Category Archives: Seeking God

Am I on the path?, Blessed, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Jesus (hearing from God), Money / Finances / Wealth, Seeking God, Suffering / Adversity

Whom Did Yeshua Teach Were Blessed? Whom Should Proceed With Caution?

Luke chapter 6 records some rich and deep teaching from our Lord, Yeshua. While we always want to read in context (e.g. read the whole chapter(s) rather than picking a verse here and there), I want to make sure we don’t breeze over some of this rich teaching by putting too much in one article. Sometimes we get distracted to read through the whole section of scripture for the day and lose the opportunity to pause and prayerfully reflect on what it means and how it applies to us. As such, I am breaking up the “beatitudes” into more than one section for us to digest over the next few days.

Luke 6:20-26

The Beatitudes

     20And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 24“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Clearly this is an example where God’s ways are not our ways! The logic seems upside down by man’s values. Who wants to be poor? hungry? filled with sorrow? scorned and insulted? Who does not want to be rich and well liked?

Have you considered that those who are poor, hungry, and sorrowful are perhaps not “self sufficient”. They know they need help. They know they can not figure it all out on their own. This attitude can often help set them up to truly submit to the Lord or submit more fully. They “have nothing to lose” and recognize they need help from one who is wiser.

On the other hand, many who are rich and content may focus more and more on being self sufficient and less on relying on God. This increases risk of not having a deeply connected relationship with the Lord. Additionally, the Lord want to be first in their life. Many who are rich have at times gotten their wealth through pursuit and prioritization of money over other things (not always! money is not inherently bad, just the love of money). They would have to submit to the Lord and serve Him rather than money.

I wanted to close with what serves as both encouragement and rebuke. We should all ask ourselves… “are we scorned for Yeshua?” Do our co-workers, friends, and family even know we submit to Him. Do we put Him first? Do we choose His ways over even popular cultural and family traditions? Have we changed our lives based on our relationship with Him, even though it causes tension with others?

I pose that in most cases if we experience no conflict on behalf of our relationship with Christ, than perhaps we need to evaluate if we are truly representing Him and His teaching to the world. If people around us can’t tell we follow Yeshua, than perhaps we are not actually fully submitted to Him… or we are just hanging out with a small group of believers and not bringing the gospel to others… which again comes back to not being fully submitted to Him.  He commands us to share the gospel with the world. Don’t kid yourself about churches being perfect either. Even within a church, if you are living for Christ according to Biblical principles and willing to be different and change, you will find yourself being set apart in some ways from others who are in your church. When you change visibly in the name of God, it is amazing how others come forward to pull you back as if your choice to change your life for God has made them uncomfortable because you are living different from them. They don’t want to change or feel guilty, so they must convince themselves, sometimes others, maybe you that you are wrong.

Pray for the Spirit to lead you. Follow the Spirit and God’s written word in the Bible. Test everything against this. Do not just accept as fact the traditions of men or churches.

22“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

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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.

Guide, Healer, Learning To Pray Effectively, Miracles, Miracles, Prayer, Seeking God

Don’t Overlook the Importance of Prayer

It is easy to overlook the importance of prayer in our daily lives. Most of my life, I did not fully understand the role of prayer properly. I would tell myself that I don’t want to “bother” God with the details and small decisions I could or should be able to handle myself. To the extreme, I made major life decisions without asking for His guidance or listening for His input. Even if we use the Bible as our guide, which is good, it is no replacement for a close, interactive relationship with the Lord focused through prayer.

The Lord has matured me quite a bit and I stand amazed to watch how interested He is in being actively involved in my life. We should look to Yeshua as our example for how to live our lives. He did not just ask the Father once what His mission was and then go do it… NO! He spent a lot of time in prayer talking and listening with the Father, especially before making key decisions, such as which disciples to choose as His core twelve. He did not simply pray for 5 minutes to mention to Jehovah what He wanted and then go get busy again doing other things. He prayed all night in a solitary location where He could be undisturbed.

