New Year, New Season, Spring Cleaning

Rosh HaShanah!

The head of the year A.K.A. The New Year has come in and come Sunday evening, it will be the fifteenth day of the first month on the Creator’s Calendar, and April 1 on ours.  Every year we come into a new season I ask the Lord what He wants to show me about Passover that I didn’t know before.  What new thing in me does He want to renew and what old thing in me does He want taken out so that I can continue to walk in victory.  This year would not leave me wanting for anything as I have more that He is sharing then I believe I ever had before.

Getting My House In Order!

Passover has a built in filter for the process that we have termed “spring cleaning”.  There are several things in particular I want to point out concerning this Passover that is important.  The cleaning was one thing that was significant, but one difference from our spring cleaning and the cleaning required for Passover is the cleaning that Yah instructed His people to do during this time was specifically related to leaven.  Biblically speaking leaven has both a positive and negative use, just like a battery.  Leaven in scripture is compared to sin, but is also positively used to describe how Yah has sowed His people in the earth.  (Matt 16:6,11-12; 1 Cor. 5:6-8; Matt. 13:33)

In First Corinthians we are admonished to get rid of the old leaven, and to become a new lump.  The dual principle of leaven is it shows us that when we do what we do in our own strength, carrying out the rudiments of our own ways that it is unprofitable for the kingdom, but if we allow the Lord to sow us in the earth like leaven we impact the world for His kingdom.  Nevertheless the purging is essential because over time we begin to find that we collect things that the Lord has not given us nor instructed us to carry.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mat 11:30)

This scripture to me is a very easy way we can see if we are taken in more then we can handle.  The more we have the more responsible we have to be with what we have and this in and of itself can be burdensome.  The tell tell signs that you are biting off more then you can chew is when you are unable to sleep, you don’t have time to fix a proper meal for yourself or your family, unable to take one day off to rest, and physically you are tired, blood pressure is high, and immune system is low.  We often times just use drugs to bandaid these warnings, but the truth of the matter is these are signs that you are biting off more then you can chew.  You are looking to yourself rather then looking to the Author and Finisher of your faith.  This is a good time to look and see if you are carrying things or holding on to things that Yah is saying let go of, give to another, lighten your load, get rid of.  Too often we take on projects and attempt to meet the needs of others when in reality what we need to take is a break.

Everything that Yah created for us to take into our bodies was meant to come out.

The things God has for us to consume are like us and the things that we need to live, its death in us producing life in us.  Just as real food expires, we expire, and guess what no two seasons are the same.  There may be some things that God has planted in your life to be like a tree that should never be taken down.  I liken those things to being your legacy.  Your legacy represents what you plant in the earth that is to be perpetually producing even after you are gone.  However, we don’t want to confuse that which is supposed to be a tree (legacy) with that which is supposed to be the fruit on the tree.  Fruit, unlike the tree has a time that it is to be picked, a certain amount of time that it should be consumed, and in time if it is not consumed it will expire or rot.  Probably one of the most profound truths that Yah has given us in nature is the picture of what happens when we allow the perfectly good fruit He has given us to waste rather then us to consume that thing so that it can fulfill it’s purpose.  Like that fruit we allow a thing Yah has placed in us to expire rather then maximize the benefit of that thing.  Think about it, when we waste a piece of fruit the ground gets the benefit of its nutrients, if we would have consumed it our bodies would reap the benefit, the fact that it is adding to our life means that others get to benefit from the strength it provides to us, and finally the ground still gets the benefit of it because what comes in is destined to come out and to the ground is where it inevitably goes.

Do we fully fill our purpose? Like so many things in my freezer we try to hold on and extend the life of something till it is convenient for us to consume it and by the time we are ready that thing we eat has lost much of its nutrients and if we wait too long becomes unprofitable altogether for us.  I liken this to a purpose not fully filled.  We may do our part to begin with, we pick it from the tree, we wash it and preserve it, if we aren’t ready to eat it we store it.  However, everything that is made to profit our bodies expire whether we use it or lose it.  To put in all the grunt work to preserve the food, only to let it spoil is to start a project that never is completed or begin a race where you get to the finish line and just stop.

