Tag Archives: Yeshua Said
How a Bible Woman Should Act
How a Bible Woman Should Act
I will not be ruined
I Will Not Be Ruined
(#337 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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My friend, my brother, my confidant, and the co-author of this devotional journey; I cried to him on the phone; “I lost my family Jeff. It’s my fault; I lost them Jeff.” He listened to my weeping; he always does, and then he spoke. “I kind of see it like an investment Michael. If you sell while the markets are down, then of course it’s a loss. But if you hold on… [and at that very moment the mind of Yahweh came into my conscious thoughts] …if you hold on until the market turns…” Jeffrey and I talk about everything. For me, he is that friend who sticks closer than a brother; be warned, ruin awaits those who have unreliable friends (Proverbs 18:24). But, I will not be ruined.
“Don’t sell Michael; don’t quit.” Those words resonated in my mind later that afternoon, and do so even now, as my pen meets paper. I’m still here, my body still imprisoned. But, I will not be ruined. I still have hope, I still have dreams. I have followed the patterns and I am reminded today that obedience always leads to Spiritual fruit first, and the physical shadow will appear later. I will not be ruined. I am reminded of the fear I experienced battling to be free within, even though I remain slain in my physical existence. Though my body remains in captivity, yet will I serve Him! Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him! (Job 13:15) I will not be ruined.
To grow spiritual fruit often requires significant physical sacrifice (Romans 12:1), with no concern for return on investment for your flesh. Jeffrey spends many hours each day seeking the Father in prayer and then in editing the devotions in this body of work. Through that process he decides what the final work will say, piece by piece. It’s Kingdom economics loved one. The world would never ascribe to such unsound business practices. But, my friend Jeffrey does his accounting on a spiritual balance sheet in an upside down Kingdom.
If you have been reading along with us, hopefully you have met the Father, Son, and Spirit in a more intimate way. You have certainly met me. And, today I am glad that you get to meet a little more of Jeffrey. He’s your brother and perhaps a friend. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) I will not be ruined.
Do not be deceived: the Almighty cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10)
Note from Jeff: Michael wanted this included, so I do so humbly and with my eyes ever focused upward. It is not I who lives… JH
No Regrets
No Regrets
(#336 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Every thought says something, and there is only One who determines what each thought means. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25) We pray you have learned well from this body of work and that you continue to do so. The core of our time together has been to arouse you to aspire to the mind of the Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16). Our hope is that pressing on to the goal to win that prize (Philippians 3:14) would become to you as oxygen. You first learn that you must, and then how you are able, to take each thought captive unto the obedience of the Messiah (2 Corinthians 10:5). It must become as natural to you as breathing. This journey is encapsulated well in Romans 12:2; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind!”
With this, we move forward, and we do so with no regrets. Truly, no regrets; instead, we harvest the living fruit of what we have learned together. No more wishful reminiscing, “If I could just go back and change the past,” or “If I had it to do all over again.” These toxic thoughts just feed bad fertilizer to already fatally flawed, preconditioned mindsets. No good fruit will come of it! Regrets discount Yahweh’s Sovereignty! They say that the mistakes were not intended for good, yet He says all things work together for good… (Romans 8:28). These misgivings reveal a mind that has yet to evolve to its spiritual destiny. They display a mind that has yet to recognize and accept this eternal truth; “If I had not been through that, I could have never known what I know now.”
Do not resist the truth; Yahweh spins the universe on this reality. He has specifically designed it so that the mistakes, the willful sins, and the ignorance, all of it is His plan; and all of it is perfect. You see, while all of mankind was but dust, He declared the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that were not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:10) Yes, the Almighty saw everything that He had made, and declared that indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31), even knowing that sin was coming (Genesis 3:6-7). All things would work for good because He declared the end of from the beginning, and in the end, the mind of the Messiah is in you.
It has always been so, but perhaps right now in this moment, you can better embrace a simple yet profound truth. You are right where you are supposed to be loved one. From Yahweh’s perspective, the only perspective that matters, there are no “coincidences”; there is no “luck”; there are no “mistakes”. Everything was approved before you ever existed, and He declared the end from the beginning and He said; “It is all very good.” No regrets loved one. No regrets.
Facing Fury
Facing Fury
(#335 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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It starts with a question. Did you know that the road to perfection (the mind of the Messiah) reveals resentment towards Yahweh? For some, the resentment is obvious; for others, it is hidden in the secret places of the heart. For all, in order to reach the high calling, this resentment must be faced?
It begins with the acknowledgment that without the Messiah your heart remains deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; and that you do not even have a chance to recognize it without Him (Jeremiah 17:9). All of your thoughts, all of your “self,” can only ever produce total depravity. Even what you consider righteous is not cleaner than filthy rags without Him (Isaiah 64:6). You can better appreciate why when you consider that in order to be deemed perfect, even Yahshua had to acknowledge, “Of My own self, I can do nothing.” (John 5:30) The equivalent of those words for you loved one, would be, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body [totality of thoughts] of death?” (Romans 7:18; 24)
The acceptance of this reality causes a deep valley experience in your conscience: “If at my best, all I could ever produce on my own is a body of death, thoughts that are horrific and depraved, then only Yahweh can set me free from this depravity.” Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank the Almighty—through Yahshua the Messiah our Master! (Romans 7:24-25)
Everything contained within this thought: “O wretched man that I am!” is upheld in the totality of Scripture, and yet, at a certain point in the valley, this thought will birth in you, a fury you had never known existed, and this ferocity towards the Almighty Himself. From, “Please don’t let my will be done Father. Please don’t let me even attempt to think for myself;” to, “Why are you letting my thoughts still enter in Father? Why is my conscience still aware of thoughts that defy all that You say is true?” Your greatest longing will become the need to not think for yourself, and to never want your personal will to even enter the equation. And yet, it does! “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; I know of myself I can only produce wickedness, and I repent of all that I am, yet You still leave this battle within my mind. You still let this wickedness win in me, my emotions being corrupted by it. Why? Why do You leave me like this? Why are You cruel to me?” These are the furious thoughts you will have to face on the road to perfection. You must come to the place where you realize that His timing in your personal resurrection (saved mind) is as much under His control as your redemption itself. This “why” is under His Sovereign control and will be revealed in His perfect timing. This was not intended to answer why for you loved one, but to inspire you to hold on. We can relate, and we hold on with you.
Here is your meditation; “I have been impaled [because it was and continues to be necessary] with the Messiah and I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of the Most High, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
The Fig Tree and Its Lesson
The Fig Tree and Its Lesson
(#334 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Now in the morning, [illumination] as He [the way to the saved mind] was returning to the city [mental stronghold], and He was hungry [spiritual longing]. And He saw [mentally perceived] a fig [opportunity] tree [firmly established] by the road [mind path], and He came to it. But found nothing [no spiritual fruit] but leaves [a wall, blocked ambition] on it, and He said to it [the unfruitful endeavor] “May fruit [profitability towards goodness] never grow on you again,” and IMMEDIATELY the fig tree withered [revealed wickedness]. When the disciples [redeemed faculties in thought consciousness] saw [spiritually perceived], they marveled [experience a changed paradigm] and said, “How did the fig tree wither away so quickly?” (Matthew 21:18-20)
Man lives on every word revealed from the mouth of Yahweh (Matthew 4.4 from Deuteronomy 8:3). Heaven’s language is profound, yet meant for little children. The wise and learned so often misunderstand because of dulled spiritual senses (Matthew 11:25). “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24) So, what is the lesson from the fig tree?
Starting our discussion with a critical question would be appropriate. Where in Scriptures do you ever see Yahshua the Messiah praying about what to do? Slow your mind and walk this out; and it will help you perceive this lesson. The “model prayer” itself (Matthew 6:9-13) teaches complete reliance on the Father’s will (v. 10), and cautions against “mindless repetition,” (v. 7) as the Father “knows what things you need before you ask Him.” (v. 8)
Yahshua only walked to the fig tree because He was led to the fig tree. The reality that there was no “fruit” was the superficial issue. Obedience to go and His reaction to what He found were the real issues. There would be no weeping prayers; no lengthy intersession or explanations, and no repetitive pleas to make something that He may have personally desired appear. It was His Father’s will that the tree had no fruit and He would not pray to change that. “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours.” (John 17:9)
If we peer into the mind of the Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16), what might He be thinking? “I expected there to be fruit on the tree, but I found none. However, the ‘none’ that I found was My fruit of obedience for going; that is what mattered to My Father. Also, the fact that as soon as I perceived there was no fruit like I had imagined there would be, it was IMMEDIATELY illuminated to Me that this was My Father’s will. And I did not succumb to My own will, nor did I desire its fruit any longer, because had it been My Father’s will for Me to eat its fruit, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN FRUIT ON THE TREE!” You see, this is so simple that a small child can understand; it is the wise and learned who have difficulty.
