Category Archives: Father / Yahweh

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YHWH Is Faithful To Those Who Love Him And Keep His Commandments

Often, people get confused and perhaps prideful, associating their relationship with YHWH to their own personal accomplishments. The Lord does not choose us based on our own merit or accomplishment. Often He chooses what we would consider the underdog or someone who can never accomplish what He calls them to do on their own. He does so to make it clear to His people that it is He who delivers the victory and not them on their own. This actually helps us not to get prideful and independent from Him. It helps draw us near to Him and reminds us we can depend on Him as our faithful, loving Father.

Another common mistake people make is that YHWH will accept and bless everyone the same just how we are, no matter what amount of sin we embrace and accept. Quite simply, this is wrong. He is faithful to those who keep His covenant, who love Him, who keep His commandments. He repays those who hate Him. The warning is clear and direct.

Deuteronomy 7:7-11

     7“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11“Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

There is no excuse for our churches and culture to ignore this and teach that all are accepted as they are regardless of behaviors and attitudes filled with sin or holiness. They are leading people away from YHWH and on a path to hell.  Be sure you do not accept the common false teaching that helps people get complacent accepting their sin. We are called by YHWH to repent of sin and obey His commandments faithfully. It affects our relationship with Him dramatically. Our behaviors and attitudes are a reflection of whether we love ourselves or YHWH more. If we say we love YHWH but do not obey Him, the truth is not in us.

John 14:15, 21-24

 15“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

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21“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

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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.

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Tolerance of Sin Is Not A Virtue

YHWH does not consider tolerance of worship of false gods to be a virtue. This may come as quite a hard message for many who are desensitized by worldly influences which constantly preach tolerance of all types of sin as if it is a virtue.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6

     1“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5“But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

YHWH inherently recognizes and warns His people not to intermarry and not to accept their false gods and worship practices. He instructs His people to tear down even their altars and pillars and idols.

Why?

Because these things are dedicated to sinful worship of false gods. Their continued existence, certainly with intermarriage, will draw some of YHWH’s people away from Him into false worship of worthless things. It separates YHWH from His people.

The same is still true today. Tolerating sin generally, and tolerating the worship of false religions or gods specifically, is not a virtue, but rather a trap. It separates YHWH from His people and leads to destruction for those individuals. We do not help them by tolerating and accepting their false beliefs and idols. We certainly don’t help those that are to come later by leaving all the pagan temples and idols around for them to consider in the future.

YHWH instructed His people rather directly and boldly to be set apart from these things and maintain a very important separation from those things which would in turn separate YHWH from His people. He did so for their benefit, not His. We should apply this principle still today with vigilance.

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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.
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Shall We Strike With The Sword?

Even as Yeshua was betrayed, He had compassion on those coming against Him. He takes time to heal one who is cut. It is an incredible example for us to consider!

Luke 22:47-53

Jesus Betrayed by Judas

     47While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. 48But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. 52Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? 53“While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”

The fact that His followers carried swords for defending themselves certainly implies that Yeshua approved of it and their use for self defense at times. We need only look further up in Luke 22 to see preceding dialog about swords to defend themselves.

36And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. 37“For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” 38They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”)

So Yeshua was not generally directing His disciples not to defend themselves, but specifically for this engagement. He knew the Father wanted Him to be taken into custody to carry the penalty for our sins. He submitted to the will of the Father and showed compassion on even those we would consider enemies as they came for Him.

Let us pray the Spirit would guide and strengthen us to be obedient to the Father even as we face difficult trials. Sometimes we may be called to defend ourselves and sometimes we will be called to lay down arms and submit to difficult situations. We need to remain close to the Father to know which situations call for which approach. Yeshua set an incredible example in His prayer relationship with the Father for us to follow.

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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.

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Follow Yeshua’s Example of Prayer and Submission

Yeshua sets the example for intense prayer. We have a hard time living up to His example. No matter what we face, however, let us follow His example and come before the Father in prayer. Let us submit to the Father’s will and trust in the Father’s wisdom, even if we have an opinion or preference which is different. We may even pray for the Spirit’s help that we would not fall into temptation.

Luke 22:39-46

The Garden of Gethsemane

     39And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Let us model ourselves and our relationship with the Father after the example of Christ, whether we face big situations or every day small ones.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Recount Your Blessings and Victories Which YHWH Has Delivered

Deuteronomy 3 reminds us to remember the victories which the Lord has given to us. While we journey through life with the Lord, He grants us many victories and blessings, in particular when we live in obedience to Him and with love for Him. Reflecting on what He has done for us can be very encouraging and remind us that He will continue to be with us, so long as we do not turn from Him.

Deuteronomy 3

Conquests Recounted

     1“Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Edrei. 2“But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3“So the LORD our God delivered Og also, king of Bashan, with all his people into our hand, and we smote them until no survivor was left. 4“We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5“All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns. 6“We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city. 7“But all the animals and the spoil of the cities we took as our booty.

      8“Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon 9(Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir): 10all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11(For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit.)

      12“So we took possession of this land at that time. From Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13“The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. 14Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called it, that is, Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15“To Machir I gave Gilead. 16“To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; 17the Arabah also, with the Jordan as a border, from Chinnereth even as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

      18“Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. 19‘But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, 20until the LORD gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.’ 21“I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so the LORD shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22‘Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.’

      23“I also pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, 24‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? 25‘Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26“But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the LORD said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. 27‘Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28‘But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’ 29“So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Take time to list some of the major victories and blessings that the Lord has delivered to you in your lifetime or just recently. Consider writing it down and sharing it with someone. Surely I could not remember all of them in one sitting, but I could remember many key victories. There are many. YHWH is such a wonderful, loving, and generous Father! Praise Him! He alone is worthy of our worship.

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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.

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They Did Not Comprehend The Things Which Were Said

Our Father’s plans are not always clear to us as His children, but they are always clear to Him. He is never surprised. Like a child who trusts their father, so are we called to be with our Father in Heaven. All things will be revealed to us when He deems appropriate to do so.

Luke 18:31-34

      31Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32“For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” 34But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

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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.

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YHWH Is Not A Distant, Uninvolved Being, But Rather A Loving Father

Our Father is not a distant and uninvolved being who created this earth and now puts His attention elsewhere while we live on it. He is engaged in the lives of His people. He cares about His people. He wants to be involved in our lives. He desires for us to submit to Him fully, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We can trust Him to lead us and provide for us… but we must obey Him, including when He sets boundaries for us.

In Numbers 34 we see our Lord involved in providing the Promised land to His people and giving clear, detailed instructions for them to follow in where they draw the boundaries and how they divide it. He is indeed a loving and engaged Father for those who seek Him.

Numbers 34

Instruction for Apportioning Canaan

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. 3‘Your southern sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. 4‘Then your border shall turn direction from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and continue to Zin, and its termination shall be to the south of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall reach Hazaraddar and continue to Azmon. 5‘The border shall turn direction from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea.

      6‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its coastline; this shall be your west border.

      7‘And this shall be your north border: you shall draw your border line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor. 8‘You shall draw a line from Mount Hor to the Lebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad; 9and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border.

      10‘For your eastern border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the slope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth. 12‘And the border shall go down to the Jordan and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders all around.’”

      13So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you are to apportion by lot among you as a possession, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. 14“For the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received theirs according to their fathers’ households, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their possession. 15“The two and a half tribes have received their possession across the Jordan opposite Jericho, eastward toward the sunrising.”

      16Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17“These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18“You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance. 19“These are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20“Of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud. 21“Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22“Of the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23“Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24“Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25“Of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26“Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27“Of the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28“Of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29These are those whom the LORD commanded to apportion the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Jehovah Cares How We Worship Him

Jehovah’s people were at a point of great transition. A generation had died in the wilderness (due to disobedience to enter the promised land the first time) and a new generation was being prepared to take the promised land. Jehovah was transitioning their leadership from Moses to Joshua. At this point, our Father saw fit to remind His people about His laws for offerings, about how they were to worship Him. It was important to Him that the people worship Him the way He decides, and not the way the pagans worship their gods or the way the people decide for themselves to worship Him. He has very specific instructions in many cases. They should not be ignored.

Numbers 28

Laws for Offerings

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ 3“You shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. 4‘You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. 6‘It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. 7‘Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. 8‘The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.

      9‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: 10‘This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

      11‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; 12and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; 13and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD. 14‘Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. 15‘And one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

      16‘Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the LORD’S Passover. 17‘On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18‘On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 19‘You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect. 20‘For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull and two-tenths for the ram. 21‘A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for each of the seven lambs; 22and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for you. 23‘You shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. 24‘After this manner you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the LORD; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering. 25‘On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

      26‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 27‘You shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old; 28and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29a tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30also one male goat to make atonement for you. 31‘Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without defect.

With the sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins… His death was sufficient for all time and we no longer need carry out these sacrifices. However, let us not be too quick to throw out all the instructions the Lord provided. Those celebrations and worship such as Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of Weeks are still worth celebrating in order to honor the Lord and remember who He is and that He reigns and He has done (and still does) mighty miracles amongst His people. These festivals with associated feasts and Sabbaths can be a great way to focus our worship on Him and build our relationship with Him as well as teach our children about the history of God with His people.

Jehovah cares how we worship Him. He does not want us to just make up our own way of worshipping Him or worshipping Him the way the pagans worship their false gods. Let us honor Him in obedience as we worship.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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What Shall I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? This question figures prominently in the lives of many throughout the world and throughout time. You may hear many different answers, but only one is correct. Let’s explore how Yeshua answered this question.

Luke 10:25-37

      25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 28And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” 29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

     30Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

The good Samaritan provides an excellent example of who our neighbor is and how we may help one another. However, just “helping” people is not the full answer. Loving God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind goes much deeper than just helping other people. Even loving people goes much further than just helping them. Helping people is a symptom of loving them but could also just be a willful choice absent of love.

If we truly love God, we must submit to God fully all aspects of our lives. This is not just a check list of going to church, helping people, being nice, etc. This means developing a meaningful relationship with Him through prayer and study of the Bible. It is inviting the Holy Spirit who dwells within us to guide us and fill us more fully. It is being still and seeking the Lord. It is all these things and more for a lifetime, not just an hour a week or once or twice a year.

Most of us intuitively know that our marriages and relationships fail if we do not invest time seeking to really know one another. Imagine a marriage relationship in which a husband or wife only talks to a spouse and never listens. What if they always tell the spouse what they want and then walk away until the next time they tell the spouse what they want again? What if they only spent an hour a week on Sundays with their spouse and ignored them the rest of the time? What if they continued to do things that hurt their spouse because they never bothered to learn about their spouse. Does this sound like a healthy relationship? Nope.

Then let us not treat our relationship with God this way. Instead let us rejoice in spending time seeking Him, praying, studying His word, being still and listening. Let it be every day and throughout the day.  Let us obey His word and what directions the Holy Spirit provides us. Let us be willing to change our lives for our Father, dramatically if necessary. His will be done rather than our own.

When we do this, then we will be on the path to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then, through His Spirit within us, we will also be more ready to truly love our neighbor. Then the act of helping is driven by love and “want to” rather than “should” or “have to” or “feel guilty not to”. This is when we are truly loving our neighbor.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Free Will, Guide, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Speaking, Through Prophets

Do Things God’s Way Rather Than Your Own

No matter who we are, when we choose to do things our way instead of God’s way… there are consequences.

Moses was a faithful and amazing leader and had a very close relationship with our heavenly Father. However, the Lord knew that Moses understood and consciously choose to do things his way by hitting the rock instead of speaking to it. That is called rebellion against God, no matter who you are and what you have done before according to His will. There are consequences. After an incredible journey side by side with the Lord, Moses never got to enter the promised land.

Numbers 20:8-13

The Water of Meribah

     8“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

      9So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; 10and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 12But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.

Numbers 27:12-14

     12Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. 13“When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was; 14for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

We can have a debate about why Moses made this choice after such a close relationship with the Lord, but that is a matter for another time. Let us take heed that the closer our relationship with the Lord, the more clearly we understand His instruction, the more He expects us to obey and may hold us accountable if we choose to rebel and do things our own way.

Pray for the Spirit to help us hear and obey the Lord and do things His way rather than our own. Let us not make excuses for not doing things His way but trust Him and do as He instructs.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.