At the heart of WLC is the true God and His Son, the true Christ — for we believe eternal life is not just our goal, but our everything.
What if saying “I know Yahushua” isn’t enough? What if those words just roll off our tongues while our lives tell a different story? That is the tension John highlights in 1 John 2. In a culture where faith can be performed or curated, John calls for a faith that is truly lived. His message is both a wake-up call and an invitation—because true faith dwells within, and dwelling in faith always produces fruit.
Grace That Confronts and Comforts
John speaks like a father: “My little children” (1 John 2:1). He writes “so that you may not sin,” yet he refuses to leave us in despair when we do fall. “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yahushua Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). The Christian life is not built on pretending we never stumble; it is built on running to the One who stands for us.
John adds, “He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). At the cross, Yahushua satisfied the righteous demands of Yahuwah’s justice and opened the way for mercy. And the reach of that mercy is greater than we imagine: Yahushua is the propitiation “not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). No one is beyond the invitation of Christ.
Obedience That Proves We Abide
John provides a clear test: “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Obedience is not a ladder we climb to earn love; it is the evidence that love has taken root. Yahushua said it plainly: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Love comes first, and obedience follows as the overflow.
John’s words cut deep because self-deception is dangerous: “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar” (1 John 2:4). That line isn’t meant to crush genuine believers who are struggling with sin; it’s meant to reveal a faith that has become a costume rather than a true covenant. At the same time, John offers hope: “Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of Yahuwah is perfected” (1 John 2:5). Yahuwah’s love grows in us as we submit to Him.
Then John clearly states: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). To walk as Yahushua walked means living with humility, purity, truth, and love—every day, not just on the Sabbath. Still, this is impossible through willpower alone. Yahushua shared the secret: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Abiding is where obedience becomes possible because our strength comes from His presence.
Love and Holiness in the Light
John refuses to separate love for Yahuwah from love for others. Yahushua said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is not optional; it is the unmistakable sign of true discipleship.
This is where the Spirit reveals what we often excuse: bitterness, coldness, gossip, resentment, and the quiet refusal to reconcile. If you live in Christ’s light, you cannot dwell in hatred. The light calls us to forgive, seek peace, and treat brothers and sisters as people Yahushua shed His blood for. Love does not mean we deny sin; it means we refuse to let sin turn our hearts into prisons of unforgiveness.
Reject the World and Remain in Truth
John names a powerful rival to abiding: “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). He warns us about a system of desires that competes with Yahuwah—“the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The desires of the flesh are cravings that demand satisfaction. The desires of the eyes are the endless hunger for more. Pride of life is the thirst to be seen.
Even spiritual acts can be corrupted by performance; Yahushua warned against practicing righteousness “to be seen by others” (Matthew 6:1). That is why John’s warning hits close to home. We can learn to appear spiritual while starving our souls. We can seek applause and call it “influence,” while the Holy Spirit calls us back to secret obedience.
John anchors everything in eternity: “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of Yahuwah abides forever” (1 John 2:17). What you idolize will fade. What you obey will last. John also reminds us that deception is active: “Children, it is the last hour… even now many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). False gospels often seem comforting, but they always draw us away from surrender.
But Yahuwah has not left His people defenseless. “You have been anointed by the Holy One” (1 John 2:20). The Spirit of truth trains our discernment as we stay in what we heard from the beginning. Abiding in Scripture and prayer is not extra credit; it is essential for survival.
Yahushua is not calling you to polish your image; He is calling you to surrender your life.
John’s sense of urgency is about preparedness: “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming” (1 John 2:28). Yahushua is not just Savior; He is returning King. One day, every mask will fall, and we will stand before the One we claim to know.
Stop settling for a faith that appears alive but remains unchanged. If you’ve made peace with secret sin, break free from it today. If you’ve protected bitterness, let it go today. If you’ve been chasing applause, step back and seek the Father’s smile. Yahushua is not calling you to polish your image; He is calling you to surrender your life.
Run to your Advocate. Step into the light. Open your Bible and let it confront you, feed you, and transform you. Get alone with Yahuwah and pray until your heart becomes honest again. And if the Spirit is stirring you right now, do not delay. The world is fading, and Christ is coming.
Lord Yahushua, we repent for knowing your name without reflecting your ways. Forgive our actions. Restore our initial love. Teach us to abide so deeply that obedience becomes our joy and love our testimony. Keep us faithful until we see you face to face. Amen.
This is a non-WLC article. When using resources from outside authors, we only publish the content that is 100% in harmony with the Bible and WLC current biblical beliefs. So such articles can be treated as if coming directly from WLC. We have been greatly blessed by the ministry of many servants of Yahuwah. But we do not advise our members to explore other works by these authors. Such works, we have excluded from publications because they contain errors. Sadly, we have yet to find a ministry that is error-free. If you are shocked by some non-WLC published content [articles/episodes], keep in mind Proverbs 4:18. Our understanding of His truth is evolving, as more light is shed on our pathway. We cherish truth more than life, and seek it wherever it may be found.
The first chapter of Job recounts how Job, awakening one morning as the wealthiest man in the East, was reduced to poverty by sundown. In the morning, he had 1,000 cattle and 500 female donkeys; by evening, he had none. In the morning, he possessed 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels; by evening, they were all killed or stolen. In the morning, he had seven sons and three daughters; by evening, he was childless. In the morning, he had many servants; by evening, he had four – all of whom brought terrible news about the destruction of his grand estate.
Imagine being in Job’s position, dear one. How would you respond? What if a flood, a fire, a tornado, or another destructive force sent by Yahuwah left you in poverty and childlessness by the time you returned home from church today?
The chapter discusses Job’s immediate response to this heavy trial. First, he reacted with grief. We read in verse 20: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head.” These actions were a visible expression of his sorrow. Note that it is not wrong to grieve when Yahuwah sends trials into our lives. There is a time for everything – also a time to weep! When affliction comes, we need not think we cannot cry, nor that we must be strong for the sake of those around us. Job grieved, and so may we. In our sorrow, we may weep. But we may not blame Yahuwah foolishly!
Second, Job responded to his trial by worshiping Yahuwah. We read in verse 20 that, having torn his mantle and shaved his head, “he fell down upon the ground and worshiped.” These phrases reflect his posture and attitude in worship. He lay face down on the ground, a position indicating the humility of a man who recognizes his helplessness and relies solely on Yahuwah
Third, Job confessed, as we read in verse 21: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Yahuwah gave, and Yahuwah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Yahuwah.” Through these words, Job indicates that he bears his suffering patiently. Especially from this confession of Job, we must take a lesson. Let us examine it further to make it our own in times of affliction.
CONFESSING YAHUWAH’S SOVEREIGN POWER
The core of Job’s confession is this: “Yahuwah gave, and Yahuwah has taken away.” Job acknowledges that what has befallen him is the work of Yahuwah, showcasing the sovereign power of Yahuwah.
To this confession, we might respond by saying, “No, Job, you are mistaken; this was not so much the work of Yahuwah as it was the work of Satan.”
