants and started for the mountain, that he was fully convinced of Isaac’s safe return with him.

In my heart I believe that his God had already seen that His prized servant was prepared within for the moment just ahead. He saw in Abraham a man who had come to full stature in the Lord of his calling. At this point in time Abraham was beyond looking for escape routes from the perfect will of God. And so, now he knew that he must come to grips with the most difficult thing that he’d ever undertake. No more does he look or hope for a fork in the road as when he was young. There is no other way than what the message to him had declared: “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering ...” There was a day when Abraham sought out what his Lord would permit, though in his heart he knew that it wasn’t the more excellent way. Then he spoke, thought, and understood as one not yet whole in spirit. But now he would not allow doubt or fear to enter while he pondered a monumental task before him. Abraham would climb up into the mountain, his heart and mind steadfast on the offering up of his son – the son of his love - through who was to come the promise.

All believers, who by their lives threaten the kingdom of darkness, will have trouble; there’ll be mountains to ascend to, all of a different sort. It will be inevitable. Yet they must take courage. That haughty part of the landscape, that they’ll dread to think of or look upon, will turn out to be the very place where the answer is hidden. In other words, the victory comes to us only on the mountain. The key to unlock the door that stands defiantly before us, to stop our progress in the Spirit, will be found in the heights. However, our human nature will tell us that the solution to our trial may be found in more favorable places. We may feel that all can be made right again beside a peaceful running stream at the foothills of our mountain. Or possibly we will imagine that a healing of some dreadful thing within us will come on a place of level ground, just a short way up the mountain, where the sun seems to shine in such a warm and pleasant way. But much more than not these are the voices of the flesh – the Ishmael in us - stating that our troubles and our sorrows can be faced and defeated fairly easily, without much energy spent or time wrestling with God in prayer. Remember; that was how Jacob received a great blessing from the Lord.

If the spirit man within us is not tested and proved - and at times sorely – then how does he grow? How does he become strong? How does he accumulate wisdom and understanding where it concerns the warfare we have all been called to? It is the Lord who has formed the paths of each and every heir of the kingdom, and they have not been drawn up according to our wishes or on our own terms. There was a time when Abraham took the smooth and easy route. Coming to where the road forked, he would select what was level and not too rough to trod, or perhaps the way with the more pleasant surroundings. “Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!” Abraham once pleaded with the Lord. After all, it was the simpler way. Ishmael had already been born to the patriarch and was now fourteen years of age. Let’s not complicate matters, were his thoughts. Let well enough alone. This was no doubt his thinking. But our thoughts are not His (God’s) thoughts, Isaiah once wrote.

God tests the spirit man so that we may know if faith abounds. The birth of Ishmael did not test Abraham’s faith in the Almighty, since in that birth there was nothing more involved than that which was to be expected. But now Abraham needed to believe that a child would be born to both he and his wife, neither of who were capable of reproducing any longer. Was he prepared for this? The fact of the matter is that until we’ve become a whole man – in proportion to the place we’ve attained to in the Spirit – then the way that is smooth and where the sun shines brightest will normally be the direction we’ll head for. And God will allow it. He is gracious and full of mercy. He sees the weakness of our frames. But for all who desire strength, wisdom, courage, and are bent on putting the arrow in the bull’s-eye before their time in this world is gone – for these He will shatter every prop, so that faith alone in the One True God becomes their only path. For them there is no permissive will afforded from on high; it was taken out of the way on the day they came of age, now leaving but a single road to look down. It will take them to their mountain. This is what Abraham travelled with Isaac in the hour of his most severe testing.

So often do God’s children go after the way of the flesh, just as our forefather Abraham once did. If we have a choice, it’s the easier path. After all, then we ourselves can have a hand in bringing about the answer we are looking for. But if that answer must be Isaac, and not Ishmael, then at this point God alone has to be trusted; at this point we need to lay our own reasoning down; and we may need to take up a cross. This is Isaac. This is where there is no fork in the road. Our heavenly Father sees we are grown enough to overcome the mountain ahead. Was this not what Jesus was talking about when He spoke these words to Peter: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”

If we are adamant in getting our way, then we just may toil beneath the heavy weight of a guilty conscience, while expending much energy to boot. But many prefer this to truth. In such cases the Lord will often sit back and let us learn a difficult lesson here, but usually not immediately. Following a time of hard labor, there’s a good chance that all will go well with us, and with no mountain to climb. However, there’ll be deep waters afterwards. This scenario will be reversed when we go down the road that the finger of the Spirit has pointed to. First comes the test to break the heart. Then afterward we are flooded by the peaceable fruit of righteousness; our feet have been put in open spaces at the top of the mountain to which we’ve ascended.

