Light on the Rock Blogs

The Scriptures tell us we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Are we being transformed?  Are you partially transformed or totally new? 

You’ve no doubt heard stories of people who, upon coming to accept Christ as their Savior, were immediately transformed.  The acidic … became a genuinely gentle soul, a gracious speaker – instantly. Yes, I believe that can happen, like instant total healings do happen. You may even actually know people yourself who have experienced this instant transformation. 

Isaiah seems to have been such a person. He says he was a man with a dirty mouth (unclean lips) and yet in his one-on-one meeting with God, an angel touched his lips and he was cleansed (Isaiah 6:1-9). Isaiah ended up writing one of the most beautiful books in the Hebrew scriptures.

Some people, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, change dramatically – almost instantly. Peter, who had denied His Messiah three times just weeks earlier, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, preaches a most inspired testimony to His Messiah in Acts 2. He accepted beatings and threats and came close to being beheaded – but was so at peace that he was actually asleep when the saving angel appeared to deliver him (see Acts 12).

Frankly, many of us when seeing or hearing of these quick transformations – and then looking at ourselves – can get discouraged. We know certain sins, habits and ways we had in the past are now gone – but there’s still a lot left of our old nature we don’t want any longer.  We’ve overcome some things, but not everything - - yet. And when we see the old nature rising up in us, we can get very discouraged indeed. 

Or is that just me?

For most of us, transformation is not something that happens all at once, in an instant.

I have a little partially completed tiny statue on my desk that I look at once in a while. The inscription says, “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.”  And that’s the point of this blog: Yes, we are being transformed over time – “until Christ is formed” in us (Galatians 4:19). Paul seems to be making it clear that we should expect this transformation of what we are, to take some time, at least for most of us. Maybe it’s a little bit like a caterpillar being transformed, over time, into a butterfly.  It doesn’t happen in an instant.

Be sure to click on “Continue reading” to the bottom right here to read the rest of the encouragement from scripture that Yeshua takes his job of preparing the Bride very seriously. 

A while back I wrote a blog titled “God is not His name”.  God is what He IS, but his name is YHVH, sometimes in the Hebrew Bible shortened to “Yah”.  You say that name every time you say “hallelujah” – as the “j” is pronounced as a “y” in Hebrew.  So it’s “hallelu YAH” – “Praise Yah” is what it means. YHVH is His most personal name. He wants us to know His name.  Those of us who are the children of the Highest have been privileged to call HIM – Abba. Our Dear Father. 

But do you realize that YHVH literally can also be shortened in its definition to “I am”.  So sometimes you hear people reading “the LORD” as “the Eternal”.  God always IS, He is the “I am”.  He is Eternal. But “I am” is actually even stronger than just saying “Eternal”.

You may be familiar with songs, verses and statements that say something when referring to the Eternal One as the one “who was, and is and is to come.”  Did you realize that’s not the way the Bible has it?  Yah’s focus is that He IS right now. 

We don’t refer to the Creator as “the great he was”, or the “the great he will be” – we call him the Great I AM.  This is why the phrase correctly starts with “WHO IS, and was, and is to come.”  Let me say it again:  It starts with “WHO IS, and was, and is to come”.  Abba – and Yeshua too for that matter—want you to realize He is our PRESENT help and Savior; He’s not “a has been”. 

My point is this:  be aware when singing hymns and songs which start with “who WAS” – and then add “and who IS and who is to come” ---that they have the sequence all wrong. That’s not what scripture says. Yeshua STARTS by saying he is the One “who IS, and was and is to come”.

Revelation 1:4

“Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come…”

Revelation 1:8

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "WHO IS and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 11:17

"We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One WHO IS and who was and who is to come,”

Saying “the One who IS…” is just another way of saying “I AM” – and that carries the authority of eternity with it. 

            Be sure to click on “Continue Reading” to the right to read how our English Bibles missed a great point in their translation in some cases.

UPDATE:   The worldwide assault on Christianity

On June 2^nd, I wrote a blog mentioning Meriam Ibrahim and others who were being persecuted and threatened with for their stand for Christianity and their professed belief in Jesus Christ.  I may not be of their doctrinal beliefs, but the principle is important.  I want to update the news on that in today’s blog – AND give suggestions on things we can do to speak up against the assault on Christians going on today, while we have a voice to be able to do so.  The time is coming we won’t have a voice. America was largely silent in the 1930’s while the Nazis were clearly bent on evil. We did nothing, we said nothing. The rest is history. Can we learn from mistakes?

The assault on Christianity is really starting to take off. People professing belief in Jesus Christ are being raped, kidnapped, beheaded, tortured and executed – while most Western believers are either totally unaware of what’s going on, or remain silent or do nothing.

Tony Perkins, head of Family Research Council, as well as other people and groups like Liberty Counsel, along with the prayers of many thousands around the world, were very influential in securing Meriam’s freedom. She is now out of Sudan with her two children and has the papers to be a true and authentic refugee to the USA.  Most of all, she’s freed thanks to our heavenly Father who hears our prayers. If any of you feel God doesn’t hear people outside your fellowship, think again. Hear my last few sermons and read my recent blogs for proof He does. He loves the people of the world and is longsuffering and merciful. 

And folks, if any of you feel you couldn’t or shouldn’t pray for Meriam of Sudan – or those in similar trials because she’s somehow not a “true” believer in your eyes, please read my previous blog. I would challenge ANY of us to have the courage and faith that woman showed – to refuse to give up her allegiance to Yeshua even if it meant giving birth in a fetid, crowded jail and being told her future was to be mercilessly beaten with 100 lashes, and then hanged until dead.  Her crime: refusing to renounce her faith in Jesus and refusing to become a Muslim, the religion of peace. 

The biggest thing we must confess is that Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah, the son of God, and that He died for our sins and we accept Him as our Savior – and refuse to deny him in word or deed. See 1 John 3:21-23.  What was Yeshua’s main command for us, his disciples?

