Through The Storm

Where I live the weather is bad enough today that they closed all the roads and we are not allowed to travel. As I write this looking out my window it occurs to me that life can have stormy times, even when the weather is good. The challenge for us as believers is to hold on to God in these times and believe that He will deliver us. We can be encouraged if we take time to think of who God is because when we meditate on that, we come to realize just how big and powerful He is. What seems impossible to us is a small thing to the all powerful God of the universe, right? This morning I read a few scriptures that helped me remember just how majestic our God is.

Psalms 29:1 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

This portrays God as bigger than everything else. The one verse that really stuck out to me was verse ten where it says God sits upon the flood. Having been in a flood once when I was a teenager, I remember how powerful and somewhat scary that was. But our God sits on that and rides it like it was nothing! That is more powerful than i can imagine. If we can just try to think of God like that, then we can know that God will deliver us from any trouble we may have.

Prayer
Father, we praise You, our Mighty King. You are above all and over all. We are excited that You care for us, and that You love us, and that you have our back. Come deliver Your people today Father. Don’t let the evil of this world overcome Your people. Please come and crush the darkness today Father. Provide for Your people what is needed today. And we praise You for that provision and deliverance. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Looking To The Morning

This morning when I got up I was thinking about the day and the week, wondering what they would bring. Some people get up and just go through their routine. Some people seem to always be thinking about what is coming next and tend to worry about it. I am one of these people. This morning as I was reading the scriptures and praying, I cam across something that I had experienced in the past but had not really thought about consciously before. In times when things are not going the way I had hoped I find myself going to bed thinking that things will be better tomorrow. As it turns out, that feeling is built into us and is true.

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

David seems to be describing this very feeling in this psalm. I am sure David faced challenges far beyond mine, yet he still looked to the morning. He had often experienced God’s deliverance the next day after going through some challenges. And David knew God heard his voice and would always respond to save His people. I can feel the comfort in the words as David sang to God.

Psalms 28:6 Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

If we can just hold on and sing praises to our God, joy will come, God will deliver His people, and feed us and lift us up forever.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. We are very blessed that You always hear us, and we bless Your holy name. You alone are God. You alone are worthy of praise. Please reach out to your people today, Father. Feed us and raise us up. Remember us and deliver us. Show Your works a sign to all the people. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

This week we in the Midwest have seen some severe weather and some serious accidents on the road. Today they closed the roads in our area. As I was praying I was lead to 1 John 5, and I saw something anew here.

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?

John says it is our faith that is the victory that overcomes the world. Not just faith in anything, but faith that Jesus is the Son of God. But there is more tht comes before this that is very important. John says believing in Jesus requires us to love Him. To love Jesus we must love the Father that begot Him. The love of God is keeping the commandments, which John says is easy. So it seems that the commandments of God result in love. As I read this it made sense the purpose of the new covenant clear.

Hebrews 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

God put the Law in our hearts so it was in us. The Law helps us to know how to love God and love others, which is the whole law. God’s commands are not grievous, and can be done by us, because He put them in us, in our hearts. Today, on the sabbath, it is good to know that God made following Him doable, that He loves us, and that He will help us even when we get off track.

Prayer
Father, we thank and praise You as the Most High. Thank You for Your rest. Thank You for writing Your Law in our hearts. Thank You for Your forgiveness. We ask that You watch over us today Father and keep us safe. Send us Your provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Push

I can remember growing up many stories told about how people gave in just before they would have won. At the moment I cannot give an exact reference, but I am sure you can remember a story as well. Wouldn’t it be a terrible thing to know that the hour before you wan a lottery you tore up your ticket? How about the minute before your child won a scholarship they took their name out of the running? These are good examples I think about when I feel like giving up my walk with God. These days that does not happen often, nor literally, but when I was younger it happened more frequently than I care to mention.

God so cares for us and wants us to win our battles. But we are human. We can become frustrated. And the world around us can scream in our ear. At those moments when I am wanting to quit, I can hear Paul’s words ringing in my ear.

Phillipians 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.

My first thought in reading this is, Paul did not think he had gotten “there” yet? Whoa! What chance do I have, really? But then I realize Paul was saying, “Hey, I am human. This stuff is hard and I screw it up. But I refuse to quit!” That’s what I want my battle cry to be.

