The Need For Change

Our lives as believers start with change. We change from the darkness to the kingdom of light when we confess our sins and ask Jesus (Yeshuah) to come into our heart and be our Messiah.

Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Once we have begun, we must continue to follow Him. We will become more like Him, day by day. This is the transformation that takes place for us, daily, ass we seek our Father and His ways.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Let us commit ourselves to following after our Father to keep His commandments.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yahuah! For You, Father, are our King alone. Let Your will be in this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing and provision that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. We need help to be more like You. We need to forgive and forget, just as You do. Blot out our transgressions. Restore our hearts and minds, healing us from the inside out. Deliver us from the evil that would beset us and destroy us. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back by the enemy, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Someone To Count On

This morning as I write, I am very thankful toward our Father. There are so many things to name that it would take more room than every place to write on this earth, all the many blessings just on me and my family. But one thing in particular comes to mind, and that is a category. Our Father is someone we can count on to be on our side. Always.

Psalms 46:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.the poor: or, the weak, or, sickin time…: Heb. in the day of evil
2 The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.thou…: or, do not thou deliver

David was a good king. Yet even David transgressed the Law in what many of us might see as significant ways. Yet God did have mercy upon him, forgave him, healed him, and raised him up to be a prosperous individual and king. David knew he could count on our Father Yahuah (Lord).

Today, let us be thankful that we can count on our Father.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done among us today in this earth, just as it is done today in the heavens. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Restore right relationships among us all. Let us dwell together in unity Father. Cleanse our hearts and minds of bitterness and evil toward others. Deliver us from evil here. Restore the prosperity that You always meant for Your people here that has been delayed, taken, or held back in any way, and that right quickly, one hundredfold. Rise up, O King! Rise up, and show Yourself strong on our behalf. Let the name Yahuah (Lord) be lifted up and praised. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Running Interference

When we work at getting ourselves to plug into what our Father has in store for us, we can have additional impact for the kingdom.By additional impact, I mean more than just our own lives (which is good if we only keep our own lives right). We can also pray for individuals or groups, with equal intensity to our prayers for our own needs and expectation for them to come to pass.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

But what shall we pray? We can pray in the same manner as we pray for ourselves. If there are any scriptures that are a direct fit for the situation, pray along the lines of the scriptures and their outcome. Perhaps we just begin to pray and our Father reveals something to pray in a vision or scripture. Perhaps they have a request and we start there. We can trust that when we pray along these lines that our Father will reveal to us something for us to pray, if we seek wisdom in prayer from Him.

James 1:5 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.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

As we have opportunity, let us pray for others as well as ourselves.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yahuah! Father, we ask that Your will be done here in this earth at this time. Send Your overwhelming blessing today such that it overflows from us to others. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and renew a right spirit within each of us. Heal up the broken hearted. Deliver us from the evil here. Restore unto Your people of the prosperity that has been taken, held back, or denied them in any way of that which is good, and the more besides as in the days of the Exodus. Rise up, my King, and show Yourself strong on our behalf. We ask all these things ini the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus).

Helpful Tools

Last night as I studied scriptures before I went to bed, I read a scripture from James that hit home with me.

James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

Often I have heard it taught that James said we cannot control the tongue. While I do not agree that is what this scripture teaches, let us set that argument aside for a moment. Here is something that tends to be true. It is difficult for the mind to both think words in a “running stream” and talk at the same time. When we are not talking, that stream is running and our mind gets the thoughts into the heart. There is another scripture that also discusses what we say.

Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Here it says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak. So if we are struggling with our thoughts, we can begin to speak out loud the correct thoughts and actions. This will end up in our heart, both by speaking and by hearing it. If we just speak what is in the “running stream” in our heads, then the evil can be reinforced. The goal is to remember in those moments to begin to say out loud the correct thoughts and behavior, thereby taking control of our hearts and minds. Praise God! We have a tool to help us win!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Bless the name Yahuah! Father, let Your will be among us in this earth. Send today Your overwhelming provision such that it overflows to those around us. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and heal up the wounds there. Restore and build up the right relationships among us. Restore unto Your people all the prosperity of lands, goods, and treasures that have been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and that one hundredfold. Rise up, O Mighty King, and strike at the evil. Grind it to powder, and carry it away in the whirlwind. Show us a sign for good, that all men might know that You alone have done this thing. We ask all these things in theh name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

We Must Keep On

It has been my experience that when we as believers fall short of our own convictions, we can find ourselves in a situation where we condemn ourselves. This is not good as we are letting these transgressions stop us.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

While self introspection is good, and certainly repentance is good, so is forgiveness. Perhaps we struggle because we do not take time in calling out to our Father for forgiveness.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It would seem as we read this first chapter, and certainly these verses, that our Father is always interested in our present state. We are either in a state of repentance or not, a state of turning to our Father or not. It is important that we turn to Him quickly, seek forgiveness, and then forgive ourselves as we get back on the right path. And our sins do not linger with us.

Psalms 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.plenteous…: Heb. great in mercy
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

God removes our sins far from us. As far as the east is from the west. Perhaps we think He remembers them and will restate them to us later. This is also not true, according to scripture.

Psalms 130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Our Father forgives us our transgressions, blotting them out and removing them as far as the east from the west, and they are gone. No lists. No gotchas. Just His love and support for the new way of life He has just given to us. We cannot try to live for tomorrow and never stumble. But we can try for the next 24 hours, the next day, to do the right thing. And if we fall, He will always be there when we cry out in repentance. And if God keeps no lists, who are we to keep a list against ourselves? This is also being “best by sin” as it keeps us from moving in His kingdom, if we let it.

