Preparation For The Sabbath

As worshipers of the Most High God, we are called to set aside the Sabbath to honor, worship, praise, and learn of our God and Father. In so doing, we are like the priests of old. In fact, Peter said we are a part of a new priesthood.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

As priests, we are called to prepare ourselves to serve our God, just as the priests of old prepared themselves to serve in the temple. There were certain rules about being clean that the priests had to follow to serve in the temple, such as if they touched a dead body they were unclean and could not serve in the temple.

Leviticus 8:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.
6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
9 And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.
10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.
14 And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
15 And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.

Today, we are the priests and the temple, rolled into one, and God lives within us. We are called to be prepared for this collaboration between man and God by being holy which means set apart.

Romans 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And 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.

We are also called to stay away from those that do not set themselves apart from their past practices and seem to be the same as those that have not surrendered to God.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

In recent conversations this passage came up. In the past I have seen “pastors” throw people out of churches for certain transgressions, using scriptures like this and others to justify their actions. I place the word “pastors” in quotes because I suggest they are not (and likely have no mirrors in their homes), for Jesus clearly taught that a true pastor does not forsake a member of the flock. In fact, in this very verse it tells us what to do – do not eat with them. It says nothing about excommunicating them from the group. A similar passage that supports my point is found in a letter to the Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

Here we see Paul saying that we are to have no company with one that does these things. He also says not to count this person as an enemy but a brother, and admonish that person. He follows that by saying that peace is the goal, and then blesses THEM ALL. Does not sound like someone being thrown out of a group, right? You see, in today’s church there are some things not quite right. Someone frequently puts themself in the place of God with a title they give to themself of “Head Pastor” or something similar. I say they give it to themself because it never appears in scripture. Then they end up making rules and grabbing power that belongs to God. In this sense they are as wrong as the people they come against. We are all called to humble ourselves and to bear one another’s burdens. We are called to cry out to our Father and seek His kingdom in this earth. We are called to prepare ourselves to be priests, walking in the power of the living God.

Today, on this Sabbath, may we all judge ourselves and not another, and may we all humble ourselves before God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High One True Living God. You alone are worthy of our praise. We need Your kingdom here Lord, not the kingdom of men. We need You to send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we judge others, whether for small things or big. We know we are all the same in Your sight, and we all have sinned and fallen short. Please forgive us all. We need Your healing and deliverance. Only You can do this. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

God Uses Our Friends

If we watch the world around us, God will show us and teach us things through others. This morning I was thinking of the plight of a friend of mine that is having some challenges. As I thought about his situation and what was going on in his life, I felt that God was showing me the same issues in my own life. For me, I was fortunate to see this. In years gone by I spent time thinking far too much about others and what was going on in their lives. Somehow I would fail to see it in my own. But such is not the case. When we spend time thinking about others and their choices, we are judging them.

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

It seems that when we judge others, even if not in a wicked way, we set up some type of rules that we say we expect to be the guide posts. The truth is most people have some of the same issues within themselves because we are HUMAN! We are going to have problems that need to be addressed and God will help us with that. We need to better consider ourselves and pray for our own lives. Perhaps the big problem with judging others is we are not focusing on our Messiah where our real attention should be, and we could miss Him and what He is doing.

Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

When we make comparisons to others, we miss the Messiah. We are to focus on ourselves and our relationship with Him, and then we will find our way to God and His works and ways.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You alone are worthy to be exalted and praised. We long to spend our lives with You and to be in Your kingdom daily. Send us today overwhelming provision. Forgive us when we judge others and help us to remain focused on You. We need Your healing from within. We need Your deliverance. We need Your loving arms. Hold us, and help us to follow in Your ways. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Thankful For Reflections

We as believers can and do struggle with working toward that day when we are united with God at His return. It will be a great day, and yet hold some sadness. The sadness will come froom our drive to be better people but knowing we fall short of perfection. We know this because the scriptures show us who we ought to be.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

When we search the scriptures, we can compare ourselves to what God has told us to do, and we can see the difference between who we are and who we ought to be. We can be thankful that God does not hold our shortcomings over our head like an evil taskmaster. Instead, like a loving Father, He encourages us to press on and press in to do better for that next moment. We can be thankful that God has great faith in us and in His ability to mold us into the people He wants us to be. We can be thankful He has not left us alone to figure it out. He is our Father, and loves us very much.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our King. We praise You for all You are doing in our lives today. We ask that today You would place the kingdom on earth in our lives that we might know it is real. We ask that today You would give us Your abundant provision, overflowing and pressed down, that we might also help others. Please forgive us our sin. We ask today that You send healing and deliverance that we might truly be free. In Jesus’ (Yehua’s) name. Amen.

Planning For Battle

As I think about the struggle we are in with our spiritual enemy, I realize that God has a plan. I think perhaps that at times He expects us to plan as well. Of this I am not completely certain because God seems to indicate that He will make the outcome come to pass.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

It seems that God has a plan for how this goes. I do believe we can know portions of this plan through prayer. And we can be prepared to stand with Him when He makes a stand for the kingdom. The great thing is He never loses, so if we stand with Him, we stand with the winner and our Friend and King! That truly is a great place for us to be. We are to be prepared. How is that done?

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The word “study” here indicates diligence. We are to be constantly seeking God and His ways. If we do that, we will be prepared for what comes our way. Praise God for His victory and for defending His people!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King and we long to serve You with diligence. We want Your kingdom all around us. We will do what we can, though it may be small, to bring that to pass. Send us today Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we misstep. Help us. Heal us and deliver us from evils of this world. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

All Together

It was early when I woke up this morning and could not get back to sleep. My mind started off busy. I was thinking about how all of us as believers are really working together toward the common goal of living together forever with God. When we do this well, we all are the better for it. Sometimes we get this wrong and end up striving with people to get our own way. Or maybe we think we understand some spiritual point better than someone else. In either case we truly miss the blessing of all being together spoken of in scripture.