Indeed, the chapter examines Satan’s role in Job’s affliction. We learn that one day the sons of Yahuwah, referring to the angels, came before Yahuwah in heaven. They gathered to worship Yahuwah and receive commandments from Him, which they were then required to fulfill. However, along with the good angels, Satan also appeared in heaven. Before the death of Christ, Satan was allowed to enter the presence of Yahuwah’s glory.
Yahuwah noticed Satan and addressed him. Knowing that Satan’s goal was to destroy Yahuwah’s kingdom, overthrow all of Yahuwah’s works, and establish himself as the true power of the universe, Yahuwah asked Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, for there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man who feareth Yahuwah and escheweth evil?” (Verse 8). It was as if Yahuwah was asking Satan, “If you truly believe you can overthrow my kingdom, Satan, have you observed that Job is a faithful child and citizen?”
In response, Satan acknowledged his inability to turn Job away from Yahuwah. Because Yahuwah had granted Job such great wealth, Satan argued that Job would remain faithful. He indeed questioned the motive behind Job’s love and obedience, suggesting that Job would serve whoever made him prosperous and content.
Yahuwah understood this as a challenge. If Job served Yahuwah not in the power that Yahuwah gave him as a regenerated child but only because Yahuwah made him rich and happy, then Job was not indeed a faithful child and citizen after all. Therefore, Yahuwah would demonstrate to Satan that Satan’s argument is wrong. Since Satan had argued that Job served Yahuwah because Yahuwah gave Job riches, Yahuwah permitted Satan to take all those possessions away.
In a sense, then, Job’s trial was the work of Satan. It was Satan’s idea that Job be afflicted as he was. It was also Satan’s work because he was given the power to accomplish it – though subject to the power and will of Yahuwah. So we might say to Job, you are wrong! You are wrong to say that Yahuwah has given, and Yahuwah has taken away! And we might say, when trials befall us: Yahuwah did not send them!
But we would be mistaken. Job is correct. Job admits that Yahuwah is the ultimate cause of everything that has occurred. He does not need to comprehend the hows and whys of his suffering to make this admission. He did not have to be aware of the conversation between Yahuwah in heaven. He simply needed to understand that Yahuwah is the only sovereign who accomplishes all that He has determined in His counsel! Because nothing comes to us except what Yahuwah directs and sends, both Job and we can affirm the sovereign power of Yahuwah: “Yahuwah hath given, and Yahuwah hath taken away.”
Perhaps the first part of Job’s confession comes easily to us: “Yahuwah has given.” Sometimes, we overlook this fact: all things come from Yahuwah, yet we often credit ourselves with the power to amass our riches, build our homes, and raise our children. However, Yahuwah frequently reminds us that all our physical and spiritual labor is accomplished through Yahuwah’s power. Our children are gifts from Yahuwah, and our resources are blessings from Him. Although we may acquire possessions through hard work, the strength to do so and the blessings upon our efforts come from Yahuwah. Yahuwah provides all things.
The text now teaches that what is true for giving is also, and always, true for taking. “Yahuwah hath taken away.” Yahuwah gives to His people according to His purpose and counsel, demonstrating His sovereign power and love. When He takes away our loved ones or possessions, that too aligns with His purpose and counsel; it also demonstrates His sovereign power and manifests His love for His people in Christ.
Never say, beloved, that Yahuwah gave and Satan took! Yahuwah intended for me to keep my possessions and loved ones, but a force greater than Yahuwah took them away! Instead, confess the sovereign power of Yahuwah! He alone is God! He can do as He pleases! And He will act in all things to glorify His name!
But why does He take it? Why does He take what is so precious to us? He does so in His love!
TRUSTING YAHUWAH’S FAITHFUL LOVE
Job believed in Yahuwah’s faithful love. He understood that the afflictions Yahuwah sent were given in love.
Satan tried during this affliction to make Job believe that Yahuwah hated him. He did this first by sending these afflictions on the first day of the week. We surmise that it was the first day of the week because we are told that Job’s children were feasting in the house of the eldest brother and that each brother hosted this feast in turn each week. The feasts followed a weekly cycle, and this cycle was beginning anew. Now, at the end of the cycle, we are told that Job sacrificed for all his children. Either the night before or the morning of this day on which Job suffered his calamities, he had offered burnt offerings and sin offerings, partaken of the means of grace, and left with renewed assurance of Yahuwah’s love and favor for him and his children. Satan used this timing of events in an effort to make Job question Yahuwah’s love. Just as if you or I had heard the most comforting sermon, eaten at Yahuwah’s table, and sensed anew the forgiveness of our sins, only to return home and discover that great calamity had befallen us – with Satan wanting us to ask, what kind of love is this?
Second, note that while the camels, oxen, and donkeys were stolen, the sheep were destroyed in a different manner – by the fire of Yahuwah descending from heaven and consuming them. These sheep were the animals Job would have primarily used for sacrifices to Yahuwah. Thus, Yahuwah destroyed them through an act of judgment! Remember, when fire comes down from heaven in Scripture, it signifies the judgment of Yahuwah. Recall the fire of Yahuwah that rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. Understand that Yahuwah will send fire from heaven on the day of judgment to eradicate this world and all its wickedness. Now, Satan wants Job to ask, “Why has Yahuwah judged me by burning my sheep? Does He hate my sacrifices?”
In the third place, all of Job’s children are destroyed. Job also knew about the covenant. Although Job may not have understood it as clearly as we do, he realized that Yahuwah’s covenant continues through the generations. At this point, Job might have thought, “Yahuwah has no covenant with me. He merely destroyed it.” In similar ways, Satan directs our attention to the calamities Yahuwah sends into our lives and tries to make us think that Yahuwah hates us.
To some extent, Job understood this faithful love of Yahuwah. By using the name Yahuwah, Job indicated that his afflictions originated from his personal God, the only God. These afflictions did not stem from the gods of the Chaldeans or the idols of the Sabeans; they came from Yahuwah, the God who loved Job! Furthermore, by invoking the name Yahuwah, Job demonstrated that he recognized Yahuwah’s steadfast love. In this context, the work of Yahuwah in sending afflictions contrasts greatly with Satan’s role in them. It’s important to remember that temptations and trials are essentially the same, arising from similar circumstances. However, Satan leverages those circumstances as temptations to undermine Yahuwah’s grace in us and foster hatred towards us. In contrast, Yahuwah uses the same circumstances as trials to strengthen our faith and godliness rooted in His love for us.
The afflictions that Yahuwah sends His people always come from His love. He has no other motive for sending trials upon us. Through these trials, He prepares us for our place in glory! Trials and afflictions, therefore, come only upon Yahuwah’s children – they are a gracious gift to sinners like us, which required the death of Christ on the cross to earn them for us.
Such is Job’s perspective as well. There is not even a hint in the text that Job has considered the possibility that Yahuwah might now hate him, or that Yahuwah had turned from him, or that Yahuwah’s love shown in the past was only feigned. In fact, if Job had even thought that Yahuwah now hated him, he would have been charging Yahuwah foolishly! But he did not do this. In saying, “Yahuwah hath given, and Yahuwah hath taken away,” Job meant to convey, “Yahuwah did this in His love. He loves me!”
