“Search me, O G-d, and know my heart.”
Psalm 139:23

We’ve considered the cost, agreed to it, and are building the house of our lives upon The Rock. As we build, we continue to work with G-d that our building is soundly constructed. The Lord tells us through the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (ch. 6 v.9), there are things that accompany salvation. We must carefully work these things out with our Lord, in fear and trembling. “For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.” (Luke 6:44 MKJV)

We ought also look at Eph. 4:11,12, and consider that this house doesn’t need to look like all the other houses in the community of the Lord. Each of us receives different gifts­—gifts for building up the church of our Lord Y’shuaJesus. In one sense we are responsible for the life we build, the life we build. But in another sense we are not only for ourselves; gifts we are given we use to help build another’s house. Perhaps I excel in building the frame of the house while you are best with the exterior. Can we not aid one another?

As we build this new house upon the rock, we must continue removing old things, things left from our old house, our old life. We ask our Lord to search us and know our hearts. Our Lord will show us areas of sin in need of repentance.
Bacteria that remains in a wound is like old sin that remains within us. Last winter I slipped on the ice in a parking lot. My knee was cut. I cleaned it and covered it. The surface healed, but beneath a festering began as the bacteria left behind grew. Eventually it erupted.

We are warned against a root of bitterness. Sin, left beneath the surface, erupts when we are least able to control ourselves. We sin again.

We move away from our old life, building a new life upon the foundation our Lord gives us in His word. We need to think, and think hard on “what manner of persons we ought to be. . .” (2 Peter 3:11). The writer M. Scott Peck, M.D., wrote that one of the great probles of our time is the lack of good thinking. We need to meditate upon the Word of our Lord, asking how we apply His Word to the lives we are building, the lives He wants to build in us.

The old buildinga and the new buildings of our lives are spoken of in Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. But those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become glory-seeking, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:17-26 MKJV)

We are not building this new house alone. G-d is building it with us, as we yield to Him, receive Him, know Him.

May our Lord continue shed His light into our lives, revealing our hearts, cleansing us from sin, that we might be build into holy dwelling places for G-d on Earth until the Lord returns.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon and through you all.

Peace of the Lord this and all seasons as we watch, wait, grow in Messiah’s Love.

“Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. For certain men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, though you know all these things: the Lord, having first of all saved a people out of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe.” (Jude 1:3-5 HCSB)

During the time I spent in my over-the-road truck ministry, I listened to the “Family Talk” channel on XM satellite radio. “Family Talk” programming is half-hour teachings by a variety of Christian ministers. I didn’t listen to all of the programs, however; some I know are not for me, others I find easy to discount after only a few minutes. And then there are those ministers that I’ve listened to but later come to totally discount. Those, I think, are the more dangerous to my faith and my walk.

Among the ministers I enjoy, and find wholesome, is Hank Hanegraaff, the “Bible Answer Man.” His program is similar in format to a talk show, in that he answers questions from people who call on the phone or send emails. His answers questions and explains Bible passages, doctrine, and on occasion exposes teaching he considers false. Often he says in his talks not to depend upon what he says, but to check it all out ourselves. He believes that all things should be tested against scripture, even his own teaching. Though I enjoy this program, and find useful, I am obligated to examine what I hear.
This is important!

Paul wrote: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.” (2 Corinthians 13:5 HCSB) And Jude says he wanted to write about “our common salvation but. . ..” Perhaps Jude wanted to write about the future, when we are all together with Y’shuaJesus, wanting to exclaim, “You got to be there!” Yet he felt the needs, the dangers, of this world encroaching upon those for whom he cared. He felt concerned about teachers stealing away the soul of those to whom he wrote—even us. (G-d is speaking through Jude to His chosen ones, is He not?) Jude is not the only follower of Y’shuaJesus to warn us, either. Paul wrote the Galations that he was amazed that they turned away. He wrote, “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7 HCSB)

The author of Hebrews pointed out what we might call a worldliness, and a lack of progress in the faith. He wrote: “We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become slow to understand. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God’s revelation. You need milk, not solid food.”(Hebrews 5:11-12 HCSB)

Teaching must bring us closer to Messiah, whether through shedding light upon the scripture or convicting us that we might come into the Light of the Lord. There are several considerations regarding teachings, whether from the pulpit, heard on the radio, read in a book, or found on the internet. These might be formed as questions about the teaching. For instance, one might ask, “How does this teaching make me feel while I listen to it?” Do I feel encouraged, convicted, or drawn closer to Y’shuaJesus? Or am I feeling alienated, guilty, confused? “Does what I am being told coincide with scripture?” When I read the scripture for myself, though another read or write it in the teaching, does it come across the same as the teaching? It is important to read the scripture before and after that which is cited, to see if it is appropriately used, and in context. “What do teachers from the past say about the scripture and its current interpretation?” There are some great sources of study—so that we might show ourselves approved, right?—that are of great help to us. One source is the free software E-Sword to which may be added Matthew Henry’s Commentary, John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes, and others. What we want to know is that what is being said today has stood the test of time, so to speak.

