The Need To Be Okay

Over the last few days in talking with friends and just dealing with my own life one thing has occurred to me. In the past this subject has come up for me, and I did not think about it as directly as I did this morning. It seems within us, or at least most of us, there is this drive to be “okay” – we want to think we did or said the right thing at the right time in the right way. I believe this is what was written many times in the psalms, and why we believers, before we are believers, are drawn to Jesus.

1 John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Perhaps the most important thing for me from thinking about the need to be right is that it helps me to get back to the beginning. I chose Jesus not because I was a good guy, but because I am not and He is. If we will let ourselves realize that we will not always be okay, then we can also let ourselves go back to Jesus everyday and seek that forgiveness and cleansing that onlyt Jesus, the Rock of our salvation, is able to bring us. Then we will be okay.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for this new day. We ask that You renew us today. We have made and will make mistakes. We can only make it with You, we cannot make it on our own. We ask that today You send Your Spirit in a mighty way into our homes and towns. Send us Your reviving Spirit that all may know You alone are our God. Please send today Your healing, deliverance, and overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Digging Deep

Have you ever tried to remove even a very small tree and had to deal with a tree stump? I can remember growing up that we were taught in Biology class that trees can be as tall underground as they are above ground. Whether or not that is completely accurate, I do know that they can have very large roots even five feet down – that is as far down as I have seen them dug. Near where I work there was a large wooded area that they cleared recently to build a factory. It took huge bulldozers and other very large heavy equipment to remove these trees from the ground. The roots were enormous! One reason these trees trees need such large roots, aside from stability, is water. They need to seek out and find the water they need to survive. God made us in that same way. The psalmist actually compares us to trees in our relationship to God.

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.

The water we are planted by is the living water, our Messiah. When we choose to follow Jesus, He gives us new life. For us not to wither and die we need to dig deep, and spend time getting to know God. How? By spending time with Him and by reading scripture, meditating in it day and night. This gets us to a place where we will not be moved by the evil that our enemy tries to do to us. We can live a flourishing life, if we will dig deep with God.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as our God. Thank You for Your blessings in our lives. Thank You for all You do for us. We ask that You help us to stay on Your path, and forgive us when we do not. Please send us today Your healing, Your deliverance, and Your overwhelming provision in a way that causes all men to know that You alone are our source for everything, and You alone are all powerful. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

We Can Pass The Test

We never know what we will do in a given situation until we are in it. As believers, we hope and desire to serve our Messiah, Jesus, as He would have us serve Him. The question is, will we? When the test comes, will we face adversity head on, jumping in, or will we watch from the sidelines and just wait to see if everything turns out okay? Will we be watchers, or jumpers? This weekend I had an opportunity to find out in a very real way if Jesus was in me. Would I be a watcher, or a jumper? Paul says we are to be jumpers, especially husbands.

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

My wife and daughter and I went camping at a local campground for an overnight stay on Sunday. I told them they could go swimming and I would set up camp. We got a late start, so I told them I needed their help to set up. This turned out to be a very good thing because it meant we all went swimming together. We finally got set up, and went to the pool. My daughter is just under five feet tall, so my wife and daughter stayed at the four foot area. I jumped in the deep end to get used to the water, then went to where they were. My daughter cannot swim, so I was trying to get her used to it. I got out and my wife continued to try to get her to remember that she had swam in the past. She is a special needs child, so she was afraid and did not remember. There was another family there with three older teenage boys. The were doing cannonballs and having fun. I watched them and my wife and daughter. Their parents left to go make dinner. My wife and daughter got out for a minute and we went to the shallow end of the pool. I told my wife they could stay and swim and I would run to the grocery a few blocks away to get the remainder of the items for dinner. They went back into the pool and I sat down to put on my shoes and shirt to go. I heard my daughter call out. Looking up, I saw her in the middle of the deep end and could see my wife under water, moving her along. It seemed strange and I noticed the three boys standing near the edge of the pool in the deep end on the same side as me. I remember thinking, “What is she [my wife] doing? Giving her a ride like a submarine?” Then my wife popped up with a strange look on her face. She was trying to do a dead man’s pull to pull my daughter on her back to the edge of the deep end nearest the boys. She went under, but my daughter was still above water. Something was not right.

