Running The Race As a Winner – Day Ten

John 14

Personally involved with the Spirit –
Appreciating the flavor
Of tasting the truth.

Ruach Ha Kodesh/the Holy spirit is the facilitator of the new birth. He is the Spirit of adoption. Because he makes us, keeps us conscious, and motivates us, as we run the race we will look to our Father with boundless respectful boldness.  The Spirit inspires us to act out our position as a royal child by displaying the royal family likeness, which is the fruit of the Spirit. We further the family welfare and demonstrate the family honor.

We take the truth – the Word of God – with us as we run. We taste it, chew it, and ingest it. It gives us pleasure, strengthens, and matures us. With the Holy Spirit as our teacher and final authority on the word, we constantly find more of its riches.  Not simply taking on empty calories, we are nourished and invigorated; acquiring the characteristics of our Father and Brother. We are becoming strong stones in the building of the body of Mashiach/Christ; not because of what we do, but because of the Spirit of God that motivates us.

Prayer: Holy God, my constant friend and companion, you move me to the music of your thoughts and renew my mind to think like you. You are molding my awareness to understand and appreciate your will. Use my emotions, Lord, to glorify your name. You are producing the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Thank you Lord. And blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

Running The Race As a Winner – Day Nine

John 10:1-30

God reveals himself to man
Through the incarnation of Yeshua his Son.
To know God
We must know Yeshua.
Yeshua the King, the Lamb,
The Shepherd, the Door, the Way – bids us come:
To know God through knowing him.

Yeshua Ha Mashiach/Jesus the Christ, whose position is in the heavenlies, far above all principality and power, might and dominion, and every name that is named (in both the here and the hereafter), is the head of all things. He is the power that loves us with such a love neither death, life, angels, principalities, powers; anything that is now or will be in the future, though it be high or low there is nothing that can keep his love from us. He is no fair weather friend. He is the power that conquers tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. He is the power that blesses us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. That is how we can have peace while we are facing the distresses of this life. We know we are running the race safe in the yoke of the one who is carrying the heaviest part of the load.

Prayer:  Give ear to my words O Lord, and consider my mediation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I will pray; my voice shall you hear in the morning, O Lord, I will direct it to you and I will look up. Thank you for your Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood; and forgiveness of our sin according to the riches of your grace.

Running The Race As A Winner – Day Eight

Ephesians 1:3-5

Adopted by Yahweh, Jehovah the Lord,
To the great I AM – reality behind all reality,
I cry “Daddy.”
The Holy God: great majestic, and pure;
The One to whom I humbly bow,
Sheltering under his mercy
Calls me his son.

As winners in the race we are aware of the unlimited depths of the love behind our adoption. We have the security of our Father’s intimate knowledge of each one of us, his children. We run the race yoked to our dearest friend who knows our every feeling, each thought, all our desires; and he knows how to reveal our Father’s goodness and mercy to us so that our hearts confidently say, “Daddy, my Daddy. I love you; I trust you. I know your desire is toward me. You are my heart’s trusted confident and protector. I will cuddle up in your arms and sit in your lap and let you rock me. I will come to you when I am hurt for you to kiss it and make it all better. I will ask your advice and trust your answer. I will trust you to stop me from doing anything that will have bad results.”

We will hear him answer, “I knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. I watched your progress and made note of the things I would have to help you correct as you were developing. I was there when you came forth out of your mother’s womb. I was there all the time you were growing up. I watched you get false impressions of me and it made me very sad. I have waited for you to call me ‘Daddy’. I love you, my child.”

Our adoption shows us the importance and logic of true holiness.  We, the children, and our Father have deep mutual values and strong emotional involvement.

Prayer: O Lord, how manifold your works! In wisdom you have made them all. Rule in my heart, Lord. Guide my footsteps. I come to you as a child to his father and ask you to shelter me under your mercy. You’re working everything in my life for the good that I am becoming conformed to the image of your Son. I commit my mind and my will to you.

