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Who Has Your Back?
I just saw a mug with the saying, “Good morning, this is God, I will be handling all your problems today?” It prompted the following questions:
? Who do you start your day with? Is it a hurried, get ready and head out the door with, maybe, a quick breakfast that is more of a snack routine? Or, does it include time with HaShem and Yeshua, your Savior and the Lord of your life?
? Who has your back throughout the day? Do you cover your own back with your own skill-set, abilities, and self-confidence? Or do you look to Him to guide you and give you the direction you need at each turn and decision?
I have started many of my days, and there have been quite a few of them, without spending time with Him. Too many of those days did not go as well as I would have liked. And more times than I like to admit, when the going got tough, I forgot to look to Him.
However, I have found that spending a few minutes with my Heavenly Father each morning is the best way to start my day. I do notice a difference compared to when I am not able to do so. I encourage you to include time with Him each morning, even if it is only 15 minutes. Read a couple scriptures from His Instruction Book, talk to Him about your day and ask Him to be your Guide, to cover your back. Then, keep your focus on Him throughout the day. Though reality says that there will be hard days, keeping your focus on Him will make those hard days and times more palatable.
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
The LORD Fights…
…for you and me. I was reading Deut. 1:1-3:22 this morning and verse 3:22 stood out to me. Maybe only because it is highlighted in my Bible, but I don’t think so. What came to me is the following prayer:
Father, may I never forget Your promise through Moses that You, the LORD our God fights for us! I know this was said to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, but it applies to all of your followers because You never change. May all of Your followers, brothers & sisters of Yeshua, rely on You as our defender and protector, and not our own understanding. This doesn’t mean that we can sit idly by and wait for You to do it all, not lifting a finger ourselves. It does mean that we take action, put forth effort on Your guidance, in Your name, according to Your ways, and demonstrating Your love!!
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Prayer for Law Enforcement
Individuals and congregations across the United States will be observing a day of prayer and appreciation for law enforcement this Sunday, 6/13. Our law enforcement officers deserve our respect and appreciation. For most, it is not just a job, it is a calling.
Please take a few minutes tomorrow, 6/13, to pray for them and then continue remembering them in your daily prayers. Ask HaShem to surround them with His protection and to give them wisdom, discernment, and a deep desire to serve Him. (Many law enforcement officers are believers.)
Some other suggestions for supporting them: Pray that those who do not know Yeshua as Savior and Lord will encounter Him. When you pass an officer in traffic, offer a brief prayer. If you encounter one in person, thank him or her for their service. The next time you see police officers eating in a restaurant, pay for their food. May HaShem work through them as they serve us.
Until next time…“May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Thought for Today
The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
Samuel Chadwick
So, make him tremble all the time. Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5:17)
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
Dining with the Master
By my wife, Sue
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dine with the President or someone else of importance?
As I was reading today, my attention was drawn to the thought of dining with Jesus. Wow! Dining with the One who created us; the One who loves us more than anyone else and who showed that love by dying for us! What a privilege! The mind-blowing reality is that we can do just that—dine with Jesus.
In the Old Covenant, the high priest was the only one who could go into the Holy of Holies and then only once a year. Even then it was only those priests who were qualified who could enter the Holy of Holies. All the other priests lived out their lives having never served in that capacity.
But in the New Covenant, according to 1 Pet 2:9, we belong to the royal priesthood and because of the blood of Jesus we are permitted, no invited, to enter into the most Holy place!
Jesus invites us through intercession to join Him at a table set for two. He says in Rev. 3:20, that He’s standing at the door waiting for us to join Him. He desires us to come hungry so that we can be fed from His bountiful table. He has a variety of “food” from which to choose. One day it may be a revelation, the next day it may be reassurance. Another day we may partake of promises that we need to sustain us; and, of course, there is always a supply of the Bread of Life! Our nourishment is awaiting us.
Won’t you go beyond the veil and enter the Holy of Holies to the place of intimacy where you can dine with your Master at the table set for two?
Enter in! He’s waiting for you!
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
What is Prayer?
We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself. —OSWALD CHAMBERS
Super Bowling?
Are You “Super Bowling” Everyday Life?
Feb 5, 2021 Stepping Stones devotion from Lighthouse Network.org. Shared with permission.
Transformational Thought
Super Bowl Sunday has basically become a national holiday. With 120+ million viewers, it’s the most-watched TV show, charging $5 million for a 30-second commercial. It is second to Thanksgiving as the day the most food is eaten. On this day record numbers of employees “call-out-sick.” One billion wings are eaten, the most pizzas are ordered and guacamole is eaten, and it’s one of the heaviest beer, soda, and chip consumption days. Tragically, Super Bowl Sunday is also the worst day of the year for gambling, domestic violence, and sex trafficking.
