Unprecedented Times & What That Means for Us As Believers

What manner of man shall we be in these unprecedented times? Should we continue business as usual or is there something YHVH wants us to learn in this time of isolation and reflection? I submit to you that there is and that this is a time of introspection and retrospection concerning our choices and the direction in which we are heading. I pray that this video will challenge you to research some of the traditions we hold dear and hold them up to the light of truth for examination by the Word of God.

Israel’s Future: Holding On By A Blue Thread

While the world is watching to see what will become of the Jewish Democratic State there is much raucus and press concerning the current status of the election.  The uncertainty of the political future of Israel is causing great unrest and turmoil.  While in the last election there was little doubt that the Likud party with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a given this second election is proving to expose a sincere divide in what citizens of Israel want the future to look like.   Should the longest standing Prime Minister lose his position in office what will happen to Israel?  Is it time for the next move of God in the land to take shape?  Will it still remain a Jewish Democratic state or become like the Western democratic world?

Like its political ally there is certainly a shaking taking place as we push for this upcoming 2020 year.  However, with Israel in a state of political limbo and it’s major Ally preparing for its entrance into the dance, Israel both in and outside of the land needs more than ever to press into the Most High for direction.  There are no clear answers as to how this thing will play out, but the Word of God has already foretold us of this time we are approaching and make no mistake what has been written will come to pass whether we believe it or not.  Now it is just a matter of when, and could these elections be a greater picture of the Spiritual shift of the people?  Are we being given a long rope in which to hang ourselves on?  Time will tell, but one thing is certain the political and religious world is emerging on the world hotseat and is now being analyzed for its shortcomings.  The religious unright who stand on the right side of the Sabbath is being called on the carpet because of the wrong views they hold on issues as it relates to their treatment of their fellow brothers, and sisters who don’t share their background, and attempts to get them to take part in the IDF keeps them from joining with their former allies.  One thing is for sure change is coming ready or not.

It is unconscionable to believe that a people who have suffered from being abused because of their heritage could be guilty of holding the same such views against others but make no mistake it is possible.  As the remnants of hatred brews it is not only possible but plausible that we as a people who have and continue to suffer from unjust laws, and modern slavery in America as so called “African Americans” are capable of harboring and holding the same views and carrying out the same acts of bigotry if given a chance.  It’s because the issue isn’t a white thing or a black thing, a right or a left wing, nor a orthodox, liberal, or zionist thing its a sin thing and only one is exempt from it, and his name is Yeshua.  The one who became all things to all men that he might by all means save some, and has empowered by the Holy Spirit His followers to be able to do the same. (1 Cor. 9:22b)

Make no mistake whoever gets in office regardless of their agenda they are a part of the Master plan to bring to the surface the hearts of the people.  This is what the test does, as sure as it did when Abraham in obedience chose to follow the instructions of the Most High, offered his son, his only begotten son on the altar of wood, YHVH knew then that Abraham could be trusted in the earth, and his obedience produced favor.  What we vote for and where we stand likewise is a test of who we trust.  Are we choosing YHVH to be king or do we seek another?  Are we making our choice based on voting according to our obedience in Messiah Yeshua or our own personal interests?  Bottom line is who are we trusting, seeking, and looking to for our deliverance. Because ultimately what this political hot potato is really revealing is that we cannot trust in the stability or the ability of mankind to bring about a perfect system that will benefit the whole.  We cannot look to ourselves as the answer to our problems, and any past successes that we have in the wake of this turmoil only reveals all the more that the favor of God and the will of God is what has brought us thus far.

So finally, as I watch and pray concerning both the choices I have to make for our upcoming elections here at home, and keep my eyes on that which is the apple of His eye, the land of Israel I am watching as that one thread that holds both of us where we need to be is both shedding the weak fibers that keep it strong, yet miraculously it is growing and positioning new threads to take its place.  So, does this mean the end of the long lasting Likud party or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure?  Will our own country foresee another four years of pursuing the “Making America Great Again” plan under President Trump?  Only time will tell, but what I do know is whatever the political shift and shuffle looks like it won’t change the fact that the Sun will come out tomorrow, and set the same way and the one who makes it so never sleeps, nor slumber, and His plan for us has never changed.  In this I can watch, pray, and sleep sweet and if you know your God I encourage you to do the same. Love you all, standing with the God of Israel, and the Israel of God!