Running the Race As A Winner – Day Seven

II Timothy 1:12

Eternal life is knowing God:
Being loved and cared for by him;
I am loved by him,
And Yeshua Lord is mine.
The best thing in life is to know God –
My father, my Shepherd, my King divine.
Joy not dim
Is this fellowship so fine.

We can know God in the manner of a child knowing his father – the child looking up to the father he knows – the father taking responsibility for the child.  This is so because through Yeshua/Jesus we have contact to our Father by his Ruach Kodesh/Spirit; which turns strangers and foreigners into family and fellow citizens with the saints in the household of God. We who know him (because he allows us to) are loved and cared for by him. (We may not feel it at times but we know it is true because he says so and he cannot lie.) Knowing God develops love for his family – the attitude of being his child. The evidence that we are children of God is the avoidance of sin.  We know he is blameless, so we know, because we are born of him, we must do the right thing as well. Seeing Yeshua/Jesus and being like him is the hope of the Father’s family. That very hope makes us pure.

Prayer: To you who are the God of our Lord Yeshua Ha Mashiach, the Father of glory, I come boldly as a child and ask that you will further bring light to the eyes of my understanding so I may know what is the hope of my calling and what are the riches of the glory of my inheritance in the saints. It is you who has qualified me to be a partaker of the legacy in the saints in light. Thank you Lord. And blessed be the name of the Lord God from this time forth and forevermore.

Running The Race As a Winner – Day Six

I Peter 1:3-9

When our legs are tired and our breathing is labored, we keep running because we were made to know God; to be his friend and walk with him – to talk with him in divine fellowship. Wisdom is knowing and accurately relating the truth we know about God to our own lives. He invites us to be justified (not held accountable) and glorified (re-created in his image) and conformed to the image of his Son. We lift our spiritual eyes up and see God in the character of Yeshua/Jesus. We aren’t content to simply know about the strength of his power, we experience his power as we mount up with wings as eagles and soar on the power of his Spirit. When an eagle sours it doesn’t flap its wings to keep its heavy body in the air; it rests on the air currents in effortless ascent. We soar on the power of Yeshua/Jesus when we rest on the power of the Spirit of God in unforced movement upward toward our goal. As the eagle isn’t suspended from the sky and constantly moves on a power greater than its own; we forever move upward toward the image of our Creator – on the power of his Spirit anchored to his strength.

Prayer: O Lord, you reign in my heart. You are clothed with majesty; you have girded yourself with strength. Surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. I will know you intimately and deeply Lord. You have invited me to be your friend and walk with you and talk with you. You, who are the great King eternal, have called me friend. I lift up my hands to you in grateful praise.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Running the Race as a Winner – Day five

I Corinthians 12:8, 9

Faith is a gift, with substance and evidence originated and worked to perfection by God. It is the visible material of our hopes; the evidence of things that are impossible to see without it – the light at the end of the tunnel. The unrevealed things of God of the creation of the world are clearly seen through an understanding of the formation of the material world. The study of physics reveals God’s eternal power and Godhead. Things discovered about his creation are evidence of his being.

The judge says, “What is the evidence of your testimony?” A testimony is perceived as a pack of lies without verification. The proof of what Noah didn’t see was the Ark he built in compliance to God. He chose to agree with God about what he said and act in accordance. Scripture says Noah’s obedience made him an heir to righteousness “Which is by faith.” Abraham’s evidence was obedience in action.

We must ask ourselves, “What is my testimony? What kind of witness am I? Is my faith validated by tangible confirmation?” If the answer is, “no” we won’t try to construct faith or proof of assurance for ourselves. When we tasted of the good word of God by the faith that our taste buds experienced, we took a larger lick and got more faith with the lick. We saw it was good, so we had a little more. We spent more time with God and got to know him a little better. We trusted him with our hope of eternal life. As we spend more time with him, listening to him through his word, and talking to him through prayer, we become more aware of all that we have in Mashiach/Christ. This leads us to exercise our faith more, resulting in growth. If we don’t see the evidence of our faith now, we will go back to the source of our faith. We will hide his word in our hearts as we look at him, watch him, and lean on him.

