Beauty For Ashes

When Jesus was offered the scrolls for the weekly reading in the temple, He read from Isaiah.

Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

In looking into the Hebrew for the “acceptable year of the Lord” we find some interesting meaning to this phrase. The word acceptable here means delight, good or favorable. It is a positive thing. The word year means a cycle of time. This phrase then means to announce the beginning of the good cycle of God our Lord, not just a single year. After handing them back the scroll, Yeshua (Jesus) had this to say.

Luke 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

He proclaimed that that scripture was fulfilled when they heard Him read it. That means that the new cycle of God’s deliverance began at that moment. The tradition was to read certain scripture portions each week. Most often these were chanted or sung. So we see that the fulfillment of the good cycle beginning took place when He read the scripture. Jesus later told us that he needed to leave so the Comforter could come to us. If we read further in Isaiah, we can see what that meant. Jesus (Yeshua) stopped reading about half way through Isaiah 61:2. The rest of this verse and then all of verse three create a great picture of hope for believers.

Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

We are in the time where we are to cast of lamenting and morning. Jesus (Yeshua) ushered in a new cycle, and we are the participants in that cycle today. The rest of this chapter tells of what will happen, how we move forward, and of God’s blessing on us all as we partake of this cycle. God is truly on our side and has provided for us a means of comfort.

Prayer
Father, we praise You for the age of goodness that we are in and thank You for being our King. We ask today Father that You rise up in judgment, and bring righteousness to the earth. You have sent Your Comforter. Use us in our prayers and praise to bring deliverance to Your creation. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name.

Someone Is In Charge

Today I awoke to a fluffy white blanket covering the ground and clinging to the few remaining leaves on the trees. As I gaze at it now through my window, small flakes and larger clusters of the cotton like snow float to the ground from the tree tops above when an occasional breeze breaks them free. The view makes me think of a several things. I am smiling as one of the first is I wonder what it is like in the Southwest this morning where it is warm. Then I also am thinking of just how peaceful it all looks. And it is also a constant reminder to me that someone is in charge. That someone is God.

Growing up I loved this time of year. As a middle aged adult I was often upset and complained about the cold and the snow. As I move into my more mature years, I have come to realize that our God is always at work. I know this because the scriptures say He holds everything together He holds everything together, as stated in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Sometimes I just forget. I forget that God is holding everything together. I forget that without Him nothing happens or exists. And if I can get myself to rely on this fact, when I remember that, then I know that He is there for me. As the psalmist says, we only wait on Him, for Him to move in His time, to set things right in our behalf.

Psalms 123:A Song of degrees.
1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

We lift our eyes to God. Just as a servant waits to see what the one that they serve wants them to do next, or to see the power the one they serve has to go about the business of the day, so we wait and watch for our God. We seek His mercy, and we wait patiently as we can for Him to show forth that mercy. There will be those that will shake their heads at those of us that believe, and will laugh at us behind our backs or to our face. Yet we will wait, and pray to God to send His mercy and judge between us, because He is at work. We only need to look around us at the wonder of the creation to see that the Creator has not forgotten us, nor will He turn His back upon us. In this we take comfort.

Prayer
Father, we praise You on this yet another amazing day. Thank You Father that You have something in store for Your people. Thank You that You never leave us in the dust, but rather raise us out of the dust and grant us deliverance from the troubles in our lives. Today we ask You come to our aid quickly, and help Your people, that all may know You alone are the One True God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Breathing Comfort

Hear in the Midwest it is rainy and gray outside. Leaves of many colors are on the ground and in the trees. There was a time when these days made me feel saddened somehow. Today is different. Today as I looked upon the weather outside from my kitchen table, I read a portion of Psalms 119 and was comforted.

Psalms 119:CAPH
81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

In verse 81 the psalmist says that his very being is weakening waiting for rescue (salvation in the Hebrew). But he then says he has patience (hope) in God’s word, which here in the Hebrew is something that has been spoken. Verse 82 says that what he sees and sees with is coming to an end for what God has said, and responds in saying when will You comfort me. This is an interesting passage because it shows a relationship between man and the creation, and how both need to have the manifestation of the things that God has spoken. I believe he is referring to what God promised to Moses, and also what God promised through Moses and others throughout the Old Testament. The rest of these verses seem to say that same thing as the psalmist keeps coming back to telling God that he has done his best to follow after the commandments and precepts (decrees) of God. In verses 84-86 he asks for God to bring judgement on those that have wrongfully persecuted him and are trying to destroy him. It sounds as if the psalmist is in tough times. In the last verse here, verse 88, he asks to be quickened (made alive) after God’s lovingkindness and that as a result the psalmist will keep the testimonies of all that has proceeded from the mouth of God. There is an interresting connection here to the ministry of the Messiah, found in the meaning in Hebrew of the word comfort. Here that word means to breathe hard. Jesus does that for us, as we saw after His resurrection when He spoke to the disciples.

John 21:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Jesus (Yeshua) breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit. Later at Shevuot (Pentecost) the Comforter came to the, the Holy Spirit, in which they were baptized. It seems Jesus (Yeshua) is saying that He has given us the power to be comforted, and that we through our speaking can deliver us and those around us. Today, I am comforted knowing that God is on my side, and He is our great Deliver, coming to our rescue.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You, for truly You alone are God. We ask today that You deliver us according to what You have spoken. We agree with You that those that persecute us are to be cast off, and that You alone will raise us up. We praise You and thank You, eagerly waiting to see the deliverance You are bringing. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

The Comfort Of God’s Care

I am posting this late today. My good friend’s father passed away at the end of the week and I went with my daughter to pay my respects to my friend. He was doing okay. The last few days I have pondered on the end of life. It is not easy for us to grapple with at times. But as I heard the many stories from people of how their lives were touched by my friend’s father, I was comforted. I had a sense of someone whose life had been a blessing and had been blessed as God watched over him.

Today as I read in the Psalms I had that same sense of comfort. In Psalms 83 for example it talks about how God will grind our enemies to powder and lift us up so that all may know that He is God.

Psalms 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.

I am comforted to know that God has my back. He is on our side.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for standing strong on our behalf. Thank You for defeating our enemies and scattering them on the wind like the chaff that all men may know that You alone are God. Be strong today and this week Father. Show Your miracles on behalf of Your people. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Never Changing

Our God is always our God – He never changes. When I think of the challenges I face in life, I am comforted to know that our God will always be there no matter what we face. He established the heavens and the earth. He made the sun, moon, and stars. No one can change these things. He rides high above all of these things, bringing to pass His will for His kingdom on earth. When we stop to think about how steadfast that is, well, that is pretty good. But it gets batter.

God is on our side. God wants to bring peace and joy into our lives as we fallow Him and His ways. That was the plan from the beginning. If we will turn to our God and seek His face, He will give us all we need. That’s what fathers do – they take care of their kids, right? Well, that’s what He is doing as well. As it is recorded in Matthew,

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.

Prayer
Father, thank You for this day that we get to live and seek Your face. We praise and exalt You. Please help us to seek first Your kingdom. Please bring the things we need today. Please bring them to us with peace. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

A Comforting View

Yesterday was an interesting post for me to write. One thing was I somehow titled it originally with the incorrect month. I don’t know if it gave you a laugh, but I had to laugh at myself this morning when I sat down to type and saw it.

The post yesterday was most interesting to me because of the subject of the sabbaths, both the place of perpetual rest that was promised from the beginning, and the weekly sabbath that Paul says remains for us all (Hebrews 4:9). I continued to think about what Paul was saying, trying to better understand it. He had made a connection between the weekly sabbath and the faith that brings us the opportunity missed by the children of Israel in the desert to obtain that place of rest forever with God. I say this because Paul connected the faith to enter in to the rest with God to the weekly sabbath by saying “Therefore” which indicates he is drawing this as a conclusion. In verse eleven he goes on to talk about working at it. So what does all this mean?

Faith has and is accessed by a pattern. If we can believe God enough to follow the pattern (the weekly sabbath), it will help to build our faith for the bigger prize, that of eternal rest. Interestingly enough the simple pattern of the weekly sabbath was broken in the desert at least once by the children of Israel.

Exodus 16:27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

This is just one of the recorded instances where the children of Israel in the desert demonstrated a lack of faith in God through their disobedience. Faith has a pattern.

These passages from Paul also imply that we can have the eternal rest beginning now. We obtain it through faith. The place of this eternal rest comes through faith in God being who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. What happened for me was that I began to see that there is a “place” we can be in our hearts and minds that allows us to see a circumstance as something that my God is about to deliver me from as opposed to something to complain about or be afraid will overtake me and my family. And if I find myself in a place where I feel overwhelmed, then at that moment I have the wrong perspective, and I need to find the perspective that allows me to see God about to work. This view is a great comfort.

The truth is God did not take the children of Israel out in the desert to die, and He has not brought us to the desert to die either. We need to believe that God is who He says He is and trust that He will do what He says He will do.

Prayer
Father, thank You for this day today. Thank You for the demonstration of the commitment to us that You make with the very creation around us every day. Thank You for all that You have already done for us, and for the promise to deliver us daily. Please reach out to Your people today and heal their hearts and minds. Please provide the wholeness for today that is needed for today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Strength And Beauty

Isn’t it interesting how we as humans go fast when sometimes we need to slow down? Over the last three days that showed up for me by getting a fever and having to sleep most of the day. This afternoon as I am slowly recovering my wife sent me a text of a scripture that she felt God wanted me to read. Reading it was a great comfort to me, so I thought I would share it with you, as well as why it was a comfort. Maybe it will be a comfort to you as well.

Psalms 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

What really comforted me in this passage is that we are before God and we are His sanctuary as believers. That means that no matter how bad I feel or how bad I think I look after being sick for a couple days, God looks at me through the blood of His Son, Jesus (Yeshua). He sees me in honour and majesty. Wow! And again, when I feel so weak that all I can do is sleep, God puts His strength and beauty in me, because I am His sanctuary. God will place in me the strength and beauty I need to move forward.

Here is the good news. If you are a believer, this applies to you as well! You are seen by God as having honour and majesty. Because you are His sanctuary, He places His strength and beauty in you. When you next feel weak, sick, or in a sad place, just remember Jesus (Yeshua) died for that too, and God promised these promises for you!

Prayer
Father, we praise You for Your kindness toward us. You are the Healer King, the One that watches over all. Thank You for seeing us through Your eyes and not through our own. Please raise up Your people in a way that causes the whole world to know that You alone are King. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Grabbing Hold Of God

There are times in life when our relationship with God can be what I would call more passive. We feel comfortable in life and comfortable with God. There are other times in life when we feel a more definite need for His presence in our life. We may need an answer to a pressing question, deliverance from a financial problem, or perhaps healing from an internal or an outward affliction. When one of these happens to us, we may try to grab hold of God. It happened in the scriptures to Jesus (Yeshua).

In Mark there is an interesting record of such an event.

Mark 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

This is the story of the woman that touched the hem of the Messiah’s garment. While this story has been told many times, there were some point that I had not seen before as I read this scripture this morning. Let me share what I saw anew.

The woman was desperate. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a major affliction for 12 years. And this affliction would have separated her from her people because she would have been “unclean” according to the law. She had been to many doctors, but that only made it worse. Sometimes doctors do not have all the answers. She was determined to get to Jesus (Yeshua) believing that He had healing power. Now here is one of those things I saw. Jesus had not died and been raised from the dead yet. She was not trusting in His death and resurrection, she was trusting that He had God in Him. She knew God wants people whole, wanted her whole, and she was going to get to the God in Him, grab hold, and not let go till she was healed, which she believed would happen when she touched Him. It was this faith in the God in Him that drove her, a sickly woman, through a crowd that despised her.

The next thing that I saw that I had not seen before cam in the initial response of Jesus (Yeshua).

Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

When the lady touched Him, Jesus (Yeshua) felt the healing go out of Him into her. He began to ask who had done it. The disciples said there was no way of knowing because of the size of the crowd around Him. Here are the new points I saw today. When we grab hold of God, He feels it – He knows. When God feels us grab hold, He turns to us, just as Jesus (Yeshua) did in this case. The scriptures teach that Jesus was all knowing, so He knew already who touched Him. This brings up more firsts for me. Why did He ask who touched me? Perhaps to let the disciples know something about healing. It was not a complaint for sure. In fact, I believe it was an invitation for the woman to come closer, which is what she did.

Mark 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

She cam to Him in a submissive way, telling Him her story. This is what we are to do with God. Let Him know what has been happening. We know that when we are not in the best state with God, we can come to Him for wholeness, and He responds. She appeared to be fearful. After all, she was unclean when she touched Him. His response is perhaps the best part.

Mark 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

He blessed her. He did not tell her to stay away because she was messed up. He did not look down on her and warn her not to do it again. And apparently there was still something to be done because He told her to be whole, completing the healing.

What I learned today is that God wants to be in our lives, whether we are “unclean” or not. In fact, we will likely be that way often. That is why we need the Messiah. God wants us to grab hold, believing that He is on our side. And when we do, His response will be that of a loving Father (Jesus called her daughter), and He will make us whole.

Prayer
Father, we praise You today for all that You are. We thank You for your unfailing love. Please help each of us today. Please help us to grab hold and not let go. Please give us deliverance from sickness and plague, from financial lack and resource needs, please heal us inside, that we may give all glory and honor to You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Who Do You Trust?

Those of you that read here often by now have come to know that I sometimes mention the message I heard at church and build from that here. Today is one of those days. Yesterday was one of the most powerful messages I have ever heard on the need for fleeing sexual immorality in the church. It was both thorough and at the same time, it offered encouragement. The pastor that delivered it was one of the most compassionate I know, so coming from him it was very believable that he actually cared. This gets to the point of today’s writing.

At the end of the message, many people were moved. People were offered opportunity to come forward for prayer at the end, as is the custom, while other people exit the auditorium. These people were seeking wholeness. These people wanted the comfort from the deliverance from whatever darkness had entered their lives in whatever way. But I also think they wanted one more thing. They wanted the comfort of talking with another human being, sharing and praying, all why knowing that they could trust that they would not be singled out in some way for what they shared, that what they shared would truly end up in the past and not a part of some leadership “discussion”. In speaking with different people from different churches on the subject of praying, one thing comes through. People want and need to be comforted. This comfort only truly comes with the trust factor previously mentioned.

At this point I would like to tell the readers that this trust bond, this lack of making church members a point of “discussion” amongst leaders and other members in the church, was readily available. Sadly, from my personal interactions with others I have to tell you, it is not. In case you are wondering what I am referring to here, and why the word “discussion” is in quotes, let me make that clear before I go on. Any time anyone talks more ABOUT someone in a less than positive way, than TO that person, that is what the bible calls gossip and the sowing of discord amongst the brethren. And And God hates that discord thing more than anything. (By the way, if you are a leader and you are doing this, you should know that God holds you to a higher standard. I suggest you get on your knees and repent, or resign.)

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

I wish I could tell you that when you are moved at your church to reach out to others for this comfort that you will not face this mistrust. Sadly, I cannot. It exists where I go to church, and likely where you go to church as well. So, here is the comforting part. God still cares. He can and will meet your need for being made whole without anyone else. And we are all in this together, so those of us that experience this misuse of “discussions” (read “gossip”) also have to be forgiving of those that do it. We can feel the comfort of doing God’s work of forgiveness. We are all truly in this together, and God uses all of us to help knock off the rough edges on each other.

I get a sense that there is some that will read this and that there will be people on one side or the other or on both sides of this point. Remember this, God loves you. You can have freedom and comfort. I will be praying today and during the week for those that read this and are moved to prayer. Ask God for your freedom today.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the most high God, the true Master of comfort for Your people. God, please reach out to the people that read this and need the comfort of being made whole from darkness, no matter how it entered their lives. And please Father, help leaders and all of us to not “discuss” other people. Help us to reach out to those in love as Jesus (Yeshua) would have, seeing them as the same as us in Your eyes. Help us extend to them the mercy You have extended to us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

A Clean Heart

This morning as I awoke I thought about the message that was taught at church about the lie that compromise is. For me the hardest part is how easy it can creep into our lives. I had been thinking about this since we heard the message last night, and I wanted to understand how we can be comforted when we turn away from the compromise. Immediately a song came to me. It is almost word for word a part of Psalm 51.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence (O Lord);
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and… (renew a right spirit within me).

This is a Psalm David wrote and I believe sang to God after he had impregnated one of his soldiers wives and then had him killed in battle so no one would know. He was called out by the prophet Nathan whom God had sent to David to get him to confess his sin and repent. The entire story can be found in 2 Samuel 11-12. While that is truly a sad story of someone that compromised their commitment to God, in the end there is a comfort. God did not give up on David. God promised David that he would always have an heir to sit on the throne. Today and forever, that heir is Jesus (Yeshua). So if God can lift up David, can He not lift us up as well?

Would you like the comfort today of that same restoration that David felt? Perhaps if you were to sing this Psalm as a prayer to God, as David did, you too can feel that comfort. I have sung it several times this morning, and it was a comfort to me. Here is a link to Keith Green leading a group in worship with this song.

Prayer
Father, You are majestic. Without You we are nothing. We so need You to come to us every day and help us to not compromise the truth. Please create in us clean hearts today Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.