Tag Archives: Christian to Torah
Why Bad Things Happen To God’s People
Acceptance
(#234 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse the Almighty and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we accept only good from Yahweh, and not accept evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)
“Whom will He teach knowledge? And whom will He make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?” (Isaiah 28:9) My mature ones understand. Job understood. In My desire for your growth, I need to move you from feeding on the milk of babes to a more mature faith. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13-14)
I Am Yahweh; I desire that you are able to “discern both good and evil.” However, it’s not simply that you need to distinguish good from evil; as a mature believer you need also to acknowledge that I Am the author of both good and evil. I can already hear your reflex response; it is common in your discussions and teachings. “God would never allow evil into our lives; that’s the Devil’s domain.” Ponder that for a moment…then consider this; if I Am the One who allows the evil of the adversary to test you, who then is Sovereign over your testing? And you also must decide whether the testing is within you, or from some outside force. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. (Matthew 10:28-29) Fear who? The adversary? Or Me, Yahweh?
Your double-mind wants to tell you that an “All-loving Creator” would not allow such things. Remove the scales; because this is precisely how I operate. Your misperception tells you it’s “bad” when painful things happen. I tell you the opposite is true; trials are meant for your benefit. If this is hard to accept, it’s because you have the wrong perspective, My child. You’ve bought into the man-made theology that “a loving Creator would not do such things.” Rubbish I say, rubbish.
It is because I love you that the tests will continue. You rejoice that I planned My Son’s sacrifice to atone for your sins. Yet, you have difficulty accepting that I orchestrate your testing, your “sacrifice.” Let Me remind you; “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you….” (John 15:20)
Rather you might say, “Yahweh knows what I need in order to be crafted into the image of the Messiah, for He alone is omniscient.” This would be the correct perspective.
It is in My deep love for you, loved one, that I will repeat this pattern over and over again. The goal is perfection, Messiah-likeness. Do you admit that more of “you” still needs to be removed in order to achieve this objective? Or, are you more like a modern-day Pharisee, who reckons himself far more spiritual than he really is, but in your case, by “grace” of course? Which describes you My child?
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil [calamity, woe, trouble, disaster]: I Yahweh do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7) Accept this and be at peace not only with it, but because of it!
Is it a sin to eat animals?
Is it a sin to eat animals?
Repent and Believe, Repent and Rejoice
Repent and Believe; Repent and Rejoice
(#232 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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“…But we have the mind of the Messiah.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
What do you envision when you think about Jericho? You see a bunch of radical Israylites marching around the walls, and maybe you even hear them shouting as the walls crumble after the seventh day! Now I want you to envision the walls of your mind tumbling down. Yes, My child; it’s all in your head. Sin is birthed in the mind (heart) before it manifests in the flesh. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)
If you continue to entertain sin, Yahweh will “give you up to uncleanness, in the lusts of your heart [mind].” (Romans 1:24) and “give you over to a debased mind [heart], to do those things which are not fitting (Romans 1:28).” Before this happens, you must allow the strongholds of your mind, the walls that keep you bound, to be torn down. If not, it’s as if “you know the Almighty, but do not glorify Him as the Almighty, nor are you thankful, and so you become futile in your thoughts, and your foolish heart [mind] becomes darkened (Romans 1:21).” You must be transformed by the renewing of your mind [heart] (Romans 12:2). How can you do this? Here are three practical steps:
1. Acknowledge that you don’t believe and obey all that I say. Repent and ask for healing.
2. Take every thought captive, and ask yourself, “Does this thought reflect total trust in Yahweh?”
3. Recognize that the battle is spiritual and that the physical is merely a manifestation of thoughts.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in Yahweh for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of the Almighty, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
The weapons to tear down the walls of your mind are mighty in Yahweh. You must simply believe it! When your thoughts come into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah, “joy will be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).” Yes, that’s correct; when you need strength, rejoice in Him. Take every thought captive. Filter every activity in your mind through Yahshua’s life and resurrection. His life is a display of Yahweh’s power. And access to that power will come in every situation as you meditate on His resurrection (complete mind renewal through the utter shedding of the “self”). The walls of Jericho (carnal voice within) must come down. Believe it! This is the pattern; it can be no other way.
