Category Archives: Devotional

Trustworthy and Insightful Managers

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…Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! – Luke 12:48b, MSG

Yeshua’s watchfulness and readiness parable (see Luke 12:35-40) is the context in which He speaks the above verse to His close Disciples. In that parable, Yeshua explains how important it is to be alert and prepared for His return.

After Peter asks Yeshua if He is speaking just to His Disciples or to everyone, Yeshua Hamashiach uses another parable. In His second parable, He defines a watchful and ready person as a “faithful and wise manager” (Luke 12:42) who has been given the responsibility of using the gifts/resources he or she has to further YeHoVaH’s heavenly Kingdom and proclaim His Glory on earth by, for example, giving food and other needed essentials to the disadvantaged and doing so at “the proper time” (Luke 12:43).  

There can be no doubt that Yeshua is saying everyone – whether saved or unsaved – has been given gifts/resources. He adds that some people are given great ones and others are given greater ones. Moreover, He makes it clear that regardless of what gifts/resources each person has and regardless of how many or how much of them each person has, the bottom line is that everybody’s faithfulness to YeHoVaH and Yeshua requires that he or she behaves like a  trustworthy and insightful manager who uses responsibly – wisely and unselfishly – the gifts/resources entrusted to him or her.

Contrary to popular opinions, no one is supposed to use whatever YeHoVaH has entrusted to him or her to make his or her own individual life comfortable, secure, wealthy, famous, and etc. In other words, no human being can afford to take his or her responsibility lightly. If he or she does, Yeshua says that when He returns that person will suffer severely for his or her unfaithfulness (that person“…will be harshly whipped” – Luke 12:47, TLV). In contrast, the individual Yeshua finds faithfully and unselfishly doing what he or she is expected to do with the gifts/resources he or she had will receive a great reward, as well as will be put in charge of everything Yeshua owns (which is everything YeHoVaH owns).  

Responsible stewardship should be everyone’s goal – especially everyone who is a Yeshua believer and follower. In the end, each Yeshua believer and follower who is found to be a faithful steward will receive a greater reward in Heaven than anything he or she ever could have had on earth.

Selah . . . .

When His Holy Spirit Leaves

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So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have made myself wealthy, and I need nothing.’ But you do not know that you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may dress yourself and so the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. – Revelation 3:16-18, TLV

None of us who claims to be Yeshua’s Disciples will want YeHoVaH to cancel our right to be in His Presence. However, the truth of the matter is that there are far too many carnal Yeshuaians who want a relationship with Yeshua on their terms instead of on His terms. These carnal Yeshuaians are today’s Laodiceans – individuals who serve the Yeshua of their own making.

Yehovah says that He will spew these carnal Yeshuaians out of His Mouth. In other words, the Holy Spirit (the Presence of YeHoVaH) will leave them the second they miss the Rapture.

The Laodicean believers who end up being left on Earth while the true Bride of Overcomers is in Heaven need to know that the Holy Spirit left some of them because their unbelief caused them to leave YeHoVaH – they departed from the Truth and became apostates. The Holy Spirit left other Laodicean believers because they loved the world and the things of the world – had one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of YeHoVaH.

Let the true Bride of Yeshua pray for everyone who does not know and has not accepted the Lord. Let the true Bride of Yeshua also pray that YeHoVaH will open the eyes of the Laodiceans’ understanding so that those believers who currently are fence straddlers might become Overcomers who prepare and watch for their Bridegroom. Shalom.

Keep it real … Live it out … Watch it work!

A Servant’s Heart

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

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5 Slaves, obey your human masters, with respect and reverence, with sincerity of heart, as you would the Messiah— 6 not just under your master’s eye as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Messiah doing God’s will from the soul. 7 Serve with a positive attitude, as to the Lord and not to men— 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. – Ephesians 6:5-8, TLV

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. – 1 Peter 1:22, TLV

In a sense, we work for Yeshua. We are employed by Yeshua to minister (to serve) men and women in Yehovah’s Kingdom on Earth. Now, no one is a slave in Yehovah’s Kingdom. We are brothers and sisters, which is why we need to know that in order for any of us to be seen as great in the Kingdom we must have a servant’s heart.

Unfortunately, there also are many Yeshua believers in Yehovah’s Kingdom on Earth who are servants in the pejorative sense of the term. They are modern-day slaves – the property of either just or unjust worldly masters.

Be that as it may. What Yehovah wants every Yeshuaian minister – whether free men and women or bondservants – to know is that all of His Kingdom Dwellers have to make the Gospel of Yeshua attractive in every way, primarily by exhibiting Yehovah’s holy Attributes and Morality while meeting people’s spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. This truth is why Paul gives five ways for believers in Yeshua who are bondservants to develop a servant’s heart – to always be ready to happily serve others selflessly and compassionately.

