What Can The Righteous Do?

This morning I read a scripture that I had not read in some time. It is Psalms 11. In verse three we find the title of today’s writing. At first I was puzzled as I read these words because it seemed as if they were encouraging me to give up. But when I read the entire seven verses of the psalm, I was once again encouraged to face the day. Let me explain.

Psalms 11:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

In the first verse we see that someone has said something to the writer about running away from the battle by fleeing to the mountains. He responded by saying he trusts God. In verse two he says that the wicked will shoot at him, and if the very foundations of the place where he is making his stand, what does that matter (what should the righteous do)? Because God is in His temple, God reigns from His throne, and though He is trying His followers to temper them like metal, He hates the wicked. He is using life to bring us along, but He will destroy the wicked, and that shall be their reward for harming His believers. God loves His followers, and His appearance holds us up.

Now that, my friends, is encouragement for us today!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You are always upon Your throne, looking to encourage us. You train us up as Your children, but You destroy our enemies. Today Father I ask for a great miracle. I ask that today Father You rise up and do mighty works on behalf of Your children, those that follow You to do the things You have commanded. I praise and thank You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Breathing Comfort

Hear in the Midwest it is rainy and gray outside. Leaves of many colors are on the ground and in the trees. There was a time when these days made me feel saddened somehow. Today is different. Today as I looked upon the weather outside from my kitchen table, I read a portion of Psalms 119 and was comforted.

Psalms 119:CAPH
81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

In verse 81 the psalmist says that his very being is weakening waiting for rescue (salvation in the Hebrew). But he then says he has patience (hope) in God’s word, which here in the Hebrew is something that has been spoken. Verse 82 says that what he sees and sees with is coming to an end for what God has said, and responds in saying when will You comfort me. This is an interesting passage because it shows a relationship between man and the creation, and how both need to have the manifestation of the things that God has spoken. I believe he is referring to what God promised to Moses, and also what God promised through Moses and others throughout the Old Testament. The rest of these verses seem to say that same thing as the psalmist keeps coming back to telling God that he has done his best to follow after the commandments and precepts (decrees) of God. In verses 84-86 he asks for God to bring judgement on those that have wrongfully persecuted him and are trying to destroy him. It sounds as if the psalmist is in tough times. In the last verse here, verse 88, he asks to be quickened (made alive) after God’s lovingkindness and that as a result the psalmist will keep the testimonies of all that has proceeded from the mouth of God. There is an interresting connection here to the ministry of the Messiah, found in the meaning in Hebrew of the word comfort. Here that word means to breathe hard. Jesus does that for us, as we saw after His resurrection when He spoke to the disciples.

John 21:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Jesus (Yeshua) breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit. Later at Shevuot (Pentecost) the Comforter came to the, the Holy Spirit, in which they were baptized. It seems Jesus (Yeshua) is saying that He has given us the power to be comforted, and that we through our speaking can deliver us and those around us. Today, I am comforted knowing that God is on my side, and He is our great Deliver, coming to our rescue.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You, for truly You alone are God. We ask today that You deliver us according to what You have spoken. We agree with You that those that persecute us are to be cast off, and that You alone will raise us up. We praise You and thank You, eagerly waiting to see the deliverance You are bringing. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

A Day Of Learning

Different sabbaths have affected me differently. Sometimes I just let my body and my brain rest. Sometimes I like to sing frequently throughout the day. And then there are days like to day when I feel like there is really something for me to learn or to know. It seems clear to me that God rested on the sabbath to show us something that we needed to learn. It is like a Father trying to get a child to imitate behavior so that going forward they would have a basis for other lessons to be learned. It was an image to try to resemble.

When we stand in that place of rest, we have opportunity. It may be just to have our lives refreshed. It may be to see God’s blessings come into our lives. Or maybe, on days like today, it is so we can learn something we do not know. For me, I was able to reflect an a bout of unbelief. For some reason yesterday I became overwhelmed with doubt for a period of time. Strange, really, as so many good things were actually happening. Hear is what I learned today.

We are all human. I know, I know, old lesson, right? For me, I think it will be the one God reinforces often. You see, for me, I always wanted to do things right for my dad, but usually he found issue with it. So now, I want to do the right thing for my Father in heaven. The difference is, our Father in heaven knows we will get it wrong sometimes. But He will continue to lift us up, dust us off, and cheer us on. I am so glad He is not like me.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for always lifting us up. Thank Yo for Your sabbath. Thank You for being a willing and understanding teacher. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

The Lord Is Coming To…

We believers long for the return of our King, Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah. When we think of His coming, we think of that last day. However, I was reading several psalms and realized there is another coming of the Lord. The Lord comes when we praise Him, to judge the earth to bring in righteousness for His people. This is but one way that He delivers us.

Pslams 96:1 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13 Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

And again, in Psalms 98

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

Let us praise the Lord, and let Him bring His judgement into the earth to set things right. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for Your righteous judgement. Please come now and judge the earth. Bring forth Your righteousness and let You people rejoice. You are our Deliverer King! In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

From Our Lips

This morning the ground is covered with leaves outside my window. The cold for the last few days has gripped at my bones. In the swirl of life’s many considerations, I was praying and pacing and telling God I wanted to focus on being thankful. I was searching for answers, just as I have seen so many of my brethren do the same. Two scriptures came to mind. The first was in Proverbs.

Proverbs 10:13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

This scripture says wisdom is found in the lips of those with understanding. I take that to mean those of us that follow God. We understand that God is King and is for us, not against us. Wisdom will come from our own lips if we will just open them. Then I checked out Psalms 53.

Psalms 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

This psalm seems to be saying the same thing that is in the proverb, except for one important point. In the psalm we see that there are those that do no good that are trying to consume God’s people in verse four. In verse five God causes these people to be put to shame and scattered. In verse six He talks of gathering His people to Him (that is what the bringing back the captivity means). The difference is the proverb tells us how this happens. It happens with our lips.

