Tag Archives: faithful

Who Is Yeshua?

Living Kingdom, , ,

Yeshua is everything to us:  our salvation, our hope, our future, to name a few. It is important to get to know Him as well as possible.  We can do this by interacting with Him and also by reading the Bible.  It is the word of Yehovah and Yeshua is the living Word of Yehovah.  This series, entitled “Who Is Yeshua?” will consist of twenty-one articles. Each article will explore a different section of the Bible to discover different titles and roles of Yeshua and our response to each role. In the tenth article in the series, Yeshua is our Beloved.

 In that the Messiah [Yehovah} chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his children — in keeping with his pleasure and purpose —so that we would bring him praise commensurate with the glory of the grace he gave us through the Beloved One (Eph 1:4-6).

Yeshua is the beloved Son of Yehovah.  Yeshua was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matt 17:5). It is through Yehovah’s beloved Son we are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven and adopted as Yehovah’s children.  Even if our parents fell short in loving us or even if they rejected us, we are beloved children of our Heavenly Father. 

Through Yeshua we are able to escape from the kingdom of darkness we were born into and can be born again into Yeshua’s Kingdom. We are born again when we repent of our sins and ask Yeshua to be Lord of our lives.  For [Yehovah] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, (Col 1:13).  We who belong to Yeshua are His beloved.  “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9).

Yeshua wants to be close to us, just as He is close to his Father.  When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:20).  We have become part of Yehovah’s family.  It is a close-knit family where each member is valued and cherished.   

Our Beloved Yeshua is always faithful to us.  When we feel isolated and misunderstood, we are not truly alone for He is always with us. I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt 28:20). He has experienced every hurt and sorrow that we experience. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Is 53:3).

When we are afraid, we can take our fear to Yeshua.  We are safe at all times because our Beloved is at hand to protect and defend us.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Ps 23:4). 

The rest of the world may seem oblivious to our troubles, but Yeshua is not.  He has already borne all our trouble, sin and weakness and put them to death in His body on the cross. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. … (Is 53:4-5).

Dayenu!  It would have been enough for Yeshua to rescue us from the clutches of evil, but He does so much more.  He wants us to live with Him forever.  He wants us to share in His glory.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Cor 3:18).

Our Beloved remains faithful to us forever, no matter how much the enemy tries to thwart our relationship.  We may walk away from Yeshua, but He will never walk away from us.  Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”])  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us (Rom 8:35-37).  Let us cling to our Beloved in good times and in bad times.

This is an excellent time to ask forgiveness for your sins and invite Yeshua (Jesus) to be Lord of your life.  When we commit sin, we incur a debt that none of us can ever pay on our own.  It cannot be paid with earthly currency or even with great sacrifice on our part.  This debt can only be paid for by the blood of Yeshua which has already been shed for us. This is the greatest gift to ever be offered.  Don’t miss out.  After you have accepted Yeshua as your Lord and Savior, ask for baptism in the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will be your constant companion and Counselor and will equip you for Kingdom living.

Who Is Yeshua?

Living Kingdom, , , , ,

Yeshua is everything to us:  our salvation, our hope, our future, to name a few. It is important to get to know Him as well as possible.  We can do this by interacting with Him and also by reading the Bible.  It is the word of Yehovah and Yeshua is the living Word of Yehovah.  This series, entitled “Who Is Yeshua?” will consist of twenty-one articles. Each article will explore a different section of the Bible to discover different titles and roles of Yeshua and our response to each role. In the fifth article in the series, Yeshua is the Faithful One.

To better understand Yeshua, we must correctly understand Job.  There has been much speculation over what Job did wrong to deserve to lose everything.  After all, he must have done something wrong or Yehovah would not have allowed such losses and horrors in his life.  It reminds me of the gospel story of the man born blind.  The story is recorded in Matthew 9, Mark 8 and John 9.  Jesus saw a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus replied: Neither this man nor his parents sinned … but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:1-5) 

Let us look closely at the story of Job.  There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil (Job 1:1).  There is nothing in this passage that would indicate that Job had sinned; in fact, it is quite the opposite.

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” (Job 1:6-8) Yehovah’s own words confirm that Job had not committed any serious sin; in fact, Yehovah describes him as “blameless”. 

If Job did not sin, then why did Yehovah allow these atrocities to happen to him? Let us read further in chapter one of Job’s story.  Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!  But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”  (Job 1:9-11)

The Accuser claimed that Job was only faithful to Yehovah because Yehovah made him prosper in everything.  Yehovah then responds by allowing the Accuser to test him by taking away all his possessions and even his children.  What was Job’s response to learning that he had lost everything?  He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave.  The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God (Job 1:1-22).

Later, Job was struck with boils from head to toe because the Accuser claimed that loss of health would cause Job to curse Yehovah.  At this point, even Job’s wife urged him to curse Yehovah (Job 2:9), but Job refused. 

So, what’s the purpose of the story of Job?  It’s the same purpose as the story of the man born blind:  to glorify Yehovah.  Why did Yeshua suffer loss, humiliation, cursing and death?  So that His Father would be glorified.  When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.…” (John 17:1-2). Yeshua was smitten so that Yehovah would be glorified and His plan to establish His kingdom on earth would be fulfilled. 

In the end, Yehovah restored and even doubled all that Job had lost.  Through Yeshua’s suffering and resurrection, Yehovah is not only glorified but has restored all that we lost through sin.  Not only have we regained what we lost, but Yehovah now offers us much more in His kingdom.  He makes us His sons and daughters. 

Job was severely tested and remained faithful to Yehovah.  Yeshua was severely tested and remained faithful to His Father.  Many of our brothers and sisters in Yeshua are suffering loss of family, home, income, health, freedom and even life.  They are being tested and I pray that they will all have the strength and trust to remain faithful.  Our time will come, too, or for some of us, it may already have arrived.  Will we remain faithful to Yehovah no matter what the cost to us?  And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life (Matt 19:29).

This is an excellent time to ask forgiveness for your sins and invite Yeshua (Jesus) to be Lord of your life.  When we commit sin, we incur a debt that none of us can ever pay on our own.  It cannot be paid with earthly currency or even with great sacrifice on our part.  This debt can only be paid for by the blood of Yeshua which has already been shed for us. This is the greatest gift to ever be offered.  Don’t miss out.  After you have accepted Yeshua as your Lord and Savior, ask for baptism in the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will be your constant companion and Counselor and will equip you for Kingdom living. 

Authentic Preparation

Nancy's blogs, Spiritual Maturity, , , , , , , , ,

be anxious for nothing

If you are alive and conscious on this planet, you have to work hard to avoid the glaring headlines that accost us each day.  Wars and rumors of wars, severe weather and other natural disasters, famine, persecution, terrorism, and the list goes on.  For many countries, the danger is not merely headlines, but everyday harsh reality.  How do people stand strong at such times?  Those of us in the United States are challenged to comprehend such evils.  In my own life, I have endured poverty, abuse, injustice and oppression, but my trials were trifling compared to the suffering that many people are enduring today.  Sometimes my trials made me fearful and anxious, but at other times, my character and perseverance were strengthened, especially when I learned to trust Yeshua.

What is going on in the world?  Natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and forest fires, to name a few,  have killed thousands and left countless others homeless.  Economies and governments are faltering and even collapsing.  Terrorists are seeking out and gaining strong footholds in many countries.  Genocide is becoming more rampant as terrorist and extremist groups take control, torturing and murdering countless people as hundreds of thousands flee in desperation.*

What do we do?  How do we prepare ourselves for what may befall us?  Many have taken to storing and hoarding gold, food, weapons.  Others are formulating emergency plans of survival and/or escape.  Escape to where?  What is a safe place?  Will it be safe tomorrow?  No matter how diligent and excellent our planning, how can we possibly be prepared for every possible disaster?  Consider Yeshua‘s parable of the man who built extra buildings to store his excess (Luke 12:13-21).  Yeshua warns us that to build up earthly treasures does not make us rich towards YHVH.  Contrast this with the young fellow who selflessly shared his loaves and fishes.  He was perhaps facing immediate starvation, not some future unforeseen disaster, yet he shared the little he had and was richly rewarded (John 6:1-14).

Our culture values self-sufficiency, so it is not intuitive for us to prepare ourselves as Scripture teaches us.  Yeshua tells us not to be anxious for physical provisions and security (Luke 12:22-32).  We are to build up treasures, but they are spiritual, not physical, treasures.   Also, it is natural in our flesh to fight for protection and survival, but there is a greater survival at stake and we must learn to value it above our fleshly well-being.   Yeshua teaches us that we are not to rely on weapons (Matt 26:51-52).

These are difficult lessons that take much prayer and effort.  Peter and I have struggled over the years and continue to struggle to take on the mind of Yeshua and not allow our flesh to dictate our attitudes and actions.   We are learning to let go of our earthly treasures, for they are not our security.  YHVH is our provider (Ps 104:27-28).  We are realizing that our true battles are not physical, but spiritual (Eph 6:12) and that YHVH is our only true refuge (Ps 46-:1-3).   Our severest trials are ahead of us.  Yet, we are discovering that if we can be faithful in little matters or trials, we will be more fully prepared as the severity of our trials increases (Luke 16:10).

All of us face trials of some sort at the present.  How are we reacting?  Are we fearful and anxious, perhaps indulging in self-pity?  Or are we learning to let go and trust our Father?  How are we preparing ourselves for the severe trials that seem inevitable?  Are we strengthening our relationship with our Father and Yeshua?  Are we yielding ourselves ever more to the gifts and empowerment of the Holy Spirit?  We have plenty of opportunities to practice as we support our brothers and sisters who are currently facing severe trials.  We can begin to share not only our surplus, but even our loaves and fishes.  When others treat us hatefully, we can respond with love.  We can stop accusing errant leaders and pray for them instead.  When the severe trials come, then we will not falter or collapse, but we will be strong and able to continue the work our Master has assigned to us, even to the end (Luke 12:35-40).

*A  list of the top 50 countries that are under severe trial can be found at https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/.  Please pray for them.