Giving Space for the Gifts to Operate

Not knowing what will happen next from the standpoint of man is a great motivation to why programmed services are so comfortable in the Western Church. The goal of the Holy Spirit for believers is that the whole body comes to maturity. This is why gifts were given and positions provided to the leadership so that the body would be perfected to do the work of the ministry. Working is what the Holy Spirit does, and He does it well with his biggest hindrance being us the vessel He uses. Unfortunately, the wineskin we use lends itself to the quenching of the Spirit and by its rigid format discourages the body of Christ to mature in its gifting.

The Teacher is Always Present

We in the body of Christ need to understand that the Teacher in us is always present and ready to lead and guide us. So with that being said how is it we miss His lessons? We are distracted by the pomp and circumstance, ritual, protocol, and man-made orders of service have either stifled the move of the Spirit or contained it. Isa 55 reminds us that His ways are not our ways, nor are our thoughts His thoughts. His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth in comparison. We cannot program the Holy Spirit, He will not succumb to our rigid wineskin, but if we are willing, He will give us a new wineskin that can hold the new wine He has to give. There is always and will always be priority in the body, but what the word of God says is this if you are a true Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, or Teacher then where is your fruit? (Eph. 4:11-12) Yeshua said wisdom is justified of her children, and if we have offspring, are they the children of our flesh (our making, after our image, and likeness) or are they the children of the Spirit (operating, hearing from, and moving by the voice of the Holy Spirit)?   If we are producing children of the living God, then we know that the Spirit of God dwells within them because the scriptures tell us so, yet, even with the soothing words or the jovial hand in which we victoriously walk out of our congregations, special meetings, and the like our people still walk out into a world where they are deficient in handling the day in day out challenges of life nor clear on understanding when they are hearing from the Spirit of God or not. This should not be.

I get that the wineskin we use in the Western church is foreign to the culture of the scriptures we read, and I understand that this is the greatest problem to its success.  Are our leaders seeking the Most High for guidance concerning instructing our people on how to operate in the Spirit? Is the church under the great deception spoken of in the bible that is supposed to overtake the world?  Is it possible that our greatest challenge is we are trying to find away around what is written to bring about the glory of the Most High and we refuse to see that it doesn’t work.  We experience trickles of glory under the old wineskin, but trickles when God is looking for floods to pour in is equivalent to Yeshua only being able to lay hands on a few sick in Nazareth, yet could do mighty works that the world couldn’t contain all that he did everywhere else.    Our people are ill-equipped, having only flickers of victory, and unaware of who they are in Christ to walk in victory, and even with no lack of ministries on every corner this reality still remains.  I am not talking about walking in victory amidst no challenges, but being able to hear and see God in the challenges we face. Being a believer doesn’t mean we will be exempt from challenges, in fact because the world hates our Lord it only stands that we will have more challenges. The issue I am addressing is knowing and being able to discern that the Father is with us through the challenges.

In the book of Samuel we see that despite the gross errors that Eli made in raising his sons, he was very clear on being able to help young Samuel discern the voice of the Almighty and train him in how he was to respond to that voice. Samuel was equipped for the role in which YHVH was calling him to. This is the responsibility that leadership has in the body of Christ today and sad to say many of us are doing what Eli did with his physical children with the Spiritual children God has given us. We have a responsibility to train our people to operate in the gift YHVH has given them, and to do so as if they were being called to replace us, holding nothing back for ourselves, or trying to hold on to our position; to do so is the very spirit of Saul and will lead to you being replaced. If God gave the position to you, He also has the right to take it away.  Do not overlook the fact that Saul lost the anointing though he was able to hold on to his position until death.  The gifts and the callings are without repentance, but the anointing is by selection and as it is given it can also be withdrawn.

As the Prophet Isaiah revealed, His ways are neither our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts. We don’t get to choose who God will or won’t use; we are not called to stop them from blossoming into their purpose even if that purpose is to replace us. As faithful servants, we are called to serve the Most High reserving nothing for ourselves, but giving it all to Him and trusting that He will reward our faithfulness. For some what that may look like in the natural is a demotion, but remember like Joseph our Father will give us a coat of our confirmation only to allow it to be dipped in blood, and us to be thrown into pits, enduring through slavery, and dropped into a place of punishment called prison before we are promoted to our position of authority seated at His right hand in His Son Yeshua.

