A Clean Heart

This morning as I awoke I thought about the message that was taught at church about the lie that compromise is. For me the hardest part is how easy it can creep into our lives. I had been thinking about this since we heard the message last night, and I wanted to understand how we can be comforted when we turn away from the compromise. Immediately a song came to me. It is almost word for word a part of Psalm 51.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence (O Lord);
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and… (renew a right spirit within me).

This is a Psalm David wrote and I believe sang to God after he had impregnated one of his soldiers wives and then had him killed in battle so no one would know. He was called out by the prophet Nathan whom God had sent to David to get him to confess his sin and repent. The entire story can be found in 2 Samuel 11-12. While that is truly a sad story of someone that compromised their commitment to God, in the end there is a comfort. God did not give up on David. God promised David that he would always have an heir to sit on the throne. Today and forever, that heir is Jesus (Yeshua). So if God can lift up David, can He not lift us up as well?

Would you like the comfort today of that same restoration that David felt? Perhaps if you were to sing this Psalm as a prayer to God, as David did, you too can feel that comfort. I have sung it several times this morning, and it was a comfort to me. Here is a link to Keith Green leading a group in worship with this song.

Prayer
Father, You are majestic. Without You we are nothing. We so need You to come to us every day and help us to not compromise the truth. Please create in us clean hearts today Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Signs In The Sky

One of the drives that seems built into all men is the drive for peace. That may seem strange to say in a world that seems so prone to war. The peace that I am referring to here, however, is those moments when we are still, when we catch a glimpse of something like the turning of leaves in the fall, a fawn in the forest taking its first steps, the smile on the face of a child receiving a surprise gift, or fleeting thoughts of a joyous memory. In those little moments we can experience the joy of peace, the joy of rest. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. Imagine an entire hour or day or week like that. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. Imagine a point in time when we always live in those moments. This is what our Father in heaven has in store for His people. When He set up signs in the sky and patterns in the universe, it set in motion a constant reminder that He has this for us. Let’s look at some scriptures.

In Genesis at creation, God established the pattern of working for six days and then resting on the seventh. Later in Exodus, Moses is told that this seven day pattern is holy (Exodus 20:8). What drew my attention to this concept of signs was Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah was in prison, and God told Jeremiah to call out to Him, and He would show Jeremiah great and mighty things which he did not know. The message was about the restoration of the people, Israel. He foretells of the Messiah, the Lord our Righteousness, the voice of the bride and the voice of the bridegroom, and the return to things as they were at the first. Here is where it gets interesting. In Jeremiah 33:20,25 God twice makes the comparison to the possibility of this not being so to the ability for night and day to no longer exist. If there will always be a night and day, a sign in the sky, then the promises of God for restoration are true. Praise God for these signs! Praise God for the sign of the Sabbath rest!

You know, it makes me wonder what other signs are patterned into the universe…

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for placing signs in the earth and heaven that no man can change. Thank You for calling to us when we were yet imprisoned in darkness, and that you continue to call to us always to deliver us from daily darkness, and deliver us into You marvelous light. Thank You for the Sabbath. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Where We Begin

Sometimes in life where we end up will depend on where we begin. This morning as I was getting up to have my first cup of coffee, thoughts of the day and what it would be like were coming to me. It is one of those days where there are just so many things that have stacked up it began to seem overwhelming. And when I have a to-do list that keeps getting longer, I can get to the point where I start to get down on myself. This was the conversation in my head when I began to pray and seek God for some direction. It occurred to me that maybe one or two others might benefit from the answer.

Proverbs 14:3 started my journey this morning.

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

It would seem from this scripture that those that are foolish speak with an arrogance, a false confidence. However, the wise can use their own mouth to preserve them selves.

Then, in verse 6 we read,

A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

Scorner here in the Hebrew literally means to throw the mouth at something. I stopped and thought about the times I have said something in a thoughtless way, and I could really visualize that “throwing the mouth” thing because it almost like throwing words at something.

After reading these scriptures and praying, it occurred to me that when I get up with a mind full of thoughts, I need a way to get my mind quieted down. For me this morning it happened when I set aside all of the thoughts and spent time seeking God. That was like the first stepping stone. Then came the scriptures, the second stepping stone. Now I am more settled and am ready to pray about which items are on today’s list. God is so good to us!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You! You are ever kind and merciful to us. Please help us today to quiet our minds and seek Your face. Please help us to have a path to Your ways which are so much better than our own. Please help us to help others today that are down trodden to lift them up. In Jesus name. Amen.

