Good Morning Wednesday...
FATHER thank You for this NEW DAY. We ask that you cover us with YOUR MIGHTY HAND. Let us understand YOUR MIGHTY WILL so that we may see YOUR INFINITE GLORY. We ask this in YOUR PERFECT SON YESHUA, JESUS CHRIST's NAME, Amen. - Daniel: An Example King Nebachanezzer of Babylon was on the warpath. He wanted his dream told to him and interpreted. The false prophets, magicians, soothsayers, fortune tellers, and the like said no man could. The king said he would put everyone of them, and the rest of the "wise men," to death if it could not be done. If they couldn't grant the kings request, it meant they were fakes. He had enough, the order went out to execute all the "wise men." When the guards came to Daniel, he asked for time so that he and his companions may seek The "Mercies" from God. Let's take a look: “that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel 2:18 NKJV Daniel and friends sought those Mercies and they received. No doubt they were righteous and faithful. We can see the fruit in Daniel's Prayer after the Mercies he sought had been granted by Our Father. Just listen to this: “So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”” Daniel 2:20-23 NKJV What a beautiful prayer Our Father Has Daniel Teach us. Packed with Truth and overflowing with Praise for The One True God. Daniel and friends knew they could request from Our Father and Yeshua, Jesus Christ, and He Would Deliver them. How did Daniel know? Because Daniel and friends knew this: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16 NKJV This is just what Daniel and Friends did. They trusted in The One Who Can Save. No doubt they confessed to one another, lived righteously, knew The Scriptures, and most importantly they obeyed and never took credit for The Wisdom endowed to them. Let's take a look: “Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.” Daniel 2:27-29 NKJV Daniel gives credit where credit is due... All to God Almighty, Our Father, "He Who Revels Secrets." Daniel obviously prayed for and received: Truth, Discernment, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding. Let's see what came of his faithfulness in this chapter: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Daniel 2:46-49 NKJV Our Father is showing us a model here. Daniel does it right. Is he perfect? No, only Our Messiah was. But despite being imperfect like all of us, he disciplined his mind, body, and spirit to be able to Commune With God Almighty and The One True God "made his Paths straight." Pretty awesome, right? I agree and I would like to prepose something. We can all have that Communion! Yahweh, Our Father used His Son, Our LORD and King Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, Jesus Christ, to let us know. He is The Way, The Life, and The Truth. If you Seek Wisdom, Seek Him. And because we know we have access to Him and it is a Free Gift, we say.......HalleluYah!!! Daily Bread Bonus: I think Daniel and Friends had this Proverb memorized and to them it became prophecy. This is what happens when we "Take Instruction" and Live The Word. When we become not just speakers of The Word, but also doers of The Word... Amazing things happen. Let's Take a Look at what Daniel and Friends obviously knew. They got Wisdom, and with that Wisdom... They got Understanding: “He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.” Proverbs 4:4-13 NKJV God Bless Everyone and have a Wonderful Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach Filled Week!!! 😃🙌🔥 A copy of this devotion, more pictures with verses, and other encouragement for sharing, is available at: http://servantofyeshua7.weebly.com/yahweh-yeshua-hamashiach-devotions/daniel-an-example Thank You and Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, God Our Father and His Son, Bless You Mightily!
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Good Morning Thursday......
