Tag Archives: Bill Cloud
Garment of Praise
Garment of Praise
(#098 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Father, I come in need, and the need is great. I come to inquire of You Father. I have learned to rejoice and praise You in the midst of my suffering; the suffering has not ended. Most of the songs I know and sing to You are about Your love towards me. How I long to sing new songs, songs of my love for You. I know they will please You as they are being birthed from the deep waters within my soul.
My prayer Father, my earnest desire is to learn what it means to wear a garment of praise. I want to be clothed in such a way that Your presence and power are magnified. How shall I wear it? What does it look like, this garment of praise? I am now convinced that offering songs of thanksgiving during immense suffering is how we clothe ourselves with this garment. I have faith that this is the pattern You created, the one You desire us to follow. What does it look like, this joy in the midst of trials? You rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, [living as having already] received the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls. (1 peter 1:8-9)
I need Your help Yahshua. I need Your help Holy Spirit. Please clothe me in what pleases You: new songs, new garments, new melodies, and new words. You pick; You decide. Lead me to Your will as I listen, look, and wait for You. You know my needs; this confession affirms it. I will wait and hope for my new garment. I will bow before You and wait. I will wait for new songs in my heart Father; songs about You.
Yahshua was sent:
“To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of Yahweh,
that He may be glorified.”
(Isaiah 61:3)
One This I Do
One Thing I Do
(#097 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it [the mind of Messiah]. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which the Mighty One has called me heavenward in Yahshua the Messiah. (Philippians 3:13-14)
Yes, Paul understood, and his journey to Damascus was his place of revelation (Acts 9). It is the same “light from heaven” that is available to knock you off your “donkey” (stubborn religious pride). All of your energies should strain towards this one goal. This one goal, if achieved, fulfills all other goals. This is Matthew 6:33 (Seek first…) obeyed in all of its fullness. This is the race towards perfection: perfect oneness, perfect speech, perfect unity, and perfect peace. It is a violent “rooting out” of all that does not conform to this one goal. The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) The process is a precision analysis and dissection of all that is not of Yahweh, which then moves us toward maturity (the unoffendable mind).
Yes, Paul understood this revealed gift, this unchanging pattern. This is the superior pattern that girds up all other patterns. It is the quest for Messiah-likeness, or in other words, the mind of Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16). For righteousness is nothing other than right thinking. It is a call that requires all your attention; your face set like a flint (Isaiah 50:7-9). This should be your one overarching purpose for living after you have come to “know Him” (Philippians 3:8, 10).
The goal is to gain understanding, but not just any understanding. The goal is understanding with wisdom; wisdom to navigate on the way to the finish line; wisdom to know that if anything gets in the way, it is not your problem. You just simply hand it over to Yahweh! Understanding and wisdom together, intimate knowledge which comes with a guide. Oh, that it would manifest in even greater measure. Keep your mind stayed on Yahshua, set like a flint. You are almost there; the finish line is in sight. Victory!
Humility
My Choicest Flock
(#096 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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That suffering one, he’s Mine. That weeping one, he’s Mine. That rejected one, he’s Mine. That scared one, he’s Mine. Have I not told you, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick?” (Luke 5:31) I do not care about natural ability. I am focused on the heart (center of intellect, mind) and the issues of spiritual transformation. The transformation from foolishness (ego driven mind) to wisdom (righteousness driven mind) is what brings Me glory. Those who come to Me “sick” are a perfect fit, for who would be left to come if not the sick?
Your heroes are nothing to Me. Your famous too, do not impress Me. Your wise, all of them devoid of true wisdom. I Am not impressed at My dust in its natural state. A broken and contrite spirit is what pleases Me (Isaiah 66:2). From the old creation to the new, that is the transformation project I like. My characteristics of greatness are humility, peace, wisdom, and joy in the spirit, not like what man values. Fallen man would rather celebrate money, status, and praise from other men.
