Category Archives: Grace / Forgiveness

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Slow to Anger, Unteachable / Foolish, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The LORD Wants His Children to Be in Relationship with Him

Today we study another exciting chapter of history that is part of the best story ever told, the Bible. A series of wicked kings led the people away from Yahweh. Yahweh turns sends messengers and tries to call them back but to no avail. The people reject Him. With no other recourse to get their attention, he uses the Babylonians. After 70 years in captivity in Babylon, Yahweh uses the Persians to restore the people to their land. We will review a few key points after we read the scripture.

2 Chronicles 36:10-23

Captivity in Babylon Begun

      10At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the LORD, and he made his kinsman Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

      11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD. 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

      15The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. 18All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. 19Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

      22Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah—the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

Yah’s ultimate goal is to help His people return to relationship with Him. When the people are stiff necked and refuse, He has to escalate His approach to get their attention. In reality, it is not unlike how many of us would discipline our own children. If they refuse to listen to our message over and over, we escalate. Truthfully, Yah could be considered more patient than most of us in regard to how many messengers He sent to give the people a chance to repent before He brought in the Chaldeans.

Some may say that Yah is too harsh. I choose to start with the conclusion that Yah is correct, even if He is harsh. If I disagree, then I am in the wrong and should consider His example. In either case, whether we agree or not, we can learn how Yah relates to His people. If you don’t want the potential for hardship to get your attention, then turn to Him now and be sensitive to when He is reaching out to you to draw you to return to Him. Do not be hard hearted and you can listen to the messengers rather than the severe punishment.

He disciplines His children for the same reason we do as people. He loves them and wants to correct their attitude and behavior. He was not rewarding the Chaldeans for their righteousness. Some will say, “But His people were better than those other people. Why let them win.” The answer is that Yah is trying to guide His people to be in proper intimate relationship with Him.

Revelation 3:19

 19Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Another point I have frequently overlooked that I now find interesting to highlight relates to Zedekiah rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar. Because Zedekiah swore allegiance before Yah to Nebuchadnezzar, he is called out as wrong for rebelling against him. It does not matter that he was “forced” to swear allegiance by before Yah. We must take very seriously any promise or vow we make before Yah.

Ecclesiastes 5:5

4When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5It is better that you not vow, than vow and not pay.

After all of the rebellion and punishment, we still see the LORD stir up the Persians to send His people back to Judah. He loves His children and wants them to be in right relationship with Him. If He wanted to simply destroy them, that would be much easier!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please soften the hearts of Your people and draw us near to You and closer in unity to one another. Help turn away from the ways of men, even those in place for centuries, and turn back to Your ways. Raise up leaders and teachers and renew us as Your people locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Use me as You see fit. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Merciful, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Study the Word, Traditions / Holidays

Passover Is Important to Yahweh (His Ways vs. the Ways of Man)

Passover is important to Yahweh. It is highlighted over and over throughout the Bible. When we read historical accounts of righteous kings restoring the proper worship of the LORD, we often see focus on Passover. All the Moedim, or appointed times, are important.  Passover is not just looking back to Yah delivering His people from slavery in Egypt, but it also points to Messiah who was sacrificed for us to set us free from bondage to sin. For those who preceded Yeshua’s death on the cross, it foreshadowed and looked forward to that pivotal event in history. For those of us who came after, we celebrate Passover to remember it and because it is important to Yah.

2 Chronicles 35

The Passover Observed Again

      1Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD. 3He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. 4“Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon. 5“Moreover, stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brethren the lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. 6“Now slaughter the Passover animals, sanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren to do according to the word of the LORD by Moses.”

      7Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. 8His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls. 9Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls.

      10So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command. 11They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while the priests sprinkled the blood received from their hand, the Levites skinned them. 12Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. 13So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. 14Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to depart from their service, because the Levites their brethren prepared for them.

      16So all the service of the LORD was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD according to the command of King Josiah. 17Thus the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in Battle

      20After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. 21But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.” 22However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo. 23The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. 26Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the law of the LORD, 27and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Passover should be a time to come together with fellow disciples of Yeshua to celebrate and observe an important feast every year. For those new to Passover, it is distinct from the traditions of Easter, which are man-made traditions largely derived from worship of false gods. I would encourage deeper study for anyone in regards to better understanding the deep significance of Passover to those who are following Yeshua as Messiah.

