Freedom March

Why it is that when I think of our life with our Father as a march escapes me. Perhaps it is the old school song, “Onward Christian Soldiers” that comes to mind. But the concept and image is pretty firmly stuck in my head. And with it comes the idea of marching toward freedom. It reminds me of what I have previously written about the Exodus.

One can only try to imagine what it must be like to experience ten generations of slavery. It seems like somehow that way of life would become a physical part of one’s DNA. That is what I thought about the children of Israel prior to the appearance of Moses and Aaron. How odd it must have seen to the people, and the need for the miracles to be shown to the elders to shake up their reality would also be obvious. We look at them, knowing the end of the story and wonder why they could not see what we see after it is over while it was happening. But let’s look at this another way.

Our Messiah made a comment about whom we serve.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

We can exchange the definition of sin given by John for the word here, and then it gets quite interesting.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of [transgression of the Law] unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

In fact if we make this same substitution throughout this chapter we become enlightened. We have been following after traditions and calendars for 1,500+ years. And yet, these same traditions and calendars come to us from men and not from God. In essence, we are in a certain type of bondage to man’s ideas. And yet, we are oblivious to it, because we have become accustomed to it. If we march toward freedom, we will experience uncertainty, just as they did in the Exodus. Let’s look again at the words of our Messiah.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

They believed on Him. He told them IF they continued in His word, which we know included the Law by His own actions and statements, we would be His disciples. If we did that we would have an intimate relationship with the truth. What is the truth? GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!!! All we need is a truly intermixed at our core belief in that truth.

And the truth will make us free.

March!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your will be done in this earth as it is in heaven. Let Your kingdom come in the hearts of mankind. Send us now Your provision that we might overflow to those around us. Deliver us from the evil here. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore Your people unto Yourself and help us be renewed. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been eaten or taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom in the hearts of mankind. We ask all these things of You Father in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah Lord Jesus Christ). Amen.

In The Moment

When the moments come that try our faith, these are the moments when it is important to remember. By trying our faith, I must pause for a moment to reflect on what that means. For the most part here, in the U.S., we live very different lives from the lives lead by the original members of the church. Going farther back, our lives are possibly even more different from the children of Israel as they marched out of a place of bondage. How we respond to our surroundings and our situation comes from within us. It comes from our heart, as it has for all of us.

Exodus 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.
11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Keeping in mind that these people had ten generations (approximately) of destitute slavery, this response was ingrained in them. They forgot all the recent miracles they saw. By that I mean, they did not pause to remember the deliverance of Yahuah (Lord) from all that had been. Moses had a great response to them here.

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

We all know the rest of the story. God delivered them. It is easy for us reading the pages to wonder why they acted as they did. For us, having heard the end of the story so many times, we do this quick read of the text and don’t think about what it looked like or felt like. We do not even experience it in real time (the same amount of time that they did). We run past that part. It becomes real when something is happening to us.

What we do not realize is what it means to become free. Freedom from bondage is as much mental and spiritual as it is physical, perhaps more. We must be free in our mind and heart before we can ever be free in our bodily experience. The bondage is ingrained into us. The experience of trusting our Father, really trusting Him, is new. If we are to transition from bond to free, we must be willing to accept that our Father is in control. He is the one that parts the waters as we step into them. He is the one that does not allow the waters to overflow us. Freedom comes when we trust in Him and do what He says. The truth is, this all belongs to God and He has everything in control. When we have a close “knowing” deep within us of that fact, that makes us free. The rest then follows.

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Today, let’s pause to remember, and be thankful for all that God has done. We know He hears our prayers. We know He is faithful. Let’s move forward in that, with thanksgiving in our hearts.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts of mankind. Let Your will be done here as it is heaven so perfectly. Send us now Your provision that we might use it to promote Your kingdom in the hearts and minds of the people here, and it overflow to them as well. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us, and in their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore Your people unto You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people. There has been so much that has been done to eat away at what You have given. Restore what the worm has eaten, Father. Bring in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom in the hearts and minds of mankind. We need You, Father. Let us see the parting waters in our lives. Let us know that You are with us still. Speak to our hearts that we might serve You. We ask all these thing in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah (Lord Jesus Christ). Amen.