If we take that fruit to its end beyond storing it but actually consuming it then we have fulfilled the purpose of the fruit. For the fruit wasn’t created to just rot and go back to the ground it was created to first be consumed by something else that has life, human or animal and then after decomposition within our system return to the ground as fertilizer.  To grow and then wither without being consumed is like aborting its purpose, for us to live and die but haven’t fulfilled the purpose to which we were called is the same thing.  This is why it was important for Messiah’s disciples to understand what He mean’t that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood.  If we come close enough to study God’s word, to teach others about its importance but we never make a commitment ourselves then it is as if we just trodden His precious blood underfoot and trampled on it.  We won’t get the benefit of His word unless we consume it and make it apart of our life like that piece of fruit becomes when we digest it.

Another aspect of leaven is it holds you down and too much of it becomes a burden.  It is just like the principle of giving and receiving.  We are called to be vessels for His glory there is but so much that He gives us to retain, the majority is to be poured out like the blood of our Messiah was poured out for us on Passover.  The other picture of removing the leaven is the emptying of ourselves so that we can be filled with Him.  Most of us are so full of ourselves there is no room in us for God’s glory, and since He won’t share the space He created in us with anyone else we find ourselves further from hearing and doing what He has called us to do.  Thus, removing the old unprofitable, out of season leaven makes room for the new.

Preparing for Departure:

The final aspect of Passover that Yah has been dealing with me on didn’t begin  this year but in the past few years is living ready to leave.  The greatest challenge our forefathers faced who lost their lives in the wilderness was an attachment to the convenience, the comfort, and “perceived” reliability of the house of bondage.  While they complained about the harsh treatment of Pharaoh such that their cries reached heaven and Yah begin to make preparations to deliver His people. (Exo. 2:23; Exo. 3:7)  The constant murmuring of the people in the wilderness was about returning to this place that was a place of harsh bondage.

Never confuse the time to get patriotic and fight with the voice of Yah to go!

We should never become so determined to be somewhere that we can’t hear the voice of the Father when He is instructing us to go.  The greatest picture of the place where God’s presence is to dwell is within us.  While during the time Messiah walked the earth there was a temple that was built by man’s hands but the evidence that was clear was that God’s glory wasn’t there.  Sounds familiar?  We need to really be honest with ourselves and ask if what we are doing, how we are worshiping God if His glory, His presence is really with us?  The worst deception that we can be in is to be self deceived.  This is one of the benefits to me of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread because a New Season opens the door for not just getting old things out in the natural but doing a real self check on where we are in our walk with God.  Like the instructions given in scripture concerning  fruit trees if what we are doing isn’t producing fruit and it should be then we need to really analyze do I continue or do I start fresh? Am I wasting my fertilizer (finances, time, and energy) on this particular tree that could be producing something more somewhere else?  Do I need to just take some time and determine where I should be?  Should I be walking, sitting, or standing?

If we haven’t reached whatever that level was we had hopes for something its okay to acknowledge that and move on.  It is better even to bury that thing and move on, knowing that when or if Yah desires to bring that thing to pass He is able to resurrect it.  However, there comes a point where human effort is futile and acceptance that you have beaten whatever that horse is long enough has to be acknowledged and you just move on.

This moving on in life was a part of the Hebrew culture.  I am always amazed as I consider the life of Father Abraham.  Here is a man who was willing to follow the Father, leaving behind the comfort and familiarity of home to go where the Father led him without having a sure planned map.  It is no wonder he is considered the Father of our faith because too many of us become too comfortable with remaining stagnant when the writing is all over the wall that the Father has moved on.  Fear of the future paralyzes us to remain comfortable in the present, and usually it takes becoming extremely uncomfortable or as it has been in the past few years a need for God to tear the structure completely down before we catch a clue.  In fact, this is also apart of Abraham’s life, the two times he found himself in Egypt he willingly gave his bride away was in search of food.  Hunger will drive you out of a place and into another, however the danger in that is like Abraham and like Lot you risk losing your family chasing convenience at the expense of following Yah.

It is said of Abraham that he was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. (Heb. 11:10)  I don’t know if he actually found that place while he walked the earth, but I can sure appreciate His trust in God to chase after Him instead of the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things which hinder so many of us from moving with Him.  We have so many excuses for why we can’t simply do what the Father calls us to do.