1 John 3:22-23

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

Meriam did that in a way that few, if any of us, have so far been asked to do.  I personally respect that about her even though she does not hold to or practice all my beliefs. But there are also thousands more like her. We’re seeing a foretaste of what is coming to a city near you.  I know, you’d much rather pray for someone in your own fellowship.  But sometime read the story in 1 Kings 13 how a prophet of God cursed wicked King Jeroboam and within minutes, this same prophet was praying for Jeroboam’s healing -- and God heard!  And we all know about “come out of her [Babylon], my people…” – but are you as aware that when Judah was sent into captivity into Babylon, they were to pray for Babylon?  Did you know that?  See Jeremiah 29:4-7.

So let’s not get all high and mighty and think we can’t pray for “the unconverted”.  Also, remember mercy will be shown to the merciful. When our turn comes to be on the receiving end of persecution resulting in jail, beatings, beheadings and stonings -- we’ll all want as many prayers we can get, going up for us. And we’ll see how many of us will be as strong and faithful at those times as Meriam was. 

And whether or not she was a true believer?  Well, neither was Naaman of the Bible when he asked for healing.  Neither were the women of Abimelech’s harem when Abraham prayed for them.  Neither were those crucifying and ridiculing our Messiah on the cross – but He prayed for them anyway.  Don’t be better than Yeshua, folks!  Those who “sigh and cry” for the abominations we see are those who will be protected (see Ezekiel 9).  Moses and Aaron interceded even for rebellious Israelites who were about to stone them (Numbers 16:41-50).

And don’t forget – Yeshua was called “a FRIEND of sinners”!  Are we?  We should be! God our Father – Abba – so loved ALL the world that He sent His only begotten son to die for them.  Now that’s true love. He loved us WHILE we were yet sinners. And even those of us who are his children – yes, we still sin and his Son stands as our defense Attorney. 

I’m urging God’s children to speak up.  Remember it was Adam’s silence in the Garden that allowed the serpent to indoctrinate Eve. He should have spoken up; he should have said something forcefully, as he was not deceived.  It was the SILENCE of “good” Germans in the 1930s and 1940’s that allowed the evil Nazis to exterminate and torture millions.  It was the silence of good Russians that allowed the pogroms of even more millions in Russia.  It was the silence of good Chinese that allowed the genocide of even yet more millions in China.  It is the silence, frankly, of millions of peaceful Muslims tolerating the evils of the terrorist extremists by their silence that is giving fuel to the extremists.  And it is OUR silence today – brothers and sisters – that allows scores of kidnapped Nigerian teenage girls to remain out there, even though we apparently know exactly where they are.  

Can you and I afford to remain silent? 

Be sure to click on “Continue reading” to the right to read some actions we can each take to make our voices be counted!  It’s not enough to just shake our heads and walk on by. 

I’ve known of, seen and heard a lot of stories of ministers refusing to pray for someone’s relatives because they were not one of “God’s people” – i.e., the pastor felt they were still living in their sins, or didn’t attend with that pastor’s church, or maybe had quit tithing to the pastors in question. 

I’ve even seen this question posed on chat rooms, Facebook and other media.

I say if someone asks for prayers for anything, we pray. Let God do the judging.  He’s a great judge. He’s very good at it.  We’re not good at reading people’s hearts or minds – so neither can we judge whether they are “worthy” to receive your prayers. I repeat: we’re not.  It’s not our job. It’s his job.

Why would anyone think we can hold off prayers for people who don’t attend with us?  So let me share a few reminders:

--- Yeshua (Jesus) told us we SHOULD pray for those folks.  Remember his admonitions at the end of Matthew 5:44 – to pray for those spitefully use you and persecute you?  They’re hardly “converted” children of God! 

--- EVERY single person Yeshua healed was a person without the spirit of God.  We are to be followers of Yeshua, right?  He didn’t go around asking which synagogue they attended or if they attended regularly or if they were tithing or if … anything.  He sometimes might have asked if they believed… and that was it!

---Elisha was involved in the healing for Naaman the Syrian, an enemy of Israel.  Even after the healing took place, Naaman asked to be excused while he helped his king in the pagan temple!  Are we better than Elisha and his judgments on this?  The story is in 2 Kings 5.

---Paul healed all the sick who came to him from the then-pagan island of Malta. Read the passage for yourself. First they thought he was a god because a poisonous snake had bitten him without repercussions or effects. 

Acts 28:8-9

“And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.”

---JOB’s life was restored beautifully – but only after he prayed for his friends (Job 42:7-10). 

---SARAH’S womb was opened by Yah and she was allowed to have a child only after Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his harem and wives whom God had made barren because Abimelech had taken Sarah (after Abraham and Sarah had half-lied about being brother-and-sister). Read the whole account in Genesis 20 and 21.  And notice that Genesis 21 comes after Abraham prayed for all those “unconverted” people in Genesis 20:14-18; Gen 21:1-4.

I could go on and on and on.  But why do we sometimes feel “holier than thou” and refuse to appeal to God for the healing of people who also were made in His image and likeness? 

Pray for one another. Let God do the judging.

Oh yes, I’m aware of Jesus saying in John 17 that “I pray not for the world”.  True, at that moment, his focus was on the disciples. But surely he prayed for the world, did he not, when he said from the crucifixion tree, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. 

And I’m aware of some verses in Jeremiah where God told him not to pray for those people at that time.  I have a sermon on this you may wish to look up.  But remember, Nehemiah prayed for the nation of Judah.  So did Daniel – including a deep prayer of repentance for the nation where he included himself.  See Daniel 9.  Moses certainly prayed for sinful Israel to be pardoned when God was ready to wipe them all out after the gold calf incident. 

