Trust

If we had to pick one word to summarize God’s message to us, perhaps at or near the top of the list would be the word trust. This one word contains so much about relationship. We can be people that do not trust others that we know or meet easily. We can be people that trust too much or too little. It can be hard to trust others if our lives have been scarred by those that have taken advantage of the trust extended to them. However, when it comes to God, He is worthy of our trust. Solomon spoke of this.

Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Here the writer tells us to have our hearts keep God’s commandments because they add long life and peace. As we read on, we see that writing mercy and truth (a part of God’s law) in our heart and keeping them around our neck gives us favor with God and man. The good news for us as believers is the new covenant is God’s law written in our hearts. It was as if God knew we needed help, so He took the one thing that would give us long life and peace and locked it into position. We can access this by giving our lives to God. It’s like knowing the winning lottery numbers before you buy a ticket, only better – this is the secret to life everlasting. Finally, the writer tells us to trust God with our whole heart and acknowledge Him. For that, God will direct our paths. Our God has done all these things for us. If we will but trust Him that He is the true loving Father and not a harsh task master, we can live life knowing He is on our side. God has our back.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High King. Thank You for giving us new life and a new covenant through our Messiah, Your Son Jesus (Yeshua). Please do not keep a record of our wrongs nor count them against us. Please forgive us in Your mercy that we may praise You among the nations. Send today the healing that so many need. Send today Your deliverance, and Your provision, that all men might know that You alone have done this, that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Rock And Sand

Before I start today, let me provide sort of a warning. If you are just fine with life, relationships, church, and so on, you may not want to read what I am writing today. God has laid it on my heart to say the truth about some things here. Some may say this is meat and not milk. I say it is the source of tears.

My wife and I were discussing last night many of the things we have been taught about the church and about relationship, from the scriptures. As we talked, God began to show us a number of things that we have been taught are not accurate, or mixed with truth at best. We were trying to figure out how this happened.

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians clearly laid out the structure of the church. There are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their job is to raise up (not be the boss of) the believers. The believers are to work toward becoming perfected so that they can build each other up. Let me ask a question. Have you ever seen this structure in the church? I never have.

Do you imagine that church leaders have read this scripture? So then, what we are saying is it has been heard, but is not being done, right? For example, almost every church I have been to the pastor tried to be the alpha male. And then we wonder why sometimes pastors fall and run of with a woman from the congregation. We wonder why the men in the congregation are not the strong male figure at home. Think about that for a minute and I think the answer becomes more clear. In every church I have been in that had more than one pastor, one of them always claims to be the Head Pastor or the Lead Pastor or the Senior Pastor. Interestingly enough, we have none of those listed in the scriptures that God gave us. So we are hearing what God said but doing something else. Hmmm.

In relationships we see a similar tendency. Paul wrote about this in the same letter to the Ephesians. Think they might be connected?

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
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,

There is so much to say here. Today’s teachings want to water this down and talk about how the scripture just before this says to submit to one another. It is not popular to talk about the order of things in the household. It is not popular to say that the wives should treat their husband as they would treat Jesus. Everybody seems to want to point to the husband treating his wife like Jesus treats the church. This latter point is true. But there is a strong voice among us believers, taught repeatedly from pulpits, lessening the concept of the wife submitting to the husband (maybe because the leaders already have the leading of the church wrong as we pointed out). So, from where does this strong voice come? Have we ever heard it before? What were the results?

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Here we have an example of hearing what God said, but choosing to do what someone or something else said. That is what got us here. So what does the scripture have to say about why?

Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Jesus seems to be saying that if we hear and do what He says, we will be okay and things will go well. If we choose to hear but not do what He says, everything will fall apart. I guess we can look at these things, the condition of the church and the condition of relationships and ask, are things not right? If that is true, then according to Jesus, it would seem at least part of the reason is we have heard but are not doing.

If anyone thinks I am writing this because I have the answer, I am not.

I am writing this because I am weeping.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. You are our King. You are our Ruler. We long to hear Your words and to do Your words. Help. We have gotten off the path. How do we get back and turn the families and the church? Only You can do this great miracle. It may perhaps be the greatest miracle of all. Please forgive us. We ask that You send Your healing, Your deliverance, and Your provision today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Many times I have thought about how Jesus was raised by His earthly father, Joseph, to be a carpenter. But He was raised by His heavenly Father to be more than that. He was raised to be a Master Builder. He builds people.

Psalms 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Here we see that God’s laws and commandments were meant to build us up. When we keep them there is great reward. The connection to Jesus is that because of His death and resurrection, we have access to the New Covenant, which is the law in our hearts.

