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Would I Be a Peter?
By Sue
While reading about and pondering the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus this past week, my heart has been drawn to Peter. I have been asking myself if I would have done what Peter did—deny Jesus, not once, but three times?
After walking with Jesus for a longer period of time than Peter did—51 years compared to 3 years—would I declare my love and devotion to Him, only to deny my closest friend and teacher?
On Palm Sunday, the crowd was cheering and welcoming Jesus as royalty. Peter and the disciples probably thought they were even more dedicated to the Master than the crowds. Then, less than a week later, some of those same people were calling for His crucifixion. And, at a desperate time when Jesus needed them the most, the disciples fell asleep and finally deserted Him.
When times of persecution come to us in our nation—and that is happening right now. When I am told that I can no longer worship or possibly even speak to others the Name of Jesus, how will I respond? When those in authority ask me whether I believe in Jesus what will I say? What will you say?? Will I be willing to lose my life to keep it? Will I stand with Jesus or desert Him?
These are very real questions that we need to wrestle with NOW! The day may be coming, though I pray not, when we will be challenged to stand firm with Jesus or deny Him. And, if we don’t have our hearts and minds settled now, we may find ourselves being a “Peter”!
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
A Cool Video for Easter
I saw this video this morning and had to share it. The video was created by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and tells the Passover story in a unique way. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Passover Pesach Technion 2016 Breakdance High Tech Haggadah.
As you celebrate Yeshua’s Sacrifice and Resurrection this weekend, remember the Passover story. It belongs to all of us who follow Yeshua (Jesus), not just Jewish people. Without it, we might not have had Yeshua, the Lamb of God, whose ultimate sacrifice and resurrection, enabled us all to become part of God’s family.
Refer to my posts Passover and Easter, What Do Easter and Passover Mean?, and An Appointment with God–Passover.
Have a joyous weekend and
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
What Do Passover and Easter Mean?
Hope
I am the Lord. I will bring you out… (Deut 6:6-8)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead. (1 Pet 1:3)
Deliverance
…from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose…
(Deut 6:6-8)
The Father has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:13-14)
Redemption
…and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God and you shall know that… (Deut 6:6-8)
He gave Himself for us to set us free (to redeem us, purchase our freedom) from every kind of lawlessness [from all violation of Torah] and to purify for Himself a people who are truly His, who are eager and enthusiastic about living a life that is good and filled with beneficial deeds. (Titus 2:14; Deut. 14:2; Ps 130:8; Ezek. 37:23)
Sanctification
…I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord! (Deut 6:6-8)
Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who in the Messiah has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. In the Messiah He chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in His presence. (Eph 1:3-4)
Remembrance
Remember for the rest of your life the day you came out of the land of Egypt. (Deut 16:3)
So you shall remember and do all My commandments, and be holy to your God. (Num 15:40)
You should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of your Master and Savior. (2 Pet 3:2)
Love
The Lord! The Lord! A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, Keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. (Ex. 20:6, 34:6-7; Num. 14:18; Deut. 7:9)
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His loyal love endures forever. (1 Chron. 16:34)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. (John 3:16)
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Can You Hear Me?
In the world in which we live, many voices are vying for our attention. There is the voice of our flesh, the voice of our enemy, the devil, and the voice of the media—many voices speaking seemingly at the same time.
Amidst the clamor for our attention, are we missing the most important Voice of all-our Daddy God? I believe that sometimes He is so desperate for us to hear His Voice that He has to “yell” by bringing undesirable circumstances into our lives! I believe that this grieves His Heart. However, His love for us is so great that He wants to share the secrets of His Heart if we will only listen to His Voice!
Have you ever just sat quietly with the Father and asked Him what He has to say to you? I believe His Word for today is “Be still and know that I AM God.”
Quiet all the other voices and let your Daddy share His Heart and secrets with you. Another benefit will be that His Presence will bring the fullness of His Joy to your heart!
This post was written by my wife, Sue.
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Thought for 2/18/2021
God’s way is perfect! All of the Lord’s promises prove true! He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.
Psalm 18:30
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Launch Out Into the Deep!
The following is a guest post by my wife, Sue…
Launching out is scary and it is risky. You don’t know what is waiting for you or whether you will be able to handle the unknown. You could be risking your life, your comfort, your security—many things. However, Jesus wants us to launch out when He calls us. If we want to know experientially who Jesus is and our destiny in Him, we must cast off our fears, leave our comfort zone, and launch out into the deep with Him. In doing so, we will learn more about Jesus and dive deeper into our intimacy with Him.
In Matt 14, Peter was told by Jesus to come and walk on the water. Peter risked stepping out of the boat but as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves, he cried out in fear. Immediately, Jesus was there to reach out His hand to Peter. Jesus said, “Come,” but Peter doubted that he would reach the boat.
In this life we face many trials. We invite Jesus into those trials but as soon as we are confronted with overwhelming circumstances, we cry out to Him for deliverance. The Lord wants to do more than deliver us; He wants to develop us! As with Job, satan has permission from God to bring trials into our lives in order to develop our character. In Luke 22, Jesus states that He had prayed for Peter. Jesus is our intercessor as well. He is sitting at the right hand of Father God, interceding for us! The Father always hears and answers the prayers of His Son.
