Directed

The last few days have been interesting for me and my family. There have been some ups and downs that at the moment they occur seem big or strong. But in the end when we try to review them more realistically, we find that perhaps they are not as significant as they once seemed. What I mean by that is if I put them in perspective, they are just another day. The way I put them in perspective is by looking into the scriptures to see how my experiences are lining up. This morning for example I was contemplating two things, being thankful and how I can fall short of God’s expectations. I am thankful because God always looks out for His people, but I am sad because there are things I could do better in the kingdom of God, but fall short. I found a scripture that did a good job of capturing what I was feeling.

Psalms 119:ALEPH.
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

In this part of Psalms 119 the psalmist says that those that are undefiled and walk in God’s ways are blessed in the first three verses. In the fourth verse we see that we are commanded to walk in God’s ways diligently. And then in verse five we see the emotion I was and am feeling, the cry to God that we want to be directed, somehow pressed into keeping God’s ways. Obviously the psalmist sees the benefits of following God and is thankful for that, but this desire to almost be “built that way” indicates that sometimes he does not hit the mark. He sees that he will be without shame and overjoyed with praise when he abandons all sin and walks after God and His ways. Finally, he ends with telling God he will keep God’s ways, and asks for God’s mercy as he stumbles through life trying to do the best he can.

Perhaps you read these scriptures differently than me today. Perhaps you do not have these feelings. But you likely know people that do. Let’s all pray to God that we may all walk in His ways, and praise Him with thanksgiving, as we move towards God’s calling on our lives.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Please reach out to us today and help us to find Your ways. Help us to walk out our lives the ways You would have us walk. Please guide and keep us. Please help us do the right things. Please send us speedily the provision, the healing, and the deliverance we need. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

God Battles For Us

When we are fighting the enemy of our lives, the dark spiritual forces that exist today, we can know that God will fight for us. God is in the process of restoring all things. He will, in His time, create a rightness in this earth. During that process, we can call to God for our well being.

Psalms 119:153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

The psalmist is calling out to God for deliverance from affliction, stating that he is one that always remembers the law. As believers we have the law written in our hearts, which is the new covenant. As a result we could call out to God in the same way, saying in a different way the same ending, that we are His. The Hebrew for plead my cause could also be “grapple (wrestle) with my enemy”. The write is acting as if He and God are a tag team, and he just tagged God to go in and fight the enemy. Two things. Yes, we are in a tag team with God. Second, when we tag God and He jumps in the ring, game over! God beats down all evil every time. Then the word “quicken” means to bring alive. Literally we gain life – wholeness – by tagging God and asking Him to fight for us. When we view this entire section of Psalms 119 in this way, it becomes an amazing battle cry to God to fight for us, and to deliver us fro our enemies.

Psalms 119:RESH.
153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: quicken me according to thy judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to thy lovingkindness.
160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Today, let’s call out to God and tag Him to jump in the ring. He will deliver us and give us life!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for being our deliverer. We remember Your new covenant, the law written in our heart through repentance and belief in Your Son, Jesus (Yeshua). We ask that You forgive us when we get that messed up. We ask today that You give us life. We ask today that You destroy our enemies and their works in our lives. Please give us our deliverance, our healing, and our provision for today that all men may know that you alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Continuing

In our walk with God we can begin to see things as routine. Perhaps there are times when life is busy enough that wee even forget to pray. I know this can happen for me. I have to continually remind myself that this is God’s world, and He alone determines what is happening in it. We are just His kids, moving through life. But what is it we are to do? And are we alone in feeling like we need to go on, as if we are the only ones not really getting there? Actually, there are great references in the scriptures how those that went before us had to do this same thing and travel this same road. They, too, had to work at building themselves up in the Lord.

Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
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.

I have heard this scripture used many times to talk about the prize at the end that we all seek. However, for me, it also clearly shows that our walk is a work in progress. Anything we have done to date is in the past, and we are to move toward the mark that Jesus sent. Even though in this lifetime it is unlikely that Paul ever got there (or that we will), Paul clearly kept trying, kept learning, and kept praying.

Today, if you feel like you just have not gone far enough, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, like Paul, set the past in the past. Let’s all press in for that calling with which we were called!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High! We thank You for all You do for us everyday. Please help us to press in. We want to lay down sadness, grudges, judging other, and come to sit at the table You have prepared for us. We thank You for that and ask that You send today Your deliverance, Your healing, and Your mighty provision for Your people. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Standing Strong

We serve a great and awesome God who watches over us. In life we may face times when it seems there are those that are out to see us fail. It may be people or spiritual darkness, but it does not matter. Our God delivers us from them all. There is a psalm that speaks to this in a strong way.