Even for Josiah, the book of the law had been lost and then rediscovered. He embraced it and tried to return to the ways of Yahweh instead of the ways of the traditions of men.  Clearly this was pleasing to the LORD. Let us seek to do likewise.

For more information, consider reading Celebrating God’s Holy Days (Moedim).

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for your holy word. Thank You for Your grace and mercy when we are struggling to understand Your ways. Please raise up leaders and followers to passionately pursue Your ways and bring those who would follow You over the traditions of men into closer fellowship together. Amen.  

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Humility, Idols / False Gods, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Teachable, Wickedness / Evil

Sometimes We Find Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness Through Discipline

We previously read in 2 Chronicles 33:1-9 about the wickedness of King Manasseh of Judah, who came after Hezekiah. As we continue to read in verses 10-20, we see his idolatry is rebuked and quite severely. We should pay close attention to the relationship and interaction between Manasseh and Yahweh. This is a story of grace, mercy, and forgiveness; but it is experienced through humility and repentance, and it all begins with discipline.

These principles apply to our lives today!

2 Chronicles 33:10-20

Manasseh’s Idolatry Rebuked

      10The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11Therefore the LORD brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. 12When he was in distress, he entreated the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

      14Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 16He set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. 17Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places, although only to the LORD their God.

      18Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh even his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel. 19His prayer also and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the Hozai. 20So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And Amon his son became king in his place.

The LORD rebuked Manasseh and the people of Judah. He spoke to them first, but they ignored Him. These are Yah’s people, His children. He brought about a harsher punishment and rebuke to get their attention. This is out of love and not hate. He loves His children enough to try to correct them and bring them back to Him. I do the same with my children. I rebuke and bring consequences on my own, whom I love. I do not go punish and rebuke the children who are not my own.

Another mistake often made by Yah’s people is to assume that difficulty comes from Satan and may indicate they are really on the right track for Yah and Satan is trying to discourage them. This can be true, but so too is it true that Yah will discipline us for going in the wrong direction. Our perspective on this affects how we react. We must be keenly aware of both perspectives.

Hebrews 12:4-13

A Father’s Discipline

4You have not yet resisted [c]to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,

NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE PUNISHED BY HIM;

6FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,

AND HE PUNISHES EVERY SON WHOM HE ACCEPTS.” 7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had [d]earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of [e]spirits, and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

12Therefore, [f]strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Manasseh hit rock bottom, because of the discipline of the LORD. That is when he turned genuinely back to Yah and sought forgiveness and repentance. Manasseh’s relationship with Yah was developed to a new level and Yah restored Manasseh as king of Judah. Manasseh was a changed man. He was focused on Yah and His ways. What a beautiful example of Yah’s grace, forgiveness, and mercy, but all brought about through repentance by discipline.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Your holy word that leads and guides us! Thank You for the historical examples You have provided us like Hezekiah and Manasseh that can help us gain perspective on our own lives. Thank You for grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Thank You even for discipline that You bring on us to correct and rebuke us and restore our relationship with You! Amen. 

There is one other gem hidden in this passage we should not overlook.

Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places, although only to the LORD their God. (2 Chronicles 33:17)

Despite Manasseh’s reforms and efforts, the people still sacrificed in a way that was originated from pagan worship practices rather than Yah’s ways. Though they no longer worshipped false gods in these practices, it is still listed as a disappointment that is not pleasing to Yah. They worshipped Yah according to the ways the pagans worship their gods and Yah does not like this. Yah wants us to worship Him the way He tells us. This is a common trap Christians fall in today with Christmas and Easter and other common cultural holidays. Most of these have pagan origins and may have had Christian stories or principles layered on top of the pagan origins. Celebrating Christ in Christmas is quite similar to the people of Judah worshipping Yah on the high places. He does not like it. This is mixing and blending truth with error in our worship, even if we worship Yahweh or honor Yeshua in this manner. To learn more, you can search Christmas on our home page or review our category of articles on holidays / traditions by scrolling down through the articles.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I too late?, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, How do I get started?, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Teachable

The LORD Will Not Turn His Face Away from You If You Return to Him

Israel had turned away from Yahweh and His ways for decades. Hezekiah became King and led the people back to the LORD’s ways. I am sure it was not easy, even for a king, to turn the hearts of the people. He was not content even to do so just in Judah, His kingdom, but sought to bring in all of Israel to join in returning to Yah’s ways.