If these words bother you, you are probably in danger of being devoured. Yes, if you leave the flock I cannot watch over you. Wolves and lions wait for you, and they have a taste for you, as you have been feeding them for quite some time. My flock knows its Shepherd. My flock would never leave My care; they would be afraid to leave My care.
View things as I do. Understand My wisdom. Desire My righteousness as opposed to worldly values. I can only bless what I approve, and I stand in opposition to your fleshly desires. Give in! Succumb to Me at all cost. You could not possibly perceive what I have planned for you; it’s more than you could ask or imagine. If you would taste even a morsel from the table I’ve prepared for you, you would dine with Me and never eat from the pig trough again.
Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Luke 15:15-17)
Confidence in Yahweh
Cut to the Chase – Like a Flint
(#095 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)www.sufferwell.org
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not turn aside to the right or the left; keep your feet from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)
A flint is a hard gray mineral quartz that produces a spark when struck by steel. When you set your face like a flint, you should expect “sparks to fly!” Sparks produce heat; without the heat, the flint is not displaying the depth of its full potential.
There is no turning back Father. Although both the road and the gate that lead to Your presence are narrow, and move in one direction, my face (conscious countenance) prays this: “I will not turn back! I will not stop seeking the One way, nor slow down on the road to it! Victory is my finish line and I will run this race for the ultimate prize. I will be conformed to Your likeness! It is right and it is true; my face is set like a flint, and the sparks and the heat are signs that I am close. Set me ablaze Abba!”
For the Master Yahweh will help me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:7)
Bearing His Yoke
Bearing His Yoke
(#094 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for Yahweh has laid it on him… Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. (Lamentations 3:27-28, 32)
I wake up alone, no wife by my side. I hear the voice of my children, but only in my mind. Yes my Father, this yoke is different. This one is not easy. This yoke brings me so far from light, locked in with no direct sunlight, no direct SON light. I must work my way back. “Let him be filled with disgrace,” (v. 30) You said. Certainly, all Your words come to pass. All of what I thought represented freedom is gone. “Lock down,” my captors cry out. The doors shut. I am confined. My dwelling is no larger than a pantry closet. I am alone, in silence.
Your word says, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked shall be brought down by calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16) Slowly, I rise. The enemy tries ever-harder to keep me down. Does he know You will not let me fall Father? Have You revealed to him that I shall not be put to shame, or condemned? Does he know that his minions will soon be at peace with me? Does he know I am one of Yours?
All of this pain, betrayal, and loss; “It is good,” You say. [I] know that in all things [You] work for the good of those who love [You], who have been called according to [Your] purpose. (Romans 8:28) Therefore Father, I will trust in You, for where else can I go? May I rise Father? Have I learned my lesson; this life lesson? Shall I bear more? I will do as You say. “Rejoice in Me alone, in Me alone.” These are Your words.
New In Yeshua
How many of you are ready to take ownership for your thoughts and actions and become new in Yeshua.
We Did This
(#093 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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You have learned about patterns throughout your devotion time. The patterns of Yahweh are perfect every time. They are always meant to bless you, always meant to advance. They are always righteous even when enacting judgment.
But, what about you? What about us? What about the patterns of man (ego)? Think about the patterns that pass from generation to generation. Consider the patterns that have us locked in our worlds of pain, even now.
May we explain something to you? May we present the hard fact? Peace, be still; it is a fact that ultimately leads to freedom. Whatever pain you are experiencing, whether from the past or the present, it is caused by the sin of man. Take a deep breath and slow your mind. Take it in. This is a very delicate issue and must be dealt with in the heart of all true believers, so we cannot push it aside any longer. There are no victims in Yahweh’s house. We say it again. There are no victims in Yahweh’s house.
Let us phrase it this way. Is there any sin that you are not at risk of committing? Can you truly say that you are not capable of the “worst” sins? Could you commit murder, for instance? Yes, you see, it begins in the heart (center of intellect). For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (Matthew 15:19) Yes, you have murdered. Adultery? Yes, that too. Fornication, theft, lying, blasphemy, you ponder? If you think it, you have done it. For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7) Yes, read Matthew 5:21-30.
