Bracing For The Rest

Here in the Midwest today everyone is bracing for the big snow storm coming our way. Had to make sure the livestock had plenty of food and water. In thinking about the idea of hunkering down for the duration, it caused me to think about how we prepare for such things. We make sure we have the food and water ready, and the ability to keep warm. It made me think of a time in the scriptures when people took a similar stance.

Exodus 16:4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

Here we see that Yahuah (Lord) directed the children of Israel to store up for something. That something was the Sabbath. I was thinking today as we prepared for the snow storm to ride it out, should we also do something to prepare for the Sabbath? I am not speaking of cooking everything on the day before, although that might be in order. I am speaking of the spiritual preparation before the day arrives. I am not sure as I consider this if I really have always prepared myself for the Sabbath. In fact, I am sure I have not done so with intent. But I think it might be a good idea.

What do you think we should do?

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. You alone are worthy of our praise. We long to be with You in Your kingdom, and for that kingdom to be here on the earth. We ask that You send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal us and deliver us. Lift us up. Make us to sit with the princes. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

The Exodus To Rest

This morning I was thinking of the Exodus of the children of Israel and the mixed multitude from Egypt. They were in search of the promise, the land flowing with milk and honey, the place of peace and prosperity forever with their God, Yahuah (Lord). THey were looking for that place to rest with God.

Exodus 13:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
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.

If we will take the journey from the work week into the Sabbath with our God, Yahuah (Lord), then we too can enjoy the land flowing with milk and honey.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High King. We love You. We want to be in Your kingdom, to have Your kingdom be on this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us when we stray from Your ways. Watch over us to heal us, deliver us, and keep us safe. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Hold Up To Hold On

Today on the Sabbath I was thinking about how magnificent our God really is. As I though of our God, Yahuah, I imagined lifting my arms up to Him like a child reaching up to their father to lift them up and hold them. There will always come times in our walk with God that we wonder at what is going on in life. In those times, our Father is always there to lift us up, as the scriptures indicate.

Psalms 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

He will always care for us. It is just what Fathers do. We love our children and want the best for them. We want to protect them. Our Father in heaven is much more so that way.

Let’s praise His holy name, and lift up our hands to Him today.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. You alone are worthy of our praise. Your kingdom is needed here on the earth. Please send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us when we go astray. So many among us need Your touch today. Heal them and deliver them today. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

A Snowy Sabbath Is Still A Sabbath

As we were thinking about attending fellowship today we were faced with the challenge of considering the weather and the road conditions. And there is a matter of getting out of the driveway. We have a long driveway, and the end that leads into the road gets plowed in by the snow plows. To get out today I will have to shovel that snow on the Sabbath. I believe the Messiah addressed these issues when He was accused of violating the Sabbath by the church leaders of the day.

Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
6 And they could not answer him again to these things.

Here we see our Messiah saying to us the church leaders that the Sabbath is about life. Doing what brings life on the Sabbath is a perfect fit. Including healing, or rescue, or what promotes life.

My driveway is unsafe at the end and if it remains clgged, we could get stuck hanging part way out into the street which is slippery. WE could easily be hit. Some may say that this is too much attention to this point and that of course one would shovel the snow. For me and my house, we will take the time to consider the ways of God, even if we think the answer is obvious. It is the consideration that for us is a way of honoring Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High god. We need Your kingdom on this Sabbath day. Send us Your overwhelming provision. Make a way for us all to clear our physical and spiritual driveways. Forgive us when we get off track. Heal and deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

A Resting Place

When we approach the Sabbath, we think of rest. That rest has been ordained from the beginning.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The time of rest was first shown to us by God. He rested on the seventh day, the Sabbath. It was a set aside day, really for us. But as a loving Father, he showed us how to rest by being the first to rest. And Paul says that we are to continue this today.

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Here the word “rest” is the word in the Greek for “Sabbath” and is translated everywhere else as Sabbath. So we are to rest. But what is the place of rest?We might think that the pace of rest is at church or some special place we go. Actually, the place of rest is most likely the temple of God. Today, where would that be?

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.

We are that resting place. We rest on the Sabbath wherever we are at that time. This is God’s plan. We bring the kingdom to earth when we do those things that God has ordained.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. You alone are worthy of our praise, and we love You. Let Your kingdom be in the earth. Send us Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us when we cannot get it right, when we fall short, when we sin. Heal us, and deliver us from the temptations of this world. We need You now. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

For The Weary

Today as I was thinking of all those I know that have struggled for some time, living for the hope of the return of the King, I decided to write something for these people. for there are times that I have been one. Our God has established the rules of engagement. These rules set up way posts for us. These are places where can go and be in absolute safety. Mostly, this place is not really a place, but a place in time. It is called the Sabbath. If we run into it, we will be safe. We will be under the shadow of the wing of our God.

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.

