Cleaning House

Building one another up is an important activity for us as believers. We are told in scripture that in fact we are to be doing just that.

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Sometimes we also need to use this same idea to clean house for ourselves. Not only can we think of this as talking to others and encouraging them, we can think of it as talking to ourselves and encouraging ourselves.

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

If we are to be a help to others, then we need to fist help ourselves by working out our own issues in salvation.

Philippians 2:12 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.

Part of loving ourselves is keeping ourselves free from transgression of the Law.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us now Your provision that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God and overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. We love You. Restore Your people, Father, unto You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Change The World

If we are to serve the living God and make the world a better place, that change begins with us. Think about it. If each of us commits to becoming a better version of ourselves, then everyone becomes batter. The world changes. And change is a good thing.

Psalms 55:19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.

The great thing is we can change. If we work together, we can change together.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us now Your provision that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God and overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. We love You. Restore Your people, Father, unto You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Working Together

We have a desire to work together as believers to make the world a better place. This is in fact something we need to do. We need to be unified. It pleases our Father when we are together.

Psalms 133 A Song of degrees of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Keep trying.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us now Your provision that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God and overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. We love You. Restore Your people, Father, unto You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Together Stronger

Today I am reminded about how we can be stronger when we are together with others.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

It is good to do what we can to be together in what there is to be done.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us Your provision that we might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for all. Restore Your people, Father, unto You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people here. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Sweet As Honey

Today is the beginning of a New Year according to certain calendars. If we are willing to embrace the concept, we can decide to partake in the newness and refreshing that comes with it. Today, that is a goal for me. To partake in the newness, setting aside the old.

Leviticus 23:23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

It is a day of blowing the trumpet, and having our hearts rejoice at the coming of the King.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Today has the opportunity to be a very good day.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts and minds and bodies of Your people. Let Your will be done perfectly here as it is in heaven. Send us now the provision we need that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of the You and Your love for us. Restore unto your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way of that which is good, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,817,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom here in the hearts, minds, and bodies of the people. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Making A Change

We serve a living God. As I write that phrase it makes me stop to consider what life really is. We are surrounded by a world that has many things upon which we can focus. Many of these seem to be distractions really. They grab our attention, they cause us to look upon them favorably, and even longingly. We engage with these distractions on many levels. And all the while we are not similarly engaged with our Father and the things of God. This appears to be a misstep. We need to actively choose Him and His ways.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

So we see that we must worship our Father from the essence of who we are, the spirit. He has revealed the truth, and with our spirit we must consciously decide to follow God.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

With our modern thought it is easy to run past the meanings of words here. The word “yield” in the Greek means to show up or be present. “Servants” means to be tied together, interwoven, mixed, etc. And the word “obey” means giving strong attention to or listen intently to. If we look at these definitions, we see that the distractions are really a means of getting us to worship something other than the Father.

Today, let’s spend some time thinking about what we give our attention to on a regular and/or intense basis. This seems to be what is most important in the mind of our Messiah when speaking to the woman at the well.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven, so perfectly, and let it bring the kingdom here in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people. Send us now the provision we seek. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil of this. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. Help us to pay attention to only You. Restore Your people to You. Restore unto Your people all that the worm has eaten. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way of that which is good, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,867,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom here in the hearts, minds, and bodies of the people. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Building The Future

Even when it seems like your body is so tired you just can’t keep moving, you have to keep going. We are building the future, no matter what we are doing. In fact, look at what it is you are doing, as that is the foundation of the future you are building. No matter what, we have to keep turning to our Father and His commandments to try to get ourselves in the right place at the right time. If we can try to think about God’s ways and commandments as an approach to life that has perfect balance and timing, then we can get a sense of what it is we are pursuing that may be easier to understand and easier to relate to for us.

Psalms 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

God made things to work out. If we can learn to build into what He is already building, we will get there.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts and minds and bodies of the people. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us Your provision. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. Restore Your people, Father. Restore unto Your people all that the worm has eaten. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

When The Enemy Speaks

Over the years as I have listened to many stories from believers, I have come to understand that often the enemy chooses to speak through those that are supposed to be close to us. That may sound extreme. It may seem like we should not even consider such a case. But, we are not so special that we should expect something different than what our Messiah has experienced.

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

It is interesting how, at moments when breakthrough is presenting itself, we come across times when well meaning fellow Christians try to tell us how our actions do not align with what we should be doing. A perfect example is how many people meddle in the marriages of others, causing division. Our Father does not look well on those that would take such actions.

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.

And we also know that our Father loves unity.

Psalms 133 A Song of degrees of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts, mind, and bodies of all peoples. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven. Send us Your provision. Deliver us from the evil here. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. Restore Your people Father. Restore unto Your people all that the worm has eaten. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way. Send in quickly the $423,877,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom here in the hearts, minds, and bodies of the believer. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah, Father, asking them of You in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

All Together

It takes all of us working together to make it to the end. As it turns out, we face certain challenges based on our drive in life to get to the end. We must drive towards a goal to reach it. If we lose sight of our goal, we will end up somewhere else. We must stay on track with our goal to make it to the end. We will drive towards the goal we envision – our inner pilot will just steer in that direction. If we are all going towards the same goal, then we will most certainly make course corrections for one another. And like in racing cars or bikes, we will draft off of each others’ efforts, making it easier over all for all of us.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

A portion of the “we” that we are a part of is our Messiah, Yeshuah. He took on Abraham and not angels so that He could be the high priest He needed to be to make reconciliation for us. While salvation of the body, heart, and mind is individual to each person, there is also a certain element of this that is about all of us together. It is important that we are all in this together.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven, with Your kingdom coming here in the hearts and minds of mankind. We need You here, Father. Send us Your provision that we need today, Father. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. Restore the hearts of Your people unto You, Father. It is easy for us as humans to stray from the target. Help us stay on track. Restore one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, Father, and the more besides. Restore all that the worm has eaten. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds and bodies of those that need You. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.

Hanging With The ‘Pines

We are blessed as a group of people to have families with whom we dwell. By families, I mean more than just biological or by marriage, although I include those. I also mean those that claim to care for us, and those for whom we claim to care. Scriptures speak about this.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

The animal kingdom has examples of this as well. Many species hang together in groups. But what about the groups that might be tougher to hang with? Like maybe, the porcupines? Think of all of the challenges. One ‘Pine tells a joke, and the others laugh. One falls rolling to the floor in hysteria, and BAM! Bumps into your leg and you been needled! Or another ‘Pine thinks to do good and talks to your friend “to help you” with something you struggle with and sooner or later another well meaning “Pine” comes to you with it, walking up from behind and BAM! Stuck in the back, not meaning to of course. Or the one you love gets close and BAM, You get stuck five or six times. O wait a minute… I think I just described life as a believer…

MORAL
Life is not easy. Hangin’ with the ‘Pines will get you stuck for sure. But the path to make it through has all ready been well documented. We call it scriptures…

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts and minds of mankind. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven, so perfectly. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to those around us. Deliver us from the evil here. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore Your people from the inside out, Father, to better than they ever were. Restore unto Your people all that the worm has eaten. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way of that which is good, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of mankind here. We ask all these things of You in the name of our Messiah, YAH Yeshuah HaMashiak. Amen.