Father thank You for this NEW day. Please continue to fill our HEARTs & MINDs with Your LOVE & TRUTH. TRANSFORM our ordinary day into an extraordinary day by shinning your light in us, through us, and over us. May we make a difference in this world, for Your Glory and Purposes TODAY! In Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name we pray. Amen. A big thank you to amazingfacts.org and Brother Doug Batchelor for today’s devotion. - As Working For The LORD An Amazing Fact: In September 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee made his greatest effort to carry the Civil War into the North. This climaxed with the Battle of Antietam, which became the bloodiest and perhaps the most decisive battle in the War Between the States. On the morning of September 17, a Union commander named Colonel Hayes ordered his men to the firing line before sunrise and without breakfast. It was crucial that they prevent the advance of the Confederate army from crossing into the North. By afternoon the soldiers were exhausted and famished. A 19-year-old mess sergeant, known as Billy, took pity on the hungry men and loaded up a wagon with buckets of coffee and food rations. He then drove the wagon under fire to reach the men. The famished soldiers, surprised and grateful for the food, sent up a loud cheer for Billy. They wolfed down the food and then turned back to the fight with renewed strength.When Colonel Hayes learned what Billy had done for his men, he recommended Billy be promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. The colonel who promoted Billy was Rutherford B. Hayes, who became the nineteenth president of the United States ... and Billy, the mess sergeant, was William McKinley, who became our twenty-fifth president. Later, Hayes remarked that “McKinley was a man of rare capacity, especially for a boy of his age … the night was never too dark; the weather was never too cold; there was no sleet, or storm, or hail, or snow, or rain that was in the way of his prompt and efficient performance in every duty.” Though the duties in front of us today may not seem great, if we perform them faithfully it will soon become apparent to those around us that we can be trusted with greater things. And even if we’re never given earthly recognition for our efforts, Paul reminds us that whatever we do, we should “do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23). If we do that, we can be confident that we’ll hear our Commander say, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:21). KEY BIBLE TEXTS He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10 Good Morning Monday.....
Father, Help us to live aware, to choose wisely, to stay close to You, and anchored in Your Truth! Thank You for Your Great Love, Mercy, that you wait for us, and You Strengthen us. We come to You today, choosing to walk in Your Presence and Light. In Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name we pray. Amen! - Having A Thankful Heart My cup overflows with your blessings – Psalm 23:5 Being mindful, giving praise, and being thankful in the midst of a trials isn’t always easy. When we discipline ourselves into responding this way though, we are winning a serious spiritual battle. Thanking Our Father in Heaven and Yeshua, Jesus Christ, even when life is difficult, this is when we are defeating our enemy. Isn’t this what Our Savior did in The Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion? It is. This is The Perfect Example of having a thankful heart in the midst of an excruciatingly difficult situation. When we act in this manner, our enemy hits a “brick wall,” and we are successfully defending against the “spiritual hosts of wickedness” we read about in Ephesians 6:12. Let’s take a look: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NKJV “because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 LEB “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 NIV Part of “being more like Christ” is learning to be thankful for all the blessings in our lives, no matter the situation. Our Father in Heaven takes great joy if, in the middle of a great trial, we can be thankful, reverent, and acknowledge Him as sovereign. This is a prime example of looking at our lives from an eternal standpoint. We have a treasure set before us and the reality of eternal life and eternal glory are priceless. We won’t always have to deal with trials and one day there will be no pain (Revelation 21:4), but until then, may the reality that is possible because of Our Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ, and Yahweh, Our Father In Heaven, be enough to keep us encouraged and HAVING A THANKFUL HEART. A Prayer to Have a Thankful Heart: Father Yahweh, please teach and discipline us to be able to offer you a thankful heart amidst all our trials and our blessings. In our daily experiences it can be easy to have our minds drift onto worldly things, emotions, and people. Help us instead to focus on You Father. We long to bring you a fragrance in our actions that is pleasing to You. Help us to break the power of the enemy and defeat him through our thankfulness to You, even during our trials. Father, enlarge in all of us a “heart of flesh” and break away our “hearts of stone.” Transform our minds to have an attitude of thanks, praise, and discipline with our present circumstances, and the new ones we will face this week. Let’s all take a moment to thank Our Father for any difficult areas we may be dealing with in our lives. Yeshua, Jesus Christ, Our King... we want to be more like You. You obeyed Our Father with zero complaints. You took upon Yourself our chains, which You did not have to do, so we may be freed of our chains and the sin that entices us. Please be with us and convict us when we complain, compare, minimize, or focus on the negative instead of You and Our Father in Heaven. We know that You are Truth, and Truth dwells in a thankful heart. Yeshua, dwell in our hearts today and forever more, so we can show others what HAVING A THANKFUL HEART is all about. “I will thank Yahweh according to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of Yahweh, The Most High.Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who put your splendor above the heavens.” Psalms 7:17-8:1 In Yeshua, Jesus Christ's Name, Amen. Our Father in Heaven and Our Savior bless each and every one of you on the other side of this screen... Mightily! Have a great week everyone. Love you all.😎🙌🔥 Good Morning Sunday...