So this message today is to the leadership of the body of Christ. To those who are called out to call Yah’s people in. Let loose the reigns and allow the gifts to operate, expect God to speak through his body and like anything that is not exercised expect that at first it will be weak and correction, instruction, and direction will have to be used until it matures but don’t give up. Don’t allow fear of mistakes to stop you from doing what Ephesians 4 says you are here to do, train those Samuel’s, prepare those Deborah’s, encourage those Joshua’s because we are in the hour where it is vitally important for the body to become comfortable hearing the voice of God and moving in the Spiritual Gifts that His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension paid for us to have access to.

Turn on the Light

In the wake of so many acts of terrorism and in uncovering past terrors of the seed of Joseph there has been a resurgence of anger and the spirit of James and John wanting to call down fire and brimstone on those who have oppressed us.  However, the message that I received loud and clear is to turn on the light, not to focus on the darkness.  If we look at our forefather Abraham we will discover that he was told that he would be a blessing unto all nations, and indeed that is what we have fulfilled.  More nations have prospered from our free tumultuous labor, and even today our natural talents, gifts, and abilities continue to be admired, admonished, and recognized worldwide.  However, the danger of allowing the atrocities of our past and in some cases our current situation to influence us we fall prey to failing to live up to our purpose.  Abraham was never purposed to curse anyone, this is something that we would be best served in leaving in the hands of YHVH who is the righteous judge on our behalf, or the enemy HaSatan whom YHVH turns his enemies over too.  Either way it is not a domain that we will be blessed in focusing on. Remember it is YHVH who will bless those who bless us and curse those who curse us. (Gen. 12:3)

I firmly believe that YHVH will avenge all the righteous bloodshed that has been shed since Abel, but our position is to turn on the light.  One of the key scriptures that more and more YHVH reminds me of is Proverbs 4:7.

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

If we gain the understanding that our forefather Joseph did we can then focus on the purpose of our tragedy, rather than the pain of it.  It is our tragedy that makes us the seed of Joseph, the fact that we can go through the past of our brothers throwing us in a pit, being sold into slavery twice over, only to leave slavery and be wrongfully incarcerated, to one day find ourselves being the chosen of Yah to deliver the world from a coming judgment.  Yet, all that I have mentioned doesn’t complete the picture of our past, but rather how we respond when we are in power, how we respond to those who are responsible for our demise, do we only look at the darkness that their choices led us to or do we also look at the light that we have been called to as we were humbled through our circumstances?  If we are looking at the misery, the harsh bondage, and the abuse, but not looking at the Deliverer then we are going to make the same mistake that our forefathers made in Egypt the first time.  Rather than rejoicing in the fact that the deliverer had come, they focused on the here and now and the hellish situation they found themselves in. This mistake caused them to suffer through the first three plagues that came upon Egypt.

So here’s the question what is it going to take for us to focus on the Light?  How many plagues are we going to have to endure before we realize that our persecutor isn’t our issue, our disobedience to the command of YHVH is our issue.  We have yet to fulfill the purpose to which we were created because we are too busy looking at our enemy and trying to please them.  Turning to the world system to bail us out or deliver us from our current circumstance.  Listen to me in 2019 Pharaoh is going to once again have a dream, a dream that only Joseph is equipped to decode.  The Pharaoh of this world system is going to be looking for a Hebrew to walk them into their destiny.  We cannot be distracted by hate, Joseph’s animosity over his circumstance cost him two more years before the opportunity presented itself to come into his destiny.  It was a dream that brought him into bondage, but also a dream that got him out of it.  The word for this hour for those who have been oppressed, mistreated, abused, and cast aside is to stand still and see the salvation of YHVH. (Exo 14:13)  We will not only be dreamers but we will be called to interpret dreams and develop solutions to avoid future nightmares.

Don’t rehearse the darkness of our day, stand in the light of the truth.  The enemy will use the facts of our past to keep us from the truth of God’s word.  Don’t miss your hour of visitation.  Do not allow the injustices of today to keep you from pressing in to receive your purpose.  Look at the sufferings that we endure as only further evidence to who we truly are, and count it all joy as you suffer persecution for righteousness sake.  We need not look to the left (Democrat) nor to the right (Republican) because our salvation will come from YHVH. The butler will forget our contributions, until the time our contributions are once again needed.  Our gifts are for a reason and a season, and we must remember it’s not until it is pitch black, and eyes are open that one recognizes the crucial importance that light brings.