Enough said; His yoke [mind work] is easy and His burden [right thinking for the fallen] is light (Matthew 11:30). Your only problem is unbelief. Repent and return! Repent and live! Repent and believe! Repent and rejoice!
Be Honest with Yourself
Death of the Upright
(#231 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Balaam understood that even if it required death to partake in the promises of Israyl, it was an inheritance to be coveted.
“Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust?
Who can count even a fourth of Israyl’s people?
Let me die like the upright; let my life end like theirs.” (Numbers 23:10)
Balaam recognized that those who were chosen to become heirs to the name of “Israyl” were inheriting something greater than land; he was seeing the eternal. It was not through the law that Abraham and his descendants received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. (Romans 4:13) For not all who are descended from Israyl are Israyl. Those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of the Almighty; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. (Romans 9:6, 8)
Who are the children of the promise; who then is Israyl? Israyl: one who prevails with or overcomes with the Mighty One. What a legacy! Balaam was seeing with prophetic eyes, not just natural eyes. It was more than worldly protection that inspired him; it was the promise of their everlasting inheritance. Yes, what Balaam saw in the prophetic was the inheritance of those who would walk with Yahweh through the shed blood (life force) of Yahshua. And he claimed that he would gladly die for it. “Let me die like the upright; let my life end like theirs.” Can you imagine? It was as if he could have professed, “For [I] died, and [my] life is now hidden with the Messiah in the Mighty One.” (Colossians 3:3)
Israyl was a protected and supernaturally guided people who had a destiny to be envied. They were blessed coming in and blessed going out (Deuteronomy 28:6). Balaam declared, “There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations.” (Numbers 23:9) Yes, they are a people raised so high that they are not to be counted among the gentiles. [They] are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the Almighty’s special possession, that [they] may declare the praises of Him who called [them] out of darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) And “they” means “you!”
Is your heart stirred like Balaam’s? Are you as excited about your inheritance as Balaam was desirous of it? Are you walking in the fullness of gratitude that you should when given such a spectacular gift, willing to die for it? Be honest; if you know you have diminished appreciation for what was offered to you by the shed blood of Yahshua, perhaps you might come naked and bare before the Father. Perhaps you might seek forgiveness for living as a pauper, when you really have royal (holy) blood (life force) coursing in your veins (pathways of thought).
Or, perhaps you are in danger of forfeiting your inherited identity because you, like Balaam, only claim a willingness to die for it, yet resist the actual death necessary to attain it. Balaam’s words and the true intent of his heart never merged as one, and this was a curse unto him (Deuteronomy 23:5, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14).
The journey to riches begins in the mind. Take some time today to contemplate your inheritance. You must first believe that you are royalty to become royalty. And royalty implies rulership; Yahweh requires much from His rulers. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48)
Rulers must also understand that they are called to worship in the valleys, just as on the mountaintops. Embrace your inheritance, and like Solomon pray, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10) Then, take your rightful portion and rejoice in it. Rejoice I say, rejoice!
The Scary Truth about Islam from a former muslim
This is a link to Laur’s youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfXiGWeUcWZsFjsTdEGduQ
Here is a link to part one of Laur’s story of her conversion from Islam, to Christianity to Torah Observant
https://youtu.be/JZHSkjdzRCA
Don’t Tread on My Suffering
Don’t Tread on My Suffering
(#230 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Are you so predictable that when I expose my suffering you will tell me of all the others who have it worse? Who are you to diminish my capacity to suffer? Did not our Messiah become perfected through His suffering? (Hebrews 5:8-9) If my greatest dream is being a father, could there be a worse suffering than losing a child? If a woman’s deepest desire is to be a faithful wife, is there a suffering for her greater than an adulterous husband? The magnitude of suffering is relative to each individual, and suffering, like blessings are always under the sovereign will of the Almighty (Lamentations 3:37-38). How can you declare that anyone can have it worse, when you have never asked me what suffering means to me?
