Foundation For Building

It is said that the most important part of a building is its foundation. The newly finished home may look lovely, but if the foundation is weak and crumbles over time, all that is built upon it will crumble as well. On the other hand, if the foundation is sound but the house itself is poorly built, the above foundation building can be repaired or redone, even if it needs to be completely reconstructed. We are like these buildings.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Our foundation must be that we have a Messiah, Yeshuah (Jesus). This may be why the spring feasts – Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Shavuos. These festivals clearly point to the death and resurrection of the Messiah, tieing it to the Passover, the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery, and the connection between the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts with the giving of the Torah. If we break these apart, we weaken the foundation of Messiah Yeshuah.

We each need to ask ourselves, what are we building? What are we building upon? In this way we can help to ensure our foundation is secure.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our minds and our hearts. Deliver us from the death that is all around us. Deliver us from the mischief of those that would take away from Your scriptures what You have placed there. Deliver us from the thief that steals and destroys. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

An Adventure

This morning after letting the chickens out of their coop, I sat down in the morning sun to have my first cup of coffee. I thought of all the great possibilities in store for the week, and I grew excited at the prospects. What has made a difference for me is learning something about attitude. I am learning to have a better attitude. This is not based on some self improvement philosophy or book. It is based on continuing to read and learn from scriptures and prayer. Our Father is on our side if we are on His. He has laid a foundation for us to follow and believe. We need only to be willing to do that and we will win. It begins with searching for our Father’s ways and His meanings, longing to spend time with Him.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We must be convinced on the inside that what we seek from our Father is something that He wants for us. Once we are convinced of that, we can build an expectation that it is coming to pass. And we will know that if we then hold on to it and reinforce that with the words that come out of our mouth, we will win.

Deuteronomy 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Our winning is actually a part of the blessing of the Law.

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:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Life is an adventure, and we have been given the map to the treasure and the keys to unlock it.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming blessing. Heal us up from the inside. Deliver us from the thief that steals and destroys. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

There Is Hope

One of the things in our walk with the Messiah that comforts many is hope.As I thought about this hope this morning, I wondered if it was the same hope that is in the scriptures.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Here in Hebrews this word means “eager expectation” or the thing we actually want and actually expect. In the Old Testament I found a number of different words translated as “hope” and that was very interesting. I think the comfort some of us have is really a sense that something is unlikely, but we wish it were true. It is the reverse of what we want that we actually believe will happen. There is one of the words that means this in the OT, the word is “yaash” and actually is despair. For many that hope, they are in despair, and therefore are believing that what they want is NOT going to happen. There are several other words in the Hebrew that refer to the expectation of something to happen, or the thing itself that is desired. This is where we need to focus out lives and our thoughts. We can be certain that there is a way to move from despair to believing that something will come to pass. This is the role of faith.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We need to believe that our Father Yahuah exists, and that He is on our side.

We can feel comforted today, because there is an eager expectation (hope) for what we are lacking in our lives.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision, and to those that are around us as well. Heal us up from the inside. Deliver us from the thief that steals and destroys. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Church Needs Your Help

On this Sabbath day, it seems go to share a story with you of need in a local community. This is only the second time in the history of this site that I have done this. Please read and pray, and take whatever action our Father Yahuah lays upon Your heart.

2 Corinthians 8:14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

In Elkhart, Indiana there is a church that had a miraculous beginning. God told one man to go to a certain address and tell another man God sent Him and that they would start a church. Both of these men are Latino, and neither knew each other before hand. There is much more to the fullness of the workings of God in getting this church started. One includes the ability to purchase a church building with a rich history that was beautiful but rarely used. Though purchased below market value, it is still a substantial amount for those that attend. Due to various challenges to health and other things in the economy over the winter, the members find themselves in need of assistance with the mortgage at this time. Although I do not speak Spanish (and this is a Spanish only service) our Father had me begin to attend there on Friday nights since fall of last year. Yahuah is working there. Can you please pray and ask the Father to help them get in the money they need in the next week? And for those that feel led, the name and address to send donations is below.

Minesterio Pentecostes Maranatha
25435 County Road 6
Elkhart, IN 46514

God bless you, and thank you for Your prayers and assistance for this church and these people.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming abundant provision. Heal us from the inside. Deliver us from the thief that kills and destroys. Help the Maranatha church to meet its financial obligation. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Victory Dance

We are given opportunity to live in victory. Much of that is our attitude. And much of our attitude is controlling our thought processes. We are a product of what we think.

