Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Repenting from Sin, Righteous, Seeking God, Slow to Anger, Traditions / Holidays, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Continue in the Sins of Prior Generations

When we continue walking in the ways that pagans worship their gods, the LORD is angered. It does not matter that it is the same way our fathers or grandfathers have followed. That is not an excuse. He can remove His hand of  blessing or more strongly bring us to continued defeat. That affects us personally, but in the most basis sense it is a loss that we are not turning away from the ways that pagans worship their gods to walk in the way Yahweh has instructed us because we want to show love to Him.

2 Kings 13:1-13

Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

      1In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them. 3So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. 5The LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. 6Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. 7For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.

      10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them. 12Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Just because “everyone else is doing it” or “that is how my family has done it for generations” is not a good excuse for continuing to live apart from the ways of the LORD. Focus on the words of scripture more than my comments… there is no comment about what these traditions of man meant to the people. It is irrelevant. What matters is what it means to Yahweh.

For those of you with children, consider that you can help them immensely by making a change when they are still young so that they will grow up walking in the ways of the LORD instead of burdened with traditions that are displeasing to the LORD. Parents can take on the hard change and help their children have an easier time of it. Do not focus on who’s to blame. Just focus on changing and walking in the ways of the LORD and then sharing that transformation with others.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, help us to walk in your ways and be pleasing to you. Let us not continue in the sins of our fathers or the sins of the culture around us. Give us clarity and wisdom to identify where we need to change and courage to do so. Help us draw strength in you and your Holy Spirit. Let your righteousness sweep across our nation and the world. Let your people who are called by your name repent from the ways of men and embrace you fully. Raise up workers to help in this harvest and prepare people to receive the message and change their lives. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

 

Grace / Forgiveness, Money / Finances / Wealth

Steward Well What Yahweh Entrusts to You

Reading in 2 Kings 12, we find ourselves in the middle of another “page turning” story. It is engaging and full of significant action. It drives home the importance of good stewardship and organization for accomplishing what Yahweh entrusts to us.

To reconnect with the context, in 2 Kings 11 Jehoiada, a priest, sets Joash on the throne as king. He was restoring the kingdom to a rightful heir after Athaliah had murdered many of her own grandchildren to take the throne. Joash was seven years old when he became king and did right in the sight of the LORD while Jehoiada instructed him.

2 Kings 12

Joash (Jehoash) Reigns over Judah

      1In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

The Temple to Be Repaired

      4Then Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the sacred things which is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the LORD, 5let the priests take it for themselves, each from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the damages of the house wherever any damage may be found.”

      6But it came about that in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had not repaired the damages of the house. 7Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, “Why do you not repair the damages of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintances, but pay it for the damages of the house.” 8So the priests agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house.

      9But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid and put it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money which was brought into the house of the LORD. 10When they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up and tied it in bags and counted the money which was found in the house of the LORD. 11They gave the money which was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the LORD; 12and to the masons and the stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the damages to the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 13But there were not made for the house of the LORD silver cups, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver from the money which was brought into the house of the LORD; 14for they gave that to those who did the work, and with it they repaired the house of the LORD. 15Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully. 16The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD; it was for the priests.

      17Then Hazael king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18Jehoash king of Judah took all the sacred things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things and all the gold that was found among the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then he went away from Jerusalem.

Joash (Jehoash) Succeeded by Amaziah in Judah

      19Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20His servants arose and made a conspiracy and struck down Joash at the house of Millo as he was going down to Silla. 21For Jozacar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Verses 2 and 3 highlight that Joash did right while having benefit of the instruction of the priest who helped him. He was young and he listened to council. However, we see that he failed to remove the high places where false worship took place, even as he worked to restore the house of Yahweh. It would seem that Joash and Jehoiada had a blind spot regarding either the need or the courage to remove the high places. In the end Joash delivers mixed results… some good and some disappointing.

Digging further in the passage, we see a powerful example regarding the importance of how we steward and organize ourselves to accomplish tasks for the LORD.

When they started collecting money and giving it to the priests to restore the temple, they took the money and never made repairs. Perhaps they did not have the skills or the time? Perhaps they were simply not held accountable. I do not know how long before they had to face stewardship by the King, but it took that to get the repairs on the right path. They had to make a change after assessing the first approach and then have the money directly paid to the workmen to make the repairs. This was more successful. It is a good reminder that stewardship is necessary to ensure we get the expected outcomes even within ministry. It may not be by wickedness that it fails, but it could be we do not have the right organizational structure and approach for the task at hand.

