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Day 45 NOT BY BREAD ALONE

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Today is the 45th day that we have been counting the omer.

God fed the children of Israel for more than forty years during their trip from Egypt to the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses said, “He humbled you, allowing you to become hungry, and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to make you understand that a person does not live on food alone but on everything that comes from the mouth of Yehovah.” (CJB) God allowed the people to come to the place that they were not able to provide for themselves. They could not figure out a way to provide the food needed to keep themselves alive. It was at that point that God did something for them that they could not do for themselves. He provided manna.

Do you remember the story of Jesus being tempted after His baptism? Jesus had fasted for forty days. He had to be very hungry! It was then that Satan came and tempted Him, telling Him that if He really was the Son of God, He could turn the stones into bread. Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yehovah.” (Matthew 4:4)

Although the trend in our world today is that the government will provide for us, traditionally, we have been taught that we can only rely upon ourselves. If we refuse to acknowledge that God is the One who provides, we will ultimately end up worshiping ourselves or the government instead of God. If we choose to use our own abilities to provide, we should not be surprised if God humbles us as He did Israel.

Our challenge today is to depend upon Him at the deepest level of our lives. Those deep levels are where we develop intimacy with Him, as we chew and meditate upon His word. The closer we draw to Him, the more our lives are filled with His Presence, and we realize that everything we need in all aspects of life comes from Him.

What do you need today? What are you hungry for? God wants to provide for you what you cannot provide for yourself. The more you know Him, the more you want Him and the more you will receive from Him.

Pastor Ann

May 26, 2020

Day 44 THE HOLINESS TRAIL

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Today is the 44th day that we have been counting the omer.

Have you ever been walking down a trail and suddenly the trail splits? Maybe you were not expecting it. You try to see around the next corners to determine which way to go. There are no signs posted, and you do not want to get lost. Neither direction, as far as you can see, gives you a hint about which one you should take. I have been there, and despite the beauty and tranquility of the trails, a question always arises in my mind about which way I should take.

I think that is something like what the children of Israel came to in Deuteronomy 11. And as Moses laid it out for them that day, they had a choice to either follow God and receive the blessing or follow other gods and receive the curses. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing, if you listen to the commands of Yehovah your God that I am giving you today; and the curse, if you don’t listen to the commands of Yehovah your God, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

In the verses above, notice that Moses told them that he was setting a decision before them “today”. Every day, continually, we have decisions to make regarding our relationship with God. Each day and throughout every part of the day, we have the opportunity and responsibility to make choices that impact our relationship with the King of kings.

Today I am wanting us to look at a higher choice than simply choosing a blessing or a curse. I want us to see that God gives us the choice to come up even closer to Him than when we first believed. Which trail brings us toward that goal? I will tell you that the trail is the one called “Holiness”. Intentionally choosing to seek the Lord daily, listen intently, and follow His ways radically, brings us to another split in the trail. There, we have the opportunity to commit ourselves totally to Him and ask that Yeshua, Jesus, baptize us with the Holy Spirit even as He baptized His disciples on the day of Pentecost almost 2000 years ago. It is certainly not the easiest trail to walk on. It will bring us to places where we must build an altar and give God things that hinder us. As we walk with Him, He shows us things or areas of our lives that we never saw before, things that cause Him pain. It requires a dedication in the strongest terms possible. However, the rewards are the highest, for it brings the greatest intimacy with the Holy One of Israel!

Are you ready to choose the trail of Holiness?

Pastor Ann

May 25, 2020

HAVE YOU RECIEVED? Day 43

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Today is the 43rd day that we have been counting the omer.

I’m reminded today of an account we find in Acts 19:2-6 (CJB). Paul has just arrived in Ephesus and met with a few disciples. “He asked them ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to trust.’ ‘No,’ they said to him, ‘we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Holy Spirit.’ ‘In that case,’ he said, ‘into what were you baptized?’ ‘The baptism of John,’ they answered. Paul said, ‘John practiced a baptism in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, Yeshua’. On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Yeshua; and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; so that they began speaking in languages and prophesying.”

These folks were followers of the teachings of God and were conducting themselves in a righteous manner. They were keeping the commandments and had turned away from their sins against God. Now Paul entered the picture and discovered that although they were really good people and were trusting in God, they had never heard that the Messiah Yeshua had come. He asked them a huge question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you came to trust?” Another translation (KJV) wrote it this way, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?

I think this is the question that God wants us to ask ourselves today. Jesus told His disciples to stay put in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit so that they would be empowered to do the will of the Father. So many times, we find ourselves spiritually anemic, not having the power or maybe even the desire to accomplish what Jesus commanded us to do. Sometimes we make excuses for ourselves saying that it is not our personality to do or say certain things about our relationship with God. And certainly, God gave each one of us our personalities so that we are able to reach individuals that no one else would ever be able to impact. But if we take that to the extreme and allow it to be the door behind which we hide, then we must examine ourselves to see if we really have been changed inside. Probably none of us will ever be a second Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, or any of the other great preachers of the past. However, that does not relieve us of the responsibility to be intimately involved in our Lord’s command – “Go and make disciples.” But we must know that it is not through our own power or ability that the expansion of His Kingdom is accomplished. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit! That is why it is so critical for us to completely surrender ourselves to God and ask Him to come cleanse us and fill us with His Holy Spirit! There really is no other way to do the work except through His power!!

As we expectantly look forward to Shavuot (Pentecost), I hope that the thing that has steadfastly stuck in your mind throughout these weeks of counting is that you want to have such a relationship with our God that you are excitedly carrying out His commands and looking forward to His soon-coming. I hope that your intimacy with God has blossomed into a beautiful reflection of Him. Ultimately, this is only possible through the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives!

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?

Pastor Ann

May 24, 2020

Day 42 SET OURSELVES APART

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Today is the 42nd day that we have been counting the omer.

Throughout the Old Testament, God highlights the requirement to be different from all those around us. This is evident as He requires Abraham, his household and all his male descendants to be circumcised. It is seen again as God verbally gives His commandments to the Israelites at Mt Sinai and then in written form to Moses. Each one of God’s commandments reflect His holiness and His standard for living. He wants a people set apart. He not only desires but requires that they serve no other god. They were to have no other god in His face. They are to only worship Him, Yehovah. He wants a “different” people so that they stand out from all those around them.

As His people, we are to imitate Him by sanctifying ourselves, setting ourselves apart for Him alone. We are to choose to more accurately reflect Him by sanctifying things in our lives such as our possessions so that even those things are holy in His sight. We are to make sure that the things we own are not used in ways that are unholy. Maybe that means what is viewed on our TV or what our vehicles are used for…. Our time is sanctified when we set apart time to be in His Presence, drawing closer and developing intimacy with Him. Adherence to His commands hopefully is the fruit of sanctifying ourselves and living in a loving relationship with Him.

Leviticus 20:23-24; 26 (English Standard Version) “You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them…. I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples…. You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

It is very easy for us to forget how adamant Yehovah is about living and being separate from the world in which we live. I am not talking about going and living on a mountain top, having no contact with others. I am talking about choosing to live our lives in such a way that we refuse to pick up the habits of this world in which we live. Our language, what we watch or bring into our being through any of our five senses, what we approve, where we go, our behaviors, and our attitudes are to reflect our God. Yes, He knows that we are human, but that does not give us license to do things that do not reflect His character. We cannot think and act in this manner: “well, this might be wrong, but God will always forgive me”. He requires us to be different from those who do not believe in Him. We are “to walk in humility and obedience and in the beauty of holiness – the beauty of His Presence – because He wants us to be His own. He desires for us to be consecrated and devoted in love to Him alone.” (A Taste of Torah, A devotional Study Through the Five Books of Moses, Keren Hannah Pryor, 2016) He wants so much for us to grow in intimacy and oneness of heart and mind with Him, sanctifying ourselves for Him. He wants the world to look at us and know that we are different even as He wanted the children of Israel to be different from the rest of the world. Through their difference, they were to proclaim to the world that there is only one God, and His Name is Yehovah.

Our challenge today is to do even as Paul tells those living in Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:17 NLT) “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.” Will we choose to be like Yehovah, or will we choose to be like the world in which we live?

Pastor Ann

May 23, 2020

Day 41 HOLY SPIRIT POWER

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Today is the 41st day that we have been counting the omer.

Luke 24:49-53 (NLT), “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, He blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up to heaven. So they worshiped Him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. And they spent all of their time in the temple, praising God.”

Acts 1:8-11 (NLT), “’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’. After saying this, He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him. As they strained to see Him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw Him go!’”

Jesus had done all He could do to ensure that the disciples were convinced beyond any possibility of a doubt that He was alive. He had meals with them; He continued to teach them about the Kingdom of Heaven. He connected the dots for them from the prophets and through all the writings found in the Old Testament. He proved to them that He was the Messiah and would return to be the King over all the world. He knew all the persecution that would follow. He knew who would be the first to die for proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah. And, He already knew who will be the last to die for faith in Jesus. For 40 days, He worked diligently to confirm His Father’s truths to them. He knew that they would be put on the witness stand and would have to be convinced beyond convincing that what He had told them was true. And now, He was leaving.

He commanded them to return to Jerusalem and stay there until they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. He did not ask them if they wanted to do that. He commanded them to do it. According to Jesus, it was essential, not optional. He knew that despite the fact that He had just spent 40 days confirming and reconfirming, teaching and reteaching, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was the critical piece that would be required if they were going to ready to be put on the witness stand of the world. He knew that the methods that would be used to bring about their deaths would require the indwelling of the Holy Spirit if they were to stand firmly. So He commanded them to stay in Jerusalem.

If it was essential for them, it is essential for us. More believers are dying for their faith today than at any time throughout history. We in the United States have not been persecuted like those in the rest of the world. But as we come down to the end of this age, it would not surprise me if we begin to see terrible persecution. Will we be ready? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit will we be able to stand! This was His last command, the last thing on His mind before He left. We must not ignore this command. It is ESSENTIAL.

Pastor Ann

May 22, 2020