Dynamite On The Inside

It is unusual to think about perhaps, but the Greek word used for “power” and for “strength” are often the word we get “dynamite” from in our language. I speak of the scriptures. This one helped me this morning as I thought about struggles I am personally facing, as well as struggles I have seen others face recently.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

In this scripture, the phrase “be strong in the Lord” means to “be empowered with dynamite power on the inside” if we try to translate it from the Greek in an easy to understand fashion. We get to share in our Father’s power to do His work here. What follows next is equally encouraging as we head into spiritual warfare.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We need to reach out to our Father and pursue His will and His ways. Only then can we truly understand what He wants for us, and our mission here in this place. Thank God that we have been given the armor to defend, and the sword of the Spirit in the utterance (word) of God.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Today, let us not forget that we have that dynamite power on the inside.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth into the hearts of mankind. Let Your will be done perfectly here as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to those around us. Deliver us from the evil here. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. We need You and Your help, Father. Help us all to forget the evil done to us or by us, and replace those thoughts and memories with only thoughts and memories of You. You are our only chance to make this happen. Restore Your people to You, Father. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been eaten or taken or held back in any way of that which is good, and the much more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God, Your kingdom YAH, in the hearts of mankind. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Leaves Need A Branch

As I was preparing to write, in prayer, I saw a vision leaves in a lush surrounding. Lately God has been showing me visions of overwhelming provision. Today, I noticed these leaves were connected to branches. In the end, we all are connected to each other through our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We need to do all we can to support one another as we have opportunity to so do. If we can just remember this in the times that become difficult, we can excel at all that needs to be completed both individually and collectively in our lives. We help each other make it to the end.

Colossians 3:15 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.

Today, let us sing!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts of mankind. Let Your perfect will be done here as it is in heaven. Deliver us from the evil that would hold us back from You. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that we might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away the thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Deliver us from this evil here. Restore Your people to You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been eaten, or taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom here in the hearts of mankind. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You in Your name, YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Looking Through The Leaves

When we look up toward heaven, looking for God, from the midst of the forest, we look up through the leaves and can see the sky blue domain of our Father. We can be in such a hurry to seek God for our issues that we do not take the time to observe the beauty and evidence of His presence – creation itself. Stopping to look at and consider a leaf can do a lot for our faith. Leaves are so different between the different trees. And even on the same tree, we find unique creations in each leaf. Now think about the number of leaves on one of those trees. That seems like a lot of attention to detail. But then think of the number of trees in your forest, then the number of forests in your town, state, country… the world. And that is just the attention to the trees! Our Father cares so much more for us.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

If we become discouraged, all we need do is look up to heaven and consider the leaves.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in this earth in the hearts of mankind. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven, so perfectly. Send us now Your provision that we might overflow to those around us. Deliver us from the evil here that would keep us from You. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore Your people that they might love You and one another. Restore unto Your people all that has been eaten. Restore one thousandfold to Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that wee might use it to promote the kingdom of God here in the hearts of mankind. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah (Lord Jesus Christ). Amen.

Crying Out To God

When all the challenges of life come beating in on us, and our minds struggle to see a way through, we need a way to find peace. That peace comes from God alone. This is important to know because we need to get to the source of the struggles to put an end to them. The source of the struggle is evil trying to overcome the good, which originated for mankind in the garden of Eden. By doing obeying something other than God, they submitted themselves to that thing, the devil. At that point they became mixed with the evil, and we have been in a struggle against that evil ever since. The scriptures bear that out. But our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus) made a very clear promise to us. He promised us comfort.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Today, we can know that our Father has the intention of keeping that promise, and what our Messiah said next.

John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

He is with us and inn us, and we in Him. That is a mystery, but true.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdome come here in the hearts of mankind. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven so perfectly. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Take away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us, and in their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You. Thank You for Your great love toward us. We need that love now. Thank You for giving us the power to become the sons of God. Help us to do that now. We pray that You help us to overcome the carnal mind, which is at enmity with You and Your Spirit. Renew us, and we shall be renewed. Save us, and we shall be saved. You are our King! Restore Your people today. Strike at the evil that tries to draw us away. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of mankind. We pray for those that persecute us. We love You. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah (Lord Jesus Christ). Amen.