To that end walking in the Spirit has been what the Father has led me to focus on this year.  My goal is to do a series of articles on the fruit of the Spirit spoken of in Galatians.  If there was ever any time in history that we needed to know that we are standing on a sure foundation this is it.  So many of us are always learning, with knowledge being so abundant, but how many of us are coming into a knowledge of the truth? How many of us are doing what the book of James admonishes us to do, which is not just be hearers of the word but doers?  This is a new season and like Passover was when it was originally put into place we had better be ready, with our staff in our hands and our shoes on our feet. Ready to move with the Spirit of God and to leave the place and things of bondage to pursue that place that the Father has prepared for us.  A New Year, A New Season, and Now it is time for Spring Cleaning!

How Do We Know We Are Walking in The Spirit?

(1Jn 2:16)  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

There are three areas in which our sin will fall under, for as it was in the beginning so it now is.  It is what the Serpent left in the world when he tempted Eve to sin against God.  Scripture says it best there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc. 1:9)  The three ways that the prince of this world used to take the authority that God had given mankind in the beginning fell under these three categories.  Genesis 3:6 reveals the effect of the enemies conversation, as she “saw that the tree was good for food” (lust of the flesh),  “pleasant to the eyes” (lust of the eyes), “a tree desired to make one wise” (pride of life).  The power of his subtil persuasion placed a deceptive thought such that she bought a lie of the enemy to indulge in that which would have catastropic effects on every seed she bring forth from that moment on.  As if the pain of childbirth wasn’t enough she will also leave the legacy of her children having to bear the pain of death because of her choice.  Not that I am picking merely at her, because her actions did start the ball rolling but Adam’s participation sealed their fate.

Fortunately, Yehoshua turned this all around for us and left an example we could follow in fighting the temptation of the enemy in his 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.  He conquered all three of those temptations, but it started with denying the flesh. He had done a 40 day fast, putting away of the flesh when the temptation by the enemy to indulge in the lust of the flesh came forth.  His response was based on having full focus and faith in the written Word of YHVH.  The very opposite of what Adam and Eve had as they chose to eat of the tree they were forbidden to eat from according to the Word given them by YHVH.  In these three areas of temptation he conquered it reveals to us how to live a sinless life should we choose to follow the instructions provided.  A sinless life is not void of obstacles, but it doesn’t allow the obstacles to dictate the response, it allows the word of God spoken by the Spirit of God that dwells in you to direct the action. Knowing the steps that proceeded the temptation is key to our success, and ignoring those steps will be the reason we will fail.

Let’s consider what happened just before Yehoshua is taken into the wilderness to deal with the devil.  First he is baptized by John the Baptizer, publicly honored by His Father and the Spirit of God descends upon Him in the form of a dove.  Hence the sanction and the power of God must come first before we are in a position to deal with the temptation of the enemy.  This is why if all we do is lead one to the Lord but we do not empower them to deal with the enemy we set them up for failure. Because rest assured once you leave the camp of the enemy to join the camp of the Lord that the enemy is going to test you.   Not that Messiah was ever in the camp of the enemy, but rest assured he was empowered before he had to go toe to toe with the enemy in fighting the three temptations that we face daily with failure.  The empowerment of the Holy Spirit is an absolute must have before you enter into ministry. Don’t believe me then ask yourself why Messiah told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem?  See its one thing when you have the Anointed One on earth walking, talking, and sanctioning you to move in that sort of power.  But Messiah knew that when he left that they would not be able to do what he did without having the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.  He became that seed that he spoke to them in parables about.

And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (Joh 12:23-24)

 

His death was expedient for us because had he not died the same Spirit that operated in Him when He was alive could not then operate in us.  He became that wheat that fell into the ground and was multiplied into much fruit, how?  This is where you need to understand a little something about agriculture.  Anyone who works in the ground understands that what fertilizes plants is basically compost, the return to the earth of that which couldn’t be used by us being recycled in the ground  this in return puts energy into the ground so that it can produce more trees which produce more fruit.  It is from one seed that a tree is produced.

Getting our Flesh in check!

Often times when Messiah shared with people he spoke in parables.  Many of those parables were relatable agricultural functions that he applied directly to us as people.  Upon pondering this thought it dawned on me that this is a critical component in our walk to understand as the remedy for NOT walking in the lust of the flesh.  Galatians reveals the antecdote to this problem is for us to walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16) However, First John mentioned earlier reveals that there are three areas of temptation that we must conquer in order to leave the sin nature behind us, to which Gal. 5 provides the remedy to only one of, and that is the lust of the flesh.

