Help not hinder

Iyov (Job) 22:1-9

Next Elifaz the Teimani replied:
“Can a human be of advantage to God?
Can even the wisest benefit him?
Does Shaddai gain if you are righteous?
Does he profit if you make your ways blameless?
“Is he rebuking you because you fear him?
Is this why he enters into judgment with you?
Isn’t it because your wickedness is great?
Aren’t your iniquities endless?
“For you kept your kinsmen’s goods as collateral for no reason,
you stripped the poorly clothed of what clothing they have,
you didn’t give water to the weary to drink,
you withheld food from the hungry.
As a wealthy man, an owner of land,
and as a man of rank, who lives on it,
you sent widows away empty-handed
and left the arms of orphans crushed.

Without proof or viable witnesses Iyov’s “friend” Elifaz proceeds to tell Iyov everything he has done wrong and why ADONAI is punishing him. I have been this guy, to see someone floundering the middle of the crucible only to make judgments that have no foundation in fact and act on that useless idea. Lord forgive me for all the times I have been a Elifaz to the people You have placed in my life instead of offering true words of comfort. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Be Accountable

Mark 6:30

Those who had been sent out rejoined Yeshua and reported to him all they had done and taught.

Nothing done in the kingdom of believers is done without oversight. Just as the talmidim reported back to Yeshua, so to was King Sha’ul and David held accountable by Sh’mu’el and Nathan, Sha’ul by the council led by James in Yerushalayim and everyone else entrusted with doing God’s work on this earth. It is only when we lose sight of who we should be serving, such as the builders of the tower of Babel or King N’vukhadretzar building the statue of himself for others to worship, that we are then forced to accept the consequences of our folly. I thank ADONAI that I serve in a congregation where we hold each other accountable whether by peers or those placed in authority over us so we can continue to focus all the glory and honor to God. Lord thank You for the blessings You have given me in people concerned enough to help see Your work completed. Strengthen us and let us be the light to this world so all will come to know You, I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Be Responsible

Mark 4:24

He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you are hearing! The measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you—and more besides!

These are the very words of Yeshua himself. Anything that we hear from ADONAI, whether it be in our prayers, a word of knowledge or what we have studied in the scriptures, we are responsible for. To learn of the heart of God and not act on it is to invite sin, willful disobedience, into our lives. To be in that willful state of selfishness means you will lose everything. To submit in obedience means you will gain life forever. Lord let understand all that You show me and like Sh’mu’el not let one Word of Yours drop to the ground discarded. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Rejoice in keeping God’s Word

Mark 1:40-45

A man afflicted with tzara’at came to Yeshua and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Yeshua reached out his hand, touched him and said to him, “I am willing! Be cleansed!” Instantly the tzara’at left him, and he was cleansed. Yeshua sent him away with this stern warning: “See to it that you tell no one; instead, as a testimony to the people, go and let the cohen examine you, and offer for your cleansing what Moshe commanded.” But he went out and began spreading the news, talking freely about it; so that Yeshua could no longer enter a town openly but stayed out in the country, where people continued coming to him from all around.

Never once did Yeshua supersede what ADONAI had given Moshe in Torah. He heals the leper and tells him to go and be examined so that he can return from being an outcast and more over he can offer a sacrifice for the healing. I believe that Yeshua was not trying to keep the healing a secret but that He was honoring ADONAI by keeping the Word. It should be the same for us, keeping the Word of God should be more important than anything else, for that is how people will know us as set apart for God. Lord let Your Word light my every step so no one can doubt who I serve. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

One Man can

Iyov (Job) 18:1-4

Bildad the Shuchi said,
“When will you put an end to words?
Think about it—then we’ll talk!
Why are we thought of as cattle,
stupid in your view?
You can tear yourself to pieces in your anger,
but the earth won’t be abandoned just for your sake;
not even a rock will be moved from its place.

Bildad in his anger after being chastised by Iyov fires back by saying the earth won’t be affected by one righteous man, yet we as believers know this to be wrong. It was Noach’s righteousness that preserved humanity, it was Avraham’s trust that founded nations, it was Moshe’s intercession that preserved the nation of Isra’el from ADONAI’s anger, it was David facing a giant that rescued a country, it was the possessed man in Gadarenes’ who witnessed to the 10 towns, it was Sha’ul whose prayer saved all those onboard the ship with him and it was Yeshua who brought redemption to all through His sacrifice. Just as Iyov will intercede for the stupidity of his friends, one righteous man can change the paths of nations interceding for them because we follow the example of Yeshua whose actions brought salvation to the world. Lord let me be brave enough to stand alone if needed and hold to Your righteousness. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Walk out of the valley

Iyov (Job) 17:13-16

“If I hope for Sh’ol to be my house;
if I spread my couch in the dark;
if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to worms, ‘You are my mother and sister,’
then where is my hope?
And that hope of mine, who will see it?
Only those who go down with me
to the bars of Sh’ol,
when we rest together in the dust.”

