A. Concerning the Law, it is not that we are not under Law. Jesus did not come to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

We are not under the Law of Moses; we are now under the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21). The Law of Moses is a type or shadow of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.

But the question I have about the Leviticus passage is this: is the tattooing the same as the cutting for the dead that is mentioned in the passage. If it is, then it would not be a reference to tattoos that set us apart unto the Lord. Examining the passage is inconclusive.

I know a significant number of people who receive tattoos out of a heart for God, not out of rebellion. But what a person does in the name of God does not make something right and true. The Apostle Paul as an unbeliever killed and imprisoned many of persons all in the name of God.

Of the people I know who have tattoos, a large percentage have received them as a way to set themselves apart unto the Lord.

In my research I found that in the Book of Revelation there are two references to names of God being written on the people of God. ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name (Revelation 3:12).

Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1).

There is one reference to Jesus’ having the name, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” being written on His thigh.

And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16)

Whether these references are in the spiritual realm or the physical realm I do not know. But the fact is that the names of God are written on their bodies in these passages.

With the bits of information I have presented I am unsure of the full truth concerning this matter and I am sorry I do not have any major insight into your question. There are two things that I do know; our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and whatever we do with our bodies it is to be done unto the Glory of God (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Jesus sat with His disciples eating and drinking just before His crucifixion. Knowing them intimately, seeing through their ambitions and failures, He was led to wash their feet. Immediately, pride rose up in Peter and he declared, “There’s no way I’m letting you wash my feet. You’re Jesus!” But Jesus lovingly corrected him, telling him that it was a necessary thing if Peter wanted to really walk with Jesus. Then He went on to explain that if they allowed Him to do that that they were completely clean.

Jesus was first saying that if we want to remain with Him in intimacy we have desperate need of His cleansing. So many little foxes sneak in our walk with the Lord and we must go to Him for washing. Instead of pulling away when we perhaps disappoint ourselves, we must run to Him so that He can wash us. This can be bitterness in ministry. This can be shortcomings in our character.

The truth is, Peter was about to betray Jesus not once but three times. This bold man who claimed he would follow Him to the death, who had slept, ate, and ministered with the Savior for three years, was about to fail himself in the biggest way possible. And what did Jesus say about him? That he was clean. Jesus knew what Peter would do and still He called him clean.

I imagine Jesus saying something like, “I see your heart, Peter. You are after me. But you need to know that I’m after you even more. It’s not your determination that’s gonna get you to the end. It’s my faithfulness. You have a willing spirit. That’s what matters. You’re gonna blow it big time. But don’t worry about that. That’s not how I define you. That’s not who you are,” (Matthew 26:41).

Our confidence in God needs to be completely rooted in God’s faithfulness and love for us. Not in how well we do it right. Our purity must come from His washing of us, not of how well we perform. And when we realize our shortcomings, it’s a wonderful opportunity to hear what He says about us. We are clean. Our spirits are willing. Shame cannot hinder us because He is always faithful to cleanse us. He always sees beyond our mistakes to who we really are.

The city sits on the Mediterranean with the scent of flavored tobacco and oil exhaust. The buildings are an odd mixture of city scrapers, intimidating mosques, and ancient streets lined with shops. Bullet holes disfigure many brick walls from years of unstable government and war. Yet, I found the people warm and hospitable, ready to share a meal, or a friendly kiss.

A group of us from Thessaloniki joined Tommie and Rick, among other leaders, for a five day conference focusing on living in the presence of God. It was nothing short of that. Worship resounded with Arabic warrior cries and joyful dancing. Mazda, mazda hallelujah yam lakou, glory, glory hallelujah our God reigns.

Grown men rolled on the floor in jubilance as their Father delighted in them. I saw it as a continuation of God’s promise to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. He said His sons and daughters would prophesy. They prophesy because they are a part of His family. They speak, think, feel, and act like Him. It’s His nature to declare things that are not yet, to see change brought about in people’s lives. As sons and daughters, it was a blessing to participate alongside the interns in ministering to the Arabs of several nations.