In the Spirit of Yehoshua’s parable lets consider the answer for walking in the Spirit.  This is the question Yah put forth to me, how do we know what type of fruit tree we have?  My mother in law had a tree growing in her garden but she didn’t purposely plant it so she didn’t know what kind it was.  It took a few years before we could determine what it was as it didn’t bear any fruit the first few years but it steadily grew and put forth lots of leaves.  It was working hard at growing but its fruit took a long time to come forth.  Yet, one can’t know a tree accept by its fruit, and one can’t know if they are walking in the Spirit accept by its fruit.  The fruit of walking in the Spirit is revealed in Galatians, and if we be led of the Spirit this is readily identifiable because the fruit will be evident, if we are not led of the Spirit then the evidence of the flesh will be there.   Therefore we are either led of the Spirit or working in the flesh.  We get the fruit of the Spirit when we are born again, but it doesn’t fully mature when it first blooms.  It is only as it continues to grow until it reaches its full maturity that we can fully experience what walking in the Spirit is all about.  It is only matured fruit that can be satisfactorily eaten by others and enjoyed for its many benefits.  Premature fruit is not only less satisfying but less beneficial.  It lacks all the nutrition we need in order for our bodies to get the full benefit of its fruit.

There are nine fruit of the Spirit discussed in Galatians 5:22-23, and those who have matured in all of these nine fruit of the Spirit walk lawfully before their Elohim.  As verse 23 states against these nine there is no law.  Knowing what fruit the Spirit of God produces in your life and identifying its effectiveness in your life makes for a walking in the Spirit filled life.

I will be covering the nine fruit of the Spirit and empowering you with the scriptures you should meditate and fully understand so that you can have victory over the lust of the flesh, that you might walk in the Spirit in your life.

Be on the lookout for the articles that are to come:

1. Love The Greatest Of Them All
2. Joy Does the Heart Good
3. Hold Your Own Peace
4. Patience Has A Perfect Work
5. Try A Lot of Gentleness
6. Goodness Has Returning Power
7. Faith Has A Pleasing Touch
8. Meekness Makes For Prosperous Leadership
9. A Little Temperance Goes A Long Way

 

Paying Close Attention to the 70 and the 50

In the wake of the very loud Trump that sounded just before the Gregorian calendar or should I say our political calendar year began, we find ourselves in the midst of many prophesied firsts. While most are glued to the political debacle taking place in the U.S. we are remiss if we should keep our eyes off of the events taking place in the land of Israel and among the people who are the children of Israel. Many believe the two are mutually inclusive.  Scripture makes it clear that Israel is a people, who were given possession of land as an inheritance by the Almighty.  Those people were represented by the son’s of Jacob which encompasses twelve sons who were split later on into two groups.  One lost their identity in the world, while the other preserved their identity, yet failed as well to complete the mission assigned to them by the Almighty.

But back to the significance of the year that is to come according to YHVH’s (God’s) calendar.  The importance of this year being the 70th year that Israel has been back in the land, and the Jubilee or the 50th year that Jerusalem has been back in the hands of Judah (Jews) is very important.  Scriptures that warn us to be watchmen as written in Ezekiel or admonishing us to watch and pray as in Mark 13 and Matt. 26:41 was written for such a time as this.   These are two anniversaries that have biblical significance worthy of paying close attention to. The end of 6017 represents the end of the 50th year from Jerusalem, and 6018 the one we enter into represents the 70th year celebration of Judah being back in the land of Israel.

On the other hand the question might be why haven’t we seen more signs taking place? Well, I would say we have but many of us don’t recognize it’s significance. On the eve of the Anniversary of the first Abomination Desolation which took place on the Winter Solstice in December on our calendar, which is the darkest day of the year, the world witnessed the signing of a decree to attempt to take back Jerusalem from Yehudah (Jews).  As the world longs and attempts by any means necessary to bring about peace in the middle east the enemy convinces the powers that be a two state solution is the answer, when in reality it is the enemy of our soul attempting to stand in the face of Yah to boldly proclaim ownership of something that belongs exclusively to the Almighty and thereby will use any force available to him to distract naive eyes from the real truth.

