October 29, 2024

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” heb 13:8 nkjv    Jesus/Yeshua, of course, is Yahweh… Yahweh told Moses, concerning His identification to “the children of Israel.”

“Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” ex 3:13-15 nkjv

To us who believe in the God of Israel, Yahweh [YHWH], Him being the “I AM,” means we believe that YHWH is the ever-existing one. No beginning, no end; HE IS, because HE says I AM is HIS name forever… I recall the late Brad Scott saying that the, “pointy head professors can’t understand because of the self-inflicted limitations they think by [with] because Yahweh is smarter that we are.” Yahweh is outside their capacity, hence, they can’t comprehend the I AM, God of Israel… No one can think their way into the personality and omniscient and incomprehensible Tetragrammaton… Actually, that makes it easier, as for us who believe, it is our faith (which HE gives each one of us a measure; rom 12:2-4)   that simplifies trying to scramble our brains by overloading the capacity Yahweh designed us with… for a reason known only to HIM. The Scriptures renew our minds and connects us to Yahweh's mind. This of course, is why we can believe what we can’t see or even comprehend, simply because “God Said So.” Although, when man only partook of the tree of life (before confusing his perfect mind by the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), man was hardwired to Yahweh without impure conflicts. I hope you are following this… it will soon make more sense… I think. Paul helps with this word:

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 cor 4:17-18 nkjv

Now, as noted above, Yahweh told Moses, “I AM.” John writes in jn 8:58,  Yeshua told the religious contrary Jews, Pharisees, “… before Abraham was, I AM.” That of course freaked them out. Then in jn 8:47,   Yeshua told these same Pharisees, “ He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” Now as a side note, I’m sitting here writing this devotional and wondering how most modern “Pharisees” would think and act if some simple parishioner tried to explain this Torah teaching and Yeshua’s confirmation of the same to them… The Pharisees, we are told in jn 8:59,   decided it was time to take up stones and pummel Him… Scriptural truth and facts can get religious folks angry.

So, we need to likewise understand that persons who “do not hear” the Torah [Yahweh’s Words] are not “of God/Yahweh;” even their prayer is an abomination, prov 28:9 nkjv    AND, there are plenty of false teachers who lead many away from Yahweh’s Torah, isa 8:20.   This fuels apostasy, leading to many disobedient, contrary and obstinate “Christians,” as well as comforting unbelievers, who unless they repent, will find themselves in bondage in the devil’s hands… and if they remain that way, they will find themselves in hell at the end of life… so say the Scriptures:

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” rev 21:7-8 nkjv

John writes in jn 1:1-2,   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” Here again, we have the I AM, that was, is, and is to come. Here, we see that the “WORD,” was, is, and is to come. This to me, means that everything in Yahweh’s view, purpose, and end, has already been done, and is being done, and will be finished the same as He originated it. No changes along the way. Even though our earthly “time/date” role in eternity is so temporal, and we can only see and experience our small portion of it, we will change none of it, nor will we change its trajectory or velocity.

No matter what we are experiencing or pursuing, it has already been written in “our book of life.” Our objective is to make sure our reading of Yahweh’s book is what we are viewing our book through, and that we are in agreement with His description of our “sons of God,” identity that He has prescribed, and not for us to try to reform who He made us to be. This may sound off the wall to some of you, but I am trying to say that we can’t allow the circumstances around us (seen and experienced in the natural) cause us to loose our view of what Yahweh has written in His book concerning us and those who follow Yeshua, who is the only one who knows where He is going. Wisdom would be to follow Him.

Now with all this as a foundation of truth as written in Yahweh's Word/Torah, and Yeshua’s lifestyle and teaching, and with the Holy Spirit as a witness, we can’t say we don’t know how to walk the Torah and keep the commandments of Yahweh. I want to suggest an observation I make in all of this… First, we can’t work ourselves in to salvation… but our disregard for and our lack of concern for living in truth and pursuing holy and just lives Yahweh’s way, will shipwreck our preordained and predestined identity… as alluded to above, I think before time was, each of us has been given an identity that Yahweh initiated and preferred for us to fulfill. Is this not what Paul told the Romans?

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” rom 8:28-30 nkjv

If so, how can all things (good and bad, comfortable and painful, pleasant and combative, evil and good… etc.) work together for good? I can only think that whatever Yahweh has ordered for our life’s experience has His stamp of approval, and our most important effort is to try to trust Him and not try to reconfigure our destiny. If I can use an example, it would be Yeshua’s words, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” mat 26:39 nkjv

Since we know how that willful and obedient (even unto death on the cross) faithful choice of Yeshua worked together for good… how can we not try to understand our difficult times and also prepare our hearts for even more difficult times that may be on the pages of our book of life… Note here, I'm not saying we should submit ourselves to wickedness and evil, I am saying that some things need to be endured and worked through in faith; it seems the outcome is that something good will come out of it. According to Paul, Peter, and James, patinece, longsuffering and endurance are challenges all believers will experience.

When everything in life seems to be falling apart concerning our lives and everything around us, we must decide if we trust/believe what Yahweh [I AM] has already done, is doing, and will do, and that it is dependent upon, and included in His perfect finished work… maybe not in our “time,” but unless we try to reorder His preordained identity and pathway [destiny] for us, His perfect work in us will be done.

This brings me to the last thought this study revealed to me: I think for this to work, we will need to walk “hand in hand,” with Yeshua. And, should we loose our grip, thankfully He will not loose His grip. This caused me to think of many experiences I have had with people I have ministered to in days past, and a few of my own faults and failures, that present a caveat concerning His grip… He, I think, will only let His grip loose from us IF our other hand is tightly gripping old ways and indulgences, and unsavory people that we will not let go of… like Lot’s wife, who stopped to look back at her old ways and became a pillar of salt. gen 19:26 nkjv… Our life hangs between two grips… His faithful and strong grip, and our other hand’s condition, are we trying to bring along our old unacceptable baggage?

I think this message asks the question, “do we trust Yahweh and will we “keep” His commandments and the testimony of Yeshua, [rev 12:17]   which means through good times and bad times… as it has already been written on the pages of a believers book of life? So,

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Heb 10:23 nkjv

Shalom, John