Devotions

“And they received from Moses all the offerings which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning.”

Exodus 36:3

Two things we should notice here, First: there is a building for people to congregate and fellowship at! And second: it takes offerings to keep that place functioning! What we see happening around us today in America anywhere between 6000-10000 churches a year close their doors, that’s about 200 a week! This ought not to be!

“But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.”

Psalm 88:13

We as a body of believers, need to be coming out in the morning offering up prayers, listening for the LORD and doing not sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to step in!

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

James 1:22

Today, let us all spend more time praying for churches, synagogues, ministries and people! Then let’s also get motivated asking the LORD to show us where to help and support! LORD, help us and show us where we can be a bigger blessing to your church today!

“On six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is to be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest in honor of Adonai. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.”

Exodus 35:2 CJB

This can sound pretty extreme, but why do we go right to the last words, “put to death?” What we should focus on is complete rest and honoring the LORD! Working seven days really gets us nowhere but dead!

“If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on My holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonia’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.”

Isaiah 58:13 CJB

In other words, when we stop doing our own thing and spend a day with the LORD, honoring Him, the results can be a better relation with your family, rest for your physical body and, best of all, some real time spent with the LORD without the distractions of the six other ordinary days!

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”

Isaiah 55:6 NKJB

Something to think about today! Have you been putting off spending time with the LORD? Thinking you’ll do it when the job gets done, kids grow up or you get caught up doing whatever excuse you can make! When we put off or deny the time, one day a week, to spend with the LORD we start to have a slow spiritual death! This is the day that the LORD has made, stop and rejoice in it, rest in Him and be blessed!

“And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Mark 7:37

How true this is for us. Jesus does all things well! He saved us, who were dead to life and made us alive, who were deaf to truth and now we can hear His truth and we were blind to His love and now we can see!

“Then God saw everything that He made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Genesis 1:31

This includes us too, God made us and says “It is very good!”

He does ALL THINGS WELL! The moment we are in has been perfectly designed by the LORD! What we need to do is look for the LORD in the moments, don’t focus on the situation, but instead look for the LORD in everything!

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Psalm 34:8

Here is something to think about. God finished making everything on the sixth day and said it is very good! Look at what happened on the seventh day!

“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

Genesis 2:3

Today, we need to realize and know God has sanctified us (set us apart), He is finished (He has done) and now He is resting! The question is, are we resting in Him? God has made everything good and does all things well! That goes for us too, because He made us and saved us, so have a blessed day resting in Him!

“Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, Is that you, my lord Elijah? And he answered him, It is I. Go, tell your master, Elijah is here. So he said, How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?”

1 Kings 18:7-9

We should never fear what the world can do to us, but sad to say we allow things around us to have control over our lives!

“In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” NOTHING!

Psalm 56:11

Be careful of allowing the obstacles of life to control you, instead trust the LORD to guide and direct! Every situation that we get into know that the LORD has a perfect path to get you through!

“Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack!

Psalm 34:9

We should fear going through life without the LORD, more than the situations that get in our way! Understand, nothing can kill you unless the LORD allows it. And for us who believe, death just means we graduate to be with the LORD!

Have a blessed day walking with the LORD!

Shabbat Shalom

“But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.”

Exodus 34:20

This is pretty cool, when we see Jesus as the lamb, because you’ve been redeemed!

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the LORD!”

John 1:29

So what’s that makes us? The donkey! OUCH! We all can relate with the fact that many of us from time to time can act like a jack-ass!

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

1 Peter 1:18-19

How amazing is this? Maybe things haven’t been going well or you’ve had a rough week! Good news you’ve been redeemed and all you have to do is call out to Him! Hope this blesses you greatly!