 

Forbearing One Another

In this life, we go through many different changes, yet we can often be oblivious of the flaws in our own armor. This makes it increasingly more clear why Paul, though he fervently asked God to remove had to live in this life with this “thorn” in his flesh. Sympathy is something many of us lack the ability to comprehend until we are the ones in need of it. The two scriptures that have inspired this article reminds us to walk in the same compassion with the same perspective of ourselves while considering others.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:1-3)

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (Col. 3:12-14)

What an interesting way to see yourself; as the prisoner of the Lord and as the elect (chosen) of God. Consider the manner of man Paul is exhorting us to be? A man so changed by the Gospel of Christ, a man who was once persecuting and killing believers is now the prisoner, bondservant, elect of God and encouraging us to be likewise. In our busy world taking the time to walk with someone in humility, lowliness and a meek in manner, with longsuffering (patient) forbearing (understanding) one another in love is rarely seen.  We easily forget that we have the same need that our brother or sister now possess. In our right now, immediate gratification world this truth can be very easy to forget. But there is no getting away from the love of the Most High. He has compassion for us and he fully understands the challenges that we are afflicted with in this life. As Messiah Yeshua pinned so well, “in the world you shall have tribulation,…” This statement alone is a mouthful, but in this instance, we can thank Yah for the but, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Marriage is a constant reminder of this word “forbear” which is strongs# G430 (anechomai).  This word means to “put up with” or “hold oneself up to”.  Realizing this what exactly does marriage do for us?  It’s a constant exercise in the fruit of the Spirit for we will learn love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and even some of those more difficult fruit of the Spirit like patience, meekness, and self-control.  We learn to put up with our spouse’s ways that seem foreign or tedious, at times even annoying.  Why?  Because at the same time we should also be looking in the mirror at ourselves and if we are not, we can count on our spouses to point out our imperfections.  The revelation of which should humble us so that we can “put up with” or “forbear” with them as they too must learn obedience through suffering, walk from faith to faith, and glory to glory.  Understanding that we are being made perfect, we have not yet arrived, and as we extend the same compassion to them that we demand we gain the riches of growing closer to looking, living, and walking in the path of the one our hearts truly long for, our Messiah Yeshua!

True Privilege

The advent of exposure of police corruption and the disparaging evidence of the minority only “coming to justice”. The thought came to mind that while I am not here to debate the existence of “white privilege” because its existence or lack of existence has little affect on any man’s ability to hinder the plan of God.  Throughout scripture we see examples of how Yah takes His people who are unprivileged in the natural or in the world and their faithfulness and humility brings them into privileges unimaginable. If we understand that the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof then we understand that our destiny is not determined by any man, be it black, white, or other. (Psa. 24:1) Yah decides where His rain falls and where His sun shines, if we can capture a glimpse of that truth we will be set free from the bondage of belief that a privileged group of people has power over our destiny. Our choices choose the bed we lie in. There are so many scriptures that we don’t take heed to yet they give us ammunition to live a privileged life because indeed it is a privilege to be on the narrow path that few ever find.

It has always been the minority who have done extraordinary things that have left the majority befuddled. Having the mind of Christ means having the privileged mind. Because you then tap into the mind of God and with God all things are possible. You are not subject to the rules and regulations of the world because you operate on a much higher level. You have special clearance and diplomatic immunity everywhere you go because you are on assignment from heaven. Does this assignment mean that you can’t lose your life fulfilling it? No, it means the very opposite that it will cost you your life to complete it because you are not of this world. If you were of this world then you would be received, but because you are of Messiah YeHoSHua you are not going to be respected or accepted by those who don’t have privilege to the classified files that you have been given in His word. Those who don’t belong to Him read this book from cover to cover and all they get is figurative tales, a puzzle missing pieces, a parable with no clear meaning. However, the privileged ones were the ones who got the interpretation of the parables, the missing pieces to the puzzle, and the literal meaning behind the history they erroneously label as tales.

Do you embrace or deny being in the privilege of the few?

This is a challenge really for those who are people of color to rise to their true identity in Christ.  Those who benefit from being in the minority are those who embrace this as a gift from Yah and not as a curse.  While the world sees it as a curse the Lord labels only those who choose to walk away from their destiny to which he has called them and thus choose to become the accursed ones.  Being in the right earthly family doesn’t necessitate access to the inheritance of the heavenly one.  If nothing else is clear in scripture then this should be clear enough that it is not the flesh that profits anything, but it is the Spirit that does.
There is something deep about having that minds eye open to the wisdom of the Almighty. The hearer is the doer which is the reason why an atheist can read and not understand the bible but a follower can get the revelation that the Apostle John received, and the Immerser John received. Because those who hear, do, but those who listen without hearing, have the parable without the interpretation. No perception, no change, no privilege of revelation knowledge.

Worldly wisdom becomes our greatest distraction to fulfilling God’s plan for our life.  Policies won’t change what only a regenerated heart can do.  To change a nation you have to change the heart of that nation and only love can do that.  What our nation need is not another policy to add to the millions already in existence, but what it needs is the Gospel.  Only a changed heart can change a man.

Our privilege is not based on a Greek mindset that is based on outward appearances, but a Hebrew driven mindset based on doers of His word. Why? Because God looks at the heart and a heart that is right towards Him He will in no wise turn aside. Don’t believe me, consider King David. King David is a man after God’s own heart, despite his mistakes God saw a man who respected authority and repented when He was wrong. He didn’t continue in His error to save face, he faced his errors to save his relationship with the Creator.

True privilege really is not a white thing, or a black thing it is a right thing and an eternity thing. Because in the end its only those who are made right through the blood of YeHoshua that will have privilege to an Eternity in the presence of the King of Glory. In the end we will all be judged by our lack of love for others.  This is why King David is my example in this article, in the face of persecution and a targeted assignment by the King of his own people to kill him he remained loyal to the King and walked in love towards him even in the end.  This he did not because of King Saul, but because of the One who placed King Saul in his position.

If Yah has called you to be in the privileged minority then the question we should ask is not why us, but what would you require of us?  What would you have us to do?  How can I be like Daniel in the face of an adversarial system?  Show me how I can have the courage of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in the wake of a fiery furnace set before me.  Speak to me as you did Daniel in the midst of judgment placed upon my people.  Humble me as you did Esther so that I can be used as a unifier of my people to you and gain the voice of the King of my land that I might overturn the appointment of death against my people.

YHVH is setting us up like Gideon’s army to show forth his glory, the real question is will we accept the true privilege or chase the after another?  Will we sell out the dream of Joseph which led to the pit before gaining the crown or will I settle for the American Dream that has proven to lead to broken promises and smoke screens?  There is a greater cup that the Father has placed before us, and it is both bitter and sweet.  Bitter because the world won’t receive you because you don’t belong to it, but sweet because he who the Son sets free will be free indeed.  Not a bone that belongs to him will be broken, it may get out of joint, it may be out of place for a season, but rest assured it will return home and be reunited, none unaccounted for.

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.

The Way Up is Down

This is a saying that we have heard in many different contexts, but nowhere is it more evident then in the chronicles of scripture.  When we look at what brings a man down we will find the words pride, haughtiness, and proud somewhere near its vicinity.  However, equally as true we will find near the word humility, meekness, or humble, the words exalt, exalted, above, lifted up, and grace.  It is in our weakness (not in our strength) that his strength is made perfect in us.  (2 Cor. 12:9) Thus, out of weakness we are made strong, and those who consider themselves strong are made weak.  Hebrews 11 chronicles what men in faith towards God were able to  accomplish, not in their strength but in their weakness, God’s strength prevailed and they received the victory over various trials of life.  The economy of God doesn’t operate by the same currency exchange rate that we are accustomed to in the world system.  Our resume of awards, accomplishments, and education are counted as dung, reckoned as filthy rags, consistently we see ordinary men who did extraordinary things not by picking themselves up by their own boot straps, or do the acts of self made men pave the way, but rather men and women who took Yah at his word were able to do what men who were considered great in the world were not.  Yah would over and over again show us in battle he didn’t use thousands of men, but will obtain the victory over the enemy of His people by using small armies to gain mighty victories.  Why, you may ask?  Because it serves as an example of this very principle I am sharing with you in this article that its in our weakness, weak positions, lowly spirit, that He is exalted.  It stands to reason and too easy for man to get the glory when a million man army with unending arsenals can defeat a 100,000 man army with limited arsenals.  It illustrates that with Yah you always have the majority on your side even when in the natural it doesn’t look like it.  As John the Baptist made clear that he must decrease so that the Messiah may increase.  The world knows that He has come when the impossible, becomes possible.

