Thankful For Blessings

Blessings. We as believers get many blessings from our heavenly Father. When I stop to think of all the blessings that we receive every day, I am truly amazed. Yes, there are times when we have challenges. God uses these challenges to help us learn to cry out to Him for His help. And He hears our cries. He responds to His people when they call to Him. Every time.

Psalms 18:1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
28 For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

Our God is our Mighty Deliver. He gives us many blessings. Thanks be to Yahuah (Lord) who watches over us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King and Deliverer. Praise the name of Yahuah (Lord)! Send us now Your overwhelming blessing. Forgive us our sins. Heal our broken hearts. Deliver us from those that would take from us what You alone have provided. You are our King. Deliver us with Your mighty hand and an outstretched arm. We love You, Yahuah (lord). In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Acknowledge Him

My wife shared with me this morning an interesting scripture that she felt God gave her to read before going to bed last night.

Proverbs 3: 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This is a great stand alone scripture for sure. It makes me think about how we acknowledge Him. One important way is to offer Him praise and thanks for who He is and all He does for us.

Psalms 7: 17I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.

Psalms 140:12I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
13Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Here we see that the psalmists regularly praised the name Yahuah (Lord), gave thanks to the name Yahuah (Lord), and also praised Yahuah (Lord) for all He has done. We can take that back into the Proverbs scripture and see how it fits with the rest of what is being declared to us.

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.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

We can be thankful today that our God Yahuah (Lord) has given us direction for life in giving us His commandments. He has provided us with a path, and is with us at all times to help us. Thanks and praise to Yahuah of hosts!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our righteous King. By You the mountains were formed and the seas set back from the land. The heavens are Yours and all that are in this creation. Give us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us of our sins. Heal us, for many of us are a broken people. There is wickedness in the land and many are they that steal from and rob Your people. Stand up, Father, and with Your strong hand deliver Your people from those that would steal from them, from those that lead them away from Your path with lies that tickle their ears while robbing their very sustenance. Arise O King, come to the aid of those that oppress Your people. Show us as a sign in Your mighty overwhelming deliverance that all men might know that You, Yahuah of hosts alone has done all these things. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.

We Are Covered

Our Father in heaven has sent His Son Yeshua (Jesus) to die for us that we might be covered. The children of Israel had the covering of the blood on the doorposts and lintel to keep them from the death of the firstborn, and ultimately to set them free from bondage. We have the blood of our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to cover us from the sin that results in death, and also to set us free from bondage. Just like the children of Israel, Yahuah (Lord) our God wants to set us free from the bondage of oppression. For many of us today that includes things like debt or some form of oppression from outsiders.Whatever our situation, Yeshua (Jesus) died that we might be free. His name, Yeshua (Jesus) means “Yahuah is Salvation” or instead of salvation we could say “wholeness”. This salvation in Hebrew includes material goods and prosperity, deliverance, victory, and wholeness. It is a very big and very complete change, which we sometimes miss when we use our word salvation. Isaiah spoke of this.

Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah here has spoken both literally and prophetically, if we read the Hebrew here. Let me substitute some of those words and we shall see how.

Isaiah 12:2 Behold, El is my Yashua; I will trust, and not be afraid: for Ya Yahuah is my physical strength and my song of praise; he also is become my Yashua.

When we read this in the Hebrew, it is so much more powerful! Our Lord (Ya) Jehovah (Yahuah) is our physical strength and our song of praise. Our God (El) has become our Yashua!

Today, we can be thankful that Yahuah (Lord) never gives up on us and always delivers His people. Praise the name Yahuah!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King and our slavation! We praise and thank the name Yahuah. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Let Your wholeness rain down and reign in our lives today. Heal us. Deliver us from the bondage in our lives. Deliver us from debt and lack and oppression. We thank You Yahuah for You have become our Yashua! In Yashua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankfully Not In Charge

We had some interesting discussions at our small group last night. One area was very interesting to me. We are discussing what happened in Zechariah and how our God Yahuah (Lord) turns to us when we turn to Him.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

It appears here that what God was (and still is) saying is that He just wants us to turn to Him. He will do the rest. It is God that fights for us and it is God that will deliver us from temptation. Moment by Moment we need only to turn to Him. It can be done it would seem. We need each other and we need to encourage each other. If we do this, we can overcome the evil of this life.

To the original point, for me, it would be impossible to do this on my own. It seems to me that we as humans often feel like somehow we have to be the ones to make ourselves righteous. That is not true, and I am so thankful it is not true or there would be no hope for me. We are to do our best, however. The good news is, through the grace and mercy of our Father, we can get there!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. It is to You we turn and not to man. We praise and thank the name Yahuah (Lord). We need You and Your kingdom. Send us now your overwhelming abundant provision for all of our many needs. Please forgive us our sins. We ask that You forgive those that have done wrong to us, and hold back the evil that they may have begun. Crush the evil that comes against Your people, and turn the hearts to You of those that do it. We are Your kids. We lift up our hands to You and thank You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankful For Repentance

At a bible study last night we studied from the book of Zechariah. His message from God was about how the ancestors of the people had prophets from God sent to them to tell them to turn back to God and away from their evil doings, but they did not. God was using Zechariah to deliver that same message.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

