When The Joy Comes

The sun through the trees in the morning is a remarkable thing! As I write this the leaves have fallen and there is more light making its way into my back yard. It is a beautiful and joyous time of year. Reflecting upon this I was thinking of the challenges life can bring. Praying, this scripture about joy came to me.

Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

It appears David is the writer of this psalm. He is telling people that God lifts us up. We will go through the time of weeping and trouble, but joy comes in the morning. He goes on to talk about how he prospered and thought that he would not be moved in that prosperity. God then let him experience life on his own for a while. David turned back to God and called to Him. Today, if you are in the dark of night or have been for a while, know that God will deliver you from it. Call unto Him and sing His praises as David did. David wants the turning of events that is coming to be a praise to God so that people will know that it is God that did it. I love how this turns out for David, and I know God will do the same for us.

Psalms 30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You that You are our Deliverer. Thank You for always coming to our aid when we cry out to You. I cry out to You today for me and my family, my friends, and for all Your children. Please come speedily with Your deliverance. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

A Time Of Reflection

Late yesterday evening I received word from two friends that they had had deaths in their families. One friend actually lost his father. As I thought about these situations this morning it reminded me of just how fragile we are as the human race. We really do not have long on this earth, and the time we do have is meant to magnify our God, love our families, and be kind to those we meet. If we live such a life, we are most blessed. In times like these I find many reasons to be thankful.

I am thankful that God has given to me a loving wife and four great children. I am thankful that I have always had a place to stay out of the cold. I am thankful that God has always provided enough food for my children to eat. I am thankful that I can sit here at my kitchen table and write these reflections that people will read. I am thankful that God is more than enough to cover for all of the things that I cannot accomplish or do or provide. I am thankful that God does not leave us to fend for ourselves. I am thankful for Jesus (Yeshua) our Messiah who bled and died and rose again, that we might have eternal life if we confess our sins and make Him Lord of our lives. I am thankful for life.

Prayer
Father, we praise You, our Almighty God. Thank You for being with us at all times and through all things. Thank You for giving us today those needs we have for today. Please do not leave us alone today. Please comfort those that have lost loved ones and help them to live in victory through tough times. Please deliver Your people today Father from lack and despair. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Bring The Reign

When we face the life that comes our way, we will need help. God is our help. He will rise up on our behalf to defeat the enemy. As it says in the Psalms,

Psalms 103:6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

In January of 2012 my friend Kevin Plank and I wrote a song, “Bring the Reign” which was inspired by events in my life and the movie “Transformers”. For those interested, you can find it here on iTunes. But I think there may be people out there today that need to see some of the lyrics. It is a battle cry really. Here is the first chorus:

Life can be tough at times
Life can have its pain
But when the enemy comes
My God brings the reign.

Bring the reign!
Bring the reign!
God, You are my God!
Bring the reign!
Bring Your reign!

This is a song that I sing when it is time for battle. Toward the end of the song, we also address what happens when the enemy tries to shout in our ear to bring doubt, fear, and confusion.

O God, Let no man
Your name now disdain
When the enemy shouts in my ear
I shout, “Bring the reign!!!”

With our praise
Evil is contained
God, You are my God!
Jesus, send the reign!

Today, if the enemy is in your ear, shout as loud as you can to God, “Bring the Reign!”

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Father, today I ask that on behalf of all of Your people everywhere, Bring the Reign! Crush our enemies under Your feet. Deliver us today Father. Rise up in Your mercy toward us. Lift us from the ash heap. Deliver Your people today God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

There Is A River

This morning over coffee I was reading Psalms 46. It is a short Psalm, but a portion of it stuck out to me as being very uplifting. It begins by talking about how God is our refuge and strength in troubled times. What was really good for me was the part where the psalmist talks about the city where the holy places of God are.

Psalms46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

As believers, we are all that place where God dwells. We are becoming the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Messiah spoken of in the book of Revelations. The psalmist even refers to the city as “her”. The river sounds similar to the river in Revelations as well.

Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

When we face troubled times, we can read and sing these verses and remember that God is a very present help. Whatever comes our way, He is our deliverer.

