Rest And Healing

Last night my family and I got to visit a home church that has grown large enough to move into a small recreation center. The group was going over the story of Abraham and it was very good. We had a meal first and really enjoyed our time of fellowship. It made me realize how much I enjoy the Sabbath day of rest.

Today when I woke up I had come down with a fever. While I am still enjoying this rest, I am having a challenge writing today. Perhaps this day I can ask my readers to pray for my health, and I will pray for yours.

Prayer
Father, You are our King. Please send Your healing power today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

What’s Next?

In my email inbox this morning was a very interesting and challenging bit of news from one of the leaders at church. In her email she was describing the things we are doing in our Monday night intercessory prayer group. She also passed along a link to a page by someone describing a vision of the coming year they believed was from God. In this vision there was a coming Baptism of Fire for the church as well as a very interesting scripture.

Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

It was interesting to receive this email because I also have been sensing God calling us to a higher calling. Perhaps that is not the best way to say it. I sense a call to repentance and greater purity. A higher benchmark for holiness, if that can even be true. I have always thought we are holy or not, and we go back and forth between these states. However, if we are born again through the repentance from sin and asking Jesus (Yeshua) to be Lord of our life, then that is where our holiness comes from by faith and not by works. Still, God has given unto us the power over sin. Maybe this highway that Isaiah is speaking about is a call to shorter time frames between stages of repentance, or a more consistent mind set and reset on God through out the day, or weeping and calling out to God for deliverance from things that cause us to stumble.

Perhaps you as a reader are doing great in the area of holiness, no greed, jealousy, bitterness, lust, etc ever get stuck in your mind. It is not up to me to judge anyone but myself. This I know. Today and going forward I will cry out to God for this higher holiness and better understanding of where He wants me to live. And I shall cry out for my family as well, and for my readers. Perhaps if you are like me, then you will join me today and going forward.

Prayer
Father, please hear our cries to You today, for You alone are the Most High King. We need Your help today and every day Father. We need You to hear our cries today, to help us purify our hearts, to be more like You. Please help us now, today, and every day Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

“Stupid Is As Stupid Does”

This morning in my prayer time I was praying about a simple yet annoying issue I am facing based on bureaucracy. It is easy for me to get frustrated at some things that seem so simple yet have reams of paper and a trail of dead trees tied to them to get straightened out. You may know the experience – get one thing wrong on one form and then spend days filling out dozens of forms to correct the first one, right? I was thinking how stupid that is, and it reminded me of the line from Forrest Gump which I used as the title here. God directed me to Psalms 108.

It has been a while since I read Psalms 108. It is a great Psalm telling of praise and worship with voice and instruments. What struck me was the last two verses,

Psalms 108:12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

As I read and prayed this Psalm this morning, it made me smile. I was thinking about how many people over how many years have faced many difficulties and trials. Yet, God is faithful and delivers from them all. I was smiling because in every case, the devil loses. Now I realize that spiritual beings may not have a real grasp of time like humans do, but after a while you would think he would get a clue! How many cans of whoppin’ do God’s people have to open on him, through prayer and praise to God, before he gets it? And as I thought about it, it really put things in perspective. The enemy of my soul is really, REALLY, stupid! My God never fails, never quits, and never loses! Praise God!

Prayer
Father, thank You for being our Strong Defender. Thank You for always, always, always coming to the aid of your people. Thank You for Your deliverance in times of trouble. Today I ask in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name that You put an extra whoopin’ on that knucklehead, our enemy, and that You raise up Your people everywhere from despair and trouble, and make them to stand in the gates and the courts of Your sanctuary. Let those that see Your mighty deliverance of Your people know that You alone are God. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

An Old Trick

When it comes to spiritual warfare, there is something that I hear from believers frequently. In fact, I think it myself sometimes. When we are not in the best place with God, we may be tempted to think that we cannot ask God for help for something we need. Worse yet, we may think that we really cannot pray for someone else because of our condition. That, my friends, is a lie from the enemy. It’s his oldest trick.

