Tag Archives: Bible Q&A
Why You Must Suffer Well
Suffer Well
(#270 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
Yahweh had declared former things from the beginning that He made come to pass, and He had hidden things that He later revealed. All this so you can distinguish His signature from the idols (“self” reliant thoughts) that tempt you. He also knew that you would deal treacherously with His truth, and still He restrained Himself from cutting you off.
Instead, He purifies you in the fire. “See I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake I do this. How can I let myself be defamed [profaned]? I will not yield My glory to another.” (Isaiah: 48:10-11)
What it sounds like when you finally understand; when you are finally free!
“Child.”
“Yes Father.”
“Do you now understand?”
“I believe I do. Can You test me to see?”
“Why do I allow you to suffer?”
“It’s the only way Father.”
“The only way to do what My child?”
“The only way to remove all idols and any thoughts that oppose You.”
“What do you think will happen once the suffering ends child?”
“I will only be able to agree with You Father.”
“So, you think your suffering comes from your resistance to do things My way?”
“Yes Father.”
“Would you suffer all over again, in order to see the things you see now?”
“A thousand times over Father.”
“My dear child, now it’s no longer just a hope and a belief.”
“What do you mean Father?”
“Now you are free because you understand. Now you are free because you know Me. You have suffered well.”
“Thank you Father.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Perfect Father. Simply perfect.”
The Wonderful Plan of Yahweh
Sovereignty
(#266 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; and in Your book, all the days [of my life] were written [preordained], even before one [day] came into existence. (Psalm 139:16)
You have My word. For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says Yahweh, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. (Jeremiah 29:11) I give you My word to lean on in times when you think, “There’s nothing good about this life. Everything has gone wrong. Life is a mistake.” The hopelessness your mind indulges in is only an illusion loved one. Yes, you can experience a powerful and, at times, seemingly unconquerable oppression, but it is nevertheless an illusion.
If every moment of your life was ordained by Me before you ever lived one day, and if all that I create and establish is “good,” then what allows for illusions? Listen to Me closely My child; it is your unbelief that causes every ounce of strife in your mind, a lack of faith in Me and My word. Plus you must remember that it is through suffering that you are being perfected. He learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). He was made perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10). The pleasure of Yahweh shall prosper in His hand through His suffering (Isaiah 53:10).
If it was the necessary plan for My Son, then you must agree that it is good for you as well. Remember He said to you, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20) If you refuse to accept this as the way of your Father in Heaven, your non-conforming mind will stay bound to the ego, and the ego will always end up in thoughts of depravity and death, hence the illusion!
So, today I speak to you to bring healing and with that healing, joy for the life you live. And the “life you live” can be summed up in the “thoughts you think!” As My prophets always do, I call for you to repent; repent of your wrong thinking. Wrong thoughts always lead to wrong actions.
How many times do you witness in My Torah of love (thought instructions) that, on your own, you cannot do what is required. But, I stepped in on your behalf and empowered you to do it. I gave you a renewed heart (Ezekiel 36:26). I Am Sovereign over your sins as well as your spiritual triumphs loved one; and your sins have always been part of My process of transformation. Every single thought is either the manifestation of sin or Spirit. Either way, everything was written in My book long before you existed. Taking each thought captive means repenting of the sinful ones and rejoicing over the spiritual ones I placed in you. This is how the mind transforms until you can no less than say, “It’s a good life; Yahweh has been so merciful to me. It’s a good life!”
Netflix’s “Cuties” is pure evil
Cancel Netflix and their Child pornography films!
Love is the answer
The Tree of Life
(#265 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
The Tree of Life is …. within you! The soil (heart/mind) must be cultivated in order to remove the flaming sword (Yahweh’s judgment) that keeps the Tree from being accessed or bearing much fruit. Think of the flaming sword as being stuck in hard, cement-like, fallow ground. You must break up the fallow ground; it is uncultivated soil from which the tree will not bring forth abundant fruit. (Read Matthew 13:1-23.) Or you might think of it as a tree you cannot climb to taste its goodness.
You must sow righteousness into a circumcised heart which is fertile soil! Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek Yahweh, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12) Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. (Jeremiah 4:3-4)
Your ego which covers your mind like stringy moss or chokes your heart with thorns, keeps the original essence of the garden (hedged in conscience) from being expressed in you. Do not sow among thorns. Circumcise your heart so the tree (firm, fastened conscience) of life (heavenly nourishment) can grow in fertile soil to its full stature (Ephesians 4:13).
