You are the example

Titus 2:6-8

Similarly, urge the young men to be self-controlled, and in everything set them an example yourself by doing what is good. When you are teaching, have integrity and be serious; let everything you say be so wholesome that an opponent will be put to shame because he will have nothing bad to say about us.

It has only been in the past seven to ten years have I become truly aware of how my actions are teaching the next generation whether I want to or not. Grandchildren are fantastic for bringing this to the front of my thoughts, everything I do is observed and applied to how the those watching will act towards me and others in the future. Sha’ul tells Titus to have integrity and seriousness so that our detractors will never have anything bad to say about us in the future. Lord let me keep my tongue and actions to reflect honorably to You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Stand on the Word

Titus 1:9

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy Message that agrees with the doctrine; so that by his sound teaching he will be able to exhort and encourage, and also to refute those who speak against it.

Sha’ul is writing to Titus about appointing congregational leaders but we as believers might as well take this as addressed to ourselves.  It is we who must hold firmly to the trustworthy Message and how do we do that, by knowing the scripture that supports it.  Failure to know the scripture in this day and age means you accept the folly of any selfish, self-centered, sinful person around you.  There is only one rock of our salvation and that is the Word of God as given to Moshe, supported by all the prophets, and brought to fruition by the sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiach and if all we say agrees with that then our witness will be held as righteousness to us as it was to Avraham.  Lord let me be strong in Your Word, I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Proclaim the Word!

2 Timothy 4:1-2

I solemnly charge you before God and the Messiah Yeshua, who will judge the living and the dead when he appears and establishes his Kingdom: 2 proclaim the Word! Be on hand with it whether the time seems right or not. Convict, censure and exhort with unfailing patience and with teaching.

Though the charge or commission in this passage Sha”ul is giving to Timothy, it is just as convicting for all believers. We all must proclaim the Word throughout all aspects of our lives for without it we are no different from the unbelievers in the world today. It is the Word of God written on our hearts by our trust in the sacrifice of Yeshua that sets us apart and bears witness to the salvation that God will give to all who trust in Him. Lord let me be like Sh’mu’el and not let one word of Yours fall to the ground. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Stay the course

2 Timothy 3:10-15

But you, you have closely followed my teaching, conduct, purpose in life, trust, steadfastness, love and perseverance— as well as the persecutions and sufferings that came my way in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. And indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
But you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you the wisdom that leads to deliverance through trusting in Yeshua the Messiah.

Sha’ul in writing to Timothy tells us that we will face opposition and difficulty in our walk with God.  Persecution is inevitable and cannot be avoided but with following the examples of those who have gone before us and faced such persecutions how can ours compare?  These trailblazers of trust have already shown us the way and if we hold to the Word of God to shed wisdom on our decisions there is only deliverance and reward for us in the end with Yeshua.  Lord let me be as faithful and trustworthy as Sha’ul and Timothy and run the good race until the end.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Anger Issues

Yonah (Jonah) 4:1-4

But this was very displeasing to Yonah, and he became angry. He prayed to ADONAI, “Now, ADONAI, didn’t I say this would happen, when I was still in my own country? That’s why I tried to get away to Tarshish ahead of time! I knew you were a God who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment. Therefore, ADONAI, please, just take my life away from me; it’s better for me to be dead than alive!” ADONAI asked, “Is it right for you to be so angry?”

How many times have I been Yonah, crying out for destruction on someone I am convinced deserves it only to see them receive forgiveness and move on?  If ADONAI is truly sovereign in my life, why am I so disturbed by His actions, where is my “right” to be so angry?  Lord forgive me for keeping a tally of the slights against me.  Help me to release them for in my selfish nature alone I cannot.  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Heal our land

Yo’el (Joel) 1:10-13

The fields are ruined, the ground is grieving;
for the grain is ruined, the new wine dried up,
and the olive oil is wretched.
Despair, you farmers; lament, vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley—
the harvest from the fields is lost.
The vines have withered, the fig trees wilted,
also the pomegranate, date-palm and apple tree—
all the trees in the fields have withered,
and the people’s joy has withered away.
Cohanim, put on sackcloth, and weep!
Wail, you who serve at the altar!
Come, lie in sackcloth all night long,
you who serve my God!
For the grain offering and drink offering are withheld
from the house of your God.

In the news I read this week almond trees, as well as fig trees, are being destroyed by growers in an effort to conserve water, the fruit crop in the south is being attacked by a blight, and corn and wheat are under producing in the farm belt because of a seven-year drought.  Yet for all this destruction of food I have not really spent any time in prayer and repentance for ADONAI to heal our land.  It is our responsibility to call the people to prayer and repentance when God has removed His blessing from the people.  I know personally even if I do set out to pray for the nation, within minutes it turns into petitions for myself and my friends and family.  But like Yo’el wrote we must set aside a time to cry out to ADONAI for our nation, to weep and wail over the loss of souls who have turned their back on God, and to heal our land.  Lord forgive me for failing to intercede for this nation You have made me a part of.  Heal our land in such a supernatural way that there can be no doubt that You set enthroned in heaven, and You are the God of the living, the God of Avraham, Yitzchak and Isra’el!!  I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Who abandons who

Devrie-YahHamin (2 Chronicles) 24:17-22

After Y’hoyada died, the leaders of Y’hudah came and prostrated themselves before the king. Then the king listened to them; and they abandoned the house of ADONAI the God of their ancestors and served the sacred poles and the idols. In consequence of their guilt, [God’s] anger fell on Y’hudah and Yerushalayim. In spite of this, he sent them prophets to bring them back to ADONAI; they warned them, but they wouldn’t pay attention. The Spirit of God covered Z’kharyah the son of Y’hoyada the cohen; he stood above the people and addressed them: “Thus says God: ‘Why are you transgressing the mitzvot of ADONAI and courting disaster? Because you have abandoned ADONAI, he has abandoned you.” But they conspired against him and stoned him to death at the order of the king in the courtyard of the house of ADONAI. Thus Yo’ash the king did not remember the kindness which Y’hoyada, [Z’kharyah’s] father, had done for him, but put his son to death. As he was dying he said, “May ADONAI see this and take vengeance!”

ADONAI in all His power and glory will never abandon us unless we first abandon Him. I know many times I have screamed into the wind “God why have you abandoned me to (fill in the current hardship)” when in truth I had already left God just like King Yo’ash for my own selfishness and was forced to face the world in a place that God chose not to follow because He will not abide with sin. ADONAI wants to walk with us, but He will not leave the narrow path of His own righteousness. We must choose to walk with Him and as Yeshua has said over and over again “Go and sin no more.” Lord forgive me for my wanderings off Your path to reconciliation with You, help me to keep my eyes on You in all things so I never wander into my own selfishness. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen

Removing the layers of selfishness

1 Timothy 5:24-25

The sins of some people are obvious and go ahead of them to judgment, but the sins of others follow afterwards. Likewise, good deeds are obvious; and even when they are not, they can’t stay hidden.

There is nothing that I have done in sin that has not be exposed to the light of day. Even the things that I have thought were buried so deep within me and my past that I forgotten that the event ever happened have come to light as ADONAI removes the layers of foulness I have put on myself in my worthless pursuit of selfish desires. As I seek to make restitution of these things the love of ADONAI and the good things that fellow believers have given me that I missed in my wallowing in selfishness is revealed, proving what Sha’ul wrote that while some sins are obvious and others come to light over time, the good that believers do will always be revealed as a witness for God. Lord let me always see where Your hand is at work not only in my life but in my community. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Just take your positions

Divrei-HaYamim (2 Chronicles) 20:17

You won’t even need to fight this battle! Just take your positions, Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, stand still, and watch how ADONAI will deliver you! Don’t be afraid or distressed; tomorrow, go out against them; for ADONAI is with you.'”

Even though this is about King Y’hoshafat standing against Moav and Aman, we can follow his example. As long as we as believers stand firmly on the rock that is our salvation, our trust in the sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiach and place ADONAI as Lord of our lives, there is nothing that can defeat us in this world or the next for God fights our battles for us, we just have to be in position to receive the blessing of it. Lord help me to stand firmly in all Your ways. Thank you for surrounding me with like minded men and women to encourage me in these days, bless them in their faithfulness to You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Answer humbly

M’lakhim Bet (2 Kings) 5:9-14

So Na’aman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, who said, “Go, and bathe in the Yarden seven times. Your skin will become as it was, and you will be clean.” But Na’aman became angry and left, saying, “Here now! I thought for certain that he would come out personally, that he would stand, call on the name of ADONAI his God and wave his hand over the diseased place and thus heal the person with tzara’at. Aren’t Amanah and Parpar, the rivers of Dammesek, better than all the water in Isra’el? Why can’t I bathe in them and be clean?” So he turned and went off in a rage. But his servants approached him and said, “My father! If the prophet had asked you to do something really difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So, doesn’t it make even more sense to do what he says, when it’s only, ‘Bathe, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Yarden, as the man of God had said to do; and his skin was restored and became like the skin of a child; and he became clean.

Na’aman came with all the pomp and circumstance that bespoke of his position as a leader and general in the army of Aram. Elisha didn’t even answer him but sent a servant to give him the answer he was seeking. When that answer was something so normal as bath in the river Na’aman was incredulous and insulted but ADONAI when He calls us to service, He calls us in our weakness so that there can be no doubt that He called. For Na’aman he had to overcome his pride and conventional understanding, for Moshe he had to overcome his stutter, Yonah his hatred for a pagan people. ADONAI uses us in these times so that in our witness there can be no doubt who granted salvation. Lord let me recognize Your leadership in my life and follow without question or concern. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.