The Along Side Traveler

In an email today I was included with others who have a common friend. This friend was recently in a car accident that has left certain damages to them physically and financially (not this persons fault as they were rear ended). Lately I have been trying to understand what God wants me to do in a more specific moment by moment manner. Our Messiah seemed to be more clear on this by watching heaven.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

It seems that the Father is doing something and saying something in heaven, and we are to do and say it here it here. We are told to do the things He did.

John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
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.

We have the opportunity to do what Jesus did, if we will listen and follow after His example.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our King. We need Your kingdom in the earth. Send us Your abundant provision today. Help us not to give in to temptations, and forgive us when we have. Heal and deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Have No Fear

In thinking about what we are called to be and to do, it can be, well a little scary. We serve a perfect all powerful God who asks us to be like Him. And being human, we fail. It can be difficult to see how we ever really get there. But the good news is, very little depends on us, in the overall picture The heavy lifting, the promise of the future, rests with our God. He alone can help us to win.

1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We do need to keep God’s words in our hearts and actions. But it is not these things that oversome the world. It is our faith that overcomes the evil. Faith in what? We must believe that God is, and that He is on our side.

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.

Today, let us believe in our God, and that He will reward us with the ability to overcome the evil of this world.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King. We long to have Your kingdom in the earth. Send that kingdom today. Give us today Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us for our transgressions, and help us to resist evil that it would flee. Heal us and deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

What Really Matters

We woke up in the middle of the night to our daughter being sick in the bathroom in the hall. She is 11, and there is something about a child being not well that tugs at a father’s heart. I stayed with her through the night and have been nursing her back to health today, with God’s help. It occurred to me that we are meant to pattern after our Father in heaven. We are His image on the earth. He, too, cares for us when we are not as well as we could be. Parents just want to protect their children, and He is no different. In fact, it is us that get this trait from Him and us that are not different from Him. We are meant to be like Him.

Genesis 1:26 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.

God says He created us to be like Him. We are His representatives here on this planet. And He gives us the provision and ability to be that here. There is a desire from God to comfort His people. We see it in the words of the Messiah when He was entering the city.

Luke 19:37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

God’s heart is towards us, and He is with us. He longs to care for us and be our King forever.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You alone are worthy to be placed on high. You alone are worthy of all our praise. You alone are King. We love You. Give us Your overwhelming provision today. Forgive us when we do not follow Your ways. Heal and deliver us. Make us whole that we might make others whole in Your name. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

We Rest With The Best

This morning as I was collecting eggs from my chickens, I spent time talking to God. Sometimes I think the chickens are talking to Him too, because the really pick up talking when I am talking to Him. Probably just my imagination, but an interesting detail. Anyway, as I was talking with God I was praising Him, and also asking for forgiveness. In that moment I felt that He was with me, and that He has always been with me, and that He will always be with me, in a kind of all at once without words feeling. I am always blessed at the mercy that God has for us. In a scripture that I was reading this morning this stood out.

Psalms 115:1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

As we read further, we see that God has blessed us and will bless us, because of His name and His truth and His mercy – it is not because of us.

Psalms 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

God pours out to us and to our children increase, more and more. We need only serve Him and trust in Him. Today is a good day to reflect on who our God is and what He does for us. He alone is worthy of our praise on this Sabbath day.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for Your kingdom and ask that You establish it here on this earth. Send us Your abundant provision today. We are not without sin. Please forgive us our sin. Help us to overcome all temptations in our lives. Help us to follow in your ways above all else. We need You. We need Your healing. We need Your deliverance. Come quickly. Save Your people. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Separation Is Fragile

When we use the word “holy” it means “set apart”. This may or may not imply a level of purity on its face. The purity that I think of here comes from what we are set apart unto. If we are holy unto God, or set apart unto God, then there is an implied purity because He is pure. What I was thinking about this morning about this set apart status is that when we find a way to be set apart to Him in areas that we have struggled with in the past (read “sin”), these are fragile in the beginning. We are given the power over sin and death, but we can surrender that power in our lives to sin and death again. I was thinking of that for myself in areas of victory that God has given unto me recently. There are these little decision points where we can choose to do the right thing or choose what we once chose in days past. In those moments we need victory. For me, it comes in speaking out loud. This is also mentioned in scripture, actually in several different ways. Here is one.

Deuteronomy 30:11 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.

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

One of the ways we win is with our mouth. It is not easy or simple. It does work. Today, let us speak with God the things which He has said should be in our lives that we may be holy unto Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You are worthy for us to be set apart unto forever. Your kingdom is needed. We need it today. Send us Your abundant provision today. Forgive us when we get it wrong, and help us to set ourselves apart unto You. We love You. Heal and deliver us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Long Days, Good Days

I just returned from a week long business trip and am writing at the end of the day. It was good, although I managed to get a rough head cold. As I reflect on my journey, there was one miracle after another. Granted they were small things (friends car miraculously fixed, my chickens laying eggs more than once a day, connections with key business people, etc.) yet they were each an amazing blessing to me in their own right. The days seemed long, even though much was accomplished. There is that good feeling one has when we have actually accomplished something by the work of our hands. But in these moments, it is important to remember that it is God who blesses the work of our hands.