Our confession must be the same in our trials. Yahuwah is unchanging. He has already shown His love for His church by sending Christ to die on the cross. Yahuwah will never hate the church! He has also displayed His love for each of His children by working the benefits of salvation in our hearts through the Spirit of Christ. Yahuwah will never hate us! Everything He sends is done in love. He sends even grievous afflictions in love. In love, He corrects, chastises, refines, and purifies us, just as gold is tested by fire. But always, it is in love.
Would you believe it? Could you confess it if you arrived home from church tonight to find your possessions stolen and loved ones dead? By the power of Christ and with the true knowledge of Yahuwah, we can! And to do so, we must also believe in Yahuwah’s great wisdom.
BELIEVING YAHUWAH’S GREAT WISDOM
Yahuwah’s wisdom is His ability to direct all that happens so that He reaches His goal. His goal, as we know, is the glory of His name in the salvation of His church. When Yahuwah sends afflictions into our lives, one of two things is true: either Yahuwah has entirely forgotten about His goal, putting it in jeopardy, OR everything that happens to us in life, including our afflictions, serves that goal. Which do you think it is, beloved? Would Yahuwah ever jeopardize His own goal? Not our God; He is a wise God.
Our text indicates in two ways that Job believed in Yahuwah as a wise God. First, we read, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged Yahuwah foolishly.” Literally: “nor charged Yahuwah with folly.” This means that Job did not say of Yahuwah, “He is a fool.” He did not attribute folly to Yahuwah. Since the Spirit draws our attention in the text to what Job did NOT do, we immediately think of what he DID do – he recognized the wisdom of Yahuwah.
Secondly, to indicate that Job believed in Yahuwah’s wisdom, we read: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.” Here,” there ” means “back to that place again.” Of course, Job does not imply that he will return to his mother’s womb; rather, he means he will return to the dust of the ground. Job had in mind the words Yahuwah spoke to Adam: “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
Through these words – “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither” – Job conveyed his feelings of unworthiness regarding the possessions he once had. He entered the world with nothing and could earn nothing from Yahuwah. All of Job’s children and wealth belonged to Yahuwah. Now Yahuwah has taken them away in His sovereign control.
But with these words, Job also acknowledged Yahuwah’s wisdom. “I came naked,” he says. He came naked to serve Yahuwah, not himself! Because he came to serve Yahuwah, he did not need to be born with possessions. Yahuwah supplied Job daily with the possessions necessary for his service. And upon his death, he would not require possessions. Thus, Job perceives that Yahuwah’s removal of his possessions is a preparation for the day of his death. We should not necessarily conclude that Job believed the day of his death was imminent. He remained aware of that day and viewed Yahuwah’s taking of his possessions in light of it.
Do we recognize Yahuwah’s wisdom in our afflictions? How easily we are inclined to accuse Yahuwah of folly! We say, “How could Yahuwah do this to me? All my plans have come to nothing. I don’t understand how He expects me to serve Him now.” Or our attitude implies that Yahuwah has not treated us well. However, Job teaches us to recognize the wisdom of Yahuwah. Everything that happens to us occurs with the purpose of our death, our ultimate glorification, and Yahuwah’s glory!
Can you acknowledge the wisdom of Yahuwah? Do you grasp the revelation of His wisdom to save His people through Christ? Then, you also recognize that everything that happens to us in love illustrates the wisdom of Yahuwah.
When faced with afflictions, if we confess Yahuwah’s power, love, and wisdom, we are prepared to proclaim what Job expressed next: “Blessed be the name of Yahuwah.”
DESIRING YAHUWAH’S NAME BE BLESSED
Yahuwah always blesses His name by making human beings adore, magnify, and serve Him. Job’s desire, as expressed in the text, was for to enable Job and the four servants standing before him- who had witnessed and experienced such great calamities- to say nothing more than this: “Blessed be the name of Yahuwah!” is good in all His works and ways!
Beloved, let every man, woman, and child who hears of these calamities say today, “Blessed be the name of Yahuwah!” Adore this God! Fall on your knees upon the ground and worship Him! And when similar calamities befall you, sing of His greatness! Tell others who come to comfort you, “I will not question His motives or His ways; I will simply ascribe to Him all glory.”
In making his entire confession, particularly in his desire that Yahuwah’s name be blessed, Job demonstrated the preserving grace that Yahuwah continually offers His people. Here, we see that Yahuwah decisively thwarted Satan’s purpose. Satan stated, “he will curse thee to thy face” (verse 11). He orchestrated the details of Job’s afflictions to induce Job to question Yahuwah’s power, love, and wisdom, ultimately leading him to curse Yahuwah. However, far from cursing Yahuwah, Job proclaimed, “Blessed be the name of Yahuwah!”
Here is comfort for us in our trials. Do you wonder, beforehand, how you will ever bless Yahuwah’s name during a future trial? Rely on Yahuwah – His grace will empower us to do so! Or have you blessed Yahuwah’s name in past trials? His grace was magnified. To experience that grace, we must acknowledge His sovereign power, faithful love, and great wisdom. Through His power, love, and wisdom, He preserves and enables us to bless His name! In times of trial, Yahuwah’s children may sometimes accuse Him of folly. Then, He reveals His power, wisdom, and love by leading His children to repentance and sincere sorrow for their sins, showing us that what He did was for our good.
For Yahuwah will prevail! In the war between Yahuwah and Satan, Yahuwah will consistently achieve victory! We may experience and demonstrate victory in our afflictions by blessing Yahuwah’s name! When we recognize Yahuwah’s love for us in Christ and pray for grace to glorify Yahuwah in our trials, He will enable us to say with Job, “Blessed be the name of Yahuwah.” Amen.
This is a non-WLC article by Rev. Doug Kuiper.
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
We have restored on the WLC website, in the Scriptures quoted the Names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. Click here to download the Restored Names Version (RNV) of Scripture. The RNV is a non-WLC resource. -WLC Team
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.” 2 Chronicles 7:14, 15.
One of the most astounding facts of the spiritual life is that Yahuwah hears and answers prayer. The Bible abounds with the testimony of those whose prayers have been signally answered, and every sincere child of Yahuwah can add his own personal experiences.
Prayer puts man in touch with Yahuwah. It forms the connecting link between human weakness and Yahuwah’s omnipotence. Out of weakness men are made strong. See Hebrews 11:34.
The Privilege of Prayer
1. What is prayer?
When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven. Luke 11:2. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, Hebrews 4:15-16.
And since Yahushua is the friend of sinners, He invites the most sinful to come to Yahuwah through Him.
Answer:
A. The cry of a soul in need.
Prayer is the cry of a soul in need, but it is much more than that.
Have mercy upon me, 0 Yahuwah, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. Psalm 31:9.
Elohim is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1.
B. The opening of the heart to Yahuwah.
Real prayer is the opening of the heart to Yahuwah as to a friend. It is not just asking for things. It isn’t all talking on man’s part or on Yahuwah’s part. It is some of each, and more. It may be communion in utter silence at times-just a sacred sense of His holy, presence.
Be still, and know that I am Elohim (Psalm46:10).
Yahuwah asks us to call Him Father; therefore we may freely come to Him with our problems and our joys.
2. What prayer is not?
Answer: Prayer is not an act of merit that earns Yahuwah’s favor. Yahushua said: He. . sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.“ Matthew 5:45.