This is the Kingdom of Yahweh. This is how He designed it; a perfect pattern. So, is the thought exactly like the act then? Actually, from a human perspective, in many instances, no. A murderer, who actually takes a human life, will sit in prison as a consequence. One who murders in his heart (yes, still murder), may or may not see a physical prison. But, the bars that surround his conscience, and defile it, will imprison him nonetheless. In Yahweh’s Kingdom (perfect thought and therefore perfect perspective), there is no variation of sin. Sin is sin, and all is forgivable. There is no variation. Be glad! All is forgivable.
So what are we saying? None are innocent! A child sinner turns into the adult sinner and sin has consequences. Consequences can be felt by all humans. It is man who creates victims, not Yahweh. Yahweh has no victims in His family. Death is a human experience; there is no death in His Kingdom. Pain is a human experience; there is no pain in His Kingdom. Violence is a human experience; there is no violence in His Kingdom.
Do not disengage from this exercise. Do not deny this pattern’s existence. Grieving is necessary, but grieving is of our kingdom, not His. Have this mind in you. “I am capable of the worst sins. This alone opens the door to my pain and the pain of those around me. Disease and death are caused by my sin. I shall sin no more.”
This is the mind that steps closer to the goal of perfection, the mind of Yahshua the Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16). Have this mind in you. Teach it to your children and grandchildren. Whom Yahshua (Yahweh saves) sets free, is free indeed. (John 8:36)
All My Hope Is In Yeshua!
Cry Uncle
(#092 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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I will know that you stand firm in One Spirit, contending in One mind for the faith of the good news without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by the Almighty. (Philippians 1:27-28)
I will not leave this battlefield! I will raise no white flags! It’s not man that I fear, although you might think the tears are a sign of weakness. I know that I am to fear only Yahweh; it has been ingrained into my conscience. You might think that time away from my family will change my course, and in Him I say no. No! I will persevere in the strength of my Heavenly Father, for it is only in Him that I live and move and have my identity (Acts 17:28).
I hide under the shadow of His wings. I cry out, “Be merciful to me, O Mighty One, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.” (Psalm 57:1) I declare to mankind, “Your battle is not with me, but with Him, and therefore my calamity will pass at your expense. Your hopes will be dashed, your tactics exposed. You are powerless in the name of Yahshua. You are defeated in the name of Yahshua. Your lies are exposed in the name of Yahshua. Yahweh will cause [my] enemies who rise against [me] to be defeated before [my] face; they shall come out against [me] one way and flee before [me] seven ways.” (Deuteronomy 28:7) “Your end has come. Cry uncle right now O man; surrender. Ask Yahweh for mercy or your wounds will only be more penetrating. Victory has come for me. Victory has come and it is in the power of the Name; Yahweh!”
Fear and Anxiety
True Children of Yahweh are to have NO fear or Anxiety! Fear and Anxiety are demons that try to attack us! See this video to understand more and learn how to release yourself from these demons. If you let fear in your life you are not using the gift that Yahweh has left you!
A Prisoner’s Request
(#087 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Father, this journey has been so long, and the road must still be traveled. Yes, You have shown me so much, so many things new. You whisper to me, “Don’t look back,” and I do my best to obey. You know all of my thoughts. Although I move forward at Your command, You know I have questions for You. These are questions in my mind (heart) and in my soul (conscious essence). I will ask them this one time, and not again if You give me courage to just ask only once, and then I will move forward as You say.
I wonder if I am supposed to have unspeakable joy while confined and away from my family and friends. Is it possible to have such a joy in my soul and be distant from the family I love so deeply? Can a man love his family too much? Is it a gift to have unspeakable joy while imprisoned, or must it be earned through constant praise and thanksgiving? What of those I am indebted to Father? Can I believe You have their best interests in mind and will you show me the path of restoration? Who do I owe Father? What shall I do to restore? What will I be Father? What will I do to provide for my family, to feel like a man? What is Your will for my livelihood? What of those who betrayed me Father? Do I forgive and forget, or forgive and find new friends?
