Luke 6:12-13 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
In these days, we have to pray for wisdom! In the letter of James, the Lord’s brother, he writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally…” [James 1:5] The context for this request is trials! Since this is a time of almost constant trials, God knows we need His wisdom, more than ever.
As a minister and watchman, I’m often asked what I expect to happen, and what is my advice for it. I can say one thing for sure; the world situation is extremely volatile, with shifting paradigms, and we absolutely must get God’s individual and personal wisdom to navigate these last days.
Yeshua (Jesus) Himself spent a lot of time in prayer. You might think He didn’t need to do that since He was in constant fellowship with his Father, anyway. But it’s clear He needed to get away to concentrate on that relationship and to listen carefully and intently. If the very Son of God needed that time in prayer, how much more do we?
Luke reports that the Lord spent all night in prayer before He chose His disciples. Apparently this was a prerequisite for one of the most important decisions He had to make. Take it to heart; important decisions should NEVER be made without committing yourself to God in prayer, and the more significant the decision, the more concentrated time you should spend hearing God’s mind on the issue.
Make sure you are seeking the Lord for wisdom in these days, to be led of His Spirit, especially when decisions are before you. Rely on His promise to grant you wisdom generously, as He will to all that ask. Perhaps, in the past we’ve made bad decisions because we neglected to seek Him in prayer. We didn’t ask, and thus failed to receive His wisdom. This time, and every time, from now on, follow the Lord’s example…
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]One of the sacrifices mentioned in the Tenach (Old Testament) is mentioned as a Peace sacrifice or sometimes translated as the Thanksgiving sacrifice. It is known as the ‘shalem’ sacrifice. The root behind this word is the word ‘shalom’ whereby we get the word, peace.
From the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 4:4) to the end of the Bible (Revelation 22:3), there is a common theme — the Lamb! In Revelation 6 we read about the Lamb who sits in the midst of the throne — worshiped by all of heaven because the Lamb was worthy to take the book and open the seals therein. The most harmless of creatures — the object of sacrifice, becomes the authority of heaven. Isn’t it interesting that the focal point of heaven is a Lamb?
So often in ministry, the Lord deals with my own spirit, saying – “You need to step back and get refocused!” And we all know how hard it is at times when we get so busy with the normal every day stresses of life tugging at our limited time.
Throughout the United States today, everyone will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document through which leaders of the colonies in the New World broke free from the King of England.
The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”