Thursday, April 21, 2016
So Many Reasons
As I think about life with our Messiah, there are so many reasons to give thanks. Life could have had no purpose. Each day could be traveled like each other day with nothing to look forward to in the end. In Messiah, we can look to the future with a joyful heart. And that future begins anew each morning. Others may have to be stuck in the past, but we are delivered from our past. We have the joy of a bondage lifted from us each day. If we will begin our days with Him, we can experience that joy.
Psalms 30:1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Our sorrow may come at the end of the day, but in the morning we start fresh. For that we can be thankful.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our king. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us inside, that we might sign to You. Give us sweet voices to sing Your praise. Deliver us from the thief. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Counting Helps
In the early hours of the morning while it was still dark, I woke up several times. Each time I remember praying to our Father for His help and guidance. This happened again as I finally got up to face the day. Life has a way of stacking up on us, sometimes without our noticing it. We can give way to the pressure to deal with so many challenges that we don’t stay as focused on the one that can actually get us through those challenges. This morning, in answer to my prayer for help at being a better person, Yahuah gave me a vision of the times when I sin being like me stepping into a box. When I step into that box, I am shut off from life, from family and friends, and from our Father. Seeing this helped me to focus on a way to avoid the sin – stay our of the box. And how can I help in this regard? By what I say. When opportunities for sin arise, I can instead count my blessings, thanking God for each one. For me, doing this out loud helps, even if I am whispering. Thank You Father for always showing us who we are so we can change. Thank You Father for giving us the power to change. Thank You Father for Your Son, Yeshuah (Jesus), who took on all the sin that was, is, and will ever be, and ended its power over us forever. Thank You Father, for reviving us, for certainly we were dead in our sin. Thank You Father for Your love, grace, and mercy, without which we would certainly cease to exist or have hope. Thank You Father for being our Father Yahuah, our God.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Today, if you find life stacking up, try counting your blessings out loud. You can borrow my list if you wish. Our Father loves to hear our voices.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our sin. Heal up our hearts and minds. Thank You for Your forgiveness and mercy. Deliver us from the thief. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. Show us a sign for good that all men might know that You alone are God, that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Thankful Heart
This morning I awoke to thinking of all that has come and is coming my way. For me, it is always a challenge to figure out the difference between acting in faith and acting a bit in foolish pride. Of this I am certain, God is on our side, and I am very thankful for that for sure. Our Father, is always trying to move us down the road in a positive way. He is always there, removing things we never even see. For example, as I looked at my current situation, I suddenly realized I have the perfect working arrangement. Yahuah (Lord) has set it up so that I will have my time free to focus on the kingdom, work out, spend time with my family, and make a good living! What a blessing!
Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Today let’s be thankful from our heart for all that our Father has done for us.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. Bless the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us and deliver us. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold all that has been taken. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
The Seventh Day Of The Feast
Today is the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It marked the crossing of the Red Sea, I believe. It was the last day of the feast that the children of Israel had asked to celebrate when Moses asked the Pharoah to let them go into the wilderness to keep a feast. We keep it today to remember how they fled in haste, with no time to let the bread dough rise – no leaven. It is also symbolic of the ultimate deliverance from the oppression of our enemy when we completely flee sin.
Exodus 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
4 This day came ye out in the month Abib.
5 And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.
10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
We must fight to get the leaven, the sin, out of our lives. If we will put up this fight, our Father Yahuah (Lord) will fight for us. He will destroy the enemy in our midst. He will consume them and help us to overcome. He has already done the hardest part of this through the death and resurrection of His Son, our Meassiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Today, and everyday, let us remember well the freedom we are meant to have, and the price with which it was purchased.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the only King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us now overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our hearts and minds. Pour into Your people again, as You did in the Exodus. Spoil the evil, and give to Your people. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Preparation Day
The morning after the Passover meal, the people arose to being set free. They went about receiving jewelry and livestock from the Egyptians, spoiling them. In haste, they had no time to set aside bread starts, and therefore they ate the last of the leavened bread. It was a time of rejoicing as hundreds of thousands of people banned together to leave slavery. The Father is moving on their behalf.
Exodus 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
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.
We will see how life continues to unfold.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are King. Bless the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our sins. Heal us and deliver us. Restore to Your people one hundred timed one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Celebrating Thankfully
In many places in the world this date is recognized as a celebration to St. Patrick. Sitting here in the 21st century, we look back on history and question what is true about this date. Some call it a pagan holiday. Others revere it as a great Christian celebration. As for me, I am uncertain. It is yet another one of those things that we must take by faith. One thing that all people seem to record about St. Patrick is that he kept the Sabbath, meaning he celebrated the 7th day of the week as holy, Saturday. For this, I must commend him. We were told in both the old and new parts of scripture that the Sabbath was to be holy, to be set apart, from the rest of the week.
Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
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.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
This word “rest” in verse 9 is the word for Sabbath. What we have decided is to celebrate the truth that one man chose, likely against the generally accepted practice of others, to follow scripture rather than men.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us and deliver in a strong and mighty way. We ask these things int the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Thank You Father
We are so thankful that our Father watches over us. He is very much our Deliverer and Protector. There is no time when He does not keep us safe, even when we sleep.
Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
He watches over us at all times, and raises us up.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our true King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us and deliver us. Make all men to know that You alone are God! We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The Many Moments
We have been given lives to lead, each different from the other. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves wishing our life was more like someone else’s life. We should not allow ourselves to do this. We each have a mission and a calling. Only we can fulfill the particular mission and calling we have been give. We can be thankful that our Father loves us each enough to care for each one of us, even that we have all we need.
Luke 12:22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Today, let us be thankful that we have our Father to watch over us.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yahuah. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our hearts from the sadness. Deliver us from the thief that steals and restore one hundred times one hundredfold, and hundreds of hundreds. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, February 17, 2016
We Remain…
Today as I looked into the bright whiteness of my back yard, I thought about how we all will be remembered by others when they think of us. Often I have heard people, in speaking about others, describe them by a trait. As I thought about this, I thought how the phrase often goes, “S/He is always…” There is one great trait that I hope people would say about me. Joshua said it for he and his family.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
May it be said of me, may it be said of us all, we remain servants of Yahuah the Most High.
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are King. You alone are our King. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us from the inside out. Deliver us from the the thief, and restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Early Morning Gratitude
For some reason, this morning seemed to come earlier than most. Perhaps it was the limited amount of sleep I was able to get. Perhaps it was associated with my trepidation about getting out in the cold and snow to drive to teach. But as I headed out for my hour-ish long drive, I had to think of how thankful I am that our Father cares for us every single day. I found myself making a joyful noise to Him, and it made me happy.
Psalms 146:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
Today, I will sing to Yahuah!
Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal our hearts. Deliver us from the thief. Restore one hundred times one hundred fold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.