Saul was zealous for God and considered persecuting followers of Yeshua God’s work. Yeshua met him on his journey and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9: 4). Paul might have answered, “As a service to God, I’m persecuting the followers of Yeshua, whom I consider to be in opposition to the law of Moses by their allegiance to a false Messiah.” Yeshua’s question to Saul might have included why he had appointed himself to be the enforcer of the law, when there is no such provision in the law. Instead the weight of the voice of…
Living Life On God's Terms
Spiritual Testimony
On Thursday, September 26, 2019 the 700 Club TV show aired an account of a woman who had an abortion when she was in her early twenties. The doctor told her an abortion was possible, but it would by very painful as she would have to deliver the baby. Afterwards the memory was painful and she was overcome with regret. She shared a recurring image of meeting her daughter in the afterlife and hearing her say, “Mommy, why did you kill me.” She began to consider suicide and as she was slitting her wrist the phone rang and the caller…
Trust in God and not Man
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its…
Spiritual Sight
Yeshua gave all He had in pursuit of God’s will. This includes in His conversation with the woman at the well and as He traveled around Israel, healing, delivering, teaching, prophecying, confronting a few, being rejected by many, loving completely in every circumstance. He kept nothing for Himself and abandoned completely every aspect of His human ego, but He had it and it cried out when the crowds wanted to make Him king and whenever He was reminded of His central purpose at that time, to be the sacrificial lamb. I was thinking about some acquaintances I have and wondering…
The Father’s Heart
It may seem arrogant at first, but God has not hidden Himself from His children. He revealed Himself as fully as possible in human form through Yeshua Messiah. His words endure through the generations and His lovingkindness and mercy is new every morning. If you are a Believer you can know the heart of God. He has given you His indwelling Holy Spirit as an interpreter. Listen with your Spiritual ears and see how God would love, serve, speak, or stand in every circumstance. This is His heart to wayward Israel (and us), “My eyes will watch over them for…
How to Bless a Believer
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6: 22-27). You might think this is just an Old Testament thing that God provided to Aaron through Moses as a symbolic blessing for the Israelites, which is ancient history and not…
In the Depths of Your Heart
Think of all the years of your life, the months and weeks that measure your growth physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Then scan the range of your memories from childhood till now, the events that have made you who you are, your education, relationships, vacations, holidays, achievements, your greatest triumps and the agony of your defeats, failures, struggles and tradegy. In the midst of these are your desires, wants, needs and dreams, meshed together with the mundane, routine, tasks, chores and daily necessitates of life. All this is quite a mass of information and the content of living and it’s not…
The Season of Peace For Those With Whom God is Pleased
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a…
Church Growth
This is a topic of keen interest to church leaders. Church growth is seen by some as an indication of God’s favor, doing church right, and/or that the preacher is effective. Various leaders offer advice and books at conferences promoting church growth. I’ve seen Christian businessmen propose various organizational strategies intended to facilitate church growth. The Seeker church movement was a product of this type of analysis and thinking. The idea was to conform the church service to accommodate people with worldly habits, expectations, and desires, but whom it was thought had an interest in church or religion. It was…
The Kiss of Death
After pushback from the LGBTQ community the Hallmark Channel has apologized and vowed to reinstate a handful of previously removed LGBTQ-friendly wedding ads on its platform, including a lesbian couple kissing. Hallmark’s leaders initially decided to remove the ads after the conservative activist group One Million Moms, which represents a sizable chunk of the network’s target demographic, launched a petition denouncing the commercials as inappropriate for a family-friendly channel because of its promotion of homosexuality. Ironically, the Hallmark Channel styles itself as “The Heart of Christmas” while promoting a lifestyle that is offensive to Christianity. It is a shame to…
Is This Between Me and God?
