The Finished Pantry

Between various landscaping projects, hauling a lot of top soil, and chauffeuring teenagers, I finished the pantry. The shelving [part of one wall is seen in the photo] is espresso-colored, melamine-coated particle board, mounted to double brackets that fit into a wall bracket that allows them to be adjusted up or down, as needed. There are five main brackets mounted directly into studs. Should be hefty enough to cram even more stores. I had to go to four different big-box “lumber yards” to get enough of them to do the job. Either the shelves are popular, and stock is low, or they aren’t and stock is minimal.

You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new.

Leviticus 26:10

Knowing we’d be doing the pantry, we haven’t been shopping in a while. Having the food out of the pantry during the rebuilding process provided the opportunity to sort through everything. As it went back in, older stock at the front, we also added a lot of things to a shopping list. I think I’ll be making a CostCo run very soon. I’ve written about preparing for emergencies by having a well-supplied pantry, a deep larder. I don’t think I’ve given any Biblical reference for it. But Moses recorded some of G-d’s advice for daily living, and said that we should eat old store, making ready for new. I’m sure there are a lot of life applications one can take from this scripture, but in simple, practical ways, we eat what what is stored, storing what we buy. It’s nice that our Heavenly Father provided guidance for everyday life.

ASIDE: Okay. No, we don’t store greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes. We eat some things freshly purchased. Weekly we buy some produce, cheese, and a few other things. But the basics of our meals are taken directly from the pantry or the well-stocked freezer.

Time to get to work. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

The Waiting Game

“Hurry up and wait!” I heard that often enough during my years of military service. Waiting was as difficult as busy work, which was meaningless toil, drudgery, to prevent just sitting around waiting. There are other sorts of waiting, too. School kids “wait” for the bell to ring during last period so they can zip out the door to freedom. A parent waits late into the night for his or her teenager to return home from a date. And there’s the waiting of a Believer, a Follower of Y’shuaJesus, waiting for the Trumpet to call us to be with the Lord.

Waiting’s hard work. While driving truck, after delivering a load I often had to wait for another assignment. It could come at any time, too. Depending where I was, I might be able grab a quick shower at a truck stop that was close to where I delivered. Or perhaps grab a meal, if convenient. More often, I simply parked in the parking lot outside the plant to which I’d delivered and waited. I tried to read, but would find myself looking often and anxious at the Qualcom, the communications system on which I’d get a load assignment. It was hard to relax between loads unless I knew I had a set amount of time. Once, after delivering a load south of Dallas, Texas, I pulled into a dirt lot next to a restaurant, and went in for a meal. Every fifteen minutes I’d go out and check to see if a message arrived on the Qualcom. I was there about a couple of hours when I received a telephone call from the dispatcher asking why I hadn’t responded to the dispatch message. I went immediately out to the truck, but there was nothing there. He had to verbally dispatched me to a steel plant for a load going into Georgia. Not a bad run, but one I almost missed if I hadn’t had a cell phone with me. I took another twenty minutes or so after pulling out of the parking lot to receive the written dispatch on the Qualcom. Perhaps the metal building walls reflected the satellite signals, preventing me from receiving the dispatch. I don’t know.

Waiting is hard work. It is also a dangerous time; it is a time when we can be distracted and wander off in some other direction. There’s a story that Y’shuaJesus told about the maidens that fell asleep, letting their lamps go out. And in Luke chapter 12, after Y’shuaJesus talks about laying up treasure in Heaven, He talks about what to do while playing the waiting game.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

Luke 12:35-40

Matthew Henry commented on this scripture that Y’shuaJesus, “charges them to get ready, and to keep in a readiness for Christ’s coming, when all those who have laid up their treasure in heaven shall enter upon the enjoyment of it.” So there are two elements, according to Mr. Henry, in this waiting game. First, get ready; second, stay ready. That means waiting is active. It isn’t just standing around. Sometimes we are likened to servants whose master has gone away. Picture a servant standing by the door awaiting his master, doing nothing, just waiting. Probably not the best way to wait, I’m thinking.

