Matthew 6:30-34 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? O you of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, "What shall we eat?" or, "What shall we drink?" or, "What shall we wear?" For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
In Biblical Hebrew, the verb tenses are not like our "past", "present", and "future" – there are only two: "perfect" and "imperfect." The "imperfect" tense is that which is not yet, not done, or not completed. The "perfect" is that which is done, complete, and finished.
The Bible speaks of things that are yet to come in the perfect tense as if they are already completed; (also called the "prophetic past"). God can have a finished work that hasn’t happened yet -- for example, our salvation! In Messiah, we are a finished work that hasn't happened yet. We are becoming what we are already in Him.
Yeshua (Jesus) instructed us to pray "on earth as it is in heaven." Since we (believers) are born from above -- from the finished, perfect work of God, we are already participating in His perfection, though we are still on earth doing His will.
So, reflect on this truth of your already complete perfection in Yeshua. You will look at your problems a little differently -- actually, be less worried about them from this "Heavenly" point of view. You may still be working them out with fear and trembling, yet rest in this simple and amazing fact: in Yeshua, they are already resolved!
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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.”