Children Can Cause Learning

It’s interesting the things that children say that can lead to life lessons. Our daughter asked my wife to convey a holiday request to her grandmother, my wife’s mother. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately it was not well received and lead to some disharmony between my wife and her mother. My wife was upset as we talked about it last night as it had happened yesterday. It was unfortunate because what was originally intended to be a happy moment was dulled by the disagreement. My wife prayed about it and decided to do something to actually build her mother up.

This morning on the way to work my wife called her mother. She apologized for bringing up the subject, even though it was her mother that had become upset. My wife could have just waited for her mother to apologize, but she did not go that way. She apologized – the higher road – even though she had done nothing wrong. The result was her mom was lifted up and was able to also express understanding. Now all is well.

As we come to the holiday season, perhaps I could learn a thing or two from my wife?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for all You do, and for taking the higher way – Your way. Please help us to follow Your lead. Please help us to build one another up. Please help us to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

There Is A River

This morning over coffee I was reading Psalms 46. It is a short Psalm, but a portion of it stuck out to me as being very uplifting. It begins by talking about how God is our refuge and strength in troubled times. What was really good for me was the part where the psalmist talks about the city where the holy places of God are.

Psalms46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

As believers, we are all that place where God dwells. We are becoming the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Messiah spoken of in the book of Revelations. The psalmist even refers to the city as “her”. The river sounds similar to the river in Revelations as well.

Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

When we face troubled times, we can read and sing these verses and remember that God is a very present help. Whatever comes our way, He is our deliverer.

Prayer
Father, thank You for the scriptures You have given to us. They are a great source of uplifting to us. Please be with Your people today Father. Please raise up Your people such that all men know that You alone do this, and that You alone are God. Come to our aid quickly Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Rough Framing

Years ago when I was just out of school I got a job working construction. That is when I first learned the term “rough framing.” When we built a house setting the outside of the home in place was referred to as rough framing. For me doing the rough framing was really fun. We got to see something take the shape of a house fairly quickly. And we were in a cold climate, so we were creating the possibility for having a warm place to work in the winter to finish of the interior of the homes we built. This is not unlike our lives with God.

We build things slowly over time in our walk with God. But just like a home, we have to begin somewhere. That beginning, that initial foundation laying comes from our realizing that we need Him. We get to that place, as Paul said, by believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

So that is the laying of the foundation. But how do we begin to frame the house, this place for God to live, this temple that we are? Actually, we do it in much the same way. God told Joshua this after the death of Moses.

Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Here we see that same principle being put forward. If we meditate on the scriptures, speaking them out loud day and night, we begin to make the “place” where we can live out our faith. We create us, the place for God to dwell, or as Paul states, we are God’s temple.

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?

So, this is how we begin to build the space for God to dwell. Again, as the Psalmist says, meditate on the scriptures and pray.

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.

Prayer
Father, we praise You today for You are worthy of all our praise. You alone provide blessings for us every day. You alone are the source for our very lives. Thank You for setting us on the Rock, Your Son, Yeshua (Jesus). And thank You for giving us the ability to move forward by the words of our mouth and by our actions when we say what You are saying and do what You are doing. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Imitating God

Have you ever had something inside you that you felt God was trying to say to you but you just could not quite put the words together? What I mean is when you try to tell someone what you feel God is doing in your life or saying to you about your life, the words just did not quite tell the whole story. Today’s title is a little like that for me. I began by reading and praying in Psalms 91, but ended up in Psalms 89. Psalms 91 is about the secret place of the Most High and how God defends us when in that place.

Psalms 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

This scripture has always been a great comfort to me and to many. Sometimes I struggle with matching this scripture up with what seems to be the reality in which I live. God is on our side if we abide in Him, because really He is on His side and that is where we need to be. But I have not “arrived” at perfection. If you feel the same reading this, then perhaps you will benefit from the rest here. I love the idea of the secret place – who wouldn’t, right? The real question for me is, how do I get there?