Preparing for Perseverance

Challenges we as a nation have never faced before may soon become more real then the distraction of the paparazzi and it’s mold making news has afforded us.  While the nation is waiting to blame the current President for every issue both foreign and domestic that this nation face we will be severely distracted from the true call that can save us.  The call to pray, get instruction and direction from the Almighty, get sin out of our lives and homes as the children of Israel were instructed to do so many thousands of years ago from what will be the anniversary of this momentous event only a few weeks from today.  Those of us who don’t find the houses of our souls under the sacrificial blood of Messiah will find ourselves indeed in trouble in this hour.  Those of us who have made that our proclamation but choose to live our lives in the world instead of in Christ will find ourselves like many of the mixed multitude who died in the wilderness because they lacked trust in God, but rather looked or were looking to man or things to deliver them and to worship.  But then there are a remnant who will prepare now to persevere through the trials that must come to test our faithfulness to our King and find themselves among the delivered, either in life or through death.  Carrying their cross come rain, sleet, or snow making no excuses and no compromises concerning their obedience to Yah and their faithfulness to His statutes, judgements, precepts, and commandments.

This year being the 50th year Anniversary since Jerusalem has no longer been trod under the foot of the Gentiles is prophetic.  (Luke 21:24)  It should not surprise us that the enemy would rise up to make his stand in the year that Liberty is being proclaimed a great time of worshiping YHVH for the liberty He has given could only be a time of praise for the enemy of our soul who would like nothing more then to turn the year of freedom into a year of desolation.  It was Daniel who told us so as he predicted the 70 week prophecy that we can see also coincides with the 70th year Anniversary that the land has been given back to Israel in the Balfour Agreement.

Both of these Anniversaries have one significant meaning to those of us who represent the Ten Lost Tribes that find ourselves still lost concerning our identity, yet known by the enemy in the world.  It is no coincidence that more than ever people are more interested in discovering their roots.  No surprise that DNA technology would make discovering our identity possible and traceable would exist during our day.  Technology and desire would converge in which more and more people are willing to leave the nest of the U.S. and discover through their own exploration what the rest of the world is like.  A greater return to returning has intensified from curiosity to acceleration.  This New Year coming up in a week as we look up in the sky to behold the beauty of the first sliver of the New Moon, let us indeed recognize the signs in the sky, understand why YHVH would instruct our forefathers to take note of the new moon all the more as we see it’s prophetic significance in our day.

Lastly, I leave you with this ‘Tis the Season’ to be wise, and not foolish.  Removing every golden calf in our lives and questioning every tradition we have.  No longer engaging ourselves in idolatrous worship ceremonies and rituals and rather then just continuing to do what we have been taught to hold every ritual under the scrutiny of the word and allow the word to guide us into the truth. (Jer. 16:19)

Mustard Seed Faith

(Mat 13:31)  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

(Mat 17:20)  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

(Mar 4:31)  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

(Luk 13:19)  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

(Luk 17:6)  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

 

Today’s meditative scriptures is on “Mustard Seed Faith”.  In Matt 17:20 Jesus tells his disciples that if they had the faith of a grain of mustard seed they could tell a mountain to be though removed and it shall be removed.  While customarily when we think of this scripture we think of it in light of the size of faith it takes to move a mountain.  We recognize that a grain of mustard seed is very small and while that is a part of what he is sharing we must look at the entire text around this verse to get all he has for us.  I don’t even think he wants us to focus on the size so much as he wants us to recognize that like a seed a promise is a deposit.  A deposit is a beginning of a process that has to reach a level of maturity.  Like a grain of mustard seed we have been given a deposit in our account that will one day mature.  But if we are going to have a complete understanding we have to go even deeper we have to read what else Yah says about a grain of mustard seed to then understand what he wants us to understand.

Another understanding of this is that a mustard seed knows what it is and what it is called to do.  Do we know who we are and what we are called to do?  A large part of the reason we don’t produce as we should is because we don’t have the faith of a mustard seed which knows what it is supposed to produce.  How can we produce adequately after our own kind when we are too busy trying to produce after another kind?  A pear will never be fruitful at producing an apple tree, but no apple tree can produce a pear tree. From the very beginning the problem with mankind is that we haven’t been satisfied with being who we are or who we were called to be.  Part of what made that tree of knowledge appetizing to Eve was that it represented being something other then what she was.  The lust for being something “other then” what she was called to be was alluring.  This is why scripture says those who compare themselves among themselves are not wise. (2 Cor. 10:12)  The gift that is in us God can use to make us rich and add no sorrow with it. (Prov 10:22)  If we are unwilling or unable to use that gift that was placed in us then we lack the ability to have that mountain moving faith.

Finally, no mustard seed becomes a tree overnight.  Microwave faith produces fast but doesn’t last.  Mustard seed faith produces enough so that those who eat of its bounty is able to benefit from day to day.  Mustard seed faith means we have to be faithful where we are planted until we reach full maturity, that is come into full bloom.  We can’t expect that the gift God has put in us matures the minute we realize it no more then Abraham could expect the promise to come to pass the very moment it was given.  It took time and maturity for that seed to come to pass, but in due season it did reap a harvest and we are still reaping from the fruit thereof.

The Danger of Developing A “Forever Home” Mentality

We either need to break away from the idea of living in a forever home or we need to build a home we can live in forever. Depending on your family dynamics this notion can be an impossible accomplishment all in and of itself. Most of us don’t even consider the fact that we can have some down time between here and the grave we just believe we will have the same energy, stamina, ability, and mobility that we have today as we age. This is not a guarantee of life and as such we either need to allow for flexibility in our mind that at some point leaving what we consider home to be a possibility or we need to build a home that can accommodate whatever season of life we are blessed enough to enter. The greatest struggle I have faced with dealing with a loved one with cognitive deficits has been letting go of a home that they already had a vision in their minds that they would never have to leave. Their reasoning for keeping the home was to pass down to their kids but their kids no longer live in their state nor has an interest in the home. However, this being the case had no bearing on the attachment even when it was not feasible or functional for them to inhabit it.

The Lord revealed to me that if they do not let go of the home they will not live and the struggle to let go of that home has been the underlying root of every setback.  Whenever they would let it go they would begin to recover, but whenever their minds would send them back to it and they would try to recapture what is gone they would go down.  It is a real battle taking place in their mind as much as the battle the Israelites had with the Amalekites just before entering the promise land.  Like Moses when he was able to lift the rod the Israelites would win, but when his arms would drop the Amalekites would win. (Exodus 17)  It required two people to assist him to keep his arms up.  Likewise this battle for my family would be fought the same way, but the rod is prayer.  When prayer and intercession would go forth on their behalf the Lord would hear and they would get victory, but when prayer and intercession would cease they would lose.  Indeed God’s response to our prayer changes things.

Becoming comfortable can become disabling

What I find is we allow ourselves to become comfortable in whatever position we find ourselves in in life and our mindset can be our downfall. When it is feasible to do so keeping a home to pass down makes perfect sense, but when it is detrimental to your health and well-being you have to make room in your mind while you have your right mind that if circumstances dictated that the house you thought you would live forever in is no longer functional for you to do so it can be let go of.

Contentment with godliness is great gain, but attachment to structures can be devastating and lead to great pain.

The greatest legacy we leave our children is a relationship with the Messiah Yehoshua (Jesus the Christ). Because as long as we have him we have what we need in this life and we are prepared for eternity whenever it knocks at our door. Things come and go, homes can come and go the same way, we cannot put our trust in these things nor allow ourselves to get too attached. There is only one attachment man can have that will not lead to an unhealthy life and that is by design and that is an attachment to the Lord. We are told to meditate on His word day and night. (Joshua 1:8; 1 Thess. 5:17)  We are admonished to pray without ceasing, constant connection to the heavenly Father through our relationship with his son is a healthy habit we are encouraged to have. While too much water, food, and exercise are all things that are needed to live can lead to death or disease if done in excess, too much of Yah is not possible. We can never walk too close to the Lord, the closer we get to him the healthier we will be, the more we will accomplish in our lives and the more we will bless and love other people. A right relationship with Christ can only lead to a healthier, happier, more fulfilled life.  Disclaimer:  Don’t mistake what Christ gives us in Him with what the world gives us because they are against him, or what Satan will pull against us.  Remember the book of Job, Job went through a lot as a righteous man before the Lord, so don’t think that trials won’t come, sickness can’t come, and poverty is impossible, just know that if you walk with the Lord the peace He gives is irrespective of the things you own or don’t own, or the losses you suffer for righteousness sake.  He is the only healthy attachment, the home without limits that we can and should expect to live forever in and that no one can take away from us. Because once he is in us, he is there to stay.  The true forever home that can never be gone or go wrong.

