ISSUE: #27

MEM

(Messianic Email Message)
Psalms 119:97 - 104
www.seekingthetruth.com

For His Glory!

Message

Misjudged?

Naaman the mighty Syrian warrior came before Elisha, the prophet of Elohim, to be healed of leprosy - 2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ 12 …So he turned and went away in a rage." Later he was convinced to follow Elisha’s instructions and was healed.

When Yeshua (Jesus) did not meet the Messianic expectations of the Jewish leaders, they would not recognize Him, despite all the signs and wonders He performed.

How do we look at things? How do we think the Creator must act or perform? Have we some pre-conceived idea of how things are going to be played out? If so we may be missing some of the greatest blessings on earth and in the world to come.

In John chapter 6 we read that when it was near Passover time; Yeshua fed 5000 with more left over than when they began to feed them. A mighty miracle indeed. Verse 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Reading on, Yeshua intended to bring the people a deeper meaning of the Passover.V-35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

Because they were so focused on the present they missed Yeshua’s message verse 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?" 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" - 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? 62 "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Many went away – even those called His disciples Verse 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

What about you? What will happen when you hit a bump in the road? When things are not quite like you expected or wanted them to be? Will you lose control?

Let us be like the Righteous - Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. (NLT They may trip seven times, but each time they will rise again. But one calamity is enough to lay the wicked low.) It is the character of the righteous to get up (repent) and get going again even though they may err occasionally (not always have it right).


Proverb

Proverbs 2:20 So you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.


Saying

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

Being open-minded means that we hold to our paradigms loosely and that we consider new ideas freely. Being willing to risk means that we accept cheerfully the possibility that we may make mistakes or look foolish. Stephen R. Covey


Bible Quiz

  1. Who asked of Yeshua, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age"?
  2. What is the theme of the four Gospels?
  3. In which city did Paul drive out of the girl a spirit by which she predicted the future?
  4. By whom were the believers sealed?
  5. Why did Solomon ask God to give him a discerning heart?
  6. Who described herself as "the Lord’s servant"?

Not What I Wanted

Subject: JUDGE ME BY THE FOOTPRINTS I LEAVE BEHIND:

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.

"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

"There's something you should know the son continued... "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."

"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking; someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let things like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. "He'll find a way to live on his own."

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!

There's a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the heart. You don't know how it happens or when it gets started. But you know the special lift it always brings and you realize that friendship is one of God's most precious gifts!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you too. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care.


Servants of God

ANGELS

Have you ever thought much about the angels? The word angel means messenger or one sent. I did a search in the online-bible program and found the word angel is mentioned 190 times throughout the Bible. Angels are a blessing from God and have many duties in serving mankind.

Following are a few of the scriptures where angels are mentioned.

They are called servants of God. Revelation 22: 8 I, John, am the one who saw and heard all these things. And when I saw and heard these things, I fell down to worship the angel who showed them to me. 9 But again he said, "No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this scroll. Worship God!"

Angels were sent to guard Israel. Exodus 23:20 "Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared."

Angels were sent to fight for Israel. Exodus 33:2 "I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.

An angel protected Daniel from the lions. Daniel 6:22 "My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime."

An angel brings a message to Joseph. Matthew 1:20 "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel announced the birth of our Savior. Luke 1:19 "The angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news."

An angel frees Peter from prison. Acts 12:7 "And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, "get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands."

The word angels (plural) are found in the Bible 89 times.

Angels are sent to protect us. Psalms 91:11 "For He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

The angels will gather up the saints. Matthews 24:31 "And He will sent forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."

The angels rejoice when one repents. Luke 15:10 " In the same way I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

You may see an angel and not realize it. Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."

There are evil angels as well. Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon (Satan). The dragon and his angels (the demons) waged war.

Let us be thankful for the divine protection and service available to us from YHVH through His servants the angels.


Article/Website/Book/Audio Spotlight

Click for our new article: Dealing with our Thoughts and Words, a practical application.
Do our words bring life? Do we receive what ever we ask for? Could part of the problem be with our own tongue?


Did you know:

In the Spring:

Migrating Canada geese fly north from their wintering grounds to nest. While a flock on the ground is called a gaggle, in the air it is known as a skein.

In colonial America, this was the time to make soap for the year ahead. Households would use their stockpiled lye (from winter wood ashes) and tallow (from cooking).

The candlefish is a variety of smelt that runs in April. When dried and threaded with a wick, it contains enough oil to be used as a candle.

When fritillaria bloom in early spring, they can fill in a border and form an effective fence: Their bulbs repel rodents such as moles and squirrels.


Humor

I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know why those doctors wear masks.

-James Brown


Children’s Story

This is not what Pierre expected.

Pierre reached the Hatah village later than he had planned. He found only one older lady squatting next to a fire stirring something in a large iron pot. Pierre had learned only a few words of their language and had difficulty trying to communicate. He finally presented the wrapped smoked fish parcel to her. As she began to gingerly pull at the package, he wondered where everyone else could be for he heard no sounds. The somber face of the Hatah finally broke into a smile as she picked at some fish. He could see several of her teeth were missing as she placed a fragment of fish into her mouth. Chewing and smiling she gestured beyond the ocean cove, beyond the craggy rocks, indicating for Pierre to go. The few words he could pick out indicated the whole tribe was engaged in something in that area.

Pierre again was torn between going so far and returning home. What to do? If he went to find the rest of the Hatah’s it would be so late by the time he could return home and his mother would be worried.

In his mind he played over and over the fun he expected to have running and playing with the youth of the tribe. They had taught him many survival skills; especially the diving skills which enabled him to stay underwater for over two minutes. Saddened by his dilemma he sat on a log near the older lady. She kept motioning for him to go and did not stop chattering. His mind would play all types of scenarios about the possibilities: What if someone were injured? What if some large sea creature was being captured? What if they found a shipwreck or treasure? Why were they all gone?

Surely his mother would understand if he did not arrive home until dark. If he got home on time he would only have to learn lessons about history - math - reading and writing. There would always be tomorrow for such schooling. Besides he was getting older and needed to be independent and this could be an adventure of a lifetime.

Jumping to his feet Pierre was determined to find the Hatah’s. He started off at a trot realizing he would have to hurry. What if he were unable to return in time to get home before dark? A tinge of guilt struck at him - he pushed it aside and quickened his pace. Another thought entered his mind - his mother worried starting to call out for him and searching for him. What if she would panic?

Pierre plunged to his knees on the beach, sand flying into the air as he bowed and asked the forgiveness of the heavenly creator. "Oh great and awesome Creator." Pierre began. "Forgive me for thinking such selfish thoughts. I gave mother my word and must honor her above my own momentary desires." He quickly rose to his feet and scurried toward home.


Quiz Answers

1) The disciples Matthew 24:3

2) The life and teachings of Yeshua (Jesus)

3) Philippi Acts 16:16

4) The Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13

5) So he could govern the people and distinguish between right and wrong 1 Kings 3:9

6) Mary, the mother of Yeshua Luke 1:38


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