You expect your words should bring comfort, like some garment you can throw over my suffering. I suspect you do this because you are not comfortable with suffering, and you do not acknowledge that Yahweh created suffering to bring hope. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with the Almighty through our Master Yahshua the Messiah, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of the Mighty One. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:1-4) Don’t you understand that when you take away the substance of my suffering, you take away my joyful reward? Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of the Almighty has been poured out in our hearts [centers of intellect] by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)
Your words of comfort actually inhibit my joy. You cannot find joy by easing suffering; you can only find joy by embracing it! Stop assigning any meaning to suffering other than what my Creator has intended. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)
If Yahweh tells me He will never give me more than I can handle, why do you tempt me to reject His promise? Why would you rescue me from my opportunity to be “perfect and complete, lacking nothing?” No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And the Mighty One is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Whatever pricked your conscience during this devotion needs to be fully explored. The natural man cannot handle Yahweh’s truth about suffering and is quick to flee. Have you ever come face-to-face with these words of Yahshua in your own life loved one; “Do you too desire to leave Me?” (John 6:67) When you attempt to appease or alleviate the suffering of another you are hindering their ability to be perfect and complete, as Yahweh commanded them to be!
I will bear my cup, as it is just that, “mine to bear!” It is mine and it was given to me. Please don’t tread on my suffering; my hope is found in it.
Should We Keep The Sabbath?
Double-Edged Sword
(#229 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Read Hebrews 4:1-16.
No creature is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13) We are all completely exposed.
Do I have your attention? This is the “I see you” part of My Word. I watch everything with purpose, precision, and intent. This includes all matters of the heart, especially your attitude about My commands. In this instance, I Am showing you My Sabbath rest. It is a fool who tests Me by relegating My set-apart day as a pittance to suit his culture and lifestyle.
I have picked the day. Yes, it is the seventh day. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And the Mighty One rested on the seventh day from all His works.” (Hebrews 4:4) And it has not and will never change! There remains therefore a rest for the people of the Almighty. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as the Mighty One did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10)
Go back into the history of My chosen people, and the confirmation of which day is the Sabbath is simple. Even the modern calendar you have embraced, although pagan in origin, has My seventh day correctly identified. Enough of this “pick a day, any day” mindset that permeates the conscience of followers who claim to serve Me. It’s not a Kingdom mindset. Dare you stand against Me? I see the lack of investment you make in confirming My Word (as opposed to the Bereans in Acts 17:11). You find scripture verse sound-bites that suit your pleasure, and then you build an entire theology around them. With that mindset, try these:
Search me, O Mighty One, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by Yahweh, that we may not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of the Mighty One. (Romans 12:2)
Seven is “completion” in My Kingdom language; yes, including completion of the week loved one. It is confirmed by the Words of Yahshua Himself:
“And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 24:20)
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) If the Sabbath was altered to “pick a day, any day,” or changed to the “first day” of the week (Sunday), My Son’s own words would be lies.
Instead, I call all of My people to rest on the same day, as I commanded, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is One body and One Spirit, just as you were called in One hope of your calling; One Master, One faith, One baptism; One Almighty Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:3-6) It is the Sabbath rest, a resting of the mind. Resting on the seventh day is proof that you trust Me to supply all your needs for the next six days according to My riches and glory (Philippians 4:19). Are you a child of Light who trusts in My supply or a child of darkness who goes his own way? The Word says that “your fruit” will reveal which you are (Matthew 7:15-20).
For the Word of the Mighty One is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The Woman I would Never Date
The Woman I would Never Date
Never Give Up
“Give In” or “Step In”
(#227 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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How many times do you think I have heard these words while My children are in prayer? “I give in!” Usually, this sort of announcement comes after much inner struggle and suffering in the hearts of My loved ones. You come to the place where you realize that all you may have dreamed of, hoped in, and longed for may not be according to My will, and now it’s time to let go. I have been teaching you about My patterns for quite some time now, and it is in those moments of “surrender” you would do best to remember what I have taught you. Your very prayers tell Me whether or not you have learned and adapted to My patterns, the patterns I reveal to those who “ask, seek and knock.” (Luke 11:9) And let Me remind you; understanding these patterns insures your success in navigating a life surrendered to My will. Think of them as “blueprints for your life.”
