It is also good from time to time to pause and take an account of where we stand with the Lord in our faith and works. Are you lying down asleep, or sitting lazily? Are you standing firmly yet going nowhere? Or are you walking in His ways, or better yet, running in His race? It is very easy to lose momentum and want to sit down for a while, but we must be careful, for that is when the enemy will try to snare you and keep you from getting back up and running again. Sometimes, I feel like I’m walking, but in circles, not really making progress in the tasks God has asked me to do. 2 John 8 says,

“Look to yourselves, that you do not lose those things we worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.”

You have worked hard and endured much to get to this point in your faith walk. You do not want to take two steps forward and one step backward. God has not called us to lose ground, but to continually be advancing forward. And what has the Lord asked of you? “…but to fear the LORD your God, to WALK in ALL His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul…” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

Do you feel like you have been lying face down in the dirt for far too long? Shake yourself! Get up! Get going! Don’t sit down and give opportunity to the devil to hinder you from advancing in your spiritual walk! If you’ve let your Bible reading taper off, pick it back up and dust it off and jump into it again. If your prayer life is stagnant, there is no better time than right now to find a quiet moment to re-open the lines of communication between you and the Lord. If you’ve been finding too many convenient excuses to not attend your congregation weekly, make yourself an appointment to be there this week.

If you are doing well and are spiritually healthy, you have been called to come alongside those who are wavering in their faith, to build them up and help them stir up their fire of devotion into flame once again.

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

I love you, but the Lord loves you even more!!! Be encouraged today. Keep your chins up and keep up the good work!

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Do you ever feel small or insignificant in your faith? Do you think that you can’t measure up to the level of devotion that you see in other believers? Neither you nor I can allow the devil to lie to us that we are undeserving of ALL of God’s wonderful promises and blessings. Yeshua, our High Priest, has mediated a better covenant which was established on better promises. He fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy in Jeremiah 31 that says,

“I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them will need to teach his neighbor or his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the LEAST to the GREATEST of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31: 33-34 & Hebrews 8:10-12)

Whether you are the least or the greatest (or somewhere in between) in your faith walk, ALL of God’s mercy is available to you. None of your sins are remembered if they are under the blood of Yeshua. The Lord God is your God, and you are His people. He is at work, even in you right now, to transform your mind and write His laws on your heart. Don’t give up! All you are doing, from the smallest deed to the greatest act of faith, is noticed and appreciated by the Lord. He has put all the resources of Heaven at your disposal to help you in your work, and He will reward you for your faithful service when you stand before Him one day.

“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT)

ALL of Yeshua’s promises for YOU are “Yes! And Amen!” Embrace His love and blessings today!

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I think the same idea applies to what is going on in our world today. We are watching the news and taking note of the events around us, but we also need to be looking ahead at where all of these events are heading. I feel like our nation is about to enter a dark tunnel where it will be difficult to navigate once we’re there if we have not made some plans to prepare now for whatever might come in the near or distant future. Proverbs 27:12 says,

“A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; the simple pass on and are punished.”

This is the time to be on our guard so we can foresee the evil that lurks ahead of us and hide. And where should we hide? The best and only hiding place that will protect us is to be hiding ourselves under the shadow of God’s wings in prayer and planning. We don’t want to be caught with our pants down when we need to be ready to jump. But we should ask the Lord for wisdom on how to proceed in every circumstance.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

Don’t let the evil of this world slow you down or get you distracted. The devil would love to keep you stuck on the shoulder of the road behind a heavy burden or hinderance, but the Lord wants you to continue moving forward by faith. Keep your eyes on the One who will help you navigate around the obstacles and dangers that lie ahead to lead you safely home to Him. Keep your chins up and look ahead for the signs of the times are everywhere. I believe the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh. Let’s be ready not just to jump, but to fly when He blows the trumpet!

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“And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16)

This man had only the tiniest bit of faith to look up from his miserable situation and listen to Peter and reach out his hand for whatever Peter could offer. And he was instantly and unexpectedly not only healed in his legs, but he was made perfectly sound! His whole miserable situation dissolved in a moment! His shame was gone! His depression was gone! His worry was gone! His embarrassment was gone! His dependence on others to carry him was gone! And all of this was replaced with a joy he never knew he could have. That is what faith in Jesus does for us. When Jesus heals, He doesn’t leave anything half done. He heals to the uttermost. He saves us and raises us and helps us and fills us with His presence. When we yield our hearts and lives to Him, He revives our soul and lifts us up out of our misery into His marvelous joy.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19).

Are you miserable and frustrated in your situation? Do you feel stymied and helpless and constantly need help from others? Are you burdened with worry or depression or sickness? You only need a little bit of faith to look up and reach out to Jesus, and His presence will come flooding in to give you perfect soundness. He will start at your weakest and most vulnerable point and work up from there. He will revive your spirit and strengthen you from your toes to your head. He will touch your body and renew your mind. Then He will fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

If you are doing well and are living in victory, Praise the Lord! But there are broken and weary people all around you who are without hope and joy like the lame man. Reach out your hand to them and let the Lord flow through you to bring them the answers that they can’t even dream of in their miserable state. Be Jesus’ hands and feet extended to those around you today.

May you experience the times of refreshing in the Lord’s presence today and every day.

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Likely given to a new believer or one preparing for the ministry, it served as both an anchor and a compass to his belief.  In his day, heresies proliferated and heretical groups distorted the Scripture.  Perhaps in his lifetime, or that of his children, the Persians invaded the Holy Land, putting thousands of Messiah followers to death by the sword. Later, the Muslims swept through preaching a new religion.  The words on that shard, however, stood in direct opposition to Muhammed’s belief that God has no son.

Recently, my youngest daughter, a senior in high school was asked to write a paper about her faith and beliefs.  As our family gathered with each of us contributing thoughts, my mind went back to the words on that ancient shard, so succinct and yet foundational.  The older I get, the more I appreciate those fundamental truths.

Some years ago, a council in Israel was held by the Jewish believing congregations to reaffirm their core beliefs about God, Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit.  This arose because a congregation began teaching that Yeshua was the Messiah, but not the divine Son, the second Person of the Godhead.  Thankfully, this loose council of congregations re-affirmed their core beliefs about, Yeshua, the Son of Man, the Son of God.

And that brings me back to the person who held that shard, copied from other copies, ancient affirmations of faith. I am sure that he needed to trace those letters and words in times of opposition to strengthen his beliefs.

What about you? What do you believe?  Every time we open our computer, we are bombarded with challenges to the Word of God, to our faith in the God of Israel, and His Son. Like never before, we are exposed to so called “higher criticism”. From many of these experts we can hear the voice of that ancient serpent echoing, “Did God really say?”  Perhaps some of your favorite Christian singers or even preachers have publicly denied the very one who saved them to follow the new fad of “deconstructing their faith”.

I want to encourage you to go back to the sources, the Word of God. Examine the ancient creeds formulated by earlier believers. You might even write a copy of those fundamental truths in a journal or on a place to display in your home.  As you do, you will not only strengthen your own faith, but those who come after.  You may also find that you have much in common with the person who penned these words on that old shard some 1,500 years ago.

The Nicene-Constantinople Creed: 381

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For our sake and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; he rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures, and ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and together glorified; who spoke through the Prophets. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.[1]

[1] https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/191545

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