Begin with forgiveness

M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 8:30

Yes, listen to the plea of your servant, and also that of your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven where you live; and when you hear, forgive!

Our prayers must start with forgiveness.  How can we come before ADONAI and ask of anything if we have the dust of this world still settled on our shoulders?  If we do not take the time to clean our hearts and souls to come before God in praise and supplication, why would we think that He would take the time to hear our prayers?  Lord forgive me for my hubris in treating You like an atm with prayers of selfish demands.  Let my heart be changed by the power of the Ruach so that I cleansed of my selfishness and pray with the desire of Your will in all things.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

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Just my understanding of God’s Word

Luke 9:62

62 To him Yeshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”

I cannot fall back on past success and consider myself actively working for the Kingdom. Adonai commands that I actively show proof of my trust through action. Abba grant that I be that strong worker.

Listen closer

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 7:21-22

Also, don’t take seriously every word spoken,

such as when you hear your servant speaking badly of you;

because often, as you yourself know,

you have spoken badly of others.

How many times when I have been hurt and broken over a situation have I snapped at people that did not deserve my flash of anger.  Thank God my true friends can see through the muck and forgive me when I snap without thinking.  Having said that how can I, as Shlomo writes, do anything less than know when to ignore someone else’s harmful words when they are lashing out in pain that has nothing to do with me.  Abba, let me be aware of the context of all conversation and respond wisely and justly as You would have me do to bring glory and honor to You.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Servants to the land

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 4:7-8

If you see the poor oppressed, rights violated and justice perverted in the province, don’t be surprised; for a high official has one higher watching him, and there are others above them.  But the greatest advantage to the country is when the king makes himself a servant to the land.

There is not a leader in my life that has truly embodied the second half of this passage, at least not on the national level.  Instead, political infighting and one up-ism has led to the oppression of one group or another no matter who is in charge as in the first half of this passage.  God makes covenant with the land and the people from all the way back with Adam and Eve to today, and until we have leaders who understand Yeshua’s example of servant leadership we will suffer with oppression in some form or another.  Lord forgive us as we keep putting selfish interest in front of Your desires and directions.  Soften our hearts so that we may hear and obey in the days ahead.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Our Strong Foundation

Ephesians 2:20-22

You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!

With every believer who has gone before me and every believer who will come after me, we have been bound together in a way no one outside of trusting ADONAI will understand. Our chief cornerstone Yeshua HaMashiach binds us together under His blood so that we will be holy and new to be presented to God so that He will dwell with us forever. Lord bind my heart securely to Yours so there is no doubt whom I serve. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Wait, Trust and Hope

Tehillim (Psalms) 33:20-22

We are waiting for ADONAI;

he is our help and shield.

For in him our hearts rejoice,

because we trust in his holy name.

May your mercy, ADONAI, be over us,

because we put our hope in you.

Three things the psalmist tells us to do in the closing of this psalm.  First, we are to wait upon the Lord, for it is in His good timing that He is our help and shield in all things.  Then we are to rejoice for our trust in ADONAI is based on the eternal truth that only He is holy.  Finally, we can expect His mercy when we are oppressed because it is only in God that our hope can thrive.  Lord let me live up to these expectations and never lose focus that You are the light to guide me in all things.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

We must listen

Mishlei (Proverbs) 28:9

If a person will not listen to Torah,

even his prayer is an abomination.

How can we believe that ADONAI will listen to our words when we cannot even trust the words He has already spoken to us.  It is only when our trust is grounded in the Word and that we act upon that Word by following what God has commanded us, that we can show the world the value of our trust and let our prayers ascend like incense before His throne.  Lord help me to keep Your Word as the rudder for my life.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Don’t dirty the water

Mishlei (Proverbs) 25:26

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.

Too many times I have set aside Adonai for earthly pleasure and then when my belief in God becomes part of the discussion I get scoffed at. As a believer I should have stood firm and failed, and in that failure lost a chance to show others the joy of having God in their lives. Abba please forgive me for polluting Your living waters with my sins so others could not see You in me. Lord please wash me clean and let me serve You as You would have me serve. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Relationship

Romans 14:7-9

For none of us lives only in relation to himself, and none of us dies only in relation to himself; for if we live, we live in relation to the Lord; and if we die, we die in relation to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord— indeed, it was for this very reason that the Messiah died and came back to life, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

There is no way to get around it, it is our relationship to ADONAI that determines everything in our life or without Him our death.  Lord let our relationship be strong and intimate so that all will know I am a friend of God forever.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Nothing can succeed without God

Proverbs 21:30

No wisdom, discernment or counsel
succeeds against ADONAI.

There is nothing we can conceive of that Adonai hasn’t already seen. When we, in our rebellion, try to plan out our lives without God we are going to fail. Yet when we accept the sacrifice of Yeshua and put all our trust in Adonai we can plan correctly because we have submitted to the authority of the Creator. Dear Lord I am headstrong and most days don’t put a lot of thought into my decisions. Lead me so I can be a better believer and witness for You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

How to live with each other

Romans 12:9-18

Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. Don’t be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your troubles, and continue steadfastly in prayer. Share what you have with God’s people, and practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you—bless them, don’t curse them! Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be sensitive to each other’s needs—don’t think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don’t be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but try to do what everyone regards as good. If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people.

Sha’ul tells us how we are to live as believers, first and foremost is to be honest about our love for our fellow man and not just faking it. Stand by fellow believers and support them, be respectful of all people. As part of that being respectful bless those people who seek to tear you down in some way, that is a mark of a follower of Yeshua. Don’t give evil for evil because that just makes us like everyone else in the world without God, but do always what is right by the Word that Adonai has given us. Abba help me to be this man. You know I can be quick to anger if offended and even quicker if anyone offends someone I love. Let me be that steady hand that delivers Your Word instead of my personal vengeance. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Dirt from work

Mishlei (Proverbs) 14:4

Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean;

but much is produced by the strength of an ox.

It may be one thing to look all nice and pretty, getting dressed up for a congregational meeting, but if you are not doing the work, throwing all your strength and being into serving God, you are just an empty stall.  Its by our trust in ADONAI and accepting our part in the sacrifice of Yeshua that we are saved but it is by the work we put in for the Kingdom that we are known and can witness to the world.  Lord let the life I live be worthy of the work You have called me to do.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.