Comfort In The Feasts

Many people speak of comfort foods – cakes, pies, ice cream, etc. These have high sugar and carbohydrate content. They are sweet to the taste. When we consume them they taste good and the content makes us “feel good” for the moment. It is not bad to enjoy good or fun foods. Eating is meant to be a celebration with those with whom you dine. But one thing to consider is this – if this type of eating comforts our human fleshly bodies, is this a type for another eating that comforts us on another level? The scriptures suggest that there may well be – the feasts of Yahuah (Lord).

Leviticus 23:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

The “feasts” here are not necessarily referring to eating in the sense of consuming food in the physical world. This word in Hebrew is “mo-ed” and means appointed times and/or signals or signs. How important are they? We see in Genesis that they are very important.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

The lights in the heaven are for seasons – mo-ed. So these feasts, these apoointed times and signals, should bring us comfort. How can they do this? Paul spoke of it, quoting Nahum and Isaiah.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Isaiah explains how it was the time of the revealing of the feasts to Israel during the Exodus that this good news was revealed. It was at the time of the Exodus that our Father revealed His name – Yahuah (Lord) – to the children of Israel.

Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
4 For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

So, Paul was saying that it is important to have someone that brings good tidings and publishes peace. Nahum tells us how.

Nahum 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

We see that the gospel of God that the Messiah preached was that Yahuah was on our side, cutting off the wicked one. The revelation of the name Yahuah is very important to our comfort in this story. Isaiah stated this.

Isaiah 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Paul quoted Isaiah twice from this passage. The first was in regard to what any one man does. We are to judge not another person for what they do regarding anything related to God. Not because everything is okay, but because each person has to answer for themselves to the Father, in the courtrooms of heaven each one answers for what they do.

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

The second time had to do with the name Yahuah. Paul wrote of this to the Philippians, again quoting this same scripture.

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

If this were said in the Hebrew and translated, using both the Hebrew for the name Jesus and the name for Lord, we would get this:

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Yeshuah every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Messiah Yeshuah is Yahuah, to the glory of God the Father.

This is also why Paul says each person must work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Today, be comforted that our Father is on our side.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King! Praise the name Yahuah! Bless the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done in this earth as it is in heaven. You are our King, Father, You alone are our King! Send us today Your overwhelming blessing of provision. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. We wish to publish peace. Hear our cries, Father, for the gods of Egypt and powers of darkness are oppressing Your people. Cut them off from our midst and forever from the earth. Deliver us from this evil. Heal us from the inside. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and fill them with thoughts and memories of only You. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back in any way, one hundredfold. Let us rejoice in the day and the evening, trusting that on the morrow we will be free wealthy people, as in the days of the first Exodus. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

In Forgiveness…

Many things are available to us in forgiveness. This morning as I thought of our Father’s forgiveness toward me, I felt comforted. Yes, I was thankful, happy, sad for the past… but mostly I felt comfort. If you have ever gone many days without enough sleep, maybe working toward an important goal, or just trying to keep a roof over your family’s head and food in their stomach, and you get that one day where you actually get to sleep eight hours, that is comfort to me. Without forgiveness from the Father, much evil could have befallen us all. But His forgiveness completely eliminates those past items from His memory as if they had never even existed.

Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

Today, let us take comfort in our Father and his mercy and forgiveness.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done here with us as it is in heaven, and let us do it. Send us today Your overwhelming provision such that it overflows to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Utterly and completely remove every thought or memory of any evil done by us or to us, as far as the east is from the west. In that void heal us with Your oil of thoughts and memories of only You. Let us escape temptations, and deliver us from the evil here. This is Your kingdom, the power is Your power to Your glory, forever and ever. Restore right relationships among us. Restore the provision that has been taken or held back in any way, one hundredfold and the more besides. Let all men see Your mighty works in us, showing us a sign for good. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

The Way Home

Our lives with the Father as believers is a walk, as we all know. THe journey can take us many great places. An being human, we can also go some places that we should not go. But we know that our Father is compassionate and kind. If we will return to Him, He will accept us with open arms, always.

Luke 15:31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

There is great comfort in knowing that our God is a great Father. He is not the troll under the bridge with a large hammer. Rather, He will call to us to return, and when we do, He and the angelic host of heavens will rejoice that one that became lost has been found.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

We are all human, so we will stumble. Yet when we return, our Father receives us. And when we walk back home, He has great blessing in store for us.

Deuteronomy 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,
2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
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:

No matter where we are, let us walk with our Father today. If we have turned to the right or to the left, let us now return to Him, and rejoice with Him and the angels, and receive the blessing.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done in this earth as it is in the heavens. Send us today Your overwhelming provision such that it overflows to those around us. We turn our hearts and minds to You, and ask that You forgive our trespasses and transgressions. Help us all to forgive those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. Help us to live in unity with our fellow believers. We call out for the wiping away in our hearts and minds of the evil we have done to others and the evil they have done to us such that there is no memory or thought of them within us at all. And in the void created renew our hearts and minds with thoughts and memories of You only, and the joy that You have given unto us. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. Deliver us from the present evil that is in each moment that we might walk with You and be pleasing in Your sight. Restore all the provision that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and restore it one hundredfold, and the more besides. Restore right relationships among all those that call upon Your name and Your Son’s name. Show us a sign for good among Your people and the nations, that all men might know that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Begin With Blessing

Here, at the first of the week, it is good to know that our Father is on our side. I take comfort in this knowledge, knowing that He never leaves us or forsakes us.