Father Thank You for this NEW DAY. Help us to be Your LIGHTs in this dark world. Help us to show the kindness, compassion, mercy, and LOVE that You Have Show Us Through Your Son YESHUA, JESUS CHRIST. We ask this in His Name, The Name Above All Names, Yeshua, Jesus Christ Our Savior. Amen! - Connecting The Jots - God’s Beloved Is Revealed! Part 10 This devotion is dedicated to The One And Only Yeshua, Jesus Christ, The King. Bless Our Father For His Infinite Wisdom Which Is Manifest In Our Savior. He Is The One Who Connects All The Jots...Period. I heard a saying the other day that just amazed me. It was so simple, profound, and "on the mark" that it was absolutely seared into my mind from the time I heard it. It goes something like this: The New Testament Is In The Old Testament Concealed; The Old Testament Is In The New Testament Revealed. What a profound, "spot on" statement made with an amazing, short, succinct sentence! Today, let’s put this “pearl of wisdom” to the test and see how Our Father and Savior...Connect The Jots. Parallel Verses From The Old Concealed and The New Revealed (Matthew): 37.) “And he answered and said, “Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘On account of this a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.” Matthew 19:4-6 LEB “And Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said, “She is now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she shall be called ‘Woman,’ for she was taken from man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh.” Genesis 2:22-24 LEB 38.) “They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?” He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this.” Matthew 19:7-8 LEB “When a man takes a wife and he marries her and then she does not please him, because he found something objectionable and writes her a letter of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her away from his house,” Deuteronomy 24:1 LEB 39.) “He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 19:18-19 LEB “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness. “You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:13-17 LEB 40.) “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” Matthew 19:26 LEB “‘Ah Lord Yahweh! Look, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you, showing loyal love to the thousands, and repaying the guilt of parents into the laps of their children after them. Powerful, great, mighty, his name is Yahweh of hosts, great in counsel and great in deed, whose eyes are opened to all the ways of the children of humankind, to give to each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds,” Jeremiah 32:17-19 LEB Our Father Is AMAZING. Bless Him, Praise Him, and Let Him Connect The Jots For You! “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Matthew 13:45-51 Good Morning Sabbath...
Father thank you for this new day. Your Day. We ask for Your Peaceful Rest. May we abide in You and refill our lamps with oil. As we look at Your Word andThe Words of Your Son, please give us wisdom. We ask this so we may show Your Glory. In Yeshua, Jesus Christ's Name. Amen. - Trust and Peace When we finally put our trust in Our Father and Yeshua, Jesus Christ, our lives become much less complicated and much more full of Peace. This is a real life application, but we must believe what God is telling us for it to work. God's Word tells us this over and over. Today let's look at God's Word and take a look at how Our Father Communicates this in a few of His Verses. As we read these verses, may we all believe what God Almighty, Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, God Our Father and His Son Yeshua, Jesus Christ are telling us. May it bring Peace, because our Trust is in the right One. God Bless Everyone and May The Peace of God cover you all on this wonderful day He Has Made For Us All. God's Word, 7 Verses for Trust and Peace: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NKJV “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” Isaiah 41:10 NKJV ““Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 NKJV “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NKJV ““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:7-12 NKJV Good Morning Friday.......
Father thank You for this NEW day. You have blessed us with another WONDERFUL day to see your WISDOM and TRUTH. May we use this day to show this dark world Your Fruit, Your Light, and Your Glory TODAY! In Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name we pray. Amen. - Don't Trust Your Heart! Trust Your Disciplined And Godly Transformed Mind (Part 2) How do we fight against our "deceitful hearts?" That is the question we face. Yesterday we looked into the dangers of trusting our hearts and briefly touched on the fact that the world is constantly telling us to trust these deceitful hearts. Today we will look at how to arm ourselves against following that path of deceit and The Way to train ourselves to follow our disciplined, transformed, and godly trained mind. A Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, or A God Our Father and His Son Jesus Christ Transformed Mind. Let's jump right into a witness from The Word of God.: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:1-3 NKJV We see here God's Word telling us not to be "conformed," but to be "transformed" by the "renewing of our minds." Right away Our Father tells us, in Romans 12, to be living sacrifices, don't be conformed to a world telling us to trust our hearts, and transform our minds so we "may prove what is that good and acceptable and Perfect Will of God." So, it is with our minds that we must prove The Will of God for our lives... not our heart. The question is now, what is our mind like before we "transform" our minds and before we can "think soberly (1Peter1:13)?" Let's look in Our Father’s Word and find out.: “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” Colossians 2:18 NKJV “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5 NKJV “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:7-8 NKJV Here we see that before we transform our minds, our minds are carnal, fleshly, and deceitful. In some places throughout God's Word, it likens a fleshly mind with drunkenness, pride, and vanity. This is what happens to us when we have been following our hearts and they are filled with the passions of the world. In order to arm ourselves, in order to transform our minds... what must we do? I believe in order to do this we must begin with the first commandment. We are suppose to love God with "all our mind (Luke 10:27)." If we are loving God with all our mind, it would mean that we are in His Word, studying, and reading to "prove what is that good and acceptable and Perfect Will of God." If we don't do this, how can we even "know" His Will? The answer is we can't. It takes an effort on our part, choosing Him As God and not following our own conception of good. Our Father knows best, can train our minds if we submit to him, and lead us into a more full, peaceful, and joyful Life. We must arm ourselves against deceit. We must set our minds on "Things of The Spirit." As in the verses above show, our minds can lead us astray just as our hearts if we allow them to be "fleshly" and "carnal." The key is to identify when we are acting fleshly and carnal, or following our deceitful hearts, and repent of that behavior, that thinking, or the longing for worldly things. God's Word is the only Truth where we have a standard in which to judge rightly against these things and to know the "fruit" of when we are doing this. The Bible mentions the word mind 92 times and it is either pointing to a fleshly mind or a mind that shares in the Will of Our Father, His Son, and The Body of Christ. After all, isn't "The Head" of man, and The Church, Christ? Aren't we suppose to train ourselves to have "The Mind of Christ?" We all know, changing someone's mind on something can be a difficult thing. Letting God Change our minds with His Word doesn't have to be. Once we have studied God's Word, tested our motives by questioning ourselves, and try to learn what God Is Showing us, we begin to transform our minds and likeness to His Character. We should all be aware not to trust our hearts, but if we learn to train and transform our minds... we begin to arm ourselves against the deceits of the world. Remember, the world wants us to think God's Word is wrong, but The Truth is... once we transform our old minds by God's Word into a disciplined and godly mind... we will know without a doubt... His Word Is Truth, Life, and The Way. Let us conclude with a few verses about a rightly transformed mind. A mind that has been transformed by The Word of God. Once we start on this path of "rightly dividing The Word of Truth," we will be training ourselves to have a transformed and godly-disciplined mind. With a godly and transformed mind, we will be able to fight against any deceit our hearts or the world throws at us. God Bless Everybody and have a Great Godly-Transformed Mind Day! The Word of Truth about a "right" mind: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11 KJV “And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:29-32 KJV “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Philippians 2:2 KJV “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:5 KJV “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV Good Morning Thursday...