Today, if you feel the need for God’s deliverance, the need for God to draw you closer, just open your mouth and begin to praise Him for His deliverance and thank Him for it. Turn it into a little tune you can sing under your breath when around others. Our God is our Deliverer!

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for being the Most High God. You are the great Healer King! You are our Provider King! Today Father we ask that You move mightily with Your healing and provision. Put to shame those that come against us to eat us like bread. Destroy the works of their hands. Raise up Your people. We will thank You all the day long. Show Yourself to be the One True Deliverer of Your people. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Let Our Hearts Sing

Singing is a beautiful thing! I know what some of you are thinking. Some of you are like me and cannot carry a tune, or at least not very well. That is okay because God wants us to offer up the sacrifice of praise of our lips. In Paul’s letters to the Hebrews, he specifically spoke to his point.

Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Paul was telling us a way of being towards God. Jeremiah spoke of a time to come when God would stand up for His people, those that bring the sacrifice of praise.

Jeremiah 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

Today, let us defeat our enemies with our mouths by offering the sacrifice of praise!

Prayer
Father, I praise and thank You for being the Most High God. Thank You for rising up to defeat our enemies. Today, when You hear our sacrifice of praise, rise up and crush our enemies. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Children Can Cause Learning

It’s interesting the things that children say that can lead to life lessons. Our daughter asked my wife to convey a holiday request to her grandmother, my wife’s mother. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately it was not well received and lead to some disharmony between my wife and her mother. My wife was upset as we talked about it last night as it had happened yesterday. It was unfortunate because what was originally intended to be a happy moment was dulled by the disagreement. My wife prayed about it and decided to do something to actually build her mother up.

This morning on the way to work my wife called her mother. She apologized for bringing up the subject, even though it was her mother that had become upset. My wife could have just waited for her mother to apologize, but she did not go that way. She apologized – the higher road – even though she had done nothing wrong. The result was her mom was lifted up and was able to also express understanding. Now all is well.

As we come to the holiday season, perhaps I could learn a thing or two from my wife?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for all You do, and for taking the higher way – Your way. Please help us to follow Your lead. Please help us to build one another up. Please help us to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Encouraging Others

This morning in the early hours I sat thinking about encouragement. As I considered what is something that encourages me, it dawned on me there is one thing that really helps. It is when I encourage others. We are here in part to love others as we love ourselves. Most of us enjoy receiving words of encouragement. I know that I do. When I tell someone that they are looking pretty or happy or that they have a great new shirt, they seem uplifted. In that moment, I feel uplifted too. I think God has created us all to really need each other.

Today, if you are in a place where you really need some encouragement, try this. If you see someone having a tough day, smile and say hello. Tell a stranger it will get better. Tell someone you think their car is really looking good. Tell the cashier at the store that you appreciate their hard work. Try to find about 10 people to encourage. Then look back on what was troubling you. I think you will find that God will encourage you as you encourage others.

Prayer
Father, we thank You for being God. It seems like it could be a tough job because all us humans always seem to need You for something. Please help us to encourage each other today. Please send us you mercy and kindness, and help us to share it with others. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

The Comfort Of God’s Care

I am posting this late today. My good friend’s father passed away at the end of the week and I went with my daughter to pay my respects to my friend. He was doing okay. The last few days I have pondered on the end of life. It is not easy for us to grapple with at times. But as I heard the many stories from people of how their lives were touched by my friend’s father, I was comforted. I had a sense of someone whose life had been a blessing and had been blessed as God watched over him.

Today as I read in the Psalms I had that same sense of comfort. In Psalms 83 for example it talks about how God will grind our enemies to powder and lift us up so that all may know that He is God.

Psalms 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.

I am comforted to know that God has my back. He is on our side.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for standing strong on our behalf. Thank You for defeating our enemies and scattering them on the wind like the chaff that all men may know that You alone are God. Be strong today and this week Father. Show Your miracles on behalf of Your people. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Deliver The Poor And Needy

My wife and I were discussing what to do today on the sabbath. It was an interesting discussion because we wondered about things like cooking food. Is that an okay task for the sabbath? Neither of us were really certain what to say. One thing we are both certain of is God is for life. As I began to look into this I found there are many traditions about this one way or the other. As I read the scriptures, I came across a couple that for me helped put this in perspective. The first is Psalms 82. God is calling to us to deliver the poor and the needy from evil. He also says that there are those that are not judging things right.

Psalms 82:1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

Interestingly enough this is the scripture Yeshua (Jesus) quoted when He was accused of blasphemy by the leaders of the congregation of His day.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Jesus plainly talked about doing what God does. Would God not deliver the poor and the needy on the sabbath. Wasn’t Yeshua (Jesus) saying that they were the ones judging unjustly in Psalms 82? Jesus did the works of His Father on the sabbath like healing people and feeding people. He had healed a man by making clay from his spit and telling him to wash it off in a pool. Under the traditions that the congregation leaders had created, these things were breaking the sabbath. But that was the point Jesus was making. The leaders had made up those rules themselves from traditions. These rules were not in God’s commandments. There is one more scripture that makes this point.

Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

It appears to me that what we are to do everyday is the works of the Father. God still keeps everything alive on the sabbath. For me, I do believe Yeshua (Jesus) kept the real law perfectly – that which is contained in the scriptures. We are to imitate Him. I believe that is what God said to Moses about the sabbath – don’t do your own thing on the sabbath. Do what I am doing.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for all You do for us everyday. We thank You for giving unto us Your Son. We thank You for the sabbath rest. Please reach out to your people today, deliver the poor and the needy, give us what we need perfectly and give us rest. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.