Does this seem like a lot of work? It should be. It must be. Jude says we must contend for the faith. Contend means struggle. We are engaged in a war—though won, we must continue to battle. It is a war for our Earthly victory. The enemy would like to destroy us, if that were possible. And if not totally destroyed, the enemy of our Lord, of our faith, would like to disable us, misdirect us, waylay us that we not progress with our faith, that we not bear the fruit of a life well lived.

You can check out this website http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/ for warnings and updates on various strange teaching that is running rampant around the globe. And as said above, take even this site to prayer and to your reading of the Word of G-d.

May the Lord rebuke His enemies, watch over us, give us His mind that we might examine all teaching to see if it is from G-d.

“They prepared a net for my steps; I was downcast. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it! Selah! My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident. I will sing; I will sing praises. Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn. I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”(Psalms 57:6-10 HCSB)

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3 HCSB)

All hope abandon ye who enter here (From Dante’s Divine Comedy)

What the World Needs Now Is Love, according to a popular song from 1965, with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. It was first recorded, and made popular by Jackie DeShannon. The song was later recorded by and made famous by Dionne Warwick. (Wikipedia)

Here we are, 45 years later, and as Y’shuaJesus warned, the love of the world continues to wax cold. It lacks hope, which is certainly what the world needs now. The closer we get to the gates of Hell, the more fearful the world becomes, realizing what Dante, in his Divine Comedy, describes as entering Hell: “All hope abandon ye who enter here.”

Playing to the needs of a world shedding its hope is a man from seeming obscurity, who became the president of the United States. Leading up to the presidential elections, a poster was produced that came to symbolize one party’s promise to America, and the entire world. The description of it from Wikipedia reads: “The Barack Obama hope poster is an image of Barack Obama designed by artist Shepard Fairey, which was widely described as iconic and became synonymous with the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. It consists of a stylized stencil portrait of Obama in solid red, white (actually beige) and (pastel and dark) blue, with the word “progress”, “hope”, or “change” below (and other things in some versions).”

Hope is defined as “Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises; a scriptural sense.” In sharp contrast to hope, is wish or desire. We often say, “I hope it is nice tomorrow.” We assume the person we say this to defines nice in a similar manner as we do. But is this hope? Don’t we wish it were going to be nice? We don’t know what the weather will be like, do we? Even if we check with meteorologists, there is only a prediction about tomorrow’s weather. How many times has it rained when it was “suppose to be” nice?
Can a man or woman be hope itself? Or can a man or woman only help us achieve our wishes, or desires?

Perhaps it might be argued that a man or woman might be “That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good,” as is one definitions of hope. Is this true hope? Is it not rather an opinion or belief not amounting to certainty? For it to be hope, it must be grounded on substantial evidence. Hope must have some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. It must be based upon experience, whether our own or proven within the person in who we trust our hope. It involves confidence in, and trust in, someone or something.

So, for the scriptural point of view (is there any appropriate other viewpoint for a person who is said to be a Believer?), who is our hope? In whom do we hope? In whom do we trust? “. . .but set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15 HCSB)

Hope dwells within us, as Believers. The Spirit of the One and only G-d dwells within us. We have this hope, for we BELIEVE the Gospel. Y’shuaJesus died and rose from death to ascend into Heaven. Y’shuaJesus, summed up so well in the first letter of John, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed, and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life– that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us– what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3 HCSB)

What the world needs now is hope. And we are fallen humans who despair so easily. We need leaders, strong leaders, who will inspire hope within us, yes. Ought we look, though, to our leaders to be our hope, to send us hope? This question was answered long ago: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalms 121:1-8 ESV)

Our hope is in Y’shuaJesus. And upon Him shall we wait. “We wait for the LORD; He is our help and shield. For our hearts rejoice in Him, because we trust in His holy name. May Your faithful love rest on us, LORD, for we put our hope in You.” (Psalms 33:20-22 HCSB)

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.” (Luke 1:80 MKJV)

A few weeks ago we celebrated Succoth, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. Jewish people, along with Messianic Jews (believers in Y’shuaJesus) remember and celebrate forty years of desert wandering after the exodus from Egypt. There are Christians who celebrate The Feast in Jerusalem each year, too. They do so to show kindness to Israel when so many of our world have turned cold shoulders to our brethren of the Bible. During The Feast small tents are built near homes, where meals are eaten and many sleep. Even Y’shuaJesus came to The Feast (John 7).