If you are stuck wondering what to do, then you suffer from double mindedness loved one (James 1:8); a divided house (mindset) that cannot stand (Mark 3:25)! Stop willing things to happen according to personal desire, while claiming, “I’m just waiting for the Lord, trusting Him for it.” You should know IMMEDIATELY in all things if only One will is being considered. And if He intends for you to hold out for something, then complete peace and an undetached tranquility is proof that it is of Him. If He says, “Wait!” then no more prayers are necessary on this matter, if you are willing to receive it.
The lesson of the fig tree: IMMEDIATELY go when you are told; leave when you are told; wait how long you are told; and in all matters, be content with what you find! Stop trying to impose your “self” desire upon Yahweh (serving yourself), while claiming to be His servant. “Your will be done!” It’s not just another pleasant Christian sound bite that you can wear on a rubber bracelet. It’s the mind of the Messiah and all the power and responsibility that comes with it.
We are going to the deepest places loved one. Prepare your mind and receive because this is what you will find when you arrive. Yahshua replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” (Matthew 21:21)
Sometimes
Sometimes
(#333 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Sometimes I feel so afraid, like if I vanished in an instant, no one would miss me.
Sometimes I hold on by a fraying thread, like the best of tomorrow is a thread yet unbroken.
Sometimes it all seems like a lie, like I’m pretending this journey’s all been predestined.
Sometimes I sit alone in the silence, and I long for the silence to speak back to my loneliness.
Sometimes I’m confused; why does faith find its substance in hope, if hope has no substance?
Sometimes I’m angry; how can faith and hope have any substance if their only evidence is invisible?
Sometimes it seems cruel that I was created with such frailty; I question why love would do such a thing.
But who are you, a human being, to talk back to the Almighty? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:20-21)
We have learned so much together that has helped us overcome such thoughts. So why here; why now? Very simply, it is to comfort you. It is to let you know that you should not be dismayed if these thoughts still arise, even after all the sacrifice, all the pressing in to obedience, and all the longing to be conformed to His image. Yahshua Himself, at the end of His entire journey of obedience, and standing firm in the hope of all that was promised, shouted, “Why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) His whole life was a sinless journey and, in the end, He too had to experience doubt. The Kingdom was within Him, and in a moment, it was snatched from Him. Why? It was necessary that He be tested in every way as we are, yet to remain sinless (Hebrews 4:15). It was the final test for Him to be released from His own self will, and it took doubting the Father to finish it!
After this, Yahshua, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Yahshua had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:28-30)
He had to receive the sour wine from your vessel into His vessel. Remember loved one, a servant is not greater than his master; what was necessary for Him is also for you (John 15:20). Don’t be dismayed if sometimes you receive sour wine; your resurrection is near. Don’t give in. Don’t shrink back. Soon, you will be in glory.
Spiritual Nutrition
Nutrition
(#332 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Thinking burns calories! Thoughts require energy, both conscious and subconscious; they are living and active. Is it any wonder that ulcers (disease) are most often created from mind stress rather than physical exertion? It would then be prudent and coherent to create a nutrition chart for the mind in order to maximize your potential in the physical. And considering the wholistic nature of the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:23), you should know this about physical nutrition, so you can relate it wholistically to mental nutrition. It is not just about food, but the sum total of all things that contribute to growth, repair, and preservation of a healthy body. Let us, therefore, consider wholistic nutrition for your mind:
1. Psalms = Carbohydrates
2. Deuteronomy = Protein
3. Obeying the Torah (5 books of Moses); Spiritual blessings = Good Fat
4. Disobeying the Torah; Spiritual curses = Bad Fat
5. Prophets = Fiber
6. Proverbs = Water
7. Prayer and Meditation = Calories
8. Praying in the Spirit = Phytonutrients, Vitamin and Minerals
9. Spiritual Warfare (the Epistles) = Renewing the mind; Detoxification
10. Taking Dominion (embracing your identity before Yahweh) = Exercise
11. The Good News = Rest
12. Revelation = Dreams and Sleep
13. History Books = Firm foundation, Deep Roots, Stability
Prepare your mind to hear. We will go beyond the standard comfort zones today. Having often discussed the reality that life manifests within (the thought world) before it is expressed without (the physical world), let us move on to perfection (perfect thinking). These invaluable pearls allow us to further express the true roots of disease.