While we are not kings and most will not have command over large groups of people in this way, we each can follow this example and seek to understand where we are no longer following the ways of Yahweh by carefully studying His word in scripture against what is taught and lived in our culture today, including in churches. Seek to return to the LORD’s ways and bring others with you!

If we return to Him, He will not turn His face from us.

2 Chronicles 30

All Israel Invited to the Passover

      1Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel. 2For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month, 3since they could not celebrate it at that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem. 4Thus the thing was right in the sight of the king and all the assembly. 5So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout all Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as it was prescribed. 6The couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the command of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and are left from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7“Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD God of their fathers, so that He made them a horror, as you see. 8“Now do not stiffen your neck like your fathers, but yield to the LORD and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that His burning anger may turn away from you. 9“For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

      10So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.

Passover Reinstituted

      13Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly. 14They arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and cast them into the brook Kidron. 15Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And the priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. 16They stood at their stations after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. 17For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves; therefore, the Levites were over the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to consecrate them to the LORD. 18For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon 19everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” 20So the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments to the LORD. 22Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the LORD. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers.

      23Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy. 24For Hezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep; and a large number of priests consecrated themselves. 25All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah. 26So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. 27Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please open our eyes to Your ways and clearly show Your people where we are not following You, but rather the traditions of men. Help us have courage to test everything against Your word. Raise up leaders and teachers to show us clearly how to follow Your word in our daily lives, how to return to You! Give us a teachable and humble spirit with courage to change and a hunger to pursue You more fully. Amen. 

 Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Repenting from Sin, Teachable

I Am Sure That God Can’t Use Me. How Can He Even Forgive Me?

All of us have made mistakes and rebelled against God at one point or another… choosing our own way over His. Sometimes we can rationalize that it was only a “small” rebellion and can be forgiven. Other times, we have done such terrible things we feel we cannot even be forgiven by God, let alone used for His glory. Without realizing it we are putting limits on God’s forgiveness and reconciliation through Christ.

Let us explore what the Bible has to say about Paul… easily one of the most influential Christians to ever follow and serve Yeshua. The Bible introduces us to Paul, while he is still going by the name of Saul. We can hardly recognize the Saul we meet early in the book of Acts as the Paul who writes so much of the New Testament and influenced so many in his time and for centuries after.

Acts 8:1-3

Saul Persecutes the Church

      1Saul was in hearty agreement with putting [Stephen] to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

We meet Saul as he helps to execute Stephen. Exploring further back in Acts 6, we see why Stephen was executed… simply because he was so filled with the grace and power of the Holy Spirit that those who rejected Yeshua could not handle it. They had to destroy Him because they were unwilling to change their hearts and their lives to follow Christ.

Acts 6:8-10

     8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

We can only sit back in awe and wonder that our God has made so much forgiveness available to us as His people that someone like Saul, persecuting the followers of Christ zealously, could be turned from that path and toward the path of lifelong servant to Christ.

The truth about forgiveness through Jesus Christ is that there is no sin too great for God to forgive, if we come to Him with repentant spirit. We must be sorry for what we have done and turn away from repeating that behavior and turn toward living the way God says.

It is also true that to continue willingly disregarding God’s commands in any area, no matter how “small” we think it may be, leads to separation between us and God. God cannot have a close relationship with someone who consistently chooses rebellion and their own way over His way.

It is not the “size” of the sin… Yeshua died for all our sins and He is sufficient to cover them no matter what they are… but rather the genuine repentance in our hearts as we come before God that leads to forgiveness and reconciliation with God. God can use each of us as He used Paul… who started persecuting Christians and ended up profoundly serving Christ by teaching others about Him. Praise to God for making a way for us to be forgiven!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for Your forgiveness and grace through Yeshua. Please open my eyes to any areas of spiritual blindness or sin that I need to repent of. Please help me have courage to do so. Please help Your people everywhere to totally submit to You and turn toward Your ways. Please influence many who are currently persecuting Your people in positions of authority (government, business, healthcare, education, news media, social media, technology companies, and other areas) to open their eyes and see the truth of Your word and Your spirit, that they would turn from persecuting to proclaiming the gospel as Paul did. Amen. 

 Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Grace / Forgiveness, Homosexual Behavior, Justice / Judgment, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

What Does God Say About Homosexual Behavior?

Since the United States supreme court ruling that same sex marriage is now legal, many seem in an uproar on one side or the other. Many act as if those people in black robes have some godly power to define what is morally right and wrong in the eyes of the Lord. They do not. They simply have power over the laws of one increasingly pagan nation that is far from YHWH. For those of us who follow Yeshua, the answer is not dictated by one or more governments but rather by the very words of YHWH himself. We can point to countless examples of governments throughout history that reject his instruction and choose to endorse immoral behavior as legal. What’s more, just like with the Supreme Court decision, the decisions and opinions of man shift and change over time. However, there is an absolute standard of what is right and wrong and it is defined by the Lord. It does not change. Man does not have the authority to change it, only to rebel against it.

[Matthew 9:4-6] 4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’[a]” 5 And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’[b] 6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

[1 Corinthians 6:9-11] 9Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

[Romans 1:25-28] 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. 28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

[Leviticus 18:22] 22 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.

Genesis 19:1-13 tells of the wickedness of sexual sin that led to God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Despite many governments or cultures throughout human history that try to re-define what is moral… YHWH is very clear and consistent on the issue of homosexual behavior. Throughout Old and New Testament He confirms the same message, that it is a sin… an act of rebellion and rejection of God. He does not establish rules arbitrarily or to punish us. He establishes and provides His guidance knowing what is best for us, as He is the one who designed and sustains us. He wants His children to flourish.

To highlight a rather silly example… my DVD player does not work well if I stick pizza in it. It was not designed that way. It is intended for a specific purpose… a DVD. It would be silly to knowingly put something in that is not according to its design and then expect it to work as designed. This is true as well with the design of the human body, both physical, emotional, and spiritual. We flourish best when in proper relationship with the Lord and when we act in accordance with our design.

The story does not have to end with condemnation for any sinner. Yeshua loves sinners and through YHWH’s grace has made a way for us to come back in relationship with him. Repent from your sin, turn to YHWH and seek him wholeheartedly, and ask forgiveness. Pray the Spirit would fill you and guide you as you turn from sin toward YHWH. Then separate yourself from those influences which would pull you back to your old ways and make new connections with followers of Christ who can help encourage you to grow closer to Him. Yeshua can set you free from your sin!

We have to recognize for those of us who want to help those who are lost in this sin, the world has tried to change the narrative. No longer is it “helping” them but now the world says we are intolerant and mean or bad to not accept them as they are. The world tries to redefine what is good and what is bad. However, YHWH does not change. His word does not change. It is better to stand with Him and try to help others, than to please men and let others perish in their unrepentant sin. Don’t let the world silence the word of YHWH.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please open the eyes of the spiritually blind to what is right and wrong in Your eyes. Give us courage and discernment to share Your truth with others. Help us be a light to others even as Your word is a light unto our path. Thank You for forgiveness! Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Grace / Forgiveness, Merciful, Repenting from Sin

I Rejected Jesus… But He Offers Another Chance!

Imagine you are in a public place, thriving with people going here and there. It is busy. Suddenly there is a commotion a man is leaping about and praising God. You recognize this man… he is… was lame. You have seen him daily on your walk and you know he can not… could not walk. Yet now you see he is leaping and praising God!

Intrigued, you come closer. The man is clinging to Peter and John, the disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus was executed not long ago. You were there. In fact you had been drawn in by the energy of the crowd and even called for Barabbas to be set free and Jesus to be crucified. Surely, you thought, this can not be the Messiah.

But now Peter and John have healed this man who could not walk! And they are declaring that Jesus was raised from the dead because He is the Messiah, God in the flesh to dwell among us. A sense of panic sweeps through your very core… you called for His crucifixion. How can that be forgiven? It surely must be too late… but it is not.

Peter and John, knowing all of this are calling for people to repent (turn away from their own wrong ways and turn toward God’s right ways of doing things) and turn to Jesus.