Once, years ago, a man told me that when The Messiah returns He will make the whole world a garden. I admit to arguing with him just to argue, saying I liked the desert. I was being difficult. Yet there remains my rather fond recollection of the beauty of Death Valley and the rain that enables flowers to sprout and grow, quickly flowering. There is a place called Bicycle Lake, near Death Valley, that is dry until the summer rain comes. The rain last only a short time, but fills the lake. Soon shrimp hatch, mate, and the offspring remain dormant as the water retreats, until the next rain. I remember the beauty of the Joshua trees and 100-foot- (32-meter-) high piles of boulders in the southern California desert. And there are the dunes near the Salten Sea, too. And I remember the way the wind caressed the sands of the Sahara.

But I’ve not lived long in such places. And I didn’t have to search from my water, for my food.

It was a harsh desert in which Israel wandered, in which a generation of disobedient people died. Yes, the LORD provided for His people while they wandered. But nonetheless, the wandered. We who know Y’shuaJesus as our savior realize we once lived in a sort of desert, too. Our old spiritual flesh had to die that we might cross the river into a spiritual promised land. Thus we were born again, spiritual re-birth.

The desert is also a place into which we escape. We get away from modern distractions, modern ways of living, get back to basics with G-d. Monks made pilgrimage to deserts to live in the harsh climate, to rely upon prayer and the Word of G-d for their sustenance. Y’shuaJesus went into the desert, where He was tempted after fasting forty days.

When we read of Israel’s wanderings in the desert we learn to look for things in our own life we must die to, things we must leave behind. When we remember things of our own lives we remember the way G-d has changed us. It is in this remembering that The Feast can have meaning for us today.

Reading the Book of Joshua, I was struck by this: when Israel crossed the Jordan, they had lost the mana of the desert, and ate the produce of the new land. It made me think about spiritual gardens and spiritual fruit. We are to cultivate our spiritual garden, fertilizing it with the Word of G-d, watering it with our tears. Furthermore, it seems to me that the spiritual fruit we grow, we are to give away. We are to plant and replant, letting our fruit grow, harvest it, and give it away. Is the fruit patience? We remember the times we were not patient. We read G-d’s Word on patience. We give patience away in our dealings with our family, friends, and (yes) our enemies.

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote: “. . . we are married unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh! marvelous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? One with Jesus, so one with him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“LORD, You establish peace for us; All we have accomplished You have done for us.”
“LORD, You will ordain peace for us; for You also have worked all our works in us.”
(Isaiah 26:12 MKJV)

At first reading of this two versions of Isaiah 26:12, I immediately interpret them differently.

When I read the NIV version I immediately think of a child doing something like building a model or arranging a doll house. The father’s told is to encourage the child while putting little touches here and there, unknown to the child, to make it work correctly or look realistic, even to just make the dolls stand up without falling over. The child says, “Look what I’ve done!” In reality it was the father’s doing. Eventually, as the child grows, he/she realizes the Father’s work in the projects. This father and child working together is one I want to keep in my mind when something I do, I do well. I want to remember that it is the Father’s work accomplished through me.

Now when I read the MKJV at first glance, I read that the work is a work done in me, rather than something done through me. As I ponder this a moment, it flies in the face of many “step” plans and self-help teachings that seem to emphasis all that I can do to change myself. Self. I am reminded that changing ourselves may be overemphasized in our current culture. Are we not called to die to self?

In a closer look at the operative word in this scripture–WORK–I can look at its definition from Strong’s:

מעשׂה

ma‛ăśeh mah-as-eh’

From an action (good or bad); generally a transaction; abstractly activity; by implication a product (specifically a poem) or (generally) property: – act, art, + bakemeat, business, deed, do (-ing), labour, thing made, ware of making, occupation, thing offered, operation, possession, X well, ([handy-, needle-, net-]) work, (-ing, -manship), wrought.

When Webster’s Dictionary is consulted, the number three definition is fascinating: “To be in action or motion; as the working of the heart.” The working of the heart! Interesting!

I apply this scripture to me in both ways: G-d’s works in me are His accomplishments; righteous works through me are also His accomplishments. It’s a bit freeing, too, that it’s the LORD that is responsible for making things perfect on my inside and outside of me. Sure, I still feel a responsibility to make some attempt at working out things inside me but the end result is this: it is Y’shuaJesus who will wash me through and through and accomplish things through me too.

Thank You, LORD. Thank You for Your Work in and through us. Let us meditate upon Your scripture Word that it might work its way into and through our lives, that our hearts would glow and our minds ignite. Bless us this day in our walk with You. In the Name of Y’shuaJesus. AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“And I will restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten, the locust larvae, and the stripping locust, and the cutting locust, My great army which I sent among you.” (Joel 2:25 MKJV)

When we were young we dreamed. When we were asked what we were going to be when we grew up, we knew the answer. We grew. We made choices. Our lives made turns. We reacted to events. Our lives again turned. At some point we discovered our lives were not our own.

In a recent interview with talk-show host Larry King, actor/author Sidney Poitier spoke about the things in his life he couldn’t explain. He used an analogy of a man who, after getting into his car, realizes he forgot his keys. It takes 17 seconds to return to his house to retrieve them. At that same time another man miles away is leaving his house. Both arrive at an intersection. The man delayed arrives 17 seconds late, avoiding a collision. Mr. Poitier acknowledges “luck” in his experience of life.

Many people believe they’re lucky. Often some people acknowledge “someone” must be watching over them. We who know Y’shuaJesus know the truth. This truth set us free to live. This truth we share through victorious living. We took to heart what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, and we fled from youthful passions and pursued righteousness (2Tim2:22). We faced persecutions for the righteous choices we made, as was foretold by Y’shuaJesus and by Paul. These persecutions altered our lives. Our lives again turned leaving us even farther from our childhood dreams and desires. Events like the 17-second delay conspired to alter our course for good, but what delays altered it from an outcome that might glorify our Lord? Did we lay aside G-dly talents in our pursuit of purity? Did we turn from G-dly opportunities though misunderstandings? We are not infallible. In turning from youthful passions of the flesh, did we also leave behind passions that were given to exalt and glorify G-d? When we began weeding the garden of our living, did we pull out desirable plants? Were there swarming locusts in our gardens eating talents we could use to bless others?

We are called to examine ourselves. I love how Paul wrote to Timothy, “Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6 HCSB) The English Standard Version (ESV) states “fan into flames.” We are called to sharpen any dulled passions and gifts for the work of G-d.

Thank You, G-d, most gracious and holy. As You say, restore to us the years the locust have eaten, that we might glorify You. Be praised, O G-d. Let us hear Your voice, and courageously follow You. Enable us to keep ablaze the gifts You’ve given, and to live victoriously in demonstration of Your victory. In the Name of Y’shuaJesus, our Lord and Saviour, AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” (Psalms 34:16 ESV)

Leaving a legacy is a way that we try to express eternalness. We want to be remembered. We want our victories to be remembered and shared with others. We also want to have our loved ones remembered. Here in America, these two desires propel many to publish death notices. While not seen as often here, in West Africa I noticed many one-year-memorial announcements in newspapers and in flyers circulated around. All of these tributes attempt to validate a person’s life. They are paid advertising giving glowing reports of a person’s lifetime of accomplishments. They invite people to share in and celebrate those deceased loved ones’ well-lived lives. We only want to remember the beauty of our dearly departed ones.

But some people act in evil ways, do evil deeds. In 1998, in Ulan-Ude, Russia, I saw a statue of Stalin. It was said to be the last remaining tribute to him. On his death bed, Stalin was acclaimed by those around him. Some years later, a de-Stalinization occurred in Russia and his legacy erased. This erasure of history occurred in Iraq, too. I remember seeing video clips of the statue of Saddam Hussein pulled down after the liberation of Baghdad from his evil reign of terror. We don’t want to remember evil. We don’t want to remember those who commit evil deeds. Psalm 34:16 says the “LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the Earth.”

This forgetfulness can be applied to unpleasant experiences, too. As a child, with three brothers, we’d occasional speak of some rather unpleasant event at the dinner table. My mother would quickly say, “It turned out nice again!” to end the conversation.

Wiping out the memory of persons we consider evil seems scriptural, too. In today’s scripture, the LORD says He’s against those who do evil, and will make them forgotten. Yet at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, there is a plaque quoting Bal Shem Tov saying that which we forget, we are doomed to repeat.

Y’shuaJesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32 HCSB) Matthew Henry comments “Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, that she might remain a lasting monument of God’s displeasure against apostates . . .”

The writer of Hebrews used reminders of past difficult and unpleasant circumstances to encourage remaining confident in G-d. “Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.” (Hebrews 10:32 HCSB)

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6 HCSB)

How do we make sense of all this forgetting and remembering? Here’s my take on it: We want to leave a legacy. G-d says if we do evil, our legacy is null and void. Our name, our achievements, will be forgotten. This may not occur until our eternal life with Y’shuaJesus begins. “In that day–the LORD’s declaration–you will call Me: My husband, and no longer call Me: My Baal. For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.” (Hosea 2:16-17 HCSB)

In the meantime, we remember the difficult events, situations, circumstances, that we might learn from them. We remember evil committed by people that we might discern the steps leading up to their turning point. Their lives show their failure, their evil, as warnings for us, that we should not repeat their evil acts, or might see the warning signs of new acts of evil, that we might escape.

Some lessons are simple, not so dramatic as Lot’s wife. G-d is concerned for our welfare, for our good (Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB). Occasionally He offers us a time of rest. Once, I turned down an opportunity of such rest, only later as I stood, freezing, awaiting a train to Paris did I understand what had been offered. I turned down a holiday on the warm coast of France, considering it too costly. I’d miscalculated the exchange rate from Francs to Dollars. I refused the gift of a holiday. I must remember this event, for it provides a lesson for the future. In this case, when the Lord provides rest, seize it!

Thank You, most Holy and Loving Father, for Your word, for Your Son, Y’shuaJesus, for Your Spirit. Empower us to live victorious lives worthy of Your calling, that Your acts in and through us should be remembered, that You be glorified. In the Name of Y’shuaJesus, AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (ESV)
“And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” (KJV)
“And who is the one who will harm you if you become imitators of the good?” (MKJV)
“And who is there to mistreat you if you become zealous for what is good?” (MRV)
“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?” (NASB)
“And who will harm you if you are passionate for what is good?” (HCSB)
(1Peter 3:13)

I like the comparison between versions. Take a look at these words, which are so alive, so vibrant. Zealous! Followers! Prove Zealous! Are Zealous! Imitators! Passionate! These refer to the object of our existence, doing good, as Paul tells us: “For we are His creation–created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 HCSB)

Now let’s look together at some point on passion toward G-d.

Point One—Consecrated
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matthew 6:21-22) “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:18)

We simply must set our faces like flint, facing forward, proceeding as we’d intended, as we feel we ought. Like draft horses, we often need blinders to minimize distractions. We proceed in doing the good we intended.

“A divided heart lacks the first element of strength–it is unstable. The men who leave their mark on the world are those who can say: “This one thing I do.” But we need more than concentration, we need consecration. We must not only be united in ourselves, we must be united in God. Let us make the prayer of Psalm 86:11, our own: “O knit my heart unto Thee, that I may fear Thy name.” Yield yourself to God that He may disunite you from the world, and weave you into His own life.” —from a devotional by F.B. Meyers.

Point Two—Obedient
“And she said, ‘According to your words, so be it.’ Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.” (Joshua 2:21 ESV)

“The devil’s in the details,” is an expression used occasionally to remind us that failure comes from the simplest of details.

Look at the story of Rahab. She took the spies as representative of G-d, assisted them, and was promised deliverance from the approaching destruction of Jericho. She was told to tie a scarlet cord to the window.

We might wonder at the simple tying of a cord to the window. Did Rahab also wonder? Perhaps. Yet once the spies left, she tied the cord to the window.

Charles H. Spurgeon asks us in his devotional, “Hast thou been attentive to all thy Lord’s will, even though some of his commands should seem non-essential?”

Point Three­—Confident
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)

Is it not a wonderful thing to look with our physical eyes at an empty glass and see it full to the rim with cool, life-giving water? Y’shuaJesus gives us perfect water, pure water, life-giving water.

Do we have the confidence to see with our hearts His water in an empty glass? Confidence comes with experience. Experience begins with trusting in what G-d has done. He is willing and able to do again. We learn confidence from believing the Word of G-d; we also remember His gracious works in our lives.

Point Four—Filled with the Spirit
“And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit. . .” (Ephesians 5:18 HCSB)

We can be filled with many things. We can eat a big meal and be filled. But that won’t help us in our righteous works, our good works. We can, like the apostles, fill our boats with fish—-which is to say we can do well at earning a living. We can be filled with rage, as were the scribes and Pharisees (Luke 6:11). Sadly, we can take from the LORD, be filled, but not desire Him. Jesus answered, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26 HCSB) And, of course, we can be filled with fear, as were Y’shuaJesus’s disciples while boating through stormy seas.

To be fully consecrated to the Lord, to be fully obedient to the Lord, to be fully confident in the Lord, we must be “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because [we] will be filled. (Matthew 5:6 HCSB) As were the disciples on the day of Pentecost: “Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. “ (Acts 2:4 HCSB)

Abba, Father, in You is our victory. Let us be passionate in our love and our work today and each day. In the Name of Messiah Y’shuaJesus, Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .