Subjected

Subjected

(#190 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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For the creation was subjected to futility, not from choice, but because of Him who subjected it, in anticipation, that the creation itself shall also be delivered from the bondage to corruption into the esteemed freedom of the children of the Mighty One. (Romans 8:20-21)

Was creation subjected to futility apart from you? Are you not responsible? Quite the contrary, it was because of you. Even though you are bound to your futility, you are inexcusable. Your fall caused the fall of all things. And that is why, “all of creation waits in eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of the Mighty One.” (Romans 8:19)

Without My Son, you are bound by your own choices. In other words, you are bound to make particular choices, not free to make any choice. My Son, therefore, came as the gift which stops you from attempting to choose. As My sons and daughters, your freedom comes from having no choices. True freedom is having no choice but to obey Me. This concept should pierce and humble each of You as you kneel before Me, your Almighty Father.

When I bring pain, suffering, and loss, it is to free My people. Therefore, rejoice, no matter what your circumstances. Like your flesh, your choices apart from Me will rot over time. What seems so wonderful to you now is only leading to death. When I told you My Son is your example, did you not understand this would mean “you” had to be removed? How much of you must be removed so that My Son is formed in you? (Galatians 4:19) How much of you must become lesser, so He might be greater? (John 3:30) The suffering I bring only remains until the branch bears fruit. For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:16)

You would not naturally choose the path that leads to righteousness. But, I will finish My work in you, with or without your cooperation (Philippians 1:6). A perfect bride is what I promised My Son and a perfect bride He will have. My ways and thoughts are above yours (Isaiah 55:9), yet you behave as if you must understand everything I Am doing in you. Yes, I Am the Almighty and all good things come from Me. Would it be so difficult for you to understand that even the parts that frustrate you are perfectly part of My plan for your life?

We have been here before loved one, and we will come back again until the glory of My Son is perfected in you. I have told you the truth; I expect rejoicing while the suffering commences. Faith is what pleases Me and faith is what is required to sacrifice your mind (personal feelings), even during your struggles.

Your sacrifice speaks in such a way; “My suffering is my responsibility, for I suffer from self desire alone. I owe Yahweh everything. He deserves and will have His praise, no matter what my situation.”

Again, loved one, without faith, you cannot please Me (Hebrews 11:6).

Surrender

Surrender

(#189 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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The Messiah came with this new agreement so that all who are invited may come and have forever all the wonders Yahweh has promised them. For the Messiah died to rescue them from the penalty of the sins they had committed while still under that old system. Now, if someone dies and leaves a will—a list of things to be given away to certain people when he dies—no one gets anything until it is proved that the person who wrote the will is dead. The will goes into effect only after the death of the person who wrote it. While he is still alive no one can use it to get any of those things he has promised them (Hebrews 9:15-17).

I have spoken to you much about My patterns. It is crucial that you not only understand them, but that these patterns direct all of your choices in life. You cannot receive what you are promised until there is a death! And that is the death of the old you! You must testify; “I have been crucified with the Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but the Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of the Mighty One, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

You know how I have spoken of life that comes from death? Yes, it is the death of your old self that is the only path to your new life. I know that most of you remain bewildered by the crossing over part, the period between death and new life. I Am not speaking of physical death, of course, but rather the death of old patterns of thinking. Put off your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to the Mighty One, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

It is proper to call this life-to-death-to-life process a wilderness experience. In these times it will certainly seem like you are being stripped of many of your physical wants. But, all of your needs are provided; His Heavenly power has given to us all things that pertain to life and holy reverence. (2 Peter 1:3) However, you must embrace the faith that gives you the confidence to trust that all you need is available. A desert is hot and dry; deserts test resolve, and deserts are vast. Deserts have no natural provision to offer. But, consider Israyl; in Yahweh’s wilderness everything was provided for supernaturally! Life-to-death-to-life: life in Egypt, death in the wilderness, and then new life in the Promised Land. Again, you cannot receive what you are promised until there is a death!

Who among you can see the wilderness as a time of supernatural provision? Who among you will take the physical loss and endure the trial in order to see something new? Who will cross over? I Am not speaking of getting by or merely “holding out” until better days come. Who among you would sing songs to Me and be joy filled, with the impending wilderness?

Why would I ask you to rejoice during loss, pain, and hardship? It is My pattern. I need you to be lost in Me. You need to be lost in Me. When I take the old life from you, your increase comes from your worship. This is My way child; it is better than yours. This is how I create My miracles. I tell you these things so you are comforted, but the wilderness is the only way. Obey Me child. I Am the Light of Life, and I Am He who has designed the Valley of The Shadow of Death (Psalm 23).