It is your “self” desire that keeps the sword (Yahweh’s judgment) in place. This cuts off your mind’s entrance into the fertile garden and keeps the soil untilled, and therefore prohibits your ability to eat (consciously devour) from the Tree. The Tree grows in the “Garden of Love.” The Garden of Love is the perfect imagery for what fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) the Tree of Life will produce once the “self or ego” is sacrificed. Surrender of “self” fertilizes the soil and grants access to the Garden. And that key to access the Garden, that “surrender,” is love itself; and it never fails to open the gates (1 Corinthians 13:8). The foremost reason it cannot fail is because love is solely committed to doing the will of Yahweh. Love is then expressed through the redeemed mind, the mind of the Messiah in man, and perfected through practice as it eventually annihilates the ego entirely.
Love is the standard by which every thought and action is measured. It is manifested altogether as patience, kindness, admiration, trust, modesty, humility, and meekness. It is gracious, polite, altruistic, peaceful, appeasing, virtuous, joyful, righteous, and truthful. It displays fierce loyalty; believes, hopes, and endures all things; and always succeeds and thrives. (The affirmative side of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Soon you will see it loved one. The Tree of Life is no less than the mind of Yahweh available through your obedience. The effort is the climb and soon you shall again eat of its fruit. We say again! The Tree of Life is the Truth of Life!
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34) Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. (1 John 2:7)
Why Christians should celebrate the feasts and holy days of the Old Testament
Why Christians should celebrate the feasts and holy days of the Old Testament
The Forgiver
The Forgiver
(#262 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
“Against You [Yahweh], You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight— that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.” (Psalms 51:4)
The depth of understanding this is so profound that it could only be received, believed, and shed abroad, by an adulterer, murderer, liar, schemer, and thief, in other words, someone who suffered for his sin (truly repented), and then experienced Yahweh’s forgiveness. It takes spiritual maturity to understand the words, “Against Yahweh only,” spiritual maturity gained in the valley of humiliation, the place where the ego goes to die. (See Hosea 2:14-15 in devotion # 254.)
And what do we learn from David’s words? When one sinful man fails another, it is a sin against Yahweh. David did not seek forgiveness from those he harmed; he went to the only One who could be sinned against, the Holy One. The entirety of Psalm 51 speaks of David’s genuine repentance for the murder of Uriah and the theft of Bath-Sheba’s purity (2 Samuel 11). Yet, although he harmed another, it was to Yahweh alone he was indebted.
Acknowledging that you are responsible for the murder of His Son (against You only have I sinned) will make you ever cognizant of the price He paid (the place where the ego goes to die), and therefore to whom the debt is owed (repentance).
And when you come to terms with this reality another beautiful pattern emerges. In the midst of this profound revelation a twin revelation is born; “If I only sin against Yahweh, and my sin is ever present except for His Spirit in me, then who in me is actually forgiving others?” And to this question you will once again find that the answer is Yahweh alone. It is against Yahweh alone you sin and it is Yahweh alone who forgives! And because the love of the Almighty has been poured out in our hearts [mind] by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5), you now can forgive others with His Spirit in you.
As you apply this supernatural revelation to all circumstances, you become a vessel through which others can realize the same. The next time someone asks you for your forgiveness, perhaps you might say, “If Yahweh forgives you, that’s all that matters.”
Mind and Thoughts
Bulls of Bashan
(#259 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
“Many bulls have surrounded me; bulls of Bashan have compassed and beset me; they gape at me with their mouths, as ravening and roaring lions.” (Psalm 22:12-13)
It’s time to cross over loved one. It’s time to seek the deeper implications of the Word. Consider this; is the bigger picture here that there were bulls staring at David? Was David’s true concern a bunch of wild animals? Was he closed in and surrounded by roaring bulls? Was that his real dilemma? Let us challenge you to be transformed. You do have the mind of the Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16).
This new mind of yours will help you build a foundation that allows for a much greater understanding. This greater understanding involves the metaphysical aspect of scripture, in a sense, the more supernatural meaning. It will provide an appreciation for the underlying, deep, and secret truths that Yahweh intends for you to know. However, it is the glory of the Almighty to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2) The search for the deeper things will aid in the transforming of your mind (Romans 12:2), but be not mistaken, it takes an effort on your part. “It is the glory of kings to search out a matter.” You are a royal priest, are you not?
