“Real to Reality”                                                                                                                                                A Ministry of ReCovering All... Mark and Cathy Eaton

 A New Glance at the Comfort of God     

     I want to take a new look at the Comfort of God.  Through my life, I have always felt that I had a firm grip on the Comfort of God.  After all, I was raised in a Pentecostal background.  I was raised hearing the Holy Spirit was the "Comforter."  I remember when I first heard of the Comfort of the Holy Spirit.  It was a standard teaching in the Faith Message: 

John 14:16 The Amplified Bible

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, standby)... 

     This is the idea of a "Comforter" I had.  It is the Greek word Parakletos which is translated "to come alongside to assist or help..."  I had the preconceived idea that the Comfort of God is a "slap on the back" a "Good Job."  I remember thinking hard about the idea of "Advocate" and one who pleads my case before God.  These images where prevalent in my mind. 

     Several years later, I was at a church that was real strong in Prophetic, Praise and Worship.  There’s not a lot of in-depth Bible studies there.  I would hear stories of Mark J. Chironna who came there and shared transforming revelations.  As I got older, I began to see Mark J. Chironna in some of their old libraries.  As I began to read through them, I would hear Chironna speak of the "Comfort of God."  This Biblical exploration of the Comfort of God shifted my views of the Nature of the Holy Spirit.  The numerous books of Chironna served as a puzzle that put together a much larger picture of God's Comfort.  This understanding sparked me to do my own study which enlarged my understanding.  Chironna has a more evolving idea of Comfort.  Chironna’s evolving idea of Comfort was in all his books that was published by Destiny Image.  After he was validated by TBN a few years ago,  he spoke on this frequently till suddenly he stopped and I heard no more about it.  This is not a doctrinal thesis, but a life flowing revelation.  Chironna has always sought to inspire and encourage people to press on to maturity.  I remember in one of his books he asks: 

       "Does your dream feel suffocated?"  

    Chironna sought to bring people who where Divinly frustrated from the level of grief to freedom.  As I gleaned from Chironna, it was evident that He discovered this Comfort in the early years of his ministry.  As I taught the Faith Message, I would say "The Holy Spirit is the Comforter."  Unfortunately, this was built on preconceived ideas.  Chironna began sharing on this by this verse: 

Psalms 23:4 The King James Version

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me. 

     Chironna declares "the Church as we know it, is in a period of transition.  It will take the Comfort of The Holy Spirit to move from one dimension to another.  We are in the midst of  “ somewhere between two no where's.” Chironna then defines the Comfort of God: 

   "The Hebrew idea of 'Comfort' is a word picture: a victim, who is under the crushing weight that has restricted his lungs and caused him not to be able to catch his breath, is graciously relieved."

                                      - Breaking the Boundaries of the Possible - Mark J. Chironna 

     The word "staff" is taken from the Hebrew word that implies that the personal history of the people is written on the staff.  A modern translation would denote a "family tree."  Job 16:3 speaks of Job's friends and the "comfort" to him which is of no value or worth.  The Hebrew picture of God's Comfort does not focus on your outward circumstances, nor does it suffocate your spirit.  In another book, Chironna speaks of the Peace of God that is involved with Comfort.  In Isaiah 54:18, 19; speaks of the Peace of God in Hebrew: 

   "It is the Hebrew word Shalom which 'consists of well being and peace in the midst of any threats."

                                                                       - The Undiscovered Christ by Mark J. Chironna

   "It is not the ethereal utopia, but rather a wholeness that in the midst of every imaginative evil can assail the Community of God"

                                                                             - The Undiscovered Christ by Mark J. Chironna 

After a large and Exhaustive study on the "Consolation of Israel", Chironna found the writings of N. E. Smith in his Bible Dictionary, where he wrote:  

    God does not deliver us out of sorrow, but out of tribulation- N. E. Smith 

     Smith shared his insights out of I Corinthians 1:4-9.  Chironna comments that "We can live bravely in tribulation."  Romans 5:1-5 lead him to believe that "Comfort" in the Septuagint (LXX) means "relief from pressure."  Isaiah 52:9 declares that "When the Redeemer comes, the Comfort relieves the pressure!" (Psalms 119:40).  "Our call to Fellowship to this kind of well being and wholeness in the midst of tribulation and warfare"  

     The English synonym for "Comfort" is a word that means "to relieve", and cause to "breathe again."  These ideas where evolving before his launch into national recognition on TBN.  The was more revelation and his view of "Eternity" brewing out of his old ministry: 

   "Reject the lie that everyone is out to deny you of your true-to-God existence"

                                                                           - "You can let Go Now"- Mark Chironna 

   "There are places in life that are just waiting for your arrival."- Mark J. Chironna 

     Chironna shares that it is your God-Given right to ask questions.  This new and exciting, and fresh approach to the Comfort of God began to spark a study in me.   

                                   A Deeper Look at the Comfort of  The Holy Spirit 

          Years later after studying Mark Chironna's concept of the Comfort of God, I was in a prayer meeting.  We were all praying individually.  My Bible was open to Psalms 23:4.  I had a Spiros Zodhiates Study Bible which has the Strong's Concordance in the back of My Bible.  I looked up "Comfort" in Hebrew.  What I saw next caused me to Shout!  The same Hebrew word translated "Comfort" in our English Bibles is the same Hebrew word translated "Repent."  I went home that night and looked up the Hebrew word for "Comfort."  I found a article by Dick Mills who is a Hebrew and Greek scholar with a Photographic memory.  His skill in Hebrew is quite revealing:

 Psalms 71:21 New King James Version

You increase me with greatness, and comfort me on every side.

      In the original Hebrew, Mills points out the word "comfort" is taken from the Hebrew word Nacham (naw-kwam).  Many Hebrew scholars render this simply "to sigh."  "In all there afflictions, he was afflicted..." (Isaiah 63:9).  We are a High Priest who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities."  Another rendering of the Hebrew word Nacham is "to breathe strongly" or "to draw breath forcibly."  Many Hebrew scholars rendered this in the 1800's simply as "to pity."  The word "pity" has changed meanings since that time of translation.  This is more than "I feel sorry for you", but the All Encompassing Compassion of God.  "Pity" is a word with a evolving etymology.  The word Nacham means: 

   "To feel sorrow with that person and step in and avenge him against his adversary." 

"Gesenius, a Hebrew Grammarian, says that Nacham means 'The Notion of God putting forth help and taking vengeance."  He does more than console in the battle, He is advancing against the hindrances." 

                                               New Treasures in the Comfort of God

      As I pondered this revelation, I felt that I was to take a fresh look at Mark  J. Chironna's writings.  Most of these studies were ideas formed in me about five years ago. 

  "Living up to an "image" that is less than the true-to-God image will always bring pain."

                                                                        - “You Can Let Go Now” - by Mark J. Chironna

     Mark's new books deals about the Origin of Pain.  "Pain is a gift not to be ignored.  If I am in pain, it is an indication that I need to look at something in my heart.  Even if I am not the cause of my pain, whatever or whoever caused it triggered something in me.  The Pain is telling me something."  - Beyond the Shadow of Doubt - by Mark J. Chironna  

     As I began to ponder this revelation on God's Comfort and his paradigm of Pain, I wondered "What would His idea of Grace?"  "While His work on Calvary has imparted new life and righteousness and freed me from condemnation, living out that new life takes a series of daily choices.  Sanctification is a process of seeing the finished work of Christ finish in me.  God's grace is the Divine enablement to fulfill the will of the father and negate the will of the Self.  Grace is God's Power to apply the death of Christ until I be transformed in His Image.” - "The Elisha Principle" by Mark J. Chironna (1985). 

          Mark J. Chironna declares in his book "Breaking the Boundaries of the Possible", that the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Mount Zion is the Matrix, which means "womb."  It the birthing of  Destiny.