From the garden of Eden to this very day the enemy is what he has always been – a deceiver. In this case, there may be no better time to call to God for help than when we are not in the best place with God. For any of us that have children, ask us if our kids have been really messing up, if they suddenly were in harm’s way and cried out to us, would we respond to deliver them from trouble? Of course we would! And we are merely humans. God is much greater than us. Of course He will respond. That is likely where we get it from. After all, we are made in His image.

The next time you need to pray for yourself or someone else and a thought comes to your mind to remind you of some fault in your life, just smile and say, “That’s right devil, thanks for reminding me! Father, I ask that You forgive me for that one too. And while You are at it, can You make the stupid devil just shut up?!” I think You will be surprised at how fast those thoughts leave!

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You that You are always there, no matter how bad off we are. Please forgive us the things we have done wrong. Please forgive those that have done bad to us. Please Father, today, bring Your kingdom to earth, and help us and others in need. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Building Codes

A friend of mine in the great state of Florida is faced with some challenges regarding an addition she had done to her garage. It seems that the person doing the addition did not follow the building codes and did not get the permitting process right. Now she may have to tear it down and start over. This morning as I was thinking about her situation, I was thinking about how we are built up together as the body of the Messiah and wondered about the connection.

It would seem that the building code for the body of the Messiah should be in the scriptures, right? I found a few that seemed to apply.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Peter in his first letter said that Jesus (Yeshua) was a precious stone, and we are spiritual stones as well. We are spiritually being built into a spiritual house in which we as priests are to offer up spiritual sacrifice. So what is our “spiritual sacrifice” that we offer up? Peter lists a number of things, but one thing in particular is important, I think.

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

Peter said we are to show forth praises to God for bringing us out of darkness and into the light. This was not new to those that were reading the scriptures available at that time. Many of the Psalms also speak of praise as something we do as spiritual priests to God.

Psalms 116:16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

Here we see that the Psalmist acknowledges this deliverance by God from darkness. We also see that thanksgiving is the sacrifice that pays the vows in God’s house. We are that house. Paul also spoke of this in his letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:15 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.
16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Paul encouraged us to do good, to share with others, and to offer up the sacrifice of praise which is from our lips we thank God for His name. We are to do this continually. Now back to the building code.

Our spiritual house has an added benefit. It never has to be torn down when we get it wrong. We can start right where we are, seek forgiveness from God for any mistakes, and begin to praise Him. His mercies are new every morning, and He will fix the building for us! Now THAT is a true blessing. Praise the name of the Lord!

Can I get a “Woo-Hoo!”?

Prayer
Father, we so want to thank You for all you do for us. You are truly the Most High! Thank You for always forgiving us and always loving us. We offer to You today praise from our lips. Thank You, thank You, thank You! In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

From Heaven To Earth

In reading today about what John, Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) cousin, said about Him I was encouraged. In John 3:31-32 we read,

John 3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

John’s disciples were concerned because Jesus (Yeshua) was baptizing people. John explained that he, John, was not the One sent from God, but Jesus (Yeshua) was that One from the heavens. It was very interesting to see that John said Jesus (Yeshua) had been in heaven and had seen and heard things. Then when He came to earth, these same things He had seen and heard, He testified of to people. It made me wonder if that meant He just spoke the same things heard in heaven. Later in John 5 we get our answer.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

Jesus (Yeshua) was telling the Jewish leaders that wanted to kill Him that He was doing the things He saw the Father doing. It appears that the testimony was both words and deeds. Another way of saying it is that wholeness was what the Father was all about, so Jesus (Yeshua) was all about wholeness as well. This was what the Messiah had seen in heaven and what He was about doing on earth.

One additional point that I find interesting. Jesus (Yeshua) kept the law and the Feasts. If He only said and did what He saw the Father doing, what He saw in heaven, then the Father must be doing the same. It would seem then the practical application of wholeness includes the law and the Feasts. Very interesting.

