No Matter What

Over the years I have seen people come and go, businesses come and go, families and marriages come and go… you name it. It does seem interesting how as one gets on in years, now matter how we were in the past, we can become very reflective. So it is with me, for various reasons. This reminds me of the writings of Solomon.

Ecclesiastes 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

It occurs to me as I consider all these things this morning that, in the end, we have to watch over our own spirit, our own words and deeds. These are enough to work on for a person, it seems, to get things in order while in this life. Again, Solomon seems to say the same.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come in our hearts, Father. Let Your absolute unshakeable will be done here, as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed or trespassed against us. Deliver us from the evil here. Wash away all thoughts and memories of evil done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love for us. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might promote the kingdom into the hearts of men here, including us. Restore unto Your people all the good that has been taken or held back in any way, and much, much more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

He Never Gives Up

Today I was blessed to think about how God never gives up on us. His love never fails, as the song says, and we are the beneficiaries of that fact. If we are wise, we can make a difference because He never gives up on us.

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

What if God gave up? Then where would we be? When I think of that versus where I am, I am so blessed and thankful!

Psalms 100 A Psalm of praise.
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.praise: or, thanksgivingall…: Heb. all the earth
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here. Let Your will be done here, as it has always been and is and will always be relentlessly done in heaven. Send us today Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to others. 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 the thoughts and memories of 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 Father, and we shall be delivered. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might promote Your kingdom here in the hearts of men. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all the good that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah! Amen.

Confronting The Enemy On Homeland Soil

It is well known that the best place to fight a war is in the country of your enemy. There are a few reasons, and one is that the damage done is done to his land and community, and not your own. It would seem that spiritual warfare is the same thing. We have to find out as much as we can about fighting our enemy. We have to prepare to fight. And we have to continue to prepare and learn. The worst case scenario is the war comes to our own doorstep. But the truth is still the truth, and that is what we must cling to in the end, if we are to emerge winners.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
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.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
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;

Let us use the utterance of God, the rhema, the prayer in the Spirit, and defeat our enemy always.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King! Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here. Let Your will be done here absolutely, as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed or trespassed 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 unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way that was good, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might promote Your kingdom here. We need You, now more than ever. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Dream: Spared From Destruction

Last night I had a dream, and I believe I am to share it here with my readers.

Apparently I was away from home, I believe doing some work to advance the kingdom. I was staying with some people, in a cabin owned by some of them, on a mountain that was smaller, maybe 300 feet tall, more like one in a chain of rolling hills. The others, especially the owners, did not share my conviction for advancing the kingdom, but they liked me and let me stay there, sleeping on the floor. The cabin was like a modified garden shed, but pretty large, and finished off quite nicely. It was mostly a place to sleep, and there were places to sit as well, and possibly the smallest of kitchenettes. It has been my experience in spiritual dreams that things like a cabin are more representations, and their very size and shape can change in the dream. That may have happened in this case. I remember coming and going in the dream separate from the others, but I believe there were four other people there besides me. When I went to bed in the dream, I was sleeping on the floor and had a small suitcase near my sleeping bag. I remember thinking about the next day and what I would do, and looking out the side window near where I was sleeping to look across a highway at a community of expensive homes in a nice neighborhood. I was comfortable with the results of the work I was doing and with my situation, glad to have a place on the floor to sleep, even in this less luxurious nice little cabin.

The next hing I knew in the dream, I was awake and it was morning. Everything seemed normal. Somehow I was cleaned up and ready for the day. There was a young couple there, also ready for the day. As they headed for the front door, talking about what they would do, I looked out the window. It took a minute for the reality of what I was seeing to sink in. The community across the street was gone, and in a perfect line next to the highway there was a long rectangular crater that was blackened and smoldering, about 25 feet deep. It appeared like what would be left after a volcanic eruption. I shouted for the couple to wait, and ran the 15 feet to the back window, only to see the smoldering blackness and a much larger crater there that had ended at a lake. Then I was somehow able to view our situation from a distance. What was once more of a rolling hill had become a much narrower peak, with the top of the peak smaller than the base of the cabin! We were literally teetering atop a pointed 300 foot mound of dirt and rock.