When the mountain calls, it is always best to sacrifice to Him the thing dear to us. There we must put a knife to it, though it be difficult. This will eventually result in the birth of something far more glorious than what was slain; something not of the bondwoman but of the freewoman; not of Ishmael but of Isaac; something that must be believed for from our God, for it will not be of the flesh but of the Spirit. In the mount of the Lord it is provided. Great is our God.

- J. Pecoraro

Something in the bible that has never ceased to grab my
attention is the working together of Old Testament shadows with the New Testament realities. What do I mean by
this? Listen to the Saviour’s words in the days when He walked the earth: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and are dead… I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever.” True, there was value in the manna that fell in Moses’ day, but it paled in comparison to the living manna, who would not only give life to the outer man but also to the spirit man – one manna being but a shadow of the Real yet to come. Also, in the time before Christ, God’s people gathered to worship in temples made by hands. We still join together in such places today. However,
what has been made by hands will never be of more significance than the new and living temple, formed by none but the One on high. It’s a New Day! We can go on and on with antiquated statutes, provisions, and ordinances of all types.
But let me ask this. Do you feel that our Father in heaven took any real interest in the blood of sacrificial animals? I think not. It was only meant to point us ahead to a greater day, as were all other things of Old Testament times. The manna; the temple; the endless flow of the shed blood of animals through the centuries. These and so many more such things, from a distant world of long ago, were simply given to guide us along the way and to eventually unfold final truths.
We’ve heard of them referred to as pictures and types and foreshadows.

Consider this. When He commanded the ancients to rest one day in seven, this rest was never meant to be an end in itself. His eye was on a greater day; and the full unfolding of His plan for His people would speak of a greater rest. It’d be a rest to far surpass a rest for the flesh , and then for more than a mere twenty-four hours a week. This rest would be an eternal rest, not for the first man of the earth, but for the second man born from above.

But there is so much that has changed, or maybe we should say, that has become magnified, from
the time of the Old Testament, up to the resurrection of Christ; for instance, there’s the role of the prophet. Once only certain men were designated to function in this capacity, and for the most
part the Spirit would do no more than come upon them. This was but for a time, while they would write or speak of things to come. When the Holy Spirit served the intended purpose, He would then depart. Not so in the day in which we live. Today every child of God has become His
prophet; to add, a prophet is now one who simply professes truth relating to the One True Supreme Being. Granted, no two believers will ever serve in this office in the very same manner and to the same degree. Nevertheless, all who profess Him speak as His prophets. Another thing to consider is that in the New Day in which we live, the Spirit doesn’t leave us after working through us, but contrariwise He’ll fill our spirit man through all eternity. And so, He’ll not merely rest upon us any longer, but abide within forever. Still, it doesn’t end there. Before Christ had come, that select few who spoke living words as oracles of God, did so as servants. We today do not tell of the Most High as His servants, but as His very offspring. Yes, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within. There He gives birth to the dead – a spirit that has long been lifeless. It is a birth that truly makes us children of our Father in heaven. And so, the people of faith have risen from servants under Moses, to sons under Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of the great difference between the two positions in his letter to the Galatians.

By Jesus’ return back to the Father all has been made complete. Yet in the time preceding His
visitation to our world all things were simply in part. Do you remember of how each year one man was chosen out of Israel’s priesthood to serve as high priest for that year? During this period he would enter the holy of holies but a single time – and not without blood – as the scripture
states. This blood only served to cover the sins of the nation, but just until the same ritual was repeated over again in its designated season. On and on the practice continued, along with
multiple other types of practices. Yet by their endless repetitions nothing had ever changed. But when Jesus shouted aloud with the cry of a warrior upon the drawing of His last breath, the way into the most holy place became opened wide – opened to every believer so that each one may now have access to God, to know, love, and serve Him there always. That fierce rending of the curtain speaks to us today of the tearing away of the flesh of Christ, the One Way to the
Father. This occurrence changed our relationship with the Triune God forever.
Now these words have been spoken to us: “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.” Today, that which was in part has been swept away; the shadows have passed. Now all has been made whole and every bit complete in Jesus Christ, who has not to do
with the shadows, but only with the Real; and He is all that we need. In Him,
as the scripture states, is hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It’s another way of saying that all things pertaining to God lie only in the Son. And there they wait to be discovered by the heirs of the kingdom.


