Pt 1: The journey of discover and change
Your life is about discovery and learning, and your assignment is uncovering the secrets of the greatest mystery in the universe—our great God and Creator. Your guidebook on this great journey of discovery is the Bible, and in it are all the clues you need to discover the plan for your life that God has intended from the foundation of the world. But your destiny doesn’t end with discovering the secrets of God’s plan for your life: you must then use what you learn to let Him change your life forever. James urges us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
You may never have thought about it like this, but God has an MO. If you have ever watched a detective show or a mystery, you know that investigators study those they are pursuing to learn how they operate—their “method of operation.” A good detective gets into the head of the person he or she is passionately pursuing.
God has an MO—a divine pattern, order, and arrangement of things that He has followed from the beginning—and His principles have never changed. The order or arrangement of the Kingdom of God—God’s method of operation—is in all things, and it’s our job to study Him and learn His way of doing things so that we may reflect His Kingdom in our lives.
It is not enough to just learn about God, His methods, and His ways; we must let them change us from the inside out.
Learning about this person knits you together, changes you. You become more like them. Not only do you find out how they think and find yourself finishing their sentences, how they act begins to impact how you behave, as well, and you find yourself taking on their mannerisms, reactions, and behaviors.
Learning about God through studying His principles is like that—learning and discovering the traits and mannerisms of our Love. We don’t do it out of obligation, as though we were under the Law; we do it as a heartfelt response to the love affair with God that sweeps us up into salvation. And as we become enmeshed with our Bridegroom, He changes us from within, and we take on His thoughts, ways, and mannerisms.
Now, imagine this for a moment. What good does it do to learn all about the person you love if you do not apply what you learn? Perhaps your future spouse enjoys lilies instead of roses. How does it show what you’ve learned if you never buy her lilies? Or maybe your love enjoys a slow cooked roast. What good does knowing he likes this meal do if you never cook it for dinner? Christianity, I say in my book Don’t Miss Your Moment, is not just about knowing—it’s about being and doing. It is not enough to study God’s patterns and principles through the Old
Testament feasts—our divine appointments— we must use what we learn in our lives as a result of the love He has placed in our hearts.
The feasts we read about in the Old Testament were God’s way of letting His people get to know Him. They were His way of showing them His mannerisms, thoughts, principles, and methods. By participating in the feasts, they grew to know Him more intimately.
We are going to be uncovering God’s ways and thoughts as we look at the feasts He gave His people, but we will all face the same challenge the Israelites did: will we let what we learn change who we are?
-Paula White-Cain