First, they are to be obedient to their human masters just like they are obedient to the One and only true Master – Yehovah. Next, they are to please their human masters just like they are to please Yehovah. Third, they are to hold their tongues and not talk back to their human masters just like their tongues are not to be used to murmur, tempt, curse or disrespect Yehovah. Then too, Yeshuaians who are slaves also are to work for everything they get without stealing from their masters’ possessions. Yehovah even tells these Yeshuaians that they are not supposed to covet what their masters own. Fifth, Yeshuaians who are slaves are to show their masters that they are trustworthy and loyal workers.

As Yeshua followers, Yehovah expects us to show the world that our behaviors are representative of Yeshua’s righteous and holy Character and Morality, which are the same as Yehovah’s. Put differently, we have to be powerful witnesses for Yeshua in the presence of our employers, no matter if we work as free men and women or as bondservants.

Let us be Yehovah’s Crowning Glory. Let us also remember that the world will know if we have the heart of a servant when we respond as happily and selflessly as we would to the people who treat us like we are their slaves! Shalom.

Hear Then Obey Yehovah’s Will . . . .  

Be Ye Also Ready

02 Monday Mar 2020

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42 Therefore stay alert; for you do not know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. – Matthew 24:42-44, TLV

What person, who has an idea about the time of day or night that a thief plans to rob him or her, would not watch for the arrival of this thief? A wise person will either wait — fully armed and ready to do battle with the robber — or he or she will alert the police, who will wait in the wise person’s house for the alleged thief so that they can catch him or her in the act of breaking and entering. Any person taking these precautionary measures is the Goodman Yeshua speaks about in His Matthew 24:43-44 Kingdom mini–parable.

Here is the point Yeshua is making: If non-believers and carnal unbelievers are smart enough to keep watch over their homes to prevent someone from breaking in, robbing, and/or harming their families, then certainly born again and saved spiritual believers also are smart enough to be like Yeshua’s Goodman. Even though Yeshua’s Bride will not be aware of the actual day and time when Her Bridegroom will return, She has the gift of spiritual discernment. Spiritual discernment helps Yeshua’s Bride know and recognize the signs of the time that will lead to Her Pre–Tribulation Rapture.  

Yeshua tells His Believers how they can avoid being caught off guard. They have to watch for the Bridegroom’s return, and they also have to do Yehovah’s Perfect Will, which, in this case, means they need to handle their own spiritual responsibilities — they need to make sure their spiritual temples are prepared for the Rapture. Their Lord, Master, King, and Bridegroom’s Return will not surprise them, if they also are filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit so that He can make them ready, willing, and able to present their bodies as living sacrifices — as spiritual overcomers whose lives are holy and acceptable to Yeshua.

Be a “goodman.” Know the signs of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Look for the signs of your Savior’s Return, and be prepared when Yeshua comes for you.

Is the Holy Spirit filling you? Are you allowing the enemy to come into your individual temple and rob you blind? Is Satan stealing anything from you that the Holy Spirit needs to transform you into Yeshua’s image? Shalom.

Keep it real…Live the Word…Watch it work! 

More Than Fire Insurance (Amended)

01 Saturday Dec 2018

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“by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” ~ Ephesians 2:15-16, ESV

It is sad to say, but so many Christians become Christians only because they want to qualify for God’s Fire Insurance Policy—Jesus Christ. If we are true believers in Christ, then it needs to be apparent to us that Christ wants to be more to us than the One who is our Ark of safety (the One who saves us from the fire damage the Tribulation Period’s trumpet and bowl judgments and the Lake of Fire cause).

That’s right! Christ wants to be more to us than someone who saves us from the end-time Wrath of God, as well as saves us from the Lake of Fire’s eternal punishment. He wants us to recognize Him not only as our Savior but also as our Brother, Advocate, Healer, Lord, and so much more. In other words, Christ not only wants us to have an eternal life with God but also an abundant life right here on Earth. He wants us to live an incredibly wealthy life—a life full of God’s Favor, Love, and kindness, as well as a life full of the Oneness and the Peace that are in the Godhead.

This spiritual truth is why Christ’s Death does not just reconcile and restore us back to a right relationship with God—does not just provide our Ark of safety that saves us from any fire damage. Incontestably, by sacrificing His Life, Christ also succeeds in destroying the whole system of the Jewish Law—that system which establishes the wall of hostility that separates Gentiles and Hebrews. By breaking down the wall that separates us—Hebrews and Gentiles—Christ also creates peace between us, by making ALL nations and ethnicities One Body of believers.

Now, we who are Gentiles are no longer outsiders by birth. We no longer live in this lost world without God and without hope. Indeed, we now are members of God’s Household of Faith and joint-heirs with Christ. As such, we not only have access to the Fullness of Christ, which is the Fullness of the Godhead, but also Christ wants us to use this Fullness in this life.

Let us come into God’s Presence to thank Him for all that He already has done for us, and let us thank Him for everything He is going to do for us. Let us also begin to use the fullness of the Godhead that is available to us because of Christ’s Finished Work on the Cross. Shalom.

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

~ This slightly modified devotion is from my Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing The Mind 2015 one-year devotional.

Cutting & Healing

03 Thursday Aug 2017

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God's Word Cuts & Heals

 

 

VERSE:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 

Hebrews 4:12

 

COUPLET:

Cutting soul and spirit’s dividing line
Bares for healing diseased thoughts once benign.

 

Word Of God Sharper Than Two-Edged Sword

 

PRAYER:

Father God, please let Your Word continue to cut out everything that You’ve revealed is ungodly in us, and please let Your Word, with the help of Your Holy Spirit, continue to edify, mature, and sanctify our bodies, our souls, and spirits. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

 

~ this blog entry is from my manuscript Daily Manna: Bible Verse, Couplet & Prayer for Each Day of the Year

Glorification Won’t Be Cosmetic

03 Thursday Aug 2017

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Glorified Bodies Not Made Cosmetically

 

 

VERSE:

so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

 

Ephesians 5:27

 

COUPLET:
Spotless and wrinkleless in ageless dreams
Can’t be achieved with anti-aging creams.

 

 

Anti-Aging Creams

 

 

PRAYER:

Holy Spirit, thank You for teaching us. Thank You, too, for changing us into the likeness of Christ, so we will be without spot or wrinkle, so others will see Christ in us, and so we’ll never resort to being those actors who once played three different roles: a “religious” role, a public role, and a familial role. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

 

~ this blog entry is from my manuscript Daily Manna: Bible Verse, Couplet & Prayer for Each Day of the Year

Yokefellows

26 Monday Jun 2017

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VERSE:

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

Philippians 4:3

 

 

COUPLET:

Christ’s co-laborers: sisters and brothers;
Fellow workers meeting needs of others.

 

 

PRAYER:

Holy Spirit, remind us that all men and women believers in Christ are “fellow workers.” Also remind us that Christ’s co-laborers should assist one another, especially in the ministry of helps (a loving, giving, caring, service-oriented ministry). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

 

~ a page from my manuscript, “Daily Manna: Bible Verse, Couplet & Prayer for Each Day of the Year”

Manna: Food for the Spirit

01 Thursday Jun 2017

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VERSE:

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Revelation 2:20

 

COUPLET:

Don’t give the Jezebel Spirit any
Ground, for her wickedness has snared many.

 

PRAYER:

Holy Spirit, keep us from forsaking, abandoning, rebelling against, or falling away from what we believe, as apostasy is the product of an evil unbelieving heart. Help us resist the Jezebel Spirit. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

~ a page from my manuscript, “Daily Manna: Bible Verse, Couplet & Prayer for Each Day of the Year”

Live by Faith or Suffer the Consequences

07 Monday Nov 2016

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the-wrath-of-god

…‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.’ ~ Habakkuk 2:2, ESV

 

Many of us pray to receive a vision from God, but I doubt that many of us would like to receive any vision that resembles the one God gives to the prophet Habakkuk. God gives Habakkuk a vision that reveals to him the Wrath of God that is still to come against Judah. In other words, the vision Habakkuk sees lets him know that the worst is yet to come.

God gives the prophet Habakkuk the vision of the Chaldeans—of the Neo-Babylonian Empire—coming to plunder and oppress Judah—the Southern Kingdom of Israel. He also shows the prophet how these cruel and evil enemies of Judah are being used as instruments of God’s Wrath—His Judgment against the entire nation of Israel.

This shocking vision causes Habakkuk to voice his complaint about the Wrath that God is going to pour out on Israel. He asks God to help him understand why a Holy and Just God would allow people who are more sinful than the Israelites are to punish His chosen People. God’s answer to Habakkuk’s cry does not come immediately, so the prophet climbs to the top of his watchtower and waits for God’s answer. When the answer finally comes, it comes in the form of another vision.

God not only gives Habakkuk the reason why Judah has to suffer at the hands of the wicked Chaldeans but also He puts His answer in a Widescreen and Technicolor format, and God does not omit any of the gory details. After God’s Vison-Message is over, God demands that Habakkuk publicizes His Wrath and Warning so that everyone in Judah knows about them. In a nutshell, that Message is: God’s righteous People have to live by faith or suffer the consequences.

The way Habakkuk is to publicize God’s Warning and His Judgment against Judah (the Southern Kingdom of Israel) is to write everything he heard and saw on tablets in large legible letters. Then from his watchtower location, he is to put the tablets where the people passing by can read God’s Warning and run to tell everyone else what God prophesies. God wants to alert His People about their imminent punishment so that He can inspire as many sinners as possible not only to desire to heed His Warning but also to desire to repent—to turn from their spiritual adultery and covetousness back to their One True God—so He can give them their clean heart.

Let us never forget that the just have to live by faith or suffer the consequences. Shalom.

 

~ from Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind (2015)