Lebanon is a nation whittled with war and unstable government. There is a sense of pain that hovers in the air. Women are hardly more than servants in the house. They are almost never seen on the streets at night. It is still common for the husband to beat his wife as a means of discipline or disapproval.

God promises to make up for the years the locusts have eaten, to satisfy His children with Himself. It was a battle for some to get to Beirut due to the volcanic cloud in Iceland, but that seemed to point to an even greater measure of breakthrough that would come. As Rick taught, and Christine ministered prophetically, I saw God satisfying people who’d been disillusioned, broken, abandoned.

One of the biggest words I recall that hit hard with the leaders was: do you desire God more than you desire the promise? Do you desire God more than the promise of your church or ministry? Do you long for Him more than your own rights, your own way?

Although being in His presence leads to an overflow of power, in my opinion the week was a time of being a son or daughter again in the Father. Cities in the Middle East are going to transform but only when we are living in the fullness of our identity. Slaves only do what they’re told. They don’t know how to go beyond. Sons take ownership that they can really alter the world around them.

Our hearts are a like windows on a house that allow the light of well lit rooms to shine out into the darkness of a surrounding night. Our heart allows the love of our heavenly Father to shine out to Him and others.

But, just as the windows on a house can become covered with dirt or by curtains, our hearts can also be covered by spiritual dirt and spiritual curtains. When our hearts are covered it hinders the light of God’s love from being released.

Here are ways the love of God can be hindered from flowing in and through our lives:

1. Not responding to the needs of others hinders the flow of love:

One of the ways love can be shut off in our hearts is when we purposely close ourselves off from others needs. “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him” (1 John 3:17)?

When we see a need and we do not  respond, our hearts become closed off to the love of God. Our heart is created in a way that when it receives a stimulus of information we have to respond to the information. If we do not respond our heart will start to block out the information we did not respond to. For example, a person who lives near an airport or railroad will learn to block out the sound of a plane or a train. In the same way, if we do not respond to needs of others and we block the flow of God’s love in and through our hearts, our hearts will become hardened to the love of God.

We cannot pick and choose where we will allow God’s love to flow without it having an effect on us. Not responding to the needs of others in the light of God’s love will harden our hearts.

2. Sin hinders the flow of love:

Sin causes the love in our hearts to grow cold. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). If a person is severely burned by a hot iron on their arm, that person’s arm will lose the ability to feel in the area of the burn. “[B]y means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron;” (1 Timothy 4:2). Sin destroys the spiritual nerve endings our hearts.

We must guard our hearts from the deceptiveness of sin, lest we lose our sensitivity to the love of God.

3. Misdirected love hinders the flow of love:

A  young woman would not be able to stop a strong man’s punch by sticking her hand up and straight on blocking the punch. But she could divert the energy of the man’s punch away from the intended target.

In the same way, Satan cannot stop the force of love. But he often seeks to get us to focus our ability to love in the wrong places or in the wrong ways. Paul told the Corinthians, “You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.” (2 Corinthians 6:12).

The Lord speaks to us through David, warning us of the danger of misdirected love when He says, “O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?” (Psalm 4:2).

God’s love is like a fine kitchen knife. Such a knife should only be used for its created purpose of cutting food. If a person plays around and cuts paper or plastic with the knife, when it comes time to use the knife for it’s designed purpose that person will find that their knife has become dull. It will be hindered from fulfilling its function.

When we use God’s love outside His intended purposes, it will dull the pure and sincere love of God. Love that is misdirected hinders our hearts from flowing in the pure and sincere love of God.

4. A lack of knowledge hinders the flow of love:

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,  so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;” (Philippians 1:9-10).

This passage instructs us that our love needs knowledge and discernment. If our love does not have knowledge and discernment we will approve things that will condemn us. “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves” (Romans 14:22).

Most small children have a “love” for food and drink. When a small child pulls a bottle from underneath the kitchen sink, the child does not have the knowledge and discernment to tell whether that bottle is a bottle of cleaner or if it is a bottle of juice. The desire for a drink, without discernment, can lead to serious problems or death.