Prayer
Father, thank You for the scriptures You have given to us. They are a great source of uplifting to us. Please be with Your people today Father. Please raise up Your people such that all men know that You alone do this, and that You alone are God. Come to our aid quickly Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Cast The Net On The Right Side

There have been a number of times in my own walk with God that my efforts seemed as though they were not being very fruitful. In times like those I try to remember the story of the disciples fishing in the last chapter of John. First we set the story by saying Jesus (Yeshua) has died and He rose again by this point. He had shown Himself by walking through doors and doing many signs in the presence of the disciples since His resurrection. Then we get to John 21 and Peter makes a comment.

John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

There are two interesting points here. After all these things, it seems as if Peter is fed up and going to take off to go fishing, back to his old profession, back to what was comfortable. It raises a question for me. If he had left all he had to follow Jesus (Yeshua), where did he get the boat? Maybe he did not quite leave everything behind. Also, the other disciples that were with him could have encouraged him to stay the course. What did they do? They said, “Me too.” It is interesting what happens as they do not catch any fish, fishing all night.

John 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

So a stranger appears (they did not know it was the Messiah) and tells them to cast their net to the right side of the boat. They act in faith and throw the net in and they get so many fish they have to drag the net to shore. From this they realize it is Jesus (Yeshua) and they eat fish and bread with Him, which He prepared for them. I get several things from this. Jesus (Yeshua) is always trying to provide for us, even to the point of actual preparation of what we take in. Sometimes we may not even know it is Him, but if we act in faith, trying to walk things out with God, we will get there and He will provide. I also found this interesting in the light of a couple Psalms.

Psalms 109:30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

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

In Psalms 109 we see that the Lord stands at our right side to defend us and to save us, just like the fish were on the right side of the boat when the disciples needed something to eat. We can be like Moses if we have faith like he did, and we will see God’s ways, His paths, that get us to the end. The children of Israel only saw things as they unfolded, never really participating in the unfolding and always living in doubt, unbelief, and fear. But God wants to show us His ways. He wants to stand at our right side to defend and deliver His people from all that attempts to oppress us. For me, that is very encouraging!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. Thank You for always being there to defend us and to provide for us. Help us to be like Moses who had faith to trust You and who got to see Your ways. We want to be able to do that Father. Please help us when we fall into fear and unbelief. Please help us to escape these things, and to be close to You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Never Changing

Our God is always our God – He never changes. When I think of the challenges I face in life, I am comforted to know that our God will always be there no matter what we face. He established the heavens and the earth. He made the sun, moon, and stars. No one can change these things. He rides high above all of these things, bringing to pass His will for His kingdom on earth. When we stop to think about how steadfast that is, well, that is pretty good. But it gets batter.

God is on our side. God wants to bring peace and joy into our lives as we fallow Him and His ways. That was the plan from the beginning. If we will turn to our God and seek His face, He will give us all we need. That’s what fathers do – they take care of their kids, right? Well, that’s what He is doing as well. As it is recorded in Matthew,

Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Prayer
Father, thank You for this day that we get to live and seek Your face. We praise and exalt You. Please help us to seek first Your kingdom. Please bring the things we need today. Please bring them to us with peace. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Family Times Are Restful Times

This morning I slept in I guess in part because it is the sabbath. I was the first one downstairs, enjoying the view of the back yard and enjoying that first cup of coffee. As I thought I would settle in peacefully to type today’s post, my 10 year old daughter came down stairs, full of smiles and conversation. It was time for us to do our Saturday morning ritual of making breakfast. She loves frozen waffles because we get to cook them together.

We made her waffles, and she ate while we talked and I read a proof of a book I am writing. We had a good time talking about kid things like coloring, and puppies, and a book she wants to write. It made me think about how God likes to spend time with us on a sabbath, like the Father with the children. We can hope in our God because this is His world, He is the Master of it, and what He commands comes to pass.

When the week has been challenging, it is good to know we can rest. We can rest in God because we can know He will not leave or forsake us. We can know that He is our Guide and Protector, and nothing can harms us because it must get past Him to do so. Our God is a very great God!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. Thank You for providing for our rest. Thank You for making a way where there is no way. Thank You for keeping us safe. Thank You for Your perfect peace. Please reach out to Your people everywhere today, and give them rest. Keep them safe and make them whole. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Holding On

Each day that we have opportunity to be a part of God’s creation and plan. If we take the time to connect with God early through prayer and praise, we can find out what He is doing that day so that we can join in with Him. The issue that I know that I face, and that I think others may also face, is I have a way I think things should go. I see a certain path that may make me feel more comfortable and that is what I hope the day is about. This morning as I was thinking about that path, I had to ask myself why that path was preferred by me.