Father thank You for this NEW DAY. Please impart in our hearts YOUR WILL. We ask for Patience, Kindness, Humility, and Truth so we may show You and Your Son's Light in this fallen world. In Yeshua, JESUS CHRIST's Name, amen. - Don't Trust Your Heart! Trust Your Disciplined And Godly Transformed Mind. (Part 1) The world is full of lies. The world propagates these lies over and over so that we believe them. In the study of mind control, hypnosis, and brain washing, there is one element that is required. Repetition. The enemy knows that if you hear something over and over, hear it repeated by friends and family, and hear it from the idols of the world such as musicians in secular music, you will believe them eventually and you may not even know where you received this advice. The fact is, we believe these things sometimes just because so many people have said it and it becomes ingrained in our mind. This is one of the biggest reasons God's Word Tells us to test EVERYTHING against The Word. When we do, many times, we will find what we have "learned" from popular culture is completely opposite from what The Bible teaches us. How many times have you heard song lyrics such as: "Listen to your heart," "the heart don't lie," "follow your heart," and we could go on and on. Now, with that in mind, today let's take a look at what Our Father's Word tells us about our hearts.: ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 NKJV “Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences.” Mishlei (Proverbs) 4:23 CJB “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!” James 4:8 LEB “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”” Matthew 15:18-20 LEB So we can see, trusting our hearts can be dangerous business. Our hearts follow in line with moods, emotional outbursts, over passionate relationships that aren't healthy, and a myriad of other "defiling" behaviors. In the verses above we are told to not trust our hearts, guard our hearts, purify our hearts, and Yeshua Jesus Christ Himself tells us things come out of the heart such as: evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and abusive speech. Why in the world would we trust our hearts?! The answer, definitely is that we shouldn't. So how do we fight against this "deceitful heart" we have been given? With a disciplined, Word Filled, and Transformed Mind. We will talk more about this tomorrow. Today, I encourage everyone to evaluate the decisions they have made with their heart. What was the outcome? Where did it lead? Have the decisions you made based on passion helped or hurt your prosperity? Have you told a friend or your children to follow their heart? Has someone told you recently to follow your heart? Beware, the enemy is prowling around. I pray that we all start to question the fake wisdom this world is providing and begin looking towards The Truth. When we arm ourselves with Truth, God's Word, the enemy's deception is easy to spot. With God's Word as our guide, we can all begin to lead more Love Filled, Prosperous, and Peaceful Lives. God Bless everyone and have a Great God-Filled Day. Good Morning Wednesday.......
Father, thank You for this NEW day. We ask that you OPEN our HEARTS and MINDS to Your Word and implant in us Your Goodness. As we walk with You today, gently remind us of Your Presence in our lives. Please watch over our loved ones, Your People Israel, and TRANSFORM our lives TODAY! Live Without Accusation - Be Known By Love “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Matthew 15:1-3 NKJV I was having a Bible Study/Conversation with a dear Brother yesterday and had an epiphany. It was an epiphany seed planted by another dear Brother and teacher of mine months earlier. In the beginning, before the lies started flowing and Our Savior gave Himself as Our Ultimate Sacrifice, each time Yeshua (Jesus) was accused by the oppressive religious leaders of the day, or pharisees, they didn't accuse Him... they accused His Students (Disciples). Now we can take one of two things from this: 1.) Jesus wasn't doing what His Disciples were doing at the time when the pharisees accused them of the transgression, or 2.) He was doing what His Disciples were doing, BUT He had done the prescribed religious ritual so no one, not even the pharisee, could say He was doing anything wrong. Now, as we take a look at this subject, please don't think I am inferring at any point that we should or have to do these things,...or that Yeshua (Jesus) taught His Disciples to do these "traditions of men," which the pharisees had exchanged for the commandments of