Today, if it is tough, just muster up the courage to say to yourself out loud, “I am NOT a quitter, and I will not quit! God is on my side!”

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. Please be with us today when we are weary. Please help us to not give up and to not give in. Reach out to Your people today and hold us up. Help us make it one more day with a smile on our face and a song in our hearts to You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Desire To Be Thankful

When I consider all that God does for me I can be both very happy and sad at the same time. I am happy because it truly is amazing how God stand up for us. David gives us many examples of this.

Psalms 18:1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

David was very moved by God helping him in times of need. We have all felt that, right? Just think of it. The One that created everything and has all power comes to our defense when we call.

Psalms 18:17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

What an amazing story of deliverance. David spoke of his righteousness and clean hands as a reason why God came to his rescue. But we know David did some pretty awful things. How did he have clean hands? Not because of his actions, but because he tried to follow God’s statues. He knew God would take away from him what was not good, that God would help him become a better person. That is what David wanted, and that is what all believers that truly follow God want. We want to do the right thing, and we trust God to help us get there because without Him we cannot be better. That leads me to what makes me sad.

It would be great to always do the right thing. It would make me happy to at least be thankful at all times. But there are times when I find myself being upset my food is not as warm as I want, or my car makes a funny noise, or the family doesn’t clean up their dishes after dinner. I can get caught up in those things. And that makes me sad because those are such small things in comparison to all that God is and has done and will do for me. It is my desire that we can all get to a place of living in a state of thankfulness. Yes, it is good to take time to sing praises and thanks, but what about that being our natural state? Somehow it seems that God deserves that from us, from me. That is who I long to be. That is one thing I cry out to God to help me become – a person thankful at all times and in all situations.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are the Most High, yet You consider our every need before we even ask. Please help us. Please help us to change to be thankful to You for all You do no matter what is happening at the moment. Transform us. Help us get better. We love You, and want to be thankful at all times. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

In All Things

If we are first followers of God and spiritual people, then in all we do we are entering into spiritual matters. That is who we are. If that is true, then spiritual warfare is in everything we do, right? What I mean is we as representatives of God and His kingdom. Therefore we could be in prayer against darkness and that would be spiritual warfare – I think we would all agree about that point. However, wherever we are in whatever we do, if we bring in God’s light we are dispelling the darkness. That means we are pushing the darkness back. Sounds like spiritual warfare, right? It is. Paul addressed this in his first letter to the Corinthians. I will share just one point from that letter.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

If we are doing anything to the glory of God, we push back the darkness. How we speak to our children, our spouses, our neighbors – if it is to God’s glory, we push back the darkness. That is very good spiritual warfare.

Today, try to do all you do to God’s glory and watch what happens. It is likely you will see His glory spread out, and darkness pushed back. That is bringing forth God’s kingdom.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Please help us to push back against the darkness. Please help us to do everything we do to Your glory. Please show Yourself strong when we do that all may see Your glory. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Pathway To Building

If we choose to be believers and follow God, we will eventually come up against something in our life that we want to change about ourselves. This desire to change is an interesting result of God within us, I think. Change is not easy for humans most of the time. I would like to say that I am a person that enjoys trying to change, and most of the time that is true. But there are still things that I would change if I could just “wish” them to change. But it does not seem to work that way. Sometimes habits are very persistent.

Romans 7:18 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.

Paul noted this same problem. He was trying to find the way out of sin permanently. What he discovered is that although we are to pursue righteousness and serve God – the change – there will always come times when we will do what we do not want to do or not do what we really want to do in our spirit. Like Paul, this morning I found this frustrating.

Romans 7:24 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.

Paul did make recommendation as to how to get free, or at least free-er.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us through Jesus. We become troubled, as Paul did, because the law is spiritual, and the new covenant is the law written in our hearts. Therefore, we are troubled. But the path out comes when we cry out to God in repentance and true desire to change. This was also written long ago by the psalmist David.

