Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful,

not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered,

and it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not gloat over other people’s sins

but takes its delight in the truth.

Love always bears up, always trusts,

always hopes, always endures.

 

How can love be all these things?  How can it stand in such a way that it can ignore the wrongs of another person?  I never really understood this passage, even while trying to live up to it until a friend told me that a believer cannot be offended.  Love is that power that we can see the pain of another person and while they may express it in a way that is painful to us, we look past that to the person ADONAI sees that they can be.  How do we do that, by trusting in God, accepting the sacrifice of Yeshua and following His Word by going and sinning no more.  Abba let me see everyone through Your love.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Curses can’t stand

Numbers 23:8

How am I to curse

those whom God has not cursed?

How am I to denounce

those whom ADONAI has not denounced?

 

When we stand with ADONAI there is nothing that can stand against us.  They may rail and try to curse the body of believers as King Balak did but in the end, even though Balim had accepted payment God would not let the curse go forth.  Today we see our own Balak’s in the BDS movement, yet for all their caterwauling they continually fail to affect God’s chosen.  Lord let my heart be forever Yours in Your leadership in my life.  Thank You for the hedge of protection You place around all who trust in You. Amen.

Heart Condition

Psalm 28:7

ADONAI is my strength and shield;

in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped.

Therefore my heart is filled with joy,

and I will sing praises to him.

 

King David knew that his true power for kingship was in ADONAI.  It was the condition of his heart, a position of trust and fear of God, that allowed David to see the help God gave him throughout his rule.  David’s trust opened the door for God’s help, and not just for himself but for the whole nation around him.  As believers it is our trust and our response to God’s leadership to that trust that shows the world why we live in joy and sing praises to ADONAI as He leads us like he led King David.  Lord let me also be so trusting as to worship you with joy in all things.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Only a Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-32

Yeshua also said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? What illustration should we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when planted, is the smallest of all the seeds in the field; but after it has been planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants, with such big branches that the birds flying about can build nests in its shade.”

As believers we never know how our trust in ADONAI will affect others.  It is in us, maybe in that smallest moment of passing, that others see the Kingdom of God and that moment, that small little instant of truth in their lives is the moment they come to understand the love of God in their lives.  I am reminded of Zacchaeus who in the instant of seeing he Kingdom of God through the love of Yeshua became the benefactor to all he had cheated over the years collecting taxes for Rome.  Lord let me have that strong of trust in You so that others will know immediately whom I serve.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

He holds me

Psalms 27:1
ADONAI is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? ADONAI is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid?

I am still wrapping my head around this years after committing my trust to God.  As long as I follow faithfully in the path ADONAI has made for me, what can stand in my way.  Lord let me see Your hand in all that I do so that all may see Your light in me.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen

To Obey is better

Numbers 9:10-12

“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘If any of you now or in future generations is unclean because of a corpse, or if he is on a trip abroad, nevertheless he is to observe Pesach.  But he will observe it in the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk. They are to eat it with matzah and maror, they are to leave none of it until morning, and they are not to break any of its bones—they are to observe it according to all the regulations of Pesach.

ADONAI is great and infinite in His planning for this is the very regulation that allowed King Hizkiyahu redeem the people of Judah from the idolatry and child sacrifice of his father Achaz.  Because the priest and the nation as a whole could not purify themselves quickly enough to observe Pesach at the correct time in the first month, yet because he knew the heart of the King and the people as they returned to worship Him ADONAI honored their sacrifices even though they were a month late.  It is the condition of the heart, being circumcised to the service of God, that determines the worthiness of the sacrifice.  It is when our obedience to God in our lives is right that His blessings fall on our sacrifices.  Lord let everything I do, I do for You.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Intersession

Acts 27:21-25, 33-38

It was then, when they had gone a long time without eating, that Sha’ul stood up in front of them and said, “You should have listened to me and not set out from Crete; if you had, you would have escaped this disastrous loss.  But now, my advice to you is to take heart; because not one of you will lose his life—only the ship will be lost.  For this very night, there stood next to me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve.  He said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Sha’ul! you have to stand before the Emperor. Look! God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’  So, men, take heart! For I trust God and believe that what I have been told will come true.