So it seems there is good waiting and poor waiting. I’m on the poor side of waiting a lot of the time, especially when it comes to cooking. Even with a timer set, I’ll often just stand watching, waiting for the timer. In some of my best moments in the kitchen, I’ve put a pot of water on the heat, and while waiting for it to boil, done other things in the kitchen, or in the laundry room next to it. I’ve gotten distracted, too. I’ve left a pot to boil until nearly dry, and once totally ruined a batch of steamed vegetables.

Additionally, playing this waiting game takes balance and awareness. I’m thinking of when Y’shuaJesus went into the house of Martha and Mary. Martha was too busy to sit with Y’shua while Mary did only sit with Him. Y’shua said Mary picked the best of the two extremes. Y’shua hasn’t come into our house physically yet, so perhaps we need to be active while at the same time foster the spiritual communion with our Lord that He desires. But is our activity just busy work. What we do, is it necessary? Or is just something to fill the space between other things? Back to the kitchen. Perhaps when there is two minutes to wait for some vegetables to steam, it’s okay not to always have to be doing something. Perhaps standing in front of the stove is okay, and using that very moment to consider the One for Whom we wait to return. We can offer words of Praise, offering hearts of Worship, and we can offer prayers.

Occupying my waiting time then is a balance of activity that is purposeful, balanced with the spiritually uplifting elements of Praise, Worship, Prayer. And in all this activity, in all that I do, all must be done as to the Lord.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. . .

Colossians 3:23

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Change of Pace or “I thought it was going to be fun.”

This morning I’m in Tennessee. Manchester, Tennessee, to be exact. I’m having complimentary breakfast at a motel. There are 532 people in town this morning for “Warrior Dash.” Here in the dining room, the run/obstacle course is the common topic of most that are sitting at the tables. The conversations extend between tables, between people who don’t know one another. They are all here for one thing: to challenge themselves in the ultimate marathon.

One man, sitting near me, says he ran the course in Georgia last winter. He said it nearly killed him. He’s a runner, but he didn’t train for fifteen foot walls, pools of deep, ice-cold water, and mud holes that had to be negotiated to complete the run. He said he’d get cold, then run and get warm, only to dive in icy water or crawl through cold mud under wire. It takes a warrior to complete this run. One thing stands out to me in hearing the conversations. Old, young, they all seem to be comrades in a common goal. Yes, there are “winners.” Yet they talk of how they work together to just complete the course. They talk as if they will all be winners just to complete the run. Wow!

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1Corinthians 9:24-27

No, I’m not making the run this year. Perhaps, Lord willing, my knees will one day be in shape enough to try one. It’s my son, and a friend, who will run this event today. They are on the wrestling team in their high school. Their coaches inspired them to try this out. They looked at videos of past events and thought it would be “fun.” That’s what my son said after crashing his tricycle when he was three years ole. I didn’t remind him that through his tears, he’d said, “I thought it was going to be fun!”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Ready and Awake

On Monday, I used a scripture from Peter’s first letter (1Peter 1:13). I cited it while writing about the business of last week, how we are getting the most out of Summer, preparing for school to resume. It was my boy that mentioned cramming lots of stuff into the short remaining days. I told him that come next Monday he’d have to put on his thinking cap, get his pen fingers ready, and sharpen his eyes, for his primary mission resumes: his studies. He’ll need to put out of his head the activities of summer. I need him to get ready for school, so that he can concentrate on his school work.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Peter 1:13

“Gird up your loins. . .” Funny statement in Western society, isn’t it? Some years ago, in Sri Lanka, I had one of those moments when I understood what it meant. A few men readied themselves as laborers on a road repair job. The wraps that surround their legs would be in the way, so they gather them beneath their loins, add a knot, and they are ready to move about the site without the long material obstructing their legs. They girded up their loins. They made themselves ready.

My son needs to gird up his loins, too. He’s already bought his books, and has a book bag ready to go. There will be a few more things to do, but he’s nearly ready. And we need to gird up our loins, too. Winter comes upon us quickly now. There’s the physical aspect that means we’ll prepare the garden to last the winter months. When I lived up in the mountains between Arizona and New Mexico, I would be gathering dead and down wood in the forest, getting ready to heat the house during the cold winters.

What about our spiritual loins? Ready our minds for action. Continually turn over the soil of our hearts so that we are fresh to receive from our Lord. We cultivate our relationship through our mindfulness of Him. In the morning when we arise, the cares of the day present themselves, and our task, our duty, isn’t necessarily to push those thoughts away, but to find Y’shuaJesus’s Word and Way, allowing Him to be in the forefront. It is our obligation as Children of the Most High G-d. It isn’t just about a life of prayer; it’s about a life in Messiah. We bring Messiah into all things. We involve Him in all things, even the mundane tasks that we dread. We include Messiah Y’shuaJesus. We abide in Him and He abides in us. Thank You, Lord!

And then there’s Distractions.

Yesterday, while driving up to the lake with my son to do some work on a sailboat, my son noticed several drivers using cell phones and appeared to not pay enough attention to the road ahead. Occasionally one would cross the line or slow down as he or she looked down, as if to be looking at some paperwork or something. My son said, simply, “Distracted Driver.”

Last night a news article on the television reported on people walking along city streets reading and sending text messages. The report showed a clip from YouTube with a woman holding a cell phone to her face tripping and falling into a fountain pond. The news anchor, said there has been a sharp increase in accidents related to cell phone usage over the past several years requiring medical attention. I inferred from things he said later that some cities may be considering laws about using cell phones in public. Already some States’ traffic ordinances prohibit such usage.

Wake Up!

“Be sober. . .” What’s being sober mean to you? Is it really about not drinking too many alcoholic beverages? I think not. I think it is about more than just one thing, but includes the idea of being awake. There was a cartoon floating around not long ago that said the zombie apocalypse has already happened. It had a row of city folks walking with heads down looking at their cell phones. (Zombies again! Moan. . .) Being awake is being aware of what we are doing, being focused with a single vision while also mindful of what’s in our peripheral vision. Nothing will sneak up on us if we are aware of our surroundings!

Being awake or sober is being alert. We are called by Y’shuaJesus to watch out.

Watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you.

Luke 21:36

The woman on the YouTube video that fell into the fountain pond while texting from her phone didn’t escape getting wet.

Y’shuaJesus spoke about seeing what’s ahead of us, what’s coming.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.

Matthew 24:32

Yes, He was speaking of the “End Times.” He was speaking of reading the signs. Americans are largely city folk these days. Not too many cities have fig trees. The illustration, modernized, might use traffic signs on a freeway, e.g., Lane Closed Ahead. From readiness to alertness. Driving at freeway speeds, readiness means knowing if there are cars near you, in the lanes to the left and right, behind and ahead. If you know that a car is to your left, nearby, you can avoid an obstacle in the highway by moving to the right. If you don’t know, you may move left into the path of the other vehicle.

Peter spoke of being reading, girding up your loins. It is preparedness. He said to be sober. We are called to be awake, alert. But it’s not all just about us, either. It isn’t just about not falling into a fountain pool. We are ready and alert so that we “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Matthew Henry put it this way, “address ourselves vigorously to the work we have to do, encouraging ourselves from the grace of Jesus Christ.” This work is a benefit to us, and to those to whom we’ve been called. It is a work that builds our character and utilizes our gifts.