Palms 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Although only three verses, this sums up well what occurs when we work together to serve God. And to do this we only need to seek Him first. If we are all doing that at the same time, then we are all going in the same direction together. Everything works out then.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

If we can find it within ourselves to just seek the best, then we will all be building each other up. We will be working together as a team. We will one day stand together in front of our King!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We need You and Your love. Maybe even more we need Your kingdom in the earth. Help us today Father. Send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we do wrong. Heal and deliver us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Good Days

There are days in our walk with God that even though we face challenges, they are good days. In the middle of financial woes we notice our spouse smiling. In the middle of a sickness we see our children playing with each other in some make believe moment. Or we feel the presence of our God in a quite glimpse of the world around us. These are the good days. And they are made good by those that help make them so. The truth is we can make more of our days better simply by deciding to make them so.

Mark 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And 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.

It is in these moments that we rejoice and are strengthened in our faith in our God. When we choose to believe our God, great things become possible. We move to a place where we can experience the perfect things of God. Today was a good day for me. Perhaps if I can learn to change how I see things in life, more of them (perhaps all of them?) can become good days.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We praise and thank You for all You are doing for us. Let the kingdom, Your kingdom, reign in this earth today Father. Send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we make mistakes. Help us to be willing to admit when we do so we can ask forgiveness. Heal us and deliver us. In Jesus (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Comfort Food

This morning I considered having biscuits with country (cream) pepper gravy. Ahhh! Comfort food, right? As the day is progressing I have come to realize that there is another type of comfort food. We can receive, and I suggest need, the comfort of spiritual food. This can come in a number of ways. Paul shares some of these with us.

Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Songs and music seem to be one way that we are meant to change and be comforted by God. These can move us to becoming who we are meant to become. Paul speaks again of this elswhere as well.

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Clearly Paul sees the ministering in music and song good for our souls. These are our spiritual comfort food. And in this case, very good for us. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We need Your kingdom and want the kingdom of no other. You alone can help us make it to the end. Send us today Your overwhelming provision. Guide us and guard us, and forgive us our sins against You and others. Keep us. Heal us. Deliver us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Finding The Rest We Need

When we enter the Sabbath, we want to find rest. Sometimes the business of life overwhelms us and we just get lost before we find our rest. This Sabbath was a little like that for me. I was a bit caught up in publishing a devotional and got frustrated. The point is, it is important to focus on God, and then we can find our rest in Him. Paul tells us we actually need this rest, this Sabbath.

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

The word translated “rest” here is actually the word for Sabbath and is translated that way everywhere but here. It seems the translators had already made the mistake of thinking that Sunday is the day of rest. What is important is to remember that God wants us to rest on this day, with Him.

Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Therefore my fellow believers, let us rest on God’s Sabbath with Him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are worthy. Let Your kingdom be a part of this and every Sabbath. Send us Your abundant provision. Forgive us when we get too busy for You and help us find our way back. We love You. Heal Your people Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Breathing Deeply

Sometimes, it just feels so good to take in a deep breath. A few moments ago I found myself doing it without even thinking about it. Life can pull us in to the details of the day so much so that we become unaware we are adrift in the river. At times like these there is hope. We do want to be in a river, but not a river of circumstance. We want to be in the river of life.

JOhn 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

We see here that Jesus was keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and it was the last day of the Feast. This river flows out from the believer. This is the outpouring of the spirit from within each of us. And where does this river originate. Jesus is the source as we see in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

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,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

The definition of “word” here is “utterance” and comes from the Greek word rhema. What I see when I read this is the words we speak in the Spirit are the river that cleanses us, and originate from our Messiah. I believe it is this same urge to be cleansed that causes us to release that deep breath, as if God built that into our very being. Even if not completely accurate, if you are struggling today, take a deep breath and then let it out. And pray in the Spirit that God can help. He will.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for Your kingdom, and we ask that it be established here on earth today. Today send us Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us the many mistakes we make, and lift us up. Heal us and deliver us. We need You now. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankful At All Times

This morning as I thought about the human condition, it caused me to be very thankful. You see, I am one of those people that spends a good deal of time in introspection. Perhaps too much time, if that is possible, but it is just the way I am. It causes me to be thankful that God is not like me. Likely I would give up on me and humans because we get things wrong so often. In that regard, God has become my role model for being a loving Father. That He always loves us is truly a wonder to me, and I am so thankful for it. That is what a Father is meant to do.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Here John makes it clear that our Father God loves us and has taken us into His home as one of His own children. What a gift! It is also clear that our Father never gives up on us because John goes on to say that we will be like Him one day.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Finally, John tells us what we need to attempt to do to move toward being like God by eliminating sin, and what sin is.

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

In all this I am thankful because we know, just as Paul did, that we are human and we will fall short of doing things perfectly. The war within us is as Paul stated, something we battle with regularity.

Romans 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

So in the end, we can be thankful that our Father is working these things out of us, and we are His children. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. You alone are worthy of all praise. Your kingdom is the only place worth living. Your way is the only way worth living. We need Your kingdom in the earth. We need you to be with us. We love and adore You. Send us today Your abundant provision. Heal us and deliver us. Forgive us when we get it wrong. Deliver us today from temptations. Keep us in Your way. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.