I have been thinking about these things Father. I have learned enough to know that I can hand everything to You and trust You will guide me. As You know, putting these things on paper, these questions, was so I could move forward and practice this new faith. It is a faith that trusts that I can hand you all my hopes, all my dreams, and all my concerns, and that You won’t forget that I asked You what to do. For each question, I need Your answer and I will do as You say. I know if You ask it of me, You will provide the way to accomplish it. I don’t want to look back anymore Father. Today, I choose to move forward and trust in Your answers. I desire peace on every side Father, this is my request.
Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to the Almighty and the peace of the Mighty One, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your heart (mind) and soul through Yahshua the Messiah. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Being Set-apart
So few Words Needed
(#086 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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One Mind! And if One mind, then of course, One speech!
And how can an individual achieve this? “Yes Father,” and “May I Father?” no less, and no more.
We have talked about the ego and the “self” desire. Carnality, materiality, and sensuality, are all wrapped up in the mind of man. It will never make sense to that fallen mind that the patterns could be so “easy” and the yoke of Yahweh so “light,” but they are! It will take some of you forty years; others of you will go more quickly into the promise land and walk through your fears and find the gift of humility waiting for you. “Yes Father and this after, “May I Father?”
Could it really be so simple? What did He mean when He said His Son was “The final sacrifice?” (Hebrews 10:12) If we do some basic math, we would be correct in asserting the validity of an equation as such: “The amount of resistance from my own carnal self is directly related to my perception of how easy it is to be One with Yahweh.” If you believe Oneness with Yahweh is difficult, then you are fertilizing your carnality.
Remember, easy and light, not hard and heavy! This is how you succeed. Do you understand? If it is still not clear, let us remind you of the words of the prophet Jeremiah that we read yesterday in “Relinquish All.” They should help.
“O Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not his own; it is not man who walks, directing his own steps. O Yahweh, correct me, but with justice; not in Your anger, or You would bring me to nothing.” (Jeremiah 10:23-24)
His Steps Not Ours
Relinquish All
(#085 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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My desire is that you pray this prayer to Me. “O Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not his own; it is not man who walks, directing his own steps. O Yahweh, correct me, but with justice; not in Your anger, or You would bring me to nothing.” (Jeremiah10:23-24)
A man does not direct his own steps. This is another unchangeable pattern that must be recognized. And as with all scriptural patterns, adherence to them is crucial for you to prosper in My ways. This pattern will be fulfilled, regardless of your participation or input. You see My child, I Am all things good and I keep My word. My children will be filled with joy. My children will be fruit-bearing and productive. When I told you I had plans to prosper you, did I inquire of you before establishing them (Jeremiah 29:11-14)? Are they My plans or yours? My plans are more than you can ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). My plans are why you were created. My plans are the only place you will find your true purpose in life. It can be no other way. Brace yourself! Get revelation! It can be no other way.
Yes, there is a practical side and you must participate. You will either participate or I will finish My work without your participation. You will eventually get involved, either voluntarily, or with My persuasion. My chastening serves this function quite well.
What is your part? Relinquish everything to Me: every hope, every fear, every dream, every anxiety, and every desire. Relinquish everything! Listen to Me. When you hand Me everything, we automatically move forward. Do you understand? The handing over is the fulfillment of your part of this unchanging pattern. If you have a hope, release it to Me. I then can make it better than you had hoped. When you try yourself it will never be good enough. You cannot compete with the goodness I have predestined for your life. Yes, it is the act of “handing over” that fulfills your obligation. If you don’t, I will take it anyway, and that process is always more painful.
Yes, I Am He who is just and I demand your attention. I Am He whom you must revere with an awe and admiration. Bring everything to Me and then you will see the goodness I have planned for you, a goodness that is more. Yes, what I offer is more!