Tell Me child, of all that you have learned from and about Me; is it really “giving in” that you are doing? Or, is your choice of words reflective of your ignorance about My true nature? Are you actually abandoning your hopes and dreams by giving into My will? Or rather, are your dreams being fulfilled! Do you understand yet?
When you come to know Me as I Am, when you begin to enter into maturity in Me, in other words, when you “go on to perfection” (Hebrews 5:12-6:3), your words will reflect such an understanding. You do not “give in” when you hand your life over to Me, but rather, you “step in.” You step into My life for you, the life that was predestined to be more than you could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). And for you “over-analytical-thinkers,” this is not semantics; it is a heart (mind) issue. It’s not as if your plans, those you had dreamed of, hoped in and longed for could possibly be more perfect than My plans for you.
Who am I to you? Am I less than what you hoped for? Is there another who you should follow? When you know Me, when you see Me as I Am, no matter what decisions you need to make to get there, you will be excited to step into what I have for you. And no matter what you may “surrender” in the natural, it will always be worth it. So go ahead, “give in” and “step in!”
Lie to Who?
Lie to Who?
(#226 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
When I tell you that your unredeemed heart is wicked and deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), it is because I know your thoughts. “I Am He who searches the kidneys [emotions] and hearts [intellect, intentions].” (Revelation 2:23) Yes, I created your brain and your ability to develop both temporal and spiritual perception. However, its vast capabilities can work against you as, oftentimes, you convince yourselves that anything bad (the revelation of a wickedness) to your conscience is about someone else. “Wicked and deceitful?” It may still refer to you loved one, if you do not step into your fullness and, on your journey, remain honest about your propensity to live with one foot in this world and one foot in My Kingdom.
Your brain’s ability to perceive My deep things (1 Corinthians 2:10) is rivaled only by its ability to rationalize unrighteousness. Here is a spiritual equation for you to ponder: to rationalize unrighteousness equals hypocrisy. Your denial of this tendency also pertains to your lack of humility. Yes, I know all things about you so, “Humble yourselves in My sight and I will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
Hypocrisy is prevalent because you dream of eternal things and raise hands in worship, yet if you are honest with yourself, contemplating eternity with Me in the future does not fill your soul today with overflowing joy. It’s as if you have given up on the now, and placed all of your hope in what one day “might” be. And then you assuage your lack of daily joy with religious services. How is it that I Am the Mighty One of your eternal life and not the Mighty One of your daily life?
Have I not spoken to you about double-mindedness? “Subject yourselves to the Almighty. Resist the adversary [the carnality within that seeks to “choose” rather than obey] and he shall flee from you. Draw near to the Mighty One, and He shall draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners. And cleanse your hearts, you double-minded!” (James 4:7-8) I have called you to live in joy, peace, and righteousness today, not just in eternity. Stop lying to yourself; if you cannot find joy today in faith, how are you so certain it is there for your eternity? Can you quit before the race is over, yet expect the eternal prize?
What am I saying to you? First, I would ask you to stop demanding My eternal prize with your daily dirge. Anger, anxiety, fear, bitterness, selfishness, and greed; all of these have part in your daily life, yet you expect and discuss with others the wonders of the life to come. Stop it loved one! Stop it or I will do it for you. Yes, I would rather you be honest and confess your lack of faith that I will supply all your daily needs (Philippians 4:19). Do this before you discuss My eternal glory; honesty demands it!
Talk to Me; stop lying to yourself; face your fears with Me. I, alone, can conquer what hinders you today, all that keeps you from today’s hopes and joys. Today is My day; rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) This is why I have asked you to number your days (Psalm 90:12). Ask of Me and I shall reveal more of the eternal things, but first rejoice while it is still called “today” (Hebrews 3:12-15).