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

Because of Jesus, when our Father looks at us He sees a people with His law in their hearts. He sees us covered by the sacrifice of the Lamb. Because of Jesus, we get the great reward!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. Please forgive us today our shortcomings. Please see Your law in our heart, and help us to walk in Your ways. We ask today that You send healing, deliverance, and provision. We praise and thank You! In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Arguing

As someone that has taught critical thinking to hundreds of students, I understand how to make a point based on logic. This is called an argument. However, that is not what I am addressing here. When two people disagree, especially if they have a close relationship, they can make it be about each other and not the subject. That is not critical thinking. That is being critical, or maybe just plain mean to each other. This is not good. We are meant to be positive to one another.

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

Paul was not talking about the exact subject here, as he was addressing bad teaching, but letter he does include how we address one another in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

We are not to let our day go by without settling our differences with those around us. Why might that be, and what are we to be doing?

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.

We are to forgive one another, just like Jesus forgave us not because of who we are but because of who He is. This brings peace to us and to the one we are arguing with. What we need to do is use praise (psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs) to teach and admonish each other, to build each other up.

Next time you feel like arguing with your spouse, a parent, or a brother or sister, try singing. Then let there be peace.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. We thank You for being our God and for forgiving us. We ask that You forgive us for the evil or mean things we say to people, and help us to do better with that. Help us to be the source of building others up. Help us to be the source of Your peace in the lives of others. Please send us Your healing today, Your deliverance today, and Your provision today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Step By Step

Today as I was looking into the wintery clad forest outside my window, I was thinking about the process we go through as we build each other up and as God builds us up. Building requires a sturdy foundation and the willingness to lay one stone upon another, one timber upon another, until the work is done. It is a steady and long process if the building is to be of any size and to endure the elements. We see this same building process over and over again in the scriptures.

Psalms 104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

In the beginning of Psalms 104 the psalmist is praising God. Ultimately he gets to describing how God uses the water, and sets its bounds. Almost the entire rest of this Psalm refers to the impact of this control over the water. This is something I had not seen until this morning. However, the psalmist is revealing the building process. He is showing how there is a steady progression of life, all based upon God controlling the water. In the end, he praises God for the victory that comes as a result. This is one more example of how when we praise God we are actually declaring that He was the One that created everything, and everything belongs to God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are our King. Thank You for the victory You have for us in life that comes from You as the Creator of all life and the universe. Please release today the healing, the deliverance, and the provisions Your people need, in a mighty way. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Beauty In The Building

Today as I sit with my coffee looking out my kitchen window, there is a light snowfall. The flakes are very large. It reminds me of the glass balls we had as kids with snow scenes in them that we could swirl around. It has been a long winter, but somehow today seems different. Over time it is becoming easier for me to “see” the world as God’s creation, something that He is actively involved in overseeing at every moment. Somehow that is changing me. I found a part of that answer in the Psalms today.

Psalms 93:1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

Here the psalmist is pointing out at the beginning of this psalm that God is very big and cannot be moved. He compares God to the waters and says they a very small compared to God. It is what is said at the end that I really started to understand for the first time this morning. The last verse could also be translated “Your words are very building and holiness makes Your family beautiful forever.” The things God has said are there to build us up, because He is bigger than anything and has the power to make things happen. When He says something, the entire universe does as He commands. And He has given us blessing upon blessing through the blood of His Son, Jesus. Now that is truly exciting if we can grab a hold of it!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You are our King. You created everything, and all things do as You command. We ask today Father that you forgive us our wrongs. We ask that You send us deliverance, and healing, and provision today in a powerful way that all men might know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Looking For Direction

The question can be asked by us as believers, what are we to be doing? This is not a general question, but a more specific question about details in our every day life. Yesterday I was speaking with a friend and fellow believer and I told him how easy it is to get caught up in the business of life, especially as God grows and blesses the work of our hands. I also said I did not want to fall in to the trap that is easy for me where I focus on that business and not on God. Our heavenly Father is doing and saying things in keeping with the creation that He made and belongs to Him, and with His plan.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

This is one area where I am trying to learn really hard to be more like Jesus. I want to be able to see what the Father is doing and do that. I want to be able to hear what the Father is saying and say that. This also fits in with something in one of the Psalms.

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

Here the psalmist is saying he is looking to God just like a servant looks to their boss’s hands for direction. We are to be looking for our Father to show us what He is doing, and then do that here. He will direct our paths to the things that can benefit us, to the things that can help us move farther down the road toward the kingdom on the earth. It is God’s plan to one day restore all things.

If we watch to see what God is doing, we can play a part in His plan and live in His promises.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for being our God and King. Please show us what You are doing in each of our environments so we can do what You are doing. We want to walk in Your ways and live the life You have for us. Please send to us today the healing, the deliverance, and the provision we need. You are all we have Father. You are the only one that can save us from the proud. Please lift us up today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

This morning as I was praying about edification, I was impressed to read Psalms 115. It is a great scripture that speaks about how alive God is and how dead idols really are.

Psalms 115:1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

By contrast, we are encouraged to trust in God. The psalmist says the people that made the idols, the false gods, are as dead as the idols themselves. This reference is to the spiritual deadness of the people that make idols. However, the psalmist points out that God made the people, the heavens, and the earth. Those of us that believe in Him are alive.

Psalms 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

Yesterday was one of those busy days where it was close to overwhelming. It can be easy for me to get caught up in the business of the day. Reading a scripture like this helps to remind me that God is at work in the planet and in everything everywhere. We can see in this scripture the repetitive patterns. We see the comparison between the idols and those that believe in them to the One true God and those that believe in Him. We can also see that God is saying that Israel, the house of Aaron, and everyone that says they believe in God is to trust Him that He is their help and their defense. Then the passage goes on to say those that do, Israel, Aaron’s house, and all those that do trust in Him will be blessed, shall experience increase upon increase, and the blessing will be to our children as well.

God does things in patterns. He reveals Himself in patterns. As I though about being lead to this scripture while praying about edification, I saw a pattern. Edification is a process. Building requires building upon what has been built, over and over again. It is a pattern of repetition. Not only did this scripture build me up with the reminder that God wants us to trust Him and He will bless us, it also reminded me of God’s patterns. It was nice to get a double blessing!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the King. Thank You for leading and guiding us. Thank You for blessing us with increase upon increase. We ask that You help us to be good stewards of the blessings You provide. We ask that You Help us to build each other up. Please send today the healing, deliverance, and provision we need today, Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Continuing

In our walk with God we can begin to see things as routine. Perhaps there are times when life is busy enough that wee even forget to pray. I know this can happen for me. I have to continually remind myself that this is God’s world, and He alone determines what is happening in it. We are just His kids, moving through life. But what is it we are to do? And are we alone in feeling like we need to go on, as if we are the only ones not really getting there? Actually, there are great references in the scriptures how those that went before us had to do this same thing and travel this same road. They, too, had to work at building themselves up in the Lord.

Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
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.

I have heard this scripture used many times to talk about the prize at the end that we all seek. However, for me, it also clearly shows that our walk is a work in progress. Anything we have done to date is in the past, and we are to move toward the mark that Jesus sent. Even though in this lifetime it is unlikely that Paul ever got there (or that we will), Paul clearly kept trying, kept learning, and kept praying.

Today, if you feel like you just have not gone far enough, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, like Paul, set the past in the past. Let’s all press in for that calling with which we were called!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High! We thank You for all You do for us everyday. Please help us to press in. We want to lay down sadness, grudges, judging other, and come to sit at the table You have prepared for us. We thank You for that and ask that You send today Your deliverance, Your healing, and Your mighty provision for Your people. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Building A Better Building

This morning as travel is again restricted, many thoughts went through my head. I think about people that must stay in their homes. Families that depend on work for the money they need to buy food, pay rent, and survive, huddled together looking for that better weather to come. The idea of families spending more time together seems good, but the additional challenges that can result do not seem so good. And then I think of all of the buildings we build in the name of God so our groups can have their own place to go. But what about the people themselves? Do these new structures really help the people? What promotes the kingdom of God more – another building or people helping each other to get their needs met? God has given us so much; what are we building with what He has given us? These are real questions, and they should be considered. If we are to imitate God, what is it that God is building?

Psalms 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

That sounds like there is a whole lot of building happening by God. But it is with and in people. Let’s look at another example.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Looks like Paul, at least here, believes the building is the human. And he repeats that again later.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

This is not an attempt to say that we should not have places to meet. But it does give rise to a question. Why is it that there are no (as in zero) references to building physical buildings once the new covenant was established? Shouldn’t there be at least one reference somewhere? And the only other references that speak to building a structure refer to the temple that would be built or rebuilt from time to time, or of the synagogues in the towns where believers were (one per town, by the way). I do not have an answer, but that does not stop me from asking the question. What are we building, really, with the resources God has given us; and with these resources are we doing all we can to promote the kingdom of God?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are worthy to be praised. You alone are the Ruler of the universe. You alone are our deliverer, our healer, and our provider. You have given us salvation through our Messiah. Help us to know what to do and where to turn. Help us to use Your resources to their best potential. Help us to know the path to follow. We don’t want to meet You face to face only to have You ask us why we used our resources in an odd way. Please tell us now. Please restore Your mighty presence in the earth. Please show us as a token for good that all men may know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.