In the Old Testament, even people served as types and pictures of the Real – the Real, who would come in a New Day. One example is Abraham. Who was he? He was a type; he was a representation. Abraham would serve as a forerunner to a great people, who would come into being long after his day. Great they would be both in essence and in number. They would be the church. But how was Abraham a forerunner of God’s present-day people? First of all, like us, he was not under the law. It hadn’t yet come. To add, he was instructed by his Maker to walk by faith. Does it sound familiar? Paul the apostle stressed over and over to the early church that they were not under the law. Furthermore, he told them that they would be saved through faith, and in faith would their walk in the Lord be; all of this just like our father Abraham. However, the law was needed following the time of Abraham. The main purpose for this was to show that such a great salvation could never be earned by the keeping of its statutes. Painfully we’d need to learn to put our faith in another, who would satisfy God through the law on our behalf. In this we were humbled, acknowledging what Paul once wrote: “ Within our flesh dwells no good thing.” And so, once again – who was Abraham? He was the foreshadower of every New Testament believer. He would be multiplied many millions of times over throughout the New Testament age. Yet the work in him was only in part, for he lacked the abiding Spirit within, and therefore the entire new birth. Yet in Christ the work has been made complete, though for now, as it were just in vessels of clay. Now let’s turn to the man, Melchizedek, the man of mystery. The bible speaks of him as being both a king and a priest. This is remarkable. No one man was to serve as both king and priest – not any man having to do with Israel. And the scriptures don’t exactly make his identity clear to us. But there is something that is even more important than his identity. It has to do with his purpose. This side of heaven we may never know the entirety of his purpose. However, one thing we can be sure of is that, besides his coming to prefigure the Son of God, he’d serve also as a forerunner to all who would later be born of the Spirit. And so, he like Abraham would be duplicated countless times. Yet how is it that we have been fashioned after him? We can begin with the fact that Melchizedek was a king; to add, he was a priest. Understanding this, we can see first that he was royalty. And the born again one, who has been given birth by the King of all creation, by way of His Spirit – are we not royalty? Moreover, the man of mystery was also a priest. But in this matter, has not the Lord Jesus done away with the great veil that once separated the holy place from the innermost sanctuary? No longer is the way closed. Now all may enter as beloved priests of the Most High God. Therefore today, in the final writing of the scriptures, we can read, “ We have been made a nation of kings and priests unto our God.” And so, within every vessel of faith there will always be found the Spirit of Melchizedek, a foreshadower, leading us in the way of our eternal calling.

Lastly there were our first parents. Surely Adam and Eve were forerunners for every soul to be set apart for salvation. Once their world knew not a single flaw; there was no defect, frailty, inadequacy, or vulnerability of any sort. The only test lied in them. And we’ve all heard of the outcome. Yet prior to the fall, all creation was every bit whole. The environment in which they
walked would have surely surpassed our imaginations. The air they breathed - the things they saw – the sounds they heard – will never be captured on the big screen. That’s because Hollywood with all of its resources could never summons the Spirit of the Most High God, who filled that world through and through. But even that place, in all of its beauty and wonder, was pointing ahead to a land that would one day overshadow even it.

“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God...’ “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new…’ “And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light…And he showed me a pure river of the
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb… And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face. There shall be no night there: They need no
lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

From a garden in Paradise to a celestial and eternal city. Our first parents once lived in a
world of peace, rest, wonder, and great joy. Tragically, their world was lost. And so God would do a greater thing in a land surpassing theirs, so that in it we together with them should one day be made perfect. Adam and Eve – Melchizedek – Abraham. The first looks ahead to the most glorious environment we’ll ever know. The next tells of the honor bestowed upon every child of God our Father. And the last portrays pure hearts of faith in Him forever. Still, the law needed to
come between the time of these forerunners and the church of a future day. Then we’d nderstand that His never-ending kingdom wouldn’t become our inheritance by the mastering of His
ordinances. If that were the case, we would feel deserving of a world so undeserved by mere mortals. But to the contrary, we’d need to realize that it was the gift of God, not worked for, but a gift. For if we could work for life eternal, it nullifies payment made by the Son on our behalf. And so, following the Old Testament types and figures from that ancient world of long ago, of whom actually there were many, there had to come the law. It was imperative that it come into rule, so that we the church would truly know that eternal salvation could only be ours by the pure, unfailing mercies of God.

The foreshadowers of old pointed out the way, that we should excel beyond the places to which they were brought - their numerous shadows directing us towards the Real. Concerning this, a thought came to me one day. Suddenly I saw that all of it can be likened to a simple child’s
puzzle. We’ve all seen one. There is a small board on which the outlines of its pieces can be seen. Then there are the pieces themselves. Prior to our Lord’s coming to earth, all that believers had was the board without the pieces, nothing more than a likeness of them. But God has provided a better thing for us, as the writer of Hebrews puts it; the better thing being the pieces themselves. Still, we struggle with how it all fits together. But the apostle Paul explained to us why this is. He said that now we see as in a mirror dimly. However, there’ll come the Day when He wipes the mirror clean. Then we will know even as we are known. Now there are no more questions;
now there are no more doubts; all fears, mistrust, and uncertainty have been put to rest for all time. For from out of Eden has come the kingdom of God. From out of the Old has come the New and all of the pieces have been set in place. The first creation has been delivered into the fullness of its redemption, even as it will be with all of the children of God. Praise be to the
One who sits upon the throne.


