Rise Up!

In me today there is a growing, I don’t know, demand for action, a sense of a need for change, a crying out to the Father, “Help us!” I am troubled when I see so many walking through this “reality” almost in a daze. Words dripping from lips that suggest an alliance with the great Yahuah (Lord), while calmly going into the submission chambers to the evil overlord in the respective regions of the earth. Calmly being slain is not the answer. Speaking the truth in resistance to evil, that is the call.

Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul addressed the importance for us to speak up inside the fellowship. We must also resist evil everywhere to overcome.

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

Rise up. O people of God! Cry out to our God! Seek deliverance for our planet.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King, and we want to live in Your kingdom. Let the name of Yahuah (Lord) be praised. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal us. Deliver us. We need You. In Yeshuah’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Ministering To One Another

We are called as believers to look to each others’ needs. This is written from the very beginning. Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) summed these up when He spoke concerning the Law.

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
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.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

We see that Yeshuah (Jesus) summed up the Law in these two commands. Paul also speaks to us about how we are to be ministering to our brethren.

Colossians 3:15 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.

We can see from these scriptures a clear direction we are given. We are to reach out to those with needs among us. We are to build each other up with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with grace in our heart to Yahuah (Lord). This is something we can and should be doing now. It will certainly be something we will need to be good at in future times, should those future times be rough.

I had another opportunity in the night to minister to my leg as I did yesterday. The same leg began to get a cramp in the night. I reached for is and then spoke “Peace to this leg in the name of Yeshuah.” The cramping subsided and I went to sleep. When I awoke and went to get out of bed, and the other leg cramped up as hard as the first leg had the day before. I started to say, “No,” but then remembered what had happened previously. I placed my hands on the cramped leg and said, “Peace to this leg in the name of Yeshuah.” There was an immediate lessening of the cramping. I remembered that cramps are supposed to come from a build up of lactic acid, so I placed my hands on the cramp and said, “Let the lactic acid in this leg be consumed in Yeshuah’s name.” Immediately the cramp went away completely. What does this mean?

We are entering a time when we will need each other. We will need to be able to minister to each other, for many, many things, including healing. We would be wise to seek Yahuah now, asking Him to cleanse our hearts and minds that we might be ready to do His works here on this earth. It can be a challenge to be willing to change, but it is good for us to change to draw even closer to our Father through His Son Yeshuah (Jesus).

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our king. You have done so many things for us, more than we can ever even know. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us Your kingdom. Help us to know you more closely. Send us today Your overwhelming provision such that we cannot contain it and it overflows to those around us. Forgive us our sins. Help us to focus on You and Your will and Your words and Your actions, that we might follow only in Your way. Heal up our hearts. Deliver us from those that would steal from us what You alone have provided. Come in Your power and deliver Your people from the bondage that constrains us. We ask all these things in the name of Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Being Positive

As the world moves forward, we are continuing to face challenges to how people and people groups interact with each other. As believers, we have to decide how we will respond to these actions we see. It is a sad thing to see that there cannot be a time of peace. But then Yeshuah (Jesus) said that would be the case, right?

Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

But in the heart of all believers, and perhaps all men, is a yearning for that time of peace. And what is that time? It is the time when our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) returns to reign upon the earth. At the beginning of that return He will fight for His people. But when He reigns, there will be peace, which I believe all believers long for internally. It is within our very makeup to want to see this time of rest and peace.

Hebrews 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

So we see that we are waiting for that day. We need to be patient, acting with courage, trusting in our Father to deliver us and our families unto that perfect day.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy to be our King. We want to be worthy to be Your people, but that only happens by Your grace and mercy. We love You. We bless the name Yahuah (Lord). Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our sins. We need You to heal us and deliver us from the evil wickedness that wants to take from us what You have given to us. Our hope is in You. We ask these thing in the name of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). Amen.

Reaching Out To Reach In

Recently I listened to a few different presentations on CD that were really very amazing. They told a story of how to keep going in the face of overwhelming odds. One of the ideas was to be someone that reaches out to others. As I listened to the speaker it occurred to me that this is really true in the scriptures as well. We are often encouraged to reach out to our fellow believers to encourage them.

1 Thesallonians 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Here we see Paul telling us to edify one another, to build each other up, just as we comfort ourselves in the faith, love, and salvation of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) in our everyday lives. And we are to walk mindful of those around us that we do not cause them to stumble.

Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Again, we see this encouragement to edify one another, to build each other up. Now, it is true that we need to be responsible for our own walk in Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We each personally need to seek the Father and walk in His ways. But there is also this call for us to reach out to others. But let’s think about that for just a minute.

If I only consider my own attempts to walk after Yahuah (Lord) and do His will, then I take on the whole burden. Truly, if I am all alone and there is just Yahuah (Lord) and me, then I do well to cry out to Him and seek His assistance to walk after His commands. But when we can, if we reach out to others to lift them up, then we create this giant network of many points of contact for each of us that is encouraging each other. Instead of just us trying to help ourselves, which is only one person, one string, bearing the load, we end up with this mesh, this rope, this huge support structure where each of us has many voices shouting that encouragement to cross the finish line in the race… “Keep going! You can do this!!! You are a winner!!!” This is just a portion of the brilliance behind the second portion of the summing up of the law by the Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus).

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
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.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Just as we each individually need encouragement and edification, so also do those all around us that name the name of Yeshua (Jesus). If we reach out to our brothers and sisters in Messiah with words of encouragement, with hope, and with the testimony the greatness of Yahuah (Lord) our God, then we are loving them, just as we love ourselves when we attempt to encourage ourselves.

By all of us reaching out, we are really reaching into our own hearts, and encouraging ourselves to stick by our Father’s commands, and to love Him. And when we trust in Yahuah, it really does not matter what the world sens our way. Our Father is with us always, to the very end, and beyond. Praise the name of Yahuah!

Deuteronomy 31:5 And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the King we have searched for all of our lives. You are the One that is always there to comfort us. We bless the name Yahuah! Let the kingdom of our Yahuah reign now upon the earth! Send us today Your overwhelming blessing. Forgive us our sins, and help us to overcome the temptations to sin. Heal up our hearts. Deliver us from those that would steal from us what You alone have provided. We need You in our lives, Father. We can only trust in You to defend us. Come to our defense. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

We Build The Future In The Present

We often are pelted by the enemy with our past mistakes, or times when bad things happened. He constantly wants us to look at the past. If we give in to that distraction, it can be overwhelming and we believe the near future will be equally troubled. It is good to look at the past for the purpose of learning what to do and what not to do should those same experiences come our way. However, the looking with fear does not accomplish anything good for us. It only paralyzes us from moving forward.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Whether the past holds good or bad, we need to leave it there – in the past. Yes, if you have something for which to repent, by all means do and seek forgiveness from our Father through the shed blood of our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and He will forgive. But then press on. There is much to be done and much to experience that will provide for us the life we are intended to experience.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King, and we want Your kingdom all around us here. We praise and bless the name Yahuah (Lord). Send us today Your abundant provision. Forgive us for our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Heal up our hearts and bodies. Deliver us from those that would take from us what You have provided. Come to our defense with a strong hand. We ask these things in the name of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). Amen.

Help Someone

Today as I was considering all of the work done by so many so often, it occurred to me that it might help to stop to think things through. What I mean is, we need to remember the commands that our Father has given us.

Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

We must love Yahuah above all. Then we must love ourselves. Then we must love our neighbors.

For many of us, we are plagued with not loving ourselves. This ought not be so.. Why? Because our God loves us.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We can have eternal life. Let’s just settle that first and once and for all in our hearts. Now, with that settled, love somebody. Go out of your way to make somebody’s load just a little lighter today. Help them to know that God is for them and not against them. Help them to know that THAT is the gospel – the “Good News” and that nothing else is more important.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We praise the name of Yahuah. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal us up, and deliver us from those that would steal what You alone have provided. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Our Help Is Always There

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night under a spiritual attack from the enemy. Immediately I began to pray and cry out to Yahuah for help. It only lasted maybe fifteen to twenty minutes before going away. the interesting part was the moment I cried out it was as if there was a barrier between me and the enemy. God immediately came to my aid. I could tell the enemy was still there trying to attack me, but I could also tell that he was prevented from succeeding. It was the first time I had this experience. It was as if I was engulfed in the Father, like He was all around me. These are trying days. We have to be willing to cry out for the creation that our Father made. He wants to restore it.

I cannot stop thinking about the scriptures that call for believers to love, and now weep for, Jerusalem. And while I do not want to add to the scriptures, I believe that Yahuah (Lord) is saddened for all His creation. We have, as a people, strayed from His commands and His ways. Our hearts are not toward Him.

