Category Archives: Righteousness / Serving God

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Father / Yahweh, Fear / Reverence for God, Grace / Forgiveness, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Justice / Judgment, Prophecy, Protector / Deliverer, Visions, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

There Will Be Judgment; Will You Stand With YHWH or Against Him?

Revelation foretells of some very dramatic and difficult times. It can seem overwhelming to try to fully understand the events and their significance. It can be similarly difficult to try to understand what is symbolic imagery and what is literal. I encourage all who are interested to study further.

If I step back and reflect, I can see some obvious themes.

  • The LORD our God is in control. Everything will come to pass according to His plan. He is not subject to being surprised by man or Satan.
  • Those who are submitted to YHWH will still be around during this tribulation. Else why would the locusts be told only to go after those without the seal of God?
  • Difficult and serious punishment can be handed out by YHWH. He has standards and we are all guilty. We are only forgiven through Yeshua. Let us take it seriously. YHWH is not some marshmallow god in the sky who is only going to give you good things. Sometimes He gives hard and difficult things as punishment for our actions. How we live and whom we serve matters!
  • We find protection and deliverance through Yeshua the Messiah. Let us be thankful and joyful, even when we face hard times.

Revelation 9:1-12

The Fifth Trumpet—the Bottomless Pit

      1Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

      7The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

      12The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

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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.

Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Faith / Trusting God, Prayer, Pride

Pride and Jealousy Toward One Another Is Bad

It is not a pretty sight when pride and jealousy take root. Granted, Saul was tormented by an evil spirit from the LORD to start it off, because of his disobedience as king to the LORD. None the less, we see how it consumes him.

Keilah was under attack by Philistine raiders. David, not Saul, went to deliver the city from them. Saul, the king of Israel, instead of coming to thank David, takes advantage of the situation to try to kill David.

We must ask take care not to be consumed by jealousy and pride. We should not seek to do harm on those who are loyal to us and to the LORD. If you find yourself in such a situation, pray for the LORD to deliver you and free your heart and mind. If you are the David in this metaphor, pray for the LORD to protect you as He did David.

As a side bar, we see again how close a friend Jonathan was to David. We can pray for each of us to have such a godly and loyal friend.

1 Samuel 23:15-29

Saul Pursues David

      15Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. 17Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.” 18So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.

      19Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20“Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22“Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23“So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

      24Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 27But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” 28So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

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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.

Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Learning To Pray Effectively, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Seeking God

The LORD Is Approachable and Available To Those Who Walk With Him

Those who walk with the LORD can approach Him and ask for His council and guidance. He often answers in a very clear way. We can see that He is patient as David comes to Him multiple times because His men are afraid. David does not just ask once, but again when they hear of Saul coming as well. We can keep coming back to our Father. He is not tired of hearing from those who walk with Him. He is not too busy. He is a loving Father and councilor.

1 Samuel 23:1-14

David Delivers Keilah

     1Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.” 2So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah.” 3But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” 4Then David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

      6Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” 8So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. 11“Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. 14David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

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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.

Anger (unrighteous anger), Bitterness / Resentment, Consequences of Sin, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Patience

Let Go of Anger, Jealousy and Bitterness; It Will Consume You

Saul was harassed by an evil spirit from the LORD because of his disobedience. It seems after that he was consumed with jealousy and fear. He was no longer rational. He just wanted to “get David”. It would seem this could serve as a warning for us also. We may not want to kill someone, but we can be vulnerable to jealousy and irrational desire to “get even” or “beat someone”. It can lead us in a bad direction, lead us away from the LORD. Rather, we should seek the LORD’s help to overcome any anger, jealousy or bitterness toward others. It only consumes us if we let it remain.

1 Samuel 22:6-23

      6Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. 7Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8“For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” 9Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10“He inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

      11Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

      14Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? 15“Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair.” 16But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17And the king said to the guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the LORD to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the LORD. 18Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he killed that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19And he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.

      20But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. 23“Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with 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.

Faith / Trusting God, His Timing Not Ours, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Protector / Deliverer, Submitted / Servant

Be Patient and Faithful Through Adversity

When David was hiding from Saul, he encountered many challenges and difficulty. He fled to Gath, but then became concerned for his life and, after acting insane before the king to avoid his attention, fled back to Israel. The people, however, saw that there was no reason for Saul to pursue David. YHWH brought some to his side. YHWH also sent a prophet to guide David and he listened.