Psalms 86:1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

David had these same troubles. What he discovered was that God answers when we call. We have troubles daily. If we call out to God daily, He will daily deliver us and help us change. Change can be good or bad, but as Paul said, those of us that believe have built within us the desire to change and do the right things. Let’s call out today and ask God to change one thing about us that we have struggled with over time, and watch Him deliver us!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are the King of the universe. You alone made heaven and earth, and You alone are worthy of praise. I ask today, Father, that You come to the aid of each of us. Help us to find the courage and the strength to change. Help us to find our way to the path You have for us. Deliver us from darkness today, and send us Your provision. Make us a token for good that all may know, You alone are King. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Future Looming

In life we get opportunities to spend time with family and friends. There can be amazing moments in our paths, like the birth of a child. And there can be moments when what seems to be coming is an unbelievably difficult challenge. The challenge may be routine to some, but to us it seems, well, a little scary. In times like these it is good to know who is with us.

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

We have a God that has always been, will always be, and is at this very moment on our side.

Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

In every moment of life, our God is with us, to protect, defend, and to deliver us from all evil. He longs to raise us up. Today, if you have something looming in your future, look up, for the God Most High is watching over you. Call to Him and He will come to your rescue.

It’s just what He does. It’s just who He is. He alone is God.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High King. Lift Your people up today, Lord. Raise our spirits and our hearts. Let us be encouraged to trust in You. Show Yourself strong on our behalf. Bring Your reign. Be our King. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Comfort Ye My People

Today as I was looking out onto a fresh wooly blanket of bright white snow in the woods, I remembered some words from a song I had heard years ago, “Comfort Ye My People”, which comes from Isaiah 40. Reading over this scripture I remembered several parts of it. However, today I saw some things I had not seen before.

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

In the first five verses God is telling Isaiah to cry out comfort to Jerusalem. God told Isaiah that they had accomplished their warfare and turned away from their sins. I had not noticed before this part about warfare. We are to battle against darkness at all times and in all places. Paul tells us this in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

God told Isaiah that this battle to which all believers are called will have a victorious end. In the verses in Isaiah 40:6-9 God tells Isaiah not to be afraid to speak, and to tell people behold God.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

God was encouraging Isaiah not to be afraid to speak about God’s majesty and His deliverance, even before people could see His deliverance. This is also warfare, to declare God and His works that may not yet be revealed. For most of the rest of this passage Isaiah reminds the people about how great and large God is when compared to any part of creation, and that all of creation does exactly as He commands it to perform. All of these are meant to cause us to remember who God is, and how powerful He is, in preparation for the comforting words at the end of this declaration.

Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Our God has already declared us the winner of our warfare. When we speak these same things, we are just agreeing with what He has already declared. His words never fail. Today, pronounce strength to yourself and those that follow God’s ways, for He shall truly renew your strength.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our Most High King! We praise Your name and declare Your mighty works in us and in the earth. Let it be known Father that You are our God. Show us a sign for good, that all men may know that there is but one true God. Bring Your kingdom to earth in our lives today more fully. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Where Do We Go?

In times of trouble or stress, I find myself often thinking, “I just want to go somewhere, some place where I can leave all of this behind for just five minutes.” For many of us, we are very closely tied to work or relationships or family. People depend on us to be there. That means we do not have such a luxury. Or do we? I think perhaps we do. Let me explain.

For those of us that are believers, we believe we are not the shell of skin that is walking around. We believe we live inside of these bodies, right? This is true. But we can allow ourselves to think we have to move our bodies to another physical location to get that five minutes, to get that rest. The good news is we can get that five minutes, that rest no matter where we are physically. The desire for that rest is built into us. The scriptures are full of such examples.

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.

We are made in God’s image. If we are made in His image then it is likely that we are meant to be like Him, to imitate Him, which can be seen in the assignment given to man.

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

There is much being said here. For now let’s just notice that God set up a day for rest and He rested on that day. If we are made in His image, then that drawing to resting with God (which is what is indicated in the Hebrew) is a built in part of who we really are. So how does this connect to those times of stress and struggle?

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

God is our place of refuge. But God is everywhere, right? Therefore we have access to that rest, that 5 minutes, our refuge, anywhere we are physically. What we need to remember is stated in the last two verses.

Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

If we can be still in those moments and focus on God, we can be with Him as our refuge. If we are with Him and in Him, then when He is exalted, we will be too! We can experience that lifting of our spirits wherever we are.

Today, let’s be still. He is God

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Please help us today to not be afraid. Please help us today to look to you and know that You are our refuge. Please help us to know that You are waiting over us and will raise us up. Deliver Your people today Father. Lift us up to be with You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.