Jesus’ Staff

In Psalm 23:4, The Bible says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

A Staff is used by a Shepherd to guide His sheep (us). The Shepherd uses the curved end to catch a sheep that is straying.  It’s reassuring that Jesus goes after a sheep that strays and brings him back home.  Because let’s face it, at some point, most of us stray at least a little. 

And it’s comforting to know that Jesus doesn’t just let us go.  He comes after us and brings us home ?

So thank you Jesus for all the times you have come after me.  Thank you Father for your constant and never ending Mercy.  And Thank You Holy Spirit for helping me understand God’s Great Love For All Of Us. Amen 🙂

The Miracle Of The Rainbow

There was once a woman who saw Rainbows everywhere.  In the skies, on the streets, on the trees, on the walls of her home, everywhere…A Beautiful Gift from God. And that, indeed, is what a rainbow is-a Gift from God!

As beautiful as the rainbow is, it is the meaning of the Rainbow that we so treasure. It’s a reminder that God keeps His Promises always! And in the world in which we live in, that is a rare event!

In Genesis, we read that God created the rainbow after He flooded the world in response to the world’s great state of sin.  He created it to remind us of His Promise never to flood the world again.  A sign of Hope and of better days to come. A sign that we could always Trust His Great Love for us.

Sadly, in recent years, God’s Great Gift has been used as a symbol for a groups committed to and proud of their sinful choices.  How incredibly sad. And what a terrible use of God’s Great Gift.

But we who follow Christ have a choice; we can take the Rainbow back.  It belongs to God, it always has and it always will.  God created it to give us hope and in honor of the great Promise He made us; a Promise He has kept.  He created the Rainbow for those who follow Him?

#Taking Back The Rainbow

Freedom!

 John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

In reading John 8:36, one thing it clear.  Real freedom comes from God-not government.

The freedom we have experienced in America may indeed be lost.  And there can be no doubt that many of us have taken that freedom for granted.

But the government does not grant us freedom, God does.  And that freedom can not be taken away.

Even now, with the election unresolved, and threats of violence continuing.  Even with the restrictions that the government has placed on our lives (using Covid as their reason), we are free. 

For our Freedom, as our “Hope and Help, comes from the Lord”.  And our Lord is stronger than any government; He always will be.

My Friends, Stand Alongside Your Brother!

 1 Chronicles 12:16-18 Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.” Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

“As David grew in stature those who stood by him increased in number, devoting themselves to fight with him. Though it was a time of adversity for David, and a time of warfare, he found that there were many willing to join their lives to his; “…a brother is born for adversity”; and “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”. Again we note that David’s anointing and his character made him a friend to many…and many became his loyal friends.

When Yeshua (Jesus) sent his disciples out, He never sent them alone — He sent them two by two; and no doubt these pairs of disciples developed deep loyalty, unity and friendship as they proclaimed the kingdom and faced the powers of darkness together.

TheresaF, how would you describe your friendships in the Body of Messiah? Do you feel isolated, fighting battles alone? Do you know others who are in that condition? With the battles now raging, it’s more important than ever to be a friend, and to really know who your friends are. May the Lord grant each one of us loyal and faithful friendships as we fight the good fight.”

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Gulf Port, Mississippi

(From Israel)

I have started by day with Worthy Devotionals for over 15 years. They really help me to focus my day on serving Jesus :). To receive them in your email, use this link: Worthy Devotionals

Trusting God: When Bad Things Happen To Good People!

When bad things happen, a friend often tells us-Trust God.  I often struggled with that idea when I was young.  How does one trust God when really bad things happen?  Trust God for what?  To “fix it”? Because bad things don’t always get fixed.

But with Trust comes Acceptance.  And that means accepting the bad with the good.  This isn’t Heaven.  Bad things do happen here.  And they happen to us.  That’s just part of life on earth. 

IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT GOD DOES NOT LOVE US!  GOD LOVE US ALWAYS!

So here is what we can “Trust”.  God hears our prayers and will use anything bad to the good of those who love Him.  God will never leave us.  Whatever difficulties we walk through, God will walk through every step with us.  When we run out of strength, God will provide it.  And God will Never stop loving us.

When we are in trouble, will God answer our prayers?  Always!  Sometimes He will answer by providing for our needs (whether they are healing, financial or heart driven…), but sometimes God will answer our prayers by giving us the strength, courage and faith to overcome the difficulties we face.  And that is where acceptance comes in.  When we pray for God’s Help, we need to be willing to accept His decisions for us.

And that is what it means to trust God’s Love for us.  It is to know that whatever He decides, whatever He provides, it’s what we need.  Because the God who loves us will always provide us with what we need, but perhaps not necessarily with what we want.

Trust=Acceptance. Trust God ?

Sin & Prayer

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated  you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”-Isaiah 59:1-2

Iniquities are defined as “grossly immoral or unfair behavior”.  Sometimes these sins are ones we commit; sometimes they are sins of omission.  Sometimes we don’t even recognize that we have sinned, but that doesn’t mean we have not.

This is truly a difficult subject to understand. And sometimes a subject we don’t want to understand. But “God is not a God of confusion”. 

The above verse is pretty self-explanatory on its face.  Our sin does separate us from God.  There’s no getting around that.  When we choose to lead a sinful life; we choose to separate ourselves from God.  After all, it’s not like we don’t have access to Bibles in this country ?.  So knowing what behavior is sinful and what behavior is not – is a pretty easy task, if we choose to read the Bible.  And that’s the thing-God gives us that choice, for God gave us that freedom!

But there are a few things this verse does not refer to.  It does not refer to the person who has previously sinned and is calling out to our Lord both for forgiveness and help in Jesus’ Name.  He is so happy to hear from you and He loves you!  To learn more read the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

And it does not refer to the person who commits a sin and asks for forgiveness in Jesus’ Name.  That sin is already forgiven!  God hears you and God loves you!

In the coming days, regardless as to who wins the election, we will face much evil.  In fact, we already do; we are surrounded by it. “War may be at the door, but Jesus already won!”

Which is exactly why we need to walk closely with God-every day!  For Our Hope & Our Help Comes From The Lord. Pray. Be The Light. ?

Our Hope, Our Help Comes From The Lord!

Isaiah 61: 1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

We live in difficult times, but God will make them right. We just have to trust Him. In Isaiah 61 it talks of God’s Great Mercy on His people. His mercy on us.

Beauty and joy will be ours, not ashes and despair.

So don’t give up, focus your eyes on Jesus, our time is coming 🙂

Walk With God :)

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”-2 Corinthians 5:7

Sometimes it can be hard to keep going. We look at the news, the world, the growth of atheism and witchcraft. It can seem dark indeed.

But we do not “walk” according to what we see in this world; we walk according to what we “see” in God’s world. And what we “see” in God’s world has not changed. Heaven still exists, it always will. And it is still our forever home and always will be. God will still answer our prayers; He always will. And He will still rescue us-even if it is sometimes from ourselves.

There’s no doubt the upcoming election concerns us all. But we also need to remember that God still loves us. God always will. And nothing that occurs in this world can change that!

So walk with God. Be the Light 🙂

If Our Nation Becomes Covered In Darkness, Be The Light :)

In Daniel 12:3 it says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the fimament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Recently, millions of Christians participated in The Return. Some in person, even more through the telecast. During The Return, Jonathan Cahn talked about God’s Judgment, and the fact that it could be occuring soon.

Is this the Last Days we often read about, or is it the Judgement of our nation for the many sins we have commited? Only God knows.

Millions of babies have been murdered and gay marriage has become the law of the land. Netflix’s “cuties” has pushed the boudaries of all that is decent and right. Our inner cities’ are poverty sticken and violent. The list is endless…

Make no mistake, forgiveness for all of those who have sinned is available to all through Jesus Christ. And let’s face it, we have all sinned. We have all fallen short. That’s why this Bible verse is such a comfort to so many:

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”=Psalm 103:12

But a nation that does not repent and seek forgiveness is not forgiven.

We really don’t know if our country will turn back to God in time-or not

But one thing we do know, is that -should our country and it’s people be covered in darkness: God will shine a light. And the Holy Spirit will shine a light through us to reach out to others. If we let Him.

Let Him. Be the Light 🙂