In my conversation somehow I conveyed this to the young couple. We looked out the back door and could see that the blackened flow had somehow already solidified enough that a few adventurous tourist types, maybe eight people on all sides, were climbing this unusual remnant of what once was. The cabin would teeter a bit as we moved around. When I placed my foot on the ground just outside the front door, the dirt would easily crumble away. I thought we could move to the front door, step out with one foot all together and let the cabin fall off the back, then try to crumble away some dirt to lower ourselves a bit so that we could reach formations of rock that would allow us to climb down to the climbers on their way up. We did just that, and the cabin tumbled off the back side of the mountain, crashing to the gound below without hurting anyone. Eventually we met up with some of the climbers, and made it safely to the bottom. Either later that day or the next I went back for my suitcase, only to find that it likely had drifted out into the lake. It was shallow for quite a ways and I tried to get out into it to locate my suitcase. The water was dirty for a ways as well, from the blackened flow, so I returned to the shore empty handed. I then woke up.

As I sit here now thinking about this dream, I believe a part of the message is that there is a coming destruction to those that sit by in complacency and enjoy comforts of this life while not pursuing the truth of the kingdom. If someone, me in this story, is actively pursuing the advancing of the kingdom, they will be spared, as will those near them. But a house not built on the solid foundation of the Rock of the kingdom will not stand. Some go quickly, in an instant, and others when the kingdom preacher leaves.

Please understand that this is not meant to advance me as anything, other than the person receiving the dream. We are all called to have the kingdom of God in our hearts. We are all called to advance the kingdom here, in this earth. We are all called to build wisely. And we will all reap what we sow here. Our Father loves us and wants us all to survive and prosper, when we turn to Him as our source for everything. When God sets things right, it is a good thing, which is why He starts with the fellowship of believers.

1 Peter 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts of mankind. Let Your will be done here implicitly as it is in heaven. Send us Your overwhelming provision while it is called today. 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 wrongs done to us or by us. In their place let there be only thoughts and memories of You. If You wash our hearts and minds, then they shall be white as snow. Only You can deliver, YAH. We trust and believe in only You. Rise up, my King, and let the world see that You alone deliver Your people. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might promote Your kingdom and care for the widows and orphans, and those in need. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Help Is Close By

For many of us as believers, we can come up against a wave of uncertainty we call life. As we look out to the ocean of possibilities, we have a decision to make about what we see. The waves of the tide moved by the celestial bodies in the normal course of existence? A tsunami? The end of everything? This is a bit extreme, but the imagery does make a point. We need to set our perspective. All of these views are relative to what we believe about what we see, and where we think we stand. It is encouraging to see what our Father sees, and where He says we stand.

Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven. 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 or memories of the evil done to us or by us, and replace them with thoughts of only You. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back that was good, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom here. Here our cries, my King. Do not let evil prevail. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things in Your name, Father, the name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

What We See – The “b” Experience

Someone shared a story with me that demonstrates how we actually “see” what we observe. Seems he sent a message to his wife who was driving home late in the snow with their daughter. The message advised of the conditions of the road and to be careful. There was a space at the end and a lower case “b”. The next morning he noticed his wife had asked what the “b” stood for, telling him she thought he was calling her an inappropriate name. For those of you reading this, you are probably smiling, having had the “b” experience yourselves. This happens when a person tries to hit the “space bar” twice but accidentally slips and hits the “space bar” “b” instead, then sends without checking.

Upon hearing this story, I smiled. Then I thought about how this really reflects our life experience. Clearly, in this case, the person receiving the “b” in the text read something in to the message that was not present. If we all stop to think for a moment, likely we will be able to think of a time when we have “colored” something we saw or heard with additional meaning not actually present. This happens through our idea generator, our mind, through making decisions we call judgments.

