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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.
The Battle is Won
The Battle is Won
(#187 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Yahweh, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Yahweh our Mighty One, for we rely on You, and in Your Name we have come against this vast army. Yahweh, You are our Mighty One; do not let mere mortals prevail against You! (2 Chronicles 14:11)
How could victory not be celebrated, even now? And in the process, how can you consider any loss a mistake?
The Sovereignty of our Creator mandates that all battles are His. We proclaim, “The battle belongs to Yahweh.” (1 Samuel 17:47) We call Him King of the universe; and we ascribe to Him His rightful title as “I Am,” yet we still have fear. We doubt as we wonder what more might be taken. We often think of Job as the courageous one, forgetting the most pivotal part of his story; he repented and praised Yahweh after his loss (Job 42:5-6). He declared, “Yahweh has given, and Yahweh has taken away.” (Job 1:21)
The scriptures teach us that what we lose is meant to be lost and what we gain is only blessed if it comes according to our Creator’s will. If we trust Him for the battle, then we must accept that loss is just as valuable and perfect as gain.
Pruning often involves persecution. But even so, the battles we face are truly not ours to fight. If this is true, AND IT IS, then no enemy can prevail against us. The pruning we experience as a result of the persecution is actually intended to squelch the internal battle we fight against Yahweh. That’s correct; most of our pain (mind strife) is due to our struggle against our Creator, not our supposed enemies.
With this new understanding, let us be content with Him taking what He takes and giving what He gives. Have a grateful heart (mind) no matter the situation. He knows best what is excess and what is not. If we are going to trust Him, we must go all the way. Anything less is merely lukewarm faith, and that makes our Creator nauseous. (Revelation 3:16)
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.”
Redemption vs. Salvation
Bad Doctrine; Bad Mind!
(#185 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Everything matters; nothing is meaningless. Even those things you might think are meaningless have a purpose. With that, the purpose of all things must be exposed by His Ruach (Spirit-breath-mind). For this reason you are instructed [commanded] to: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16)
And so what is your doctrine on “being saved?” What about your life and doctrine should you watch closely? What is salvation?
Salvation is a mind saved unto absolute holiness, worked out in the temporal world, not to be, but most often confused with redemption (the free gift you do NOTHING to earn). If your life and doctrine are pure, then your thoughts will tell you that salvation is yet to be achieved, and thus it must be “worked out [practiced in every thought] with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)
Bad doctrine will cause you to say things like, “I got saved on….,” and you will convince yourself it is so. Saved means you have achieved One mind with Yahweh, His Son, and Spirit. If you claim to be “saved,” then you are claiming to walk with the mind of the Almighty.
Yes, a perfect mind is commanded, and therefore promised and available to the sons and daughters of Yahweh, as it is said, “Be perfect [holy minded] as I Am perfect!” (Matthew 5:48) This means having no more consciousness of sin (Hebrews 9:14); it means no longer possessing the ability to consciously obey the old “self,” while at the same time, fully recognizing that the old self once ruled every thought.
The mature ones have no problem acknowledging that they are not yet saved, but rather are redeemed to be saved. And so it goes that the immature will claim that “salvation” is completed in them, even while their minds, and therefore their actions, are still steeped in carnality. Let it not be said of you loved one; that you continue in sin (imperfect thoughts) and yet claim to be saved.
“He who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
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!
There is no neutrality with God
The Hollow of My hand
(#183 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and measured the heavens with a span, and contained the dust of the earth in a measure and weighted the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:12)
With one scoop, all of the waters of the earth are consumed. All of the galaxies are like jacks in the hands of a child. On one finger, all the nations of the earth rest. With one strike of My fist I could destroy the universe.
You are wondering, “Is He that big?” Your mind is unable to comprehend My Omnipotence and My Omnipresence. You regularly use these words to describe Me, and yet you have fear. How can you boast of My enormity, and yet shrink back at the thought of the harmful touch of man? Such conflicting mindsets, these thoughts inside your head. I Am concerned greatly about this double-mind of yours. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from Yahweh; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:7-8)
Please know, it is because of double-mindedness that I have created one of the keys to My Kingdom. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind! (Romans 12:2) Break free; remove the shackles from your mind; and unlock and open the doors into a new reality. Your greatest hindrance in doing this is fear of man! You fear man even more than you fear Me.