The Real Expense of Our Baggage

Anyone who pays for luggage today to travel by plane, but has lived long enough to remember the days when luggage was a free commodity can understand just how much things have changed.   The days of 25 cents to mail a letter has now long since gone, for sure the transport of weight is at an all time high premium for those of us who travel or ship cargo. Today luggage is very costly to transport by plane and regardless of how valuable your things are to you, you will either have to pay the cost for your weight or lighten your load. Yah is the first one to encourage us to travel light, both physically and spiritually. Scripture is replete with encouragement to cast our spiritual weights upon him, to lay down every weight that so easily besets us, and to carry neither purse nor script when we are being led by him. (1 Pe 5:7; Heb. 12:1; Luk 10:4; Mar 6:8; Luk 22:35-36)

Messiah understood and walked in this weightless provision. When money was needed for taxes he paid from the mouth of a fish not from a wallet in his pocket. (Matt. 17:27) Weights not only cost you money, but it weighs you down. Those who have more then they can carry find themselves challenged with understanding what’s really important in life. They’ll fill their barns to the full with stuff that will out live their ability to use them. They’ll lie to themselves and others, cheat whomever they have to to hold on to what’s not important and in the process lose access to what is. We give more value to the things we possess in this life then the relationships we have. The man who can live his life not attached to these things will not only lighten his load but free himself up to care about the things that are important to God.

Consider “forever homes”, the issue I have with forever homes is the mental block it sets up resident in a persons mind to accept. We will give power to a house that’s sole purpose for existing is to accommodate the needs that our families have into some sort of unholy shrine that we must defend and preserve at all cost. A home fulfills a purpose like clothes fulfill a purpose if that home fulfills that purpose for you until you die you keep it, but if like clothes that become too small you pass it down to someone else, when homes outlive there purpose in your life you should not allow the home that blessed you to become the house that buries you.

To die for a friend is noble to die for a cause is admirable, to die for things is foolish. Father Abraham understood that what God gives you; you don’t have to fight to hold on to. While he was given much, nothing he was given had him. Thus it is said of him that he was looking for a city whose builder and Maker is God. (Heb. 11:10) What exactly are we looking for? Do we set ourselves up for failure when we look for those things in the things we possess, including our home? Sure we do and many of us will drive ourselves mad trying to hold on to something that God is trying to pry from our hands. Not because God hates us, but because He has something else for us. He is exposing the unholy attachments that we have placed in our lives so that we can free our resources, our minds, and ourselves to fulfill His purpose for our lives.

What is the fascination with things anyway? Think about it, the things that we struggle to acquire in life rob us of valuable time doing and spending with the people that we say matter most. This is why we have to be reminded that life doesn’t consist of the abundance of things that we possess, but it does consist of something are we missing that something that life does consist of? (Luke 12:15) He who puts his trust in riches will be shamed, but he who puts his trust in the Lord will never be ashamed. We are so weighed down in this world with so many things that even airplanes have to extract money from us to carry it, which should tell us something?

What are you worrying about today? Or more appropriately put what load are you carrying that is weighing you down? You may not be struggling with sin, but you have so much baggage that you can’t see the forest amidst the trees? There is a call that the Lord is giving us, and that call is to lay down our burdens at his feet, if we say we trust God in any area of our life we are called to stand by that trust regardless of what it looks like or feels like. If we are suffering from unbelief, then He doesn’t mind us asking Him to help us with our unbelief. Consider this what do we have to lose trusting him with our baggage? Is worrying, anxiety, and the distractions of daily living getting us closer to where we want to be in life? If it isn’t then clearly we are doing something wrong, and perhaps Yah is allowing it to consume us so that we can see that we aren’t able to bear it and we will finally give it to him before He has to pry it from our closed fists.

Consider the complexity of the universe we have inherited. How seasons come and go regardless of any preparation by us, yet like clockwork we know what to expect in winter and what to expect in the summer. Now, if God can handle the complexities of the universe causing the cycles of seasons to continue to evolve from one side of heaven to another why do we have problems giving him the stress of our mess to place in order? He is finite we are not, the one weight that we must contend with is the weight of the limited seconds, minutes, hours, and days we have on this earth, and while every year we commemorate our birth we simultaneously are made aware of the reality of our death which is to come. Question is, when that day comes will we be found faithful and will we be ready? I myself endeavor to be ready, and naked I came into this world, and naked shall I return into the loving arms of my Creator. Let’s not let our end be the only time that we lighten our load. Let’s endeavor to lighten our load today and experience the freedom that living footloose and fancy free can bring.