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Judging another judges the Law because we are making thought decisions about their intent of the heart. And if they profess to be a believer, then the Law is written in their heart and mind.

Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

In the letter to the Hebrews we see this same thing.

Hebrews 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

So we can take comfort in the fact that we have in our hearts and minds written all that we need to walk after our Father. And we can obtain forgiveness at all times though asking and applying the sacrifice of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). If we will grab hold of our idea generator, our mind, and put it back on track, we can find our way to not judging. We can do this by the words we speak.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come to men. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven, where you has peranently established Your ordinances. Send us today Your overwhelming provision that it might overflow from us to others. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed or transgressed against us. Wipe away our thoughts and memories of the evil done to us or by us, and in their pllace let there be only thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might begin even today to promote the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Magicians

In my childhood it was an exciting event to see a magician on a TV show, and somewhat rare. One of the big tricks was making an elephant disappear. There is another big trick I read about in scripture. While the things that happened between Moses and the Pharaoh’s magicians are impressive, that is not what I refer to here. I am referring to the trick that Yeshuah (Jesus) spoke about to the leaders of the day.

Matthew 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

A person that can swallow a camel… well now, that is quite a trick. And yet, when we fall into great judgments of others and gossip about them, when we forget to show mercy, and have not trust in our Father unto faith, but pay our tithes and sing sweet songs at church dressed in our “Sunday-go-to-meeting” best, we become a magician. We swallow the camel.

Today, as we rest, let us show mercy, stop the gossip, and trust our Father. These are the weightier matters. If we will love others, we fulfill the Law. The things we do speak much louder than the things we say.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come to the hearts of men. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. 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 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 $424,523,962.53 that we might promote Your kingdom, and care for the widows and the orphans. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Family Matters

At the end of the day, it is family that matters. Like it or not, we all came from one, good or not so good. We have the ability to add to our family through marriage and birthing new children. We can also add to our family by bringing people closer to us in relationship. What might that mean? Caring for those that are not so easy to care about in a positive way. Extending ourselves to others when we would rather just sit down and be quiet. Being willing to take a chance to discuss issues about right and wrong with those we have decided to care about. This sounds very familiar.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
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.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

We can all be family. We must learn to forgive and to love.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom be established here in the hearts of men, like me. Let Your will be done here as it is in heaven. Send us now Your provision. 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. We need Your restoration, Father. Help us. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things of You in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

God’s Grace

God has always extended His grace toward mankind.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

We are all fortunate that Noah, Abraham, and others found grace in our Father’s eyes long ago, or we would not be here.

May we all be thankful for grace.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here in the hearts of men, and let Your will be done here as it is in heaven where it can be no other way. Send us Your provision. 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. Restore Your people, YAH, and all that they have lost with more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.

Loving Is Winning

Over the last few days in speaking with several friends I have heard stories of situations where people have reacted to others badly, making public false and/or misleading accusations against people. As I pondered this morning these situations, I recalled something our Messiah said that makes so much sense now.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Paul repeated this in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

It is clear that if we can be more like the Messiah and less like those that choose to speak evil, we can do what He did, and overcome the world.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Let us all try to love one another.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name YAH! Let Your kingdom come here. Let Your will be done here, as it is in heaven, without hesitation. Send us now Your overwhelming provision, that it 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. Deliver us from the evil here. Wipe away all thoughts or memories of evil done to us or by us, and replace them with thoughts and memories of You and Your love toward us. Restore unto Your people one thousandfold all that has been taken or held back in any way of that which is good from Your people, and the more besides. Send in quickly the $424,523,962.53 that we might use it to promote Your kingdom. WE ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). We ask all these things of You, Father, in Your name YAH. We ask all these things in the name YAH Yeshuah. Amen.