Words Matter: Week 2/Day 4

Read: Romans 8:1; Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Hebrews 10:22

SOAP: Romans 8:1

S: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

O&A: Condemnation in this verse can also be understood as "damnatory sentence". I am so thankful that our Father so loved us that He gave Yeshua to be our salvation! This passage doesn't say we don't deserve this sentence, but that because of Yeshua, our Father no longer looks upon us as receivers of that sentence. 

Something that stands out to me is right after "to those who are in Messiah Yeshua", it then says, "who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit". I keep hearing in my mind the verse regarding "Lord, Lord", and "Depart from Me, I never knew you". There are many who proclaim to know Him, but are walking according to the flesh, not the Spirit. 

I hope this doesn't come out in a wrong or offensive way, but I was once the fleshly believer (can't say none of that is still there). As long as I knew and believed who God was, and that Jesus was God's Son, and I believed that I was saved, I was good to go. Chased after my own fancies, my own sin, fulfilled my own desires. If I had died then, I fear that I would have been one that was told, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Because I never got to know HIM. I didn't truly understand His purpose; I didn't truly understand or love Him. It was a me, me, me/take, take, take relationship. It was "what can You do for me", not "how can I serve You?" situation. To me, that is all part of (but not entirely) what it means to walk after the flesh. There was no dying to myself, no living FOR Him. 

To be completely transparent, the devotion today mentioned, "Condemnation doesn't come from God, but from the devil. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” As a child of God, there is no condemnation for you. That's what Christianity is about. You're free from guilt, free from shame, free from fear, free from pain, free from failure." I doubt that I'm alone when I say that the adversary still whispers these words (not good enough, not "this", not "that", you didn't do it right, this person would've done it better, etc.), trying to cause doubt in the freedom that we accepted when we chose to live for Yeshua. Yes, we are still servants, but to Messiah! Not to ourselves, not to the adversary, not to the world... Correction most definitely comes from God (My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights), but condemnation is not the same. I think maybe I've gone on too long already... :) 

P: Beloved Father, thank You for the freedom to serve You, for the shed blood of Messiah Yeshua that set me free... I ask for boldness to serve You in the way You've called me to serve, and strength to withstand the wiles of the enemy, both haSatan, and my flesh. When the adversary comes whispering, I pray that my ears will be closed to his lies, my eyes with blinders on, looking neither right nor left to see what he offers, and that I would not see what the world offers, just You, right ahead of me, showing me the correct way to go. Thank You for setting me free! In Yeshua's name, Amein.

Words Matter: Week 1/Day 4

Read: Psalm 59:12; James 3:7-8

SOAP: James 3:7-8

S: For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind.
But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

O&A: Hoo boy. I cannot say that I'm comfortable here. Nor should I be. That word 'tame' is used in this passage as both tamed AND restrained/curbed. Anyone else ever get upset, start speaking, and the more they speak the angrier they get? It's like adding fuel to the fire sometimes. Please tell me I'm not alone in this! Our tongues can be like a poison dart, piercing to the very core of a person to hurt them. Our words can also be a healing balm. We must choose wisely.

P: Abba, my beloved Father, I don't want my tongue to be a restless evil, full of deadly poison. I don't want that to be the overflow of my heart. Help me face and address the frustrations, the unmet expectations, the hurts, the trials, all the things that could be building up in me that would cause me to lash out, and purge it from me; heal me from it. I relinquish it all to You. Please help me keep from taking it all back, or adding new fuel to the fire. Help me build up the treasures of the fruit of Your spirit, so that is what flows from my lips. In Yeshua's name, Amein.

As I continue meditation on this verse, I feel I need to add this... How do we typically tame an animal? (Specifically I'm thinking of a dog, which is the only kind of animal I've ever tamed). With words. So how interesting, that the same way I can use my tongue to form the words to TRAIN an animal.. the same tongue I use to train an animal, cannot be trained itself. Whoa.

LGG: Jonah - Love the Loveless Week 1/Day 4

Read: Jonah 1:13-17SOAP: 1 John 1:9

S: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

O&A: It is really interesting that the SOAP passage says "he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness", and in Yonah, we see that they threw Yonah into the sea. What a visual of being cleansed! Abba didn't have mercy on just the people on the ship, but of course as we continue, we learn of His tender and loving mercies towards each of us. 

Didn't the men on the ship initially try to do exactly as Yonah did? They tried to run from Adonai's ruling, and it got worse for them! So not only am *I* Yonah, but so were they! 

I need to add in 1 John 1:10, also, "If we say that we haven't sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." I, for one, do not want to make the Creator of the universe a liar! I have actually used this with my sons in regards to consequences of their actions. If I had told them, "If you choose to do (this), then (that) will be the consequence", and they still choose to do the thing, (and it is apparent that it was willful disobedience), then I would ask them if they remembered the consequence. If they asked me not to follow through on the consequence, I would tell them that if I did not follow through, then it would make me a liar because I would not have done what I said I would do. (Of course there are times of mercy, because Adonai DOES show us mercy, but it isn't every time because then what would we learn?)

When we try to do things our way, we are not giving glory to our Father, our Adon/Lord; we are trying to give glory to ourselves. Yonah was choosing disobedience, the men on the ship were choosing disobedience, and how many times have I chosen disobedience? And what does it take for us to cry out to the One True God, and repent and do what's right? Will we continue to fight as the storm grows more tempestuously around us, and keep thinking, "I've got this. I can do this." Or will we fall in submission to Adonai, and truly understand that He does not do things to please US..? Yes, He does things that we feel pleased by, but He doesn't do it for our sake, but His.

P: Abba, my Father, You are worthy to be praised, and I praise You for Your sake, not my own! I am so thankful for Your mercies, for Your love, and for Your salvation. Abba, I don't want to be like Yonah, but I realize sometimes I do run away from what You've called me to run toward. I pray for Your discernment to know what to do, where to go, which direction to travel, etc., because my feet don't always know where to go. I pray for Your discernment in my friendships, in my homeschooling, and really in every interaction I have so that I will not stray from Your calling. In Yeshua's name, Amein.