The same is true for our hearts as well, we need knowledge and discernment to keep us from loving things that will end-up harming or condemning us.

5. Pain and sorrow can hinder the flow of love:

Jesus told the Pharisees about how Law of Moses could not heal broken heartedness between a man and his wife; therefore, the Law had made provision for divorce.

“They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way’” (Matthew 19:7-8).

But it is not so now that we have the cross, the power of His resurrection, and the Holy Spirit who heals our hearts of the brokenness of the past. Because Jesus came to heal the broken hearted we can love freely with the love that God has poured out into our hearts.  With our hearts we allow the love of God to flow out to God and others.

Love is a God-created function of our hearts. Our hearts can be hindered from allowing the flow of love to shine out. We can close or harden our hearts from love. We can also allow sin to cause our love to grow cold. Our heart can be misdirected and be blocked off because hurts and pains of the past. The good news for us is that Jesus came to bear our sins, failures and sorrows so that we could freely allow the love that He has placed in our hearts to flow out to God and others.

A. We need to realize that there are three laws for living, which have been enacted since the creation of world. The three spiritual laws are the “Law of Sin and Death” (Genesis 2:17; Romans 8:2); the “Law of Moses” (John 1:17) and the “Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 9:20-21; Romans 8:2).

None of the spiritual laws that God has enacted has ever been done away with; they were and are superceded and fulfilled in and by the following spiritual law. Jesus declared that He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill… For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Jesus came to enact another law that operated at higher standards and greater resources to walk in the fullness of God’s righteousness (Romans 10:1-6).

The first covenant enacted the Law of Moses. The second or new covenant enacted the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second… When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (Hebrews 8:13).

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are established under a new covenant; under a new and greater law or covenant.

“For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also” (Hebrews 7:12).

“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

As I said, the Law of Christ did not and does not do away with the Law of Moses. The Law of Christ fulfills and operates at higher standards of righteousness than the Law of Moses.

For example, Committing murder externally versus murder in the heart: “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (Matthew 5:21-22).

Committing adultery externally versus adultery in the heart: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Of course we know that “tithe” means “tenth.” When the subject of the tithe comes up there are two facets of the law that we need to consider. The first thing is that paying tithes or a tenth to God did not originate with the Law of Moses. The tithe began with Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20) of which Abraham is the father of faith (Romans 4:16). Jacob his grandson followed suit in giving to the Lord a tenth of his increase (Genesis 28:22).

Secondly, the tithe in the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus does not just involve a tenth. As I said, the Law of Christ does not do away with the Law of Moses; instead it will fulfill it. It does not just involve a tenth;  it involves everything. That is why the tithe is not specifically taught in the New Testament.

In chapter four of the Book of Acts we see the early church giving it all (Acts 4:32-37). So in giving the tithe it is minimally a tenth, with the possibility that we may be asked to give it all. The giving was to be brought into the church (Acts 4:35,37) for the caring of the needs of the body and it is to satisfy the spiritual debt that is established (Romans 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14), while the offering can be given to other places.

There is more that I could say about the later question, but due to space I hope this will give some foundation to for you evaluate the tithe and to where it is to be given.

A. It is awesome that you remember that “believe” if from the Hebrew (OT) verb aman, which means “To make firm”. As you recall “trust” is from the Hebrew verb batach which means, “to attach oneself to”.

In the New Testament, the definitions of the Greek words for believe and trust are not as clearly defined as they are in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the best way we can tell what kind of faith (noun) is being talked about is the context.

But still your questions are very good. Being diligent to believe so that we can enter His rest can seem like an oxymoron. But the reality is that the more we believe/trust the more we will rejoice. “For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name” (Psalm 33:21). The more we rejoice (joy) in Him because we are trusting, the more we will have strength. The reason we have more strength when we are believe  and trust is because the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

One of the keys to maintaining our faith in the midst of difficult times is to not lose “hope”. Remember, “hope” is the object of our faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). If we do not have hope, we do not have anything for our faith to focus on. If we lose hope, we do not have an anchor for our souls; therefore, we will lose stability for our souls (Hebrews 11:1). If we lose the anchor of our soul (hope), we do not have a word from the Lord, “to make firm within our hearts.” Or if we lose hope, we have lost sight of the nature and character of God.