If prayer would get us anything we wanted, we probably would pray not so much for holiness as for temporal benefits which would not be used to our good or Yahuwah’s glory.
Prayer is not ostentation and show (Matthew 6:1-8). Prayer is communion with Yahuwah, and may take place whenever and wherever the soul of man reaches out sincerely for his Creator.
3. Why do we pray?
Four questions will help to find the answer:
A. Is it to give Yahuwah information?
Oh Yahuwah. Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, Oh Yahuwah, thou knowest it altogether. Psalm 139:1-4.
Your Father knowest what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him (Matthew 6:8). Be alert and reverent when you talk to Yahuwah, and your prayers will be heard.
B. Is it to make Yahuwah willing?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Luke 11:13.
Prayer is taking hold of Yahuwah’s willingness: Prayer does not make Him willing, for He is always willing to help us.
C. Is it to change Yahuwah?
I am Yahuwah, I change not. Malachi 3:6.
With Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). Yahuwah’s promises are conditional; therefore answers vary. But Yahuwah never changes (Hebrews 13:8). Come now, and let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18).
D. Is it to change us?
Prayer is the greatest unused force in the universe to change what most needs to be changed- men. We pray in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring Yahuwah down to us, but brings us up to Him. Read Paul’s experience in Acts 9: 10-18.
Yahuwah’s Willingness to Answer
4. How did Yahushua illustrate the willingness of our Heavenly Father to give us what we need when we ask?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Luke 11:13.
Answer: No man with a father’s heart would turn from his son who is hungry and is asking for bread. Would he promise to give him good and nourishing food, and then give him a stone?
Power of Prayer
5. How did Yahushua illustrate the limitless power that every believing disciple can receive in answer to prayer?
“Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:21, 22.
6. What is our part in getting our prayers answered?
Answer: Read the story of the Pharisee and the publican in the Temple (Luke 18:10-14). Now go and note carefully these eight points:
A. Recognize your need of Yahuwah.
I will pour water upon him that is thirsty. Isaiah 44:3.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6.
B. Recognize Yahuwah as your indispensable helper.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. John 15:5.
See also: James 1:17; Isaiah 50: 10-11
C. Pray in faith.
lf any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Yahuwah, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. James 1:5-6.
Ask in faith (Hebrews 11:6).
D. Confess and forsake all your sins.
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Proverbs 28:13.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, Yahuwah will not hear me Psalm 66:18. (See Proverbs 28:9.)
Confess and forsake. We must not wait for feeling. We must act. (1 Samuel 12:19)
Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). We must forsake sin, (which is lawlessness. Obedience must be the rule of our lives. It is the fruit of true faith. Faith without works is dead (James 2:20).
E. Pray according to Yahuwah’s will.
He went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, 0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt Matthew 26:39. See (verse 42).
We know not what we should pray for as we ought (Romans 8:26).
The answer sometimes is No, or Not now; a postponement. Trust Yahuwah. He knows best.
F. Persevere with Yahuwah.
Read Luke 18:1-8 -the story of the importunate widow.
Persevere in prayer. Keep an attitude of prayer. It does mean faith and earnestness, as in the case of Elijah’s praying for rain and sending his servant seven times to the hilltop to look for signs of rain.
Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14: 13.
To pray in the name of Yahushua is to pray in the mind and spirit of Yahushua while we believe His promises, rely upon His grace, and work His works.
H. Listen as well as talk.
See Habakkuk 2:1.
The prayer room is not so much the oratory room as the observatory room. Waiting for Yahuwah to speak in prayer sometimes provides the only answer we need to our petitions.
Conditions for Answers
7. Why are some prayers not answered?
Answer: In order to have our prayers answered, we should remove all the obstacles that block the prayer channel. Think of these four things:
A. We must forgive others.
If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 (See Matthew 18:21-35.)
B. We must pray for others.
Yahuwah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Job 42:10. (See Matthew 5:44.)
A man whose prayer is always, 0 Lord bless me, can never become like Yahuwah in character. We must have not only the inward look, but the outlook. John Knox prayed, “[Yahuwah], give me Scotland or I die.” He prayed for his enemies.
If we do not pray for those who despitefully use us, we shall surely despise them. Sincere prayer for them is essential for our own sakes.
C. We must confess our faults one to another.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. James 5:16. (See Matthew 5:23-24.)
We must confess faults to others we have injured. This is simple decency. If you break a man’s leg, do your best to fix it. If you break his heart, you are the only human being who can help patch it up. Do this now with kindness and words of sincerity.
D. We must restore anything taken by fraud or robbery.
If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. Ezekiel 33:15. (See the example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-9.)
8. In what manner does James say Yahuwah will answer the prayer of faith?
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Yahuwah, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:5, 6.
9. With what power did Jacob prevail at the Brook Jabbok?
See Genesis 32:24–28.
Answer: With power of faith. Importunate prayer.
10. What does John say is necessary if we are going to experience the power of prevailing prayer?
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 3:22; 5:14, 15.
Praise in Prayer
11. What does Paul say will always be connected with true prayer?
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto Yahuwah.” Philippians 4:6.
12. When Paul and Silas mingled praise with their prayers, what happened?
See Acts 16:25, 26.
Answer: In the prison at Philippi, while suffering from the cruel stripes they had received, their feet fast in the stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise to Yahuwah; and angels were sent from heaven to deliver them. The earth shook under the tread of these heavenly messengers, and the prison doors flew open, setting the prisoners free.
Private and Public
13. What counsel has Yahushua given to His disciples in regard to their personal prayer life?
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:6.
NOTE: Have a place for secret prayer. Yahushua had select places for communion with Yahuwah, and so should we.
14. What other kind of prayer does Yahushua endorse with the promise of His presence?
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19, 20.
NOTE: We should not come together to remain silent. All the time should be occupied by short, pointed testimonies and prayers. Ask, believe, and receive.
Posture in Prayer
15. What example has Daniel and Paul left us in regard to the physical attitude of prayer?
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his Eloah, as he did aforetime.” “And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.” Daniel 6:10; Acts 20:36.
Please take time to read [Luke 22:41; Acts 9:40; 7:59, 60; 21:5; Ezra 9:5, 6; 2 Chronicles. 6:1-13; Ephesians 3:14.]
NOTE: Both in public and private worship it is our duty to bow down upon our knees before Yahuwah when we offer our petitions to Him. This act shows our dependence upon Yahuwah.
16. In what manner has Yahuwah declared He would have us approach Him in prayer during public worship?
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before Yahuwah our maker.” Psalm 95:6.
NOTE: The prayer offered by Solomon during the dedication of the temple, was not made while he stood upon his feet. The king knelt in the humble position of a petitioner.
Let man come on bended knee, as a subject of grace, a suppliant at the footstool of mercy. Thus he is to testify that the whole soul, body, and spirit are in subjection to his Creator.”
17. Why are we especially admonished to pray now?
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” Romans 13:11, 12.
Answer: Said Peter: The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 1 Peter 4:7.
If we are to stand ready to meet Yahushua through death or at his return, we must get the daily prayer habit, and pray always. Morning, noon, and night we should lift our souls to Yahuwah. Yahushua said: Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares . . Watch ye therefore and pray always, that ye, may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Luke 21:34, 36.