Freedom? 4th of July Message Who to Vote For

Freedom? 4th of July Message Who to Vote For

Give Thanks to Yahweh

Thanks

(#188 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name. (Psalm 100:4)

O Yahweh, let my words of thanksgiving settle in Your ears like the dew. Let my praise form like manna on the earth. May my worship be as sweet as honey cakes. I know that it is Your joy that my words of thanksgiving actually become provision for me, blessings and the bread of life.

You knew me before You formed me in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). I dreamed of You then. I felt Your love before I was born. Then, as an innocent child, my dreams remained from You, nothing clouding my intention. They were good, pure, and hopeful. They were thoughts of what good I could do for others.

Thank You Father; the fire of affliction has returned me to this place. Thank You for Your love which has forged the hot iron of my will to conform to Yours. Thank You that You did not leave me to myself. Thank You for Your pruning which exposed my heart, and for Your power that comes with Your revelation. Thank You for skimming the dross so that what is pure in me remains. Thank You for not letting me stay the same.

I became a child again and You removed my abilities in this season. And You did it to reconstruct my temple. Thank You that during this rebirth You sustained only those things that I truly love most, the things of You. My spirit thanks You. Wonderful are Your ways; magnanimous are Your deeds.

Note to the reader: No matter what you are going through right now, even if it seems like no one cares, we care. We want to tell you to hold on, not with gritting teeth, but with a mind that says “He won’t lie to me. He won’t let my life become worthless. My day is coming; I will rise again, and I will be better than ever.” We know what it feels like to wonder if life is worth it, and we have come to a new place, a Promised Land. And we want to tell you that all your pain will soon be something glorious. You will look back at it and you will truly understand that without it, you could have never known what pure joy is. You will realize that grief and the feeling of despair are actually holy emotions used to allow you to experience how joyful joy is. Hold on: we are with you.

I Am is with you.

Regeneration

Though All Fail

(#186 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vine, the yield of the olive has failed, and the fields brought forth no food, the flock has been cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I exult in Yahweh, I rejoice in the Mighty One of my deliverance. Yahweh the Almighty is my strength. And He makes my feet like those of a deer, and makes me walk on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

A sacrifice of praise is what You desire, O Yahweh. It is the key to the Kingdom, the only true Kingdom. It is the only Kingdom in which dwells the love of Yahweh. Perhaps if we stop to think it through, if we truly want to uncover the pattern, we might ponder that the need for any external satisfaction must come to an end in order for this internal fruit to blossom.

Does it not make sense that you gain more glory through deliverance than through earthly abundance? Oh that we would learn to embrace Your ways, and that our way of thinking would shift to Your way of thinking. How much sweeter is it to walk Your paths when we embrace Your patterns.

Try these on for size:

1. “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me [Yahshua]; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

2. “He must increase, but I [John the Baptist] must decrease.” (John 3:30)

3. “My doctrine is not Mine [Yahshua], but His who sent Me.” (John 7:16)

4. “For I have not spoken on My own authority [Yahshua]; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” (John 12:49)

We so often perceive Your patterns as opposite of what You intend. What do You intend?

1. When we feel pain, You are joyous as You witness our growth.

2. When we cannot see the end, You stand there waiting for us.

3. When we cannot overcome, You rejoice in the victory You had planned all along.

Oh that we would truly perceive all things as good. May we believe, like Shaul (Paul), that You, Abba, would never let your children go.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor malakim [erroneously called “angels”], nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of the Mighty One which is in Yahshua the Messiah our Master. (Romans 8:38-39)

“Give us wisdom to see as You see. Enlarge our territory, not of land, but of our minds, so we would feel how easy the yoke and how light the burden is, because You are our portion. Take us beyond, Father, to the place where only the Spirit man resides; take us to a new consciousness, to a new day. Implant in us that which Habakkuk earned, this ever-present gift in his life, the sacrifice of praise. Even though all seems lost… ‘yet I exult in Yahweh, I rejoice in the Mighty One of my deliverance.’ Please, Yahweh, bring us to that place.”

Do you really trust Yahweh?

What Problem?

(#184 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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But Yahweh is my defense, and my Mighty One the rock of my refuge, and brings back on them [wicked enemies] their own wickedness, and cuts them off in their own wrongdoing; Yahweh our Mighty One does cut them off. (Psalm 94:22-23)

This is another of My many comforting promises made to strengthen and encourage you. However, I have one provocative question I wish to ask you about this: “Do you believe Me?” And before your “knee-jerk response,” in My love and compassion, let Me give you a hint:

“I Am not a man that I should lie, nor a son of man that I should repent. Have I said, and will I not do? Or have I spoken, and will I not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

Don’t answer Me so quickly; I may choose to hold you to your answer. Yes I, who test your heart and your words, may just reveal you to yourself today. I might just expose the truth about the quality of faith you have in Me!