Many scriptures address this idea, but today I found additional help to understanding “getting there” in Psalms 89. The Psalmist begins with praising God, and also God speaks in return. In verses 3-4 we read,

Psalms 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

God says He established David’s family forever. This He did in giving us the Messiah from the lineage of David. When we repent and ask Jesus (Yeshua) to be our Lord, we are born again into that bloodline, forever. Jesus is then with us and in us. (If you want a theological explanation beyond that I am really not the guy to give that to you, I can only tell you it is true in my life.) What I found curious is the building up of the throne to all generations. The Hebrew for throne here means “covering” or “covered seat”. The word for “build up” means to both make and to repair. But Jesus is perfect, right? So what is being built and repaired? We find the answer further on in Psalms 89. In verses 30-32 God warns against sin,

Psalms 89:30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

But the good news comes in verses 33-37, where God promises to restore His loving-kindness after the course correction He provides,

Psalms 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

God is in the business of building up His people. That means He does not forgive us once and then smash us forever when we make a mistake. He is a loving Father. He is in the business of giving us the new birth, and providing course correction when we mess up, and then repairing us when we turn back to Him. He builds us up, He edifies His people, forever! This is a part of God we are called to imitate – we are to build one another up!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Master Builder King. Thank You for giving us new life in the Messiah! And thank You many times over for providing course correction and repair. Please forgive us for those things we have done wrong, to You and others. Please restore us today, Father. Please bring us back into Your secret place that no man might say that You utterly cast us off. Please help those that read this today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Building Codes

A friend of mine in the great state of Florida is faced with some challenges regarding an addition she had done to her garage. It seems that the person doing the addition did not follow the building codes and did not get the permitting process right. Now she may have to tear it down and start over. This morning as I was thinking about her situation, I was thinking about how we are built up together as the body of the Messiah and wondered about the connection.

It would seem that the building code for the body of the Messiah should be in the scriptures, right? I found a few that seemed to apply.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Peter in his first letter said that Jesus (Yeshua) was a precious stone, and we are spiritual stones as well. We are spiritually being built into a spiritual house in which we as priests are to offer up spiritual sacrifice. So what is our “spiritual sacrifice” that we offer up? Peter lists a number of things, but one thing in particular is important, I think.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Peter said we are to show forth praises to God for bringing us out of darkness and into the light. This was not new to those that were reading the scriptures available at that time. Many of the Psalms also speak of praise as something we do as spiritual priests to God.

Psalms 116:16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

Here we see that the Psalmist acknowledges this deliverance by God from darkness. We also see that thanksgiving is the sacrifice that pays the vows in God’s house. We are that house. Paul also spoke of this in his letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Paul encouraged us to do good, to share with others, and to offer up the sacrifice of praise which is from our lips we thank God for His name. We are to do this continually. Now back to the building code.

Our spiritual house has an added benefit. It never has to be torn down when we get it wrong. We can start right where we are, seek forgiveness from God for any mistakes, and begin to praise Him. His mercies are new every morning, and He will fix the building for us! Now THAT is a true blessing. Praise the name of the Lord!

Can I get a “Woo-Hoo!”?

Prayer
Father, we so want to thank You for all you do for us. You are truly the Most High! Thank You for always forgiving us and always loving us. We offer to You today praise from our lips. Thank You, thank You, thank You! In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Cycle Of Words

As I look around the community of believers today, one of the things that shows up is how much and how many could use some building up. My heart goes out to those that spend way too much time feeling the desperation of not being good enough or not understanding or stumbling forward toward God in spite of the other believers and family. I think we all have the same reaction to this when we really stop to see it or think about it. We want to help. We want to be a part of changing these people’s lives for the better. But how? Words, for a start.

We can begin by knowing that we are to help. We are to assist our fellow believers by building them up, according to Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter five verse eleven,

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

So if we can see we are to build others up, the question is how to do it. Well, we need to ask how God does things because Jesus (Yeshua) said He only did what He saw the Father doing and we are followers of Jesus (Yeshua).

John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

So then, what did Jesus (Yeshua) see when He saw the Father doing something? A part of that answer can be found in Genesis.

Genesis 1:3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God changes things by speaking! That is what Jesus saw, and in every case I can think of when Jesus initiated something, it always began with speaking. Many who read this will likely be thinking that this is not new and wonder why I am writing about it. I am writing today to say that the negative is also true, and that we should guard ourselves against being a part of the negative.

Jesus said that what is in our heart comes out of our mouth, in Matthew 12.

Matthew 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Again we have heard this many times. But if you are like me, you may have forgotten, as I did, what came before and after this verse.

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus (Yeshua) was instructing them and us to make the tree good. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a part of us, thanks to Adam and Eve. What is in our heart will come out, and grow the knowledge we speak, the good or the evil. We can build our fellow believers up by saying the good. Or not. And here is the most important point I want to make today.

Assumptions that are negative do more to hurt the body of believers today than possibly anything else. How could that be? Because we can all have them, and if we dwell on them at all, they end up in our heart. Then guess what? They come out our mouth, and the evil enters the world through our words, tearing down instead of building up. If you are like me when I realized this point this morning, you, like me, want to avoid these negative assumptions, right? Where here is the really cool thing. The same tool can get rid of those bad assumptions! Paul said 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;

He did not say to do that when we felt that way. He said to do it, and then we would feel that way.

In closing let me say that I am guilty of allowing bad assumptions at times rule what I say. Here is our hope. God can help us. If we will take time each day to reach out to God, and then begin to say good things from Him out of our mouth, even if it is just to ourselves, we can put the good stuff in our hearts so that the good tree comes forth from our hearts to build up those in need.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for guiding us and keeping us. Help us to get the good into our hearts today and every day, Father. Help us to have so much good in our hearts that we speak only the good. Help the good words from our hearts build up those in need of building up, that Your kingdom might be manifest here on earth. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

You May Never Know

Every day we engage with people who, just like us, are constructed with feelings, emotions, and reason. When I think about interactions I have with people, and about interactions I observe between others, I am struck by the intricacies of how we are made and how these areas interact in us and between us. Scriptures offer us direction in these interactions.

In Ephesians 5:19 Paul tells us how to build each other up:

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

This echoes what is said in Proverbs 12:18 which says:

There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

In these two scriptures we see that we are not only told to build others up, clearly we see that this is done at least by what we say. I want to come back to this Proverb, but here is another one that is similar, Proverbs 15:2 which reads:

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

In these two Proverbs we see both an example of the good use of our words and mouth for encouragement, and also a warning that we can just as easily discourage with our words and mouth. There are many examples of this in scripture. Sometimes I think we want to do the good part of this and not the bad, but feel like we are just not spiritual enough or just don’t know how. Let me offer a couple practical examples.

Last night I was at a potluck and prayer meeting. Someone told me that they read this blog everyday as a part of their spiritual meditations with God. That was amazingly encouraging to me. It was a very simple statement, but very uplifting. In the four years I have attended the church where I go, this is one of four or five points of encouragement that I can remember. It felt good, to be honest. This is what we are to be doing, according to Paul.

On the other hand, I have a friend to whom God has given many Christian songs as a result of praying daily at the church for his congregation. Another member of the congregation joined him to write the music. Sadly, his church leadership has singled out in a very discouraging way him and the songs God gave him by instructing those that lead worship that they could play any song (including non-religious rock songs) but his. Sad really. Very sad. This would be an example of discouragement, which is likely not what was meant but is the result.

Let’s pray for one another, and especially for leaders, that we all realize that we can make a big difference in people’s lives, for good or bad, in what we say. Let’s join together for the good, shall we?

Prayer
Father in heaven, we exalt You. Thank You for encouraging us daily. Thank You for those that encourage us. Please show us ways we can encourage others. Please show us whom we might bless today with a word of encouragement. Please help us and those that lead us to not say things to discourage Your children, for we know this displeases You. We love You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Being Neighborly

Growing up in the country there were not many people close by. Those that were relied on each other for help at times, maybe share a meal, and to watch out for each others property. In a way, you could say we were building each other up by building a “neighborly” network.

Today, there are many types of networks we can use to make connections to others. Social media is one, PTO at school, and church. Most of the time this works well. Sometimes not so much. I have seen some less than positive exchanges on social media sites, and heated arguments at PTO meetings that made me wonder if maybe the children had showed up instead of the parents. Perhaps the most unfortunate is when misunderstandings and miscommunications happen at church.