As we get ready for winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, we face longer, colder nights. Perhaps it is a time to dust off unused talents. I think of the parable of the talents. I could be the guy that buried my talent because I was afraid to use it and perhaps lose it. My message to me, today, is to figure out what I buried, to unearth it, and make it ready. Then be alert to how it may be used to the Glory of G-d, in the Name of The Lord Y’shuaJesus, Messiah, King.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Several days last week I spent on Lake Lanier with my daughter and two of her friends. They tubed, knee boarded, and wake boarded behind our boat. We anchored near a rock to which they swam, climbed, and jumped the fifteen or so feet back into the lake. At night the girls hung out at our house watching movies until the early hours of the morning. My son “chilled” with his friends, though he was invited to go with us to the lake. This week he’ll go on a trip with one of his friends to a mountain cabin in Tennessee. Kids around here are all feeling anxious, wanting to get the most out of the remaining days of summer left to them: school starts next Monday for the two I have at home.

Over the weekend, my wife and I put many hours into the garden, continuing to plant despite the heat. We’ve had some rain here, but continue to irrigate. It’s not only the lack of substantial rains, it’s the dry heat. While damp hot air is uncomfortable, the ground doesn’t dry out like it does with hot and dry days. And then there is the unrelenting sun. While a number of our perennial medicinal plants are “full sun,” in Georgia that means sun from two o’clock until five o’clock; they start to wilt after a few days of constant sun, especially if they are newly planted.

We began a “water garden” that we said we would do in the Fall. Perhaps it will be filled and operating before then. It’s not too big, but should hold about seven thousand gallons of fresh water. Not as good as a deep cistern, but better than what has become an occasional creek behind us, which no longer can be considered a water source. We’ll plant around the edges of the pond, on a shelf about a foot deep. The inner part will me much deeper. My daughter wants to be able to swim in it. I told her if she was willing to dig it deep. She may try digging, but I think Georgia’s red clay will win the battle, and remain at the four foot level that I’ll dig it.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:13

As summer wanes, we push hard at finishing the things we want to get done, we want to accomplish. The lists my family members each have in our minds are endless. The scripture in First Peter is a reminder that we must also prepare our minds for action and remain with calmness in our spirit, shedding anxiety, worry. We are to fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought us at the revelation of Y’shuaJesus. We must juggle that feeling we just need to accomplish certain things today, to do things now, with the promise of the Lord’s grace. I hope it means that whatever we don’t get done is covered by G-d’s grace, and that He has mercy upon us during the long winter that may come.

I pray we are not so focused on the physical things that we miss the spiritual revelations the Lord offers. Let us abide it the Lord always. Let us rejoice in the Lord always. Amen and Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Passover 2012

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:11-14

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7

This Friday, at sunset, begins passover. It is known as פֶּסַח pesach, which comes from “pretermission, that is, exemption; used. . .of the Jewish Passover (the festival of the victim), passover (offering).”

The weeks preceding pesach are spent in much house cleaning in search for bread crumbs. It is quite an activity in which all members of each household are involved—young to old. I hadn’t realized Christians from some denominations also follow this part of the Law, too.

What does leaven symbolize? It has long been thought of as a metaphor for sin. Just as we’ve spoken of, before communion, we search ourselves looking for any sin in our lives. Passover and Resurrection Day are forever linked to communion. Y’shuaJesus is the Lamb of G-d—the Lamb slain whose blood covers us, keeping us from the Angel of Death. We celebrate communion to remember Y’shuaJesus, that His body and blood were given for us. It seems appropriate that we should, before Resurrection Day, which also called by the pagen name of Easter, search for bread crumbs containing leaven, not only in our lives but throughout our homes.

While this is all good, I wonder if there is a deeper meaning to leaven than that of sin only. In Luke 13:21 Y’shuaJesus says of the Kingdom of Heaven: “It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” I read that many reconcile this as being the one time in a hundred where leaven isn’t a metaphor for sin. Yet it just doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Matthew Henry comments on Luke 13:21: “You expect [the Kingdom of Heaven] will make its way by external means, by subduing nations and vanquishing armies, though it shall work like leaven, silently and insensibly, and without any force or violence. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; so the doctrine of Christ will strangely diffuse its relish into the world of mankind: in this it triumphs, that the savour of the knowledge of it is unaccountably made manifest in every place, beyond what one could have expected, 2Co_2:14. But you must give it time, wait for the issue of the preaching of the gospel to the world, and you will find it does wonders, and alters the property of the souls of men. By degrees the whole will be leavened, even as many as are, like the meal to the leaven, prepared to receive the savour of it.”