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

We can control much of what we think by controlling what we hear. We can control what we hear most not by covering our ears, but by controlling what we say. We are the only person on the planet that hears everything that we say. And that gives us the power to live out the truth of God’s ways.

Deuteronomy 30:9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

If we can keep His words and ways in our ears, we can do them. We have the perfect sacrifice for when we stumble if we are quick to repent in our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). And this together gives us opportunity for blessing.

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:
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

In the movies the “victory dance” was the smoking of a cigar. For us, it is dancing before Yahuah as David did, in victory in Him and to His glory.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We bless the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. You alone are worthy of our praise and of glory and honor. Heal us and deliver us. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

So Many Reasons

As I think about life with our Messiah, there are so many reasons to give thanks. Life could have had no purpose. Each day could be traveled like each other day with nothing to look forward to in the end. In Messiah, we can look to the future with a joyful heart. And that future begins anew each morning. Others may have to be stuck in the past, but we are delivered from our past. We have the joy of a bondage lifted from us each day. If we will begin our days with Him, we can experience that joy.

Psalms 30:1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Our sorrow may come at the end of the day, but in the morning we start fresh. For that we can be thankful.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our king. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us inside, that we might sign to You. Give us sweet voices to sing Your praise. Deliver us from the thief. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Staying In The Battle

It is an interesting thing about how we make our way through our Christian walk. As believers, we are like other humans in that we simply place one day upon another. By that I mean we are all subject to the passing of time. We would hope to be stacking nothing but days of perfect obedience one upon another. The reality is that we do not always follow our Father as we should, and we stumble and fall. Those days are in the stack, too. And when we look at that stack of good and bad, we can find ourselves lamenting the bad days. For some time I have wrestled with the theology of this, and the best I can come up with is to say that we do need to have real sorrow for our sin to experience repentance. Repentance is turning from one thing to another. If we have true sorrow and seek forgiveness, our Father will turn to us and grant it. To turn to re-examine the past sin is to give it opportunity again in our lives to grow in some cases, I suggest. It seems a far better use of our time to work towards assuring what we stack today is worthy of the calling on our lives, and that we pray for tomorrow to be holy to our Father.

Psalms 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Today, let us ask our Father to help us to make today one of the good days.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our mighty King. Praise the name Yahuah. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our sins. Cleanse us from our sins, past and present, and help us to turn to You. Heal up our hearts and minds. Deliver us from the evil that steals and destroys. Restore to Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. Amen.

Expectations And Manifestations

We all are subject to the same guidelines when it comes to the universe and how it operates. We were all created by the same Master. There is only one Master, our Father Yahuah. The scripture warns us of watching out for 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?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

When we pray, we want something from our Father, for us or for others, or both, more often than not. That is not only okay, it is a good thing. It is acknowledging Him as our Master. When we keep His commands, we serve Him. When we follow His lead, we serve Him. We should expect what we ask to come to pass, if we are spending time with Him to know what He wants for us.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Our eager expectations (hope) are based on believing that He is God and He is on our side. Our hope, our eager expectations, become what we are waiting to see happen. These are the manifestations.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We must believe He is, and He is on our side. Life tends to manifest what we expect.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Heal us up from the inside. Deliver us from the evil that steals and destroys. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. Yahuah, we ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

How To Have A Great Day

Begin by saying so. Seems too simple, I know, but both scriptures and non-scriptural sources will tell you the same thing. We have to be poised to have a great day by saying it our loud so we hear it.

Deuteronomy 30:10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Paul quotes Moses when discussing how we become saved. The principle is that the “good life” is life that is lived in God’s ways, and that if we say it, we will be able to hear it and do it.

Today, write down what you really want to have happen, and then say that out loud.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal up our hearts and minds. Deliver us from the thief. Restore unto Your people one hundred times one hundredfold. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Sunshine Warms The Heart

We can be a people that enjoy the sunshine as the spring finally begins to warm up. There is something about the sun that causes us as humans to feel better. I believe it has to do with how we receive sun light, but that is more speculation. It also has to do with the changing of the seasons. This changing of the seasons was set in forth from the beginning.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

We are made in God’s image.

Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

We are like God in that we are an image, a replica, a reflection of Him. Within us is the same drive for the creation that our Father had. I suggest that this is a part of what responds when we have the sense of the changing seasons, especially spring.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. Let Your kingdom reign here with us. Praise the name Yahuah! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our sins. Heal us and deliver us from the hurts and the darkness. Restore unto Your people peace, and one hundred times one hundredfold that which has been taken from us. We ask these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.