We Can Reach Our Goal

An often quoted phrase says that it is insanity to repeat the same efforts and expect different results. For the most part, that is true. For example, if we want a different life we need to do different things and take in different information, because thoughts precede actions. Prayers can help with both thoughts and actions. There is a case for doing the same things and expecting different results. Here things get a little gray. If we ask our Father for something, and we continue to ask Him for this something in prayer, we can expect to receive it.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Here Yeshuah (Jesus) tells us that we need to tarry with Him and have His words tarry with us. When we are in that state we know that we will have what we ask.

John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Here Yeshuah (Jesus) tells us that after His resurrection we can ask the Father anything in His (Jeshua’s) name, and the Father will give it to us. For the jewish culture of the times, a name meant several things. It may have had something to do with who you would become, or the situation at the time of your birth, or how you were at the time of your birth, etc. In can also refer to a position. We are to ask the Father as if we are Yeshuah (Jesus), which is to ask in His name. When we do this the Father gives it to us, whatever we ask.

Let us be comforted then in this, that our Messiah has overcome this world, and we can ask our Father for anything in our Messiah Yeshuah’a (Jesus’) name, and our Father will give it to us. This is a pattern we should repeat, and we should eagerly expect the result, regardless of how often we have asked Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. You alone are our Most High. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us Your overwhelming provision toady Father. Forgive us our sins. Heal us up inside, and deliver us from the evils in this world. Deliver us from the thief and destroyer, our enemy. So much has been stolen from us Father. We cry out to You for Your people are oppressed, at times without even knowing. Tear down the walls of oppression. Destroy the works of our enemy. Restore unto Your people one hundred fold, and hundreds of hundreds what has been taken from them. Come quickly, my King! Rise up and do these things, we implore you. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Sleep Comforts

Over time I have come to realize that our enemy is not know for fighting fairly. He will attempt to attack us when we are most vulnerable. For may, that is in the night, whether while we are asleep or during brief waking moments throughout the night. When I was younger it was the former, and as an older person the latter. But we can take comfort in knowing that just as in other situations, our Father has provided a way for us to overcome these situations. Last night I had an example, and Yahuah (Lord) gave me a vision along with it.

As often happens, I awoke in the middle of the night several times. In that groggy state the enemy often tries to bring to mind some fear, or some distraction, or some lust… anything to get me to focus on something other than God. In those moments I can get distracted, half asleep, and begin to dwell on them. When I do, I lose the sleep I need to take on the next day, and there are times when a strong fear have prevented me from sleeping anymore at all. Over the past year Yahuah has shown me to fight back by calling out to Him. Last night as it was happening after several times of waking up, I again cried out to Yahuah for deliverance, and I was exhausted. I felt truly in need of His help, because I needed to sleep. I asked God to show me how to win. I saw a picture of a brick wall. I then said out loud “Brick wall! Brick wall! Praise You Yahuah! You are my brick wall!” and immediately the thoughts vanished. I went to sleep. This morning I searched for a scripture that would help me to keep this victory, supporting victory even in sleep.

It was a short search. Here is that scripture.

Psalms 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. Your are everyone’s King, just some do not yet know that fact. We praise the name Yahuah (Lord)! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal up our broken hearts. Give us inner strength that we might believe You only. Deliver us from the enemy that steals and destroys, even while we sleep. Come my King! Rise up, Yahuah (Lord)! Crush the works of the enemy to powder and blow them away upon the whirlwind. Restore to Your people one hundred times one hundred fold, even hundreds of hundreds. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Not Worth The Thought

Today more than ever before I felt the presence of the Father touch me as I was getting up. I had prayed in the night when I awoke. Often in the middle of the night I wake up and feel moved toward prayer. In those moments I pray for myself and ask forgiveness, I pray for my family that they might have good days, and I pray for people I know and don’t know, that the Father would touch them. These are the things that I prayed last night, and again when I awoke this morning. Briefly I returned to sleeping, and was awakened by what I can only call the blessing of the presence of the Father. I have been praying for some time for Him to touch my life and my heart, and it seemed this morning that He had so done. When I woke up there were a number of chores that came to mind to do. But it seemed good to pray for a time. The Father directed me to several scriptures.

Proverbs 24:7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

We see here that we need to seek wisdom. When we find it we receive our expectation. We are being told that it is wisdom that helps us to have our expectations come into reality. This is in keeping with earlier verses as well.