So many people quote these scriptures and have so little understanding of the promise and the power they contain. God has ordained a certain order in the earth. If we will follow that path. then we receive what is on it. What is on it is the blessing of the Father

Today if you are weary, rest in Your Father’s Sabbath with Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our Mighty King. We may be afraid, but we will choose to trust in You. We need Your kingdom. Send us Your very abundant provision now. Deliver us from temptation and forgive us when we sin. Heal us. There are so many that need healing Father. Heal them now. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

We Rest With The Best

This morning as I was collecting eggs from my chickens, I spent time talking to God. Sometimes I think the chickens are talking to Him too, because the really pick up talking when I am talking to Him. Probably just my imagination, but an interesting detail. Anyway, as I was talking with God I was praising Him, and also asking for forgiveness. In that moment I felt that He was with me, and that He has always been with me, and that He will always be with me, in a kind of all at once without words feeling. I am always blessed at the mercy that God has for us. In a scripture that I was reading this morning this stood out.

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.

As we read further, we see that God has blessed us and will bless us, because of His name and His truth and His mercy – it is not because of us.

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.

God pours out to us and to our children increase, more and more. We need only serve Him and trust in Him. Today is a good day to reflect on who our God is and what He does for us. He alone is worthy of our praise on this Sabbath day.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for Your kingdom and ask that You establish it here on this earth. Send us Your abundant provision today. We are not without sin. Please forgive us our sin. Help us to overcome all temptations in our lives. Help us to follow in your ways above all else. We need You. We need Your healing. We need Your deliverance. Come quickly. Save Your people. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Preparation For The Sabbath

As worshipers of the Most High God, we are called to set aside the Sabbath to honor, worship, praise, and learn of our God and Father. In so doing, we are like the priests of old. In fact, Peter said we are a part of a new priesthood.

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:

As priests, we are called to prepare ourselves to serve our God, just as the priests of old prepared themselves to serve in the temple. There were certain rules about being clean that the priests had to follow to serve in the temple, such as if they touched a dead body they were unclean and could not serve in the temple.

Leviticus 8:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.
6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
9 And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.
10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.
14 And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.

Today, we are the priests and the temple, rolled into one, and God lives within us. We are called to be prepared for this collaboration between man and God by being holy which means set apart.

Romans 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are also called to stay away from those that do not set themselves apart from their past practices and seem to be the same as those that have not surrendered to God.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

In recent conversations this passage came up. In the past I have seen “pastors” throw people out of churches for certain transgressions, using scriptures like this and others to justify their actions. I place the word “pastors” in quotes because I suggest they are not (and likely have no mirrors in their homes), for Jesus clearly taught that a true pastor does not forsake a member of the flock. In fact, in this very verse it tells us what to do – do not eat with them. It says nothing about excommunicating them from the group. A similar passage that supports my point is found in a letter to the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

Here we see Paul saying that we are to have no company with one that does these things. He also says not to count this person as an enemy but a brother, and admonish that person. He follows that by saying that peace is the goal, and then blesses THEM ALL. Does not sound like someone being thrown out of a group, right? You see, in today’s church there are some things not quite right. Someone frequently puts themself in the place of God with a title they give to themself of “Head Pastor” or something similar. I say they give it to themself because it never appears in scripture. Then they end up making rules and grabbing power that belongs to God. In this sense they are as wrong as the people they come against. We are all called to humble ourselves and to bear one another’s burdens. We are called to cry out to our Father and seek His kingdom in this earth. We are called to prepare ourselves to be priests, walking in the power of the living God.

Today, on this Sabbath, may we all judge ourselves and not another, and may we all humble ourselves before God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High One True Living God. You alone are worthy of our praise. We need Your kingdom here Lord, not the kingdom of men. We need You to send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we judge others, whether for small things or big. We know we are all the same in Your sight, and we all have sinned and fallen short. Please forgive us all. We need Your healing and deliverance. Only You can do this. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Finding The Rest We Need

When we enter the Sabbath, we want to find rest. Sometimes the business of life overwhelms us and we just get lost before we find our rest. This Sabbath was a little like that for me. I was a bit caught up in publishing a devotional and got frustrated. The point is, it is important to focus on God, and then we can find our rest in Him. Paul tells us we actually need this rest, this Sabbath.

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

The word translated “rest” here is actually the word for Sabbath and is translated that way everywhere but here. It seems the translators had already made the mistake of thinking that Sunday is the day of rest. What is important is to remember that God wants us to rest on this day, with Him.

Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
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.

Therefore my fellow believers, let us rest on God’s Sabbath with Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy. Let Your kingdom be a part of this and every Sabbath. Send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we get too busy for You and help us find our way back. We love You. Heal Your people Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Listening Closely

Praying is one of those things that we as believers do frequently. In fact Paul implied that we should pray almost continuously.

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Paul knew that it takes prayer to get close to God. Through prayer we can get to know God and His ways. When we know Him, it makes it much easier to trust Him and to hear Him when He speaks to us. If we can hear Him, we can go forward knowing we will be victorious in all we do.

2 Samuel 5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

Today as we rest with God on the Sabbath, let’s pray and listen closely. God will win our battles for us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are the Most High God. It is Your kingdom that has the light of life. We need Your kingdom in the earth. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. We need You to hold us and never let go. Forgive us, heal us, and deliver us. Let us be Your people. Help us to be holy unto You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.