Shabbat Shalom

The Times in Which We Live

Today during our family Bible reading we read  II Timothy 4:1-5 CJB

" I solemnly charge you before God and the Messiah Yeshua, who will judge the living and the dead when he appears and establishes his Kingdom: 2 proclaim the Word! Be on hand with it whether the time seems right or not. Convict, censure and exhort with unfailing patience and with teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear. 4 Yes, they will stop listening to the truth, but will turn aside to follow myths. 5 But you, remain steady in every situation, endure suffering, do the work that a proclaimer of the Good News should, and do everything your service to God requires."

 Then while at the library reading my favorite blogs, linked on the side here, I came across one that really spoke to me.  I don't want to become desensitized to the world, even if people don't agree with my convictions.  Recently in our Bible study, we read that to have the "fear of God" is to hate what is evil.  This makes it really hard to function in this world that we live in.  For one, everyone is on their own spiritual journey and it is not often we find others who are in the same spot at the same time as us!  This is where grace comes in....I ask YHVH for this grace on a daily basis.  Not only do I NEED grace in my own life, but I also need to EXTEND grace to others, especially my family whom I am with every day.  Showing my children grace and mercy as I correct bad attitudes/behaviours and apologize for my own!  Anyhow, without further ado, please enjoy the following blog by Gail!

 

The Times In Which We Live

We live in 'difficult' times, among 'difficult' people, of that there is no question. The question becomes then, what should be our response to these things and these people? I'm writing, of course on a blog geared toward those who profess a relationship with the Holy One, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So the question is addressed to 'the church', to those who call upon the Name of the Lord.

Timothy describes the times in which we now find ourselves this way:"In the last days perilous times shall come.
 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith."

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

We have a few choices in how to respond; in how to live our lives at this time and among these people.

#1.We can surely become like them, little by little, perhaps, and maybe due to the influence we allow them to have on us as we minister among them. You know the story, it's played out again and again. The pastor, himself with a checkered past that involved the abuse of alcohol before he 'got saved', decided that God called him to minister to the down and out in the places they frequent. So, at night, under the cover of darkness, which he fools himself into believing is a spiritual covering; a blessing on his activities by God, he goes to the bars to 'minister'. Before long it is he who is changed and he returns to his old habits....his old nature and to the old ways of bondage that God so desires him to be set free of, if he is just willing. Instead, he becomes like them. We choose to become like 'them' when we long again for that which we said we left on that Old Rugged Cross at our first profession of faith. Do we really think the Israelites in the wilderness were any more at fault for this? They forgot the bondage they left and just remembered "the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic". How easy it is to forget the bondage and only remember the pleasure.

#2. We can become paralyzed with fear because of these perilous times, where the sinner seems to be sinning more and everywhere we turn, we see fellow Travelers falling by the wayside and returning to the lives they led before 'getting saved'. In the midst of this kind of fear, we can stop trusting the small still voice in our Spirit (Y'shua promises "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—  the Spirit of truth) and seen on the pages of those holy scriptures we so desperately want to believe in. In a last ditch effort to pull ourselves out (there is a clue as to why the failure) of the mire, we go looking for eloquent speakers and 'anointed ministers' who will seek God for us and just please PLEASE tell us how to live! We can dull our spiritual ears to the Voice of the Father as we become more accustomed to the new voice of those spiritual leaders we appoint for ourselves and set upon pedestals or allow them to set themselves there. And before we know it, He is not there and we are left with the deafening silence amid the loudness of man made rules.

But there is a better way.

#3. We can choose LIFE. We can choose to Sh'ma (listen to and change our lives according to what was just said) the Holy One and no other. We can recognize that our past is one of sin and rebellion and following false gods and false ways that lead to death. We can do what Lot's wife was unable to do, not look back with longing and we can be overcomers. We can recognize that HE is enough. He is what our souls cry out for and it is good that He speaks to us. We can recognize that the competing voices shouting for our attention even if they 'speak for God' are at best, second best - that He's the real deal and we can approach Him. And we can return to Him and His ways. Again and again if need be. Back to Him. To His covenant.