Just before daybreak, Sha’ul urged them all to eat, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense, going hungry, eating nothing.  Therefore I advise you to take some food; you need it for your own survival. For not one of you will lose so much as a hair from his head.” When he had said this, he took bread, said the b’rakhah to God in front of everyone, broke it and began to eat.  With courage restored, they all ate some food themselves.  Altogether there were 276 of us on board the ship.  After they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by dumping the grain into the sea.

 

As believers in ADONAI we are to be encouragers of the people around us.  Sha’ul with divine vision from God had already foretold of this disaster that this ship would face leaving Crete during the winter storm season.  Yet he stood in the gap and prayed for the people around him until he had redeemed all that were on the ship with him.  Again, his prayers encouraged them and convinced them to eat so that they would have the strength to fight the last bit to the shore.  By standing firm in our trust like Sha’ul we too can encourage others when they are being tossed about by life’s storms.  Sharing our heart in prayer with them can open doors that would have otherwise been closed because they were too distracted by the storm to seek ADONAI.  Lord let me always be a beacon of Your love to everyone no matter where they are from You.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Give Praise

Psalms 22:26-29

Because of you

I give praise in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my vows

in the sight of those who fear him.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;

those who seek ADONAI will praise him;

Your hearts will enjoy life forever.

All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to ADONAI;

all the clans of the nations

will worship in your presence.

For the kingdom belongs to ADONAI,

and he rules the nations.

 

It is not for power or placement but for the worship of ADONAI alone that I testify like King David to all that ADONAI has done in my life.  It is by our testimony of the body of believers that all will come to know Him and bow down to His authority in our lives.  It is in that authority that all will be satisfied in their needs so that they too can worship ADONAI and we will all know the peace of His presence among us, for we will have Shalom.  Lord let Your day come quickly and let us see Your face and the blessings that it brings.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

 

Where our help comes from

Numbers 3:5-7

ADONAI said to Moshe, “Summon the tribe of Levi, and assign them to Aharon the cohen, so that they can help him.  They are to carry out his duties and the duties of the whole community before the tent of meeting in performing the service of the tabernacle.

Just as He did not expect Aharon to take care of every single stitch of the tabernacle but assigned the whole tribe of Levi to help him, there is no task that ADONAI assigns us that He hasn’t placed people to help us to achieve the goal He has for us.  God sees our needs long before we can even conceive of them and has an answer for us.  Lord let me always see Your hand as You move in my life.  Let my service be pleasing to You.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Stop Window Shopping and come in

Acts 24:22-25

But Felix, who had rather detailed knowledge of things connected with the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”  He ordered the captain to keep Sha’ul in custody, but to let him have considerable liberty and not prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.

After some days, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Sha’ul and listened to him as he spoke about trusting in the Messiah Yeshua.  But when Sha’ul began to discuss righteousness, self-control and the coming Judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “For the time being, go away! I will send for you when I get a chance.”

Felix knew the Word and Torah!  I am sure his wife kept the feast days and that he participated but when it came to take a stand for ADONAI and give up things that were near and dear to his selfish heart such as righteousness, self-control and judgement He became frightened and recoiled from confessing true trust in ADONAI.  Like many people Felix returned again and again to hear Sha’ul testify about God, but he could never fully let go of the selfish desires that kept him from truly trusting.  I too like Felix knew of the Word and God’s hand in my life, I even heard him speak directly to me and I had a good and faithful wife who served the Lord until her death.  Yet it wasn’t until I was in the pit of mourning and rebellion against God that I was truly ready to sacrifice all my selfishness to let God tell me who He saw me as in His eye and hold me in His hand from that point on.  Lord I pray that everyone will be able to see who You would have them to be, everything You desire for them and let it reflect through me so that everyone can come to trust in You and Your salvation in Yeshua.  I ask this in Yeshua as He taught us, amen.