May I say it so it is easy to remember? FEAR OF MAN IS A SIN! Why so? Fear of man means lack of trust in Me. Do you realize how sinful this is?
Here is a word for My loved ones, a stepping stone, a new beginning. I control all of My dust. Remember this the next time that creepy little thing called “fear of man” tries to overtake your mind. I have you in My hand. And there is plenty of room My child; I promise.
Manage Your Flock
Torn
(#182 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Woe to you shepherds who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? (Ezekiel 34:2)
Have I not told you that your disobedience will mean your removal? (Jeremiah 23:3-4) You preach and teach of saving the lost; meanwhile your fold, whether many or few, has scattered and wanders aimlessly (Jeremiah 23:1-2). Your heart identifies weak and misguided “sheep,” yet your only sacrifice for them is words. You make no time or personal effort to prove that the words are true. All of your effort ceases because of conflicts in your schedule. Who told you I wanted mouthpieces for the masses? Salvation is Mine, and if you paid attention, you would forego your altar calls and replace them with think-tanks. Imagine many of my chosen people, each with unique gifts and talents, all working together to bring unity. Today’s shepherds will not be tomorrow’s and tomorrow’s shepherds will not be lauded by the masses.
Instead, I raise up murderers, adulterers, prostitutes and tax collectors, while you seek out credentials. More specifically, you seek those who comply with your mindsets. You cry of the freedom found in My Son, while you burden My people with man-made doctrine. You overextend the gifts that I have placed in you, beyond their intended purpose, and take on self-imposed burdens in hopes that they appear holy. You use your church attendance, number of ministries, or “number of spiritual activities” that you make available, as indicators of your commitment to Me. And then you expect My blessings to follow. The more people you impact with your “busyness” the greater you feel is your anointing. I’m not impressed. Seek first the Kingdom was My Son’s admonition! (Matthew 6:33)
Foolishness, I say! Many men want their ears tickled (2 Timothy 4:3) by your emotional speeches. I Am the one who saves; and I don’t need you for that. Stop trying so hard to save the other lost ones when the truly lost one stares at you in the mirror daily. All who have ears to hear—comply or it shall be torn from you.
A good assessment of your shepherding skills can always be determined using powerful questions. Rather than telling someone you love them, ask them if they feel loved by you. And then do the unthinkable; ask them if ever that love has failed them.
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)
Things Left Unsaid
Things Left Unsaid
(#179 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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And Isaiah the prophet went to Sovereign Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a distant land, from Babel.” And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is not an object among my treasures that I did not show them.” So Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh of hosts: ‘See, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be taken away to Babel; not a matter shall be left,’ declares Yahweh. ‘And they shall take some of your sons who are born of you, whom you bring forth. And they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the sovereign of Babel.’” (Isaiah 39:3-7)
A word for you about our intimacy loved one. Some things I share with you are for your benefit and for your ears alone. When you gain increase through our relationship, don’t shout everything from the rooftops. Some things birthed through the righteous life are, instead, intended to radiate a subtle steady light.
Man often fail to recognize My true intention. The unredeemed heart of man is wicked and deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). And even after a saving encounter with Me, a great majority tend to nurture “the old sin nature” and will neither appreciate, nor understand My revelation. Therefore, you must be careful to discern the purpose of My intimate moments with you; are they private or to be publically shared?
Listen to Me loved one; so much of what I reveal to you will never be acceptable even to those who call themselves brothers and sisters in the faith!
I speak things of a Kingdom that is not of this world, to those who have their minds (hearts) set on things above. Stay quiet at times loved one. Keep some things private; I like having secrets with you. Be still My precious one. Time will reveal to all the depth between us. And yes, you must trust that I also control time as well.
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)