Trust In God

We all have lives filled with many choices to make. At least, that is how life appears to us. This morning as the sun rises, I ask myself how true is that really? It seems to me that there is really only one selection among the great many that if made, sets in motion a simpler way to look at the choices before us.

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
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.

In the end, it comes down to whom we will serve. Once we have made that choice, then there rest is set before us in motion. Specifically, we have the option to make this first choice, and walk into it. Once that is done, then our Father provides direction for the rest of our choices. While that seems simple enough, it is always amazing to me how many times we are faced with what seems like overwhelming inputs. If we can settle ourselves long enough to ask our Father for guidance, He will give it.

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

This includes all aspects of life. Like the Sabbath – keeping (guarding) it is a choice. If we honor it, we are blessed.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here to the hearts and minds of mankind. Deliver us from the evil here. Let Your perfect will be done here as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that we might use it to serve You and have it overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Deliver us from the evil that would attempt to overflow us. Restore Your people unto You. Restore unto your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. We ask all these things of You in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah (Lord Jesus the Christ). Amen.

Never Quit!

We have been given a great opportunity to serve our King.

Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

It is important that we have such resolve that we never stop, that we never give in to fear, that we never quit.

Never quit.

Never quit.

Never quit!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts and minds of mankind. Let Your will be done here as perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us now Your provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that trespass or transgress against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Deliver us from the evil here. Restore all Your people unto You, Father. Help us to see who we are in You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been eaten or taken or held back in any way, and the ore besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to advance the kingdom of God here in the hearts and minds of mankind. You alone can do these things, because You alone are King. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

So Many Gifts

This morning as I prepare to start my day, I think of all my Father, our Father, has done for me. It is an impressive list, really. And that is not the best word to describe the many snapshots in time I have in my head of all that the Father has done for me. For me in the past I would use the word gifts to describe the unique abilities and/or character traits that our Father has given to each of us. This morning, I think of a much expanded definition. For example, my gardens this year have gone a little wild, producing more than I thought possible. The wild raspberries, which I did not plant, are so plentiful that I cannot keep them all picked in a day. I have a great wife and children. My vehicles keep running for the most part, and when they don’t, I can get them fixed. God miraculously healed me. The list goes on and on.

Psalms 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.The sea…: Heb. Whose the sea is
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

Today, let us make a joyful noise unto Yahuah (Lord) who is our maker and keeper.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts and minds of mankind. Let Your will be done here perfectly as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision, that we might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Deliver us from the evil that says You do not see. Restore Your Spirit within us. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom here in the hearts and minds of mankind. We ask all these things of You, Father, in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Freedom, True Freedom

Today in America we celebrate a holiday called Independence Day. It is supposed to be about freedom. But perhaps true freedom is really something else. Perhaps true freedom comes from an intimate relationship with truth.

John 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

We must continue in the logos (something spoken, including the thought in the Greek) of our Messiah, because He continued in the logos of God.

John 8:54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Jesus (Yeshuah) kept the words of His Father. And when He spoke, it was God speaking. We need to be able to hear God when He speaks His words (rhema or utterance in the Greek).

John 8:47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

If we will abide in the spoken words and thoughts behind them of our Messiah, then we will come to an intimate knowledge of the truth that it is all about the heart, and the mind. When we understand that the heart and mind must be pure and free from transgressions of the Law (sin), then we will be free from transgressions of the Law (sin).

Pray
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts and minds of mankind. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven, so perfectly. Send us now Your provision that we might overflow to those around us. Deliver us from the evil that would hold us back. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away all thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love that carries us through always. Restore unto Your people unto You, Father, in heart and mind. Restore unto Your people all that the worm has eaten. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back of that which was good. Send in quickly the $423,923,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom here in the hearts and minds of mankind. We ask all these things of You, Father. We ask in the name of our Messiah YAH Yeshuah. Amen.