We see the prophet Jeremiah losing hope, and as a result he lost the strength to believe and trust. “My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. So I say, “My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me” (Lamentations 3:17-20). If we continue to read the passage, Jeremiah reestablishes his hope; by declaring the nature and character of God. That action enabled him to trust in the Lord. “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him” (Lamentations 3:21-24).

To maintain our believing and trusting in difficult times is very important. One of the keys to maintaining our faith is hope.

I could go on for a long time talking about the significance of faith and hope.

In the book on Freedom there is a chapter on “hope”. In that chapter I discuss hope in a more complete manner.

I have thus far shared some experiences the Lord has given me about where I have come from and where I am going. But, what is our vision for the short amount of time that we have here?

A few years ago, my friend was getting married and she shared with me and another friend about some spiritual warfare coming against her wedding. She asked us to come to her rehearsal and simply pray. We whole heartily agreed.

We found ourselves a little room adjacent to the sanctuary and settled down to a normal time of prayer. The rehearsal came and went. We continued to pray. We were in no hurry.

Then, things started getting hot. By this time my prayer partner was in another world; she was laughing and crying intermittently. I started feeling the presence of God increase. I saw a picture in my head of the King coming into the sanctuary with his mantle blowing around him, and He took His place in front of the alter. I thought, “Good! That’s what we came here for. We needed to know that He would be here. Now we can go home.” But we wouldn’t be able to go home.

The Lord decided to visit us in that little room and I started to get scared. He started to come in the room and we both knew that if the Lord came any closer we would probably die.

It was so strange. I could feel my spirit or soul or whatever yearning to be with the Lord. I could feel the heaviness of my flesh, which would not be going with us to the Lord. And I could feel some kind of rubber band, which tied my flesh to my spirit, being stretched almost to breaking.

But somehow I knew that much of my destiny would be aborted early if I were to go and be with the Lord. This was perplexing.

Isn’t being with the Lord my ultimate destiny? Of course it is! But in the next few years the Lord taught me how important our physical body really is as a provision from the Lord.

Now, in no way are we to derive our identity or our purpose from our physical body. We are sons and daughters of the Most High, and have been since before our physical body was created (Psalms 139:15-16). We’re known and loved by the Lord before there was time.

However, because we are sons of this earth too, we have authority with the earth. Much of our authority Adam gave away in the garden. But that is one of the things that Jesus came to redeem. He prayed not that the Father would take us out of the world, but that He would keep us from the evil one (John 17:15). It is because we have physical bodies that we have authority to proclaim and do things in this earth.

In the days of Noah certain angels tried to attain a physical body in an illegal way. I believe they were after authority. And Jesus had to come as a man in flesh because that was the only way He would have the authority to redeem all of the things He wanted to redeem. And that is why the evil one and his minions mess with the children of men. Men have a flesh and they have authority to do things on the earth. If that serpent of old is to rule this world, he must work through men.

So, this short duration of being bound by flesh is gift from the Lord. This is our time, short though it be, to open our gates to all that He is. We have the authority to proclaim things on the earth; let us agree with heaven and let His kingdom come! Let us follow the example of our brother Jesus and do what we see our Father doing. Let us make room for Jesus in our days, for the days are short.

Indeed, there is toil and labor on this earth, but it is the time to work. In a little while we will be with Him and it will no longer be time to work. Let us use the time we have now, while we have it.  Soon we will be unbound.

Danielle Vitelli is from Brevard, NC and a former DPI Ministries Intern who says, “My hobbies include doing Jesus stuff, getting one hundred thousand million people saved, doing more Jesus stuff, and crocheting.”  She is currently living and serving in Belgrade, Serbia.  You can catch up with all things Danielle on her blog at www.kingdomcome1.webs.com.

