THE ASSURANCE OF FAITH

Psalms 3:3

But thou, O Adonai, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

Even In the midst of betrayal from his blood relatives and from his people, this man, Kind David, went to His Lord in a spirit of victory.

How many of us, when faced with the daily problems and inconveniences of life allow ourselves to indulge, sometimes subconsciously, in a spirit of complaint, even of ‘righteous’ indignation against God saying, “How could You, after all be so cruel to me. I have confessed your name publicly; I am a devout believer. Afeter all, You should be careful; Your reputation could be smeared if You treat Your people so.” What a pity!

We mention His Name, and then forget the injunction of the apostle that says, all they that will live godly in Messiah-Yeshua shall suffer persecution (I Timothy 3:13). The Master Himself reminded us of the rabbinic injunction, The servant is not greater than his master, if they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). We need to remember, that even though He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7). In spite of all that may befall us, He seems to still be better to us than He was to Himself when He was on the earth.

Instead of complaining, may we look to our Master with the assurance of forgiveness, strength, support, love, vindication from enemies, and victory over our trials. May we rest upon Him. May our hearts own the perfect peace of those who believe by faith in His blessed Words, unmoved by the not by the sight of trouble around them. May we partake of the substance of things hoped for, of the evidence of things on t seen. Hebrews 11:1

NOTE:* “The Greek word for “substance” is huposthasis” meaning title deed. When we have the title deed for something, we Know we own it because of the deed on paper even though we haven’t seen it and do yet enjoy the full benefits of its use. In the same way, we are redeemed as the ‘contract’ says, but not yet restored.

WE ARE NOT ALONE

Psalms 3:2

Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. Selah.

These lamentations of King David about those who sought his life foreshadow those of the people who indifferently watched their Messiah dying on the tree saying, He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God (Matthew 27:43).

In his hour of distress, the child of God appears so lonesome, seemingly abandoned, even by God Himself. Satan is master at playing this distress in our mind. We listen to him and start believing that no one stands with us to support us, not even God.

Yeshua exemplified these sentiments when on the cross He exclaimed, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). The prophet Elijah also thought he was alone against the multitude of the ungodly when he said, and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. At that moment God reassured him and said "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (1Kings 19:10,18). Elijah's servant was duly rebuked when one morning he awoke to the haunting sounds of the Syrian army on the lookout for his master. He thought they were alone to fight this great battle until God opened his eyes. He said, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” And he (Elijah) answered, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (2 Kings 6:15-17).

Dear Master, you may have been alone as no other could stand with you in your station, but we are not alone. In our hour of trouble dear Yeshua, help us to resist the enemy who tells us otherwise. Open our eyes that we may see that they which are with us, those of today, and those of yester-years, are more than they which are against us.

A BALANCED BALANCE

Proverbs 18:15

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

The English text lacks the subtlety of the Hebrew. A narration from the Hebrew version explains, ‘Understanding (prudence) will unable someone to derive knowledge on his own, but someone who lacks understanding (but who still has an ear for wisdom) , must rely on the wisdom he gathers from (prudent) others’. The idea taught here is that: to desire wisdom is a great thing, but without a prudent heart we must acquire this wisdom through the wise tutoring of others.

Knowledge can be a blessing or a curse. The universe’s laws of physics can be used to build or to destroy.. That is why our same wise author also advises us to not only get wisdom, but to also get understanding: Proverbs 4:7.

Because of our wicked hearts, even the knowledge of the liberating Word of God is often used to enslave and oppress. This is so sad. I think it is the highest form of blasphemy: to use the Word of God for despotic purposes. It is done by country leaders, by religious leaders and it is even done within the confines of people’s own homes, with over bearing parents imposing a somber legalistic view of religion.

Moses said that obedience to Torah, who calls Itself ‘Wisdom’ in Proverbs 8, is our Life. I would therefore advance the idea that any application of obedience to the Torah which does not produce life in its hearers, but instead produces oppression and bondage is erroneous. Within these parameters, we need to also acknowledge that either an over conservative or over liberal view of our obedience to Torah leads to oppression and bondage. The over conservative view leads to the bondage to man, the over liberal view leads to bondage to self or the devil. Within these parameters we therefore obtain the blessed wisdom of a ‘balanced balance’, which God loves since: A false balance is an abomination to God.