In certain of life’s situations we may ask this question? It is likely a good question to ask, even before we become desparate or disappointed? During Gideon’s days Israel was under extreme oppression from rival nations. An angel appeared to Gideon saying, ” ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’ ‘Pardon me, my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord answered, ‘I will be with you, and you will…
Heaven’s Superstars
I’ve watched many people in the music industry and it is interesting to see how some went on to great commercial success, while others remain largely unknown, even though they had more natural talent and ability. I’ve heard it said about actors as well, that commercial success depends more on a chance meeting or fortunate event than anything else. Life is not a fair competition among all the qualified competitors where each one gets their chance in the spotlight of future fame and popularity. Moreover, consider the vast number of “One Hit Wonders”, those who got their chance, produced a…
The Sensitivity of the Spirit
This is the title of a book by R. T. Kendall, including, “Learning to Stay in the Flow of God’s Direction.” The Holy Spirit is my fascination, He captivates and seldom leaves my consideration, perspective, and longing. I believe the Holy Spirit is active in the congregation of Believers on earth ever since Yeshua ascended to the Father. It’s not that Yeshua and the Father are not present, but Yeshua said, “…very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I…
Helping God Get It Done
If this were possible, has it actually been attempted? In the Bible there are several examples: ▪ Sarah gave her servant to Abraham has a means of fulfilling God’s promise that he would have descendants. (Gen 16: 1-4). ▪ Moses killed an abusive Egyptian when he joined his Hebrew people’s struggle for freedom considering his call as a deliverer. exodus 2: 11-12. ▪ Korah and 250 other leaders in the counsel concluded that Moses had misinterpreted God’s intent for Israel saying, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with…
Thanksgiving Day
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:18. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21. Today is Thanksgiving Day and a special one for me. As I have written about elsewhere in this Journal, I recently came close to…
The Greatest Whine
I saw a little of a TV show regarding Hank Aaron, baseball’s career home run record holder until Barry Bonds passed his total in 2007. It was describing Aaron’s team, the Atlanta Braves, during the period as he was closing in on the record of 714 homeruns long held by Babe Ruth. Images of a nearly empty stadium were said to illustrate the public’s disinterest, perhaps snubbing of Henry Aaron’s eminent breach of the longstanding homerun record. Then without any uncertainty a woman asserted that white people were opposed to Aaron, a black man, breaking the preeminent homerun record. They…
Healing By Faith
“Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.” (Luke 4: 38-39). Who has ever prescribed a rebuke to relieve a fever? When you hear “faith and healing” do you think of charlatans and fakes who deceive people in order to get money? Have you dismissed all healing except by modern medical science? If so, are you taking…
God’s Prophets
Many are named in the Bible. The greatest among men was John, the Baptist, perhaps because he best prepared the people for Yeshua’s appearance and was closest to Him. Anything which is more closely related to Yeshua is greater than other things, because Yeshua is supreme over all creation. (Col. 1: 18). You could invent the cure for cancer, a perpetual motion engine or wings that enabled men to fly like a bird, but these would be insignificant to the person of Yeshua Messiah. The prophets and patriarchs were given vision, faith, and insight to see the Messiah thousands of…
Intercession and Forgiveness
We have a great privilege to be intercessors for others. To Intercede means to make petition in behalf of another. We see the prophet Daniel making intercession in prayer, “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.” (Daniel 9: 17-21). Daniel was confessing his sin and the sins of his…
A Future Without Condemnation
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” I John 3:20-21. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1. Faith in God assures a person’s salvation and not our own heart which can deceive us. As we move through life after becoming a Believer we have moments of failure and sin as we permit our fallen nature to overcome…
Perfect Infinite Love
We know love from our beginning as infants, without it we die. The Soviets discovered this when they withheld critically significant physical contact from babies in State orphanages. The babies were fed, kept clean and warm, but they were not held and cuddled in a mothers arms, so they died in mass. We grow in love as we age and experience the wide range of loves meaning. The Greeks defined love with three main words: Phileo – love of friends; Eros – physical love, and Agape – God’s unconditional love but there are more dimensions of love than three. How…
More of Yeshua
As much as we know of and about Yeshua’s life and message, Believers yearn to know more of Him. This is the power and mission of the Holy Spirit to reveal Yeshua in Spiritual dimensions. That’s what we have with our family and close friends, a spiritual connection across generations, forged from shared life experiences, challenges, emotional highs and lows, unity and commitment that transcends the senses and rational intelect, yet encompasses these also as a minor facet of relationship, yet unnecessary to the eternal enduring whole. Whether we accept it, He is the person who knows us best, completely,…
Love People More Than God?
“Love God, Love People More” is a new phrase popping up on T-shirts and bumper stickers everywhere. Emphasis is added on the word MORE as folks proudly boast this meaningful life lesson. Actually, their words are belittling to God and His Word. This phrase wreaks of humanism and self-righteousness. Once again, people think they can out-god God. Scripture is clear on this issue. The first four commandments instruct us how to honor our Holy Creator by loving and glorifying Him above anyone or anything. Exodus 20:2-7 states, “And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out…
God’s Test and Ours
Steel is formulated from iron and carbon in a process with extreme heat to produce properties of hardness and strength. When it is tempered it will bend without breaking. It is tested to ensure that the process has achieved it’s purpose. We are God’s handiwork according to His design and Sovereign will. The processes used by God vary according to his purpose and our place in the Kingdom journey. “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had…
Complete Ruin Total Depravity
I had a conversation with my friend who was telling me about his neighbor that was caught up in the liberal socialism of today’s radical politicians and media. He expressed wonder at how this man could promote such radical impossible ideas. I listened, then suggested he ask his neighbor whether he considered himself to be a good person. My friend responded immediately, “I know already, he considers himself exceedingly good.” I believe such a belief is the gist of all deception and source of wrong rationalization. This is the state of mankind from our ancestors exit from Eden and it…