I jumped up and went quickly to where the boys were standing. What was my wife doing? Then my daughter went under, and I knew they were going to drown. I whipped off my glasses and my shirt. I am not a great swimmer, overweight and out of shape, and no life guard, but time was short. There was only one thing I could do. I jumped in.

I went under but popped up they were both under water in a flurry of bubbles. I did not know if I could reach them, and could not really see them. I reached out and grabbed, and got them both. I pulled with all my might and they popped up as I went under, holding them up. I kicked back to the surface, still holding them. I had my wife by the waist, her back to me, and my daughter’s arm in my hand. She was looking at me with wonder in her eyes. I only had a moment and I turned my head to the boys, shouting, “Help us!” As I went under, holding them up. I heard a splash of the two older boys hitting the water.

I kicked my way to the surface, holding on to them to keep them up, and kicking with everything in me. I could feel the boys pushing us to the shallow end, which was not far away. Still kicking, I knew we were within feet of safety. I saw the four foot marker just ahead, and shoved my daughter to safety. I kept kicking and knew that if we could not touch soon, I could not hold my wife and I up. With one last desperate kick and the push of the boys, I put a foot down to see if I could touch. Just barely I was able to touch bottom and leaned that way, pulling my wife with the boys pushing. I could stand and she could stand, and I walked her to the edge of the pool in the three foot area.

It turns out my wife, three years earlier when my daughter was seven, was accustomed to giving her rides on her back. However, now that she was ten, she was 100+ pounds, almost 40 pounds more than three years ago. My wife had not counted on that extra weight, and it was more than she could do to give her a ride. In the hours that followed and again today I have had many thoughts. What if I had not had them help set up? What if I had not noticed what was going on, or had been quicker getting dressed, and left the pool area? I would have returned from the store to an ambulance scene, and my wife and daughter would be dead. I still do not know how I got them up, or even reached them. I am uncertain the outcome if the boys had left with their parents. What if the two older boys had been like the third boy, and not jumped in but only watched from the safety of the edge of the pool? These things I do not know. One thing I do know.

By the grace of God, I am a jumper. You can be too. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt you as the Most High. You alone are worthy of our praise. Only You can teach us. Only You alone can spare lives. Today I give You praise for sparing the lives of my wife, my daughter, and me. Help us all learn to be jumpers, trusting in You alone. Please forgive us when we fail. Forgive us when we watch from the sidelines. Please send us today Your healing, Your deliverance, and Your abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Peace With God

In life there is something for all believers, I believe, and perhaps all mankind, that is always present. It is like something gnawing at us on the inside. Not necessarily in a bad way. It is like something missing and something coming all mixed together. I believe at least a part of that is the inner drive of mankind to be at peace with God. This peace, this rest, is what we lost in the garden. It was this same drive for the search for peace with God that drove the children of Israel into the desert, but they did not obtain it.

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Paul was writing to the Hebrews and telling them that it was important not to be like the children of Israel in the wilderness. They did not make it. They did not enter into God’s rest. Why? Because they did not know God’s ways.

Psalms 103:6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Moses spent time with God. The children of Israel did not. In the end, Moses knew God’s ways because of this relationship. So how do we find this rest today? Paul also speaks about this in his follow up recommendations in his letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

Today, if is peace with God you seek, find someone to share a scripture with, a positive uplifting thought, or just let them know you care about them. When we do this, we are in God’s ways. When we spend time with Him, we are in His arms.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for leading and guiding us. Thank You for Your never ending love. Please forgive us our wrongs against You and others. Please help us to better be like Your Son, our Messiah, Jesus. Send us today Your healing, deliverance, and overwhelming provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Master Builder, Master Helper

A friend of mine told me that if there is a God, after creation He left the world to us. He thinks that we just do what we do and we are on our own. I must admit there have been times in my life when I felt alone, so I can understand his position. However, I found that that feeling of lonesomeness was my own doing. God is always there. He built this world and He helps us when we spend time with Him.

Psalms 139:1O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

David knew that God was always present. God knew everything about him, and He knows everything about us. Even though He knows us for who we really are, He does not turn away or give up on us. At the end of this psalm David asks that God help him to be a better person.