Remember Joshua, that servant of the Most High, chosen BY GOD and not appointed by men with itching who are prone to turning those ears away from the truth and toward myths. He led the new generation into the Promised Land at the end of the Wilderness Wandering, after the unfaithful generation died out exactly according to the prophesy. May his words of Covenant RENEWAL and REDEDICATION speak to us today with the same freshness as it did for that generation of Israelites in the desert, the children of those who came out of the Great Exodus so ready to follow God but ending up calling Him a liar, believing instead the bad report of 10 faithless ones, rather than His Promise to give them the Good Land as an inheritance. It is to those who were CHOSEN to be the generation that reaches the Promised Land, who were under 20 years old at the time of the SIN OF THE SPIES, all grown up now, that Joshua speaks. May we be able to say with Joshua: as for me and my house, I will serve YHWH!

Here is Joshua 24:

24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

² Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. ³ But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

⁵ “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen^[a] as far as the Red Sea.^{[b] 7} But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

⁸ “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. ⁹ When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹ “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. ¹² I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. ¹³ So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! ¹⁷ It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God. ”

¹⁹ Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

²¹ But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

²² Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes, we are witnesses, ” they replied.

²³ “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

²⁵ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. ²⁶ And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.

²⁷ “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

²⁸ Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

******

blessings,

Gail

Two Bandwagons

It's been about 2 yrs since our family started down this amazing path known Scripturally as The Way. (John 14:6, Acts 9:2, Acts 18:25-26, Acts 19:9, Acts 19:23, Acts 24:14, Acts 24:22, II Peter 2:21)
Lots of learning as well as unlearning. We've been shocked as the Truth is revealed more and more to us, simply by reading Scripture! Oh wow, how narrow Your path truly is, Father!! (Matt 7:13-14, Luke 13:24)

Matthew 7:13 CJB

"Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it;"

Matthew 7:14 CJB

"but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Luke 13:24 CJB

He answered, "Struggle to get in through the narrow door, because -- I'm telling you! -- many will be demanding to get in and won't be able to,"

 What is amazing though is how much we WANT to change and please our God and walk in that Narrow Path that leads to life! I am constantly in awe of how full of mercy and grace our Abba is as I stumble, learning His ways and how to obey Him through the reading of His Word.

I've been convicted this past year on how I've handled myself as I came to the knowledge of Torah and how there is just one set of rules for all who choose to serve the God of the Bible.  And the conviction was that I was letting a spirit of pride enter my heart....I was judging Christians and their spiritual idolatry when it is not my business to judge them. I was once in their place and just because my understanding has changed, doesn't make me "more" of a Believer.  This quote sums it up perfectly:

Don't judge me because my sin doesn't look like your sin.

This goes for all of us....Proverbs 6:16 " There are six things ADONAI hates, seven which he detests: 17 a haughty look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet swift in running to do evil, 19 a false witness who lies with every breath, and him who sows strife among brothers." 

Notice in the verse above how He hates these sins?  They are NOT listed in order of "badness" they are all equal.  It is our own limited Greek mindset that thinks that some sins must be worse than other sins. Notice also that homosexuality isn't even listed here?  It seems two bandwagons that Believers jump on, whether they are Christian or Jewish, and they are condemning same-sex marriages and abortion.


While I do NOT support either one of these issues AT ALL, I think perhaps our focus needs to shift a bit.  Instead of condemning those who, in their pain live lives that are contrary to God's Word, perhaps we can love them instead and introduce them to the perfect love of YHVH, Who wants to heal them of their hurts and make them whole, spiritually as well as physically.  Perhaps instead we can look at the little lies we tell and the secret sins in our hearts that fester and produce bad fruit in our own lives, instead of being self-righteous, holier than thou snobs. 


As we focus on ourselves and teach our children to be holy, YHVH will lead people into our lives that we can minister to.  We don't even have to look for the hurting or needy, they are everywhere, and their hurts and needs will be different from ours, but He will equip us to help them, because HE is all powerful and all knowing.  He has everything under control.  I want to let Him use me, in spite of my shortcomings.

A Guest Post!!

Acts 15 The Jerusalem Council

In having healthy "discussions" with Christians about the role of the Festivals (Leviticus 23) for believers in Yeshua, I am often directed to the "Jerusalem Council" in the 15th book of Acts, where I am told that it was decided that the Mosaic law was not expected from the Gentiles in walking out their faith. In fact, Acts 15 is often given as proof that the Torah, as the Old Testament Law is sometimes referred to, is not for the Gentiles. The judgement in verse 19 gives a brief overview of what was required by the Gentiles.

I have included a somewhat lengthy detailed paper by one of my favourite teachers named Tim Hegg. Don't let it scare you off. Get out your scriptures and follow along. It is called Acts 15 and The Jerusalem Council: Did they conclude that the Torah was not for Gentiles?

