9-8-07 Psalms 92:12-14

Psalms 92:12-14 (NAS)
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,

Psalms 92:12-14 (NLT)
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the LORD’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.

You are a righteous man; you reflect your right standing in your character and your conduct. Wherever you are, you bloom and blossom; new buds and sprouts continually shoot forth from you. You have grown tall like a palm tree. You stand firm and strong like a cedar from Lebanon. Growth and increase is natural to you. The Lord God uses you to build and to bring purification.
Jehovah has planted you in His house, establishing you in His family. He has sheltered you in His light and there you continue to flourish. You are a settled member of His court. Adonai has made you prominent, noble, and wealthy.

You have had a fruitful life. Even as you have gotten older, you have continued to produce and bear good fruit; you improve, and succeed no matter your age. You thrive, shine, and prosper You are robust and keep going strong. You are vigorous and stalwart. Although your hair is turning gray, you are luxuriant, fresh, and green.

9-7-07 1 Thessalonians 4:1

1 Thessalonians 4:1 (NAS)
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 (Philips)
To sum up, my brothers, we beg and pray you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have learned from us the way of life that pleases God, you may continue in it, as indeed you are doing, and deepen your experience of it.

No one could doubt your faithfulness in answering the call and summons of the Lord. Because you have received comfort, consolation, and encouragement, you are now able to give the same to others. You are capable of exhorting, instructing, and teaching those whom you meet.
You have discovered what is right and proper in your walk with your Lord. You have learned how to conduct and regulate your life according to Adonai's will. You always strive to please Jesus, accommodating yourself to His desires and interests. He has elevated and lifted you up. You have successfully encountered and thwarted the perils and persecutions that Satan has thrown against you. All that he has done to prevent you from preaching the gospel has come to naught.
The Lord God has promised you life and that more abundantly. Now you strive for that abundance. You purpose to continue doing what you have been doing and to excel in it. As a flower that begins as a bud and progresses to the full bloom, so too will your life progress to everything that God has ordained for you.

9-6-07 1 Corinthians 1:23, 24

1 Corinthians 1:23, 24 (NAS)
but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:23, 24 (Philips)
but all we preach is Christ crucified a stumbling block to the Jews and sheer nonsense to the gentiles, but for those who are called, whether Jews or Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

You have been called to publish and preach openly how Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed of Adonai, was crucified. This has always and will always be the foundation of your faith. However, not all men will receive you and your words.

The Jews, for example, have been blinded and trapped by Satan. Not able to see the Truth of God's salvation, they have turned away. For many Jews, this attitude has brought them to ruin. However for the Greeks, the gentiles not of Jewish descent, the message of the cross is foolishness. It has been hidden and kept secret, a mystery that is not obvious to the understanding, for God does not reveal His Truth to the wicked and the ungodly. God has shut His mouth to them because they trust in themselves and their own understanding.

You must continue to preach, for there are those, both of the Jewish nation and also of the Greeks, that Adonai has called. He has invited many to partake of His eternal salvation. He has divinely selected and appointed these to be citizens of His Kingdom. You should show them that Christ is the strength and power of God. He not only has the power and ability to perform miracles, but He also gives men the power to become morally excellent. When you preach, let men see Yeshua as the One who imparts God's wisdom to them. Through it, men receive the power to live uprightly before Adonai, to strive for the highest in their lives, and to utilize the best methods possible to attain God's perfect will.

Yes, Yeshua is the power and wisdom of God and you are His messenger.

9-5-07 John 11:25

John 11:25 (NAS)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
John 11:25 (Philips)
"I myself am the resurrection and the life," Jesus told her. "The man who believes in me will live even though he dies,

Men, who do not know the Truth, have very little hope, especially when their time to die draws near. You, however, are not in that position. You have trusted in Jesus as your Messiah and He has become your salvation from the sting of death.

Jesus declared Himself to be the Resurrection. He stated that He exists as the Resurrected One; from the very beginning He has been the Resurrection. Because of that, death could not hold Him, for Adonai had already planned to raise Him from the tomb.

Jesus also said that He is the Life. Since death is the absence of life and separation from God Almighty, Yeshua, who has always been Life eternal and is Himself divine, could not long remain in that state. Therefore, when death thought that it had triumphed, Adonai reached down and breathed His very own essence back into His Son.

You have chosen to believe what Yeshua said about Himself. You know that God your Creator exists and you have chosen His Son to be the Lord of your life. You also know that through Him, you have obtained eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Now you hope in His resurrection, for you know that even when your body dies a natural death, your spirit will remain alive in Him. Even as Jesus was raised from death, so too will you be raised in newness of life. The One who is life eternal has given you everlasting life.

9-4-07 Isaiah 53:10

Isaiah 53:10 (NAS)
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

Isaiah 53:10 (NLT)
But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s plan will prosper in his hands.

You know that Adonai is your loving Father and yet He took pleasure in the offering that His Son made. It was His desire that Jesus be broken and crushed, oppressed and shattered. He became weak, sick, and diseased. He travailed in grief and suffering. He was made profane, defiled, and polluted. He was wounded, pierced and slain. His honor was violated and He was treated as common.

Almighty God had appointed Yeshua's soul to take on guilt and sin. It was ordained that violent hands should be laid on Him and that He should become the compensation for your offenses. He was incriminated, declared guilty, and suffered your punishment. He gave up His life and breath, submitting to death, so that you could live.

Jesus willingly submitted Himself to become a sin offering because He had a vision for your future. He knew that the seed of His life, once sown, would produce many offspring. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross and despised the shame of it. He knew that His brief momentary death would produce everlasting life for His descendants.

Yes, the Lord God took pleasure in Jesus' sacrifice, because He knew that it would not be in vain. God knew that His Kingdom would advance and prosper, when He placed His desire in His Son's hands.

9-2-07 Hebrews 2:14, 15

Hebrews 2:14, 15 (NAS)
Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
Hebrews 2:14, 15 (Philips)
Since, then, "the children" have a common physical nature as human beings, he also became a human being, so that by going through death as a man he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil and might also set free those who lived their whole lives a prey to the fear of death.

You were in such great need that the Word, the Son of God, made a decision to help you. He, therefore, allowed Himself to become a "common" man. Because He desired communion and fellowship with you, He put on human flesh and blood, wearing it as a garment.
This caused Jesus to be subject to death, which exists because of the miseries of sin and separates you from a life consecrated to God. However, your Messiah's sacrifice deprived death of its force, influence, and power. He abolished and annulled its strength and dominion over you completely.

Jesus Christ defeated your accuser, the one who would slander you falsely before the throne of God. The devil can no longer defame you, for your Savior has delivered and set you free. No longer do you fear the penalty and punishment of sin; it does not terrify you. No longer are you a slave to death. Yeshua has released you and whom the Son sets free is free indeed!