The Super Bowl itself is an unbelievable event … so much emotion, buildup, and expectations. The winner is remembered and worshipped forever, and the loser is branded a choker … forever, unless they get back to the Super Bowl again and win. The commercials, halftime mega-shows, plays, players, and personalities are seared in our minds or become societal icons.
One Super Bowl a year is enough, just ask my wife. Can you imagine if we had 4 a year, one per month, or heaven forbid, weekly Super Bowls? We would be overwhelmed, on edge, emotionally spent, fed up, bankrupt, hung-over, and paralyzed on a regular basis.
But you see, life can be viewed the same way. We have “Super Bowl” events … meeting God, getting married, birth of a child, losing a close loved one, starting day 1 on our dream job, taking grand vacations, starting school, helping a child leave for college, learning a child has a disability, having an affair, experiencing divorce, getting fired, coping with a natural disaster, 9/11. You get the idea … they don’t happen every week (for anybody). Then we have some “playoff game” events whose immediate and long-term impact are important but smaller than the Super Bowl events. Some other life events rank on the very-important-regular-season-game level. And most other events have the importance and impact of a preseason game
Brace yourself for a reality check, 98% of your day, your life, is either a regular season game or even a preseason game in level of importance and impact. The problem: we react to many of our daily events as if they had the importance and impact of a Super Bowl or playoff game. Need some proof? Just look at how intense your reactions are to small things in your day that you won’t even remember a couple days later. They aren’t that important? Unlike Super Bowl big plays, we forget most issues in our life within 1-15 days.
We can’t handle the emotional rollercoaster of 6 Super Bowls a year, let alone 3 Super Bowls a day. But for many, the emotional reaction to several events in a day is fairly extreme. We tend to elevate that event to major impact level when it really isn’t, especially when we don’t get our way or our planned agenda isn’t happening. While few people are “drama queens,” most people fall into the Super Bowl mentality trap. We erroneously feel many things in life are all-important and react to them as life-changing, when they actually aren’t.
Patients, both male and female, tell me they’ve been impacted by one question I’ve asked, namely, “Does that event really rate the ‘Super Bowl’ level of importance you are giving it?” That question really helps people gain a more eternal, realistic, and Godly perspective about everyday events.
Today, remember that Super Bowl-magnitude events usually occur once, twice, or maybe three times a year. So look at how you react to minor daily disruptions and ask yourself, “Is this situation really a Super Bowl event in magnitude and long term impact, or am I having an exaggerated response?” If you are inappropriately “Super Bowling” it, ask yourself “Why?” and “How often do I do this?” and “Am I becoming dependent on something that, when taken away, seems like a Super Bowl level loss to me?” Parents, you’ll probably be amazed as you contemplate your reactions to your kid’s behavior. Whether you see each day’s events from a Godly, realistic perspective or you over-react and Super Bowl the minor events of your day is your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Father God, thanks for being sovereign over all things. This truth, and my faith in Your sovereignty gives me such peace in most situations. I confess though, that sometimes I over-react to the spiritual warfare and minutiae of the day and give them a Super Bowl level of importance. Give me discernment and the Mind of Christ to realize what really is important and what isn’t. I pray this in the name of the greatest “Super Bowl” event of all time, Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection; And all God’s children say – AMEN!
The Truth
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Luke 12:25,26
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17
The post Are You “Super Bowling” Everyday Life? appeared first on Lighthouse Network.
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Diagnosis: Dehydration; Cure: Living Water
January 12, 2021
Diagnosis: Dehydration; Cure: Living Water is from today’s Stepping Stones daily devotional)
Transformational Thought
When I was a kid, people weren’t obsessed about health. Fitness clubs didn’t exist, nobody ran unless they had to, grease and butter were an actual food group, fast food was the new Utopia, and cigarettes were just a smelly habit. Now my wife says my Fruit Loops aren’t healthy. She keeps putting vegetables on my plate even though the only vegetable I like is french fries. Our generation must be the last of the ‘meat and potatoes’ species as we seem headed for extinction.
It gets even worse. Everywhere I go nowadays, I see water bottles. I still have a hard time paying for water, but it seems like we have bottles of it all over the house. Martine and my girls tell me water is healthy for me. I only get a drink at meals, and sometimes skip lunch. So they get on my case because I don’t drink enough. Well, the experts seem to agree with them. They say that if you feel thirsty, you are most likely already dehydrated. A recent report title said it all: “You are not sick … you are just thirsty.” All the medical experts agree that we need to drink water continually through our day. So it seems like we are all dehydrated.
Well, not only are we physically thirsty, but we are born spiritually thirsty as well … empty … dry. All of our “sickness” is actually due to our spiritual dehydration. You see, we constantly thirst for God … His love, acceptance, and security. Only He can fill these essential needs. Only through Him do we find purpose, fulfillment, contentment, connection, engagement, passion, competence, peace, joy … and especially, pure and true love.
But we are constantly using “spoiled,” even poisoned, water to substitute for the true living water that only God, through Jesus, truly is. But Satan is sharp. He doesn’t put the poisoned water in a bottle with a big ‘X’ on it. He doesn’t place a “Poison Warning” or skull and crossbones on the label. No! He packages this poison in an attractive, fancy bottle, with an enticing ad and alluring promises on the label. Drinking this contaminated water leads to depression, anxiety, addictions, hopelessness, anger, brokenness, stress, agitation, loneliness, and frustration. Still we drink it, thinking it actually cures these problems.
It sounds as though it would be easy to avoid. Why do we still drink that poisoned water? One reason is that we don’t drink regularly from the streams of living water provided by our Father. Then once we become dehydrated, out of desperation and discomfort we grab any bottle to sooth ourselves, thinking something is better than nothing. That is like drinking salt water when you are thirsty. Instead of making the situation better, it actually becomes dangerous.
Today, commit to taking sips, or short prayers, of living water. Confess a sin immediately. Stop to thank God for a blessing you take for granted. Ask His advice on an issue. Tell someone why God makes a difference in your life. Take sips throughout the day from the river of living waters offered by Your Lord and God. Whether you take in His living water regularly, or you wait until you’re dehydrated is your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Father God, I am so thirsty, Lord, and I know this means I am spiritually dehydrated. Daily, my tank is low and I thirst for more. Please give me wisdom to avoid contaminated water. Help me, Father, to drink and eat only what is good for me so that my soul may delight itself in Your abundance. Help me not to be complacent, but instead, to talk to You and recognize You more often in my day. I pray in the name of the One who died so I might drink from the living waters, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children say – AMEN!
The Truth
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38
Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come; buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isaiah 55:1-2
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” John 4:10, 11,13-15
The post Diagnosis: Dehydration; Cure: Living Water appeared first on Lighthouse Network.
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
Psalm 140-141 For Today
In the past, when I have read Psalms such as Ps 140 and 141, I’ve asked myself, “Self, what does this have to do with you? It’s good to see David’s struggles and groanings as he sought the Lord’s protection, but they don’t apply to me. I don’t have armies or evil men chasing me!” Or do I?
Actually, all Believers in Yeshua do! This hit me between the eyes this morning during my devotions. In Ps 140, David is asking for protection from wicked and violent men. At this time in history, we in the USA have evil and wicked men and women who plan to harm us. They spend their time planning and stirring up conflict (Ps 140:1-2). These people are inside and outside of our government. I submit that they have fallen under the spell of the antichrist spirit. Not the antichrist himself, but a spirit that is anti-God. This spirit wants to suppress Yeshua-followers and destroy America as it was originally founded to be–a nation that honors the Creator of the Universe.
These people may believe that what they are trying to accomplish is best. But they are blinded by their lust for power and control. How do we know that they have sold out to the anti-Christ spirit, even if unwittingly? Because they have announced plans to take action and implement laws and practices that are in direct opposition to the Word of God. These people are not just inside our government. Some of them may live next door to you. Your neighbor(s) may not be in “power,” so to speak, but they support the actions of those who are, or who think that they are, but we know that HaShem is really in control.
Now, I am confident that HaShem will protect His people, but let’s stop and pray together with David:
Father, we ask that You will not let these people have their way (Ps 140-6-9). However, Father, we cannot ask with David that You throw them into the literal fire and into bottomless pits from which they cannot escape (Ps 140:10-11). Instead, we ask that You do whatever is necessary to thwart their plans. I also ask that, in the process, they will truly find Yeshua as Savior, give Him control of their lives, turn from their wicked, revengeful ways, and become instruments of healing in our land.
Father, we must also ask You to open the eyes and hearts of many true Yeshua-followers who are not responding in love to either their fellow believers or to those who plan to harm us and our country. Apparently, they have forgotten Yeshua’s command to love their neighbors as themselves because they are striking out verbally and physically in anger and revenge. If I have been guilty, I repent of my sin and pray that they will also repent of their sin. Help all of us to stand and act peacefully but boldly in love for Right. With Your help, mercy, and grace, this country will be turned back onto the correct path. Let all of us who call upon the name of Yeshua (that’s you and me) put Him first above even our political alliances.
Father, we echo David’s cry in Ps 141 and ask You to accept our prayers, guard our mouths, and give us the clarity of thought as only You can. May only Your words come out of our mouths and may we not have evil desires or respond in kind to those who desire to harm us. We desire that our words and actions will be a witness against their plans (Ps 141:5). Please provide Your protection from their snares (Ps 141:9). May we never surrender to them but demonstrate Your love rather than succumbing to their ways and tactics.
In the name of Yeshua, we pray.
Until next time…”May the LORD bless and protect you…May He give you Shalom.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Bill
WJB's Turn 