Tag Archives: Blessings vs. Curses
The Wonderful Plan of Yahweh
Sovereignty
(#266 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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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©)
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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
Prayer
Prayer
(#260 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Yahweh says, “Consider Me. I come to you tenderly My loved one, with soft and loving arms. I Am jealous for you, jealous for an uninhibited relationship. My desire is for complete oneness with you. As My child, you have permission to interact with Me, to enter My throne room at any time. That supernatural meeting place is called prayer. Many of you seem to view prayer in a very humanistic, religious way. Prayer looks like closed eyes and folded hands. And for some it is a recitation of certain words. I Am okay with that. But, I’m also okay without it.”
Sometimes that meeting place is spiritually violent. Remember: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12) Of course, this is a “good violence.” Picture it as a supernatural collision with the Almighty. This idea of a violent collision is encapsulated in the idea of intercession. In both the natural and the spiritual, intercession suggests the idea of impingement by violence or force, an intense encounter, to fall upon, or run over. In Job 36:32 it says, “He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.” Prayer or intersession “strikes its mark!” The bottom line is that it is a meeting with an outcome. Come just as you are, but if you enter, you cannot leave the same as you came. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:8) The outcome is binding; it leaves a mark! To collide with the Almighty is the image we want you to digest. Envision being completely absorbed in Him. If you can, the lesson is complete. If not, we can only imagine what Yahweh’s tender appeal to you might be.
“So often I hear you say, ‘All I can do is pray.’ I know My Spirit is already stirring in you, so let’s reframe what you are really saying. ‘All I can do is collide with my Creator.’ You see it now, don’t you? There is nothing more powerful than the violent collision called prayer. Visualize running full force into My arms, head first. Then feel yourself enveloped by My loving arms. Embrace this reality My precious one. It’s time to grow up and get mature. I know you often think of prayer as the last straw, when all other remedies have been exhausted. Then you suppose prayer might be warranted. Think again loved one. It is a head on collision with Me, right into My arms. Those who are mature, their words differ from, ‘All I can do is pray.’ Instead, they say, ‘All I need to do is pray.’ No religion, no correct way; they just start talking to Me. It’s beautiful; it’s tender; it’s intimate, it’s a violent supernatural collision. Will you come and collide with Me?”
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©)
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“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.
Choosing Friends
Old Ties
(#255 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under Heaven. There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pick what is planted. There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance. There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing. There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak. There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
And there is a time to sever bad relationships. The reasons can be complex, but in the end the pattern is simple. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. (Proverbs 26:21) True friends are rare; casual acquaintances are many. The severing will be most necessary with the latter. What might warrant a separation? Some people have an antagonistic spirit and the energy they take from you harms your soul.
You might think it’s a sign of unconditional love and humility to work out a strained relationship. And in one sense it is. However, wisdom will tell you when you have done enough. “The contention became so sharp that they parted from one another.” (Acts 15:39) Like Shaul and Barnabas, some relationships are best ended for a season, and certain associations are best ended permanently. It’s okay to have a brother or sister with whom you might rather part ways. Not all relationships advance the Kingdom. In the future, a change in circumstances might allow room for reconciliation, but there is no guarantee that it must or will happen. Some people change; some won’t.
Truthfully, your first obligation is that which fills your soul, and that is your need for the companionship of a loving Creator. This relationship nurtures and supports self-love and allows you access to supernatural Power. Self-love is the love of the new man within (Adam #2; Messiah in you), through denial of the old man (Adam #1, the “self” will that must be crucified). The outcome: you will become all that Yahweh created you to be! His supernatural power has given to us all things that pertain to life and holy reverence, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the holy nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
A wise person guards his life (entire conscious thought plain)! If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18), and if not, move on. A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self [Adam #1] confident. (Proverbs 14:16) Fake or unfruitful relationships, those that pretend to work but are really destructive, are not pleasing to the Father. True faith allows for old ties to break. True faith knows man is limited in what he can do for his fellow man. And it is not so arrogant that it is unwilling to leave the rest to Yahweh. There is a time to keep and a time to cast away. There is a time for everything that happens under Heaven.
If you want me to
Door of Hope
(#254 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Therefore, behold, I Am going to allure her [My Son’s bride], will bring her into the wilderness and give her understanding [speak comfort to her]: And I will assign to her these, her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor [troubled mind] as a door of hope. She will sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt [carnal materiality]. (Hosea 2:14-15)
This is the never changing and ever difficult pattern for the fallen mind to grasp. But it is that which leads to the perfected mind. The valley is the place where hope is created and destinies revealed. And you must make a conscious decision to either conform to this most Holy of patterns or continue to rebel. The rebellion always manifests with predictable signs: anger, resentment, sadness, doubt, fear, bitterness, rage, jealousy, judgment, pride, etc. Each of these are indicators of your denial of this pattern; “The door of hope is in the valley (wilderness).”