It is interesting to note that the workmen did not require detailed stewardship. They were faithful. So let us not assume we need to micro manage everything in order to be successful either. We need to assess each situation and evaluate the right level of stewardship. We do need to validate progress and results are as expected in some manner.

As part of stewardship when you have something valuable, you also need to think about security to protect it. In this case Joash did not have an army prepared to defend that which he was investing in to restore. They lost many valuable objects as payment for the hostile king to leave.

Overall we see mixed results in Joash’s leadership. He had some good and some bad. We can learn from both. Sadly, when Jehoiada died, Joash acted wickedly, but we can study that more when we get to 2 Chronicles 24, which gives more history on Joash.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please open my eyes to what you want me to accomplish on your behalf. Give me the wisdom and courage and help from others I need to boldly and effectively pursue what you call me to do. Please remove any blind spots for areas in which I do not see clearly the wickedness still present in my family or my self as we have been blended with the culture around us. Thank you for being with us and for your grace and mercy to love us even when we are not perfect in accomplishing all that you desire. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Parables

Our Forgiving Others Affects Yahweh’s Forgiving Us

Our LORD not only offers to forgive us through Yeshua, but He expects we likewise forgive others. The scripture has strong messages toward this end. One example directly follows the LORD’s prayer in Matthew 6, but is often overlooked.

Matthew 6:12 and 14-15

12‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

—

14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

But surely there is a limit to how many times we should forgive? Peter thought seven times would be generous. Yeshua had much more in mind. Keep in mind that Yeshua is basically saying we should continue forgiving without counting. There is symbolic value in the seven and seventy. I believe the number seven represents the number of perfection or God. But think of it like this… we should forgive others as we want to be forgiven by God. Do we want Him keeping a score? I do not! I have made too many mistakes.

Forgiveness hinges on genuine repentance and not on how many times we mess up.

Matthew 18:21-35

Forgiveness

      21Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

      23“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24“When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25“But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26“So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27“And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28“But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29“So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30“But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32“Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34“And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

I invite you to pray for this area in your life.

Father, please forgive me for my sins and shortcomings. Please help me to forgive others. Show me any areas in my life or any people in which I hold to unforgiveness. Help me to release that and embrace forgiveness.  Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Born Again (spiritually), Faith / Trusting God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Submitted / Servant

Starting on a Personal Journey to Walk with Yahweh

The historical record of Naaman in the Bible is quite extraordinary. I have recently covered in a previous article, but as I was sharing the story with another, I realized another significant perspective I had overlooked. This can often be the case as scripture is often so packed with meaning (and sometimes just action in general), that we can read right over certain more subtle parts. To read the prior post on Naaman, use the following link: Do Things God’s Way, Not Our Way.

2 Kings 5:1-19

Naaman Is Healed

      1Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. 2Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” 4Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” 5Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.

      6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

      8It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. 10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” 11But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ 12“Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.

      15When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.” 16But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18“In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.” 19He said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him some distance.

In this article I am going to focus on verses 17-19. Naaman humbles himself to call refer to himself as a servant to the prophet. He commits to no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods. He commits himself to Yahweh. This is noble and good, an appropriate response.

Notice, however what follows. We now see the struggle of a new believer trying to start on his path to Yahweh without full understanding and surrounded by pagan cult of false religion ‘back home’. I am going to copy here and share from Barnes commentary for consideration.

Two mules’ burden of earth – This earth, Naaman thought, spread over a portion of Syrian ground, would hallow and render it suitable for the worship of Yahweh.

Rimmon is known to us as a god only by this passage. The name is connected with a root “to be high.” Hadad-rimmon Zechariah 12:11, the name of a place near Megiddo, points to the identity of Rimmon with Hadad, who is known to have been the Sun, the chief object of worship to the Syrians.

When he leaneth on mine hand – The practice of a monarch’s “leaning on the hand” of an attendant was not common in the East (compare the marginal reference). It probably implied age or infirmity.

Naaman was not prepared to offend his master, either by refusing to enter with him into the temple of Rimmon, or by remaining erect when the king bowed down and worshipped the god. His conscience seems to have told him that such conduct was not right; but he trusted that it might be pardoned, and he appealed to the prophet in the hope of obtaining from him an assurance to this effect.

There was a lot Naaman did not understand yet about Yahweh. The soil seems right to a new believer coming from history of false religion, but to a mature believer we would recognize that the soil does not make something holy. Yahweh makes it holy and our relationship with Him, setting ourselves apart for His service. None the less, we see Naaman means well to seek after Yahweh. He is already evaluating plans for when he returns home to do so.

Naaman also thinks ahead and realizes there are other conflicts with his return home and his desire to worship Yahweh. He will encounter his master and his master relies on him and still worships Rimmon. Naaman does not yet come to the right answer that a mature believer should. He should completely step away from bowing before idols or participating in this kind of service to a false god. However, He is still very much reacting to a dramatic life change and has not had time to adapt and change his life. Making these dramatic changes is hard. He is on the road and has the desire. He seeks a pardon, but he does not receive one from the prophet. It is interesting to note, that the prophet also does not rebuke him. He gives a neutral answer.

Some may take “go in peace” to be an affirmation that Elisha condones Naaman remaining in false worship.  I take it to be a neutral answer. I do not know if Naaman went on to worship Yahweh and be pleasing to Yahweh or if he fell back into pagan practices. He had going for him enthusiasm and intent to change. He had working against him being surrounded by pagan beliefs even in his master’s home in which he served and that he may not have access to reliable teaching on how to worship and live for Yahweh. I tend to think he may have ultimately come to recognize that he would need to be set apart from false worship and perhaps even later plotted a path out of that lifestyle. Maybe I am just an optimist, but the LORD healed him and I think it was not just so he could turn back to his old ways once he got home.  Even the way the LORD healed him leans into the symbolism of baptism and new birth by dipping in the river.

For each of us, let us remember in our lives that as we identify changes to make to more closely follow Yahweh (such as celebrating the appointed times in Leviticus 23 or turning away from false teaching in the church), we will often face the same challenge Naaman did. We will be surrounded by the people who think our change is wrong and we should remain where we were. It is hard when those people are in our own family or household or perhaps bosses at work. We may want to try to plan a way out of those influences or at least some situations in which those become particularly tough. For example, maybe Naaman could find a way to still help his master but not go in to worship Rimmon. I am not sure if Naaman could simply leave his master’s service.

I believe there are certain situation where the best approach is to remove ourselves from the bad influence as much as possible. However, there are situations where this may not be practical. In these situations, I like the example of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They held true to Yahweh even in the midst of strong pressure to do the wrong things.

There is a lot there in a few verses at the end of this scripture in 2 Kings 5. It is easy to overlook, but powerful to prayerfully reflect on how it still applies in our lives today.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Church / Body of Christ, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Jesus (hearing from God), Kindness / Gentleness, Learning To Pray Effectively, Seeking God

Discipline and Prayer – Apply Context to Matthew 18

Today’s scripture has a surprising amount of implications in a few verses, and I believe many are perhaps drawing the wrong meaning from what may be difficult verses.

Matthew 18:15-20

Discipline and Prayer

      15“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

      19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Remember the context in this chapter. Yeshua is speaking privately to His disciples. He is not speaking to a large open crowd. The guidance should be understood in that context.

His disciples were to become leaders in the early church. The spoke about the need to become humble like a child to enter into the kingdom and to avoid being a stumbling block to those coming to Christ, but rather help them. Yeshua highlights that every one of those who have submitted to Yahweh is important. They are not just interchangeable parts where if one gets lost, He has plenty of others. Then we come to today’s verses.

The disciples are given guidance about how to discipline people in the church (verses 15-17) and encouraged in the importance of coming together, even if in small groups (verses 19-20).

First we must recognize that leaders in the church, and generally those mature in the faith, should engage and confront people who seem to be confused about Yah’s word. They should do so lovingly and kindly, but firmly. Ultimately, one who is not living according to Yah’s word should be treated as separate from the body of Christ. We are not to tolerate sin in the church just to keep church pews full or so that the sinners can hear the message (and continue ignoring it). We are to be a pure and set apart people. It is in this way we also help drive a deeper understanding for people in how to live for Yahweh.

I think we need to be a bit cautious or judicious with how we take verse 18.

18“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Some take this to mean that “the church”, which today can be taken broadly to mean almost anyone running a congregation, can decide or change what is good or bad in Yah’s eyes. It is as if He will change to adapt to man. This does not stand up to close scrutiny. Yahweh defines good and bad and man is flawed and inconsistent. Further, even if that is what was meant, it was directed at the small group of immediate disciples who had walked with Christ during His earthly ministry. There is not an implication that this applies to all men that follow thereafter. We would quickly conclude that this cannot be the answer as so many who call upon the name of Yeshua are not in agreement about many aspects of doctrine. Thus you would have the same behaviors or actions being “bound” on earth and “loosed” on earth by different people. How could that be?

Given the context, I think it is more likely relating to the disciples as they try to apply Yah’s law to specific situations they would encounter among the people. It is not that they could change what was good or bad, but rather giving them authority to apply Yah’s law similar to how we see Moses or prophets empowered elsewhere in scripture.

Verse 19 is similarly taken out of context often and admittedly it can be challenging.

  19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

I would say with confidence that this can not simply mean that any two of us throughout time who follow Christ can agree on something and it will happen. Clearly this does not happen. Many who follow Christ and agree with one or more others do not get everything for which they ask. One simple example would be that abortion would not happen at all. Clearly plenty of genuine believers are asking for that.

Once again, we may need to ask if there is really an implication that this specific promise is applicable to all or just to the audience to whom it was addressed at the time, the immediate disciples of Christ. If it does apply more broadly, and it may, it must imply more than simply two people asking for something. I will not pretend I can authoritatively draw the full conclusion to the meaning and application of these verses. But we can certainly observe some things it is not, as stated above.

In general we can easily conclude that coming together with fellow believers, even in small groups, before the LORD with our supplications is meaningful and important. The same can be said for coming together for worship, to come into His presence.

I would encourage us to test our understanding of all verses. Allow for the fact that we may not have all the answers and that there may be some room for uncertainty in how to apply the meaning of some verses. Pray for Holy Spirit to teach and show you and study if you wish to chase down a particular detail. Do not just settle for how you hear others explain it without testing.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Faithful, Father / Yahweh, Loving / Kind, Protector / Deliverer, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Seeking God, Thankfulness

We Are Not Interchangeable Parts in God’s Eyes

Reading the context of Matthew 18 preceding verses 12-14, we see emphasis put on humbling oneself like a child to come to the kingdom of God and caution against causing those who do to stumble and turn away from Yahweh.

Yeshua continues in this teaching by calling out a metaphor of a shepherd who looks for any of his lost sheep. He is not content to simply return with most of them or even almost all of them. He wants all of his sheep. So, too, our Father wants for all of us who have humbled ourselves like a child and put our trust in Him as Father to continue in relationship with Him. If one of us strays, He will seek after us. It makes an important point. Each of us as individuals matter to our Father. We are not just part of a big flock. We are not interchangeable.

Matthew 18:12-14

Ninety-nine Plus One

      12“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13“If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14“So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Perhaps another way to think of this is to think of the Father / child relationship that Yahweh gives us so many times in scripture. Would a father be content to leave one child behind if he had three? What if he had 10? He would surely leave the others  behind in safety and pursue the one that was missing. Yahweh loves each of us in this way who have humbled ourselves and submitted to Him as Father.

Note that there is not indication in this scripture that the lost sheep will always be recovered. It simply states that He will pursue them.

Pray and give thanks to our Father that He loves each of us as individuals and that we are not simply interchangeable parts of a flock or herd in His eyes. Reflect on that. The Creator and Master of all loves each of us as individuals. He cares for us. He does not want to lose any one of us. Really take time to let that set in. No matter what you face in your personal life, you can see that you have value and purpose when you submit to Yahweh.

For those whom the Holy Spirit may convict as being a lost sheep, do not lose heart. Turn back to Him and ask His help. He wants you to come back to Him. Turn from the ways of the world and seek after our Father in Heaven. He is looking for you!

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

 

Learning To Pray Effectively, Seeking God

Stumbling Blocks… Don’t Be One and Don’t Leave Them In Your Own Path

We should do all we can to help children (and others) to find the path to Yeshua. Let us not be one through which stumbling blocks are set before others to trip them up. Let us also not leave stumbling blocks in our own path. The LORD takes this very seriously and so should we.

Matthew 18:1-11

Rank in the Kingdom

      1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4“Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

      7“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

      8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9“If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

      10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11[“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

A stumbling block in this case refers to anything which gets in the way of someone coming into right relationship with the LORD. If the LORD is so emphatic in speaking about the stumbling blocks as to make the point that we are better off without some key body parts if they would be our stumbling blocks, then this is very important. Let those who have ears hear.

Pray with me:

Father, please show me any way in which I am creating a stumbling block for others in their faith to follow you fully. Please show me also anything in my life which is a stumbling block for me. Lead me to remove these obstacles and pursue you more fully. Let me not cling to the wrong things that hurt me in my relationship with you. Instead, help me to put you first, above all other things… not just for my benefit but also so I can be a help and not an obstacle for others.

Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Devotions by Tonia

CrossRoads

Psalm 25:4-5 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day.

Everyone comes to a crossroads at some point in their life and need to make a decision. Seek the Lord to find out what direction to turn. he wants to lead the way. He wants to light up our path.

He wants to take the wheel of your life if you will trust him and let him lead.  Sometimes letting him take control of every part of our lives can seem uncomfortable. We want to give him some parts but not others. We will say, “Lord you can have these areas of my life, but I will hold on to these other parts.”

We need to give him full reign for everything in our lives. He is trustworthy. He is loyal. He is worthy to be trusted for everything. We may not understand what he is doing along the way and sometimes he may speak to us to and lead us to do something we don’t understand and  most of the time it will be different than what we think it will be.

The full picture is not shown right away but we can always trust in our Lord that he will direct us with security in Him.  It is our faith and total trust in him that he wants his children to walk in.

Let him lead every direction you take on your path of life.

Devotion by Tonia in service to Christ

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13)

 

Children, Faith / Trusting God, Help / Serve Others, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Humility, Wickedness / Evil

Who Is Greatest in the Kingdom?

Many people have differing ideas of greatness. Sports start, movie stars, politicians… many are held up as great. But by what standard should we judge who is truly great? As for me, I like to use the standard set by Yeshua. Spoiler alert, it is very different than the measure of greatness in the eyes of the world.

Matthew 18:1-5

Rank in the Kingdom

      1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4“Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 23:10-12

10“Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11“But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

So pay attention when the world tells you greatness comes from being a better athlete or better business man or just being wealthy or famous. None of these define greatness in the eyes of God. If you want to set out to be great, ask the LORD’s help and begin by serving others in His name. Humble yourself before God and submit to His word and His guidance for you. In these ways you can be great and you do not need special circumstances, talent, or money to get started!

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Complaining, Hypocrisy, Murder, Stealing / Theft, Wickedness / Evil

The Wicked Are Hypocrites; Do Not Expect Fair Play

The wicked are hypocrites. Do not expect fair play. They have one set of rules for them and another set for others. It is perfectly fine in her eyes for Athaliah to kill all her son’s children so she can become queen. However, she calls it treason that someone saved one and restores them rightfully to the throne.

2 Kings 11

Athaliah Queen of Judah

      1When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. 2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom. So they hid him from Athaliah, and he was not put to death. 3So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.

      4Now in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him in the house of the LORD. Then he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. 5He commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, who come in on the sabbath and keep watch over the king’s house 6(one third also shall be at the gate Sur, and one third at the gate behind the guards), shall keep watch over the house for defense. 7“Two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king. 8“Then you shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within the ranks shall be put to death. And be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

      9So the captains of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with those who were to go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10The priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the LORD. 11The guards stood each with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, by the altar and by the house, around the king. 12Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

      13When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people in the house of the LORD. 14She looked and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” 15And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the LORD.” 16So they seized her, and when she arrived at the horses’ entrance of the king’s house, she was put to death there.

      17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they would be the LORD’S people, also between the king and the people. 18All the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD. 19He took the captains of hundreds and the Carites and the guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guards to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet. For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword at the king’s house.

      21Jehoash was seven years old when he became king.

Hypocrisy really is an interesting “tell” about what is in someone’s heart and mind. Yeshua, and those who follow Him closely, have but one standard of righteousness and it applies to everyone equally. The wicked, or those far from relationship with Yeshua, often have a different standard for them than for the rest of the people.

You see this commonly still today and it becomes most obvious in observing people in high profile leadership positions. We see governors and mayors declare the people must stay home and wear masks, then they disregard their own guidelines and do as they please. We can see this in congress and many places throughout government. Congress has a health plan that is entirely different (and better) than what they prescribe or force upon the rest of the people. Some will decry how bad it is to have legal challenges in an election when in the past few years they voiced an entirely different opinion… when the shoe was on the other foot so to speak in terms of who was winning or losing a particular election.

Many in our culture today seem to disregard hypocrisy as if it is not a big deal. I see it as a good tell into someone’s heart and mind to show if they really view themselves in humility or put themselves on a pedestal.

Thoughtfully and prayerfully reflect if there are any areas of hypocrisy in your life which need to be addressed to draw nearer to the LORD. Ask His help to show you and help you make adjustments.

Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

—-

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

Sharing God's word through devotionals and other resources. Helping you study the Bible and apply it to your life. Helping young children to enjoy the Bible at our Kid Zone.