In Luke 22:32, Jesus’ prayer for Peter was that Peter’s faith would not fail and that after the trial, Peter would strengthen his brethren. Our tests are also to test our commitment to the Lord. He wants us to realize the depths of His love, His power, His faithfulness, and His trustworthiness. Through these trials we can develop a deeper relationship with Him with a deeper faith at deeper levels than we have ever known.
We will never grow spiritually continually remaining on the mountaintops. In the valleys is where we find who we are and who Jesus is to us. The joy of intimacy is found in the risks of our journey with Jesus. He prepares us for service and to reach our destiny as we discover that He is there with us in the hardships of life. Our faith will grow under pressure. Our experiences will develop sensitivity and sympathy for others who are facing hardships. They will know that they can overcome life because they see that we have overcome!
In conclusion, the two benefits of testing are: spiritual growth and development, and sensitivity and sympathy to help others.
Launch out into the deep with Jesus!
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Did You Hear It?
Did you hear it last weekend?
Will you hear it this weekend in Washington, DC?
You will if you listen carefully.
What will you hear? You’ll hear the Trumpet of God sounding an alarm and calling America to repentance. This is the Biblical time of year when shofars are sounded. I believe that this year, more than any other, the shofar of God is being sounded to wake all of us in America up! It is a warning of imminent danger. He is calling American citizens and all who live within our shores to wake up before it is too late! I am confident that He loves America. Otherwise, we would never have become the world power that we have been. But we have strayed far from what made us great as a nation and as a society. We are being called to stop sliding down the slippery slope.
I believe that God is not done with America yet. He is calling us, all of us, including followers of Yeshua, to wake up before it is too late—for our own souls and the soul of our nation! We need to join with those in Washington, DC this Saturday, and raise our voices, calling out to God in repentance and asking for mercy on our land. But not stop there; we each need to seek God for how we can be part of the solution instead of just pointing our fingers at the problem.
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
And, may He extend His Grace to our great country!
Bill
A NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN LEADER
I agree with what Mario Murillo says in this post (https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/2020/06/20/a-new-kind-of-christian-leader-3/). I have felt from early-on in this COFID-19 mess that 1) HaShem is trying to get our attention, and 2) that He want all followers of Yeshua to come out of this with new vision and action. I haven’t found mine yet, but I’m seeking. I also believe that denominational and non-denominational Christian churches, Messianic congregations, and other believing assemblies will fall by the wayside if they don’t “do business differently”, which includes being WC (Word/Bible Correct) and not PC (Politically Correct).
Until next time, May HaShem bless and keep you!
Bill
National Day of Prayer is 5.7.2020
National Day of Prayer
This Thursday, 5/7, is the annual National Day of Prayer. Your congregation may be holding an online prayer meeting in lieu of a public gathering. However, in the event that they are not the following are some online prayer/worship events being held this week as well as a couple from Israel. This is a time for us to be praying for our Nation, the Nation of Israel, and other nations around the world, not just regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus, but for the salvation of mankind.
Tonight, 5/5, at 8 pm ET, the National Day of Prayer organization is sponsoring an online worship and prayer event. It will be streamed on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/natlprayer/
Wednesday 5/6, at 9 am ET, ICEJ (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem) is holding an online prayer event to pray regarding the coronavirus crisis and its impact on Israel and the nations. Prayer will be led by key ministry leaders from Israel and other countries. Prayer will be offered in a number of languages, with translation into several languages. To receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting, you must subscribe to their email list at Join the Isaiah 62 Prayer Campaign for Call-in Details. (This link is a pledge to pray, not a request for a donation, but you will start receiving their emails, not just the links to these Zoom meetings.)
Thursday has 3 events:
- 9 am ET, ICEJ will be hosting a Zoom meeting “Calling to God Together” [which] will unite Jews and Christians around the globe in prayer together – with Christian and Jewish community leaders reading through the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew and in various other national languages, and in an attitude of reverence and faith that Adonai (the Lord) will hear our prayers and answer from heaven. To receive an invitation to the Zoom meeting, you must subscribe to their email list Join the Isaiah 62 Prayer Campaign for Call-in Details. (You only need to subscribe once and you’ll receive an invitation to both the 5/6 meeting and this one.)
- 12 noon to 2 pm: Intercessors for America and the One Voice Prayer Movement will be hosting a special National Day of Prayer edition webcast on Thursday, May 7th from 12-2:00 pm ET. Prayer leaders from around the nation will be sharing prayer points, insight on national prayer topics, and leading us in prayer as we honor the President’s declaration of a National Day of Prayer. Join the LIVE webcast on Thursday by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbsB3XlfHkE or watch on the One Voice Prayer Movement website.
- 8-10 pm: The annual National Day of Prayer broadcast will be streamed online as well as on GodTV, Daystar TV, and others. I don’t have the streaming link, but it should be available on their website, https://www.nationaldayofprayer.org/. I suspect that it will be streamed on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/natlprayer/ You can learn more about these events at their respective websites. If you have any problems connecting, you should be able to find the latest information
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Though for August 1, 2017
![Psalm 841–2 [widescreen]](https://wjbsturn.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/psalm-841e280932-widescreen.png)
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Graphic copyright Faithlife Inc, 2017
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