Also, I like to make note that most Act 15 readers stop at verses 19 & 20 when they present this incorrect interpretation of the Jerusalem Council. If you keep reading verse 21 it says "For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.". From that verse, one could conclude, that not only were the incoming Gentiles expected to be in the synagogue every Sabbath (not the Roman Catholic Sunday), they were going to hear the teachings of Moses (the Law/Instructions).

When I trained new waitress/waiters at Earls, way back when (cough,cough), we didn't allow them to head out to the tables to take orders on the first day. We trained them to "just do a few things" as the new employee got a feel for how Earl's operated. They were to have "shadowed" a trained waiter, until they understood the rules of being a waiter. There were lots of expectations for each new waiter, but certainly they were not expected to "know" all the rules on the first day. The "rules" of waitressing are not ones to bring legalism, but order and peace, safety and organization. Training usually took 1-2 weeks, or longer if the "new" waiter had no experience at all.

Doesn't this sound like a form of discipleship?

Please don't use Act 15 to support the "Torah ain't for us Gentiles" argument, unless you want to discuss it together, with the scriptures in hand.

Human Trafficking

Jacob's Story

What a heartbreaking video, yet what a difference one man made! If only more men would take a stand for what is right.  If only women would take a stand and be the feminine counterparts our husbands need.  It's not just the fault of men, or women, it is both.

I'm spurred on to pray for my husband, and the men that come into my life on a regular basis (seriously very few, but still...) I don't think it's wrong to pray for my neighbor when I see him across the street!

This is just something that really grabbed my attention today.

A guest blog! Enjoy!

A guest blog! Enjoy!

How Much Land Did God Give Israel in the Abraham Land Covenant?

God's Word declares Gaza is a part of the Land of Israel:



Joshua narrows it down and tells us that Gaza also was given to  Israel, specifically the tribe of Judah.



This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. Joshua 15:20
Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her
villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border
thereof: Joshua 15:47.




Map with land of Israel with borders in red below representing the
Royal Land Grant that God gave to Israel through the Abraham Covenant
compared to what Israel actually has today in yellow on the map above
it.



I wonder what would happen if the Jewish people suddenly woke up and
realized they are being cheated out of all the land God gave Israel in
the Abraham land covenant instead of the little sliver of land they are
now living on, which  is only a fraction of what  had been  promised to
them? And even that, the arabs and nations of the world are trying to
take the little fraction shown in yellow on the map, which is now
Israel, little by little by waging terror war after war against the Jews
and forcing a land for peace deal upon the Jews.



As indicated in an earlier post, this article will address how much land
really belonged to Israel, and in the end, a remnant of Jews will have
all of what God promised to them in the Abraham Land Covenant, not just a
sliver of land; and the arabs and the nations of the world, the the
Bible tells us, will be punished severely by God for the way they have
treated the Jewish people of Israel and around the world all of these
years if they do not repent.



A land called 'Palestine' does not refer to the covenant land God made a
covenant with, with  Abraham and Abraham's descendants. The land is
called Canaan, now called Israel. Abraham is the first to be called
Hebrew, it is noted in Genesis 14:13. There is no such thing as a land of Palestine today. Palestine is mentioned in the book of Joel 3:4, and a few other places in the Bible, but for the purposes of this writing, I will use the Joel 3:4 verse as the meaning remains the same according to e-Sword Greek-Hebrew concordance.


Joel 3:4


H6429

פּלשׁת

pelesheth

pel-eh'-sheth

From H6428; rolling, that is, migratory; Pelesheth, a region of Syria: - Palestina, Palestine, Philistia, Philistines.


Palestine, according to the above scripture, describes 'Palestine' as a region of Syria, which is an enemy of the Israelites.



It should be noted in biblical times, part of Syria was part of the
kingdom of Israel according to the borders outlined in Numbers 34, which
follows, and the map shown above with the red border, which represents
all of Canaan Land, or Israel. After the Maccabean revolt, Judea then
became an independant state and after King Herold died, the Romans took
over and it became a Roman province. The Romans ultimately destroyed
Judea and the second Temple in 70AD and renamed Israel Palestine in an
effort to wipe out the name of Israel and the Jews of Israel forever.
However, the Jewish people, tho driven from the land of Israel and
scattered around the world as prophesied, have always had a presence in
the land of Israel since biblical times.


There is much written about Abraham and his descendants, Isaac, Jacob
and the Jewish people as it relates to Israel, the land God gave them in
Genesis chapter 12, 15,26 and 28 and I suggest you look it up and read
about it yourself in the scriptures. For the purpose of this article, I
will include the relevant scriptures. Three times God, in the
scriptures, made the same covenant to Abraham's descendants the Jews, so
there can be no mistake.



In Genesis 12, it is declared by Moses"NOW the Lord had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee": vs. 1 Abram obeyed
the Lord, and went into the land of Canaan. vs. 5


In Genesis 15:18-21,
God made the covenant with Abram, saying: "Unto thy seed have I given
this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river the river
Euphrates. The land of the Kenites, Kenizites, Kadmonites; the Hitties,
Perizites, Rephaims; the Emorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and
Jebusites."



The southern border of Canaan is the river of Egypt, with the northern border being the River Euphrates.



The Lord appeared to Isaac, Abraham's son by Sarah, and who inherited
the land promise of God to Abraham, and said: "Sojourn in this land, and
I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy
seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which
I sware unto Abraham thy father"; Genesis 26:3



After Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel by God:
"And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for
as a prince hast thou power with God and men, and hast prevailed," Genesis 32:28,
inherited the land covenant with Abraham as declared by God in Genesis
Chapter 28: "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, the God of Isaac:
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed".vs. 13



After Moses delivered the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land
of Canaan, God gave specific boundries of Canaan land as declared in Numbers 34:1-2:



AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel,
and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; this is the
land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of
Canaan with the coasts thereof: 1-2



The Southern border of Canaan Land or Israel:


Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the
coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the
salt sea eastward: vs. 3



And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and
pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to
Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: vs. 4



And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. vs. 5



The Northern border of Canaan Land or Israel:



And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point
out for you mount Hor: From mount Hor ye shallm point out your border
unto the the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border
shall be to Zedad: And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings
out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.
Numbers 7-9


The Western border of Canaan Land or Israel:



And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. Numbers 34:6


The Eastern border of Canaan Land or Israel:



And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: And
the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain;
and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea
of Chinereth eastward. And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the
goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this swhall be your land with
the coasts thereof round about. Numbers 34:10-12



The Lord further declares in Leviticus 25:23 that "The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me."



A land for peace deal, and chopping up the land of Canaan or Israel that
the arabs and nations of the world have done and are now trying to
force upon the Jewish people again with Judea and Samaria that they have
renamed and dubbed the "West Bank" is completely off limits and God
will deal severely with all those involved in the cutting up of His land
that He promised to Israel.



As for the war going on today with the Israelis and the terrorists Hamas
who have taken over Gaza, Joshua narrows it down and tells us that Gaza
also belongs to Israel, specifically the tribe of Judah.



This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. Joshua 15:20
Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her
villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border
thereof: Joshua 15:47.



Related Story: Israel 'Occupies' No Arab Territories



Spread The News

Commands of Christ: Follow Me

Have a Tent Mind-Set!

Welcome to our second week of meditation! In order to live out Christ’s second command, we must comprehend the rich insights of a “tent mind-set.”

Command Two:

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

Those who heard the call to follow Jesus understood that it meant forsaking their way of life and being trained by Him as a disciple.
This is consistent with God’s call to Abraham. Abraham was told to leave his land, kindred, and father’s house and follow the Lord to a land of promise. In the process, he learned the mind-set of a tent-dweller. When Abraham’s descendants went down to Egypt (symbolic of the world), they lost their tent perspective. Soon the pressure of their bondage caused them to cry out to God for deliverance.
God brought them “out of the house of bondage” (see Deuteronomy 13:5) and restored their perspective of tent dwelling in the wilderness. God also lived with them in a tent (the Tabernacle) and had them look to heaven for their daily bread and daily direction. In the land of promise they lived in goodly houses, but God warned them never to lose their tent mind-set. So, He established an annual feast in which they would live in a tent for one week and be reminded of their total dependence upon God. (See Leviticus 23:34.)

A tent mind-set is realizing that this world is not our home and that we are on a holy pursuit of God’s kingdom with total dependence on Him as “strangers and pilgrims.”

Peter speaks of this mind-set as a powerful basis for conquering lust: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (I Peter 2:11).
A tent mind-set helps us lay aside temporal things and see the value in eternal things, such as discipling others. Therefore, when a would-be follower of Jesus volunteered his services, Jesus immediately focused on his need for a tent mind-set by saying, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). There is nothing wrong with living in a house as long as we don’t lose a tent mind-set and view our home as a temporary base from which to fulfill the Great Commission.
Congratulations for completing your first week!

Get a Double Portion!

The invitation to follow Jesus is no small matter. The more we follow Him, the more we will become like Him. Imagine what this will mean for daily success! We will multiply our wisdom, because Jesus is ultimate wisdom, and “he that walketh with wise men shall be wise” (Proverbs 13:20).
We will also gain the rare quality of creativity that is so essential to success, because Jesus is the Creator. (See John 1:3.) Most of all, we will grow in the character of Christ, because He is the perfect expression of all the character qualities of God.
In addition to all of these benefits, there is something even more exciting.

Those who follow Jesus can receive a “double portion” of His power if they fulfill one important requirement. Do you know what it is?

Many heroes of faith accomplished greater things than the one they followed because they fulfilled this one prerequisite.

• Samuel served Eli and then accomplished greater things than Eli.


• Joshua served Moses and then accomplished what Moses failed to do.


• David served Saul and achieved greater victories than Saul.


• Elisha served Elijah and got a double portion of his power.

Each one of these men remained faithful until the end. Elijah explained this prerequisite when Elisha asked him for a double portion of his power. “…If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee….” (II Kings 2:10).
Jesus made the same stipulation when He said to His disciples, “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22). The word saved is the Greek word sozo, which can refer to physical, emotional, or spiritual vibrancy. During the ministry of Jesus, many disciples became offended and stopped following Him, but Jesus said of those who remained faithful:

“…The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

The faithful disciples had a double portion of Jesus’ power because the Holy Spirit was sent to them. And, through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, they accomplished great things for God. Let’s purpose now to follow their example by faithfully following Jesus until the end.

Follow Very Closely!

The crowds followed Jesus, but only those closest to Him heard the rich teaching He gave along the way. There were others who followed Him from afar. (See John 19:38.) John followed Jesus as closely as he could. As a result, John heard rich truths, which he shares in his writings.

Closeness is determined by how well we can hear Jesus speak to us, and this ability is determined by how much we meditate on His Word day and night.

John was one of the three who were in Jesus’ “inner circle.” He was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and on the mount of Calvary. He sat right next to Jesus at the Last Supper and wanted to sit next to Him in His kingdom. Because of this very close relationship, John shared truths from Jesus that are found in no other gospel or epistle.
For example, John recorded the secret of intimate fellowship and effective discipleship through meditation on the commands of Christ. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). John further emphasized the importance of meditation when he wrote, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).

Secrets bind the spirits of people together. Jesus wants to share His secrets with us, but we must follow closely to hear them.

Does your walk with Jesus allow Him to whisper secrets to you, or does He have to shout to get your attention? The more you meditate on Christ’s words, the closer your walk with Him will be!

Use Transformed “Rods”!

Meditation is imagining the action involved in carrying out the command. For example, imagine what would happen if you were Peter or Andrew and heard Jesus’ call to follow Him and be made a fisher of men. There is a principle here.
Jesus will take our talents and skills and transform them for eternal achievement. This is what He did with Matthew’s experience as a tax collector. Matthew teaches more about money in his Gospel than any other writer. The same principle is true with David; his shepherding skills were transformed by God into tools with which to shepherd, or care for, the whole nation of Israel. The skills he used for the sheep were applied to taking care of people. “So he [David] fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands” (Psalm 78:72). However, before God can use our skills, something must happen.

God will use whatever we bring to Him, but it must first be transformed by an action on our part. That action is demonstrated by the rod of Moses.

When God called Moses to follow Him back to Egypt and deliver the nation of Israel from bondage, He asked Moses to cast down his rod. That rod represented his skill and livelihood as a shepherd. The rod became a snake and was so terrifying that Moses fled from it. What a precise picture of personal skills and abilities that are not dedicated to God.
Once the rod was given to God and seen in a totally new light by Moses, God told him to pick it up. When he did, it was transformed into a new rod. No longer was it referred to as the rod of Moses, but rather the rod of God, and with it God was able to accomplish great and mighty deeds, which brought much glory to Him.

God will not use our skills or abilities, but He will transform them into His skills and abilities when we place them at His feet.

As a young boy I had an interest in drawing, but I had no unusual skill. However, when I dedicated my body to God at about the age of twelve, God took my interest in drawing and directed it to chalk art. As a result, millions of people have received spiritual encouragement and direction from the drawings. What “rods” do you presently have in your hand that are going to “bite you” if you don’t give them to God today?

Fish With Light!

As we continue meditating on Christ’s second command, we see that the ultimate purpose for following Jesus is to become fishers of men. God loves people, and He wants us to draw as many as we can to Him; it is not His will that any should perish. But how will He make us effective fishermen? The answer is found in an understanding of fishing methods of Christ’s day.
Peter and Andrew were fishing with nets during the day. That is when Jesus called them. However, James and John were mending their nets, indicating that they fished at night, which can be far more effective.

God’s way to fish is to attract people with Christ’s light in us and then draw them in with nets of love.

It is for the purpose of drawing people to Christ that Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) and Paul wrote, “Ye are light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). The intensity of the brightness of our light is directly proportional to our meditation day and night, because Scripture itself is light. When it becomes a living part of our lives, we increase our brightness.
Scripture states, “The entrance of thy words giveth light” (Psalm 119:130) and “…it giveth light unto all that are in the house” (Matthew 5:15). It is especially significant that God relates His commandments to the function of light: “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:8).
At night, the fishermen in Jesus’ day suspended lamps out from the boat and attracted fish to the light. Scripture states that the word of God is a “lamp” and a “light” (Psalm 119:105).

Is our light bright enough to attract others to Christ, and do we have enough love to draw them in?

The reason that Christ’s commands are so effective in drawing people to Christ is that they are all practical expressions of loving God and loving one another. In fact, Jesus explained that the entire Law and prophets hung on two commands: loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Let’s turn up our light by intensifying our meditation day and night!

Reject Deceptive Lures!

When we think of fishing, we tend to picture a fisherman with rod and reel. He is casting out his line with bait and hook. The bait is designed to look as close to the real thing as possible.
When the fish bite the bait, they are hooked and reeled in. Would this be a method that Jesus would use to draw people to the Gospel? Imagine the conflict and turmoil of such a “catch”! These “fish” were not drawn to the light but drawn to deceptive bait. They expected one thing and got another.

Attracting people with lures rather than light will draw “light haters” into the church, and their mission will be to extinguish the light.

Haters of light are committed to a way of life that is contrary to the holy standards of God’s Word. Jesus describes them by saying, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:20–21).
Paul understood the damage that results from using deceptive lures. He wrote, “We … have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (II Corinthians 4:1–2). The word deceitfully is translated from the Greek word doloo, which means “to adulterate for the sake of personal gain.” Mixing the Gospel with human traditions is an example of this adulteration.

Mixing the light of Christ with the lusts of the world is a contradiction to the Gospel of Christ.

John makes it very clear that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not of the Father, but are of the world. Therefore, if we use things that are not of God to lure people to God, we are contradicting the very message we preach.
May God give us discernment to attract people by the brilliant light of Christ rather than the clever manipulation of deceptive lures!

Record Your Progress!

Congratulations on finishing the second week of daily meditation. By now the living power of God’s Word should be having a significant effect upon your life and the lives of those around you. Today is an excellent day to record what is happening. Such a record is important for the following reasons:

1. Your written report proves to your family that you are committed to daily success.


2. It forces you to honestly evaluate how consistent and effective you have been.


3. It encourages your family to trust you because you are in daily contact with God.


4. It creates a longing in your family to seek after the God you love.


5. It preserves a valuable record for your children and their children.

Ten years from now, your Daily Success journal will be a powerful encouragement to you. Fifty years from now, it will be an inspiring challenge to your descendants.

It is important that you record victories and defeats in daily meditation. It is also important to note the responses of others in your family. Here are some examples:
This week I started strong, but things at work piled up and crowded out my meditation. I now see that the less I meditated, the more pressure I experienced.
I have been quoting Scripture back to God while going to sleep, and it has definitely improved my quality of rest. I did, however, have some unusual dreams.
One night I went to bed with a question, and during the night God gave me the answer. This was a thrilling experience!
I was encouraged when my young son asked me what it meant to meditate day and night. I was able to explain it to him, and now he wants to join me.

Meditation should not be something we have to stop to do, but should become a natural expression of our thoughts throughout the day.

Millions of people today find tremendous strength and encouragement because one man was faithful in writing out his daily experiences of meditation. His name is David—a man after God’s own heart!

I've given you a taste of the first two weeks of the  Daily Success Program, if you like what you see please leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite to get the emails in your own inbox. There is no charge at all, just a pile of challenges!
Shalom!