Your physical health is directly related to your knowledge of the words of Yahweh loved one. Listen closely and listen well as your diagnosis could be supernaturally transformed today. If your body is the manifestation of the totality of your thoughts, then you can use the Scriptures as your nutrition guide to renew your mind and therefore your body. You would do well to perform an analysis of your predominant mental status (congregating thoughts) in order to determine the cause of the physical state of your body (the reason for your diagnosis). Then you can decide to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19), instead of death.
And this is where we go beyond comfort zones. Your physical body is the outward expression of your thought life! Listen again and let this seed plant itself in good soil (Mark 4:20). An unhealthy perspective of scripture, and therefore Yahweh Himself, leads to an unhealthy physical life. Let’s relate this to some common diagnoses and see what transpires: Physical to Mental
High blood pressure: Disobedience, fear, unbelief
Obesity: Discontent, gluttony
Diabetes: Lack of self-control/self-discipline
Digestive Problems: Stress, confusion, anxiety
Arthritis: Anger, rage, foul language
Use of Steroids: Insecurity, vanity, pride
Cancer: Breaking food laws, bitterness, unforgiveness
Lethargy: Sloth, indifference, apathy; rebellion
Lean and fit: Application of Biblical truth
The Abundant Life: Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and obedience
And there are so many more loved one, but this was intended to be an eye opener (spiritual perception stimulus). What you allow to feed your mind can be directly equated to what you stare at in a mirror. If sickness is what you see, then confess and begin the healing and wholeness process, back to a fit life. A renewed mind and, therefore, a renewed body awaits you.
Yahshua answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)
All Roads Lead Where?
All Roads Lead Where?
(#331 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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In various forms, you have heard it said, “All roads lead to Heaven.” This humanistic perspective, when expressed outside the “Church,” is of no concern of ours. But inside the body of the Messiah, the congregation, this type of diversity (many roads) has become the new unity. Really, it is just the candy-coating on human apathy disguised under the banner of becoming all things to all men (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). But, with a resounding cry, let us remind you that this is precisely what Shaul warned against; he cautioned about the wrong application of such doctrine.
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the adversary’s cunningness, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to the Messiah. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Yahshua other than the Yahshua we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different good news from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4) Don’t put up with lies couched under the placard of unity in the midst of diversity; stand up and shout, “I am a fundamentalist!”
However, amongst those who confess “Jesus,” because the concession has become that all roads lead to heaven, each denomination has paved its own way, and declares that whatever road it travels will suffice. “God will receive all,” even those preaching another doctrine, preaching another Jesus. Yet even Yahshua Himself did not come with His own doctrine (John 7:16). To travel this congested road one must negate such mandates as: “The road is narrow that leads to life, and only a few will find it.” (Matthew 7:14) And they must become apathetic to such truths as: “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many are those that go that way.” (Matthew 7:13)
They must also ignore the chief command which is to prove your love to the Most High by actually keeping His commands. “Yahweh will circumcise your hearts [centers of intellect] and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live; you will again obey Yahweh and follow all His commands; the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” (Deuteronomy 30:6, 8, 14) Yahshua, because He did not teach His own doctrine, taught likewise; “If you love Me, keep My commands.” (John 14:15) This, of course, assumes you actually know what they are!