Proverbs 24:1 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

At our house we have had troubles from people this year that did evil to us. Ultimately they took a large portion of our livelihood. As the year has pressed on, we have struggled as a result. It has been challenging for us, and for me as a husband and father. I was lamenting yesterday to the Father, telling Him of our challenges and my sadness. Today He blessed me with His presence and with hope. Evil people are not worth thinking about or envying, for our Father will most certainly address their evil. We need only stay the course in the tough times, and let the Father reveal himself as the Deliverer that He alone can be. Praise Yahuah!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. You alone have provided for us a kingdom, and we long for that kingdom. We bless the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming blessing of provision such that we cannot contain it all. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our hearts, Father, that we might know You more. Deliver us from the evil that has stolen and continues to steal from us. Grind their works to powder. Confound their efforts and have them suddenly come to nothing. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundred fold, and hundreds of hundreds, that all men might know that it is You alone that are God, You alone have done this for us. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Following The Lead

We can try to figure things out on our own and go our own directions as we see fit. There may be successes there, or there may not. However, we can also pray, and then listen. We can let our Father tell us what we should do, and do that. This latter approach guarantees only one type of success. Over time, if we practice, we will get very good at hearing what our Father tells us to do. We become our Messiah’s sheep, hearing only His voice.

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Here we see that there is one Shepherd that we want to hear. If we ask Him to teach us to hear only Him, will He not certainly do it?

Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

We have a Father that loves us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. We love You and long for Your kingdom. Praise the name Yahuah! We call to Your kingdom, and long to be in it. Send us today Your overwhelming abundant provision. Forgive us for our sins. Heal up our hearts. Cover us. Deliver us from the thief that kills and destroys. Restore unto us one hundred times one hundred fold. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Lifting One Another Up

Yesterday I received a communication that a Hispanic friend of mine needed some help with his computer and phone. I was already running behind for the week and head to run for chicken feed as they were completely out. Then I went to help him, and it took a while. My wife and I were late for our plans, but in the end we took my Hispanic friend with us and he made some new friends. After all was said and done, I was left wondering if I did the right thing. It seemed like what I was supposed to do, but it contended with my Sabbath plans. I was reminded of a scripture.

Luke 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
6 And they could not answer him again to these things.

Were the choices I made the right ones? Did I hear from God okay? One day we will know for certain. For now, it is a learning process, and I am the student, not the teacher. I will leave it up to Yahuah (Lord).

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We praise and bless the name Yahuah! Your kingdom has captured our heart and we long to be with You there. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal and deliver us. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Help Comes From Above

We have so many touch points in life where our Father has provided to us the means to find the goodness in this life and escape the evil and corruption that exists here. This does not mean that every day will go as we would like it to go. It does mean that every day we have access to our Father. And every day He is there to offer us His love.

Matthew 6:31 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.

We are a people that live life in the midst of everyone else. Yet we have a promise from our God. He will take care of our needs. We must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The rest will come.

If you are like me, that can be a challenge at times. Often I feel compelled to work and to figure things out. And we should work. But my struggle is learning the balance. Knowing when to work and when to pray only, that is a challenge. Today, I will pray for those of us that struggle with this challenge.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We need Your kingdom. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us Your overwhelming provision today. We ask you forgive us our sins. Heal us up from the inside, and deliver us from the evils that are stealing and destroying Your people. We ask You help us today. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Comfort Comes

Yesterday at fellowship there were many scriptures that caught my attention. One was the scripture where Yeshuah (Jesus) walks on the water. What was interesting to me is the series of events that led up to that and then what happens at the event itself. Here is one version of the story.

Matthew 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

They had just seen Yeshuah (Jesus) feed 5,000 and then 4,000, each time with barely enough to feed Himself and the twelve disciples. He sends them on their way in the boat and He goes to pray. In the version in Mark it says He was walking and was going to pass them by, but the were afraid. In this telling we see that they were somewhat comforted by His voice, enough for Peter to say for Yeshuah (Jesus) to tell Peter to come to Him on the water. Once Yeshuah (Jesus) was in the boat, the waves calmed. The disciples were comforted by His presence. Mark says they did not understand because their heart was hardened after seeing the miracles of the fishes. As I thought about this, I wondered what it meant to harden their hearts because they were still following Him and keeping His commands.

What is a hardened heart? It is one that is not softened by the love of the Father, I think perhaps. If I think of the moments that God moved in my life, times when I became emotional, I can remember how I felt. In those moments my heart was softened for sure. One thing to consider is how we can achieve a softened heart at all times. For me, dealing in business with the world on a regular basis, it seems difficult. Here we see that the Messiah went off to pray before heading out on the water. Perhaps it is this time of prayer that helps us to keep our hearts softened.

Let’s pray today for the revelation of a softened heart.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. It is Your kingdom that we want around us. Bless the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us up on the inside that our hearts can be softened. Deliver us from the evils here. Deliver us from the thief that has stolen from us, is stealing from us, and continues to steal from us. Cut off this evil work. Grind it to powder. Rise up, O King, and destroy these works that try to destroy us. Restore all that has been stolen one hundred times one hundred fold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

White Blanket

Overnight we had additional snowfall. There is a thick, fluffy, diamond filled white porcelain like blanket of snow covering the ground and trees this morning. The pine trees lining the driveway are bowing down to the snow under the weight of the new addition. It is a peaceful moment looking at this wonder of nature. Shortly my daughter and I are going out to play in the snow for a while. Snowmen and snowball fights are just another of the blessings available to us this time of year. We can draw a certain comfort from knowing that it is a part of a bigger plan. The comfort in the snow is reflected by the use of it as a means of comparison in scripture.

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Here Isaiah tells us that the purity we seek is a transformation from scarlet to white as snow. We can be comforted in knowing that if we seek Yahuah (Lord) to do His will and follow His ways, we will eat of the good of the land. We need only seek Him and His ways.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We want to live in Your kingdom here in this earth. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming blessing. Forgive our sins. Heal us up inwardly that it may show outwardly. Deliver us from the oppressor that steals from us and has stolen from us. Restore one hundred fold all that has been taken and more. Rise up today, O King, and destroy the work that oppresses us. Take us from the ash heap. Help us to gain wealth to advance the kingdom. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Preparing The Fields

We have a mission in life. That mission is to serve the living God and keep His ways. We are His children. We need to follow after Him. We need to be His people with our whole hearts. This is a challenge because we live here in this world where not everything goes as we would like it to go. We are faced with choices pretty much all the time. Yes, these choices are choices about actions in the physical, and most likely we do okay there for the most part. But these choices are also deeper than that because they also are choices for the mind and heart. Our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) spoke about this.

Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

John, in one of his letters repeats this idea. He speaks of hatred being the same as murder.

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

So what does this mean for us then? In part, I suggest it means that we need to spend time in self examination to see how we line up with what the book of instructions says to do. We are to cry out to our Father for help in becoming better examples of who He wants us to be. We need to ask Yahuah (Lord) to help us by creating clean hearts in us. He will do for all His people what He did for David. We need only to ask and be diligent to work on our thinking and speaking. He will help us make it because He is a loving Father and He loves us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. You alone have delivered us from death. Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your kingdom be with us. Send us now, this very day, Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our hearts and minds Father. Help us to be complete and set apart unto you. Deliver us from the evil that has stolen and is stealing from Your people Father. Help us to love one another and lift each other up. We need Your love towards our brothers and sisters in the faith. Help us to have that love. We ask all these things in the name of Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Only Believe

Did you ever have something in your life that seemed too big to handle on your own? If we can overcome the temptation to be afraid, we can win any struggle that comes our way. When times are good and we are not struggling, then that can seem like a simplistic statement. But when we are in the throws of it, when it seems like this one could be “the one” that you were dreading, the one that takes you under, that is the time I refer to here. We must focus in those moments. In a moment we will discuss where we need to focus. For now, there is a scripture that supports the need to focus.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James tells us that it is in the resistance that the devil flees. We have an example from our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) on this point.

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Here we see that the third attempt to tempt our Messiah, trying to get Him to worship or exalt the devil, led to Him telling Satan to go. He resisted and the devil left. Devil means slanderer, and satan means accuser, one who resists, or adversary. The devil is just that – one that tells lies about people. He tells lies to the Father, and He tells lies to us. When we resist him, like Messiah did, he leaves. It is his lies that we want to address here.

Our Messiah made it clear. He was hear to bring us an abundant life. The devil, the thief and our enemy, did not.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

When we experience something in life that seems overwhelming, we need to take enough time to run it through the filter of John 10:10. And if we are just thinking about a situation, the same applies. Ask, “Does this thought bring abundant life or destruction of some kind?” It can be helpful to say this out loud. If the answer is abundant life, then praise Yahuah (Lord)! if the answer is destruction, then say out loud, “Get away satan! I do not exalt what you say over what my Father says! He is King! You are nothing to me! Go! I praise the name Yahuah (Lord)! He is my King!” Repeat it as many times as necessary. Soon, the truth of what our Father has said will be bigger in your heart than those lies!

We can take comfort in the fact that we serve a very great God!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We praise the name Yahuah! We long for Your kingdom here on earth. For some of Your people Father, the provision need is great because they have been stolen from for so long. The daily need for today can seem overwhelming. But You can provide even that for Your people. Send that provision today. Forgive us for our sins. Heal us up from the inside. The enemy had damaged us inside for years. Rise up my King! Come with a strong hand and outstretched arm to destroy the works of the enemy that has stolen from us. Deliver Your people today, O King! Grind to powder the evil works. We ask these things in the name of Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.