Today, if you are strugling with your humanity and have stumbled or fallen, there is One that will lift You up. Let us turn to our Father Yahuah (Lord), seek His forgiveness in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus), forgive ourselves, and keep moving forward to advance the kingdom.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done in this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming provision such that it overflows to others. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and renew a right spirit within us. Deliver us from the evil that would beset us. Restore relationships and prosperity to Your people, more than double what we ever had. Show us a sign for good that all men might know that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Early In The Morning

There is something about getting up early to see the sunrise. What a blessing to hear the birds calling out, and to know that our Father has another day of adventure in front of us! In these moments it is good to seek our Father Yahuah (Lord). David did this in the desert.

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.
3Because 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.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

We, too, can do that, whether our desert is a real physical desert or a spiritual one. And He will hold us up with His right hand, for He alone is our God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Bless the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done here with us, Father. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us, for we are all but human. We cannot do this life alone for we need Your guidance and strength. And You freely give it. Cleanse our wounded hearts and minds. Blot out the evil. Deliver us from the evil that we might serve You. Restore right relationships among us. Restore every good thing that has been taken or held back from Your people in any way. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Health, Rest, And The Sabbath

It is commonly thought that our bodies do better as humans when we have adequate rest. Equally important, however, is for our spiritual man to have rest. In fact, these two are connected according to scripture.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.be…: Heb. gather thee up
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

We see here that fasting also plays a role in the health of the physical man and the spiritual man. When we tie this to the Sabbath, we have health for both and the added benefit of blessing.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done among us. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive the those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and restore a right spirit within us. Restore us to right relationship with You, better than ever, and with our brothers and sisters. Raise us up to rise on the high places of the earth. fRestore one hundredfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people that is good. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

What Matters Most

The scriptures are fairly clear about what happens when something is valuable to us.

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What captures your thoughts? What do you find yourself dwelling upon? In this scripture, Yeshuah (Jesus) was warning to not seek for men to think us spiritual, but rather to keep that between us and the Father. The result is His open reward. David found out about this once through transgression.

Psalms 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

After David sinned, he became aware that it is the inward parts that needed help – his heart. He knew that he had let his heart take him away from the Father. And once he had sinned, that revelation was consuming him and troubling him greatly. He knew he could not change that as a man, and that only God could change that for him.

Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

David cried out to the Father to cleanse his heart and spirit. He wanted God to hide His face from his sin and blot it out. He finally learned that it was the presence of God and His Spirit that was what he treasured, and that his heart needed cleaning and renewal to get back to the right place. He needed help with treasuring God with his whole heart.

Psalms 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; or else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

David realized that he was desparate for God. The worst thing that could happen would be for God to cast him away from His presence. He needed a broken and contrite heart. He also knew that if God would do this and restore him, then the good things of God would return to him and the nation he was king over.

Psalms 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

We know the end of the story. Yahuah (God) responded, and gave him a renewed heart and spirit. This is what our Father wants from us. He wants us to cry out to Him for a better heart, and to follow after Him. The good news for us is our Father longs to do this very thing for us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We need Your will here with us in this earth. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us to forgive those that have transgressed against us. We need Your help. We need you to not look on our transgressions, to blot them out. Create in us a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us. Help us now to be Your people and walk in Your ways, that You might deliver us and provide for us and our nation. Restore right relationships between us. Restore all that is good that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides, that all men might know that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Praise And Thanks

What a privilege it is to serve and praise the Living God! It is our Father Yahuah (Lord) that reigns over all the earth. When we praise Him, He is moved. He will take a stand for us.

Psalms 47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.for: or, of
2 For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
5 God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.with: or, every one that hath
8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.princes…: or, voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham

Praise the name Yahuah (Lord)!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Let the earth be filled with His will. Send Your overwhelming provision to us today, that it might overflow to those around us. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse thoroughly our hearts and minds, blotting out the remembrance of evil. Heal us from the inside. Restore right relationships between us. Restore all the prosperity that has been taken or held back in any way from your people, and that one hundredfold. Rise up, O King! Rise up, and deliver Your people today! We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Remembering To Fight

What is the greatest challenge we can face as believers, the greatest challenge to our walk? There may not be just one item, but possibly we can name one category. Often I have heard that that greatest challenge is various types of adversity. Truly there are some types of adversity that would challenge our faith – sickness, disease, death of a loved one, financial disaster, etc. But in times of struggle, ultimately it seems people will turn back to our Father.

Psalms 88:1 O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

Even David cried out in times of struggle. The scriptures are filled with this evidence. It would seem then that adversity is not the thing that turns us away. In fact it can be adversity that turns us back to our Father. If we could know what turns us away, perhaps we could guard against it. I suggest it may be when things go well.

When life gets very good, it is easier to get caught up in the good and focus on it. It is easy for us to believe that we did it by the works of our own hands. To our original question, what turns us away are those things that allow us to forget the kingdom, that we are on a mission to advance the kingdom not just into our own lives, but also into the lives of others.

Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

As we can see, we need to remember that it is God that has delivered us unto good times, and not the work of our own hands.

We must remember to fight the good fight, to advance the kingdom.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! You alone guide us and keep us. Blessed be the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done among us. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Cleanse and heal our hearts and minds. Restore right relationships among us. Restore unto Your people all the good that has been taken or held back in any way. Rise up my King, and deliver Your people while it is called today. Show us a sign for good, that all men might know that You alone have done this and that You alone are King! We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.