Yahweh has seen fit to show His supernatural Hand in your life, a magnanimous gift unto itself. And He has chosen the wilderness as His place for this revelation. But, because the valley is the designated place of revelation, denial of the pattern leads to denial of revelation.
The voice of one crying, “In the wilderness prepare the way for Yahweh; make straight in the desert a highway for our Mighty One.” (Isaiah 40:3) Interestingly, each time John quotes this: Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; and John 1:23, the translators write, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare a way…,” whereas Isaiah actually says “The voice of one crying, in the wilderness prepare a way….” Do you see the subtle difference? It’s just a misplaced comma, yet it changes everything! It is not the “voice” that is in the wilderness; it is the “way” that is in the wilderness!
Remember this loved one! It makes all the difference and it will not change! And when you seek to grasp it, an amazing thing takes place as a result of your obedience. Yahweh will gift you with a supernatural peace which empowers you to actually rejoice in the wilderness; it is the ability to suffer well! Think about it. The wilderness is not a punishment as it is often presented. It is actually a place of freedom; the Israylites were freed from bondage. It is place of training in reverence; Yahweh gave His people the instruction manual for life. And it is a place of supernatural provision; where else can you get water from rocks, manna from heaven, and shoes that don’t wear out, etc.?
However, once you are given permission to go free from “Egypt” (the carnal ego), it is all too predictable that you will desire to return, as the lusts of the flesh have been rooted deeply in your subconscious. We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:5-6) This is the very thing that causes you to dread the valley experience and that which creates desires to “go back into bondage.” As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. (Proverbs 26:11)
These carnal desires can be overcome by allowing the Spirit in you (the Son’s presence) to dominate your personal choices rather than seeking to satisfy your sensual desires. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of the Mighty One dwells in you. (Romans 8:5, 9)
Understanding this most precious pattern prepares you to receive the mind of the Messiah promised to you; be perfect! “So, you mean that when I finally grasp that suffering is the only road to perfection, the narrow road to perfection, then Yahweh will actually give me joy in the midst of the suffering, so that it no longer feels like suffering to my mind?” The words of our Messiah will best explain. As they tore His flesh and drove nails through His limbs; as He hung suffocating and in agony on a tree; and as He bore all the past and future sins of humanity in an instant; He said, “Father, forgive them!” He had a mind at peace and filled with love in the midst of the most amazing display of suffering the world had or will ever witness. Suffer well loved one. Suffer well.
Perfect Love Casts
Perfect Love Casts
(#252 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
Fear has a life of its own. It feeds on emotional energy yet it is separate from the human. As an entity, it exists outside the human and enters only when invited. Fear is energized by all who oppose the Kingdom of Yahweh within (Luke 17:20-21). Fear’s greatest ally is guilt, and guilt believes it deserves punishment. And the carnal shame that invites punishment is the very thing in the conscience of man that simultaneously rejects love. Fear, guilt and shame cannot coexist with love. Remember, it has been decreed “A house divided cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)
Wrong thinking is a battlefield and you must know where the frontline is. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 10:3) “I feel this guilt, therefore I must be deserving of punishment;” or “I feel this shame, therefore I am punished;” or “I asked for forgiveness, but I still feel like I am being punished.” These enemy mindsets within you, and there are more, are the very foes that perfect love intends to defeat. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in the Almighty for pulling down strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4) The weapons are mighty in Yahweh and perfect love will cast out all the enemies that oppose it. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11)
Even so, everything has an appointed time; in the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (Habakkuk 2:3) Yahweh’s plan for rooting out wrong mindsets in your life is no different. But ultimately, Instead of your shame you shall have double honor. (Isaiah 61:7)
That is great news. Instead of shame you shall have double honor! The life of Yahshua the Messiah in you guarantees it. If anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) He is saying, “You are brand new and you are no longer guilty. I took your shame and I removed it forever. You are not being punished; you are being transformed. Fear, guilt and shame are based on lies. It is I who set you free, and if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36) Love casts out fear, guilt and shame; and it is I who will cause you to know this at the appointed time.” Hold on loved one; it is a supernatural process. Therefore, do the supernatural and offer praise even when everything seems unknown.