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

How can we do anything, but give thanks and praise to our Father, Yahuah our Elohim? Let us begin this week with thanksgiving and praise.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done here with us as it is with You in the heavens. Send us today Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our transgressions and our trespasses, and help us to forgive those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. Cleanse and wipe away completely every evil thought or memory, that we might be healed and not be able to recall them. Restore hope within us all. Deliver us from evil, past, present, and future. Restore that which has been taken or held back in any way one hundredfold, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

When People Fail

It would be wonderful if the people around us never failed us. One day this will be true, once the 1,000 year reign is completed and the devil and his angels are destroyed. Until then , we all must learn to try to forgive one another, and love one another. People will fail us. God will not. Our Father will never leave us or forsake us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

As for our fellow man and changing them, that would be the wrong focus most likely. Where we start is with ourselves. If we can change ourselves, and strive to forgive others, we can change the world.

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Let’s change the world, beginning with ourselves today.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done here among us as it is with You. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our transgressions and trespasses, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Heal our hearts and minds. Grant us that we might win more of the lost to the kingdom. Grant us that we might heal those around us. Deliver us from the evil that is around us. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back in any way. we ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Creative Power Is Comforting

So often I think about how we have these amazing abilities as human beings. The power to reason, the power to think creatively, the ability to feel strong emotions – all these abilities must be for a reason. Today as I pondered these abilities I was trying to decide how to use them, if they were a good thing, etc. I began with our original purpose.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

We see here that our purpose is to run the world on behalf of our Father. It would seem likely therefore that anything that we do that promotes that is a positive thing. But as in all things we can get off course.

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

James makes it clear that this power to rule over the earth can go astray when we do not first draw nigh to God. Our purpose is to promote His kingdom. Jesus (Yeshuah) spoke of this as well.

Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

So, it appears that we are to take these abilities and focus them on God’s kingdom, and all that we need will come our way.

There can be great comfort in know that our Father has provided a means for us to live life abundantly, both here and in the hereafter.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be here among us as it is in the heavens. Give us today Your overwhelming abundant provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. Cleanse and heal our hearts and minds, and wash away any remnants of evil or evil doings. Creat in us a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us. Help us to know Your joy. Restore all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Show us a token for good, that all men might know that You alone are God, and that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

We All Begin

We are all beginners. Everyday we begin a brand new day. Every week there is a beginning to a new week. Every year there is a beginning to a brand new year. And every moment we can choose to begin a renewed commitment to follow after our Father and His ways. And moment He is committed to us. So much so that He never sleeps.

Psalms 121 A Song of degrees.
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.#I will…: or, Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? whence should my help come?
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Today let us take comfort in these things.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be among us. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Restore unto Your people healing. Restore unto Your people wholeness of body, mind spirit, and goods. Make the thief give it all back, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

We Have Comfort

Today I thought of the subject of comfort. We can tend to think that we should not look for comfort, and in the sense that we are looking for “an easy life” or one where we are more interested in taking it easy than in promoting God’s kingdom, comfort is not so good. However, it is clear that we are to be comforted by the Holy Spirit because our Messiah specifically told us so.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

We see that we are to receive the Holy Spirit, and that we will be comforted when Jesus comes to us. From this we know that comfort from Him is a good thing. What He said just before this is also a source of comfort to us.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

If we believe on Yeshuah (Jesus) as Yahuah (Lord), then we will love HIm and keep His commandments. ANd anything we ask in His name, He will do it.

That is a great comfort, indeed!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Bless the name Yahuah (Lord)! Let Your kingdom be here as it is in the heavens. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing and provision such that they overflow to those around us. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, that we remember the bad no more. Restore right relationships among us. Restore unto Your people one hundredfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people of that which is good. WE ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus).

Loving Others

Today in America we honor Mothers everywhere. This is as it should be. Here is a scripture that tells us how important it is to honor our moms.

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Honoring our parents comes with a blessing. Perhaps you have not thought to reach out to your mom. Whether she is near or far, today you can reach here without a phone call. Here is a link to a free e-card for Mother’s Day.

http://www.123greetings.com/events/mothers_day

Today, let’s remember Mom for all the good things.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done in this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing. Forgive us our transgressions and help us to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Heal our hearts and minds. Deliver us from the evil here. Bless Mothers everywhere. Restore all the good things that have been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Early In The Morning

There is something about getting up early to see the sunrise. What a blessing to hear the birds calling out, and to know that our Father has another day of adventure in front of us! In these moments it is good to seek our Father Yahuah (Lord). David did this in the desert.

Psalms 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

We, too, can do that, whether our desert is a real physical desert or a spiritual one. And He will hold us up with His right hand, for He alone is our God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Bless the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done here with us, Father. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us, for we are all but human. We cannot do this life alone for we need Your guidance and strength. And You freely give it. Cleanse our wounded hearts and minds. Blot out the evil. Deliver us from the evil that we might serve You. Restore right relationships among us. Restore every good thing that has been taken or held back from Your people in any way. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.