1.11.25 ~ You didn’t see that coming

Good morning!

It's Shabbat! The date day of the week (Ex. 20:8; Ex. 31:14). The wedding ring for the world to know who your Covenant lover is (Ex. 31:13-18); the day of reflecting on your amazing week (Gen. 2:1-3); the day to cast aside all the cares of this life (1 Pet. 5:7)...and much more. Shabbat shalom!

Last night we had a powerful and practical lesson in Genesis 48 in relation to what is commonly referred to as the church; the called out ones/qahal/ekklesia and how to live like fish on dry land...Yep. Fish on dry land (Gen. 48:16).

The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them (Israel), and the namwod my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and 'let them grow/dagah into a school of fish' in the midst of the land (Gen.48:16)

I finished my evening watching the worship at Iglesia Mana Del Cielo, connected with my LightenUp Ministries in Pakistan, prayed, and slept like a rock (Isa. 26:3).

You've heard me speak on many occasions about how a rising tide raises all ships...well, there is a saying equal and opposite to that:

"under pressure you don’t rise to the occasion you sink to the level of your training and the more you sweat in training the less you bleed in battle".

That is why you and I need to keep sweating in training (1 Cor. 9:27), and that is what we do here each morning in our good morning studies. I hope and pray, daily, that these studies are practical, insightful, and relevant to your daily walk and they make you sweat now and bleed less later :-). Yesterday was the 2nd Friday of the year. It's the day that is commonly known as the day where the majority have fallen from their New Years commitment. Ugh! But not you! For His glory, not any of us! Keep training (2 Tim. 2:1-7 :-)!!

Commercial: Last night's zoom call: Vayechi/and he lived (Gen.47:28-46:26). I didn't know the church/qahal/ekklesia was established in Genesis, like fish on the land, influencing the nations to be grafted in until the fullness of the gentiles comes in! 

This morning, I want to take a completely different turn and give you the ultimate sweat test and encourage you to put yourself in the story…The story comes from some students in the Christian school who were asked to write an essay about what they would like God to do for them.

At the end of the day, while grading the essays, a teacher was reading one essay that made her very emotional. Her husband who had just walked in, saw her crying and asked her what happened? She answered, "read this". "It’s one of my students' essays. It read, "oh God, tonight I ask you to do something very special. Please make me into a television set. I want to take its place and live like the TV in my house. I will then have my own special place and I’ll have my family around me. I will then be taken seriously when I talk. I want to be the center of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. I want to receive the same special care as the TV set receives, even when it’s not working. then I will have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he’s tired. And my mom will want me even when she is sad and upset; instead of ignoring me. And I want my brothers to fight over me and beg my mom to spend more time with me. I want my family to leave everything aside every now and then just spend time with me. At last, but not least, if I’m a TV, I am assured that I can make them all happy and entertained. Lord, I don’t ask you for much. I just wanna live like our TV."

At that moment, the husband said, "oh my stars, poor kid, what horrible parents she must have?" The wife looked up at him and said, that essay is our son...ugh!

You didn’t see that coming did you?

What would your kids pray to God to become in order to get more of your love? Would they pray to become your phone, your Facebook or Instagram app? What would your spouse pray to God to become to get more of your attention? Would they pray to become your computer or SportsCenter or your bathroom mirror or the bachelor show? Think about this today friends, are you giving too much love and attention, time and energy to the wrong things? Are you giving too much of what matters to the things that don’t actually matter? If we ask your kids, what they pray to God to become to get more of your attention, what would it be? And if we ask your spouse or a significant other, what they pray to God to become, to get more of your attention, what would that be? And what adjustments will you make? And finally, what if you're the kid not getting the loving, devoted attention that you need and deserve?

Fortunately, we don't have to worry about this with the Lord our God! He's always ready to give us the attention we need. On this beautiful, snowy morning, from Stanton, Michigan, may your day be filled with giving into others lives and may your life be filled so nothing is lacking.

Shalom!

Commercial: All in one spot...the last several months of studies, blog, audio studies and videos ...Keep training!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3.8.25

Good morning! Have you ever considered the meaning of the 153 fish that were caught by Yeshua's disciples in John 21:4-12? You remember the story, right? It's the story many of us have experienced too often in our journey...we've been 'fishing' all night long and NOTHING. Then, with a listening ear, we grab our nets one more time, and with a mighty heave we throw the net in a different direction over the boat, and...my oh my, the boat's about to sink because there are so many fish in the net; yet the nets don't break. What a story! What a miracle! What 'fish finding vision Yeshua had'! What obedience; especially after doing it for so long 'my way'. What an enigma that Yeshua already had fish cooking on the shore when the boys arrived! What wisdom he displayed in His instructions to the boys! Am I listening, acting, and throwing in the right direction? Are my nets empty (Matt. 4:19)? Have you ever felt like you're outside the camp, isolate...
Read more

3.20.25

Good morning! Yesterday, we learned some essential truths about how to 'be still and know that He is God (Psa. 46:10). Today, I want to ask you a different question based on life's ability to throw a wide variety of circumstances at us!  One of the most difficult situations is when we are threatened by someone or some circumstance. Have you ever been threatened?  Oh, maybe no one came up to you with a gun, or shouted at you with malice, or told you that you were going to be tortured or punished.  Maybe all the threat you ever had was the innuendo of rejection, or the social snub or something much less violent than jail time.  But my guess is that if you are traveling the road with Yeshua, living a Torah lifestyle, you know what it means to be threatened. Every time the circumstances of your life look as though they are about to cave in, you are threatened.  It might not be a threat from a physical enemy, then again...but we all know that in one form or another t...
Read more

3.22.25

Good morning! Shabbat shalom! Although the portion of Vayakhel/and he assembled is almost entirely focused on the construction of the tabernacle, it begins by reminding the children of Israel that no work may be done on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:2,3). Why does it begin here rather than jumping right into how to construct the Tabernacle? Enquiring minds want to know :-) By placing the topic of the Sabbath against the construction of the Tabernacle it's God's way of defining the boundaries of the Sabbath...that even the most intimate work for the Lord needs to be put aside for His 'Date Day'. However, upon further investigation, there’s another layer to understand that connects us back to the golden calf (Ex. 32). As we know, while Moses was up on the mount getting the instructions from God the children of Israel decided to make an object that would replace Moses, their deliverer; The object, later known as the golden calf, originally intended as a 'necessary' means to ...
Read more