I am encouraged today that Jesus (Yeshua) has come to show us His way of life, and we can enter into that wholeness that exists in heaven. Truly, God’s kingdom can come to earth!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High Ruler of the universe. Thank You for the wholeness that is in heaven and for bringing this wholeness to earth. Thank You for reaching out to us as humans with all of the weaknesses we bring, and not turning away from us. Thank You for turning to us when we call, with Your loving kindness and Your mercy. Let Your kingdom come to earth today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Grabbing Hold Of God

There are times in life when our relationship with God can be what I would call more passive. We feel comfortable in life and comfortable with God. There are other times in life when we feel a more definite need for His presence in our life. We may need an answer to a pressing question, deliverance from a financial problem, or perhaps healing from an internal or an outward affliction. When one of these happens to us, we may try to grab hold of God. It happened in the scriptures to Jesus (Yeshua).

In Mark there is an interesting record of such an event.

Mark 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

This is the story of the woman that touched the hem of the Messiah’s garment. While this story has been told many times, there were some point that I had not seen before as I read this scripture this morning. Let me share what I saw anew.

The woman was desperate. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a major affliction for 12 years. And this affliction would have separated her from her people because she would have been “unclean” according to the law. She had been to many doctors, but that only made it worse. Sometimes doctors do not have all the answers. She was determined to get to Jesus (Yeshua) believing that He had healing power. Now here is one of those things I saw. Jesus had not died and been raised from the dead yet. She was not trusting in His death and resurrection, she was trusting that He had God in Him. She knew God wants people whole, wanted her whole, and she was going to get to the God in Him, grab hold, and not let go till she was healed, which she believed would happen when she touched Him. It was this faith in the God in Him that drove her, a sickly woman, through a crowd that despised her.

The next thing that I saw that I had not seen before cam in the initial response of Jesus (Yeshua).

Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

When the lady touched Him, Jesus (Yeshua) felt the healing go out of Him into her. He began to ask who had done it. The disciples said there was no way of knowing because of the size of the crowd around Him. Here are the new points I saw today. When we grab hold of God, He feels it – He knows. When God feels us grab hold, He turns to us, just as Jesus (Yeshua) did in this case. The scriptures teach that Jesus was all knowing, so He knew already who touched Him. This brings up more firsts for me. Why did He ask who touched me? Perhaps to let the disciples know something about healing. It was not a complaint for sure. In fact, I believe it was an invitation for the woman to come closer, which is what she did.

Mark 5:33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

She cam to Him in a submissive way, telling Him her story. This is what we are to do with God. Let Him know what has been happening. We know that when we are not in the best state with God, we can come to Him for wholeness, and He responds. She appeared to be fearful. After all, she was unclean when she touched Him. His response is perhaps the best part.

Mark 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

He blessed her. He did not tell her to stay away because she was messed up. He did not look down on her and warn her not to do it again. And apparently there was still something to be done because He told her to be whole, completing the healing.

What I learned today is that God wants to be in our lives, whether we are “unclean” or not. In fact, we will likely be that way often. That is why we need the Messiah. God wants us to grab hold, believing that He is on our side. And when we do, His response will be that of a loving Father (Jesus called her daughter), and He will make us whole.

Prayer
Father, we praise You today for all that You are. We thank You for your unfailing love. Please help each of us today. Please help us to grab hold and not let go. Please give us deliverance from sickness and plague, from financial lack and resource needs, please heal us inside, that we may give all glory and honor to You. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

What About The Ox?

Resting is a good thing. When God gave us His plan, it included one day of rest a week. It is the one day I allow myself to sleep in, to take it easy, and sometimes relax and drink coffee on the patio. Frequently I have discussions with other believers about the sabbath, and about what to do on the sabbath. The scriptures tell us to rest on the sabbath, but what does that include exactly?

Jesus (Yeshua) addressed this several times in His teachings. In Mark we read,

Mark 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

When the Pharisees challenged Him about the disciples picking corn to eat as they walked on the sabbath. He reminded them about David when he and his troops were starving ate the bread from the temple, which was against the letter of the law. His point was that was about life, and doing what is necessary to support life. This is also why He reminded them in Luke about the ox.

Luke 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

Here He was healing on the sabbath. Here again Jesus (Yeshua) pointed to the need for us as humans to preserve life. The sabbath was made to help us do that by resting. Jesus (Yeshua) also said He was the Lord of the sabbath. The law was meant to lead us to Jesus (Yeshua), teaching us how to live. But the law was never above Jesus (Yeshua) or above life. It was not an end in itself to be worshiped.

So, on the sabbath day, I do my best to rest, to promote the kingdom of God in the earth and to promote life.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Nothing is before You. We thank You for Your law and Your sabbath rest. We thank You for life. We ask that You watch over us and keep us today. Provide us and those around us with what we need for today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Finding Freedom

This morning I was considering a friend of mine that told me of some sudden bad financial news. His description of the feelings he initially felt reminded me of things I have felt in my own past when unexpected bad things happen. As he conveyed the story to me, however, it seemed that when that feeling came, he was able to get past it quickly. He described it by saying that in that moment he chose to remember the good that God had been doing in his life, and that he made a decision at that moment to trust God. He said it was not easy because there could be issues related to the new problem, but somehow the time he was spending with God just made him trust that things would be okay.

There are many good scriptures to read regularly and in times of trouble. When I heard this story, I immediately thought of Psalm 91. I thought I would put it here today for my friend to read as he is a regular to this blog. I hope everyone else enjoys it as well.

Psalm 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You today. I ask today for particular fresh mercies for my friend, and for the many like him. Touch his life today Father. Send Him good news about financial blessings that he might be able to provide for his family. Do not let the pestilence or terror harm him or his family of families like them. Deliver them as You have promised. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Thankful For Sundown

This morning while drinking my coffee I was trying to work on my blog and was having issues with the hosting service. For non-technical folks, the stuff wasn’t working. For me, I got angry. Once I worked through it I found that most of my frustration was caused by the way I was doing things. Imagine that. Perhaps none of you that read this have that happen, but I seem to get in my own way frequently. But it reminded me of a verse that says something about being angry and still not sinning, so I looked it up. I was surprised to find it in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4,

Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

I was surprised for a few reasons. The first was that in this chapter Paul talks about how the church is to be organized. There are to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (and Paul says these are separate gifts, not all in one person) and that they are there to build up the body of the Messiah, the believers. What was not there was anything about someone being in charge of someone, and I noticed no mention of “lead pastor” which is a common phrase today. Perhaps I will write more on that one day, but back to my point. In the midst of this chapter about building up the body was a warning about anger being okay, but not to let the day go by (sun go down) still holding on to that rage. In fact, it kind of implies that it would be sin to stay angry about something for more than a day.

That lead me to try to better understand the sin in this. I found a great bible verse, in fact the only bible verse that I know that clearly defines sin. John wrote about it in his first letter,

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

So sin is defined for us clearly in the scripture as transgression of the law. For those that read this that think the law is not for today, you get a bonus. If you are right, you are free to do anything because you cannot sin because there is no law. For those that believe we can still sin, then by definition here in scripture, the law is still for today. So if the law is for today, and sin is transgression of the law, then how is it that it would be sin to keep rage in our hearts after sundown? I suggest the answer is found in the new covenant and the teachings of Jesus (Yeshua). The new covenant, according to what is recorded when Paul quoted the prophet Jeremiah to the Hebrews, is the law written in our hearts,

Hebrews 10:16 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;

Jesus (Yeshua) said in Matthew that what is in the heart is what comes out of our mouth.

Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Paul also addressed the heart and speaking in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

One last verse will tie this together, from Lamentations we read,

Lamentations 3:22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

If we get angry and let go, the law in our hearts, the new covenant, will allow us to continue to believe unto righteousness and speak wholeness (salvation). This fits with God’s cycle of giving us new mercies every morning. If instead we hold on to our rage overnight, that starts to become a part of our heart, displacing the law, the new covenant, and that will eventually come out of our mouth. Holding on to rage, to anger, especially as it relates to the body of believers growing to be more like the Messiah (Ephesians 4) is just plain not good.

I am so glad that God set the signs in the sky, like the sun, to remind me every day to let go and give things to God to resolve. With that in mind, you just got to love the sundown!

Prayer
Father, thank You for Your cycles that point us to Your ways. Thank You for providing us with a way to get to wholeness every day. Thank You for today’s mercies because we really need them. Thank You for the sundown. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.