Let’s walk through it together and find out if you believe Me. Simply respond yes or no:

Am I your refuge?

Am I your sheltering rock?

Did I say I would brings back on your enemies their own wickedness?

Did I say I would cut them off in their own wrongdoing?

Am I Yahweh your Mighty one?

Yes or no?

Based on My promises, all your answers should be “yes!” Now I ask you again, “Do you believe My words?” Listen to Me child; I already know. Others know as well. Your attitude, your anxiety, your lack of joy, and your lack of rejoicing, all speak so loudly that your words mean very little.

Now quiet yourself and listen to Me. First, I want to tell you again, I know. I sent My Son for this very reason. You needed the help. You needed the Spirit. You needed new life. Yes, I know in your flesh you cannot do it; and I know that wrestling the flesh is a part of the process. Second, I know you feel bad that you don’t trust Me as much as you want to. I know that the double-mindedness disturbs your soul. I need you to step over. Leave everything behind to do one thing; trust My words! Take the risk! Step to Me all the way. Don’t look back, don’t look down. Look straight ahead and step. I promise you I Am here. I promise you will not fall. I promise you will see all that I have said is true, and it’s time. I Am Abba and I Am calling you child.

Come home. Come now!

When?

When?

(#181 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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In moments of victory the songs come so freely. The ability to rejoice seems so natural. Yes, an overflow of the heart (Hebraically, the “center of intellect”) is what causes me to sing. At the times when the pain seems to overtake me, like a wave I cannot get on top of, the songs become forced. These are the times when I cry out to you Abba. I am expecting a “crossing over”. Is it not what You promise? Am I amiss to believe a place exists wherein my heart would never drown in sorrow?

You tell me of the eternal things and I try to comprehend. The thought of the wife once mine, and the children that now wonder what happened, hinders my ability to see the glorious Promised Land. While I sit in prison, they grow. They grow without me; their bodies take on a new shape; their words become more intelligent. I am missing so much time that can never be recaptured. I do blame myself as I accept the responsibility for why the chastening rod has fallen. But I have changed. Will I be allotted Your mercy like so many others in the past?

These feelings are mixed with a heart that understands that complete surrender to You is what we all must face. This reality won’t change; it only causes me to speak much less. Full surrender of one’s life means it is not one’s life anymore: no complaining, no relenting, no challenging. In fact, You have decreed that it, instead, looks like silence.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

(Isaiah 53:7)

You have called for me to rejoice, praise, and have gratitude no matter what. I believe Your way is right. I believe any other pursuit is vanity. How can one long for the love of his earthly family and yet desire the things of His heavenly Spirit placed within? My heart just does not know how to cross over. I don’t know what it looks like, in a permanent sense, to give into You COMPLETELY Abba. So in my weakness, when I cry out for Your help, I feel I am doing exactly as You are requesting.

I realize it is a journey of the heart. You said, “trust, endure, believe.” Help my unbelief Abba. Help me settle the unknown within, as I confess that I must give it all to You. Help me remember that today is “when” because today is all I have. It’s about believing Your immense love for me. And today Your love for me and for them is perfectly complete. Not believing this is where my joy lies persecuted. Help me know how deep that love is.

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Trouble?

Trouble?

(#178 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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Define “trouble” for Me child. Perceive what troubles you, and speak to Me about it. And then consider that it is only your perspective that is truly troubled. Yes indeed, the only real trouble for you are your thoughts that have you convinced My children have any troubles at all. In other words, the cure for your troubles is faith, and the cause, a lack thereof.

This is a new dimension added on the path to your full stature in Me; as narrow as it is. Faith in and of itself, is the substance of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1), and part of that substance is choosing to believe a truth that defies human wisdom. What more defies your own wisdom than this: My children truly have no troubles; that’s correct, no troubles!

When I told you that “You will have tribulation in this world,” was it because I was concerned or worried, or that you should be? Of course not, “I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I speak to you in a language you can understand; “You will have tribulation.” But, I also speak a spiritual language; “I have overcome the world.”

The flesh (carnal nature) cannot perceive spiritual words, as no flesh can stand in My presence (Romans 8:5-9). If you would put on the spirit-man, when trials come you would have no choice but to declare, “I will rejoice always” (Philippians 4:4) and “I consider it all joy.” (1 Peter 1:6) Listen My child; there is no trouble in My Kingdom and I have purchased you to live with Me in My Kingdom. The only trouble you are having is belief that all I say is truth.

