Category Archives: Obeying God

Find Joy and Delight in the LORD

Psalm 1 provides a beautiful start to the book of Psalms, pointing to the joy which can be found in serving God instead of the wickedness of the world. This is a timeless message to reflect on.

Psalm 1

Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

 So elegantly stated… yet direct. It speaks for itself.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. 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.

Rejecting God Has Serious Consequences

We can not simply claim to follow Christ and continue in sin, in direct rebellion against Him. Those who genuinely turn their lives to Christ will show it through their actions and attitudes. We will not be perfect. Certainly not. However, we will strive to turn away from sin rather than embrace and accept it. Our Father could not be more clear… those who continue in sin and rebellion against the Father will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

      9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Take caution not to rationalize your sin. The world would have you believe that everyone will inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of sin and rebellion against the Father. God’s word could not be more clear. There are serious consequences for those who choose to remain in sin rather than repent and submit to Jesus as Lord.

Be encouraged. Our sins can be forgiven through Jesus. God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Jesus.

Take a few minutes right now. Pray for God to help you overcome sin and rebellion against God through the Holy Spirit and submit to Him in obedience. Give thanks for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins to be forgiven.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus), be with you. 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.

God’s Wrath or God’s Blessing?

Isaiah 34 highlights God’s wrath against nations that choose not to submit to Him and live according to His ways. Those who choose their own ways, the ways of sin, are not pleasing to the LORD. There will be judgment. In fact, we can also remember that sin by itself, even without God’s wrath, separates us from God and transforms our personal lives, marriages, families, communities, or nation from what God desires to a mess.

Isaiah 34

God’s Wrath against Nations

1Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!
Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

2For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations,
And His wrath against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to slaughter.

3So their slain will be thrown out,
And their corpses will give off their stench,
And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.

4And all the host of heaven will wear away,
And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
All their hosts will also wither away
As a leaf withers from the vine,
Or as one withers from the fig tree.

5For My sword is satiated in heaven,
Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom
And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.

6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7Wild oxen will also fall with them
And young bulls with strong ones;
Thus their land will be soaked with blood,
And their dust become greasy with fat.

8For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9Its streams will be turned into pitch,
And its loose earth into brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.

10It will not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation it will be desolate;
None will pass through it forever and ever.

11But pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
And owl and raven will dwell in it;
And He will stretch over it the line of desolation
And the plumb line of emptiness.

12Its nobles—there is no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its princes will be nothing.

13Thorns will come up in its fortified towers,
Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities;
It will also be a haunt of jackals
And an abode of ostriches.

14The desert creatures will meet with the wolves,
The hairy goat also will cry to its kind;
Yes, the night monster will settle there
And will find herself a resting place.

15The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there,
And it will hatch and gather them under its protection.
Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,
Every one with its kind.

16Seek from the book of the LORD, and read:
Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them.

17He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it to them by line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Seek to live according to God’s ways. Do not sin. Seek forgiveness. Submit to the LORD. The very nature of living according to His instructions is to live in a way that loves God and loves others. On top of that, we want to seek and receive His blessing for obedience rather than His wrath for disobedience.

For those that want to focus on the forgiveness we get through Yeshua, that is true. We can be very grateful! However, He also tells us to go and sin no more, which is to repent and change our ways to God’s ways.

Take a few minutes to pray. Ask God to show you any areas in your life in which you have not fully submitted to Him. It may be a job or marriage. It could be a hobby or friends that you know are not a good influence. Once He shows you where you are not fully submitted, ask forgiveness and take action to bring that part of your life into submission before Him. No excuses.

Matthew 6:33

 33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. 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.

 

Pray for the USA to Turn Back to God and Become Again a Light to the Nations

The United States of America was founded based on Christian ideals and beliefs and a population by and large that accepted Christ as God. Unfortunately, over the past few hundred years we, as a nation, have largely turned their back on God and now embrace worship of self, worship of money, and many other sins. The word of God is tossed aside in favor of the wicked desires of men. God’s word shows us that when the people turn away from God, He removes His blessing. That does not mean He gives up on His people there, but rather that the country will suffer. There are consequences. The USA has great potential to serve God across the world if even those who already profess Yeshua with their lips would genuinely turn toward Him and change their behaviors and change what they accept from government policy. If the people demanded it from their politicians and leaders, our nation could once again be a light to the nation and the world. It starts with the people, not the politicians. It starts with you and me.

2 Chronicles 7:12-22

     12Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15“Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 16“For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17“As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 18then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’

      19“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21“As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22“And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Please take some time to pray for repentance and mercy for the USA as leader of the free world but also for other nations globally in which there still remains a remnant of true disciples seeking to follow the Lord’s will.

Psalm 85

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

     1O LORD, You showed favor to Your land;
You restored the captivity of Jacob.

      2You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin.

Selah.

      3You withdrew all Your fury;
You turned away from Your burning anger.

      4Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.

      5Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

      6Will You not Yourself revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?

      7Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.

      8I will hear what God the LORD will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.

      9Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

      10Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

      11Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.

      12Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.

      13Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

Grace and peace of Yeshua be with you.
For more Biblical examples of prayer, and for personal prayer requests, please visit our Prayer Requests page.

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.

God Provides Shelter and Refuge for the Righteous Remnant

We continue in Isaiah 4 to read about the vision from God through Isaiah for God’s people who have turned from His ways and blended with the world. To understand the full effect, I encourage you to read chapters 1-3 if you have not been reading along with us in the past few days. God’s judgment was forceful against His rebellious people. As we reach the conclusion of the vision here in chapter 4, we see some relief and hope for the remnant, which is declared holy, or set apart for God’s purpose and living according to God’s ways. Now, having purged the wickedness, He creates shelter and refuge for the remnant.

Isaiah 4

A Remnant Prepared

      1For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!”

      2In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. 3It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. 4When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, 5then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

We can certainly conclude in our day, as in Isaiah’s day, that the remnant will often suffer to some extent along with the wicked who dwell among them and dominate the nation in which they live. However, there is always hope for the remnant who remain faithful to the LORD.

Take 5 minutes (or more) and pray not only for yourself and your family, but also for God’s people among the community and nation in which you live. Pray further for the nation as a whole and the people in it to turn to God and repent of their wicked ways. Pray that the LORD would raise up righteous leaders and prepare the people to hear them. Pray that He would strike down, remove, or convert any wicked leaders who are leading the people and the nation down the wrong path. Pray that the eyes of the people would be opened to the wonderful ways of God and they would turn to Him and His ways with a passion that would sweep the nation. Pray for a return to holiness and godliness for Yahweh’s people through Yeshua. Pray in the name of our messiah, Yeshua.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. 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.

A Message from the LORD Regarding the Rebellion of His People

This message from the LORD through Isaiah may as well be delivered again today. It fits just about completely with where our society is going in our nation and around the world. Even those who claim the LORD, have turned away. Do not think that this does not anger Him. He may be patient, but He also experiences righteous anger. As you read through chapter 1 of Isaiah, consider its application not just in Isaiah’s time, but also in ours.

The message can be viewed in three pieces:

  • God’s people rebel.
  • God has had enough.
  • Sins can be forgiven for those who choose obedience. Those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.

Isaiah 1

Rebellion of God’s People

      1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

      2Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the LORD speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.

      3“An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.”

      4Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the LORD,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away from Him.

      5Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint.

      6From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.

      7Your land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.

      8The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

      9Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.

God Has Had Enough

10Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.

      11“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

      12“When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?

      13“Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

      14“I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.

      15“So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.

      16“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Cease to do evil,

      17Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.

“Let Us Reason”

18“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.

      19“If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;

      20“But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed

21How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.

      22Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.

      23Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.

      24Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.

      25“I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.

      26“Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”

      27Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.

      28But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,
And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.

      29Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.

      30For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.

      31The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both burn together
And there will be none to quench them.

Do not miss the core message, which again is summarized in three pieces. Take note that the people did not consciously say, “Let’s rebel against God.” Rather how they lived their lives was in rebellion whether or not they realized it.

  • God’s people rebel.
  • God has had enough.
  • Sins can be forgiven for those who choose obedience. Those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.

However, there is more treasure to be found here in this passage. Re read it and this time focus on the specific behaviors that God speaks out against, like taking bribes, not defending orphans and widows, failure to seek justice or reprove the ruthless. Note that God is not satisfied with us just avoiding doing bad things. There are good things that he expects us to do as well.  In fact, He calls out widows and orphans twice in the scripture.

Do not think of God as a marshmallow God who is happy just to have your attention now and then. He is the Creator of the universe. He is all powerful and all knowing. He has given us instructions for how to live and He wants His people to live by them and not to simply blend in with or be slightly better than the evil nations or people around them.

I invite you to take some time to prayerfully reflect on this message before the LORD. Ask the Spirit to show you areas in your life and in your heart where you should make some changes. Are there things you are doing that you should not? Are there things you are not doing, like helping widows and orphans, that you should? Ask the LORD to help you live in a way that is more and more focused on Him and is pleasing to Him.  Try to take at least 5-10 minutes.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. 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.

If You Hear My Voice, Do Not Harden Your Hearts

I encourage you to read all of Hebrews chapter 3. I focused on the excerpt from Hebrews 3:7-14.

That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

I invite you to join me in prayer:

Father, I pray you would guide me daily and keep me from hardening my heart toward you. Help me also to encourage others to keep their hearts and their ears open to you. I pray this in the name of Yeshua. Amen.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. 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.