As we discussed this one of the things that came out was Yahuah’s (Lord) willingness to turn to us when we turn to Him. I think of my own life and the times when I do not do what God has said to do, or I do something else, and then I think of who God is. He is Yahuah (Lord) of hosts (everything). Yet He cares enough for each one of us that He will turn to each of us if we turn to Him. I am so thankful that He does not just write us off. He loves us and wants to care for us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. We give praise and thanks to the name Yahuah (Lord). Send us Your overwhelming provision today. We ask that You forgive us. We turn to You. Please turn to us, Father. We are desperately in need of Your love and mercy. Heal us from our past and our afflictions. Deliver us from the evil that would steal from us. We need You. You are our All in All. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankful For Redemption

Today I am overwhelmed with thankfulness toward our Father for His gift of eternal life. He did not have to send His Son to die for us, but He did. He does not have to forgive us, but He does. He does not have to provide for us every day, but He does. All because of who He is. He is Yahuah (Lord) our Father.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Just this one promise from a loving Father overwhelms me. It makes me want to cry with joy and thankfulness.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We praise Your name Yahuah (Lord). Give us Your overwhelming provision today. Forgive us our sins and our speaking evil to each other and of each other. Heal us from the inside. Deliver us from those that would take from us what You have given to us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.

So Many Blessings

This morning I rose earlier than usual and went to a coffee shop to do some work. It was an attempt to be near my first appointment of the day ahead of time, as well as just using a change of scenery to help me with my creative efforts. But as I sit in the second floor balcony looking out the scenic windows at the sunrise, I cannot help but think of the many blessings our Father has given unto me and my family. We survived another winter and we were mostly warm. There is food to eat and clothes to wear. We have heat and electricity. There are people we fellowship with on a regular basis. And more than all of these things, we have a God, Yahuah, that is our King and our Friend.

John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Our Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), called us His friend if we do what He commands. We are to be like Him.

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

If we are to be like Yeshua (Jesus), then we need to do what He did. He was clear about what He did.

John 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Fatherdoes, that the Son does likewise.

So we are to be doing what the Father is doing. And He is our Friend. We have so many blessings to be thankful for as believers.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. You are our King. Praise Your name, Yahuah (Lord), forever more. Let the whole world praise You. Let Your kingdom come to this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our sin. We want to be close to You and not far from You. Heal up those that have physical ailments today in a miraculous way. Deliver us from the temptation to walk away from Your commands. Deliver us from the evil ones that would take from us what You have given to us. Let the whole world know that You have done this for us, that You, Yahuah (Lord), are our King and the One True God. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.

Thanksgiving From The Heart

In the past there have been many times when thinking about praise and worship to God. Often I have thought of in terms of how I feel. There are times during praise and worship that I sense the presence of Yahuah (Lord). The experience of it is pleasing. As a result it is easy for me to find myself longing for that experience. While it is good to enjoy the presence of God, I believe that it is important for us as believers to remember that we are praising Him and it is for Him that we do it. It is our Father Yahuah (Lord) that deserves the praise and the honor.

Psalms 145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

As I searched for a scripture, I began to read this psalm. I decided to place it in its entirety because it is such a great description of how David saw praise. Today I want to thank my Father, Yahuah (Lord), and bless His holy name, now and forever.

Prayer
father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy to be praise. We bless Your name Yahuah (Lord). Send us overwhelming provision. We love You. Thank You for Your mercy toward us. Forgive us for our sin. We need Your healing touch. Deliver us from the evil that tries to push us down and steal from us. Hear our cry to You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

We Are Covered

This morning was like many mornings. I awoke to the busy-ness of the day in my head. In praying I found myself telling our Father that it would be good to just read the scripture and spend time with Him. I had to dig out some of the driveway for my wife so she would not get stuck. After finishing I was still meditating on Yahuah (Lord) and what He wants for our lives. Returnning to the warmth of the kitchen it occurred to me that it is truly a blessing to be able to sit and consider these things. We have a warm place out of the snow. We have clothes to wear. There is food to eat. Yes, we also have challenges inour lives, but we have a God that is on our side, looking out for us and protecting us.

Psalms 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

It is not where I want to be, this place of busy-ness and trying to sort out life. But we can be thankful that we have a God in Yahuah (lord) that will watch over us while we call out to Him, and always.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy to be called King of the universe and beyond. We long for Your kingdom here on the earth, and we praise your name, Yahuah (Lord). Send us Your abundant provision today. Forgive us for the times we have not put our trust in You. Heal us. Deliver us from those that would harm us or take from us what You have given to us. Send us Your strong help now. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Beyond Measure

Those of us that are believers are in a very envious position. We have a God, the Ruler of everything, that is on our side and wants to give us good things. Yeshua (Jesus) spoke of this.

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

God loves us and wants us to have the good things in life that come from following the law and the prophets in service to Yeshua (Jesus). This blessing comes from the Source for everything, our Creator, Yahuah!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy to receive glory and honor. We praise Your name, Yahuah (Lord)! Your kingdom is our desire. Send us Your overwhelming provision. Guide us and keep us. Forgive us when we sin. Heal us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.