However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of the Almighty in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which the Almighty ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Master of glory. But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart [mind] of man the things which the Almighty has prepared for those who love Him.” But Yahweh has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of the Almighty. (1 Corinthians 2:6-10)
Now let’s take a look at Psalm 22:12-13 again, but this time with more spiritual eyes, so we might search out the deep things of the Almighty:
Many [multiplying]
bulls [dispersed, divided, stubborn thoughts]
have surrounded me; [invaded thought processes]
bulls of Bashan [material consciousness not yet redeemed to spiritual consciousness]
have compassed [continually revolving thoughts]
and beset me; [entangled me]
they [broken, material, conscious, dividing carnal thought processes]
gape at me [speak into my consciousness]
with their mouths [scattering ideas],
as ravening [pulling and plucking at thoughts]
and roaring [rumbling and moaning within]
lions [roaring thoughts that obstruct calm thinking].
Here is a flowing paraphrase:
A growing number of dispersed and stubborn thoughts have invaded my thinking process. These are thoughts that enslave me to an unredeemed material consciousness as opposed to the freedom of spiritual thinking. These fleshly thoughts continually revolve in my mind and keep me entangled. These carnal thought processes create and propagate scattered and fragmented ideas. They pull and pluck at my brain; and they cause a rumbling and moaning within. They roar so loudly that I cannot even think straight.
It’s all about the mind, the thought processes, how we think about our “self,” and how we redeem those thoughts by the power of the Spirit. It’s all in the mind loved one. Life is in the mind!
Peace beyond Understanding
The Trade
(#258 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
It’s the offer of a lifetime for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Yahweh has said in various ways, “Obey Me and I will give you My peace.” His intent, of course, is to realign your thinking process with one of radical, unconditional, reflex obedience. As an incentive, He is offering you a supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding, which will then guard your heart (mind) (Philippians 4:7). This is an extraordinary offer that you should not pass up. Let’s explore it more deeply.
Yahshua answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:23-27)
“My peace I give you, not the peace the world gives,” Yahshua said. Worldly peace is conditional; it is an absence of disturbance or hostilities, or a personality free from internal and external strife. This is good, but it is dependent on circumstances; it is not supernatural. The scriptural concept of peace (shalom) is dynamic and transcends circumstances; it is not conditional. “My peace I give you, not the peace the world gives.”
Obey Yahweh and you will have peace (shalom) no matter what!
· You will have what is needed to be whole, complete and to live well;
· You will have wholeness of life and health of your body;
· You will have harmony in relationships;
· You will have prosperity, success, and fulfillment;
· You will have safety and victory over your enemies.
As per Holy decree, the offer is no less than remarkable when properly perceived. Loss of your spouse, yet obedient; peace! Imprisoned and bound, yet obedient; peace! Loss of a child, yet obedient; peace! You will have peace implanted into your conscience that causes you to say, “I could not even be burdened if I tried to be. His peace has enveloped my mind!” This is the peace that surpasses all understanding. Is this not the master key to life? Is it not the very thing that every soul longs for? “No matter what, I obey, and therefore, no matter what, I have His peace.”
As we write, we cry out for all of you. Our fervent prayer is that you accept “the offer,” the supernatural trade—obedience for peace. May His Spirit forever pierce your conscious behaviors. And may you acknowledge within that if you don’t have His peace right now, somehow, you are in disobedience. It is this very process of thinking that will begin to, and continually set you free from all that hinders and burdens you. Peace loved one. We pray that the peace of Yahweh overwhelms you. “Let not your heart [mind] be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The Narrow Path
Chanok
(#257 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.torahlife.org
Everyone who commits [practices] sin is guilty of lawlessness [violating Yahweh’s law by transgression or neglect; being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will]; for sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) Sin, quite literally, is transgression of the law. It always starts in the mind and most often manifests in physical action. It is NOT, as most people think, a built-in biological certainty. Simply put, sin is a voluntary decision. The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. (Romans 7:12) You can either choose to obey it or not to obey it! But don’t be mistaken; it is your choice.
Here’s a question you have not likely been asked before. Do you sin because Adam (Adam #1) sinned, or because you would have made the same choice, and still do? The world loves to purport that biology is the inevitable cause of transgression (sin), if in fact they are of the secular camp that even admits transgression is possible. And certainly by mere self-identification as “non-believers,” the world would never categorize their failures as transgressions against Yahweh. As believers, we know otherwise; it is against Yahweh alone that we sin (Psalm 51:4).
Even more inviting to the world are terms like: innocent victim; unfortunate disease; hereditary disposition; or alternative lifestyle, as more palatable substitutes for the atrocious idea that they might be transgressing the law of some higher being, or even of nature itself. Sins such as addictive behaviors, immoral standards, gluttony, promiscuous behavior and clothing, aberrant sexual activity, or gender “re-identification,” are ignored or excused; and in recent years, simply accepted as the “new normal.” Why? “Because people are just born that way.” And the distinction between right and wrong is just culturally relative, or even more precariously, personally relative. As scripture says, futile thinking is where the downfall begins. (Romans 1:21)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20) Now consider that this was not written to the world; it was to Yahweh’s chosen people. Have you also adopted the world’s excuses? Do you actually believe Yahweh created man to be evil and sinful on purpose? Does it comfort you in some way to believe the lie? “It is hereditary; I’m a victim; it’s not my fault.” Are these your acceptable excuses? Will you continue to reject the truth that committing transgression is a choice? Is your current belief system based on Romans 7:14-23? (Read it!) “Woe is me; I’m a victim of my flesh; I keep doing what I do not want to do and don’t do what I am supposed to do.” Or is your reality Romans 7:24-25? (Read it!) “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Praise Yahweh, Yahshua the Messiah DID!” For the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah Yahshua has made me free from the law of sin and death. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of the Almighty dwells in you. (Romans 8:2, 9)
Chanok (pronounced khan-oke’), you know him better as Enoch. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because the Almighty had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased the Almighty. (Hebrews 11:5) His very name means “dedicated, experienced, and trained.” He lived three hundred and sixty five years of a dedicated life, pleasing to Yahweh. He was the seventh (perfection) generation from Adam (Jude 1:14). He walked the narrow road and was taken from the earth without experiencing physical death. He became an example to all who would believe. Was his obedience hereditary as some believe about sinfulness? Or was it a choice?
It is in this time together that we remove scales and introduce the true reality; Enoch made the only choice that mattered. It was the choice to obey alone, and not attempt to add or take away from what Yahweh ordained to bring life and death. Not one jot or tittle could be changed, and he submitted to it (resisted the temptation of Adam #1).
His dedication to the narrow path was a choice; his carnal mind gave him every option to fail, but he chose otherwise. He chose to be pleasing to Yahweh. Yes, this was Enoch and he made no excuses.
Yeshua Saved Us
Under My Rod
(#256 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
“As I live,” says Yahweh Almighty, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says Yahweh Almighty. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israyl. Then you will know that I Am Yahweh.” (Ezekiel 20:33-38)
Think of passing through a metal detector on your way into a courtroom. The detector, perfectly placed, will not allow entrance until anything potentially dangerous has been removed. And so it is with the rod that I cause to fall upon you. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.” (v37) The covenant is love. The removal of anything that damages love must take place before you can stand in My presence. This is why the rod is a must. He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. (Proverbs 13:24)
Even My Son cried out at His crucifixion, “Why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) This is the fulfillment of the pure mind, as all the sins of mankind, past and future, were born by Him in that instant. Why was that necessary? That He might present her [the bride] to Himself a glorious congregation, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she [the bride] should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:27) There can be nothing but purity in My presence. There can be no trace of flesh (the Adam #1 previously spoken of); there can be no dross; there can be no defect. In My house, there is no spot and no speckle, only a glorious bride, holy and without blemish! My Son declares it so, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
Yes child, take comfort that My eyes are ever upon you as My rod strikes. “Where are you still holding onto flesh thoughts? What are you still trying to hide from Me?” These are the questions that the rod answers. I desire you learn quickly, though My long-suffering endures.
Changing faulty patterns of the mind into pure patterns of the mind; it is for this that the rod was designed! For some, purity arrives more easily. How so? They relish the discipline; “Abba, Your rod is Your love; do not remove it until I have found You.” These will rise. These are My sons and daughters.