Yom Re-vi-i, Kislev 22, 6001 – Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Remembering The Words
Some mornings we can wake up feeling less than great. This morning was one of those mornings for me. Lately, much of my focus has been on the kingdom of God. I keep asking, what is it really? After reviewing scriptures and some research about what others say, I have come to realize that the kingdom of God is within us, and we are to focus on making that a reality every day.
Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
God wants to reign within us, in our hearts and minds. Note here that Yeshuah (Jesus) was talking to the Pharisees, and His death and resurrection had not yet taken place. Also, Yeshua (Jesus) preached about the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
An interesting point here is that Jeshua preached the gospel – but He was not yet dead and resurrected. That goes against much of what I had been taught that the gospel was teh story of Jeshua’s life, death, and resurrection. If gospel is correctly translated, “good news”, then the good news is that the kingdom of God was already at hand while He was alive. How can this be? Moses told us (and Paul later quoted Moses).
Deuteronomy 30:9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
So the good news appears to be that God is on our side. The leaders of the religious organizations of the day made up a bunch of additional rules, and that all the additions to the simple message in the Law and the Prophets were NOT what God had said. The good news is that our Father set up a system that includes amazing blessings for us. He also made it possible for us to work the system because what we say makes its way into our hearts and minds. This process helps keep us going. It is what Joshua used.
Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
And then to seal the deal, God made a new covenant not written on stone, but in our hearts and minds. The writer of Hebrews quoted Jeremiah in revealing the New Covenant to us.
Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
So when we have days that seem to be less than great, we can fight back with our mouths, saying what our Father has already said. Then we can have patience as our Father brings these things to pass.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let us shine Your light in this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming abundant provision, such that we do not have room to contain it. Forgive us our sins. Heal and cleanse the hearts and minds of Your people. Deliver us from this present darkness. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundred times one hundredfold that which has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.