“For whatever is born of Yahuwah overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4, Restored Names Scripture)
Will you commit yourself to become better acquainted with Yahuwah by setting apart some time every morning to talk with Him in personal, private prayer?
We have restored on the WLC website, in the Scriptures quoted the Names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. Click here to download the Restored Names Version (RNV) of Scripture. The RNV is a non-WLC resource. -WLC Team
Allow no one to be brains for you, allow no one to do your thinking, your investigating, and your praying. This is the instruction we need to take to heart today. Many of you are convinced that the precious treasure of the kingdom of Yahuwah and of Yahushua is in the Bible which you hold in your hand. You know that no earthly treasure is attainable without painstaking effort. Why should you expect to understand the treasures of the word of Yahuwah without diligently searching the Scriptures?
It is our duty to read the Bible daily.But casual reading of the Scriptures is not enough. The knowledge of Yahuwah is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth.
The study of the Bible demands our most diligent effort and persevering thought.
We should diligently seek for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands. The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker of truth. “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 7:17
You Can Understand the Bible
1. Does Yahuwah intend that we should understand the Scriptures?
“The secret things belong unto Yahuwah our Eloah: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29. “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of Yahuwah.” Mark 4:11.
Answer: Yes
2. Why do some people find it difficult to understand the Bible?
See Romans 8:5. “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Yahuwah: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:13, 14. See also: Ephesians 4:17-19.
Answer: They are not with the Spirit of Yahuwah
3. Can the unconverted fully understand Yahuwah’s word?
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Yahushua by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from Yahuwah: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except Yahuwah be with him. Yahushua answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Yahuwah. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Yahushua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Yahuwah. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:1-8.
Answer: No, it is not possible. It is foolish things to him.
4. Are some parts of the Bible more difficult to understand than others?
“And account that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15, 16.
Answer: Yes, Apostle Peter attested to it.
5. Is there any relationship between obedience and the understanding of Yahuwah’s word?
“Teach me, O Yahuwah, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” Psalm 119:33-40.
Answer: Yes, Yahushua said that “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of Yahuwah, or whether I speak of myself.” John 7:17.
6. As we seek to understand Yahuwah’s word, who will help us?
“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures” Luke 24:45. “That the Eloah of our Master Yahushua, the Anointed, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.” Ephesians 1:17-19.
Answer: The Father Himself has promised to help us to understand His words. “Consider what I say; and the Master give thee understanding in all things.” 2 Timothy 2:7.
7. Through whom does this help come?
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. . . . But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:16, 17, 26. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” John 16:13.
Answer: Through the Spirit of Yahuwah.
All that Yahuwah’s word commands, we are to obey. All that it promises, we may claim. Through its power, we are to live. Only as the Bible is thus held can it be studied effectively.
Principles Of Bible Study
8. Of what value is Bible study?
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39. “…to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in the Anointed Yahushua. All scripture is given by inspiration of Yahuwah, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of Yahuwah may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17.
Answer: You will have eternal life.
9. How important was Yahuwah’s word to Job?
“I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12.
Answer: More necessary than food
…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Deuteronomy 8:3
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Yahuwah. Matthew 4:4
10. What noble example of Bible study is recorded in the Bible?
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.
Answer: The Bereans because they searched the scriptures daily.
11. What should be our purpose in the study of the Bible?
“Study to shew thyself approved unto Yahuwah, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.
Answer: Approach it in the spirit of a learner. Search not for proof to sustain our opinions, but in order to know what our heavenly Father says.
Precept upon precept, line upon line
12. How are we to arrive at a correct interpretation of Bible truth?
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” Isaiah 28:10. See also: 1 Corinthians 12:13.
Answer: The Bible explains itself by comparing verse with verse.
13. As we read the Bible, what else should we do?
“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” 1 Timothy 4:15.
Answer: Meditate upon it and live in obedience accordingly.
Take one verse, and concentrate the mind on ascertaining the thought that Yahuwah has put into that verse for him, and then dwell upon the thought until it becomes his own.
Faith and Yahuwah-like Wisdom
14. As we study Yahuwah’s word, for what should we pray?
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Yahuwah, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:5,6. See also: Psalms 119:18
Answer: We must pray for faith, Yahuwah-like wisdom and proper understanding of His words.
15. Of what personal benefit is the study of the Bible?
“…Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:9,11.
Answer: Faith in Yahuwah’s word, prayerfully studied and practically applied will bring us off conquerors through the blood of Yahushua.
Suggested Methods Of Bible Study
1.Read it reverently. We should shut out of our minds all worldly thoughts when we open the pages of our Heavenly Father’s word.
2. Read it slowly. “Be still, and know that I am Yahuwah” (Psalm 46:10). The Bible in the heart means eternal life.
3. Read it submissively. Come to this reading in a submissive, teachable, obedient spirit, and you will be truly taught of Him.
4. Read it prayerfully. Your progress in comprehension of the Bible will be measured by your earnestness in prayer.
5. Read it daily. “Today … hear, His voice”- and every day.
6. Read it first. The best time in the day is the early morning hour.
7. Read it last. “Come unto Me, … and I will give” (Matthew 11:28). Come telling Him our heart’s need, and listening to His message to us.
Will you endeavor to study His Word every day in the way Yahuwah has told us to study it?
Do you struggle with anxiety? I’m not talking about startling at loud noises at night or a narrow miss while driving home that leaves you shaking with adrenaline. I’m talking about the kind of fear that wakes you up in the middle of the night, your mind racing in circles as you worry about what might happen in the future.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” declared American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt in his inaugural address. While fear is an important survival tool, fear that keeps you awake at night, worrying over what might happen in the future, can be very debilitating. Anxiety is a combination of fear and worry over future possibilities that often do not come true at all.
If you struggle with anxiety, Yah’s Word reveals how to overcome.
Godly Versus Ungodly Fear
Godly fear is the combination of awe, respect, and love we mortals feel for the infinite being who created us and loves us with an exhaustless love.
Godly fear is the combination of awe, respect, and love we mortals feel for the infinite being who created us and loves us with an exhaustless love. Godly fear increases our faith. By contrast, ungodly fear decreases our faith and can lead us into a downward spiral of fear that is so great it prevents us from taking proactive steps.
Ungodly fear falls into three categories:
Fear of people
Fear of want
Fear of circumstances
Fear of people can lead to making an idol of them just to keep them happy or to win their approval. Fear of want can lead to compromises with principles to obtain what we think we cannot do without. Fear of circumstances can paralyze us, keeping us from taking necessary proactive steps. None of these fears glorify Yah.
Love the Antidote to Fear
Loving Yahuwah, and knowing that He loves us in return, is the remedy that counteracts fear.
We know and rely on the love [Yahuwah] has for us.
[Yah] is love. Whoever lives in love lives in [Yahuwah], and [Yahuwah] in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Yahushua. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:16-18).
Love Brings Confidence
Love gives us the confidence to face fear and come off more than conquerors. This is seen in the story of David and Goliath. When Goliath, the Philistine giant, taunted the armies of Israel, “Saul and all Israel … were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:11).
