Make it Plain

Revelation 22:14-17

How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Yeshua, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the Messianic communities. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone who is thirsty come—let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.”

I have grown up in congregations where often times a member will shout out during the preaching “Make it plain!” Truth is I don’t know how much plainer or simpler it can be than these words of Yochanan, blessed are the ones who have accept Yeshua’s sacrifice and trusted in ADONAI, they will be in heaven with ADONAI forever, and those who claimed sin as a right and righteous will be excluded forever. These are not my word but the Messiah’s it is time we take God at His Word. Lord forgive the hubris of the people, including me, and circumcise our hearts to accept Your Word. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Pay attention

Revelation 16:11

yet they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores and did not turn from their sinful deeds.

God does try to get our attention. There is a whole bible filled with examples and they usually deal with people who are tired of doing the same painful thing over and over again. I know I have beat my head against that wall several times before I came to trust. Nothing will change until you are willing to trust in the sacrifice of Yeshua and the sovereignty of ADONAI. Lord, please let this world see You in their lives so they can come to trust in You, I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

We are chosen by our fruit

Revelation 14:14-20

Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was someone like a Son of Man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Start using your sickle to reap, because the time to reap has come—the earth’s harvest is ripe!” The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Another angel came out of the Temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Then out from the altar went yet another angel, who was in charge of the fire; and he called in a loud voice to the one with the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because they are ripe!” The angel swung his sickle down onto the earth, gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s fury. The winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress as high as the horses’ bridles for two hundred miles!

It is by our fruit, how we have treated our fellow man and trusted in the sacrifice of Yeshua and Adonai that we will be harvested into eternal life. The first fruits into heaven’s storehouse or the second gathering into the winepress of destruction.

Read the whole Word

Revelation 7:4-11

I heard how many were sealed—144,000 from every tribe of the people of Isra’el:
From the tribe of Y’hudah 12,000 were sealed
from the tribe of Re’uven 12,000
from the tribe of Gad,12,000
from the tribe of Asher 12,000
from the tribe of Naftali 12,000
from the tribe of M’nasheh 12,000
from the tribe of Shim’on 12,000
from the tribe of Levi 12,000
from the tribe of Yissakhar 12,000
from the tribe of Z’vulun 12,000
from the tribe of Yosef 12,000
from the tribe of Binyamin 12,000
After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands; and they shouted,
“Victory to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”

All my life I have heard only 144,000 are going to live with God in heaven. Yet this passage says it will be a huge crowd too many for anyone to count, including the 144,000 from Isra’el. We must read the whole Bible and understand what is written in context to understand the Word. Lord, I struggle with opinions and half-truths daily. Let me see clearly to what You would have me know in Your Word and let it be written forever on my heart. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Open the Door

Revelation 3:20

Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me.

Yeshua is constantly trying to resolve us back to ADONAI but we must participate and not only hear the call or knock but accept the invitation and open the door to a new leadership in our lives. Lord I am thankful that daily you speak to me, giving correction, uplifting in sorrow and strength in difficult times and rejoicing in the celebrations of life You bring. Let me never cease following You, I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Keep Holy, what is Holy

2 Yochanan (2 John) 1:10-11

If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, don’t welcome him into your home. Don’t even say, “Shalom!” to him; for the person who says, “Shalom!” to him shares in his evil deeds.

As Yochanan writes to the chosen lady and her children, we are not to share shalom, God’s peace, with those false teachers seeking to amass their own selfish sinful gain. To give comfort to these false teachers is to share in their sin and leads to congregational conflict and destruction. There will always be someone so self-centered all they can see is their own personal gain and we are to witness to them to change their ways and accept through trust the sacrifice of Yeshua, but we are not to allow them a foothold in the congregation like what happened at the incident of Ba’al-P’or where the people of Isra’el accepted sinful relations with the people of Mo’av. God’s peace will not abide with sin, and just as 24,000 people died in their sin for joining with Mo’av so too will we if we seek to profane the holy with the unholy. Lord let me keep Your ways pure, so I may see clearly the narrow path to salvation. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Refinement

1 Yochanan (1 John) 3:3-6

And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah—indeed, sin is violation of Torah. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him.

This is a daily action that we as believers must take. We cannot be stagnant in our walk with ADONAI but continuously climbing to narrow path that leads to salvation by spending time in prayer and studying the Word so that we can learn what dust of this world we have to remove to keep purifying ourselves. It is our desire for His perfection that sets us apart from the rest of the world and by accepting Yeshua’s sacrifice and trusting in all that ADONAI has revealed in His Word is how we take our lives through the crucible to come out shining and pure in His sight. Lord keep me looking for the light that is Your Word to light my path and lead me to Your salvation in Yeshua. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Undefinable

Yochanan (John) 21:25

But there are also many other things Yeshua did; and if they were all to be recorded, I don’t think the whole world could contain the books that would have to be written!

This final statement of Yochanan in his gospel shows just how completely consuming Yeshua is once we as believers accept His sacrifice as our salvation. To try to list all that He has done for His people would be impossible, yet it speaks to His divinity itself in that He cannot by our power be cataloged and tucked away on a shelf. ADONAI has ensured the supernatural nature of our salvation and indwelling in Him is active and alive and new every day like the mana provided to the children of Is’rael during the wandering in the desert. Lord thank You for filling me anew with Your love and understanding. Help me to keep Your Word written on my heart. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Let’s finish the work

Yochanan (John) 17:4

“I glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

I am always drawn to this verse. It Yeshua is our example on how we are to live as believers, or if we really ask ourselves ‘what would Jesus do?’ here is the answer; He glorified ADONAI to everyone on the earth by finishing the work God gave Him to do. How can I as a believer do anything less, yet I as human fail regularly without the help of the Ruach HaKodesh. Lord let me be humble and willing to serve You in all things and finish the work You have gave me to do. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.

Trust!!

Yochanan (John) 12:9-11

A large crowd of Judeans learned that he was there; and they came not only because of Yeshua, but also so that they could see El’azar, whom he had raised from the dead. The head cohanim then decided to do away with El’azar too, since it was because of him that large numbers of the Judeans were leaving their leaders and putting their trust in Yeshua.

Trusting in ADONAI is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage and resolution to accept and trust in the sacrifice of Yeshua and receive the indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh. Sha’ul tells us to put on the full armor of God because there will be people who will search us out just to gawk at the change in our lives and ridicule us for trusting in God. Persecution may come inside your congregation if like the community of Laodicea they are only lukewarm and are upset that you burn with a new light for ADONAI. So there is risk and sacrifice in a life dedicated to God’s service, yet like El’azar how can we fear see and knowing Yeshua is with us always. Lord let me be as bold as Your prophets and as trusting as the centurion that Yeshua said He had found no trust greater than his in the whole house of Israel. I ask this in Yeshua’s name, amen.