Tag Archives: Christianity
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)
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.
Humble Yourself
Arm of the Flesh
(#088 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Listen to Me, My precious little one; I would like you to consider My servant Mosheh (Moses) as an example of My absolute providence. I brought him up as a prince only to have his crown stripped from him. He would be a shepherd at the age of eighty, “an alien in a foreign land.” (Exodus 2:22) It was then that I called him to his true purpose, his created purpose. After forty years in exile My plan would begin, truly begin. Why did I strip him of his princely garb? Yes, he murdered, but I always knew he would. It’s what caused the murder that had to be removed. The arm of the flesh had to be removed, the desire to do anything other than what I purpose in his, and likewise, your life. If you pretend that whatever you want to do must be My will, you will wander in the wilderness. To get out, you must stay close to Me; you must stay connected.
The byproduct of the removal of the arm of flesh is humility and meekness, heavenly humility and meekness. From a murderer to the testimony, “What if they don’t believe me or listen to me?” “What if they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you?’” (Exodus 4:1) Please realize that the humility that I placed in Mosheh will also be placed in you. He would no longer be a man with murder in his heart. Now ready, prepared for every good work, Mosheh, a different man cries out, “O Yahweh, please send someone else by whose hand You may do it.” (Exodus 4:13) He was no longer supremely confident in his own ability. He was now a servant ready to be used. It was at this point that My chosen vessel was truly ready.
Know this My child; the talents you have are from Me. Have people noticed your attributes, the things that make you good at what you do? I will not waste those talents I placed in you. I will just make sure they are used for why I created you. If you are wandering in a foreign land right now, you might just rejoice. For it is here that the arm of flesh will be taken away and your new life brought to you. You do not need to wait forty years, however. Submit to Me now and enter your destiny My child. It is your precious predestined purpose.
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)
Pray without complaining
His Manna
(#083 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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I have labored at no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in Yahweh’s hands, my reward is with my Mighty One. (Isaiah 49:4)
What does it mean to have struggled so hard to no avail? What does it feel like when you realize, by His revelation, that you have spent too much time operating in the flesh? You wonder what Isaiah meant when he said, “Yet what is due me.” It is what flows from Yahweh’s mercy and grace; attributes of His love for you. When you labor at no purpose, it is because you did not ask for directions; you moved too quickly ahead of Him in the flesh, the way you have become accustomed to operating. That will always be in vain. Yes, He is always out front, but you did not stop to consider this; your actions did not include His will. Nevertheless, He afforded you a new heart (mind) by the death of His Son, and He sees your efforts to honor the change. Now, it is time to start over. Wouldn’t you like to receive what is due?
The talents you have, the zeal you have for good things, yes, He placed those in you. Will you now go to Him for direction so He can use those gifts properly? Remember King David, how he desired to build a house for the Almighty, a temple made of cedar and stone? Had he not been stopped through the prophet Nathan, he surely would have begun the project. He did well that it was in his heart to do such a thing (2 Samuel 7:3). And yet, at the prophetic moment of his revelation, he was told, “No!” You see, had he proceeded without being held in check, much effort would have been wasted in doing something that seemed so good and so honoring, yet it was not for him to build!
Just give Yahweh a willing heart and He will draw the plans; He will hire the laborers; and He will pay the costs. Before you endeavor to begin anything, ask Him. Filter every thought, and therefore every action through Him! Oh, how He desires this kind of relationship with you. He will have this kind of relationship with you.
Ask Him! His manna will be far better than the bread you produce in your own abilities. This is yet another pattern, an inescapable pattern indeed.
This is the only answer for a Coronavirus Cure.
This is the only answer for a Coronavirus Cure.
A New Heart-Masterfully Restored
Masterfully Restored
(#082 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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The concept of restoration brings many different thoughts to mind. Maybe it’s the renovation of a classic automobile, or the refurbishing of a piece of vintage furniture, or the polishing of an old war piece to bring about its original luster. The idea of restoration involves taking something from the past, repairing it and cleaning it up, so it appears to be new again.
May we share with you Yahweh’s concept of restoration? You see, His way is much different than yours. When He sent His Son to die for your sins, it was not to restore you to your original luster. It was to change you into something completely different, brand new, but different. His restoration does not make you into a “new version of the old you;” it makes you into a totally new creature, like a different species with different DNA. You are made brand new, right out of the box, or coffin if you will. All you were from the past is erased.
Yahweh obviously enjoys the restoration business, making all things new; and He starts in your heart (mind). (Revelation 21:5; Ezekiel 36:26). Becoming brand new was not something you could even conceptualize until that predestined moment when Yahshua, in all His glory, was revealed to your heart. Know this; His process involves much patience, similar to what is needed to restore an old car. And although the transformation begins at the point of redemption, the refining (complete salvation of the mind) can take years to fully form in you (Galatians 4:19).
This refining involves your participation for several reasons. First, He desires that you glorify Him because of it, which is the reason for your restoration in the first place. Second, your daily choice to love Him is what the entire journey is about. To love and glorify Him is a decision you must make. Third, the restoration is to show others the beauty of the new creation, so they too might want to come and enjoy the same journey. Oh, how pleased you will be with His finished product. You are truly one of a kind, an original.
No Weapon “Formed”
No Weapon “Formed”
(#081 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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There are several definitions for the word “form.” One in particular fits perfectly, giving you the clue about how to identify and then root out the personal ego’s pattern. A “form” is a document for the collection of information. Let’s consider that, “No weapon formed against [you] shall prosper.” (Isaiah 54:16-17)
Yes, the forming here is describing an action, but what is being formed, and how, is what we need to pay close attention to. No doubt, it is Yahweh who allows the forming of the weapon, as He is the one who created the blacksmith (v. 16). Yet, the enemy uses this pattern of forming weapons against you as he “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) And, although the weapon may vary from believer to believer, the pattern is always the same. Follow the target; find the weakness, and then attack. Watch and listen to the response, collect more information, and attack again.
The weapon is always well formed. The enemy does not attack until there is enough information gathered. It might be a female, a new job, or an accusation. It could be wealth or poverty. Whatever weapon has been formed, it is tailor-made to destroy you if possible. How could it be so precise? Exactly what was needed to potentially create a great deal of harm to you? Listen very closely. It’s your life, your own words, and actions that were put into a data base. The weapon was formed precisely because you supplied all the information. Staring at pornography? Obviously lust is a weakness. Talking negative about your boss? Your negativity is now the weapon formed against you. Eighty hour work week while neglecting your faith and family? Your master is money and it now becomes the weapon.
The weapon is customized just by the enemy watching and listening to you. All of its power is gained from your external life, which reveals your mind (heart). There is no need to read thoughts; they are manifested in every action. “Watch and listen.” This is the key to the weapon’s mastery. The enemy is the grand information gatherer.
What now? Guard your words! In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19) Let your words be wholesome and few. Go to your Father in silent prayer when you have a problem. And your actions, principalities can see all that you do. Yahweh’s messengers of light are merciful! Satan’s messengers of darkness are deadly! They hear your words; they see everything you do.
Now consider the power of recognizing the truth about how the enemy, and your own sensual desires, form the weapons used against you. It is simply the data that you feed him. Praise Yahweh for He is faithful even when you are not! After you praise Him, change the way you live your life. Stop feeding the weapon which causes you pain and suffering. This is a mature faith indeed.
Yahshua is faithful and will establish you and guard you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)