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Clearly David understood that God was always present. He wrote many praise and prayer songs asking for God’s help. And David was a successful and prosperous king, even though he made terrible mistakes at times. God is the Master Builder, and He will be our Master Helper if we will but ask Him.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are worthy to be praised above all. Thank You for all Your wisdom and guidance in our lives. Thank You for keeping us from evil. Please forgive us when we stumble, and pick us up. We ask today that You help us to grow to be more like Your Son, Jesus. Please send us today Your wisdom, healing, deliverance, and abundant provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

What If?

As we spend more time on this earth, it becomes easier and easier to look to our past and ask, “What if?” Where would I be if I had only done this or that back then? Teenagers ask it about their early years, Twenty somethings ask it about high school, thirty somethings ask it about when they were kids, teenagers, and in their twenties, and so on. The older we get, the more “what if” scenarios we can conjure up in our minds. As believers we can look back to times when we could have made better choices. There is this desire within us to build something better, whether that be an immediate or long term future. We see this in the scriptures as well.

Psalms 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Here we see David crying out to God early in the morning, looking for direction, looking for deliverance from evil, looking for the way to go. God has placed within us a drive to make things better. Even in this psalm we see David is experiencing something that is making his heart heavy, that is causing him sadness.

Psalms 143:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.

Unlike the movie “Back to the Future” where Marty gets to travel back in time and fix the past for his parents, we cannot change our past. But there is something we can change. We can choose to change what we put the most focus on about the past. In so doing, we can take steps to build a better future. David, gives us some keys here.

Psalms 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Here we see David remembering the past victories he has had when God delivered him from the enemy. We all have some of those, if we think about it. He remembers those and sings about those (the Psalms are songs, right?). David lifts up his hands to God as he sings his prayer request, as we would reaching our for our parents as children. He asks for God to move speedily because he is sinking fast in his spirit. David then asks during his morning prayer and praise time (another key – start you day like this) for God to show him the way to go, what to be building for that day. And David was never timid about asking for God to defeat his enemies.

Psalms 143:9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

David asked for God to teach him. He asked God to lead him to righteousness. Sounds like he was trying to make himself a better person. Sounds familiar, right? In the end, he asks God to bring him out of the troubles. Ultimately David asks for the destruction of those that are his enemies.

David was a king. He had himself, his household, and a nation to watch over. He was not afraid or ashamed to call our to God for help to build a better future. Did David make mistakes? Definitely. Did David get built up and build others up in the end? Definitely. How do we know? Well, the best example I can offer is our Messiah was born from his lineage, so David has and is building us up, even though he really messed up at times. David was not only not afraid to call out to God, he knew that no matter what he could trust God to respond when he humbled himself and called out to him. And David did not have the history and teaching of the Messiah yet, like we do. How much more can we rely on God to help us today and to build a better future? What if we were to be like David, praying and praising God early in the morning every morning, seeking direction, deliverance, provision, and victory? What if we trusted like David did for God to do it?

What if?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for all You have done for us in the past, delivering us from many troubles. We remember You as that Great and Mighty Delivering King. We ask You not consider our failures because none of us are perfect. But we do ask for You speedy help. We ask that today You come to our aid. We ask today that You heal us and those we know that need it so greatly. We ask today for Your deliverance and Your abundant provision. We ask today that You destroy our enemies. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Step By Step

As I sent my daughter on the bus today I thought about how we learn about the things of God. There are many ways really. When we give our lives to Him, confess our sins, ask forgiveness, and ask Jesus to be our Savior, that is our first step. Of course we can learn directly from God.

Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and spent three years with God, learning about Jesus as the Messiah. He knew the Jewish teachings and I suspect God showed to him how these are connected. But even Paul then went to see another apostle, Peter, and later James. This is something he also spoke about in his letter to the Ephesians.

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;

Here we see Paul is telling us how to experience God and move toward knowing Him and knowing about Him. We do this every time we sing to Him and pray. Another way is to be around others like Paul did after he learned from God.

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.
18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

We can rely on God to provide us a means to both be with Him and to learn about Him and our walk as a believer. We have many avenues, and as Paul demonstrates, using them all helps!

Prayer
Father, we exalt you as the Most High. Please help us to be more like Jesus. Forgive us when we do not follow Your ways. Guide us into a better understanding and wisdom about You and how we are to walk in Your grace, mercy, and truth. We love You. Please send us today the healing, deliverance, and provision we need. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Need For Change

We have a most amazing God. Clearly He does not need us to do what He wants to do for He is the all powerful Creator of the universe. But for some reason He has chosen to use men. For me, this is really something because, we are frail human beings. It is easy for us to allow things like emotion to get in the way of following after God and doing things His way. At least for me this is true. Like Paul, we want to do the right things but do not always do them, being human.