Love gives us the confidence to face fear and come off more than conquerors.
David saw the situation; he understood the danger. But unlike everyone else, he was not afraid and his lack of fear was not due to being good with a slingshot. His confidence was in Yahuwah. When King Saul hesitated to send the youth out to fight, David firmly stated, “Yahuwah who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
David and the armies of Israel were both facing the exact same circumstances. However, they interpreted the situation very differently. While the other Israelites were terrified of the giant, David viewed it as a situation in which Yahuwah would act because Goliath was defying the living God. David had no doubt that he would emerge victorious because Yah’s honor was at stake. It was his knowledge of Yahuwah that gave him confidence and courage to face the giant.
Five Steps to Overcoming Anxiety
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, provides us with five steps to overcoming anxiety:
Harmonizing relationships
Prayer
Gratitude
Right thoughts
Right emotions
Harmonizing relationships
If we have a relationship that is out of harmony, we are to do what is in our power to right any wrongs, confess, and repent for our part in what went wrong.
Friction in interpersonal relationships is a common cause of anxiety. Of course, we cannot control another person, but we can own up to our own part in any contentious relationship. We can choose to apologize and stop whatever has caused offense (repentance). This is what Paul meant when he implored those in a contentious relationship to “be of the same mind in the Lord.” (Philippians 4:2) Harmonious relationships bring peace. If we have a relationship that is out of harmony, we are to do what is in our power to right any wrongs, confess, and repent for our part in what went wrong.
Prayer
A lot of anxiety stems from being afraid of a situation over which we have no control. Paul reminds believers that Yahuwah is ready and waiting to help all who come to Him. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to [Yahuwah]; and the peace of [Yahuwah], which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Yahushua” (Philippians 4:6-7).
When we present our needs, fears, and wants to Yahuwah, we can know that He will act in our best interests. We can then have the calm assurance that everything is and will be as it should be.
Choosing to be grateful in all circumstances is only possible when we trust that Yahuwah is acting in our best interests.
Gratitude
Choosing to be grateful in all circumstances is only possible when we trust that Yahuwah is acting in our best interests. When we choose to exercise gratitude, we experience peace and calm trust in even the most challenging situations.
Right Thoughts
Anxiety, by definition, is a fear of future possibilities. Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on what is true. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” When we focus on what is true, there will be no room to fear speculative possibilities.
Right Emotions
Correct habits of thought lead to correct emotions which, in turn, lead to correct decisions and beneficial actions. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Anxiety can be overcome. Shift your perspective. Focus on what is real and true, rather than possibilities. Trust that Yahuwah is working all things out for your good. Choose to make gratitude a habit and Yah’s peace will fill your heart, silencing anxious forebodings of what might never be.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares YAHUWAH, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
“Life is a ‘vale of tears,’ a period of trial and suffering, an unpleasant but necessary preparation for the afterlife where alone man could expect to enjoy happiness.”
(The Inferno, Dante Alighieri) (Image: Vale of Tears by Gustave Doré)
There is a reason that life has been called a “vale of tears.” Life in a sinful world, life with a fallen nature, is hard. Suffering happens. Bad things happen to good people. In Job, Eliphaz correctly observes, “For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:6-7)
But have you ever noticed how different people react so differently to trials? Some people lose their faith entirely, while others emerge from a “dark night of the soul” experience with their faith stronger than ever. The difference between the two is found in how the person chooses to view the experience. If you want to come through trials with your faith stronger than before, it is important to focus on the long-term gain, rather than the short-term pain.
It is natural to focus on the pain and difficulties of trials, but the eye of faith can choose to focus on the long-term gain to be had, and this is where we find the secret to increasing our faith through trials.
Trials are allowed for our benefit: to break us, to recreate us, and to bring us into alignment with Yahuwah’s will.
Trials break us
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
When life is smooth, we tend to rely on ourselves, but that does not teach us to rely on Yahuwah.
How many people pray only when they have need help? When life is smooth, we tend to rely on ourselves, but that does not teach us to rely on Yahuwah. We see this in the experiences of the Children of Israel. Again and again, they were brought into desperate situations: they were trapped at the Red Sea with no way of escape, their water ran out, their food ran out, their water ran out again … all of these experiences were allowed to teach them to turn to Yahuwah.
Yahuwah could have sent manna before their food ran out. He could have provided water before they were thirsty, but then they would have missed the lessons they needed to learn. Independence and self-sufficiency takes us away from Yah.
These lessons don’t have to hurt. Life’s trials are meant to bring us close to the Father. When we cooperate, the sting of disappointment is replaced by the sweetness of trust.
Trials recreate us
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of [Yahuwah] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
There is a purpose to every trial. Jeremiah assures us that Yahuwah “does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” (Lamentations 3:33) The Father weighs every trial before allowing it through. He knows just how much we can bear and only allows the minimum to achieve the desired goal: dependence upon Him.
“No temptationhas overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And [Yahuwah] is faithful; He will not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
It takes faith to trust that, even in the chaos and confusion of loss and tragedy, Yahuwah is working for our good, but that is what Scriptures promises: “And we know that in all things [Yahuwah] works for the good of those who love Him, whohave been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
When we choose to trust through suffering, we are actively choosing to be recreated. We’re setting aside the doubts and fears of our fallen nature and choosing faith. This not only increases our faith but advances us in the process of transformation. These trials are what Yahuwah uses to mold us into His image. This is how believers gain strength, wisdom and begin to reflect the divine image.
Trials align us
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8-11)
The devil, of course, means for trials to weaken our faith so that we lose hold on Yahuwah. However, the trials themselves benefit us in a number of ways, all of which transform us, bringing us into alignment with Yahuwah’s will. Trials reveal what is in our hearts to ourselves. They give us a chance to repent. They also show us weak spots in our faith, giving us the opportunity to turn to Yahuwah. Trials provide us with the opportunity for character growth, transforming us into Yahuwah’s image and bringing us into alignment with His will for our lives.
Suffering has a purpose. It’s not just pointless, it’s not arbitrary. It is for our eternal good. When we accept trials and choose to trust, when we allow them to break us, to recreate us, and to align us with the Father’s will, the trials we find so difficult will turn out to be our greatest blessings.
“Trust in YAHUWAH with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Mercy, noun: That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant . . . It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion. (American Dictionary of the English Language)
When Moses asked to see the face of Yah, Yahuwah patiently explained that no sinner could see His face and live, but that He would cover Moses with His hand while He passed by, declaring His name, and then Moses could see His back. And that’s exactly what happened.
And Yahuwah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Yahuwah.
And Yahuwah passed by before [Moses], and proclaimed, Yahuwah, Yahuwah Elohim, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Exodus 34:5-7).
Mercy is the divine attribute that brings grace and forgiveness to sinners. The author of Hebrews encouraged faith in believers by explaining that Christ feels what we feel, stating: “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Yahushua the Son of [Yah], let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:14-15).
Mercy is the divine attribute that brings grace and forgiveness to sinners.
He wanted to inspire believers’ faith so that they could ask for, and receive, the gift of mercy. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,” he urged, “that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
It is easy to feel overwhelmed when life gets stressful, and you don’t know what to do. The good news is divine mercy is available to help. As with other divine gifts, the gift of mercy is to be accessed through prayer. Ask for it! David prayed, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer” (Psalm 4:1). It is important to remember that every request must be made in faith. Yahushua emphasized the importance of faith, saying, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22).