Thankful For The Great Day

There are many great moments in scripture that could qualify for this “Great Day”. don’t you think? Abraham’s choice to go into the wilderness after hearing from God, the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, birth of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), the resurrection, and on and on. In my reading this morning I found a place in scripture that actually used these words. It is John 7:37, John refers to the last High Holy Day of the Feast of Tabernacles as that great day of the Feast. I agree with John, this is a great day to me. Let me explain why.

Today is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. In Zechariah 14 we see that once Jesus (Yeshua) returns, we will all go to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus (Yeshua) was in these scriptures keeping this Feast which has a High Holy Day on the first and the eighth day, both of which would be considered Sabbaths. And since this Feast lasted eight days, there would be at least one weekly Sabbath during this time period. Near the beginning of the Feast, Jesus (Yeshua) healed the lame man in John 5:8-9 on the Sabbath, for which the Jewish leaders condemned Him. this is where it gets interesting!

In the John 7:10-24, just prior to the “great day” scripture, Jesus goes up to the Feast in secret. In the middle of this week long Feast, He teaches in the temple. When He was challenged by the leaders, He spoke to them about Moses calling for a man to be circumcised on the eighth. He then says if a man is circumcised on the Sabbath so the law is not broken, then they should not be concerned that He made a man whole on that day. For those of us that believe the scriptures show that Jesus (Yeshua) was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (yes, this can be shown in scripture), then that means HE was the man He was talking about – Jesus (Yeshua) was circumcised on the eighth day, the High Holy Day. I suggest that this is why God had this day be a High Holy Day, as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) circumcision.

For me, this is a great day. Our Messiah was born during this Feast, was circumcised during this Feast, preached during this Feast, made the lame to walk during this Feast, and kept the Feast according to the commandments of God.

Yes, this is a great day indeed!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. We thank You for these Feasts and ask the You always help us to keep them. We ask that the New Covenant, the Law written in our hearts, would help us to seek Your face every day. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Ushering In God’s Dominion

In Genesis we read that God gave dominion over the earth to mankind. Yet in other places in the scripture such as Psalm 103:19,22 we read that God rules over all. In Psalm 103 God tells us that He will provide our food and renew our youth. God will remove our sin and iniquity, both forgetting and forgiving our transgressions because of His mercy. As I read this from my kitchen table this morning, I was wondering how it is that man has dominion and yet God rules over everything. As I read Psalm 103 I was listening to 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman and Cover Me by Wilderness Journey, and I think I came up with part of the answer.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 Paul explains that Jesus (Yeshua) is reconciling the world to Himself, just as He has reconciled us to Him. He has also given us this ministry of reconciliation, according to Paul, and we are His ambassadors on this earth. As I thought about this, Psalm 103 began to take on new meaning. If we can remember to bless God and praise Him, we become the vessels that bring His dominion and rule into reality on the earth. In that sense we do have dominion because we can choose to take on this action. We can be a part of helping Him set the oppressed free. Let’s remember to do His work today.

Bless the Lord!

Prayer
Father, we bless Your Holy Name! We exalt You above all else, and we ask You to set the oppressed free. We ask that You reach out into our lives, the lives of our loved ones and friends, and the lives of those we meet to bring about the changes we all need to bring light into our lives, to bring the mercy You extend to us, and help us to always praise You. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Being Neighborly

Growing up in the country there were not many people close by. Those that were relied on each other for help at times, maybe share a meal, and to watch out for each others property. In a way, you could say we were building each other up by building a “neighborly” network.

Today, there are many types of networks we can use to make connections to others. Social media is one, PTO at school, and church. Most of the time this works well. Sometimes not so much. I have seen some less than positive exchanges on social media sites, and heated arguments at PTO meetings that made me wonder if maybe the children had showed up instead of the parents. Perhaps the most unfortunate is when misunderstandings and miscommunications happen at church.

We expect the church to be a place where people connect and act like Jesus to each other. All too often I hear sad stories about how people felt injured by others at church, or even those in positions of leadership. Those injuries appear to run deep.

Please take a moment and pray today for those that attend where you attend. Stop and think if you may have said something that could be taken badly. If so, seek out that person and as for forgiveness. Have you been hurt? Pray and ask God to take away the pain. You may want to ask if you should speak to that person about what was said.

Let’s all work toward building unity with our fellow believers. Isn’t that what God asks?

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You for being our King and our role model. Thank You for helping us the times we got it right. Please forgive us for the times we did not get it right. And please help us to not hurt others with our words and actions. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.

Offer A Child Encouragement Today

The last two days I have told the story of a little boy 3 1/2 years old that is facing medical challenges and needs your prayers. I want to thank all of you that prayed and we will watch as God brings forth healing and he finally has the opportunity to taste and enjoy food! While we wait, I thought of something we might be able to do…

When we think of our lives we often see times when we could use encouragement. Today, I would like to ask that we take that feeling and switch it around into offering encouragement to Caleb. Here at Daily Devotional we have never done this before, but we want to ask you to offer a word of encouragement to Caleb and his parents and family by sending him an email. We have set up an account for you to send him a “hug” – a word of encouragement, a prayer, … – by emailing it to:

hugs@dailydevotional.co

Please, will you take the time to send him a hug today? We will forward it along to his parents so their email can remain anonymous. You can read his story in our last two posts.

God bless!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. We want to once again lift up Caleb, and children everywhere, and ask that You encourage their hearts today. Let them feel the warmth of Your love and protection. Let them experience the feeling of wholeness through Your healing power, both inside and outside. Please show Yourself strong on their behalf. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Comfort In Comforting

Today’s post is late in the day. Today seemed to be particularly challenging for me. Then I reflected on a young man I met yesterday, and realized how easy my day was by comparison.

In yesterday’s post I told the story of a little boy that is about 3 1/2 and has already had open heart surgery. Not only that, but he eats by a feeding tube and hi parents must feed him every hour. With three other children, you can imagine the challenges this brings to the family and the parents.

The little boy’s name is Caleb. Please pray for him to have wholeness. We went to Culver last night and laid hands on him and interceded for him. He has allergies, and of course issues with swallowing and the reflux from trying to eat. His parents are believers and are doing much to advance the kingdom.

For me, I am comforted when I try to comfort Caleb by praying for him. Please join us in this asking God to manifest His power in Caleb’s life.

Prayer
Father, You are the Great Deliverer Healer King. We ask now that You unleash Your power to bring wholeness to Caleb. We rebuke the dark forces that war against such a little one. We praise You Father for granting this because we know children are very close to You heart. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Healing Prayer

There are times in everyone’s life when either they need healing or they hear about someone that does. A few days ago I had such a day when I heard about a little boy that was two years old, but had already faced more medical challenges than me in life. He has already had heart surgery and eats from a feeding tube. It is always difficult for me when I hear of someone facing medical challenges, but when it is a small child it is even more challenging.

On this day of rest, please join me in praying for this child and any others that God would step in and do something miraculous to make them whole today.

Prayer
Father in heaven, King of the universe, we come to You now on behalf of those You say You will defend. We come to You on behalf of the children that are in harm’s way from sickness, disease, or some form of medical affliction. We ask in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name that You come now and create wholeness where it did not exist. Things that are open that should be closed, we ask you close now in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Let the round muscles act in symphony in praise to You, Father God. Rise up in the compassion of Your might as the Father, and make these little ones whole that the whole earth might know that You alone are God. We rebuke any chest pains they feel now in the name of Jesus and ask for a great and mighty peace from the Holy Spirit come and replace that now in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Let there be peace. I call to the blood of these children and speak peace, and the wholeness which is from God alone. Let these children feel the warmth and love from the Father from the depths within them as the overwhelming miraculous healing power of God moves in and through them now in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Father, thank You for being God. Thank You for wanting only good for us. We ask for completeness and life for these little ones today, and we praise You and thank You for it, in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Wrapped In Majesty

In Psalm 93 the psalmist tells us that God is clothed, or literally wrapped, in majesty, which means greatness or great things, like strength. His throne is from everlasting, which means He has always been King. When he speaks of the floods being lifted up, literally this rivers or/of prosperity and all that is associated with it. The waves here refer to the sounds associated with that. If you stop and think, rivers have a noise associated with the flow of water, and with prosperity can come noise as well. The psalmist goes on to say that God is mightier that the noise of many waters. God is mightier than anything that can distract us, whether those distractions are good or evil. He ends by saying that the things that testify of God are very certain and holiness is God’s house forever.

God created everything. Scriptures tell us that the creation that He gave man charge and authority over are one of the things that testify of Him. In Psalm 22:3 it says literally that He sits on our praise. When I think of that I see God picking up His throne, sitting it on top of our praises to Him, and sitting down to listen happily to His kid’s singing in the school choir presentation to Him. In this He is very pleased. He is that loving, all powerful and gentle Dad, coming to hear His kids whom He loves and in whom He is pleased. As a parent, I know what it is like to go see my kid’s classes sing at some event, and it doesn’t matter the quality of the singing, what matters is that I love them and want to see them over and over. This is how God sees us, and through the blood of Yeshua (Jesus) He sees us holy.

Now, wrap that all in strength and great things – wrap that in majesty – and that is the God we serve. Praise God!

Prayer
Father, we praise You! You are the King from everlasting. We love to have You come and sit to hear us sing Your praises. Thank You for being a loving, forgiving, kind Dad. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.