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Yet God somehow in His infinite wisdom found a way to help us always correct the course we are traveling. David, one of the great people of the bible, found himself doing things he should not do. How did David respond? Like Paul, it saddened him. But he would cry out to God, often in song, to create a change in himself that he David struggled changing.

Psalms 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
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.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

David acknowledged his wrong doings. He asked God to forgive him his transgressions. This was before our Messiah had died for our sins on the cross, yet David knew that in God’s heart, God longs to help us be better. God is a forgiving God. David knew that if He cried out to God, confessed his sin, and asked for forgiveness, God would restore him. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is. That is enough to bring tears to the eyes.

Today, let us call out to God to help make us a better people because of who He is, and let Him use the change to cause people to seek after God and His ways.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the One True God, our King. We ask today that You forgive us our transgressions like You have done for David, and Paul, and countless others. Blot those out and don’t remember us that way. Create in us a clean heart and renew Your Spirit within us. Do not cast us from Your presence, but draw us closer and cleanse us by the blood of Your Son Jesus. Give us mercy and grace. Send us the deliverance, healing, and provision we need today, and let us show others Your ways that they might be moved to seek Your face. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Unleavened Bread

Many years ago the children of Israel had been slaves in bondage in Egypt. When Moses returned from the wilderness God had told him to go to the Pharaoh to tell him to let them go keep a feast in the wilderness. When he refused God did signs and wonders to show that He was God. Finally, there was the Passover where the children of Israel killed the lamb, putting the blood on the doorposts, and ate the lamb with unleavened bread. That night God judged the Egyptians, killing the firstborn, and judged the gods of Egypt, but passed over any household marked with the blood of the lamb. Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in the night and told them they could leave. The next day during the day they prepared to leave by borrowing valuables from the Egyptians, and they left on their journey.

Exodus 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

They left in a hurry, as those that have read the story know. They ate unleavened bread because they did not have time to prepare anything for themselves. They would eat unleavened bread for seven days as God had directed. There were 600,000 men, plus the children and the women of the children of Israel that left. But there were more than this that left that day.

We see in verse 38 that a mixed multitude also left with them. Who were these people? They were people that had seen the signs and wonders, and believed in the God of Moses. They saw how the Egyptians suffered, but the children of Israel were protected by their God. They wanted to be on His side with the children of Israel. Can you imagine what it would take to leave your homeland and families to go into the wilderness with another people? Truly, the signs and wonders convinced them who God was. They wanted that protection too. They were so convinced that they left their own beliefs and gods behind for a chance to be a part of what God was doing.

Today, we eat unleavened bread for seven days to remember this journey. We want to have that same blessing, that same experience. We too can have the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob on our side, if we will leave all behind to follow Him.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for what You did many years ago for the children of Israel, delivering them from the Egyptians when You saw the blood of the lamb on their doorways. Thank You for what You do for us today when You see the blood of the Lamb, our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) on our hearts, the doorway to our soul and spirit. Thank You for sending Him to die for us that we might live. Please forgive us when we fail to walk in Your ways and when we doubt You. Please send today that same wealth of our enemies for our journey with You, beginning today. Please send the same deliverance, and heal us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Evil Is Deceived

A friend of mine and I were talking about the scriptures and noted that praising God was often tied to defeat of our enemies. There is a pattern in the scriptures that shows God watching our for His people and becoming upset with evil and evil people when they attempt to do harm to believers.

Psalms 11:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

Here we see the psalmist is being told to be afraid and run away, but his response is he trusts in God. He goes on to say that God is watching and will rain fire on those that try to attack His people.

Psalms 10:2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

Here the psalmist describes what he sees those that are evil doing. They are full of pride and boast about everything but God. They do not think of God, believing instead that God is not watching. But evil is wrong. We read on to see their end.

Psalms 10:11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

In the end, God destroys those that are evil and oppress His people. God will cause His people to hear. He will judge the earth for the fatherless and oppressed.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You and rejoice in Your presence! You alone are the Great King. You alone judge the earth with righteousness. You alone are worthy of our praise. Please be with us today and forgive us our iniquities. Please watch over your people and send us Your healing, deliverance, and prosperity. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.