There are many passages of Scripture that reveal details of how we are to obtain mercy from Yahuwah. Following are just a few of many.
It is important to remember that every request must be made in faith. Yahushua emphasized the importance of faith, saying, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22).
When you need divine mercy, begin your prayer by thanking Yahuwah for His mercy. David sang: “O give thanks unto Yahuwah; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). Recognizing and acknowledging blessings received develops love, and love inspires faith.
When you pray, ask for what you need. Be specific.
Ask for mercy to obtain health and healing.
“Have mercy on me, Yahuwah, for I am faint; heal me, Yahuwah, for my bones are in agony” (Psalm 6:2).
Ask for mercy to obtain deliverance from those who wish you harm.
“Have mercy on me, O Yahuwah! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death” (Psalm 9:13).
Ask for mercy to obtain forgiveness.
“Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1).
Ask for mercy to silence or shut down those who harm you.
“In Your mercy cutoff my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant: (Psalm 143:12.
Ask for mercy to be brought into alignment with Yahuwah’s will for your life.
“Yahuwah will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Yahuwah, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands” (Psalm 138:8)
Ask that all of Yahuwah’s dealings be filled with mercy and that He would teach you what He wants you to know.
“Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy,
And teach me Your statutes” (Psalm 118:124).
Ask for mercy to be delivered from shame and embarrassment.
“Have mercy on us, O Yahuwah, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt” (Psalm 123:3).
Ask for mercy to obtain comfort when in trouble or grieving.
“Have mercy on me, O Yahuwah, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my body!
For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away” (Psalm 31:9 and 10).
Ask for mercy to obtain help for [fill in the blank].
“Help me, O Yahuwah my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy” (Psalm 109:26).
When you are in need of divine help, it is always appropriate to urge Yahuwah’s mercy as the reason for why you should be helped.
When you are in need of divine help, it is always appropriate to urge Yahuwah’s mercy as the reason for why you should be helped. Your need alone is sufficient reason to ask for whatever you need. Psalm 109:26 reveals that it is in Yahuwah’s very nature to be merciful. This is especially effective when asking that His character may be revealed to unbelievers.
Help me, O Yahuwah my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
That they may know that this is Your hand—
That You, Yahuwah, have done it! (Psalm 109:26-27)
Some people seem to be naturally inclined to be generous, sympathetic and quick to give the benefit of the doubt. Others seem to be just as naturally inclined to be angry, selfish, and suspicious of others. The natural disposition of Yahuwah’s personality is to “overlook injuries … to treat an offender better than he deserves.” That is mercy, and that is what is in Yahuwah’s heart toward you.
No matter what trials confront or confuse you, come to Yahuwah just as you are. You can have every confidence that Yahuwah’s mercy will provide for your needs. He is waiting with arms wide open, ready and willing to help in any way you need.
“Oh, give thanks to YAHUWAH, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:29).
When my first child was laid in my arms, one thought was paramount in my mind: “I’m ultimately responsible for this tiny life. No one else. Even if a babysitter should harm her when I’m not there, I’m still responsible as I chose who could stay with her.”
As believers, we wish to raise our children to be citizens of Yahuwah’s kingdom. Sure, getting them a good education, hoping they find the right spouse, and being financially secure are all things we hope for them, but the over-arching concern driving every hope and desire is to enter Yah’s kingdom with our children at our side.
The problem confusing a lot of parents is that Scripture really does not give a lot of particulars about just how we are to do that.
Ephesians 6:4 says: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of [Yahuwah].” Proverbs 13:24 concurs, stating: “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” With memories of being punished as a child, it is easy to assume that discipline is the same thing as punishment, but the two are actually not the same at all.
Discipline ≠ Punishment
The American Heritage Dictionary defines discipline as: “Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement. … Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.”
The greatest gift we can give our children is to teach them self-control. That comes with discipline. As parents, it is our Yah-given responsibility to train our children, to instruct them in righteousness and in all the godly behaviors we wish them to exhibit. The foundation of discipline is self-control. Soldiers have discipline. Athletes and gymnasts are very disciplined, as are musicians, artists, and anyone who, through practice, has honed any skill.
Parenting is hard. Yes, it’s rewarding but let’s be honest: parenting done right is hard work! Children aren’t born knowing how to make their beds every morning. They’re not born knowing to brush their teeth, share their toys, work diligently, be honest, and not throw temper tantrums. This comes with training. A child that’s allowed to hit when angry grows up to hit his wife or his boss. He may even end up in jail, giving the government a chance to teach through punishment what the person failed to learn through discipline as a child.
Train up a child in the way he should go
When training our children, it is important to understand the difference between sinfulness and childishness. Not every last little thing is a spiritual attack or a spiritual victory. Some things are simply biological. Some things are simply the consequences of living in a sinful world. Just as it is not a sin to be human, neither is it inherently sinful to be a child. Childishness is not, in and of itself, sinful.
Luke 2:52 is frequently translated as “[Yahushua] increasedin wisdom and in stature, and in favor with [Yahuwah] and with people.” But in the original, instead of using the past tense of “increased,” the Greek uses an intransitive verb. In other words, it says Yahushua kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with Yah and people.
Yahushua was perfect as a three-year-old, but not with the wisdom and experience of an adult. He was perfect as a 9-year-old, a 17-year-old, but again, not the wisdom he had as a 30-year-old. Childishness is not sinfulness and should not be treated as such. What does need to happen, however, is training. Instruction. Proverbs 22:15 clarifies this point, saying: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
So, yes. Children need correcting, but not for the state of being a child, and never, ever in anger. That simply teaches “might makes right.”
And when he is old, he will not depart from it
Proverbs 22:6 is an interesting, frequently misunderstood promise. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” As parents, we like to interpret this as a guarantee that if we do everything right, our grown children will be faithful, devout Christians, but that’s not what this is saying at all.
Proverbs 22:15 “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
Yahuwah will never coerce the will. Our children are individuals who have the Yah-given right to accept or reject salvation, just as we do. What this promise assures us is that when they are old, our children will not be able to get away from the principles and godly values instilled in childhood. They may do their best. They may run as far and as fast as they can, but those truths instilled in childhood will remain in their hearts even if they refuse to live by them.
As parents, it’s easy to assume that our job is to convince our kids of what is truth. We want them to make the choices we feel are right. And let’s face it: sometimes our grown children do make wrong choices for which they then must live with the consequences. But it is not our job to convict anyone. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job.
Yahushua promised that after his ascension, he would send the Comforter to do a very special work: “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8) If you will put in the time, energy and effort to train your children, if you will instruct them in righteousness and truth, if you will correct them and teach them the discipline of self-control, Yahuwah will bless your efforts.
Isaiah 49:25 assures us of Yahuwah’s blessing: “For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.” The word contend in the Hebrew means to plead, strive, and debate. It also means to defend. In other words, Yahuwah promises to do everything in His power to save our children. Then, when they are old, no matter what choices they may make in later life, the seeds planted in childhood will always be there for Yah’s spirit to work with and woo for Him.