The truth seems to be that I saw that path as the answer. It was my focus. It was the path that my mind’s reasoning said had stability to it. The truth is it does not. There is only one truly stable path, and that is God’s path because He upholds it. Anything else is just something that we are doing on our own. When the two cross, we are blessed. I want to get to the place where each day when I wake, throughout the day, and before I lay my head down at night, I am certain I am on God’s path. On that path there can be no failure, regardless of the ups and downs, because God never fails. I was encouraged reading Psalms 93 today. Perhaps you will be as well.

Psalms 93:1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

Prayer
Father, we praise you as the Most High. You are the Ruler of heaven and earth. Rule today Father and bring judgement for Your people against the evil of this world. Please raise us up today God. Please show us Your way and Your path that we may dwell there and traverse that path with You. Help us to see rightly, Father. Help us to see as You see. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

At Our Right Hand

As the sun rose this morning I was reading Psalms 109. David is calling out to God for help. David tells of how he has done good to others, but they returned evil for the good. He says that these evil ones have spoken lies against him, and that they have done this for no good reason. As David continues to sing his prayer, he asks God to rise up and defeat his enemies. As the Psalm begins to wind down, David describes his own state. In reading this part it reminded me of how we may feel at times when life seems to be unfolding unjustly, and we feel we are in a state of desperate need.

Psalms 109:21 But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it.

David tells God in his song that he feels as though he is at his end and cannot go on. He calls upon God to be merciful and to deliver him in a way that everyone knows that it is the hand of God that has done it. This is a blessing to me because we know that after this prayerful song God did deliver David. God is delivering the house of David every day. We are that house when we ask Jesus into our lives to be our Lord, repenting of our sins. The last two verses when read from this perspective are very helpful for me.

Psalms 109:30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

Today I am thankful that God is at our right hand and executes His judgement on our behalf with mercy toward us. We may be poor from no money, from lack of health, from a cast down spirit within us, or from lack of peace. Jesus (Yeshua) stands at our right hand to judge the darkness against us that is trying to wear us out, and He is merciful to deliver us.

Prayer
Father, thank You so much for revealing yourself to us, for being the Most High God. Thank You for the great blessings You provide every morning. Thank You for Your great love toward us. We ask Father that today You stand at our right hand and execute judgement over the darkness that causes whatever lack we may have. We ask that You do that with mercy toward us, and that You do it in a way that everyone knows it is You alone that delivers us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Just Showing Up

When I was a young man and had only been with the Lord a few years, I was zealous and anxious to run into any spiritual battle. I was so certain that I could do so much. After all I had read the bible all the way through once, and it was a leather bound chain reference bible, and… blah, blah, blah. The truth is while zeal is a good thing, that was really in a large part pride. I wanted the recognition and the glory, oh, and of course I wanted God to get some, too. That was foolishness at its best. Today, I remain zealous, and only hope that in some small way I can somehow advance the kingdom of God each day.

Serving God in battle is not an experience of or for the glory. It will hopefully be because we feel the blessing of the freedom from the darkness that God has given unto us, and we just really want that for other people. Hopefully it is because we want to serve God and do His will. Hopefully it is because we daily, eagerly seek out what the Father is doing and saying that day, and we say and do that same thing. It can be as simple as just showing up. For example, there are people that come to this website, which is seen around the world, and sign up (they think) for reasons other than to be exposed to what God is doing. But the word of God does not go void. When people come to this site, because of the prayers of many, they are impacted by God. Whether that is immediate or long after I am gone, they will be impacted.

Let’s just show up, and let the battle be God’s!

Prayer
Father, what a beautiful day You have created today! We praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Please reign over the hearts and lives of people today, Father. Please raise the poor out of the ashes and sit them with the Princes. Please cast down every dark thing that attempts to attack Your people today Father. Grind to powder those dark forces that try to steal from Your people. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.