It would have been easy for David to feel sorry for himself or turn on YHWH, but instead he remained faithful through adversity. He remained faithful when his world seemed unjust and upside down. He was patient in waiting on the LORD. We should apply this same attitude toward our own lives when we encounter struggles.

1 Samuel 22:1-5

      1So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.

      3And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” 4Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

When we continue to read on the remainder of the chapter we will see a stark contrast between the righteousness of David and the actions of Saul.

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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, Learning To Pray Effectively, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Submitted / Servant

Steps To Peace With YHWH

Do you experience peace and joy in your life based on a foundation of your relationship with our Creator, YHWH? Do you want to share your faith more confidently and effectively with others?  Please consider the following resource from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The Christian Life and Witness Course is a course that is designed to help provide people with a basic foundation of living for Christ and also how to witness and share their faith with others effectively. The material is good, even if ordered off the BGEA association website and conducted offline personally via DVD training instead of face-to-face training. I recommend it and there is much more to it than what I share here in this article. Please click on the link above in this article to check it out in more detail.

I will highlight in today’s article just one of the summary resources to help communicate key concepts and peak your interest. There is a very nice summary booklet to guide a discussion with non believers about your faith in Christ and also to check your own relationship with Christ along the way. It is a booklet titled Steps To Peace With God.

Step 1: God’s Purpose: Peace and Life

God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life – abundant and eternal.

“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

We must ask ourselves… “Why don’t most people have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have?” Even most of us who identify as Christians do not have this peace and abundant life!

Step 2: The Problem: Our Separation

God created us in His own image to have an abundant life. He did not make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him. God gave us a will and freedom of choice.

We choose to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Our choice (sin) results in separation from God (holy).

Our Attempts To Reach God

People have tried in many ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God…

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

No bridge made by man can reach God… not good works, not religion, not philosophy, not morality. Only one bridge can reach God.

Step 3: God’s Bridge – The Cross

Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

God has provided the only way… Each person must make a choice…

Step 4: Our Response – Receive Christ

We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Where are you? Are you separated from God, in sin, rebellion, and separation? or have you received Jesus as a bridge to be reconciled with God and now experiencing peace, forgiveness, abundant life, and eternal life?

Will you receive Jesus Christ right now?

    1. Admit your need. (I am a sinner).
    2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).
    3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
    4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Him as Lord and Savior.)

An example of how to pray

Dear Lord Jesus,

I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.

In Jesus name, Amen.

God’s Assurance: His Word

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

Did you sincerely ask Jesus Christ to come into your life? Where is He right now? What has He given you?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Receiving Christ, we are born into God’s family through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. This is called regeneration, or the “new birth.”

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:12-13

This is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ. To deepen this relationship you should:

  1. Read your Bible every day to know Christ better.
  2. Talk to God in prayer every day.
  3. Tell others about Christ.
  4. Worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians where Christ is preached according to the Bible.
  5. As Christ’s representative in a needy world, demonstrate your new life by your love and concern for others.

I encourage you again to consider reviewing the full training course material from BGEA using the link at the beginning of the article. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

WIN_20160727_20_38_34_Pro

WIN_20160727_20_35_17_Pro

*Pictures and much of the content shared is from BGEA Steps to Peace With God booklet.

All Powerful / King of All, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Visions

Blessing, Glory, Wisdom, Thanksgiving, Honor, Power Be to our God Forever

There is a lot of meaning and information packed in Revelation, even on the surface, without diving into the full symbolic nature of the writing. The style of writing with fantastic imagery suggests perhaps this is not all to be taken literally, but whether literal or not, it contains powerful information from our Creator.

Revelation 7

An Interlude

      1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

The 144,000

      4And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, 6from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, 7from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, 8from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Tribulation

      9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

      13Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15“For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16“They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Just a few of the surface level key messages contained include:

  • YHWH is in full control of what will happen to the earth. He has not lost control to man or Satan. Everything will ultimately play out according to His plans and in His timing.
  • I believe the 144 thousand is symbolic in nature rather than literal. So too, it carries meaning that there will be people from every tribe. Notice how the end reflects the beginning. There is no discarding of the tribes or history of YHWH’s people as if something new has come. Without getting into the full depth here, I believe also that gentile believers are included in this representation.
  • The tribulation will bring a great multitude to YHWH through Yeshua. They are cleansed through His blood. They will come from every nation and tribe. So the tribulation will bring about some good in bringing many to salvation, though it will be very hard.
  • Glory and blessing and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power to YHWH forever and ever… Amen! Our God is worthy of every bit of praise we can ever give Him. The angels and all creation will worship Him.

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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.

Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God

Doing What Is Not Lawful, But For A Good Reason?

When David first fled from Saul, he had neither his weapons nor supplies. He was hungry. He came to a priest and lied before taking bread he was not supposed to eat. Is he condemned for this? No. Actually in Matthew 12 Yeshua seems to pick this example up from 1 Samuel 21 to make the point that sometimes we can not simply be “black and white” with the commandments. We must understand the commandments with some depth and priority.

We also see David uses some cleverness and deception by acting insane. I do not know whether or not YHWH wanted David to flee to a foreign king and deceive him for protection, but David was never rebuked for it and the LORD used it in protecting David from Saul. It would seem a reasonable step to take in this case, to be deceptive.

Do not take this as license to sin, but rather prayerfully reflect on how this may apply in your life. Ask YHWH to enlighten you with deeper understanding. Sometimes chapters like this are easy to overlook and we miss the deeper challenge of what it may be telling us. By all means, do not take this as license to quickly break YHWH’s laws in tough situations.

1 Samuel 21

David Takes Consecrated Bread

      1Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?” 2David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3“Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” 4The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5David answered the priest and said to him, “Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?” 6So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

      7Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

      8David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” 9Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

      10Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.

11But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

12David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. 13So he disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? 15“Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

Matthew 12:1-4

Sabbath Questions

      1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5“Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6“But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7“But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

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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, Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Persecution / Glorifying God, Seeking God, Tribulation, Visions, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Opening the First Six Seals of the Scroll in Revelation

Chapter six in Revelation records what was contained as YHWH revealed to John the first six seals of the scroll. There were seven seals in all. Each one was opened according to YHWH’s timing. Sometimes we must wait to see in His timing what will come next rather than our typical desire to know all that will come, to know how something will end before we start. YHWH does not always let us know the ending before asking us to begin. There are countless examples in scripture including Moses, Gideon, Abraham, and many more.

There is much symbolism to be studied here for each of the elements. Consider taking time to read the commentaries or other study material. They may not all be correct, but they provide some thoughtful insight. Ultimately we must test the Bible against itself. For example, some have concluded that the rider on the white horse is a false messiah, imitating the return of Yeshua before He actually comes. This would not be a surprise, as we have to deal with false prophets and teachers throughout time in every generation… always coming in the guise of an “angel of light”, representing YHWH’s word all the while distorting it.

Those of us who face these times when they come will need courage and strong faith, and we will need to really seek the LORD to help us. We will not be fully protected through these times as you see the section on martyrs mentions more are being added still at this time.

Let us seek to praise and glorify Him no matter what. Yeshua mentions sticking close to YHWH and His ways several times in His message to the seven churches in Asia earlier in Revelation. It is important we do this in adversity.

Revelation 6

The First Seal—Rider on White Horse

      1Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” 2I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal—War

      3When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” 4And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

The Third Seal—Famine

      5When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal—Death

      7When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” 8I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal—Martyrs

      9When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

The Sixth Seal—Terror

      12I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

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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.

Courage / Fear, Family, Repenting from Sin, Submitted / Servant

Doing What is Right in YHWH’s Eyes Can Place You in Conflict with Family

1 Comment

Saul was so moved by an evil spirit that he wanted to kill David. When Jonathan stood up for David, justly, Saul tried to make it sound like he wanted to kill David for Jonathan so he could be king after Saul. Truth is that Saul was just making excuses. He was jealous and fearful of David.

Sometimes your own family will come against you when you take a stand for what is righteous or when you confront them in their sin and wrongdoing. Do not expect them to just politely agree with you that they are wrong. They likely will fight and resist. Saul even threw a spear at his son! There are still times when you should take the risk and stand up for what is right and honorable in YHWH’s eyes. Murdering someone is not right, even if “Dad” or the king, in this case Saul, said to do so.

1 Samuel 20:30-42

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

     30Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31“For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.” 32But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. 34Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

      35Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him. 36He said to his lad, “Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. 37When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38And Jonathan called after the lad, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master. 39But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the more. 42Jonathan said to David, “Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’” Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.

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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.