Deuteronomy 28:8 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.

God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others, that we all might be thankful in all.

Deuteronomy 15:7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

Let us today give thanks that we have the power to help each other because our God is greater than any problem we have!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You are an amazing blessing to us. We love You. We need Your kingdom. Give us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we fail You. We need healing. We need deliverance. We need You, now more than ever. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Small Victories

This morning as I am writing this and drinking my coffee I was thinking about how in our walk with God as believers we get opportunities to win over something, however small, that may have plagued us in the past. It could be not taking a second helping of ice cream if we are committed to losing weight for our health, or not snapping at a family member over not cleaning up their mess at the dinner table, or not turning to look at an attractive person as they walk by. And while these seem like small things to us perhaps, this morning I am asking myself, are they really small? I am reminded of the many great battles in history and scripture. In each case in scripture there were elements of waiting on God that are common to these small victories of ours.

1 Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

Here we see that David had been tested and tried in battle for his father’s flock. In those cases God (Yehuah) delivered David from the lion and the bear. Because of those battles David trusted God in this bigger battle. Our small victories serve as lessons for future battles. They also serve to teach us that we can trust God to Show us how to win and to win for us. Our small victories are on the path to a victorious life and the understanding of how we do spiritual warfare.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You alone are worthy to be praised for all the battles You fight for us. We need Your kingdom around us to protect us and our families. Send Your abundant provision today. Forgive us when we sin, and lead us away from those things that cause us to stumble. Heal our hearts. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Proving Is Building

This morning I was reading a scripture and thinking about how we are to edify one another. As believers, we are to build one another up.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Paul was clear that we are to follow after and promote peace amongst believers. If we do this, we are edifying to one another, because our God is the King of Peace.

I also thought about how God would likely have examples of edifying His people. I found a scripture in Deuteronomy where Moses was recounting to the people that God had used the wilderness journey to prove them and build them up. He was doing this to prepare them for the promised land and the good times to come.

Deuteronomy 8:1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.
6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
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.

God uses the lean times, the challenging times, to build up our character. In these times we need to learn to trust in Him and His ways. We need to know that He is our source, and always will be. It made me think that the lean desert times are in preparation for something greater in the promised land. Perhaps that means there is something greater, something that is as much greater than the promised land as the promised land is from the desert, that God is ultimately trying to prepare us for in the end? Whatever the case may be, we must never think that we did it on our own. We are here because God wants us here and wants to bless and edify us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King. You alone carry us through the desert times. We need in all times, good and bad, to experience Your kingdom here on the earth. Send us Your overwhelming provision today. Forgive us when we miss the mark. Help us to always remember You are our source. Heal and deliver us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Small Things Do Matter

When we are seeking God’s ways, we can find ourselves not completely certain of what our next step should be. If we find ourselves doubting God we need to remember who He is to us, and the things He has done in the past, and the things He promises to do in the future. We are talking about the God of miracles here – raises the dead, places a pillar of fire and/or cloud between His people and their sworn enemy, parts waters on more than one occasion, and so on and so on and so on. Even so, even if we do not doubt, we can still be uncertain. In those moments of uncertainty we can receive great encouragement from the events that occur around us.

Mark 11:20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Granted, seeing this tree withered is not a small ting for most of us. But it would have been encouraging to Peter and the other disciples certainly. In our lives we all have had smaller fig tree experiences. The car that won’t start that does, the gas that is empty but the car keeps running, suddenly arriving at your destination when you were certain you were lost, the fever of your child breaking when you were most concerned – all of these are our fig trees in life. If we will allow God to show us these examples, and listen to these examples in the lives of others, we will most certainly be encouraged.

Let’s listen and watch for the small things.

Prayer
Father, we exalt you as the Most High God. You alone are worthy to be King. Your kingdom is where we want to spend forever, starting today. Send Your kingdom to earth today. Give us today Your overwhelming abundant provision. Help all of Your people begin to and then completely get out of debt, starting today. Forgive us when we make mistakes. Heal us and we will be healed. Deliver us and we will be delivered. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Waiting For Us

Our God stands with open arms, ready to receive His children. That is us. When we face challenges it is easy for us to be caught up in worrying about whether or not we will make it, whether or not there is a way out, or whether or not God still loves us. He does.

Dueteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Our God is the one with perfect love toward us all. If we would ever need to know how to love someone, all we need do is emulate Him. And what does the scripture say about what love is?

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, 5it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs,

Our God does not keep a record of wrongs. He only asks us to turn from them to Him. He will lift us up. Peter tells us that God Himself will lift us up.

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

We may struggle because we think the time has come to be lifted up. But if we will just trust in our God, He will lift us up. James also says this, and adds something more in the way of actions to take.

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

James gives us to bits of advice. Resist the devil to make him flee. Then, draw near to God, and He will draw near to You. God always has His arms open for us.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You the Most High. You alone are our King. We need Your kingdom in our lives. We need to know that You rule. Send us Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us. Help us to resist our enemy. We want to be near You. Come be near us. Heal us and deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus) name. Amen.