Shalom,


Mark 4:23-25:

23 If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend. 

24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you — and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. 

25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away [by force], 

It is important that we take these 3 verses very seriously! God's plan is for ALL of HIS people to live successful, prosperous and victorious lives here on earth. We are to be living witnesses to His glory BY OUR LIVES! If you will meditate on these three verses until the understanding comes, then act on them accordingly, you will experience God's favor and anointing as never before! GO FOR IT!


In Exodus we read about the vessels for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Eventually there would be two different temples built in Israel, with a third one yet to be built. When we were in Israel we visited the Temple Institute and saw some of the vessels already prepared for the new temple when it is ready. Here are some of the pictures:

 The laver and other vessels.

 The table of the showbread.

 The garments of the High Priest.

The garments for the lay priests.

We are living in VERY exciting times!


Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Exodus 25-26 contain the instructions for building the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. The LORD gave Moses some very precise and specific details for each item to be built for the place where God would reside with them. Below is a picture of a model of the Tabernacle with the various layers. It describes one layer as badger skin, but I agree with some scholars who say that badgers are pretty scarce in the Middle East. One translation says goat skins, which would be abundant, and another says porpoise or dolphin skin. Both would have been readily available, goats on land and dolphins from the Red Sea! 

I am getting a little ahead with these next pictures, but I thought you might like to see what the Israelite camp may have looked like, with the group divided by tribes! The first is a kind of diagram and the second is an artists rendition!

Remember that God is ALWAYS a God of order! Everything that He has ever done has been a plan in His mind first, then He spoke it out and those who WOULD, obeyed! That tells me that He also has a very specific and detailed plan for your life and mine! We need to spend time "waiting" on Him to find out OUR next step! DO IT! You WILL be glad you did, when you hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant"! And I DON'T believe we will have to wait until we get to Heaven to hear it, either! AMEN!


Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 57:7 & 11 say exactly the same thing and it is something that should be repeated over and over again!:


5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let Your glory be over all the earth! 

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth. 

It is both a statement of TRUTH (He IS!) and our confession of it!  When we agree with God's Word and act on it, extraordinary things happen!  These verses brought this song to mind from the Hillsong CD "This Is Our God" called "Your Name High"

In Mark we read about Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River and then being sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Mark 1:9-13:

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 

10 And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [to enter] into Him.  [John 1:32.] 

11 And there came a voice out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.  [Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1.] 

12 Immediately the [Holy] Spirit [from within] drove Him out into the wilderness (desert), 

13 And He stayed in the wilderness (desert) forty days, being tempted [all the while] by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him [continually]. 

Below is a picture from our Israel trip and another one I found online of the Wilderness of Judea, which is by the Dead Sea in Israel.

From there Jesus went back to the area of the Galilee and chose His disciples. He was ready to officially begin His ministry now! What preparation THAT was! How well do YOU prepare for the ministry God has called YOU to? Pastor Bill Novak of The Spoken Word Church says: "Preparation time is never wasted time" and I agree! You may be called by God into a ministry, but until HE separates you to it, PREPARE! How do you prepare? Be constant in the Word of God and prayer, especially prayer in the Spirit. Then just do what YOU do, and do it well! That is what the disciples were doing when Jesus "separated" them from there former life and said: "Follow Me"! Be ready!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 56 could have just as easily, and accurately, been written today! With everything that is going on all over the world, including the United States, believers really need to be grounded in the Word of God! These are truly like the times that Luke is referring to in Luke 21:26:


26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Christians have always suffered persecution in many parts of the world, but now we are seeing it more and more right here at home! What does the psalmist say when faced with such things? Psalm 56:3-4:

3 What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. 

4 By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me? 

"What time I am afraid" means whenever the opportunity presents itself to operate in fear and worry, I will NOT give in to it! I will remember 2 Timothy 1:7:

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 

Psalm 56:11 repeats the confidence in God:

11 In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 

Where does this confidence come from? Verse 9:

9 Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me. 

Romans 8:31 says the same thing:

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

So don't ever let fear steal from you again! If God is FOR you, and He IS, it doesn't do ANYONE any good to be against you!  Keep that before your eyes and then ask yourself this: I KNOW that God is for me, but am I for Him? Find out what God wants done, and HOW He wants it done, and then DO things HIS way! That brings great confidence! AMEN!

Here is a blast from the past with the Bold Song from The Gospel Bill Show!

Power, love and a sound and well-balanced mind! God's gifts to YOU, now put them into practice! 

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I have always loved Psalm 55:22:

22 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).

No matter how difficult the situation or how hopeless it may APPEAR to be, remember THIS verse and you will be greatly encouraged! That will enable you to maintain the attitude that you will never give up, never give in, never, never, never!

In Acts today we read about Paul making his way to Rome. You're familiar with the story of the shipwreck and all that takes place at this time. The key Scriptures to me today are verses 10-11 and 21-26:

10 Saying, Sirs, I perceive [after careful observation] that this voyage will be attended with disaster and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but of our lives also. 

11 However, the centurion paid greater attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 

21 Then as they had eaten nothing for a long time, Paul came forward into their midst and said, Men, you should have listened to me, and should not have put to sea from Crete and brought on this disaster and harm and misery and loss. 

22 But [even] now I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship. 

23 For this [very] night there stood by my side an angel of the God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship, 

24 And he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you. 

25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me; 

26 But we shall have to be stranded on some island.

Paul had warned them ahead of time, but they would not listen to him! No respect! We see that sometimes when, even though people  should have confidence that we hear from God by the results of our lives and ministries, many still doubt and go the world's way. Don't be discouraged! Keep obeying God and eventually they WILL see and you will be able to help them! Below is the link for another interesting website that has an interactive map of Paul's missionary journeys. I hope you find it interesting!

http://www.about-jesus.org/paul-journey-to-rome-map.ht

Shalom in Him!