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]Another aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef, is that the world would resist his authority.
When Joseph told his family of his dreams, they were outraged at the suggestion that their younger brother would reign over them. They simply had no idea that God would make Joseph exactly the kind of ruler they needed.
When Joseph became ruler over Egypt, his name was changed, and his identity was altered so that he no longer appeared or lived as a shepherd son of Israel from the land of Canaan, but as an Egyptian Prime Minister. The transformation was so thorough that when his ten brothers arrived in Egypt he was totally unrecognizable to them. This true story beautifully illustrates Mashiach ben Yosef (Yeshua/Jesus at His first coming), and contains a prophetic picture pointing to Yeshua and His Jewish people living today as we approach the Second Coming.
Joseph, the son of Jacob grew up caring for flocks, a shepherd boy,(Genesis 37:2). While we might have a romantic view of an easy pastoral life among sheep and goats, the main responsibility of a shepherd was to protect the flock against hungry predators (wolves, lions, etc.) looking for an easy meal, actually quite a dangerous job. The shepherd loved his sheep; and Joseph was a good shepherd.
The creation of the world was completed by God in 6 days. He rested on the 7th day and sanctified it, the Sabbath, Shabbat. When Yeshua died for the sins of the world, his followers hurried to take Him down from the cross so they would not violate the commanded time to rest. [Luke 23:54-56] So the Messiah completed His work of redemption just before entering into Shabbat. As He died, He said, “It is finished!” [John 19:30] Finishing His work and entering the grave opened the way for humanity to enter His rest, the rest He entered after creating the world.
Does it ever happen to you – that something terribly simplistic just suddenly becomes clear? I realized something about us the other day. We, humans, are such addictive creatures.
This verse in Nehemiah connects the observance of a Holy day with the joy of the Lord. Our identity as “saints” (literally, “holy ones”), called to be holy, means we are and ought to be set apart from the world. But does that mean a solemn and joyless life of boredom as some have been led to believe? I have heard statements like, “I’m miserable, but at least I’m holy!” No, to be simultaneously holy and miserable is “oxymoronic” (if I may coin an adjective). It contradicts the very Spirit of God!
In 70 AD Jerusalem finally fell to the mighty Roman army led by Titus after a long siege. To commemorate the Roman victory over the Jewish rebellion, an arch was erected in Rome known to this day as the Arch of Titus. This famous arch depicts the fall of the Temple and its artifacts paraded in a processional described by the historian Josephus’ in his account, “The Jewish War.”