Luke 6:12-19

Choosing the Twelve

     12It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: 14Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

      17Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 19And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

I have a tremendous amount of growth still to come in regards to maturing my prayer life. This is not an area of strength for me as it is for others who truly seem to be prayer warriors. I am asking Him, though, to grow me in my prayer life and I know He will… if I continue to humbly seek Him and lead my heart to have more time to spend with Him.

I invite you to join me in praying for yourself (and me) in this area.

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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.

All Powerful / King of All, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, His Timing Not Ours, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Obeying God, Seeking God, Through Prophets, Unteachable / Foolish

Submit To And Accept The Lord’s Will

Those of us who know the Lord, understand that we can accomplish nothing except what He allows. He is sovereign over everything. When we truly submit to be His servant, we come to know that we can only do what He asks and we should/must do what He wants. We certainly can not use His power to do anything against His will.

Balak, who does not know the Lord, is used to getting His way. He can’t seem to understand or accept that Balaam is subject to reflect only the Lord’s will. Each time Balaam blesses Israel instead of cursing it, Balaak takes Him to another place to ask again for Balaam to curse Israel.

Balaam had is own round of pushing back on the Lord’s instruction in Numbers 22 and learned his lesson.The Lord told Him not to go to Balak and though he obeyed… he came back again to ask if he could go to Balak when he was offered more money. Jehovah got Balaam’s attention with a talking donkey and an angel who came near to killing Balaam to make a point of his need to submit to God’s will.  (Click through to a related article to read more on this background.)

Let us learn a lesson from Balaam and Balak. Let us submit to and accept the Lord’s will for us. Choose to obey and do not struggle against Him.   If He tells you to do (or stop doing) something, obey. Do not keep asking the same question over and over and over as if to manipulate the Lord into a different answer, one you prefer.  Yes it is ok to ask for validation with a humble and submissive heart… but this is different than rejecting what the Lord has clearly said and asking again.

Numbers 23

The Prophecies of Balaam

     1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.

      4Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab.

7He took up his discourse and said,
“From Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,
‘Come curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’

      8“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

      9“As I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
Behold, a people who dwells apart,
And will not be reckoned among the nations.

      10“Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
And let my end be like his!”

      11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” 12He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

      13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the LORD over there.” 16Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

18Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!

      19“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

      20“Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.

      21“He has not observed misfortune in Jacob;
Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
The LORD his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.

      22“God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

      23“For there is no omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!

      24“Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And as a lion it lifts itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

      25Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”

      27Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.” 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the wasteland. 29Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

In what areas of your life are you wrestling with what the Lord has clearly instructed? Ask His help for you to submit to Him and accept His will and stop fighting against it to get your own way. Choose to submit to Him, obeying His instruction rather than your own plans.

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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.

Angels, Greed, Guide, Humility, Miracles, Obeying God, Provider, Righteous, Seeking God, Speaking, Through Prophets

Lord, Purify Our Motives Even As We Submit To You

Numbers 22 and23 detail a fascinating historical account. After following the Israelites from their perspective on their journey out of Egypt, we suddenly have the opportunity to see part of their journey from another’s perspective. The Moabites are viewing the Israelites as a threat and desiring to defeat them. Fearing their numbers, they seek out Balaam, a prophet whose work is referred to as divination from their perspective.

It is a truly fascinating account. Balaam is clearly not an Israelite, and yet he has a tangible and real relationship with the Lord. He knows from where the power comes and that he can indeed do nothing without the Lord. He even seeks the Lord’s permission before going with the Moabites to curse the Israelites. I find it worth lingering to consider why the Lord was so upset with Balaam, who asked the Lord each time before consenting to go with the Moabites.

Once again, I am drawn to conclude that those who have relationship with the Lord and hear clearly from Him are held to a higher standard than those who may not have as deep a relationship with Him. He knows they know better. The Lord told Balaam “no” the first time and it appears He did not appreciate Balaam asking again. Perhaps it is because of what was in Balaam’s heart in asking the second time… greed rather than submission to the Lord?  (refer to 2 Peter 2) It appears that Balaam’s motives were not pure in his submission to the Lord and that was upsetting to Him.