So please folks, let’s just pray – and let God decide what to do with your prayer.  There’s so much more that can be said about this. Don’t limit your intercessory prayers for just people who are full of God’s spirit.  And you’ll be blessed as you pray for anyone and everyone.  God bless you.

And if your minister won’t pray for someone in your family or neighborhood – contact me.  I’ll be glad to. Yeshua’s the healer anyway; it’s not us.  Have a great sabbath and weekend.

That’s a strange question, you might say. But is it?   Why would anyone want to be a friend of sinners, you might ask.  But after all, your Savior said that he himself was called that – “a friend of publicans and sinners.” 

Here are a couple contrasting scriptures.  One says if we are a friend of the world, we are the enemy of God.  The other – spoken by Yeshua (Jesus) himself says HE was called a “friend of sinners”.

James 4:4

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Luke 7:33-34

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'  34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  

So back to the question: ARE you a friend of sinners?  Was Yeshua really a friend of sinners? It would be easy to give a simple answer and say “we are all sinners, and so of course he is a friend of sinners.  And so am I – because we’re all sinners, aren’t we?” But as you’ll see, the ‘sinners’ that Yeshua was a friend to – were the more notorious sinners. He didn’t seem to mind “hanging out” with people everyone knew were not nice people.

But our loving father has plans for all who will accept Yeshua as THEIR friend - - and SAVIOR and King. He wants us in His family as his very own children.  Yeshua was the way in, the door to the kingdom. He came to save – as that is what his name means – SALVATION – and the ones needing saving are sinners. And yes, we ALL are sinners. But lets’ read Savior’s story, shall we?

One time Yeshua invited himself to dinner at an infamous tax cheat, the little-liked IRS agent of his day – Zacchaeus.  He was pretty excited that this miracle-working holy man knew him by name and wanted to come visit with him.  As he slid down the sycamore tree in haste, he must have been asking himself, “Why me? Why would he even care about me?” 

They had a grand old party going and just when it was getting good, the church-going folks (the Pharisees) wondered out loud….let’s pick up the story in Luke 19:6

Luke 19:6-7

So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He [Yeshua] has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."

My question again:  has this ever been leveled at you?  Have you ever been accused of being a friend of sinners?

Please be sure to click on “Continue reading” to the right -- to get the rest of this thought-provoking question answered.

Today as I write this – July 15, 2014 – today is the 17^th of Tammuz on the Hebrew calendar.  It’s a day of mourning – but also of hope for what’s to come in the near future.

Remember that under King David and later King Solomon, all 12 tribes of Israel were called “Israel”.  But after King Solomon’s death, the kingdom split into two kingdoms, or two houses: the House of Israel (the northern 10 tribes) and the House of Judah (mostly the southern tribe of Judah and Levites).  The country we all know today as “Israel” is in reality just the remnants of the House of Judah primarily. Some individuals of the northern tribes did decide to live in Judah.  Anyway, each House went into captivity for breaking the sabbaths, for idolatry and generally for forsaking the Way of YHVH.  Look at Jeremiah 2:17:

“Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking YHVH your Elohim (God) when He led you in the way?”  (Jeremiah 2:17). 

What I’m about to say has to be more than coincidence. 

Today devout Jews are mourning what happened on this day. On this very day, both in 586 BC and 70 AD, the walls around Jerusalem were breached by invading armies -- the first time by Babylon and the 2^nd time by the Romans.  On the very same day!

But the “coincidences” continued. Both the First Temple (the one Solomon built) and the Second temple (the one Yeshua was involved with) were destroyed, burned and razed to the ground on the same Hebrew calendar date  just three weeks later: the 9^th of Av. 

This is common knowledge among devout Jews, but there are lessons for us today too.

Be sure to click on “Continue reading” to the right to read the rest of this informative blog, and learn how this relates to us today.

Israel is under daily rocket attack aimed at their largest cities as I write this. A full scale war with Hamas in Gaza could be imminent.  If the USA was being attacked by over a hundred rockets from across its borders every day, would we sit idly by? 

Now consider this:  we know that of all the many sons of Abraham, the Eternal God referred to Isaac – the son of promise by faith – as Abraham’s one and only son (Genesis 22:1-2). Ponder that. Who came from Isaac?  It is through the Seed of Abraham--Isaac – Jacob (renamed Israel), that our Messiah came.In Yeshua – of the Seed of Abraham – all the families of the earth can be blessed.  So here’s what YHVH (the personal name of our Eternal God) said to all of us and to Abraham:

Genesis 12:3

“I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Almighty God repeated this in Genesis 27:29 directly to Jacob (Israel) –

Genesis 27:29

“…..Cursed be everyone who curses you,

And blessed be those who bless you!"

Have you recently asked our heavenly Father to bless Israel? 

Isaiah 62:6-7

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.

You who make mention of YHVH, do not keep silent,

7 And give Him no rest till He establishes

And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

And how well do we keep this command?

As I write this, Israel is preparing to stop the hundreds of M-302 rockets being fired every single day directly at Israel’s cities!  The only reason we’re not yet reading about hundreds or even thousands of Israeli dead is because of God’s protection and the Iron Dome missile defense.  Basically Israel is shooting down rockets with rockets. But Islamist terrorists don’t care where the missiles land and make no effort to spare civilians. They’re firing into civilians.

Be sure to finish the rest of this blog by clicking on the link to the right “Continue reading”. 

I’ve been receiving some positive comments from a friend who heard the sermon about praising and thanking God before we receive what we’re asking, and I thought I should encourage you to hear that message as well. It was given in March 2014. 

We all know about Yeshua’s (Jesus) instructions about receiving from God and when we pray.  If not, this will be a good little scripture study for all of us to review on the topic of answered prayer:  

• Diligently seek our Father, for He does reward those who do so (Heb.11:6)
• Remember your own private prayer is to be private (Matthew 6:5-6). There ARE times for group prayer, such as we read in Acts 12:1-19 when the believers prayed for Peter and their prayer was answered.  It’s interesting that there’s no record of the group coming together in prayer to pray for James – and he was beheaded by King Herod.
• We must ask according to God’s will (1 John 5:14).We will have more confidence of a positive answer when we are pleasing to our Creator (1 John 3:22).  2 Chronicles 7:14-15 “… if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
• We need to ask more. “You have not for you ask not” (Matthew 7:7-11). 
• We should always ask in faith, believing.  (James 1:5-8; Mark 11:22-24). If your faith is weak, acknowledge it, and make that part of your prayer. Ask Him to strengthen your faith.
• We should pray in Yeshua’s name (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24).
• We know we should ask unselfishly. (James 4:2-3)
• We know we should be persistent and not give up when we don’t see an answer right away, like the persistent widow parable (Luke 18:1-8).
• We know we should ask for similar things – like healing – for others, if we wish to be healed (James 5:16).  Notice it says to pray for others “that YOU may be healed”. 
• The same verse in James 5:16 says the fervent prayer of the righteous man is the effective prayer.  “Fervent’ does not have to mean loud. It just means to put your heart into it. 
• Mark 11:25-26—if we want God to hear our prayers, we need to be sure we are at peace with everyone.  We need to have forgiven those who have offended us and ask their forgiveness if we have offended them.
• We pray from our hearts; not speaking just rote, repetitive prayers (Matthew 6:7).
• We know sometimes God’s “answer” to our prayers can sometimes be “not yet”, or “no” or “OK, I’ll answer, but it will be somewhat different than what you asked.” Paul experienced this when our Father told him he would not remove the “thorn in the flesh” but would give him strength to bear it.

I could keep going with more points on “answered prayer”. But I hope this much has been helpful -- but it’s still not my main point today.

Have you made a conscious practice of applying the March 2014 sermon about praising our Father for having already answered your prayers BEFORE you even see any results?  And be sure you do so in Yeshua’s name, as if Yeshua is the very one asking our Father.  In that sermon I give many examples of Yeshua himself doing this, as well as many examples from the prophets.  Yeshua taught us this when he says when we pray, believe we have already received it (Mark 11:20-24, especially verse 24).  Hear the sermon, it will have much more.  I recommend you hear the sermons in audio while having the Notes printed out ahead of time.  My “Notes’ are not a complete “transcript”. Sometimes I have bonus points in the notes, sometimes there’s more in the audio, but either way you’ll get more out of the messages if you hear them AND have the notes in hand. 

Remember that faith is the evidence of things NOT YET seen (Hebrews 11:1).  So if we have faith we’re going to receive a wonderful answer from our so-loving Abba, why NOT start thanking him for having already done it, even when we don’t yet see His answer?  The sermon explains fully how and why this is such a hallmark of believers.  If you haven’t heard and read the sermon, I recommend you do. It can change your life.

I also hope you will enjoy the series I am starting on our loving Abba – and the next sermons, God willing, will be on what happens when we, as children of Abba, sin?  Does that put us outside his love?  We certainly must deeply repent and turn from the evil we got involved with – but does that put us outside Abba’s love?  It will be coming soon.  Then I’ll be talking about experiencing the real JOY of salvation, as King David described it in his very prayer of repentance in Psalm 51.  So a lot is coming, and I hope you will benefit from the messages. I enjoy hearing any feedback or suggestions or even questions.  May our loving Abba in heaven bless you and watch over you.  

The following essay is by a spirit-led brother in Christ I’ve known for many years. I was moved by this beautiful essay and I hope you will be too. Be sure to click on “continue reading” at the bottom right so you can read it all. It’s wonderful!    -- Philip Shields 

Let me give a brief conclusion in mentioning five things that I think we must do so that it can be truly said that we are walking by the Spirit.  (These are just Omae’s summation points at the end of his excellent sermon – P Shields).

1. Acknowledge

First, we must acknowledge from our hearts that we are helpless to do good apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit. As Paul says in Romans 7:18, "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." What did Yeshua mean when he said in John 15:5, "Without me you can do nothing"? Of course we can do something without Yeshua: we can sin!

We cannot do anything pleasing to God without the constant enablement of the Spirit.

2. Pray

Second, since it is promised in Ezekiel 36:27 that Yahweh will put his Spirit within us and cause us to walk in his statutes, pray that he do it to you by his Almighty power. Many of you know the glorious, liberating experience of having an irresistible desire for sin overcome by a new and stronger desire for God and his way.

And now may the God of peace . . . equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Yeshua.

If it is God alone who works in us what is pleasing in His sight, then above all, we must pray. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

3. Trust

The third step involved in walking by the Spirit is faith. We must believe that since we have come under the gracious sway of God's Spirit, "sin will no longer have dominion over us" (Romans 6:14). This confidence is what Paul meant by "reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God" (Romans 6:11). We simply count on it that the Spirit who made us alive when we were dead in sin wills our holiness and has the power to achieve what God wills.

The reason we can is that we know that God will cause his obedient children to be led by the Spirit. We do have to follow that leading of the Spirit and walk with and in the spirit. We have to let God’s spirit lead us. And the way we know this is because of Romans 8:14, where Paul says you can't even be a child of God unless you are led by His Spirit. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." If you are a child of God, you have a solid and unshakable promise that God will give you victory over those powerful desires of the flesh.

One word of caution: do not prejudge the timing of the Holy Spirit's work. Why he liberates one person overnight but brings another to freedom through months or even years of struggle is a mystery concealed for now from our eyes.

Where’s YOUR voice?

 Believers in Jesus Christ or Yeshua the Messiah – unfortunately – still seem to like to be separated from one another. I realize there are true believers and false ones. There are nominal “Christians” and real practicing Christians. But that’s not the point of this blog.

 Whether others out there who call themselves “Christian” believe exactly the way you do, you need to be aware of this:  Christians around the world are being tortured, imprisoned and even killed for their belief in Jesus (you know I call him Yeshua). 

 The prophet Ezekiel was told in a vision in Ezekiel 9 that a mark was being placed on those who “sighed and cried” for the abominations in the land. Will God Almighty place a mark on your head?  You surely are praying about and sighing and crying for the atrocities going on all around you. 

A 27-year old Christian mother(MERIAM IBRAHIM),is imprisoned in a filthy overcrowded jail in Islamic Sudan, along with her 2 year old son and newborn Americandaughter – surely we can do or say something. She was shackled in a stinking fetid prison with hundreds of inmates in the jail, while giving birth to her newborn little girl recently. So now her 2 year old son and NEWBORN baby girl are all in a terrible jail with her, as she’s shackled in a Sudanese prison.

 Why is all this happening to her? Because she won’t give up her belief in Jesus Christ.  Surely we can pray for her. Some believe she is a US citizen. Though that’s not proven yet, my point is bigger. Why the silence when those who profess a belief in Christ are treated this way?  Now that she’s had her baby, the next step—if nothing stops the process-- is they are going to flog her with 100 excruciating lashes, and then they will hang her until she dies. Her child is to be given to Islamic “parents’ to raise in that great religion of peace – Islam. 

 All this in Sudan—which has received BILLIONS of U.S. dollars.  And our President has YET to say one word about this. Our Secretary of State has yet to say one word about this inhumane “treatment”.  How about you?  And would YOU be as faithful to your belief in Yeshua as she has been so far?  Would YOU agree to 100 lashes and then to be hanged, all because of your belief in the TRUE Son of God? 

Makes one think, doesn’t it?  Surely you can mention her and her babies in your prayers? Surely you can sigh and cry for her?

There’s also the Christian American pastor in Iran who has been in and out of jail for his beliefs – with threats to his life daily.  In the past couple weeks,American Pastor Saeed Abedini was beaten, removed from his hospital bed where he had been receiving much-needed medical care, and forced back to a deadly prison in Iran. Would you and I have recanted long ago, or would we be holding firm to our loud and clear claim that we are believers in Jesus Christ and we will never give that up?

Sometimes instead of saying “YHVH” or Yahweh or Yehowah, I simply write “Yah”.  Why do I do that?  Is there a Biblical basis for that?  Who is Yah?  Is it being disrespectful to call our great Creator “Yah”?  Is it like a nickname and therefore too casual?

 I have a couple sermons on “What is our Creator’s name?” – given in October 2011.  You may wish to follow-up this sermon with a study into those sermons.

 We all say “Yah” without even realizing it.  There is no “J” sound in Hebrew. What appears as a J in English is pronounced as a “Y” in Israel and even in much of Eastern Europe.  So even Jerusalem is “Yerushalayim” or variants of that, in Hebrew. 

Take the word “hallelujah”.  Notice the “Jah” at the end of the word.  We all pronounce it correctly in this case as “Yah”.  It means “PRAISE Yah.”

 Yes, Yah is an acceptable shortened form of YHVH, the most personal name of our Creator.

 Your English Bibles translate it as YAH, several times.  It is Strong’s word # 3050. You can look it up in Strong’s concordance under that number.  I’ll quote some, to verify that saying “Yah” is Biblical.  Where you see “YHVH” in my text, your English Bibles will have it as “the LORD”.  I preserve the name of God in the Hebrew.  The KJV only has it as “Jah” in Psalms 68:4 but NKJV and others list more. KJV usually translates Jah or Yah as “Lord”.   Here are a few of the many times where the original Hebrew actually mentions “YAH”.  You’ll miss it in most English Bibles though, where most simply translate the name “Yah” as “the Lord.”

 Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;

'For Yah, YHVH, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.'"

I heard a thought today that made me think, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good. I hadn’t thought of it that way before”… and so I’ll share it.  Just a short blog today.

 How would you like to be greater than your enemy?  You know, the ones who gossip about you or make life difficult for you. (Or maybe you’re one of the blessed rare souls with no enemies.)

 Here’s how. 

The lesser is blessed by the greater.  Hebrews 7:7 says that.

 Yeshua taught us something he himself did. On the cross, as he was dying, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  In its own way, that prayer was a huge blessing.  He was forgiving them and asking his Father not to charge them with any wrong-doing. Now that’s a blessing!

 Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,  45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?  48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”.

 So He also taught us to “LOVE your enemies; BLESS those who curse you. Do GOOD to those who hate you.  PRAY for those who spitefully use you.”

 Scripture teaches us that generally speaking, the greater person is the one who is able to bless someone lesser, or poorer, or weaker.  See Hebrews 7:7.  There are many examples in Scripture of this.

 So, do you want to be greater than your enemy?  Here’s ONE simple way, of many:

Pray a blessing over your enemy.  The greater blesses the lesser. 

 When you pray blessings over your enemies, instead of curses, you become larger, stronger and more at peace. And yes, you become greater than your enemy, because you are becoming ever more like God himself. 

Now, don’t let even ten more minutes go by without praying a blessing on someone you know doesn’t like you very much. Watch your attitude towards that person change, and I’ll “bet” you, you’ll see their attitude change towards you as well over time.   

I have been speaking and writing more recently about various aspects of our faith in Yeshua (Jesus) and the WONDERFUL grace of God.  Without His grace, we would never be in the kingdom.  It’s that simple. I’ve spoken and written on faith in the Messiah; on being justified by faith, and on various aspects of the grace of God.  Some people become uncomfortable with anyone preaching faith in the living Son of God, instead of faith in what we ourselves have to do.

 Folks, my faith is not just blind belief, but a solid anchoring of my soul in believing on and in the Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth.  My confidence of being in the better resurrection rests in HIS life.  After all, we all know we’ve been forgiven and reconciled to our Father by his death for us, if we accept it.  But do we also remember that Romans 5:10 says we are saved by HIS life? Not by our own lives. No sir, no ma’am.  HIS life.  That’s what saves us.

 Now – does receiving God’s grace and relying on Him cause us to sin more? That’s the lie that Satan himself tries to put out there, so that we don’t receive God’s grace.  (Watch for an upcoming sermon soon on “How Well do you RECEIVE?)  If Satan can make us feel that the topic of “grace” is so poisoned, is so dangerous, then we tend to distance ourselves from this wonderful truth – and we refuse to receive it.  Then Satan has scored a victory.

Abba’s grace in me and over me won’t let Satan win if we keep looking to our Father’s love and in prayer asking Him to be our covering through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

 Can the grace of our loving Father be perverted? Yes it can. Jude and Peter write of the misapplication of grace quite a bit in their epistles. But neither does it mean we should not speak of gracecorrectly. Even Jude ends his warning epistle with words of GRACE. In verse 21 he speaks of keeping yourselves in the love of God. Look how Jude ENDS his short epistle even after all his stern warnings:

 Jude 24-25

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise,Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”

 WHO is the One able to keep us from stumbling? Ourselves? NO!  WHO is able to present us FAULTLESS before Him with great JOY?  GOD OUR SAVIOR… to HIM BE THE GLORY and majesty. 

 THAT is how JUDE ends his treatise on false grace! Look to the TRUE GRACE of God.  In verse 21 he says to keep yourselves in the love of God looking to the MERCY of our Lord. 

 Peter, who also warns against becoming lax on sin, and on submitting to one another and to the authorities over us, and speaks so much about our conduct – also says a lot about GRACE in the first verses of his first epistle. He ends 1 Pet 1:2 with words of grace. Then verses 3—he blesses God for his abundant mercy and for the resurrection of Yeshua. Then in verse 5 he speaks of how are “kept by the power of GOD through FAITH for salvation…” In verse 10 he speaks of how the prophets foretold this GRACE that would come upon us.

 In the 2^nd Epistle of Peter, he starts and ends his letter with words all about grace. Go read it.  Then in between he has stern warnings about continuing in sin. Then he ends the letter of 2^nd Peter telling us all to “grow in the GRACE and knowledge OF OUR LORD Jesus Christ…”  The possibility of sin did not keep him from speaking of Grace. Oh, not this Peter, the one who denied his Master 3x then went on to preach on Pentecost with 3,000 being converted as a result!  God’s GRACE allowed Peter to go from self-condemnation to speaking about God’s grace for them in Acts 2, if they would repent and receive it. 

 John ENDS the whole New Covenant scriptures with words of grace in the last verses of Revelation, though he also has much to say about becoming spiritually sleepy or dying Christians In Revelation 2-3.  So we teach the balance. Let’s absolutely talk of Grace – while also talking about using that grace to be impetus to more change and growth (Romans 8:12-15).

 Paul gives his OWN experience to make the point that when we appreciate God’s grace, the last thing we really want to do is go sin again or to sin lightly. Read 1 Cor 15:9-10.  He was heartbroken by the fact that he had so persecuted the Body of Christ, the brethren,  that some of them even cursed God as Paul tortured them (1 Tim 1:        12-15; Acts 26:11).  So he calls himself the least of the apostles and even the “chief sinner”.  He received God’s grace while on the way to Damascus to arrest and torture more Christians (Acts 9).  One could hardly say he received Grace because he was a good man! No, he was a mean and cruel man before his conversion.  He thought torturing believers and making them recant was the right thing to do. 

So Paul received a lot of GRACE.  What did it lead him to do?

 1 Corinthians 15:9-12

“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

One of the things I love about the Passover season is what it says about the Passover: “When I see the BLOOD, I will PASS OVER you and not allow the Destroyer to come into your homes”. Any household in ancient Israel who killed their innocent lamb and sprinkled its blood on the entrance of their house was spared having their firstborn males and livestock die that night. The innocent lamb took the death for the household.

You see, we’ve all earned the death penalty for our sins (Romans 6:33). No point in looking at someone else’s “past” – and thinking your “past” is not as bad as his or hers. If you or I fall one fraction of one point short of the perfection of Holy God, we have earned the death penalty. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4) and if we stumble even in just one point, we were guilty of all (James 2:10). ALL of us are in that same boat.

So why do people still talk about someone’s “past”? When I hear discussions like that, it tells me those people have not learned even the very basics of Bible Forgiveness 101 yet. When you and I repented of our sins and asked for the blood of the Lamb of God to apply to us -- ALL our past, ALL our sins, ALL our unrighteousness, ALL our spiritual failures – were washed away. There is no past now. It’s been washed clean in the crimson tide of the Lamb’s blood shed for you and for me. ALL of the sin. Not one sin was left. Not one. Not one of mine, not one of yours.

Praise Yah. Though I have often been ashamed of myself over the years for a wide variety of reasons, as I come to Passover I lift my Savior on high, and praise my Father in heaven – for God is not ashamed of me. In the end, that’s what matters.

Now humanly speaking, unless you’re God in the flesh yourself, we each have many things of which we can be ashamed. Or am I the only one?

Now God is not ashamed of you and me NOT because we’re so good. He is not ashamed of us because of the saving work of His firstborn son Yeshua. We are now part of HIS body, HIS life.   Paul says “Christ, who is our life…” – Colossians 3:4. In Col 3:3 he says our lives are hidden in Christ, in God. If you’ve heard my sermons on “Yeshua our High Priest”, you’ll see how HE is the one who presents us to the Holy of Holies in heaven, making us acceptable in him.

But all that’s technical stuff. Let’s get to the point of all this. I want you to revel, to rejoice, to be overwhelmed by the almost incredible notion that holy and perfectly righteous God Most High is NOT ashamed of you and me – after all we’ve done, after all we’ve failed in, after all our sins! And neither is Yeshua ashamed of me or you.

He is not ashamed of us NOT because of what we’ve done, but because of what my Passover Lamb of God has done for you and for me.

Hebrews 2:11-12

For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He [Christ] is not ashamed to call them brethren,

12 saying:

"I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."

Wow, Yeshua. WOW, wow, wow! So many times I’ve been so ashamed of myself, and others have been ashamed -- but not you. Wow, my Savior. That’s amazing. You’re amazing. After everything I’ve done, you’re still willing to call me your kid brother, part of your family. That’s almost unbelievable, but nay – we believe. We believe you and believe in you, dear King, our Lord and God. You’re such an amazing big brother. You are the only Way, the only Door to Father’s Kingdom -- and you’ve opened your door to me and to so many of us who have come to know you.

As we come to Passover, help us sing of your glories and magnify you and your name, O Savior, our Master – Yeshua, our Salvation.

Because it’s not just me – but all the thousands and thousands and thousands of us who are coming to know you, dear King. You are not ashamed of any of us, as your precious blood is more than enough and covers all sins, of all of us, and cleanses us and brings us into the Holy of Holies. Yeshua, you are Savior of the world – not just of the Jews or Israel. Your father so loved the WORLD that He gave YOU, dear Master. God Most High had a choice: he could either spare you and condemn all of us – or condemn you to execution on the tree so all of us could be spared. He chose to spare all of us.

Abram is said to have had faith in God – for Abram went to an unknown final destination in faith, not knowing where he was going, when it would all settle down, or how everything would pan out – but he knew with WHOM he was traveling.

Hebrews 11:8-10

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

How about you and me?

If you’re like me, I like details. I want to know the plan of action and that we’re making progress in our plan of action. I don’t like the unknown. You probably don’t either.

We’ll see in the coming years more and more times when Abba, our dear heavenly Father, will ask us to step out in faith. Times when we won’t have details – just a statement of what He wants us to do. Father wants us trusting him implicitly – so He will give us opportunities to show Him we trust Him, implicitly.

We like to know HOW something will come about. We like to know WHEN and what and where but really all we really need to know is WHO. With whom are we walking? To whom are we listening? ON whom are we focused?

It doesn’t matter that we don’t know all the details of what, when, where, why and how. It only matters that we know WHO our life is. Colossians 3:3 says Christ is our life now. HE is in charge. HE is navigating this ship, your life.

Once we get that firmly in mind, nothing else should matter as much.

Easier said than done. Granted. But if we’re truly in him, if we’re truly focused on him, we’ll learn this more deeply with each passing day.

We believers will need to be reminding each other of this. When we’re told we have growths on our liver – the only detail we need is WHO our healer is. When we’re told we’re losing our job, all we need to focus on is who our Provider is. Who multiplied loaves and fish? Who provided manna in a wilderness? Who is the ALMIGHTY? Who has all the answers? Who has all the power? Who has perfect love for you? Who opens doors miraculously when we’re in various kinds of prisons – physical or emotional or otherwise?

When you find yourself fretting (yes, I still sometimes fret too), stop and just say: “I don’t need to know what, when, where, why and how. I just need to know WHO. And I know Him and love him and HE loves and cares for me more than I can even imagine. In him I have peace.” 

When the boat the 12 disciples were in was apparently in danger of being swamped by a Sea of Galilee storm, our Savior was sound asleep. Instead of looking at the storm, they should have looked at HIM and relaxed. OK, it’s easy to say that, but we would have done no better. But the stories are there so we read them and learn from them.

Do I practice this all the time? No. That’s why I have this website. It’s a way for me to share with you the meditations of my heart as I struggle to put off the “old man” and put on the new man in Christ. I’m learning these very things I’m being led to share with you. Together we can remind each other to not look to the worrisome things around us, but to Him who is unseen but who is absolutely there.

Also, as we come to Passover especially, we’re reminded once more to focus on WHO. For example, we focus on Him who knew no sin, but became sin for us so that we who knew no true righteousness could receive HIS righteousness by faith (Philippians 3:9-11; Romans 5:17-19; 2 Cor. 5:21)

Praise Yah. How often he must smile as he sees our look of bewilderment when He tells us to do something – but so often to us, what we think He’s saying to us makes no sense.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. What we must see is the presence of God Most High in our troubles. Oh, we clearly see the trouble. But are we learning to more clearly see our great and awesome God in us, around us, above us and with us? Are we? I know I sure have a lot to learn yet on this score.

Some of the things YHVH has told his people to do almost make one chuckle. But will we do what he says when push comes to shove?

The title of this blog comes from a story of David and his fighting men. David had inquired of YHVH as to the best next step, the battle plan for his men as they were about to fight the Philistines.

1 Chronicles 14:13-17

Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. 14 Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, "You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

15 And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."

16 So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer. 17 Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.

Now imagine how David’s commanders felt and what they thought when David comes back with the battle plan: “Guys, we have to wait until we hear the angels marching at the top of those trees over there, and when we do, then we can attack. God wants to clear the way for us first”. Verse 16 is our lesson: “So David DID as God commanded him…”.  

Would we have? ARE you and I first of all inquiring of God, then waiting to hear his instructions – and for that matter ARE we even hearing God’s words or voice? I do have a 3-part sermon on “Hearing God’s Voice” that I recommend you listen to. It has changed my prayer life since I prepared and gave that series. Go to February 2009 and you’ll find the series there. There are many helpful sermons if you look at the timeless topics from years past.

In much the same way as David’s experience, Joshua told Israel the battle plan for conquering Jericho. “Hey everyone, we’re going to circle the city quietly once every day for 6 days, and then 7 times on the 7^th day. Then, upon my command, we blow the shofar ram’s horn trumpets and all of us shout. And guess what? Those thick walls you see over there are going to fall flat and we’ll run in and catch them by surprise and quickly take the city.”

We know the story today – but imagine looking at the thick walls and the fighting men of valor along the tops of those walls looking down at you as you all circle the city. I wonder how many of those ancient Israelites really believed the battle plan. Well they did. They obeyed and trusted in faith – and the rest is now history!

Our Father so often asks us directly, or through Christ, or through His Word to do things that seem unearthly – because they are! He’s in heaven and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He has all power and wants us to believe, wants us to trust him, wants us to step out and obey in faith. In the rough times coming, we better get used to living and walking by faith, because that might very well be your life or death--whether we believe or not. From beginning to end, men and women of God were told “strange” things at times that ended in marvelous outcomes when they trusted – and obeyed what they were being told to do. (Of course don’t forget to test or check the source and be sure it’s God or His spirit giving you the directions or strong thoughts. See 1 John 4:1)

On my website home page in February 2014, I highlighted 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 where it says we are to behold Jesus, look at him, look to him, and as we do – we are being transformed into his image by God’s spirit.

There is more to that verse than meets the eye. ARE we beholding the Christ in everything we do, every day? Are we focused on HIM, what’s He’s done and what He continues to do in and for us?

Our Adversary wants to do everything possible to get our eyes OFF our Master and off what our Master says – and on to anything or anyone else but Him. He will distract you with Facebook, games, busy-ness, worries – and self. In fact, what Satan tries to constantly do is to get you focused on YOURSELF – on how well you’re doing (or not) and how far you still are from the perfection that is Christ Jesus – or Yeshua our Messiah, as I often say.

The result of taking our focus off of Yeshua and focusing instead on what each of us is doing will always end in disaster, disappointment, depression, confusion, anxiety and a sense of not measuring up. In this website I’m trying to help folks grow closer to their Savior and focus on HIM.

Satan deceived Eve into thinking God didn’t mean what He said. Satan told them (Adam was with her – Genesis 3:6), that it would be alright if she ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. Maybe the serpent even demonstrated by taking a bite of the fruit himself – and he didn’t die. We don’t have every detail, but we know Satan succeeded. And once she took her eyes off what God said and began to listen to the Deceiver and look at the forbidden tree, she sinned. Then Adam, who was standing nearby but who was not deceived, ate of the fruit as well. (Genesis 3:1-11).

Turn to Matthew 14:25-32 for another example. There we have the story of Yeshua walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee very early one dark morning.

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

As long as Peter focused on Yeshua, even Peter walked on water! But what did he do? He took his eyes off Yeshua – looked at the wind and waves, used human reason that humans don’t walk on water. Faith requires believing what we can’t see – and oftentimes believing something that humanly makes little sense. So he sank like a petros, a stone. When we take our eyes off our Master, doubt takes over and we start to sink.

The book of John adds the detail that when Yeshua got into the boat, the boat immediately ended up at the seashore. Many miss this intriguing detail (John 6:21). When we’re with our Master and focus on HIM, we will experience many extraordinary and inexplicable things in our lives.

You and I have been called to come out of the boat of the mundane and what makes sense – to step out in faith as we walk on water. To go beyond the realm of the ordinary into the extraordinary with Christ. Where could Yeshua take you and me – if we would just fully believe and keep our focus on him? Imagine what we could be doing individually and as a group of believers – if we would just keep our fixed on Him and truly believe! Just imagine it! As Paul said, “I CAN DO all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). It’s through HIM, it’s by being IN Him, and it’s by focusing ON him.

Click on the bottom right where it says “READ MORE” to finish reading the rest of this blog that will change your life forever – if you will understand it and believe it.

Do I need say more?

First let me state: I’m on Facebook myself. I go on FB probably 2-3 times a week for about 20 minutes each time to stay in touch with friends and family. I’ve found it very, very easy to start spending hours on this media – even until 1-2 a.m. And I’ve had to check myself and remind myself that our lives have only so many minutes and hours that will be allotted to us. So many of my sermons and blogs are really a sharing from my heart of the same issues I struggle with. This is one I intend to stay on top of and not let FB eat up all my time. Is FB time the best use of my time – or your time? Sometimes it is for crucial comments or statements that can help encourage someone or put someone back on the right track. Sometimes WE need the positive comments we can sometimes receive.

So I understand FB. Facebook certainly has a lot of good that can be said about it. OK, there, I’ve said it. It allows family and friends to share pictures, ideas and thoughts – and to stay in touch. It’s fun. It allows us to share and reminisce the fun times. It helps us find long-lost friends and family. I hope you can see that I’m not against Facebook per se. I’m not.

But remember, even the forbidden tree had good stuff on it too. So – moderation in all things. IT was “the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and evil.” Not just evil. I also understand Facebook can become very addictive and time consuming.

We are to seek FIRST the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all the things we worry about will take care of themselves (Matthew 6:33) – or “shall be added unto you”, to be more exact.

We are warned in the Parable of the Sower that our spiritual growth and fruit can be choked by concerns and pleasures of this life (Luke 8:14) – so we end up not bearing any spiritual fruit, and end up rather empty. Nothing wrong with pleasure, per se. At God’s right hand (Yeshua) are pleasures forever more (Psalm 16:11). But now look at all the people who can find hours and hours and hours – did I say “hours” yet?—each day, to play games on Facebook, or to read everyone’s updates, or to mention that they’re about to bake some cookies or some banal and trite comment like that, but who say they have no time for real deep Bible study or prayer. They have time to touch base with their 418 friends, or a lot of them anyway, but comparatively little or no time for our Father or our coming King of kings. Don’t kid yourself. All this is not lost on God. He knows.

That surely can’t be right.

Here are some heart-check questions: