Helping Hands

As life has gone by I have noticed that almost all of us need a little help from time to time. And it is good to have help. Paul talks about this often in his letters.

1 John 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

We see we are to love our brother, so we expect love from others. However, maybe a part of having helping hands when we need them is offering helping hands to others. But what does that look like? Paul talks about this too.

Philippians 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

When we feel down, like we need a hand up, maybe finding someone else to help will help us too.

Prayer
Father, we thank You and praise You for being our God and King. We ask You today to send us the healing, the deliverance, the provision, and the encouragement we need today. Please use us to help those around us as well. We want to help. Please show us how. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Standing Strong

We serve a great and awesome God who watches over us. In life we may face times when it seems there are those that are out to see us fail. It may be people or spiritual darkness, but it does not matter. Our God delivers us from them all. There is a psalm that speaks to this in a strong way.

Psalms 52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

We see many bad things happening to the “mighty man”. As we get near the end of the psalm we see that this is a person that does not make God their strength. At the end, we also see that the one that waits on God is blessed like a “green olive tree” in the family of God. It is scriptures like this that encourage me to trust in God when I feel the pressures of the world closing. Never give up!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for watching over us. Send Your deliverance to Your people today, Father. Send Your power to raise us up. Give us Your provision. Restore Your church. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Through The Storm

Where I live the weather is bad enough today that they closed all the roads and we are not allowed to travel. As I write this looking out my window it occurs to me that life can have stormy times, even when the weather is good. The challenge for us as believers is to hold on to God in these times and believe that He will deliver us. We can be encouraged if we take time to think of who God is because when we meditate on that, we come to realize just how big and powerful He is. What seems impossible to us is a small thing to the all powerful God of the universe, right? This morning I read a few scriptures that helped me remember just how majestic our God is.

Psalms 29:1 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

This portrays God as bigger than everything else. The one verse that really stuck out to me was verse ten where it says God sits upon the flood. Having been in a flood once when I was a teenager, I remember how powerful and somewhat scary that was. But our God sits on that and rides it like it was nothing! That is more powerful than i can imagine. If we can just try to think of God like that, then we can know that God will deliver us from any trouble we may have.

Prayer
Father, we praise You, our Mighty King. You are above all and over all. We are excited that You care for us, and that You love us, and that you have our back. Come deliver Your people today Father. Don’t let the evil of this world overcome Your people. Please come and crush the darkness today Father. Provide for Your people what is needed today. And we praise You for that provision and deliverance. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Future Looming

In life we get opportunities to spend time with family and friends. There can be amazing moments in our paths, like the birth of a child. And there can be moments when what seems to be coming is an unbelievably difficult challenge. The challenge may be routine to some, but to us it seems, well, a little scary. In times like these it is good to know who is with 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.

We have a God that has always been, will always be, and is at this very moment on our side.

Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
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.

In every moment of life, our God is with us, to protect, defend, and to deliver us from all evil. He longs to raise us up. Today, if you have something looming in your future, look up, for the God Most High is watching over you. Call to Him and He will come to your rescue.

It’s just what He does. It’s just who He is. He alone is God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High King. Lift Your people up today, Lord. Raise our spirits and our hearts. Let us be encouraged to trust in You. Show Yourself strong on our behalf. Bring Your reign. Be our King. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

A Beautiful Tree

This morning as I was getting up from a night of praying every few hours when I would wake up, God gave me a vision of a beautiful green tree. It was very large, and the leafy branches extended high and wide. I could see that it was positioned on a bluff or a slight rise, maybe three to five feet above the shoreline of what appeared to be some type of body of water. I felt like it was God that gave me the vision because it was one of those things that pushes into the conscious mind and gives an instant sense of a positive spiritual presence, that I have come to know is God communicating with me. I felt like He was well pleased with the battles I had been fighting through the night in the prayers mixed in between times of sleep. As I thought about it just now, I can still see the image clearly, and it fills me with hope. I also thought of a scripture that describes the tree to me.

Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

We are that tree, or at least we can be. Certainly God wants us to be that tree. We need only keep fighting the good fight of faith. We need to continue to pray and remember we are God’s kids and He is watching over us. God causes us to prosper. Today in particular I find that very encouraging.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. You alone are our King. We love You for You have created us and called us by name. You have made us to be Your people. Today Father we call upon You to help us to be the people that do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor be sinners giving in to darkness, nor be the ones that are scornful of others. Please help us to delight in Your law which You have written in our hearts as the new covenant, and help us to meditate on it day and night. Grow us up like mighty trees, and cause all our efforts to prosper today, Lord, today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Full Joy

God’s plan is for His people to be complete, wanting nothing.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

As James states earlier, we may have to go through some “stuff” to get there. Here he suggests that we need to be patient to get there. Notice he does not say we have to be down trodden or sad or upset. True enough all of these are things I have felt in times when I am having my patience tested, but they are not necessary. It would seem to me that there should be a way for us to experience something positive from God while we are on our way to what He has for us. Today I found an interesting scripture that I have read and skipped over many times that actually addresses this point, I think.

2 John 1:12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

What stood out to me was what John said would make their joy full. When our joy is full, we are encouraged. The need for encouragement for me goes hand in hand with times when my joy is not full. John says that seeing the believers face to face would cause their joy to be full. Something happens when we gather together. If we treat each other with respect, when we gather together we see the Jesus in others and it helps us remember that we are not alone, that God is on our side. When we have opportunity, let’s spend time with other believers that our joy may be filled up!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for this day. There are many with needs today Father. Please keep people same from the climates around them. Please make it possible for people, especially Your people, to come to no harm today. Raise up Your people and help them to be full of joy. Help Your people to know You and the power of Your name. Help Your people to not only have what they need, but to share abundance with others that there be no lack. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

It’s Not Us

Looking into the backyard this morning there is a light covering of snow that allows for dots of grass to stick through. It has become an icy cold winter wonderland playground for our squirrels. They seem to love to run and play tag as they skim the light snow. As I watched I began to wonder, how do they survive that cold (it is like 15 degrees out this morning). I remembered the scripture where Jesus talked about the birds being taken care of by God.

Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Somehow, God is taking care of the animals in the forest. When I thought about that it seemed like a pretty big job, because there are so many forests and so many animals – but God is making sure at every moment that all of them are cared for every day. And according to what Jesus said, we are being cared for too. It made me curious to see these scriptures, and know in my head that they are true, but at the same time to have other thoughts in my head about concerns in my life. That’s when I finally got it.

When I am discouraged, it is because I have an idea about how things are and how they will be in my own mind. These things in my head become like a script to a movie or a play that I have to act out. But I am the one writing that stuff in my head (maybe with doubts from the enemy). In those moments we are applying our hearts and minds to something, some plan, we have created. It’s like painting ourselves in to a corner mentally. What we forget is that God is the One with the plan that works. So no matter what we see, the One creating the plan and directing the movie we call our lives has set us up to be the ones that win in the end.

Think of it like your favorite DVD where the good guys win. No matter how many times you play it, the good guys win, right? Same thing here. No matter how many things come at us that seem negative, God made our DVD so we will win, no matter how many times it is played out.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You above all the earth for You alone are King. Thank You for watching over the squirrels. Thank You for watching over us. Please send to Your people today the opportunities they need, the healing they need, the provision they need, that all men will look upon us and know that You did that and that You alone are King. In Jesus (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Keeping On

It is easy at times in our walk with God to feel like we are really not getting anywhere. Or maybe at least we are not getting to where we think we should be. In times like these we need encouragement. We need to remember that life, even eternal life, is a journey and not a destination. In times like these I try to remember scriptures and stories from those that have been down this road. What did they do and say that helped them and others not feel like giving up?

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Here we see Paul talking about doing good and not giving in to the flesh. If we stay in the spirit, we will receive results from the spirit.

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

In this scripture Jesus was telling the parable of the talents. While this is a parable meant to teach a lesson, it is one that can give us hope in tough times. When we are walking out our walk with God, it is good to remember that we are doing it for a reason. We want to get to the end, to cross the finish line.

If you are faced with big challenges today, just remember we are trying to get to the end, to that finish line. If you know someone in that place, and you have a means to help them, then Paul says you should do that. Let’s all be encouraged today by thinking of that day when we meet Jesus, face to face, and He looks us in the eye, smiles, and says, “Well done.”

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Today some of us need Your encouragement in our lives. We want to keep doing good, but we are struggling. Please reach out today to us and help us to see Your workings and Your presence in our lives. We need You, Dad. Don’t let go. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Deliverance From Troubles

When we feel that our troubles of life seem very large, there is hope. It can be difficult in these times to see that hope. But what we know is our God loves us, and will keep us from our enemies. What are our troubles really? They are what we think about certain situations. They are in our mind and our heart, and they seem to be “real” to us. Maybe that is the point.

We have to look at these troubles and look at what we believe. It helps if we have an example to follow. David is someone that had similar troubles, only often they were accompanied by something around him that was physical. Like the time that Saul was in pursuit of him before he became king. What did David do? He sang his prayers to God.

Psalms 54:1 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good.
7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

God is with us. And our God is with those that our on our side. Not only will he defeat our enemies, but He will help those that stand with us to defeat our enemies as well. Verse seven is very comforting in these times. David clearly knew who his God was. He stated that God had already delivered him out of all of his troubles, and his eyes had seen God’s desire come upon them. God’s desire is for our deliverance. In troubled times, let us sing with David and trust our God to bring His deliverance from our enemies.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You today. This is Your world and You created it. You have set in motion from before the beginning our deliverance, our healing, our provision, and our hope. You alone will deliver us from the hands of those that seek to destroy us. You alone deliver us from those that cast down our souls. We ask today Father that today You rise up and cast them down. Deliver us today and we will hope in You, for You alone are worthy to be praised. You are the comfort that we seek. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Looking Up

This morning as I was thinking about discouragement and encouragement. When the troubles seem overwhelming as we look at them, we become discouraged. But I think there is more in that statement than we might see at first. It is the part about looking at our troubles. When we look at our troubles, we are not looking at our God. We begin to contemplate and meditate on how large the troubles are. Let’s say our troubles are financial or sickness. Is there any doubt that in a single moment God could remove any sickness we have, or send a blessing to take care of our financial distress? The difficult part, the really hard part, comes when we are hit head on with these things and have to wait for God to deliver us. It goes back to the beginning of this post where we discussed looking at the problem instead of at our God (notice I did not say ignore the problem). There are several interesting scriptures that address this.

Psalms 96:7 Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

It is interesting here that we are to give God glory and strength. The glory here is the word for weight as in something of substance or very large (in a positive way) and strength means stout as in unmovable. But how do we give these things to God, because, well, doesn’t He already have them? The answer is in our praise, which is what this entire psalm speaks about repeatedly. Our praise about His greatness and immovability resonates with creation, and in that resonating cathedral that is His creation, God shows up to do what He does best – love us and deliver us.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God, great and immovable. Let all of the heavens shout, and since praises to Your name. Let all the earth and all that are in it shout and praise Your name. Let us all rejoice! Father, in Your great power move today on behalf of Your people. Deliver them mightily, heal the sick, bless financially and substantively those that are in lack, and comfort the widows, the fatherless, and the poor. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.