When we come to the end of ourselves then low and behold this is when we have an ear to hear from the one who can deliver us from all our woes.  The world can be very loud and it seems to want to amplify itself and the term it uses when it wants to exalt men is the word “proud”.  Yet this is a word that never in scripture is positively used when directed towards mankind.  It was actually the catalyst that would bring a person down so that they could be exalted through the act of humility.  Yet this is a word we use positively to express our feelings towards acts we approve of.  So in effect that which Yah has called evil, we have categorized as good. (Isa. 5:20)  We give glory to man for what Yah made possible to accomplish and then wonder why our children don’t believe in God.  They attribute their accomplishments in life to what they did, in total unbelief not realizing that when they receive the benefits, raises, or achievements that it is God who giveth man power to create wealth. (Deut. 8:17-18) It is the power of the Almighty that makes prosperity possible for us to have, because despite popular opinion, there is no good thing that dwells in this flesh.  (Rom. 7:18) That which is good, right, and holy in us is inherited through our relationship with Christ, Messiah Yehoshua.

Even our “good” if you will has selfish motivation apart from Him.  This is why we can only know love because he first loved us. (1 Jn 4:19) The concept of sacrificing yourself for the very people who are responsible for taking your life is not something any man would do.  How many are up for dying for your friend?  This one life you got with no promise of what will happen next, are you willing to give it up for a friend, even a best friend?  Your child, your spouse, perhaps, but a friend?  We might give a kidney but our life, hardly.  The idea of giving to people who can’t give to you, the proof that we can’t do it in and of ourselves nor would it come into our mind is revealed in how we live our lives today.  How often do we pour our finances or our time to benefit people with absolutely no expectation of receiving anything in return?

Here you have Yehoshua our Messiah in the prime of life, at the age when most people are just beginning to become established.  He himself was being established in the miracle making business going about doing good in all the land.  At a time when many of us would be comfortably married in our single family dwelling with 2 cars and 2.5 kids with great jobs with benefits our Savior was crucified with none of those things.  In fact when asked by someone who was interested in following him it was said of him that he didn’t even have a place to lay his head.  (Mat 8:20)  Be honest, how likely would you be to follow or join anyone’s network marketing business who didn’t have a home to share their home based business to you with?  This would in effect be the very opposite resume of one who we would consider successful and would want to follow, yet on what would definitely be considered the way down was he lifted up and us who put our trust in Him lifted up with him.  It’s the best illustration in scripture I have of what it means to humble yourself before the Almighty so that he can lift you up in dew season. (Jas 4:10)

Where do you find yourself in 2018?  Are you in a place of introspection wondering what has happened to your life?  Perhaps you are on top of the world and financially in the strongest position you have ever been but feeling a lack of fulfillment?  Maybe you have no money and wondering where you went wrong.  Many are sick and crying out for answers to a merciful God how you found yourself here?  Many would say life is what you make it, but in reality life is who you make it about?  If life is about you, your family, or your business then a sad life it will be because you set the bar too low.  If you are going to set a standard for your life why choose an imperfect model to build upon?  That is like building your life on sand instead of on a rock.  A rock is steady, unyielding, and will stand the test of time, whereas sand is destined to settle and give way to the changing climate of the atmosphere.  The only blessed assurance we can have is to humble ourselves into the hand of the Messiah and to lift up Him which cannot be brought low, yet was brought low for us only to be lifted up and to lift us up with Him into heavenly places within His kingdom.  Indeed Father what is man that you are mindful of us. (Psa. 8:4)  So what do we say when we are faced with situations that would tempt us to answer with “I’m pro-d of you” find a way to point them and keep yourself focused on the one who made the moment possible.  My new response is to say, “Father I am humbled by you”, and to the person who made their goal possible, “praise God for giving you the victory” or “To God be the Glory”.  Because its his anyway, for every good and perfect gift comes from him. (2 Cor. 9:8; Jas 1:17) If you must be proud of anyone then be proud of Yah, for it is He who made the person and the moment possible, and be happy for them for they are the beneficiary of God’s grace in their life.