Psalms 52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

We see many bad things happening to the “mighty man”. As we get near the end of the psalm we see that this is a person that does not make God their strength. At the end, we also see that the one that waits on God is blessed like a “green olive tree” in the family of God. It is scriptures like this that encourage me to trust in God when I feel the pressures of the world closing. Never give up!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for watching over us. Send Your deliverance to Your people today, Father. Send Your power to raise us up. Give us Your provision. Restore Your church. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Hope

When life deals us or someone we know a challenging blow, it can be difficult to understand what is happening. A friend of mine had such an event recently, and it made us all sad. This morning as I was thinking about that situation and struggles of my own, I wondered at how we can be comforted in these difficult times. What can be an answer to the need for comfort?

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

God gave Moses direction to build a tabernacle after the pattern He had shown him in the heavens. We know that Moses new God’s ways of life. How did Moses know them? It would seem in part He knew them by patterns that God revealed to him. If we can find these patterns, we too can know and walk in God’s ways. We can have God on our side if we will but have 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.

Paul said in his letter to the Hebrews that faith requires belief and trust. We must believe that God exists, and we must trust that He is on our side. This is what Paul was describing in this verse. And how do we know we have faith in God?

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

Here the word substance means something placed under where we stand. A good word would be foothold. The word evidence means proof. And the word hope means eager expectation. Putting this all together we could say this another way.

Believing in God and trusting that He is on our side is the foothold for what we expect, and the proof that what is yet unseen does and will exist.

Where might Paul have gotten this idea? Paul, being of a Jewish decent, was well versed in the scriptures of His day, what we call the Old Testament. In at least one place, we get a clue to what Paul was referencing.

Psalms 146:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

Here we see in verse five that the one that has God for a helper is happy, and his hope is in God. The word hope here in the Hebrew means expectation. This is that same idea of expectation comes from believing that God exists and is on our side. It says that the person that has this perspective is happy. How do we know that they are happy? In the case of the psalmist here, he is praising God as long as he lives. He has learned not to trust in men because their efforts are small and they pass away, even his own efforts being a man.

Today, if we seek comfort, deliverance, healing, provision, then let’s sing praises to our God. If you are like me and struggle with singing, then make a joyful noise in praise to God. Shout His praises! This will help to remind us that not only is there a God, but He is on our side, and we can expect Him to show Himself strong on our behalf! Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High! Thank You for Your word spoken from the beginning. Thank You for being our King. We want to trust only in You. Please help us to trust in You, and help to make up the difference where we lack. Please send Your healing, deliverance, and provision today. We forgive those that have wronged us, and please forgive us for our struggles with unbelief and doing and saying things contrary to Your word. We love You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Getting To Understanding

For a while my wife and I have been having discussions about the ways of God. Scriptures seem to imply that knowing and walking in God’s ways are where the blessings are. Certainly we have all said we want to know God, know His ways, be with Him, and even sung many songs about these things. But looking at the objective evidence, it does not seem to me that we always experience those blessings. Not that we are way off base, but sometimes it just feels like something is not quite right. Did you ever have that feeling? Today, as I was thinking about this and contemplating our God, I saw something new that has always been in plain sight, or at least it was new to me.

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

God went to great lengths to discuss the sabbath in these commandments. It was interesting to me the reasoning He gave for not working on the sabbath. It says God created everything in six days and on the seventh day He rested. Then it says He blessed it, which means to kneel down, and He hallowed it, which is to declare or make a pronouncement. This is where I saw something new for me today. If we go back to the story in Genesis, the words are the same. However, what about the days after that, like the eighth day, the ninth day, and so on? And there was no work until after the fall of man.

Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

What I saw today was that from the beginning God set up a pattern for us to follow. It was a weekly pattern. And that pattern teaches us of a day when we will rest with God. He will be with us physically to enjoy our time together. When we follow this patter we gain the understanding that one day we will be with God physically again. We are reminded of this every week. God is on our side and wants to bless those that follow His ways.

Exodus 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Today, as we celebrate the sabbath, let’s do so remembering God’s promise to one day again walk upon the earth with us!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are worthy of all praise and honor. Thank You for Your sabbath. We long to be with You here on earth at all times. We call to You and ask You send Your healing, deliverance, and provision for us today. Do mighty works among us that all may know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Understanding Ways

As we grow with God, we learn to know His ways. This is a goal for us as believers. As I was thinking about this it made me not only want to know God’s ways, but to really understand what that means. We have some examples in the scriptures.

Psalms 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Moses knew God’s ways, in contrast to the children of Israel that only saw His acts. He wanted to know God’s ways because it meant he would know God.

Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

The result was that Moses was the one that routinely trusted God for deliverance. Moses spent time with God regularly, but the children of Israel wanted Moses to God see God and come back and tell them the result.

Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

This is where we want to be with God. Moses had confidence in God after all that he had seen and experienced. Moses took these things to heart. If we can do the same, then we will be like the first century church. At first they were all Jews that had been looking for their Messiah. When He came and died and rose again, they understood what God was doing and they knew God. We need to be this same way, confident in our God as our deliverer King. Today, let’s spend time asking God to show us His ways that we might know Him personally and not as someone that just sees a miracle or some good thing at a distance.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as our Most High King. We want to know You; we want to know Your ways. Please help us to learn what it means to love You and our neighbors. Help us to be like You. Help us to promote Your kingdom in this earth. Show us who to reach out to to bring healing and deliverance. Please send us Your provision and deliverance today Lord. And we praise and thank You for all You do for us today and everyday. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Believing

My wife shared a scripture with me this morning that she was reading last night. It is in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews in chapter 3. Paul is talking about how those that came out of Egypt died in the wilderness because of their unbelief.

Hebrews 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Paul says Moses was faithful in his family, his house, to all the things that God had said. Jesus was also faithful, and we can be a part of His family, His house, if we hold fast to the confidence which is our believing. This can be the really hard part at times, I think. When we face really tough times, we can become afraid. But we do not need to do that if we can believe and remain confident. This is a part of knowing God’s ways. If we will call out to God He will hear us and show us His ways. I am thankful that we can get to that place with God, but sometimes it is very difficult for me to hold on and believe. Maybe that is a big part of what life is about – learning to hold on and believe.

Today, if you are facing a challenge, call out to God and tell Him you want to trust Him, even if you are having a hard time with it. Ask for His help and He will show you His ways.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for being our God. Help us to learn how to trust You. Help us to know You are with us. Help us to stand fast in Your truth. Please show us Your ways Father. Show us Your ways. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Battle Conditions

When we are trying to battle the enemy, we can get lost or the battle. Or for me at least that is true. I begin to see the things that are or are not happening in the way I anticipate them. The result is struggle that is very hard to live through, or so it seems. In those times I find it helpful to understand what the real conditions of battle are and how to not only endure but be at rest inside while in the battle. As I prayed about this today, God reminded me of a psalm.

Psalms 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In this famous psalm the shadow of death today means more to me than just physically dieing. It is that darkness that attacks us in our mind and our thinking and in our hearts. And what does David say? While we are in that struggle, God prepares what we need and celebrate life with Him in that moment. And at he end, we get to dwell there forever!

The next time you are faced with a struggle with darkness, try to imagine sitting down with God at a magnificent banquet while the darkness screams in vain. With the little finger of His left hand He can flick them into oblivion. And He made you dinner! Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. Thank You for Your provision in the midst of the battle. Thank You for not forgetting us. Thank You for Your deliverance, and thank You for giving us the opportunity to live with You in Your house forever. Please show that to us and the darkness that comes against us today, in this moment, here. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Building A Better Building

This morning as travel is again restricted, many thoughts went through my head. I think about people that must stay in their homes. Families that depend on work for the money they need to buy food, pay rent, and survive, huddled together looking for that better weather to come. The idea of families spending more time together seems good, but the additional challenges that can result do not seem so good. And then I think of all of the buildings we build in the name of God so our groups can have their own place to go. But what about the people themselves? Do these new structures really help the people? What promotes the kingdom of God more – another building or people helping each other to get their needs met? God has given us so much; what are we building with what He has given us? These are real questions, and they should be considered. If we are to imitate God, what is it that God is building?

Psalms 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

That sounds like there is a whole lot of building happening by God. But it is with and in people. Let’s look at another example.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Looks like Paul, at least here, believes the building is the human. And he repeats that again later.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

This is not an attempt to say that we should not have places to meet. But it does give rise to a question. Why is it that there are no (as in zero) references to building physical buildings once the new covenant was established? Shouldn’t there be at least one reference somewhere? And the only other references that speak to building a structure refer to the temple that would be built or rebuilt from time to time, or of the synagogues in the towns where believers were (one per town, by the way). I do not have an answer, but that does not stop me from asking the question. What are we building, really, with the resources God has given us; and with these resources are we doing all we can to promote the kingdom of God?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are worthy to be praised. You alone are the Ruler of the universe. You alone are our deliverer, our healer, and our provider. You have given us salvation through our Messiah. Help us to know what to do and where to turn. Help us to use Your resources to their best potential. Help us to know the path to follow. We don’t want to meet You face to face only to have You ask us why we used our resources in an odd way. Please tell us now. Please restore Your mighty presence in the earth. Please show us as a token for good that all men may know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.