Ezekiel 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

Ezekiel was saying to Jerusalem that they had gone after many other Gods. He names the countries around her that she had “committed whoredoms” meaning she worshiped their Gods. It has become clear to me that worshipping something other than Yahuah can happen easily because it can begin so subtly. It can be as simple as something in our minds that we do not fight against. Eventually we are led away from our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) even though we did not mean to go.

Today let us focus on our Father, for He will always forgive us and fight for us when we call.

Prayer
Father, we exalt you. You alone are King. We are saddened for the land. We need Your kingdom. Praise Your name, Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. We bless Your name Yahuah! Forgive us for walking different paths. Help us get back to You. Heal us and deliver us from the evil around us. We ask these things, and ask for peace and deliverance for Jerusalem, in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Working On Life

We can look at life in several ways. One of those ways is to wake up wanting everything to be like this “perfect” image. But for many of us, when we try to think about what that perfect image is, we cannot really fully describe it in our minds. We struggle with trying to describe it, and it can be like a foggy memory we cannot quite recall. We can also look at life like an adventure that we wake up into everyday. We can ask our Father each day what He is doing and try to fall in line with that answer. The latter can be more challenging for us in America because we are built to expect instant gratification. Often we are uncomfortable if we are not “busy” doing something. The former, the “perfect” image scenario, is really a lie. That is why we cannot quite describe it. We have to go back to the foundation of why we are here. It was said to Moses, and our Messiah Yeshua repeated it.

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
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.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

The foundation of our faith, the foundation of the kingdom of God, is that we love Him with everything we are and everything we have. It is all in for our Father. If we therefore allow our minds to be pulled in many directions before we think about Him, we will have a sense of that fogginess that does not quite work. On the other hand, if we want to move forward with what we are doing in this earth, then it must begin with the primary goal which is that relationship with Yahuah (Lord) our Elohim (God).

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our God and King. We want to be in Your kingdom. We praise Your name Yahuah (Lord). Send us today Your overwhelming provision, manifested in all its fulness. Forgive us for our sins. Please come to our rescue and deliver us from the evil that would turn men from You. Deliver us from those that would steal from us what You have provided. Stop them today. Deliver us with a strong hand and an outstretched arm today. We ask these things in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

The Father Reveals the Son

Today I was thinking of how we are built up in our faith. For me it often comes from the scriptures and prayer. As I read one of the Psalms today, it was one of those moments.

Psalms 98:1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

What can be missed in the English is what some of the words actually are here. In verse two it begins with “Yahuah has made known His Yeshua.” Yahuah is the name of God in Hebrew that actually appears when the word “Lord” is in all capital letters. The word for salvation here and in verse three is actually “Yeshua” which is the name of our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) in Hebrew.

Sort of makes it read different, don’t you think?

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the King over all. We want Your kingdom here. Send us today Your greatly abundant provision. Forgive us our sins. We love You and want to follow Your commands. Help us to do that and keep us from evil. Crush the evil that would steal from us what You have given, both spiritually and materially. We ask thse things in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Escaping The “If Only”

Many people live their lives thinking of the past. Some look at certain past moments and consider them moments that changed their lives forever for the good. Others see moments that changed their lives forever for the bad. In the case of the latter, the thought often is, “if only” I had done or said so-and-so. We also call this regret. It can be very difficult to escape these. For me, I know I have had my share of if only moments. Thinking on this point this morning I realized something that I had not previously considered. We can escape them. Our Father in heaven is all about renewal, and always has been.

Psalms 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; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Yahuah (Lord), our God, is the one true God. He is the master of everything, including time. He is able to make something good out of everything that occurs. He is able to keep us on track. He has provided His commandments for just that purpose, like a guidepost and a light house as we travel through life. We can get past the past (if need be) and make the future into something with no if only moments if in the present, in these moments right now, we will take the time to seek Him and His ways. Then no matter what comes, we will know that we have done all we could. We can trust in Him to do the rest.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We need Your kingdom here. Let everything praise the name Yahuah (Lord)! Send us Your overwhelming blessing today. We need to hear from You and see You work in our lives today. Forgive us for our sin. Deliver us. We desperately need Your deliverance from the evil that is stealing from us what You have provided. Come with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. We need You and love You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.