We expect the church to be a place where people connect and act like Jesus to each other. All too often I hear sad stories about how people felt injured by others at church, or even those in positions of leadership. Those injuries appear to run deep.

Please take a moment and pray today for those that attend where you attend. Stop and think if you may have said something that could be taken badly. If so, seek out that person and as for forgiveness. Have you been hurt? Pray and ask God to take away the pain. You may want to ask if you should speak to that person about what was said.

Let’s all work toward building unity with our fellow believers. Isn’t that what God asks?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You for being our King and our role model. Thank You for helping us the times we got it right. Please forgive us for the times we did not get it right. And please help us to not hurt others with our words and actions. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Feeling Worn Out?

We had an amazing time at our Intercessory Prayer Team meeting last night! It started off by the leader asking about a scripture where the antichrist is wearing out the saints. We moved on for about an hour or so, and we ended back up at that same scripture when we spoke of the scriptures saying the law brings joy. Interestingly enough the series of teaching at church is entitled “Myth Busting: Breaking Free From Lies We Believe.” Now that breaking free part sounds good if we are weary, right? Could there be lies we believe that are wearing us out? We all thought the one we were originally looking for was in Revelation or the writings of Paul. It turns out it was a part of one of Daniel’s visions.

Before looking at that scripture, let’s go back to the original reason for the search – do we feel worn out? If so, why is that, since there are so many scripture promises about a good life? In Daniel 7:25, there is an explanation of one of Daniel’s visions taking place. In that part of the explanation it reads:

Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (KJV)

I found it interesting that the wearing out of the saints occurs in the same sentence as the actions of the antichrist in changing of times and laws. There appears to be a connection. It get’s very interesting when we look at the Hebrew words for “times” and “laws”. It turns out the best translation of these words comes to us from the New Living Translation: “He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws,…” Hmm. I think it was the church that did that way back in the first century when they set aside the Feasts (sacred festivals) and combined elected to “Christianize” certain holidays and dates from pagan religions so everyone could worship on the same day, right? There was also a movement away from the law. Problem is, the new covenant is the law written in our heart according to Jeremiah 31:33 and Romans2:15. Hmm.

So the antichrist uses the changing of the keeping of the Feasts of Leviticus 23 and the departure from the law to wear out the saints? Hmm. Well, if Daniel was saying that keeping other sacred festivals (holidays and traditions) was a tool to wear out the saints, part of his vision may have been about shopping for Christmas on Black Friday! Seriously though, are we wearing ourselves out by going along with this change in the Feasts and the law? Or, as the current teachings we are having at church are titled, should we be “Breaking Free From The Lies We Believe”? Hmm. Interesting.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. We don’t want to be weary. We don’t want to be a part of wearing other people out. Please come and restore us. Please come and heal us. Pleas show us what these things mean. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.

Building A Future

The future for each of us may seem to be unknown. Yet to some degree it can be both known and created by us. If we are willing to set our hearts on serving the Living God, then we can a more certain future through faith and trust in Him. We can know that He will be with us and guide us in His way. What we say and do develops into the future we have to live. In the scripture, it seems that the saying was always before the doing. In Genesis 28 we see that Jacob vowed a vow (mad a promise) to God out loud, saying what he would do if God blessed him. Then God did bless him. Moses, in delivering the Israelites, always spoke before he acted. In Deuteronomy 30 Moses talks about the blessings God wants to give us for doing the commandments of God. He says the power to do it is in our mouth, again indicating that the speaking comes before the doing. Paul quotes Moses in Romans 10:8 when he tells us that our salvation comes by speaking the truth of confession from our heart. Again, the speaking creates the possibility of the ability to act a new future. If we will read the scriptures, pray to and worship God, and speak the good things of the bible over us and our family and friends, with faith and trust in God, we build a future that lines up with what God’s desire for us, and He will bless it.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt you as the Most High God. Thank You for all You do to help us through life. Please help us to learn to follow You. Please help us to know the right from the wrong, and to choose the right. Please keep us and guard us, and watch over our families and friends. In Jesus name. Amen.