I have despaired in my life. Feeling pain in the moment that all I could think of was to die and end that pain. I read this passage of Iyov answering his friends and I am taken back to those moments in my life where there is no resolution in living and the only thing to look forward to is death. Yet even in this darkest of moments Iyov says it is no solution because death only begets death to the point that everyone will be dead in the dust together. There is only one hope that we can lean on just as Iyov did in the midst of his pain, ADONAI and his salvation that Iyov knew through the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach. Repeatedly Iyov declares “even now, my witness is in heaven; my advocate is there on high,” (16:19) to his friends who will plead his case and remove all guilt. Lord let me never forget this bedrock of conviction when I get lost in the valley of the shadow of death. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Don’t fear the foolish

Acts 23:12-14

The next day, some of the Judeans formed a conspiracy. They took an oath, saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Sha’ul; more than forty were involved in this plot. They went to the head cohanim and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Sha’ul.

There will always be plans to shut down the giving of the Word of God. Yet like these forty men who planned to kill Sha’ul there will always be a flaw to their logic. In this case not eating and drinking till they succeed in killing Sha’ul. After a full day without water, they would not be able to lift themselves up let alone fight someone. These plans only succeed when the body of believers allow them to through inaction. Lord let me always be putting Your Kingdom first, and not my own selfish desires. Let me serve as You deem so that I may in obedience to You stand strong against those who would destroy Your Word in this world. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Be fully committed

Acts 19:13-19

Then some of the Jewish exorcists who traveled from place to place tried to make use of the name of the Lord Yeshua in connection with people who had evil spirits. They would say, “I exorcise you by the Yeshua that Sha’ul is proclaiming!” One time, seven sons of a Jewish cohen gadol named Skeva were doing this; and the evil spirit answered them. It said, “Yeshua I know. And Sha’ul I recognize. But you? Who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit fell upon them, overpowered them and gave them such a beating that they ran from the house, naked and bleeding.
When all this became known to the residents of Ephesus, fear fell on all of them, Jews and Greeks alike; and the name of the Lord Yeshua came to be held in high regard. Many of those who had earlier made professions of faith now came and admitted publicly their evil deeds; and a considerable number of those who had engaged in occult practices threw their scrolls in a pile and burned them in public. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, it came to fifty thousand drachmas.

Many had professed faith in Yeshua but it wasn’t until they heard of the power of the name of Yeshua and the lack of power those who unjustly used His name that the true fear of ADONAI came on them and they gave up selfish sinful things they had kept back because of money and power. We, as Yeshua had told us, cannot serve two masters, because if our house is divided, our mind is at war with our soul as they both trample our heart, how can we ever fully accept the sovereignty and majesty of ADONAI in our lives? Lord, I do struggle everyday with my own sin and selfishness. I need Your shepherding love to see me through each moment of my life. Keep me in the fold and hold me close so that I only serve You. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Support is always near

Acts 18:24-28

Meanwhile, a Jewish man named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker with a thorough knowledge of the Tanakh. This man had been informed about the Way of the Lord, and with great spiritual fervor he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Yeshua, but he knew only the immersion of Yochanan. He began to speak out boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God in fuller detail. When he made plans to cross over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote the talmidim there to welcome him. On arrival, he greatly helped those who through grace had come to trust; for he powerfully and conclusively refuted the unbelieving Jews in public, demonstrating by the Tanakh that Yeshua is the Messiah.

Sha’ul had to leave Ephesus for the movement of the Ruach to be ignited in other places but ADONAI in His wisdom did not leave the Ephesians without direction. Apollos through his own study of scripture had come to fully trust in ADONAI himself and was able to expand on the teachings Sha’ul had already given and learn as well from others who understanding of Yeshua was deeper through the infilling of the Ruach. Without Sha’ul leaving Apollos would have never had the opportunity to teach and learn and with the infilling be commission to go and preach to others throughout Achaia. When trusted friends and mentors leave our lives God will provide others to support and encourage us in our walk with Him so that we might send more believers out in this world to testify to His love for us. Lord let me be worthy to work for You in such a way. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Can’t do it on our own

Iyov (Job) 11:12-15

An empty man can gain understanding,
even if he was born like a wild donkey.
If you will set your heart right,
if you will spread out your hands toward him,
if you will put your iniquity at a distance
and not let unrighteousness remain in your tents,
then when you lift up your face, there will be no defect;
you will be firm and free from fear.

This is Tzofar the Na’amati’s advice to his friend Iyov after hearing him lament about his condition and it seems to me the way many are treated when they are searching for God’s hand in their lives. Tzofar incorrectly tells Iyov he can fix himself “if you will…” and thus be presentable to ADONAI, but that is the lie that many fall for, if I am a good person then God will have to take me. The salvation experience is not possible without the supernatural sacrifice of Yeshua’s blood for our sin so no matter how righteous we act or how many good deeds we do unless we set aside our selfish sinfulness and seek to be filled by the Ruach HaKodesh there is no salvation, no freedom from fear as Tzofar falsely claims. Only through ADONAI is salvation and as Iyov learns only a personal relationship with God brings salvation. Lord let me be as strong as Iyov and cling to Your Word in every aspect of my life. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.