All we need is love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels;
but if I lack love, I have become merely
blaring brass or a cymbal clanging.
I may have the gift of prophecy,
I may fathom all mysteries, know all things,
have all faith—enough to move mountains;
but if I lack love, I am nothing.
I may give away everything that I own,
I may even hand over my body to be burned;
but if I lack love, I gain nothing.

Sha’ul is telling us no matter how many “good” deeds we do, if they come from a place of selfishness and self-accumulation then it is for nothing. These will be the people that Yeshua referred to when teaching “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name? Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23). Instead everything we do as believers, those who trust in ADONAI should be from a place of love that was instilled in us in our hearts when we accepted salvation through Yeshua’s sacrifice. It is only then when it is not about us but about serving God that our actions will have meaning beyond the moment. Lord let me continually serve You in all things. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Meet God where He is

Mark 6:14-16

Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”

So many times I have heard the Word of Adonai in my life but like Herod denied the Author of that Word so it would not truly touch my soul. Adonai in all His Greatness has provided a healing for everything that keeps us sick in sin. Yeshua’s blood for all time has redeemed us back to God if we would only trust and quit trying to rationalize the supernatural in our lives. Thank You God for Your sacrifice in Yeshua, Your Word on our lives through the Ruach, Your rulership in my life, amen.

Trust in the face of wickedness

Mark 5:1-2

Yeshua and his talmidim arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gerasenes’ territory. As soon as he disembarked, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the burial caves to meet him.

As soon as goodness and mercy arrive there will be evil and division to meet it. There will always be a battle for our trust as we walk through this life. Every time the power of ADONAI is manifest in our lives there will be something to try to destroy it. Yet it is only our trust in the power of the blood of Yeshua’s sacrifice that will preserve us and like the Gerasene man see wickedness defeated and life restored. Lord let me see the fight for what it is and bring Your love to a cold and hurting people. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Hurry and interceed

B’midbar (Numbers) 17:11-13

Moshe said to Aharon, “Take your fire pan, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, and hurry with it to the assembly to make atonement for them, because anger has gone out from ADONAI, and the plague has already begun!” Aharon took it, as Moshe had said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. There the plague had already begun among the people, but he added the incense and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

What a powerful precursor to Yeshua, the cohen gadol, the high priest standing between life and death for those who would trust in ADONAI. Lord I know I will never be an Aharon, but let me stand in the gap so those I know will come to know You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Be a Kalev

B’midbar (Numbers) 14:20-24

ADONAI answered, “I have forgiven, as you have asked. But as sure as I live, and that the whole earth is filled with the glory of ADONAI, none of the people who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice, will see the land I swore to their ancestors! None of those who treated me with contempt will see it. But my servant Kalev, because he had a different Spirit with him and has fully followed me—him I will bring into the land he entered, and it will belong to his descendants.

Every one of us has seen the glory of ADONAI fill the whole earth. Not one of us can deny that just as the nation of Isra’el could deny that after being liberated from Egypt. And yet most will only show contempt for God in all that He has done for us while only the select few will be of the house of Kalev, ready to face the giants and stand firmly in the full reward of ADONAI. The difference is our spirit, those with contempt focus inwardly only upon themselves, and those like Kalev focus outwardly on how to better serve God and the people around them. Lord let me be a Kalev and follow You with unwavering loyalty so just like David even though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for You have already won the battle ahead. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Honor Shabbat

Mark 2:27-28

Then he said to them, “Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”

I believe we as a people have forgotten this. As our lives have become easier with computers and cell phones so has our work and recreation crowded into our lives that we forget to simply rest in God’s arms. Shabbat wasn’t created because ADONAI needed to rest but to set the example for us to rest and reflect on all He has given us in the past week and seek ahead for the blessings of the next week. But as 24-hour consumerism has taken over our world we have forgotten what it is like to come together as a community and worship God. Lord let me never take Your Shabbat for granted but honor the day that You have given me to do good and rest. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Start with God

Mark 1:35-38

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Yeshua got up, left, went away to a lonely spot and stayed there praying. But Shim’on and those with him went after him; and when they found him, they said, “Everybody is looking for you.” He answered, “Let’s go somewhere else—to the other villages around here. I have to proclaim the message there too—in fact this is why I came out.”

We are to be like Yeshua and take the first moments of our waking day and commune with ADONAI. Yeshua said many times over He only did what He saw the Father do and only spoke what He heard the Father speak, yet how can we hear God if we do not make time for Him. Soon enough the worries of the day will come like Shim’on looking for us and if we have failed to spend time with ADONAI how easily will it be to forget that we are to proclaim the power of God in our lives just as Yeshua did. Lord thank You for this example of taking time with You for how could I get through the day without knowing Your love in my life. Hold me up Lord and let me be a reflection of Your love for others. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

God prepares for all

B’midbar (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 hundreds of years later. 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, ADONAI in His power knowing the heart of the King and the people as they returned to worship 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.

Be the lifeline

Acts 27:42-44

At this point the soldiers’ thought was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim off and escape. But the officer, wanting to save Sha’ul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and head for shore, and the rest to use planks or whatever they could find from the ship. Thus it was that everyone reached land safely.

By standing firm in his trust in ADONAI and providing encouragement during the hurricane that was destroying the ship, Sha’ul not only saved himself but stood in the gap for all those with him, even when they were about to turn on each other from fear. It is the same for all of us who trust in ADONAI we can be the calm in the storm and preserve others by our trust. But for that to happen we have to engage with others through our trust. Sha’ul prayed and extolled and encourage everyone around him so that all came to trust enough in the word Sha’ul was given so that everyone was saved. Lord let my trust be strong enough to carry my neighbors so that all can know You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Hear God and move

Acts 26:19-20

“So, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven! On the contrary, I announced first in Dammesek, then in Yerushalayim and throughout Y’hudah, and also to the Goyim, that they should turn from their sins to God and then do deeds consistent with that repentance.

When the voice of ADONAI tells us to do something, then we are to be like Sha’ul and do it immediately and with vigor. To fail in any way is sin, rebelling against God. If we truly are His servants, then we do His bidding without question and with all our ability. Lord let me be as open as Sha’ul and willing to serve as Avraham, Moshe, and David. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.