I Am Abba Father. You have no troubles today! Cast your all your cares and anxieties upon Me! Have I not told you to give Me all that hinders you? (1 Peter 5:6-7) Step over, My child. Your inheritance waits for you. I Am love and so it is written, “I can never fail.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)

Who Touched Me?

Who touched Me?

(#176 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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And Yahshua said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Kepha [Peter] and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

But Yahshua said, “Someone touched Me; I know that power has gone out from Me.” (Luke 8:45-46)

By faith, and a touch, twelve years of suffering were instantly done away with. How many of us suffer unnecessarily? How many of us long to draw from the power of the One we call Savior? Why do we simply marvel at what is written? Why don’t we live in it instead? How many of us have longed to touch Him physically; to see Him; to listen to His voice; and to stroke His hair with oil? We long to touch Him so He might touch us.

For us today, where is the disconnect? We have been granted greater power and access to His throne after the resurrection, than the woman with the issue of blood (Hebrews 11:39-40).

Why do we marvel at what was, when we have been told what is? We have more and more! (Psalm 115:14) Revelation of mysteries is available which were not known while He walked the earth. Let a man so consider us, as servants of the Messiah and stewards of the mysteries of Yahweh. (1 Corinthians 4:1) The revelation is for your benefit! Are you a good steward? But we speak the wisdom of Yahweh in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which Yahweh ordained before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7) For OUR glory! Certainly, even by chance, one would have reached out to touch Him if He was “physically” present before us. We can still reach out, even now. What is it that we lack that keeps us from Him today? Why the chasm; why the disconnect?

Will you pray with me?

“Abba, why is it so? Why can’t we make it more personal? It is all unseen. Why did You make it so that we must do this all by faith? You have told us that we are greater, those of us who have not seen, yet believe (John 20:29). We accept that Father, yet, there is this longing for the tangible. A touch not only from You, but to be able to reach out and touch You, feel You, and know You. Is it wrong of us to desire this Father? Is it not natural, but rather supernatural, that we long to see You; to be healed by You; to simply know? It is Your choice Father, the ‘how’ and the ‘why,’ and as we submit to Your authority over these things, release Your perfect knowledge over us, the revelation that Your way is perfect. Show us, Abba—show us how to touch You in spiritual ways, so we too may be touched in physical ways. We long for Your presence, the presence that You tell us is already here. Help us see Father. Please come. So be it.”

Think it twice

Think it twice

(#175 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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“For look, I Am beginning to bring evil upon the city which is called by My Name, and should you be entirely unpunished? You are not going unpunished, for I Am calling for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares Yahweh of hosts. (Jeremiah 25:29)

Woe to you who call Me “The Lord of Hosts,” in place of Yahweh of hosts, you who cry for help from your enemies. Do I need to remind you of My patterns before you heap judgment upon yourselves, before its time? Have I not told you that judgment begins in My house? Judgment begins with My people, My people named Israyl. Sit silent and consider your ways before you act. Are you not calling judgment upon yourself by scorning your enemy? Have I not told you to pray for those who persecute you? (Matthew 5:44) I need to remind you that when you call down for My wrath, My wrath will come. Yes loved one, it will come right to your doorstep and reveal all that is in your heart (mind). Why must you provoke My long suffering? Why do I perceive a broken child in you, yet you stand in firm defiance towards all whom might oppress you?

Humility child! Think before you pray. Think while you pray. How can the Spirit I placed in you defy My patterns? It is not possible. It cannot be. Are you so pure in your own mind that you use such harsh measures? Can you no longer relate to a consciousness that would consider sin? It is you child who will be corrected while you call down vengeance upon another.

Oh, loved one, do not misunderstand, sinlessness is the call for My perfected ones. I do strongly desire that you arrive at this place. A thought for you to consider: can one who possesses all power have any enemies who can do any harm to them? Though one may deem himself an enemy, can they have any effect on the perfected one? Think child, and ponder. Humble yourself. Many times, a man’s only enemy comes from within. Yes, judgment begins with My people. Perhaps you might offer the mercy that you will soon long for?

“For the time has come when judgment [sifting using Yahweh’s standards] must begin in the House [Temple in your conscience] of the Almighty [Yahweh], and if first with us [the redeemed minds], what will be the end of those [unredeemed minds] who do not obey the good message [perfected mind patterns] of the Mighty One [Yahweh]?” (1 Peter 4:17)