Reboot

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Family,  

                                                                                          

                Every so often, when my wife and I are watching television, our TV will freeze up. After a while a message will come up saying that our server is not connected to the network (whatever that means). Then we will have to reboot the system in order to regain our connection. This is very frustrating and it always seems to occur when we are watching a murder mystery and they are about to reveal the killer. I also find this problem with my cell phone as well. Unless I am in an area where I can pick up network connection, I won’t have any service (Grrr...).

                This is also true when it comes to God. Jesus died and rose again so that we can have continual access to God. “For through him (Jesus Christ) we both have access by one spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18) This is so tremendous! We have the awesome privilege of having continual fellowship with our Daddy and He is able to communicate with us (Wow)! This is because the connection between us two is unbroken.

                But what happens sometimes, is that we get caught-up with the things of the world and allow ourselves to get distracted from the ways of God. At these times we may lose our sweet connection to God. Not that He has moved away, but we have. It is not until we come to right thinking and go back to our Father, that we can be reconnected to God’s heavenly ‘Network’. (Reboot)

                A great example of this is Samson. Samson was a great man of God, and God made him a one-man army, doing feats of strength that would boggle the mind. But Samson let himself be deceived by a woman named Delilah and allowed his connection to his power source to be broken. In Judges Chapter 16 we read about how Delilah constantly begged him every day to reveal to her the secret of his strength. And when Samson could bear it no longer, he told her. He said that if his hair was shaved, then he would become weak and be like any other man. (Samson what have you done?)

                “And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he knew not that the LORD was departed from him.” (Judges 16:19 and 20)

Some may consider this record just a fairy tale, for how can someone lose their strength by losing their hair? Maybe we should read the record a little closer to learn more. In verse 17 it says,

                “That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 

                   Samson was a Nazarite from the time of his birth. What does this mean?  Many people of the ancient East, at certain times, would vow the vow of a Nazarite. This means they would fully dedicate themselves to God for a certain amount of time. In fact the word Nazarite means “consecrated” or “separated”. This is spoken about in the book of Numbers chapter six. The tenements of this vow include, 1) abstain from all consumption of alcohol, 2) not become impure by coming in contact with a dead body, and 3) must refrain from cutting the hair. Following this time period of the vow, this person would go through a special ceremony where he would offer certain sacrifices and his hair would be shorn. (The prophet Samuel was under the vow of a Nazarite his entire life). Samson was under this vow from his birth so he could never allow his hair to be cut. His long hair represented this vow and his total dedication to God. This is also how God could endue him with supernatural strength when he needed it. When Samson allowed his hair to be cut, his connection with God was lost and he lost the source of his great strength. How costly this mistake was, for the Philistines then blinded him and took him prisoner.

                Fortunately for us (and especially for Samson) the story does not end there. 

              “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.” (Judges 16:22) 

This is an important verse because it means that over time he was able to renew his vow and regain his connection with God. This also meant doom for the Philistines that held him captive for in the next scene Samson brings down the temple of Dagon, killing thousands. (You can read the rest of this dramatic story in verses 23-30).

                God has always desired intimate, day by day, fellowship with His children. Jesus Christ made this available to us. This is one of the keys to living the more the abundant life; to stay connected to the ‘network’ of power. But God knows that we will screw up at times so He has made a way to reconnect with Him. At these times we must ‘reboot’. We must come to God and tell Him we are sorry for our wrong doing. At this point God forgives us of all of our sins and brings us into perfect fellowship with Him again.

                “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

What a good Father we have! I think it’s just tremendous that God has made this available to us so we can stay connected to Him and His son. And when we stay connected to the Father, the impossible becomes possible and we are able to continually live in the realm of the miraculous.

                                 Love Always, Ray