Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Over twenty years ago, not long after I came to faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) the Lord began putting it in my heart to create a website where believers could be informed about world, national and Christian news — so that they could more effectively pray. I could not have imagined what Worthy News has become. Back then, I knew nothing about designing websites. I started with a Pentium 1 … a tiny hard drive by today’s standards — just a few gigs. Every few minutes the overload brought it to the point where it would crash. Incredibly frustrating! I finally figured out that in order to fix the problem, I had to dump all the unused programs and unnecessary information. Soon afterward it functioned again, and I learned something…
The responsibilities of life and ministry can become like that overloaded Pentium 1. Take me for example: whose family is growing and that needs, whose online ministry needs regular oversight, traveling all across the world, all in the context of the stress and pressures of life … well, at one point the overload felt a bit like my original computer… on the verge of crashing!
What to do? Continue carrying more burdens than I can bear, processing more information than I need? No. I’ve had to retreat, and I needed to re-evaluate…what is the Lord giving me and what have I taken upon myself? And which burdens am I not casting upon Him?
Allowing ourselves to nearly crash is not spiritual. There will be times when life’s pressures seem unbearable, but we can be prepared for those times if we practice a regular discipline of evaluating our priorities in normal daily life, off-loading unnecessary tasks, and casting the important things onto the Lord, in prayer. If we do so, it may save us from “crashing” in the long run!! Don’t crash … take a long-deserved rest and enjoy your weekend, and rest in His finished work! Shabbat Shalom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Bible speaks of a great falling away in the last days (2 Thessalonians 2) before the end of the age arrives, and it seems that we’re seeing it on a grand scale all around us. Virtually everywhere we look we’re watching the decline of morality and ethics — in government, entertainment, and social culture. It seems hard to deny…
Continuing our study on prayer I want to emphasize the confidence we can have as we approach the Lord. The exact moment we move toward Him to pray, we are exercising faith….which immediately pleases Him. He knows that we need His mercy and grace, and because He constantly intercedes on our behalf, we can be assured He will hear us and respond. Our approach is not based on our own merits, but on His righteousness and mercy. Having been tempted at all points as we are [Hebrews 4:15], His identification and understanding enable us to approach His presence with bold confidence.
One of the most important aspects of prayer is understanding how God Himself is interceding for us in ways we cannot fathom or comprehend. While Yeshua’s (Jesus) atonement was completed on the cross 2000 years ago, His continuing work of intercession rests soundly on the basis of it. He now lives … to make intercession for us! As our Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever [Hebrews 13:8], He is “faithful and true” and will always intercede according to the Father’s will, both in personal, individual matters, and also as we take up battles in prayer for others, including every arena of spiritual warfare.
When David was anointed king over Israel, he didn’t take his place at the throne immediately. He had to wait, and bide his time, until Saul was removed from power, before arriving at his destined place as King. Like His father David, Yeshua (Jesus) was received as Israel’s king/messiah at the triumphal entry, (often called “Palm Sunday”), and then, “anointed” King of the Jews, ironically receiving His true title from the Romans, while hanging on a cross. But He is still waiting to reveal His identity as King on earth, during the Millennial reign when His kingdom will replace the kingdoms of this world at His second advent. [Rev. 11:15].
In today’s world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant Internet access, there are many things that we can “know.” “How long is the Golden Gate Bridge?” Pop out your iPhone, ask “Siri”, the golden-voiced digital encyclopedic genius, and you’ll have the factual answer in seconds.
The Jewish leaders of His time rejected Yeshua (Jesus) when He first came. He didn’t meet their expectations. They were expecting a Messiah who would bring relief from the Romans, restore the Kingdom of David, and usher in an era of tranquility throughout the world. It is probable that their intense jealousy of Yeshua blinded them to the numerous passages in the Tenach (OT) which describe Messiah as a suffering servant, since they were certainly aware of those passages.
As thousands of believers around the world will celebrate Palm Sunday, I thought I’d offer some additional historical insight into the day Yeshua (Jesus) entered Jerusalem. Most people associate Palm Sunday with the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass”. But there is another significant detail associated with this beautiful fulfillment…