Prayer: Lord, your power is mighty toward us who believe. My faith will abound more and more in real knowledge and all discernment so that I will see with the eyes of my heart that which is excellent and turn my back on evil. I will look at you through the mirror of your word. I will meditate on all your works. I will lean on you. I will hide your word in my heart.  I will praise you in the public square and I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. And blessed be the name of the Lord God from this time forth and forevermore.

Running the race as a winner – day four

Romans 6

The law of sin and death says if we trust in the law for our goodness we will be measured by the law, so we better be perfect.  No one has ever lived up to the law, except Yeshua/Jesus. The law of the Spirit says Yeshua became our sacrifice and if we trust in that payment, it is enough. His ransom is satisfactory to free you from the law of sin and death.

The devil is the author of sin and death. Yeshua/Jesus has given us the authority to resist the deceiver. No matter what this fraud wants to do, at the name of Yeshua Ha Mashiach/Jesus he has to go. He has no choice; he has no clout. He is destitute before our mighty God.

As we run, we lay aside our sin so it doesn’t trip it and we won’t sink in it. When we find we have picked up and old sin, or a new sin, we put it down and keep running. The longer we hold sin, the more damage it does. We won’t stay down when it trips us. We get back up and run. We ignore that sin while we get back up and run from it – we don’t look at it or acknowledge it. We take the hand of God, he pulls us up, and we run the race with endurance. We never look back to see if the sin is still there, we don’t try to hang on to even the memory of it to explain the rocks, canyons, or mountains ahead. We don’t look at old sin; we don’t look at new sin. We don’t even look at the obstacles in our path. We keep our eyes only and always on the goal, Yeshua/Jesus, the one who gave us our faith and is working it to perfection.

We can see the glory of God off in the distance and are being transformed into his image as we draw closer and can see him better. We look at Yeshua/Jesus; we listen to him; we learn more about him every day from a careful search of the Scriptures – where we find him in every page, from Genesis to Revelation.

Prayer: I love you Lord. You are my strength and the joy of my salvation. If I am carrying sin, give me eyes to see it and I will put it down. You are revealing yourself to me in the window of your word and recreating me in your image. I would be like you in my practice as well as my position. I know that I have a position in you that has your innocence.

The /sermons of Moses, chapter 1

The narrator wrote that Moses preached these sermons to all Israel while they were east of the Jordan River and eleven days travel from where, forty years earlier, Israel was camped when the spies were sent in to scout out the land and came back with fear in control in place of faith.

It was the first day of the eleventh month – Shevat – forty years after the return of the scouts Moses addressed the people of Israel, the last thing he did to prepare Yahweh’s chosen people to enter the Promised Land. He would be mining out the riches of Yahweh’s truths to the chosen people. As any good teacher, Moses had proficient knowledge of what he was teaching, a passion for the topic and his students, and knew how to convey the content in relevant and understandable ways. He set clear standards. Without rules, chaos reigns. He led by example – his words were consistent with his actions.

Moses reminded Israel that Yahweh had spoken to them at Horeb and told them that they had stayed long enough at the mountain and it was time to move on. He led them to the hills of the Amorite where people were living. They were to go to the mountains, foothills, the Negev, and the seashore – all the Canaanite and Lebanon country all the way to the Euphrates River. Yahweh told them to pay attention to the fact that he had given his chosen people the land mentioned above when he made his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was time for them to go in and possess it.

Moses reminded Israel that he had told them that he couldn’t carry the load all by his self. Yahweh, their God, had done as he promised and they were in number as many as the stars of the sky[1]. Moses assured them that he wanted Yahweh to keep increasing their numbers just as he promised but added that he couldn’t carry the burden of their troubles, concerns, and quarrels all by his self. Therefore, Yahweh instructed him to select understanding and experienced men from each tribe and he would commission them as leaders. The chosen people agreed and Moses took the best men from every tribe and appointed them leaders. He appointed leaders/judges of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, officials adequate for each of the tribes.

Moses reminded Israel that at the time he appointed them, he told the judges to listen carefully to every complaint or accusation between fellow Israelites or foreigners and judge fairly. He reminded them that he had instructed them to judge with impartiality and remember that they were judging in the name of Yahweh. They were his proxies. He told them that they could take the hard cases to him and he would deal with them. Moses reminded them that he had given them instructions at that time about anything that they would have to deal with. They were well trained. Training was important because it would result in fewer mistakes and a better outcome. Lack of training could lead to life or death situations, but even when it wasn’t related to critical consequences, it was still important. Moses’ training increased the judges’ retention. Training also offered Moses an effective way to empower his leaders by showing them that he was interested in their success. It made them feel more engaged in their posts[2].

Moses continued to recite Israel’s history of what had happened forty years earlier. He reminded them that they had set out from Horeb[3] and headed for the Promised Land. He reminded them that they had gone through the vast and daunting wilderness and its lessons had been adequate[4]. Moses reassured Israel that their God, Yahweh, had been with them, leading and instructing them all the way to Kadesh Barnea. Moses said that he had told the chosen people that they had made it all the way to the land that Yahweh, their God, was giving them as a gift. All they had to do was take it – with courage and determination.

Moses’ history lesson continued with the account of how Israel had asked Moses to send spies in to investigate and bring back a report about what they should expect to find when they entered the Promised Land. Moses said it had sounded like a good idea to him so they sent a man from each tribe.

Moses recounted how the spies set out, climbing through the hill country to the Eshcol Valley. They looked it over and brought back samples of the produce and a report that the land that Yahweh, their God, was giving them was a good land.

However, Moses reminded them, they weren’t willing to go up and take possession of Yahweh’s gift. They mutinied against their God, Yahweh, and his promises. They complained in their tents accusing Yahweh of hating them and hauling them out of Egypt to dump them among the Amorites to be killed. They defended their disobedience by blaming the spies who came back with reports of giants and massive defenses.

Moses reminded them that he tried to alleviate their fears and give them courage by reiterating that Yahweh, their God, was leading the way and fighting for them. He reminded them that they saw with their own eyes what Yahweh had done for them in Egypt and in the wilderness – how he carried them as a father carries a child, all the way to Kadesh Barnea. He reminded them that Yahweh, the great I Am, reality behind all reality, was their God and asked them why they didn’t trust him. They knew that he always went ahead of them, gave them a place to camp and directed them with a cloud by day and fire by night so they would have a physical representation of his presence at all times. However, the chosen people had turned deaf ears to Moses’ words. They had failed their entrance examination and weren’t ready to go into the Promised Land.

Moses told the chosen people that when Yahweh heard what they said[5] he assured them that not a single person of that generation with the exception of Caleb would see the Promised Land. Yahweh had said that he would give the land to Caleb and his descendants because he was dedicated to following him, Yahweh. Moses told them it was their fault that he, too, was prevented from entering the Promised Land because of their rebellious ways. Moses reminded Israel that was the reason why his assistant, Joshua, would be taking them into the Promised Land.

Moses instructed Israel to bolster Joshua’s resolution and mettle, as he had been doing – at the behest of Yahweh – because he was the one who would claim Israel’s inheritance for them.

Moses also told Israel that Yahweh had told their parents that because they had feared that their babies would be captured for plunder; their innocent offspring would inherit the land. Then he sent that generation back into the wilderness.

That generation; however,  decided not to go back into the wilderness, and admitted that they had sinned but were ready to obbey Yahweh’s previous instructions and go into the Promised Land[6]. They got their weapons and dressed for battle. However, Yahweh instructed Moses to tell them not to go up and fight because he wouldn’t go with them and their enemies would defeat them. Moses told them but they ignored him and rebelled again. Their pride in self was in control and they went to battle without their God, Yahweh, and were overpowered and conquered. When they returned to camp crying about their failure, Yahweh ignored them. Moses told Israel that they had stayed at Kadesh about the same length of time they had been there earlier.

 

Summary of chapter 1

Moses addressed the people in the fortieth year after the exodus from Egypt and reminded them how Yahweh had spoken to them in Horeb and given them directions. He told them that, at the commandment of the Lord, he had appointed officers, judges, etc., to share the government with him. He reminded them of their travels in the wilderness and the people’s request to have spies sent to search out the land. Then he reminded them of their grumbling and insurgence when they heard the report from the spies. Moses reminded Israel that he had encouraged them to no avail. He recounted how Yahweh had been angered because of their murmurings, and resolved to prohibit them from the good land and give it to their children only. He reminded Israel how they regretted their decision and its result. Then Moses reminded them that they went against the Amorites without the authority of Yahweh and were defeated. He recalled their return to Kadesh, where they abode many days.

 

Prayer: I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things,

let me have nothing: I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven^[7].

Things to think about

1. Why do you think it was important for Moses to give Israel a history lesson before they went into the Promised Land?
2. Why do you think it is important for us, in this day and time, to “listen to” Moses’ history lesson?
3. What did you learn about Yahweh from the first part of Moses’ lesson recorded in this chapter? Why is it important for us to reacquaint ourselves with the different aspects of Yahweh’s character every day?
4. Why was it important for Israel, as a whole, to go back and learn more in the wilderness – their proving ground – before they were allowed into the Promised Land?
5. How many times in your own life have you gone over the same material before you learned the lesson and passed the tests your God, Yahweh, sent you?
6. Why did Yahweh repeat so many times that he had given the Promised Land to his chosen people as a gift?
7. The Promised Land was a gift from Yahweh to Israel. In order for a gift to change hands from the giver to the receiver the receptionist must reach out and grasp it – not grab it. What was Israel’s part in possessing the Promised Land?

 

[1] Remember that Moses was a master of hyperbole – emphases stronger than we usually use today in this era and area. Hyperbole is never meant to be taken literally and is used to emphasis a point. It was Moses’ way of putting punch to his words. Semitic languages are full of “heat.”

[2] https://www.reference.com/health/training-important-d832e219f9ec78b0

[3] Sinai

[4] The lessons of the wilderness had been enough to prepare them for entrance into the Promised Land.

[5] Remember Yahweh, through Moses, was talking to his people from their view point, using their language.

[6] They weren’t repenting or willing to obey Yahweh. They regretted their decision and hoped they could manipulate Yahweh into going back on his word and pretending they hadn’t failed their test and could go ahead as though they hadn’t failed.

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Covenant_Prayer

Running the race as a winner – day three

Psalm 55:22; Matthew 6:30-33; 11:28-30

We lay aside our burdens, yoke ourselves to Yeshua/Jesus and learn to pull as he pulls. Both of us are carrying the weight.  We only accept cargo that he takes on; we never pick up our own affliction. We pull with him and practice resting in the yoke. He is the author of patience and he is training us to walk with him. When we get out of step, we won’t get frustrated.  Because the answer is simple, we can stay calm; we simply start walking in step again.

We are “living two lives.” We sit with Mashiach/Christ in heavenly places; our seat is there, but our temporary residence is living on earth dwelling in mortality. Our practice – what we do in our earthly dwelling – is a practice toward righteousness (as though we are practicing the right notes to a heavenly song). YESHUA IS OUR DIRECTOR.

The burden of success that equals monetary gain and commercial power will only because heavier because this false perception of success is never satisfied. Every man should eat, drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:13,; it is the gift of God. But we won’t be possessed of labor, worry, and work to get what God has already promised to always supply. We will seek the kingdom of God (His rule in our hearts and lives) above all else.  We practice stepping in tune to the music that motivates Yeshua, our partner in the yoke. Our labor is restful when he walks with us. We work out our salvation (our life in Mashiach/Christ). It is God who works in us to work out our salvation. We are partners in the work that nourishes us.

Prayer: O Lord, my God, you are very great. The heavens and the earth are yours; the world and all its fullness are your creation. By your power I will walk worthy of you under the yoke of your guidance. You help me to practice the right notes and step in time with you, creating harmony. And blessed be the name of the Lord God from this time forth and forevermore.

Running the race as a winner – day two

The first forward thrust of the race is baptism, because it is a picture of redemption – stepping from death into life, your new life in Messiah/Christ. If you were baptized as a baby or young child by your parents, they believed for you and now you are affirming your own choice to believe. You stand before the congregation of the church and tell them your decision to accept your parents’ belief as your own in confirmation.  That act publically identifies you with Messiah.

If you were not baptized as a baby or child you will want to be baptized now as an act of testimony. The mode of baptism, whether it is sprinkling, pouring or immersion, is a symbol of Ruach Kodesh/Holy Spirit baptism that placed you positionally in Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection. The Public identification represents the spiritual relationship.  It is also the picture of the baptism of Ruach Ha Kodesh/ the Holy Spirit. It’s not the signs and wonders we are following after, but a new realm we are living in – the kingdom of the spirit. We will no longer be controlled by the flesh; we are led and nourished by the very Spirit of the Living God.

John told his disciples, “…He will baptize you with Ruach Ha Kodesh and with fire,” Jesus said, “…but you shall receive power after Ruach Ha Kodesh is come upon you.”  Without Ruach Ha Kodesh you would be like a baby who never gets any nourishment. He is the seal of our redemption.  He is our security, guide, and teacher – messiah’s gift to every Christian. The baptism of the Spirit is not something you wait and get later, hope for, pray for, or try for. When the Ephesians heard about Yeshua/Jesus and were baptized as an expression of their faith in his atoning sacrifice, the next immediate step was the baptism of the Spirit. When the apostles heard some in Samaria were saved, they immediately sent Peter and John to lay hands on them so they could obtain the baptism of the Spirit too. We don’t need anyone to lay hands on us because we have the Word of God to show us what we ought to do. We yield to the power of Ruach Ha Kodesh by faith. We will ask believing and act accordingly.

Yeshua/Jesus is God’s gift to the world. Ruach Ha Kodesh is Yeshua’s gift to his body (Christians). A gift is freely offered and it’s an insult to refuse it. The only reason why anyone would not have the baptism of the Spirit is because of unbelief, and unbelief is sin.

As winners in the race, we allow Ruach Ha Kodesh to control our tongues because they are the most untamable members of our bodies (read James 3) and they are the first thing we must yield to the direction of Ruach Ha Kodesh. As we surrender this member others follow. We know when our tongues are disciplined by Ruach Ha Kodesh because they speak the Word of God with boldness; we open our mouths with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on our tongues.

While we are running the race as winners we continue to identify ourselves with the goal – not in water baptism, but in our behavior, words, and in the community of believers taking the Lord’s Supper.

Prayer: Lord, as I run the race my identification with you will become more credible every day, each step of the way. I will allow your Holy Spirit to control my lips. I will open my mouth to allow you to speak through me. I will practice submitting my tongue to you. I will yield my eyes to you and see with eyes of compassion. I will submit my ears to you to hear the cry of the needy soul and respond with my hands and heart. I will yield my feet to you so you can lead me where you want me to go. I will no longer make it a habit to go and do as I please; but will publically identify with you in all that I do in the flesh.