May we love to learn; may we desire wisdom; but Abba, grant us not to be so arrogant as to think we have to learn everything on our own. Give us the wisdom toe learn from those who ‘blazed the trail’ before us, that all our wisdom and learnings bring us life and freedom, not death and boundage.

ACCEPT GOD’S RECKONINGS

Psalms 3:1

LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me.

Hear the heart cry of King David, a great and mighty soldier unto his God! Hear the cry of a meek one who; one who after winning numerous battles still, does not rely on his own arm of flesh to save him and to get him out of trouble. Hear the prayer of one who utterly leans on his God and who learns from Him.

Because of his sin with Bath-Sheba, King David was told that violence would not depart from his family. This song is the psalm that he wrote when he fled from his own son who slyly took the throne away from him. Couldn’t he have him killed? Couldn’t this great military hero have done away with his adversary, even with his own son? The people would have understood, his generals would have stood by him, and would have glorified him for being a king which was no respectful of persons in judgment, not even of his own blood. No. For David, this was not God’s way of doing things. Absalom had turned many people against his father, and to stand against him in military action could have involved civil war and the destruction of the city of God, of the beloved Jerusalem which David worked so hard to build. The most wonderful thing in David’s flight from Absalom is that David knew that what was happening to him this was the result of his own sins; therefore he was willing to eat humble pie in front of his God and in front of his people. The great lesson we can glean from these events is to not fight against God’s reckonings in our life!

Abba Father; help us to admit it when things happen to us that are simply the fruits and results of our disobediences to You and your Torah. Help us not fight your chastening for it. Help us to be able to eat humble pie and take your discipline bravely, just as we expect our children to do.

Hebrews 3 and 4 audio by Patrick Lumbroso

HE SEES YOU

Psalms 1:6

For the Adonai knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

We may sometimes feel that no one sees nor appreciates us for our true value. It may look to us that this cynical world misunderstands even the purest of our motives. By comparison, it may appear to us that those with ill motives and evil intentions succeed in their endeavors and that this world rewards them with credit and glory

What a comfort to know that Adonai Himself knows the way of the righteous, that nothing escapes His eyes. He is the ultimate Judge; ultimately, He is the only One we have to please and His reward lasts forever (Romans 11:29).

None can fool Him with pretense and false works. His spirit discerns between the sincere gift of our person to Him in pure and simple obedience, and egocentric self-glorifying, self-righteous religious works done in pride and dissenssion.

So let us not fear if today, the world doesn’t appreciates and values and our participation. Very soon another day is coming when the books will be opened and all things all will be revealed. In that day, every secret of every heart will be opened, every motivation revealed, and just recompense will be given to all.

May it come soon, even in our days!

Hebrews 2 audio by Patrick Lumbroso

Hebrews 1 audio by Patrick Lumbroso

STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF ADONAI

Psalms 1:5

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

This is a day we will all face--the day when the books are opened and a true account is given for everything we’ve done and said. No more hiding; playing games is done and over with. No more pretending, bribing, begging, whining, or cajoling. The time for justifying ourselves using our favorite rationalizations, excuses and alibis is over. This is the day of the great accounting when the borrowed and stolen is returned, when only what’s truly ours remains. And what’s more, is that for any of us the game can stop at any time; we cannot count on tomorrow.

In that day, those of us who have not had our priorities straight, who have not meditated on the Word, soaked our roots deeply in the moisture brought us by the River (Psalms 1:3), will not stand in the brightness of God’s presence.

Whereas those of us who have faithfully lived off the spiritual nutrients offered by the River of Life, those of us who regularly sat at Yeshua’s feet like Mary, we will be able to stand with Moses on the Mount of the congregation and hear the voice of the Master say, well done , thou good and faithful servant;. . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matthew 25:21) .

We will enter without fear, with Yeshua through the veil, and into the Holy of Holies of the Presence.

We will enjoy the God whom we know has been with us day by day.

What a day that will be!

‘THE RAILWAY OF DEATH’

Proverbs 18:14

The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

During W.W.2, 61,000 allied prisoners were forced to build a railroad from Thailand to Burma. Their Japanese captors were ruthless. They kept these POW’s living in abject conditions with every right of the Geneva convention denied. Hungry, beaten sick, humiliated, these prisoners had every reason to turn to the savage beast in each of them in order to survive. The price of that though, it is that if they did, they would reflect the image of the very devil that oppressed them.

One young Scottish officer who previous to the war was preparing to be a teacher recognized the issue at hand and determined to keep his dignity and pride as a human created by God, This officer started teaching and educating the other soldiers of his company away from the ‘beast’ in each of them that that demanded murderous vengeance. Using Greek classics, Shakespeare and the Bible, he revived hope and reason in the heart of those around him. He kept the ‘human’ from being overcome by the ‘beast’ in each of them. This victorious encounter of virtue against senseless brutality created ripples and waves that taught even their heathen captors about the power of God.

In the same way that the germs part of our biological structure wait for a moment of physical weakness to do their dirty work and make us sick, sin also permeates our personality. Lust, vengeance, anger, arrogance, pride, gluttony and senseless polemic are all waiting for our moment of spiritual weakness, a moment when the enemy has succeeded to break our spirit, in order to take us over and show their ugly head.

Thank God, that even though our spirit may be broken, we have His unbroken victorious Spirit to sustain us. His Spirit is the One of the Lamb Who voluntarily and meekly laid down His life, while praying for His enemies. He opened not His mouth in vengeful curses; He did not return hurt for hurt. His Spirit was stronger than the evil that oppressed Him, and therewith He conquered even death. This is the Spirit that we also own from God.

Let us who claim to be anointed by Him; let us who claim to know and hear the Voice of His Spirit; let us who declare that we have the Light of the knowledge of God, never blaspheme His Name by misrepresenting Him on earth no matter what are the conditions. Tall order? Yes. But better to die fighting to reflect His image to the world, than to submit d to the blasphemy of reflecting the image of His and our-arch-enemy: the devil.

THE LIGHT AND ORDER IN A GOD-LED LIFE.

Psalms 1:4

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

A young woman told me that she believed in God, that He was close to her and leading her life. She proclaimed though that she did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah the Son of God, and that only through Him could God be addressed or approached. Curious to know more about the effects of this belief system on her life, I continued the conversation with this woman.

She then proceeded to tell me about her life; how she was so confused and did not understand the things that were happening to her. She also didn’t seem to have a clue of where she was at and even less of where she was going. After this discussion, I concluded that no matter how much she liked to believe that she was close to God and that He was leading her life, her own testimony proved otherwise.

God is not a spirit of confusion; a life led by the Spirit of the Lord is not confused. One who is truly led by God knows and understands by sight or faith where he is at and also where he is going. It is the ungodly and the one without God who is like the chaff driven away by every wind, thought, doctrine, or idea, with no order, beginning nor end.

The ungodly is the anti-thesis of one who is led by the spirit of the “wind” of God (John 3:8)’’ of the one who flies ‘upon the wings of the wind’ (Psalms 18:10).
For those of us who boast that our life is ordered and lead by the Lord of the universe, if it is truly so, Light, spiritual harmony and order emanates the silent, but screaming testimony and witness of the beauty of God.

THE RIVER

Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Oh what a picture! What a picture of the child of God’s perfect harmony of with His creator, the roots of his soul fully nurtured in the Spirit of his Maker. Near his God, he finds divine serenity, love of purpose, lush abundance, perpetual fruitfulness, true happiness: Eden returned in his heart. This is the reward of “not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standing in the way of sinners, nor sitting in the seat of the scornful”; here is the perfect harmony created in the heart of the child of God having “his delight is in the law of the LORD.” (Psalms 1:1-2)

People of the world run to and fro the distance of the planet in order to find peace. Like the woman that had the issue of blood, they spend all their substance on physicians, doctors and psychologist, hoping for the peace of mind and spirit that can be obtained simply by touching the fringes of Yeshua’s garment; do they only know that this treasure they are looking for is not in heaven nor beyond the sea, but it is very close to them, in their mouth and n their heart. (Deuteronomy: 30:13-14).

When someone comes sharing their hearts and their problems, spare them the empty psychology and wisdom of man; rather bring them to the ‘river’. There is no other therapy, no other solution, and no other medicine. All the wisdom in the world will fail; only the ‘River’ will do.

DID YOU HEAR ME?

Proverbs 18:13

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

How many problems would be solved with proper communication ethics. How many wars would be avoided, how maybe households would find peace, how many marriages would be redeemed and work relationship saved. Maybe it would even help our politicians to bring back ‘civility’ in their debates on hot issues.

I had a conflict with my teenage son the other night. I gave him a command which he wanted to argue. I had to let him know with no uncertain terms that whatever he had to say, disobedience was not acceptable. When he later complained later to his Mom that I was not listening, she explained to him that the best way for one in authority over you to listen to you, is to first indulge them in their command; they will then be more willing to hear your position.

What does it mean to answer a matter before we hear it? The Hebrew verb for ‘hear’, is ‘shamah’, from where we get the word ‘Shema’ in the staple prayer of Judaism. Shema means more than to passively listen. It means to listen, accept, obey and act upon what was spoken. When God tells Israel to ‘shema’, He in fact tells us to hear, listen, subject our spirit to His command and do what He says.

Jewish sages actually taught that the best time to lay your requests at God’s altar is when in the midst or performing an act of obedience. The idea is that when we obey God doing His will, He is happy with us, and it is then a good time to say, “By the way, God, could You please…?” That is why Jewish people always pray for their children during the Sabbath prayer on Friday night. They know that God is pleased to see them obey in sanctifying the Sabbath, so they use that time of favor to pray for their most precious possessions: their kids.

Effective communications require humility, and the apostolic Scriptures do advise us to ‘subject one to another’. May we subject ourselves to each other, by indulging each other’s reasonable request. By listening more, we may find ourselves more heard.

SACRIFICE OR PRIVILEDGE?

Psalms 1:2

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.

It is no sacrifice for the child of God to not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful as was stated in the preceding verse (Psalms 1:1). The child of God does it willingly because his delight is of a higher calling. The child of God doesn’t feel that he ‘has’ to dedicate himself to the study of the Word; he rather feels that he ’gets ’ to; for him, it is a blessing and a reward from the Almighty.

Today the world offers us many distractions that compete for our attention. Some seem, good, most are bad and even dangerous. We need to realize though that whatever comes in conflict with our dedication to the treasures of the Kingdom should be considered negative influences in our lives. Sometimes, even the ’good’; the ‘good’ that we settle for, is the worst enemy of the ‘best’!

It takes a total change of mind and spirit--a regeneration of the soul to be able to be sincere in saying, “Yes, my delight is in the Law of Adonai, and I love to meditate on His words day and night, I consider it my highest blessing, reward and privilege!”

“Dear Yeshua, let our appetites and desires be rewired. Let us be able to truly concur with David, ‘My delight is in the Law of the LORD’, and truly estimate meditation on your Word an incomparable treasure, an immeasurable reward, and the greatest of all honors and priviledges.”

FREE THE BOUND

Psalms 1:1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

In today's world, so much is about conformity; it may not be bad, but does this conformity to accepted attitudes lead us to becoming the creatures God has ordained us to be? Even the concept of individuality has become an alibi that we use when we only claim to exercise the freedom to choose to which bondage we will conform to.

Satan, the enemy of our soul uses the grip of the vice of conformity to the world and its ways to keep our soul prisoner to his ways. He wants us to stand for him, walk in his counsel, and seat in fellowship with his people. He, terrorizes us into submission to his concepts with stories of gloom that cause us to fear lest we escape; lest we become free again, living under the sole dependence of God. What lies does he not concoct to keep us from escaping. His hope is for us to form bounds of affinity with him, so like an abused woman, we get familiar with him and accept the situation as ‘normal’.

But like the wind, the freedom of our soul solely lies in its ability to yield to God in all His ways, without controls, without the obstructions of those who would wish it to conform to their ungodly ways. Our spirit only finds fullness of freedom when we give it permission to follow God, its Creator as He leads. One word of consent on our part towards Yeshua The Redeemer, and we can free ourselves from the terrorizing grip of our abuser, the devil.

May we never be fooled by the enemy’s lies into conforming to the ways of the world. May we never listen to him to the detriment and freedom of our soul. While it is called ‘Today’, let us call on Yeshua The Messiah; let us stand with Him; let us walk in His ways and be blessed with His freedom from bondage as we seat in fellowship with the people of God.