So to speak of leaven, one is speaking of something that is silent, working almost mysteriously within—sin does that, doesn’t it? Y’shuaJesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees. Their doctrines, traditions, interpretations of the Law, and even their hypocris, that would all work within those that adhere to their leadership. Leaven. Y’shuaJesus said to seek first the Kingdom of G-d. It will also work within us, slowly, silently, mysteriously. The Word of G-d, made flesh in Y’shua, made flesh in us.

Yet go back to the woman hiding the leaven in three measures of flour. There’s a view that even here leaven is sin hidden within the ingredients that the loaf is made from. There is a belief that the loaf is symbolic of the church, which is G-d’s Kingdom on Earth, and that the leaven is false beliefs and false doctrine hidden withing the ingredients so that these deceptions are passed on to all who partake of the loaf. An extreme example of the way an entire nation can become captive to a bizzare notion is the propaganda machine developed by Hitler prior to World War II. The leaven of his deception grew slowly, silently, until it permeated most all in the nation of Germany. The German people were mentally poisoned to hate the Jewish people, gypsies, virtually anyone that did not adhere to their Aryan cultural view of themselves. Extreme nationalism gave rise to the Hitler youth movement. No one questioned the authority of the Third Reich, of Hitler, of his agents, until too late. When they did, they were eliminated. The world, it seemed, went crazy. Sixty million people died as a result of Hitler’s leaven. Two atomic explosions rocked Japan.

Could the church of the twenty-first Century become permeated by false beliefs? The Apostle Paul said: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) It’s not that there may be evil lurking in heavenly places, it’s that THERE IS evil lurking. It is leaven in the church. Sin!

Proceeding pesach, we rid the leaven within our homes. We celebrate the feast of passover with the knowledge of Y’shuaJesus as the pesach lamb. On Sunday we celebrate the empty tomb, the resurrected Lord. And we rejoice!

Hadassah (continued)

“When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry. . .” Esther 4:1 KJV

“. . .and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:7-14 ESV

Okay, so undoing Mordecai’s disobedience of the king, his not reverencing Haman, is now the responsibility of Hadassah? Oh, that’s right, we are not considering Mordecai to have disobeyed, but to simply have obeyed G-d. So it is G-d that has made a mess that Hadassah must risk her life to turn around, right? Why? Why ever would G-d cause a situation in which His own people would be put into harm’s way? As I see it, G-d’s people were already in harm’s way. And it was just a matter of time that something else would have triggered a massacre of His people. G-d foresaw it coming, prepared people in the right places. Look at what Mordecai tells Hadassah: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

G-d is wise. We try. One thing I notice throughout the Bible is that G-d has the end in sight. He has a plan. And as rough as it is for me to take, G-d allows suffering if it produces what is necessary for G-d’s plan to succeed, for G-d to succeed. For if G-d succeeds, we succeed. He is our Victory. His Victory, is our victory. It can be no other way. We are too short-sighted. We haven’t the end in sight. We live too much in the present. Oh, sure, that’s what the New Age is all about—living in the present, not the past, not the future. And certainly, in some instances this may seem prudent. But we must have hope, and G-d’s Victory is our True Hope.

We must remember that in taking a look at various scriptures within the Book of Esther, or any Book of the Bible, it is easy to loose sight of the whole picture. Esther shows us there is persecution of those who would belief the One Lord, the One G-D. And we are shown that in the end, the Goodness of G-d prevails against His enemies. That’s right. Haman isn’t just the enemy of G-d’s people; Haman is the enemy of G-d. As I’ve said, and say again, G-d is Victorious. We are victorious in Him. Thank G-d for Y’shuaJesus, through Whom we come to G-d, the Father, and have right to be called Sons and Daughters of the Living, Holy G-d.

Still curious about connivance? Maybe next time. And remember the military academy cadet? Perhaps we shall discuss this event, too.

Until then, let us keep the Feast, and think of the Feast with Y’shua to come. Maranatha, Lord, Maranatha!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

A Little Dose of Prevention

“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
(Matthew 17:21 MRC)

The expression is usually “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” but given current emphasis across Europe and America for flu shots, the word dose comes to mind. In Matthew’s Gospel we are told of disciples who didn’t have the dose of prevention and left Y’shuaJesus having to apply a pound of cure. Y’shua cured a man’s son. When the disciples asked Y’shua why they couldn’t cast out the demon, Y’shua explained that they didn’t have the faith to do so.

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, wrote: “If ye have ever so little of this faith in sincerity, if ye truly rely upon the powers committed to you, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove. This is a proverbial expression, denoting that which follows, and no more, Nothing shall be impossible to you. They had a full commission, among other things, to cast out devils without exception; but, this devil being more than ordinarily malicious and inveterate, they distrusted the power they had received, and so failed. To convince them of this, Christ shows them what they might have done. Note, An active faith can remove mountains, not of itself, but in the virtue of a divine power engaged by a divine promise, both which faith fastens upon.”

After explaining the disciples’ lack of faith, He goes on to say the “this kind [of demon] does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” The implication here is this: The disciples must couple a trust in the power they had received with previous prayer and fasting. The disciples not only didn’t have the faith necessary to cast out the demon, they weren’t prepared to do so either.

Point One. Preparation is required for our readiness. This preparation is required for more than the casting out of demons, as Peter wrote: “. . . sanctify Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be prepared to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give a word for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and fear for God.” (1 Peter 3:15 MRC) We are to be prepared to make a defense.

When I think of being prepared, I think of Stephen: “Then some from what is called the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.” (Acts 6:9 HCSB). Before Stephen died, he witnessed to those who stoned him. Stephen was prepared for any and all events.

Point Two. Prayer is a key component of preparation. Prayer is, in a general sense, the act of asking for a favor, and particularly with earnestness. In worship, prayer is a solemn address to G-d, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of G-d’s glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits.

But I like a more simple definition. It is being with G-d, through our acceptance of Messiah Y’shua, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is being like Adam, and walking with G-d in the Garden.

Point Three. Fasting is another key component of preparation. How shall we fast? The Lord tells us through the prophet Isaiah: “Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh and blood? Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the LORD’s glory will be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:6-8 HCSB)

Simply put, fasting is denying our fleshly nature, our self-centered approach to life, and obeying the Holy Spirit.
May the Lord enable us to meet the requirements of each day, having mercy upon us.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Ready or Not, Lord Y’shuaJesus will Return

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

Paul says he knows he’s about to die, and he’s ready for it. In another letter, Paul says he is torn between wanting to go and be with the Lord Y’shuaJesus, and stay here, on Earth, for the sake of those to whom he’s been called to minister. Now, though, Paul knows it is his time to go. He has fought a good fight, finished his assignment, kept the faith. He’s ready to receive a crown of righteousness. And so like Paul, he encourages us when he says: “Not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

There are two ways in which we can depart this world: the first is to die, as Paul is saying in this scripture. The other way is for the Lord to return to Earth—the Great Day of the Lord, as spoken of by Apostles, The Lord Y’shuaJesus Himself, and the Prophets. It seems to me that in this later way, the return of the Lord, we find easiest to long for His appearance. I’m reminded of a verse from a song that goes something like this: Everyone wants to go to Heaven. . . but nobody wants to go now. It seems pretty clear, though, that while we are meant to live a life on Earth for a certain time, we are to love the appearance of the Lord Y’shuaJesus, whether or not we go individually or as when all true-born believers are called to meet the Lord upon His return.

Regarding the Lord’s Return, Charles Spurgeon commented on 2 Peter 3:10-14, which begins, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.”

These passages convey that the predicted events are certain and that they may occur at any moment and are intended to evoke in the reader the ongoing expectation that the event is “about to happen” and thereby provide motivation for godly living (2Pe. 2Pe. 3:10-14):

The Impending Advent is the theme which pervades [the book of Revelation] from its commencement to its close. And just in proportion as he who is awake to the great truth of the Saviour’s speedy coming, and is engaged in waiting and preparing himself accordingly, is a better man, and in a safer condition, and really more happy, than the half-Christian and lukewarm;—in that same proportion is he who reads, hears, and keeps the words of this prophecy blessed beyond all other people.1
What a check, what an incentive, what a bridle, what a spur, such thoughts as these would be to us! Take this for the guide of your whole life. Act as if Jesus would come during the act in which you are engaged; and if you would not wish to be caught in that act by the Coming of the Lord, let it not be your act.—Charles Spurgeon, “Watching for Christ’s Coming” in Sermons on the Second Coming of Christ, 137-138.2

He says it well, doesn’t he.

Lord continue to grant us the strength to fight the good fight here and now, while loving and longing for His appearance, while always knowing that one day we will feast with our Lord Y’shuaJesus. Let us gaze intently toward Heaven for the Lord’s Return.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Charged to Preach, Teach, Rebuke, Exhort

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 3:5

In the previous chapter, Paul wrote (3:13,14,15) “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Point One. Continue in what we have learned. Paul has made the point that we will suffer, will be persecuted. He is now encouraging us to stop thinking about new doctrines and interpretations of the Gospel. He is saying to us, like he’s said before, “fight the good fight!” We are to continue in the good that we have been, and have been doing.

Point Two. Remember from whom we learned. “Hey, you’ve learned it and known it . We won’t become deceived if we remember who we trusted when first we believed. We learned the scriptures and a way of life from someone, whether when as a child with our parents or as an adult from another to whom we found life. We knew it, so continue in it. We were assured of it once before, be assured of it now. We must not question ourselves and become lost.

Point Three. Remember that we’ve known the Word of G-d, which is able to make us wise. The Word of G-d is becoming alive within us, continue to allow Him to grow in us and make us wise in Him. We learned from the Scriptures that we are granted salvation by Y’shuaJesus’s death and resurrection, and we follow in faith. We shall not turn from that belief; we shall not turn from the truth of the Gospel.

Point Four. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” v.16. All Scripture. Not a small piece of it taken out of context. All Scripture. It is useable, profitable to us, for ministering within and without the church, to the saved and the unsaved. We are commanded to wash the feet of those with whom we share the communion of the Lord. This is washing of the dirt that comes from walking this imperfect world. We are not their saviour, but their helper in walking in the way of the cross. We also offer instruction to the unsave on righteousness. They may do occasional good things, but they lack true righteousness—they don’t know the Lord as their personal Saviour. We may offer instruction in righteousness that they might see themselves as lacking and turn to the Lord. We must always remember that one day All will kneel before the Lord and understand, and say, that Y’shuaJesus is Lord.

Point Five. “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” v.17. As we continue in the way’s we’ve learned, walking with the Lord, we are being perfected. This perfection enables us to do more good works, to become more like Y’shuaJesus.

In view of all of these points, Paul now compels Timothy, and us—charges us—to Preach, Teach, Rebuke, Exhort. And we are to do it when we know we are “on duty” and when we think we are on holiday. The men and women of G-d are never truly on holiday; we are always on duty. We gaze longingly toward the skies watching and waiting for the Lord to return, all the while we are working.

Lord grant us the strength to fight the good fight, always knowing that one day we will feast with our Lord Y’shuaJesus.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine.