Thoughtful And Thankful

This morning Yahuah (Lord) gave me several visions. They are not meant to be shared here, but in general they left me with a feeling of sadness, ans ultimately thankfulness. The sadness was for the evil that is done in our country, and in countries around the world. It seems we have become so wrapped up in our own ways of doing things that we have forgotten that God has His ways and plans for us. It is both sobering and saddening to ponder. It reminds me of a scripture.

Ezekiel 9:2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Our God looks for those that mourn for their cities for the evil that is done in them. He looks for those that love Jerusalem, that love salvation (Yeshua). It was in this that I give thanks. I know for myself and many that I know, there is a true sadness for the state of things in the earth. Yahuah gives us the ability to cry out to Him and seek His mercy. He hears us when we cry out for change. And He loves His whole creation. Thanks be to Yahuah (Lord)!

Psalms 118:1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are King. Let Your kingdom be upon this earth. We praise Your name, Yahuah! Send us Your abundant provision, in its fullness and complete manifestation, today, Father. Heal us and heal the land. Deliver us from the evil around us. Deliver us with a strong hand and outstretched arm from those that would take from us what You have provided. Crush their evil doings in this. Rise up, O King, rise up and defend Your people now. We ask these things in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Overcoming Self

Of the many challenges that face believers today, there is one that is perhaps the greatest to overcome. Likely it has always been so. It is the struggle to overcome one’s self. In a world seemingly gone mad with terrorists and those that hate everyone for no reason, with money with little value, and with the general decay of moral values, it may seem odd for me to select this point. But it is this “self” in each individual that collectively becomes the issues we see on a global scale. If each of us can commit to changing that within us, or at least trying, then there is hope for us all. This struggle is well documented in scripture.

Romans 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

But this started almost at the beginning. If we look at Adam and Eve we will see that even at the beginning we looked to ourselves, our surroundings, basically everything but God to get inputs on what to do or not do. The pattern of the church doing its own thing can be seen in Eve, the wife of Adam. The pattern of men being complacent (which is not loving) towards there wives is seen in Adam. This war has raged since before the fall. And the fall itself is evidence that man alone cannot win this battle. But there is hope.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

We are mere mortals when we are alone. But with God, we can become better. If we are willing to commit, husbands to wives, wives to husbands, children to parents, and neighbor to neighbor, there is hope. Alone we cannot change. With our Father Yahuah (Lord) we can change through the power given to us through our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Let us today add to the “all things” a genuine commitment to cry out to the Father to overcome self.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We need You and Your kingdom here. We praise and thank the name Yahuah. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing, manifested in its fullness today, that today we might overflow into the lives of others. Forgive us our sins, and heal our hearts from the sadness they cause. Deliver us from the temptation to be caught up in self and in evil. Deliver us with a mighty hand from those that would take from us what You alone have provided. Release to us the wealth of the wicked that is stored up for the righteous today, that all men might know that Yo ualone are King. We ask these things in (Yeshua’s) Jesus’) name. Amen.

The Father Reveals the Son

Today I was thinking of how we are built up in our faith. For me it often comes from the scriptures and prayer. As I read one of the Psalms today, it was one of those moments.

Psalms 98:1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

What can be missed in the English is what some of the words actually are here. In verse two it begins with “Yahuah has made known His Yeshua.” Yahuah is the name of God in Hebrew that actually appears when the word “Lord” is in all capital letters. The word for salvation here and in verse three is actually “Yeshua” which is the name of our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) in Hebrew.

Sort of makes it read different, don’t you think?

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the King over all. We want Your kingdom here. Send us today Your greatly abundant provision. Forgive us our sins. We love You and want to follow Your commands. Help us to do that and keep us from evil. Crush the evil that would steal from us what You have given, both spiritually and materially. We ask thse things in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

What Is My Mission?

This morning as I looked out into our forest from my kitchen table I was assessing the damage from the overnight storms we experienced. It was good to fall asleep with the rainstorm in the back ground. Some people cannot sleep in a storm for fear of being harmed. I have been fortunate to take comfort in the scriptures.

Psalms 3:5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.

This morning, I pondered the question in the title here. What is my mission? What is it that our Father has given me to do? This is a question that we all ask ourselves from time to time. There are some answers in scripture.

John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) was clear that we would do what He did. He was also clear that we would do more in addition to what He did. But it would seem that all begins with prayer, as we see in verses 13 and 14. Our mission is found by asking the Father in prayer what He wants us to do. Then we ask in prayer for it to be done. Then we give thanks, knowing it will come to pass.

Today we can be encouraged because we have the Creator of the universe, Yahuah shavuot (Lord of hosts), on our side!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are King. We praise the name Yahuah, our King. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing. Forgive us for our sins. Heal us. Deliver us from those that would do us harm. Do not let the evil take from us what You alone have provided. You are our Delivering King. Help us to heal those around us. We ask these thing in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Comfort When We Fall

When we draw close to our Father, especially over time, we can find ourselves wanting to always do as He commanded. this is right and good. Being human, we will likely stumble and fall. When we are in that close state with the Father, and then we sin, we may find ourselves looking back on that moment of sin and lamenting the choices we made. This is also good, but it is not good to get caught up in the condemnation of ourselves to excess. I do not suggest we should not have a humble and repentant heart. I do suggest that if we get stuck in that moment of self condemnation, we are focusing on us and not on our Messiah. Yes it is sad that we sin when we have so great a gift of love in the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). But He will forgive us if we truly call out to Him seeking forgiveness. I see this in one of the scriptures.

Psalms 94:17 Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

Here we see the psalmist talking about slipping and God raising him up. He takes care of all of the thoughts within us that would condemn us. Our God is not out to get us. Yahuah (Lord) loves us and wants us to always turn to Him. He wants us to strive each day to be that better person He has designed us to be. We can only do that with His help. And we can only get past the times we fail with His forgiveness through the working of our Messiah.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are king. We love You. We need Your kingdom here. Send us Your overwhelming provision today. Forgive us for our sins. Heal up the hurts within our hearts and renew our hearts that we might serve You more. Deliver us from evil temptations and give us the power to resist. Deliver us with a strong hand and an outstretched arm from those that would take from us what You alone have provided. We need You and Your love in our lives. We ask these things in the name of Yeshua (Jesus). Amen.

Resting For A Time

Interesting things have been happening for me of late. For many years off and on I would have spiritual dreams. Of late they are becoming more frequent. Recently, visions during waking hours have been added to this. Last night I dreamed of being on a vacation. On this vacation I spent all of my week (seven days) resting. It was coming up on the last day and time for my return. The only way I could get to my flight on time was to skip the last event and have the airline send someone to pick me up. There were two or three older Jewish couple there waiting to return as well. They were laughing and joking with each other. A lady arrived on the scene and she was talking about how much she would enjoy the vacation. She had two weeks (14 days) for her vacation.

When I woke up I asked God what the dream was about. He reminded me of the chanting that was in the dream. Ezekiel 9….38. There is no Ezekial 9:38. There is an Ezekial 9 and an Ezekial 38. Interestingly enough, the last verse in Ezekiel 9 is Ezekiel 9:11. These are below.

Ezekiel 9:1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.
10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

Ezekiel 38:1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Today on the Sabbath, these are worth considering.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King. We need Your kingdom here with us. We praise the name Yahuah. Send us the overwhelming provision that You have set aside for us that follow You. Forgive us our sin. We long for You to be with us. Heal us and keep us on Your path. Deliver us. Come with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm to deliver Your people from those that would steal what You have given to us. We ask this in the name of Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Reasoning With Yahuah

Today I heard an interesting teaching from a rabbi. He had many interesting things to share, especially about prayer. He said that the Jewish tradition is that we are to argue with the Father and that He appreciates that. It was interesting to me and there seemed to be something interesting about what was being said. It reminded me of a scripture that I knew a bit about.

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Let me say this is new territory for me. But there does seem to be something to the idea of “talking it out” with our Father, Yahuah. My suggestion is to spend some time in prayer and see what the Father reveals.

Prayer
We love and exalt You. You are the King. We want Your kingdom. Praise the name Yahuah. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Heal and deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankful For Victory

Faced with battles everyday, we can win or lose them largely based upon our willingness to just show up. That is not said lightly as we all know how difficult life can seem. But it is important to remember that much of what we battle is in our minds. There is only what is immediately around us in our reality. The rest is in our minds. But our Father in heaven knows this and has provided a way of escape and victory.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Here we see we can overcome the battles in our mind. But how do we do that?

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Here we see that Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah cleanses us by His word. The Greek word here for “word” is “rhema” which means something uttered (spoken). When we call out to God, He speaks to us and we get the benefit of His washing us and our minds clean. There is also the power we have to fight back the same way, through our speaking.

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

The saved here means wholeness and applies to everything about us. Today we can be thankful that God has given us the power to fight back and win our hearts and minds back for Him, and He will help if we ask. Praise Yahuah!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King and we long for Your kingdom on this earth. Praise and thanks to the name Yahuah! We love You. Send us today Your overwhelming blessing that we cannot contain. Forgive us our sins and heal us up. Deliver us from the darkness that wants to consume what You have provided. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name we ask these things. Amen.

Being Watchful

Our Father has provided a way to Him and in His mercy given that to sinners like us all. There was a time when we knew not what God had for us, but in His mercy He revealed that to us. If we therefore will walk in the direction He has provided, we obtain His mercy. It is true we will not be perfect, but we must humble our hearts and ask forgiveness through the work of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). This get us to to path from which we should not swerve, even when some might try to persuade us to swerve.

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

Yashuah’s (Lord’s) commands and His ways have always been meant for good. The end of them is charity from a pure heart. We must strive to be this person, everyone of us. This is perhaps where the greatest battle lies and where we must not be faint of heart and grow weary. We must press toward the mark.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

That is how we strike out at the enemy. That is who our God is and He fights for us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the King. We need Your kingdom here. We praise the name of Yahuah. You alone are worthy of praise. Send us Your overwhelming abundant provision. Heal us and deliver us from all evil that would steal from us what You have provided. Crush it to the earth. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name we ask all these things. Amen.

Escaping The “If Only”

Many people live their lives thinking of the past. Some look at certain past moments and consider them moments that changed their lives forever for the good. Others see moments that changed their lives forever for the bad. In the case of the latter, the thought often is, “if only” I had done or said so-and-so. We also call this regret. It can be very difficult to escape these. For me, I know I have had my share of if only moments. Thinking on this point this morning I realized something that I had not previously considered. We can escape them. Our Father in heaven is all about renewal, and always has been.

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
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.

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Yahuah (Lord), our God, is the one true God. He is the master of everything, including time. He is able to make something good out of everything that occurs. He is able to keep us on track. He has provided His commandments for just that purpose, like a guidepost and a light house as we travel through life. We can get past the past (if need be) and make the future into something with no if only moments if in the present, in these moments right now, we will take the time to seek Him and His ways. Then no matter what comes, we will know that we have done all we could. We can trust in Him to do the rest.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We need Your kingdom here. Let everything praise the name Yahuah (Lord)! Send us Your overwhelming blessing today. We need to hear from You and see You work in our lives today. Forgive us for our sin. Deliver us. We desperately need Your deliverance from the evil that is stealing from us what You have provided. Come with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. We need You and love You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.