Your panic turns to regret and to joy as you realize that God is willing to forgive you and accept you. Then you feel like joining the man in leaping an praising God. You press in to hear more from Peter and John.

Acts 3:11-36

      11While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. 12But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14“But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. 16“And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

      17“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. 18“But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22“Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. 23‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24“And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25“It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ 26“For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

All of us have denied Jesus in some way during our lives either. Sometimes it is by outright denial or rejection and sometimes it is more subtle… such as remaining quiet as others mock Him. It is hard to reconcile the level of forgiveness God offers through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even the crowds who had called for Jesus to be Crucified were not turned away by His disciples, but rather offered an invitation to join them in serving Jesus. All they had to do is turn away from their wrong ways of doing things and turn toward God’s way of doing things… often referred to as repenting of sin.

There is no sin so great that we can not repent of it, turn toward God, ask forgiveness and ask Him to be Lord of our lives. If you have denied Him in a big way or in small ways… repent, ask forgiveness and act differently next time… boldly proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. All who repent and wholeheartedly call upon the name of Jesus will be forgiven!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for second chances! Thank You for forgiveness, grace, and mercy! I am a sinner in need of a savior. Thank You for sending Yeshua as Messiah. Please have mercy on me and help me to devote my life to You. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Grace / Forgiveness, Healer, Interceding for Others, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Merciful, Miracles, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

In the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—Walk!

Imagine that you were unable to walk and had been that way since birth. You have never known anything else.  You have no choice but to beg for money to survive. Then along come some men who stop to help you. They demand your attention for a few moments. Those moments change your life.  Expecting only a small bit of money, you receive something much better than money… they set you free from your bondage that has been holding you back since birth… all in the name of Jesus Christ!

Acts 3:1-10

Healing the Lame Beggar

      1Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

In a way, we are all like the beggar. We are born into the world in bondage to sin… to our own selfish nature and prone to believing the lies of the devil which permeate the world around us and pull us ever further from God. We are just trying to survive, really. Then, someone comes along and offers us something that totally transforms our lives. We must give our attention to it and listen. We must open our hearts to be receptive and then receive what Jesus offers… freedom from bondage.

In Acts 3, the beggar is set free from physical bondage associated with his legs not functioning correctly. For all of us, we can be set free from the bondage that we endure to sin. Listen to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Give it your full attention. Accept the gift which is offered through grace… none of us deserve it , but it is offered to all of us. Accept Jesus as leader of your life, turn from your wrong ways of doing things… from bondage to sin and embrace God’s way of doing things. Jesus came to set us free! (Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.)

Imagine if the beggar turned away and refused what was offered him… we would call him a fool. So too for those of us who hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and do not take heed!

Once you have been set free by Jesus… do as the beggar did when he was healed… go forth and praise God publicly and let people know what He has done for you and how it has changed your life! Let your life and the changes in your attitudes and behavior proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ!

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, help me to truly appreciate Your power and glory. Thank You for physical healing when You bring those miracles and thank You for forgiveness from my sins that would otherwise separate me from You. You and You alone are God. Let me not lose focus on You. Let me seek You first. Help me to celebrate joyfully and share the blessings of Your grace and mercy in my life. Let me not keep it to myself. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Correction, Discipline / Guidance From God, Grace / Forgiveness, Repenting from Sin, Teachable, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

Learn From Your Mistakes and Trust in God Rather than Man

We should all strive to learn from our mistakes, especially when it is the LORD who rebukes you.

We have been discussing Jehoshaphat and you can read about him in 2 Chronicles 17-20. I encourage you to read through it if you have not done so recently. The summary context is that Jehoshaphat was a righteous king of Judah who made some mistakes, but then repented. In 2 Chronicles 18, he allies himself with an unrighteous King Ahab of Israel.  He goes to war despite warning from a prophet of the LORD in order to fulfill his alliance with wicked King Ahab. It goes poorly. Ahab dies. Jehoshaphat cries out to the LORD and is spared. Then in 2 Chronicles 19, he is rebuked for his alliance with the wicked king. He repents. It seems he has learned his lesson.

Even as a large army gathers against him in 2 Chronicles 20, he and his people turn to God, not man, for help. They fast and pray and obey what God tells them to do. In fact their faith is so strong that they lead with the praise and worship section leading in front of the army.

Then as we close in 2 Chronicles 20 we see Jehoshaphat again turn to make an alliance with a worldly king and God is displeased and there are consequences.

2 Chronicles 20:35-37

Alliance Displeases God

      35After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing. 36So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. 37Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.

Jehoshaphat had previously experienced the lesson that Yahweh did not want him to make alliances with the wicked kings of Israel. Apparently as time passed, he fell into the same mistake and Yah again reminded him that this was a mistake.

We may not be kings leading nations or wars, but clearly we experience the same tendencies and risks as we can learn about from the scriptures regarding Jehoshaphat. Let us not make alliance with the wicked and worldly but depend on and look to the LORD Himself or our godly brothers and sisters in Christ.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for leading and guiding me! Thank You for forgiving me when I do wrong, even if I need to accept consequences for my wrong actions. Help me to keep a right attitude toward You when You rebuke me. Lead me to join up with fellow believers rather than the worldly. Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Courage / Fear, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Government, Grace / Forgiveness, Humility, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Merciful, Money / Finances / Wealth, Purposeful / Intentional, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Teachable

Accept Righteous Rebuke and Learn From It to Draw Nearer to the Father

As we read about Jehoshaphat today, think of the principles in terms of how they apply to your life today. Don’t get distracted by the specifics such as “he was king and you are not”. Look at his walk with God and with man and see how he prospered and stumbled.

Jehoshaphat started as King following a righteous example of David’s earlier days and Yahweh was with him and blessed him.

 2 Chronicles 17:3-6

 3The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, 4but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. 5So the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. 6He took great pride in the ways of the LORD and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.

Jehoshaphat chose to ally himself with a wicked king of Israel. This seems like perhaps a good decision at first as it helps keep the peace, but if you read along through all of 2 Chronicles, you see how that led to his then going to fight alongside the wicked king for his purposes.

2 Chronicles 18:1

 1Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.

Even when Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet of God, he did not heed the word of God delivered. He was drawn into the earthly alliance instead of listening to God. If I make a quick metaphor… partnering wickedness with righteousness is a bit like making chocolate milk… things start to blend and get hard to separate afterwards. Reading 2 Chronicles 18 we can see the full record of how the battle went and also with the warning of the prophet. It did not go well.

Yahweh spared Jehoshaphat’s life in the battle as he cried out to Yahweh. It was gracious and merciful. However, we see two important follow ups in 2 Chronicles 19… the LORD rebukes Jehoshaphat and Jehoshaphat repents and applies his learning diligently to running his kingdom going forward.

2 Chronicles 19

Jehu Rebukes Jehoshaphat

      1Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD and so bring wrath on yourself from the LORD? 3“But there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asheroth from the land and you have set your heart to seek God.”

      4So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Reforms Instituted

      5He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. 6He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. 7“Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”

      8In Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 9Then he charged them saying, “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and wholeheartedly. 10“Whenever any dispute comes to you from your brethren who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they may not be guilty before the LORD, and wrath may not come on you and your brethren. Thus you shall do and you will not be guilty. 11“Behold, Amariah the chief priest will be over you in all that pertains to the LORD, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. Act resolutely, and the LORD be with the upright.”

Prayerfully reflect on how these principles apply in your life. It could be a business partnership or an employer for whom you work, rather than a wicked king, that draws you away from your righteous walk. Take caution and evaluate. Share what God brings to your mind with a trusted mentor, spouse, or friend. Get an external perspective, but be careful not to pick someone who just rationalizes what is “normal” in the world of business instead of what is right according to God’s word. Anchor in the Bible and test your circumstances, not anchor in “normal” ways of men and rationalize why it is ok to be different than biblical principle.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please lead and guide me with a humble spirit. Help me to seek You first and give me wisdom in any partnerships or alliances with the worldly or wicked. Help me instead partner with the righteous. Give me courage to pursue Your ways even when it seems to put me at risk on the surface in challenges I may face in my life. Thank You for grace, mercy, and forgiveness! Help me to repent of any wrong decisions I have made and bring trusted mentors and friends into my life that will challenge me to follow You more passionately and rebuke me appropriately when I need it. Help me have wisdom and courage to rebuke others when needed also.  Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.