ON THE VANGUARD

I'M PREGNANT!
"Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."
3 John 2

I recently read an article that spoke of 8 natural ways to enhance a woman's fertility. Now I know what you're thinking...why? Well I am not pregnant, nor do I have a wife who is trying to get pregnant. Honestly, it was just the memory of when my daughter was born that spurred the interest. We tried for a while to get pregnant only to result in misses and an empty sack. So I wanted to see what we had done right or wrong. But as I read this article, I began to see the spiritual connection concerning fertility.
Studies show that 1 in 8 couples are infertile. In talking with people who declare themselves Christian, it might be a true spiritual statistic as well. I define spiritual fertility as those who have a passion for Christ as opposed to those who just go to church out of habit and lack any true feelings for God; those who take the title but live amiss. It is my desire, as has always been my goal with the ON THE VANGUARD blog and devos, that you would be strengthened. With that in mind, I want to make the parallels from this article.
The first way named is practice. Just as a couple gets together physically to enjoy each other's company and body, so also we need to come together with God and enjoy intimacy with Him. I recall a book I read in college that defined intimacy as: into me see. The love we share with our spouse should be an overflow of the love we share with God. This can be seen in Ephesians 5:25-33 where Paul refers to our relationship with others being a reflection of God's relationship with us. We need to invite God to see into us, as He invites us to see into Him.
The following three steps refer to health issues, such as taking care of our body through exercise, ceasing bad habits and addictions of drinking and smoking, and being sure to get enough rest. As we prepare ourselves for our own pregnancy of fulfilled dreams with God, we must also consider our spiritual health. Take a moment to reflect on your spirit's health. Are you exercising your faith? Are you involved in bad habits or sins that you have failed to release? And are you resting in the Spirit? Psalm 46:10 reminds us to be still and know that He is God. So unless we are taking care of our bodies or spirits, we cannot expect to have the intimacy with God that is needed to hear the desires and dreams He is birthing in us.
Step five is cleaning house. Here it is pointed out that certain household chemicals can hinder the normal workings of the body. Here again we can see the relationship that the world pushes on our spirit. We are in the world to make a difference, not to be conformed by it (Rom 12:2). Let us clean ourselves from our connections with sin.
The final steps include scoreing well on physical exams, taking vitamin B, and enjoying dairy. Although we do not have to visit the doctor for our exams, we are still graded. Our attitude can be one of grumbling or one of joy, and the affects of our attitude can determine if we pass the test or repeat it. And what better vitamin B than the 'B'ible. We need to daily take in the Bible as it will encourage us and strengthen us in our daily battles. Remember, God's word is a light unto our path and lamp unto our feet (Ps 119:105). Lastly, as physically one is told to enjoy dairy, so spiritually we are encouraged to enjoy fellow believers. Allow other believers to build you up as you take the time to hear God speaking through them into your life (Heb 10:25).
No joy can compare to the birth of a child, and I have been blessed to experience this twice. But as God gives us dreams, He also wants to see them birthed in our lives. Before this birth can take place, however, we must be sure we are ready. It is my desire that we all prosper in life, but we first need to prosper in spirit as 3 John 2 reminds us. So are you pregnant? Has God given you a dream waiting to be birthed? Are you asking for God to give you a dream? Let us first put ourselves in the proper position and see what God, in time, births in us to share with others. Prepare yourself for fertility, and join me ON THE VANGUARD!


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THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
"The LORD said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.'"
Leviticus 23:33-34

As we come to the end of the Jewish season of high holy days, we come to the beginning of the eight days of Sukkot. It is in this season we find two distinct purposes. The first derives from Leviticus 23 where the LORD speaks concerning the fall harvest. Sukkot was to be a time of bringing in the latter harvest; a Jewish Thanksgiving so to say. A second purpose of Sukkot lays within the command to dwell in booths as a memorial of Israel's wilderness experience. To quote Barney Kasdan, "We know from the Torah that God dwelt with his people in their forty-year wilderness camping trip. Yet, as we camp in booths today, we should be reminded that this same faithful God watches over our lives."
A sukkah is a temporary hut in which one is to live instead of in a permanent home. At the very least, one is expected to eat a mimimum one meal per day within the sukkah as a remembrance. Since it is only temporary, it serves that the exterior three walls would seem flimsy. It is the roof that bears the utmost importance as it should consist of anything grown from the ground, be it corn stalks, branches, or palm branches. Likewise, the interior also fits in with the harvest theme as fruit decorates the inside of the sukkah. As the feast then begins when the sun falls, the kiddush is said over the wine and a blessing pronounced over the challah.
With the remembrance of Sukkot being the memory of God dwelling with us, it serves true that the season of Sukkot could indeed be the true time of Jesus' birth. Whether we take the three and a half years of Christ's ministry to substract from Shavout (Easter), or we consider the shepherds would not have been outside with sheep in the cold of winter, we still would come to rest that sometime in the late fall, Jesus Christ was born. This adds to show us that Christ was born in the season on Sukkot. It is Sukkot that is known as the holy day commemorating God's dwelling with His people, and how fitting that it would be fulfilled in this season.
But moreso, how does Sukkot apply to us today? The sukkah is a guidline illustrating God's desire to dwell with His people. Perhaps the true question that should be asked in this season is more straight forward. Is Christ dwelling with you? There are many Jews who this season will set up a sukkah and thank the LORD of the latter harvest. Simply doing a search on Google.com brings up many illustrations of the ways and booths people will celebrate in. But as this is just a demonstration, perhaps we need to focus more on you personally.
Is Christ able to dwell in you? Have you opened yourself up and received Him as Lord of your life? Are you going through the motions and confessing only for the security of 'life insurance', or do you truely worship God? Yes, this is a season of celebrating the harvest, but there are many that have not been harvested (Matt 9:37-38). God wants to dwell with all His children; He wants to sukkah with them. Isn't it time we ask ourselves if He has a place to dwell in us? And then, isn't it time we invite others into our dwelling as well? The 'yes' response to this question is what gives reason for a festival.
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Kasdan, Barney, God's Appointed Times.