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but Yahweh rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isaiah 60:1-3)
This illumination is not for the apathetic. It’s for those who love Yahweh with all they are. Perhaps you? Or, perhaps you’ve enjoyed the “many roads” doctrine; maybe you just didn’t know. But now you do! Don’t buy into the jargon, the “self” appeasing doctrines of men. Confusion comes from “self” reliance, the might (god) of this world; it is the reliance on Babylon (babel-on). Instead be a fundamentalist; only one doctrine is allowed on the narrow road. Only one road leads to Heaven. His name is Yahweh; He changes not (Malachi 3:6). It’s a serious matter, loved one. And today you know; there is only One road.
“In the beginning Yahweh created the Heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Fellowship and The Congregation
The Congregation
(#330 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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The congregation is the gathering of redeemed minds called to think and do as the Messiah did. It is meant to propagate His teachings and His thinking, which then produces evidence that is demonstrable in the physical realm. By faithful execution of this calling, we will produce even greater works than His because He demonstrated to us how He “went” to the Father (John 14:12). This is best understood in context as if Yahshua went “the way of” His Father, as in “not My will but Your will be done.” (Luke 22:42)
The metaphysical picture of the congregation is to imagine many souls gathered together, the gathering of redeemed thoughts, or in other words, the congregation of minds pressing in together to apprehend the mind of the Messiah. Your commission is to hear and understand the Father’s language. “Why is My language not clear to you?” Yahshua asked. “Because you are unable to hear My word.” (John 8:43) And what were His words as a manifestation of the Father’s mind? “I am He and I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me.” (John 8:28) Can you recognize in His words that He went the way of the Father? This is the pattern; His mind congregated with the Father; He received direction; and He spoke only the Father’s words. The Messiah, as with all men, had two minds within, His own and the Father’s. He always submitted to the Father’s mind, expressed as “His will,” and it always produced greater works. Within first, and then without! And you?
This powerful understanding of “the congregation” is lost when the erroneous translation of “the church” is substituted. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of church? Honest introspection is warranted and advised at this time. When you hear church, do you think of internal things, like the mind of the Messiah that only thinks what the Father thinks? Or, do you see external things, like ministries and buildings? Do you think mindsets or ministries? If “church” immediately conjures up thoughts of external things, it is because you do not yet speak His language or hear His words. It’s good that we have congregated to discuss such things; two or more of us gathered to propagate the Father’s thoughts.
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Bread
(#329 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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“My Kingdom is not of this world!” (John 18:36)
Listen closely loved one, and do so with an inquiring mind. If Yahshua proclaimed that His Kingdom was not of this world, then are His teachings of or about this world? If you believe that everything in Scripture pertains to the physical realm, you are severely hindered from grasping the spiritual truth intended with each word He spoke. “Yahweh is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth; I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” (John 4:24; 8:28)
And so, what will enable you to grasp the truth; what will give you the “keys” to this Spiritual Kingdom, so you understand what it means that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven?” (Matthew 16:19) If you need keys to the Kingdom, then it should be obvious that the door is locked and you must obtain the keys in order to open it. And this Kingdom does not come with physical observation; it is within you (Luke 17:20-21). It takes spiritual eyes to see it!
Do you erroneously believe that by saying you “trust in Jesus” the door automatically swings wide open to you? Not so, not so! Yes, it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:11), but you must ask, seek and knock (Matthew 7:7-8). And be wise all who are redeemed; for just as you must diligently seek it, it will not prevail in your life if you are divided in your thinking (Mark 3:24), like a wave of the sea tossed by the wind (James 1:6).
For the longing soul, needy for more, and desperate for the power promised, your mind cries, “What are the keys? What are the keys?” First go back and read paragraph one above again. Stop attempting to attain spiritual manna from a fallen world. The precepts of Yahweh are for the conscience, the renewing of the mind, and never for this physical world. Yes, this paradigm in thought will wage a war within you for quite some time, but let it rage. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another. (Galatians 5:17)
The daily bread you are offered is spiritual manna for the renewing of thought processes (Romans 12:2), and only after the spiritual man is fed can anything good be transfigured into the physical realm. Your fears of lack of earth’s food and resources only exist because you have been seeking the world’s bread, and not the bread of life. When the conscience is perfected loved one, all things are yours, on earth as it is in Heaven.
And Yahshua said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35) The key loved one: put on the mind of the Messiah and stop seeking the earth’s junk food. Then, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.