David Barham

What does it mean to have sinned?, is it was we do that is wrong or is there something before hand such as the change of path we decide to take that is contrary to the path we should be walking on? Is it the decision to not live in the place we should be and decide to live somewhere else? Is it to choose a family that is not where you should be and choose to live in a place that leads to in some ways you suffer Stockholm syndrome, loving the life you have lived for so long in the captives that took you because you think that is the life you think you now deserve? We are taught the Jesus took our sins as in the stuff we did wrong and now we are free, when it’s more about Jesus died on behalf of our missing the mark opening the gates so that we can now come home. I believe the prodigal son sinned as soon as he turned and left his fathers presence. The life he lived in once he turned is just a result of his turning away, not sin in itself, sins within sinning. The prodigal son missed the mark by turning a 180 and heading in the opposite direction. To miss the mark is not like aiming for a dart board and just missing, to miss the mark is a complete shift and heading in the wrong direction, shooting the opposite direction, shooting baskets in the opposite teams goals. To say the sinners prayer is to recognise where your true home is and running towards your true home where your Father will run out to you with arms open wide. Love you Brothers and Sisters. Reach out to our brothers and sisters that are only prodigals.

Dream 2: they sought forgiveness of the brother they do know for what they did to him and he forgave them. The sun and moon are servants the 11 stars are his brothers...11 disciples not counting Judas. Stars also multiply and the tribes of Israel. God provides even when we don’t know him. God forgives when we seek Him with a heart of mercy and repentance.

It’s funny that other things have been called sacred like cows, these are things that are sacred because of what man has labeled them to be. In all this idea of what is sacred we have never thought ourselves as sacred beings. It’s not because of what we have done, instead was Christ has done for us and laid out for us, He has given us the gift of the Holy Ghost to dwell within us to be a part of us. From the beginning God has created a sacred place for man to dwell that and God as we know takes sacred places seriously. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Genesis‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ the ark was a place of safety a place that protected Noah and his family from the storm on the outside of the ark. I believe that the ark Noah entered was sacred, I wondered what would have happened to someone carrying idols into the ark, would God have struck them dead...who knows. The next instance of where God’s presence has dwelt is in the ark of the covenant. There is a demonstration of how serious God takes sacredness when he struck a man who touched the ark and anyone entered the tabernacle without the proper ceremonial approach. There is an amazing thing about the ark of the covenant that it was feared yet necessary in battle. When Gods presence is with you in battle you will win. We can misunderstand the importance of sacredness and the consequences of disrespect towards things that God has called sacred, such as when bears attached some boys for making fun of Elisha for being bald who Gods presence was with. Gods presence has been in ark, the ark of covenant with Elijah and Elisha and other prophets then into Christ and then from Christ shared to into you. So know that the same presence that was feared in battle, that raised Christ from the dead that made all of creation is now in you. You are the sacred temple of the Holy Ghost.

So what struck home for me here is that first God made the stars, then he positions them and then he gives them a job. The job for a star as noted in scripture is to provide light, help us determine seasons and signs. Stars positioned so we don’t get lost, stars that have a purpose even to provide light in the darkness. You can probably already see where God is taking me here, but here’s the thing while we may see stars as amazing and precious, God sees you a lot more precious and valuable than the stars in the sky. Even if you aren’t part of a special constellation you can still provide light. The creator, your Heavenly Father made you, positioned you and has given you a job to be a sign in season to be a light in the darkness. The stars that provide light the brighter the sky becomes. Don’t let any cloud stop your light from providing direction.

However my Heavenly Father has not been quiet. I say that deliberately and not God because that is what he is to us, a Heavenly Father our Creator. This is the beginning of an amazing journey that Dad has been taking me on. The journey is that we are all Children of God more than to be a christian which is to live like Christ and to live like Christ is to get to the point of recognising that we are His children. I’m not all educated in other religions, however I think we are the only one that sees our God as Father, as a relational God. A God that says to us this is how we are to pray “Our Father” not our God, our Leader, Our King, Our Lord, but come to me a Child and ask Hello my Dad, Hello my Father. If you would like to follow what Our Father has been leading me through. Let me know. May our Father Bless you.