Balaam was rebuked, but not destroyed. The Lord could certainly have destroyed Balaam, but instead rebuked him, using a talking donkey and an angel. Once Balaam submitted to the Lord, the Lord chose to use Him to bless the Israelites (Numbers 23), which was certainly the opposite of what Balak of Moab had in mind.

Numbers 22

Balak Sends for Balaam

     1Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

      2Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. 4Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. 6“Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

      7So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak’s words to him. 8He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the LORD may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, 11‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” 14The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

      15Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than the former. 16They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; 17for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’” 18Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God. 19“Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the LORD will speak to me.” 20God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”

      21So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

     22But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. 24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. 26The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. 27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. 28And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.” 30The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

      31Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. 32The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me. 33“But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” 34Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” 35But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

      36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, at the extreme end of the border. 37Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?” 38So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” 39And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

      41Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, and he saw from there a portion of the people.

Let us be humble in our requests before the Lord and ask His help to purify our motives as we come before Him to ask His guidance and help.

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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.

Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Immutable (unchanging), Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Salvation, Seeking God, Study the Word

Do Not Think That I Came To Abolish The Law

Many say the Law is no longer relevant now that Jesus has come in the flesh and died for us and risen. They declare some elements of God’s instruction invalid and others still valid. They keep “do not steal” but discard “honor the Sabbath”. They rationalize that it is not required “to get into heaven”, so it is optional.

Our salvation is indeed by grace, through faith, and not by works. That has always been true, old or new testament. Noone has ever been good enough. Those before Christ looked ahead and sacrifices of animals were foreshadowing of Messiah. Those of us after Christ in the flesh look back on His sacrifice as the means of reconciliation to God… of forgiveness. In all cases, our repentance is required, not just lip service to the Lord. We are to submit to Him and turn toward His ways. He has provided much instruction for us and none of it is obsolete.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Keep in mind that when 2 Timothy was written, there was no new testament and thus it referred to the old testament. Further, Jesus had died and risen already. This clearly attests to the value of the old testament even to those of us following Christ after His death and resurrection.

Further, we do not obey the Lord and His instructions to “earn our way into heaven”. What a selfish way of looking at His instructions and what a terrible way to minimize that Christ’s sacrifice was enough for all. We obey the Lord’s instruction because we love Him. It is evidence of our faith.

John 14:15

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

John 14:233-24

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.

Jesus did not make new commandments and instructions different than before and He never spoke out against the scriptures. From start to finish He was raised in the Law and went to Passover and even provided specific instructions that the Law was not going away until the end of the age, not even in a small way. Further, He told His disciples to teach everyone all that He taught them. He did not say, “now that I died and rose again, do this differently… all these things change”. Jesus confirmed it even after He rose from the dead.

Luke 2:39-40

Return to Nazareth

     39When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Matthew 5:17-19

     17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19-20

19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Let us not discard the Law quickly. There are some parts that have been fulfilled such as Jesus sacrifice now nullifying the need for animal sacrifices which used to foreshadow His sacrifice. However, we have been taught to quickly to dismiss far too much of God’s word. Start with the premise that all is good for instruction and study and pray for the Spirit to provide you insight. Do not rely on common church teaching, but on the word of God itself.

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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.

Can I Trust the Bible?, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable

Searching for And Verifying The Truth of God’s Word

It is too easy for us to overlook how careful the writers of the Bible were in recording the history of God’s relationship with His people. Let us not miss that they took this very seriously. Whether through oral tradition or in writing it down, they were careful to record the historical events accurately. It was a passion. As believers that fervently followed the Lord, they did not consider this “just a book” or “just a letter”. It was their role in serving the Lord and doing what He called them to do.

Luke 1:1-4

Introduction

     1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; 4so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

Luke was a very careful and detail oriented man who was careful to research and document the events of his time. We can find much encouragement in knowing that he investigated to verify what was true. He was also inspired by the Spirit in the writing of the gospel of Luke.  Luke was not some blind zealot just writing propaganda. He was a doctor who meticulously researched and recorded true historical events.

We do well to follow Luke’s example. Do not just accept everything or anything that people tell you about the Bible or what God teaches us in it. Do not accept without questioning what people tell you about holidays and traditions or what culture tells you about what is right and wrong. Seek the truth through prayer and study of the scripture. It takes careful investigation to truly get past the lies and deceptions of our culture including what is taught in many churches and find the treasure which is the truth of God’s word. It is a treasure worth the effort to find!

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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.

Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Marriage, Seeking God

Marriage Is To Be Like Christ And The Church

I truly appreciate how our loving Father lays out for us instructions to help us understand how He intends for relationships to work. He speaks to both a godly marriage relationship and to the relationship of Christ and the church in Ephesians 5. The relationships in some key ways are actually quite similar.

As you read, pray the Spirit speaks to you. Also block out what the world tries to tell us about a marriage relationship. The world wants us to believe now that both man and woman are made the same and are supposed to have the same role in the household. The world tries to fool us that one role is more important than another and thus for spouses to be equal they must both share the same roles. This is as silly as a football team having two quarterbacks and no lineman or a soccer team having everyone on offense and no one guarding the goal! Both the role of the husband and that of the wife are equally important, but they are different.  The family structure needs both to thrive the way God intended.  Seek to carry out your marriage God’s way rather than the world’s way.

As you read, however, do not lose sight of how God is also describing the relationship for us as His followers with Christ.

Ephesians 5:22-33

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

      22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

      25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are members of His body. 31FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

As a closing note, observe how scripture highlights in closing this chapter once again that women and men are different. The Lord calls men to “love” their wives, but for women the focus is on “respecting” their husbands. We are different! The Lord knows the relationships do not function as well if we treat the roles or the individuals of husbands and wives the same. Think about it for awhile… I know it is true for my marriage. My wife benefits most from feeling loved, though she wants to be respected also. For me it truly is the reverse… if I had to pick between being loved or respected I would take respected. Of course, I also appreciate being loved!

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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.

Guide, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Through Prophets

The Trumpets and The Gospel

Trumpets, typically shofars or rams horns rather than what we think of as trumpets today, have particular significance to God’s people. The Lord is interested in all parts of our lives and how we interact with each other and with Him. In numbers 10 we see another good example where even He even got specifically engaged in how to help His people communicate with one another across such a large group. Trumpets were a large part of it. In a way the trumpets focus the people on God’s direction for them and help them work together rather than each group or sub group making their own decisions. Interestingly, it is not a committee hearing to discuss if they agree in many cases, but rather instruction from God to the people. One way communication to instruct them as to how they should go, not a dialog on their opinion of what they should do next. Jehovah was their leader and Moses and Aaron their intermediary or prophets.

We can liken the trumpets to the call of scripture today. It is unique and unchanging. It calls to us with God’s direction and we are too pay attention and seek to understand and obey… not to debate if we agree or disagree with God. We are not to negotiate with God. We can of course talk to Him in prayer and ask questions but ultimately our heart needs to be focused on obeying Him rather than our own desires. The scripture, as the trumpets, does not only bring one message. Sometimes it may call us to convince, humble, console, exhort, reprove, or teach. The sounding of the trumpet of the gospel is God’s ordinance, and demands the attention of all to whom it is sent.

Numbers 10:1-10

The Silver Trumpets

     1The LORD spoke further to Moses, saying, 2“Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out. 3“When both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 4“Yet if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you. 5“But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out. 6“When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out. 7“When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 8“The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9“When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies. 10“Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”

My family has a small shofar and we enjoy it. It is part of a rich symbolism throughout the scriptures and points us back to God. Quite frankly I also find it a refreshing “tradition in the making” for my family where we are joyfully focusing on the Lord and willing to be set apart or different from the world to do so.

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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.

Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable

Scripture Is Rich and Full of Meaning… Search for It Like Hidden Treasure

There is much significance in the study of scripture when we take the time to explore it. Consider a small section of Numbers 8 regarding lamps. It is almost easy to pass right over, but what if you dig even just a bit below the surface? There is treasure to be found in opening up the scripture. That is not to say we should believe everything someone says about scripture, but taking to explore and study and praying for the Spirit to guide us is well worth making time for.  Test everything you hear, of course, against scripture itself. God does not contradict Himself in His written word.

Numbers 8:1-4

The Seven Lamps

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.’” 3Aaron therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 4Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Of course there is some obvious symbolism about the lamps representing the only light in an otherwise dark place. They are in the holy place. Light comes from God and no other. The lights were to be maintained so they never go out… as with God who never sleeps or takes a break. We are called to be the light of the world by bringing God’s truth to the world. The scripture is called a lamp unto our feet as it guides our path.

Take a little time and explore the following links or find some of your own.

BibleHub.com – search lampstand

GotQuestions.org – search lampstand

BibleTools.org – search lampstand

NeverThirsty.org – search lampstand

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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.

Fasting, Fear / Reverence for God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Self Control

The Nazirite Vow

I find the law (instructions) of the Nazirites to be very interesting to study, albeit briefly today. Many of us have heard of John the Baptist or Samson being Nazirite from birth, but in most cases it was intended to be for a limited time. The word Nazirite means separation, as in separation from the world. It is a vow that is intended to help us focus on being holy or set apart for the Lord.

Normally, the Lord allows drinking of wine and strong drink in moderation. Yeshua drank wine and even converted water into wine as His first miracle. However, wine in excess leads to much sin. Without debating too much why abstaining from strong drink was part of the Nazirite vow, we can certainly see that if we vow to avoid something to honor the Lord, we should take it very seriously. They were to avoid any consumption of grapes or grape skins, not just wine. This is a good parallel to demonstrate our approach to things which displease the Lord, such as sin. When He says to avoid sin, we should go far from it and take care not to rationalize how close to a sin we can get and still “be acceptable to the Lord”.

Perhaps in regards to the hair it is a way of separating ourselves from the focus on personal grooming. A separation from the shallow focus on how we look to other people.

Without dwelling too much on the remainder, which you can read for yourself, I think we can also consider that a believer and follower of Yeshua may want to take a vow of holiness or separation from time to time. It may not look exactly like the Nazirite vow, but let us take heart in supporting them if it is well founded. If someone wants to abstain, or “fast”, from alcohol for a time to honor the Lord… why should we discourage them.  Generally we would want to test that what we are abstaining from is consistent and not contradictory with the Biblical teaching. For example, I would not recommend abstaining from prayer… that separates us from the Lord, not from the world to draw nearer to the Lord. I would not abstain from helping others. You get the point.

Numbers 6:1-21

Law of the Nazirites

     1Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, 3he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.

      5‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

      6‘All the days of his separation to the LORD he shall not go near to a dead person. 7‘He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8‘All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD.

      9‘But if a man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his dedicated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day. 10‘Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 11‘The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the dead person. And that same day he shall consecrate his head, 12and shall dedicate to the LORD his days as a Nazirite, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering; but the former days will be void because his separation was defiled.

      13‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 14‘He shall present his offering to the LORD: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering and one ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, 15and a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. 16‘Then the priest shall present them before the LORD and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17‘He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18‘The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19‘The priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. 20‘Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

      21“This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD according to his separation, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation.”

If you or someone you know decides to take a vow of separation from the world, please pray and consider carefully. Take care not to make it so complex and so burdensome that you can not manage it. (I believe this may be why the Lord was so specific in the Nazirite vow… so men would not make it more complicated by adding their own rules.) It is better to not make a vow to the Lord than to make one and then not complete it fully.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

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

However, His grace abounds for those who have right heart and are seeking Him. If we stumble, we can repent and ask forgiveness. Seeking separation from the world and to be set apart for the Lord is good indeed. It will draw us nearer to Him.

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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.