God Our Father. Rather, it made me think back on two particular verses from 1 Peter 2 and another from Philippians 2: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” 1 Peter 2:12 NIV “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” Philippians 2:14-15 NKJV Why did the pharisee never accuse Yeshua (Jesus) Himself when "pointing the finger" about the disciples not washing their hands before eating bread? Why did they not accuse Jesus when pointing the finger at the disciples for eating the grain from the field on Sabbath? Our Savior clearly explains that the pharisee had transgressed against God Our Father with their tradition. I believe this makes them Biblically Defined... like the pagans. The pharisees were following the commandments of men rather than The Commandments of God. Now we know that Jesus followed every command perfectly, but did He also perform the prescribed rituals of the pharisee so that they could not say He had done anything wrong? The answer: I don't know. The point for our time together this morning is this: Can we act in a manner that doesn't offend people of other faiths or beliefs and still be loyal to Our Father's commands? I believe the answer is a resounding YES! Jesus knew EVERYTHING, and He tells us: ““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16 NKJV With this in mind, was Our Savior doing these things to be wise, kind, and win over more people to The Kingdom of His Father or was He merely on a fast most of the time and these traditions of men didn't apply to Him. Again, I don't know. I will say this, I think we have all been in the presence of others who do not share our beliefs exactly or maybe don't even share the same faith, but we can still be kind, do good works (follow commandments), and show these "other people" Our Father and Yeshua's Love. If we find ourselves in the presence of someone or a group of people where their traditions don't match ours, why not show them some respect and love in participation and then maybe they will begin to ask about Our God and Our Faith because they can see The Light of God Shining Through Us in our respectful actions. You never know, you may even win them over to The True Faith of Our King and Savior. We know Yeshua (Jesus) won over some of the pharisees to become loving followers of His, and in turn they stopped following and teaching the commandments of men that break Our Father's Instructions... Can we do the same? Another resounding YES! I want to make it clear that we should never participate in anyone's tradition if it transgresses against Our Father's Instruction. Say if we are with some people of another faith, we should not bow down to their god(s), or participate in a tradition that transgresses against Our God. That being said, was Yeshua doing anything wrong if He washed His Hands before He Ate Bread? Of course not, and that is my point. If someone's tradition is to remove shoes before you come in the house due to their religion, why not remove your shoes before coming into their house. It is an act that not only doesn't transgress against God, but also an act that shows respect, increasing your chances of being able to witness about your faith In The One True God. The Life of The Son of God Our Savior is one that we don't always get the whole picture from, but I think that is how God intended it. This way it leads us to study His Word and get as close to Him as possible. Remember, Paul tells us that this life is just a shadow of what we are to learn and live. Our Father also states something to us through Paul that I think we should examine very closely... It is this verse: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.” I Corinthians 9:19-23 NKJV As we go through our day today may we be mindful of all our actions towards others. May we not act like the corrupt and proud religious leaders and point fingers or persecute others. May we not look down on others because they do not have the knowledge of The True Gospel of Jesus Christ. But rather, may we show loving kindness and respect to all while Glorifying The Work of God through Our Savior Jesus Christ. This way we may be able to win more believers into The Kingdom of God Almighty, in which we are now partakers. In conclusion, I think there is no better verse to end with than The Words of Our Perfect Example and King, Yeshua, Jesus Christ: "“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”” John 13:34-35 NKJV God Bless Everyone and have a Great God-Filled Day. 😃🙌🔥 Extra Fuel For The Soul: Mathew Chapter 15 Philippians 2:14-15 Good Morning Tuesday...