- J. Pecoraro

From Faith To Faith

Windows of heaven flung open wide;
A mighty rushing wind is sent,
Bound for earth as oft before
To blast with fury thru this tent.

For in this tent I must abide
Until I step out in the sun;
Sever then the silver cord
That I be born and work be done.

For in this sixth day I must toil.
But by Thy Spirit have it be.
Then I shall enter heaven's rest.
And thru eternity be free.

- J. Pecoraro

Awe Inspiring God

How awesome is our God,

With whom we have to do,

Who neath our feet spreads pasture green

And to the sky speaks blue.

He takes the stars like priceless jewels

And sets each one in place,

That forever they may stand and sing

Before His glorious Face.

How awesome is our God,

Who fills the earth with seas.

He orders forth the raging winds

Yet sends the gentle breeze.

The highest mountain He brings down

To raise the lowest hill,

The working of His mighty Hand

For the pleasure of His will.

How awesome is our God!

He gives life to the dead!

And more than this He sets His guard

Upon that living head.

He leads him on in triumph;

Bows low to call him "son";

And walks with him thru all his days

Until his time is done.

How awesome is our God,

Whose paths escape our sight,

Who rides the tempest - dark and grim -

Yet dwells in heaven's great light.

Transcends His boundless universe,

Still His bosom is our nest,

Then sits upon eternity

And ordains it for His Rest.

-J. Pecoraro

Contenders For The Crowns

I know a man in Christ; it wasn’t long ago that this man had a dream. The dream was about nothing more than a simple baseball game. And so it’s not the dream that’s important, but it was what the dream set off. When the man awoke he began to think of his ball playing years. Taking himself back delighted him. However when finally he returned to the present, he thought of how the sixties and seventies were long ago. Then he realized that not only couldn’t he get a good swing on a bat anymore, but he’d have a hard time even gripping one. And as far as the speed he once had around the bases – it was long gone. Now he had lost the ability to even jog, due to a physical condition. Depression began to take hold of him. But just in time the Spirit came to his rescue. He was sure that he felt His touch. Next the Spirit even spoke. He began telling the man that those games were not the real contests, and that it was now that he was being called to exercise his true gifts and talents. The Spirit spoke of how even now he was at climactic points in the contests of his life – contests given him from above. But the man was reminded that they are on a battlefield; and that they are on a running track; and that they are in a prizefighter’s ring. The Spirit encouraged the man to fight for the prize that awaited him, ensuring that there was laid up in store for him an imperishable crown.

The outcome of it all was this. The man felt that he was given a fresh new start in contending with a dark and menacing adversary. Now his main ambition was that at the end of his time in this world he would be found still standing – standing and the victor in the contest of his life; that on the last day he could leap with his hands raised high in the air, with the enemy of his soul on the canvass. This now had become his great hope. Yet he believed that first he had to present himself humbly before his God, and in all of his infirmities. For he had come to understand that when we are weak, only then are we strong.

As for his imperishable crown, he’d read how that Jesus will descend to earth one day with many crowns upon His head. What he wished more than anything, was that his Lord would accept his; that it would be numbered with the many. For he was convinced that it was Christ and no other, who at the Resurrection became every believer’s victory, both now and forever.

This man’s experience caused me to ponder an issue that I’d already felt to be true; it is this. The real contests in life – they haven’t to do with the world of sports with which we’re all acquainted. Still thousands upon thousands fill stadiums every day all over the globe to witness athletic events, cheering and booing as though something of such great importance hung in the balance. Yet in the eyes of the saints who have gone on before us, we can be assured that the outcome of these games are inconsequential. As children of God and believers in His kingdom, should we not come to understand who we are? As many are the numbers that gather together to watch as earthly teams compete – far less are they than the throngs who draw near to observe the offspring of God. For who can know the sum of “an innumerable company of angels along with the spirits of just men made perfect?” The book of Hebrews tells of them. These are the great cloud of witnesses that surround us, watching and praying while we contend with the darkness. These are conflicts that the world can neither see nor understand. But He opens the eyes of His own that they may know what is true. Still, who is it that we contend for? Should it not be for the Son, who the man clearly saw as being every believer’s victory? Is He not then worthy of every crown? And that they all may adorn the once wounded Head on the day He descends to our world from the right hand of Power – in Light unapproachable and in all of heaven’s glory. Even as it’s written in the end – come, Lord Jesus!

- J. Pecoraro