John 13:3, especially for the DP folks, is something Rick has taught on a number of times before. “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,…”

The Spirit challenged me today with John 19:9, “…and he [Pilate] entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are You from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer.”

As I read that the Spirit asked me, “Am I living my life in such a way as to make people wonder where I’m from?”

There are certain characteristics associated with various places. Are we so saturated in Heavenly things, that we are outside the norm? Are we off people’s geographical maps? Are we new and provoking to them?

Certainly the start is knowing where you are from and where you are going. I’m thinking this question is a measure of how much we believe. Are we really from heaven or not?

Just as the fruit of the Spirit tells us when we are operating in the Spirit or in the flesh, it is possible that “Where are you from?” is a measure of how provoking and convicting our walk really is.

I am by geographic, earthly birth an American. But, I have been reborn from above. Am I more concerned with being an American in a foreign land or being from the Heavenly Kingdom in a foreign realm?

How big is your picture? Is it country vs country or realm vs realm? John 18:36, Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” [emphasis mine].

So, I leave you with a simple question with a thought-requiring answer, where are YOU from?

John “Jovan” Lufi was raised in East TN and never wanted to leave home. After a complicated series of events, he heeded the call of God and joined the DPI Internship Program. He is now living in Belgrade, Serbia working to build the Kingdom of God and is constantly amazed at God’s Love and redemptive Grace.

You told One Story in a million Ways.

And every single One was Marvelous.

And as if it was told for the First Time.

You have sung One Melody,

Through a thousand Voices and Strings,

Through Chords of the Stars and Galaxies,

Through a song called

The Man.

And every single One opened a New Ear

Of the World.

You mixed our Tongues,

So we could learn the Language of the Water

And the Heavens,

Your Language,

So we could understand each other again…

I, the Fortress, in which the Desert Flower lays,

Must know the Song of the Flower,

So I could sing it from the Tower,

To Those below, Who see only the Walls.

Together with her husband Radovan, Jelena is committed to the pioneering work of building up an urban, dynamic church and expanding His Kingdom in Serbia – one of the “toughest” nation for the Gospel in Southeast Europe.  Her passion is to stir up the prophetic creativity in His Body and minister His healing love to the broken hearts of the Serbian people.  Jelena and Radovan live in Belgrade.  You can find more of Jelena’s work at http://www.desertprinceza.webs.com.

A: Jesus told us to be careful how and to what we listen to.

“So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him” (Luke 8:18).

“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (Mark 4:23-25).

First, Jesus tells us the standard of measure we use in our listening, determines the measure we receive. If our heart is determined to receive from God and His Word, we will receive a lot from God. But if we are just going through the motions of listening to Him and searching for His Word we will receive very little. The measure we use in our listening determines the measure we receive from the Lord.

The second thing that Jesus tells us that if we are not careful, that which we think we have heard from Him will be taken from us. For example, if I do not respond in my heart when I hear Paula (my wife) tell me that she loves me, my heart can become numb to the importance to her telling those significant words. In other words, it is easy to lose the first love mentality.

The writer of Hebrews also warns us to be careful that our hearts not drift away from the words that we have heard from God. “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1). It is easy to hear great things from God and then allow our hearts to lose the significance of the words that have impacted our lives.

Romans 1 is more explicit in it’s teaching concerning the subject of listening and seeing. The Holy Spirit tells us,

“For since the creation of the world His (God) invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:20-21).

Notice in this passage that God has revealed himself in the awesomeness of creation. But when the revelation was seen, the people did not respond in accordance with the revelation. As a result of their seeing or hearing and not responding appropriately, their hearts were hardened.

When our hearts are hardened to God’s Word, it limits our ability to hear or see anything in the future. For example, Jesus’ disciples hearts were hardened; therefore they were not able to fully see their circumstances through the revelation of Jesus’ miracles. “…for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened” (Mark 6:52). When our hearts become hardened to God’s Word, all kinds of bad things can also be released into our lives.

In summary, how we listen to God’s Word is determines what we receive from God. How we listen also determines the duration of the things we have heard from God. How respond when we hear God’s Word also determines our ability to hear things in the future.