Father thank You for this NEW day, please continue to fill our HEARTS & MINDS with Your LOVE & TRUTH, and TRANSFORM our ordinary day into an extraordinary day. Shine Your light in us, through us, and over us. May we make a difference in this world, for Your Glory and Purposes TODAY! In Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen! - Faith Over Fear - Here I Am! Worrying about things can often leave us feeling down and out. When fear and anxiety creep in it seems everything gets turned around. When anxiety and fear set in, all we need do is turn to The Word and the people Our Father has used as heroes in His Scriptures. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and many more heroes of The Bible, had times like these. The Hebrew word to describe the faith the heroes of The Bibles had in these moments is "hineni." The word hineni means, "Here I Am!" Heneni points us to The Way that Abraham and Moses stated to Our Father that they were in the moment with Him, focused on Him, and ready to be used by Him... even when they were struggling with fear and anxiety. Abraham did indeed have doubt in God's Promises, but he still declared to God, "Here I am!" Moses was fearful and insecure about the respect he would receive from others, his qualifications, and his ability to speak, but he still declared to God, "Here I Am!" Heneni, or “Here I Am!,” is Moses seeing The Burning Bush and being told to face his biggest “giants,” or fears. Heneni is Abraham letting Our Father lead him, despite being told to sacrifice his son! Here I am is how we tell Our Kind and Loving Father that we are ready to do what He asks of us, in whatever situation He has declared us to be. I think we all struggle with anxiety at some point. We all feel at times our next steps are uncertain and our future unsure. This is when YAHWEH wants you to declare, "Here I Am!" You are stating that you are present and ready to follow Him no matter what you face. Next time we are fearful, anxiety ridden, or overwhelmed all we need to say is HENENI! Here I Am! Father, I Am Yours! Prayer: Dear Father, we know we are Yours. We know You Will Keep Us Safe even when we are riddled with anxiety, fear, and doubt. Help us to see our fears with spiritual eyes, and put our Trust In You. Help to show us how to say "Here I Am!" in our toughest moments, ready to follow You wherever ever you lead us. We know we are weak Father, but You Are Powerful in our weakness. Lead us, Our Almighty Father, into victory against this world and all our fears. We ask these things of you in The Name Above All Names, Your Son Yeshua, Jesus Christ Our Savior. Amen. Good Morning Monday...
Father, thank You for this NEW DAY. Please help us to have our thoughts guided towards You. We ask that You show us NEW TRUTH and NEW LIFE today. Let us share it with someone who is searching for You TODAY. In Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name we pray. Amen! - Be Led By THE ONE Who Knows Here is a truth: we as human beings, we like formulas. We like things broken down, put into a slide show, filled with guidelines, and this, to us, makes life easier. This seems to chop through the mystery and eliminate our doubt. Wouldn't it be easy if such things could guide our relationship with God? It would seemingly make following Our Father and Savior easier. It would seem this way, so we try and create them. It always tends to begin innocently. Ex. "Someone" asks God to reveal Himself and finds Him, waiting, like He Has Always Been. But, this "someone" makes a mistake and thinks they have found Him through a certain prayer, ritual, project, or studying scripture in a particular way. Soon though, that person decides it is "the" way to find God. Then that "someone" persuades others, of course, because they want to find God also. Thus, a formula is created. A slide show, broken down, with guidelines, and highlighted... A rule about how our relationship with God must look or be attained. Here's the thing, God never changes: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 While God never changes, we as humans do and our relationships with Him do as well. Our relationship with Him is ever changing, ever challenging, and ever growing. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18 There is always More With Our Father. He Has Made Sure there is always a mystery and that there is always something new. This is true, but because we fear change, and fear having our way of life challenged, we often cling to what has worked for us in the past or to something that has worked for another person. We create a rule, set up a particular ceremony, repeat a ritual, but in reality... this might not really help us to grow and mature our relationship with God. So what is it we are supposed to do? Right? Let's take a look at the Gospel in Matthew and see what The Smartest Man Who Ever Walked The Face Of The Earth has to say about the subject: “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” Matthew 23:8-10 All that is really needed is to set aside some time to pray, listen, and study The Bible ourselves. We have to ask where we might find Him next... Maybe it is studying The Bible, maybe it is helping in a community project, serving others, maybe it is on a short-term mission, maybe it is spending time out in His Creation with no distractions, maybe it is a small fellowship group, or a myriad of other things. Let Him guide your thoughts. Let Him keep you on track. Besides, who else can keep us on track better than The Creator of All Things? He is THE ONE who leads us in THE WAY. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:6 Father, help us to find You. Guide us as we seek You. Show us The Way to You. Help us to know that You are Our Father, Our Teacher, and the One In Heaven Who Leads Us Righteously. As we change and grow in You. Help us to acknowledge You, so that You may direct our paths. In Yeshua, Jesus Christ's Name we pray. Amen. May God Bless each and every one of you, may you all have a wonderful week, and may God show you something new and awesome as we go about our daily lives today. |
SERVANT OF YESHUA 7
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