This is a non-WLC article. When using resources from outside authors, we only publish the content that is 100% in harmony with the Bible and WLC current biblical beliefs. So such articles can be treated as if coming directly from WLC. We have been greatly blessed by the ministry of many servants of Yahuwah. But we do not advise our members to explore other works by these authors. Such works, we have excluded from publications because they contain errors. Sadly, we have yet to find a ministry that is error-free. If you are shocked by some non-WLC published content [articles/episodes], keep in mind Proverbs 4:18. Our understanding of His truth is evolving, as more light is shed on our pathway. We cherish truth more than life, and seek it wherever it may be found.
‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.’ — Hebrews 12:4.
‘Ye have not yet resisted’ — then others had done so, and the writer bids his readers contrast their comparative immunity from persecution from the fate of such so that they may cheerfully do the more straightforward task devolved upon them. Who were those others?
“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” (Hebrews 12:3-4)
If the supposition of many is correct that this Epistle was addressed to the Mother Church at Jerusalem, the fate of Stephen the first martyr and of James the brother of John, who had ‘had the rule over’ that Church, may have been in the writer’s mind. If the date assigned to the letter by some is accepted, the persecution under Nero, which had lighted the gardens of the Capitol with living torches, had already occurred, and the writer may have wished the Jerusalem Church to Bethink themselves that they had fared better than their brethren in Rome. But whether these conjectures are adopted or not, there is another contrast evidently in the writer’s mind. He has Been speaking of the long series of heroes of the faith, some of whom had been ‘stoned and sawn asunder,’ and he would have the Christians whom he addresses contrast their position with that of these ancient saints and martyrs. And there is another contrast, more touching still, more wonderful and impressive, in his mind, for my text follows immediately upon a reference to Yahushua Christ, ‘who endured the Cross, despising the shame.’ So Himself ‘had resisted unto blood.’ Thus, the writer bids his readers think of the martyrs in the Mother Church, of the blood that had deluged the Church at Rome, of the slaughtered saints in past generations, and, above all, of the great Captain of their salvation, and, animated by the thoughts, manfully to bear and mightily to resist in the conflict that is laid upon them. ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against Sin.’
So then, we have here, to begin with, the permanent condition of the Christian life as one of Warfare and resistance.
The imagery of the whole context is drawn from the arena. A verse or two before the writer spoke about the race: now he slightly shifts his point of view and is talking instead about the wrestling or the pugilistic encounters that waged there. His point is that always and everywhere, however, the forms may vary in which the conflict is carried on. An element of effort, endurance, and antagonism is inseparable from the Christian life. That is worth thinking about for a moment. It is all very well to sing of green pastures and still waters, and to rejoice in the blessings, the consolations, the tranquillities, the raptures of Christian experience, and to rejoice in the thought of the many mercies for body and soul which come to men through faith. That is all true and all blessed, but it is only one side of the truth. And unless we have apprehended and have reduced to practice and experience the other side of the Christian life, which makes it a toil and a pain to the lower self and a continual resistance, I venture to say that we have no right to the soothing and sweet and tender side of it; and need to ask ourselves whether we know anything about Christianity at all. It is not given to us merely — it is not given to us chiefly — to secure those great and precious things which it does connect, but it is given to us so that, enriched and steadied and strengthened by the possession of them. We should be the better fit for the conflict, just as a wise commander will see that his soldiers are well-fed before he flings them into the battle.
An element of effort, endurance, and antagonism is inseparable from the Christian life.
But then, passing from that, which is only a side issue, let me remind you that our antagonist is ‘striving against sin.’
Some people would take my text to mean solely the conflict we have to wage with our evils, meannesses, and weaknesses. Some, guided by the context, would take the reference exclusively to the antagonisms with evils around us and with the embodiment of these in men who do not share Christian views of life or conduct. But neither the one nor the other of these two exclusive interpretations can be maintained. For sin is one, whether embodied in ourselves or embodied in men or institutions. We have the same conflict to wage against precisely the same antagonist when we are occupied in the task of purging ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and when we are occupied in the broader scheme of seeking to bring every man to recognize the power of Christ’s love, and to live in purity by obedience to Him.
And so, the first field on which every Christian is to win his spurs, to prove his prowess, and to exercise his strength is the field within, where the lists are very narrow and where self wages war against self in daily conflict. Every man of us carries his own worst enemy inside his waistcoat. We have all lusts, passions, inclinations, desires, faults, vices, meannesses, selfishnesses, indolences — a whole host of evils lying there like a nest of vipers within us, and our first task and our lifelong mission is to take the sting and the poison out of these, and to throttle them and to east them out.
It is the solemn duty of every Christian to wage war to prevent himself from being caught up in the current of godless living that prevails around him. We must fight to keep ourselves from being harmed by the world and the worldly communities we dwell in.
And then, and only after that, there comes the next thing — viz., the antagonism in which Christian men must permanently stand to a world that does not sympathize with their views, which is strange to the maxims that rule their lives, and which renders no allegiance to the King whom they are sworn to obey. And that antagonism runs out into various forms. First of all, it is the solemn duty of every Christian to wage war to prevent himself from being caught up in the current of godless living that prevails around him. We must fight to keep ourselves from being harmed by the world and the worldly communities we dwell in. What would become of the captain of a ship who did not take care to have his compass corrected to neutralize the effects of all the mass of iron in his vessel? You walk as in the wards of a hospital. If you do not take precautions, you will catch the disease in the air. It is as sure that careless Christian people who do not ever keep on guard against impending and surrounding evil shall be infected by it as it is inevitable that if an Englishman goes out, say to the United States, he will come back with the intonations of our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic slipping unconsciously from his tongue. The first duty, imperative upon Christian people, is to realize that they live amid an order of things not by the Master’s principles and to beware that they do not catch the infection.
I do not need to say a word about the other form of antagonism, which is equally imperative and will prevent us from caring much about the judgments that may be formed of us by the people around us. ‘With me, it is a tiny matter that I should be judged of you or man’s judgment.’ But the resistance against sin, which is the Christian man’s merciful warfare in the world, is not completed either by keeping himself from complicity with surrounding evils or by refusing to let antagonism divert him from his course. There is something more that is a plain duty: every Christian should be Christ’s soldier to get Christ’s commandments recognized, and the principles of His word obeyed in the world.
Society is not organized on Christian principles. You have only to look around you to see that. I do not need to dwell upon the various discordances between the plain teachings of this Book and every community, and every nation, and every individual, but let me remind you that until the Sermon on the Mount is the law for individuals and communities, the Christian man if he is loyal to his Lord, must be ‘striving against sin’ in the endeavor to get established Christ’s kingdom, which is the kingdom of righteousness. That sermon does not contain all Christian truth, but it is the Magna Carta of an applied Christianity, the kingdom’s laws from the lips of the King Himself.
So, brethren, I come to you with this for my message that no Christian man is doing his work as Christ’s soldier, ‘striving against sin,’ until he is seeking, with the best of his strength, to get Christ’s law, which is righteousness, established on the face of the earth.
So, brethren, I come to you with this for my message that no Christian man is doing his work as Christ’s soldier, ‘striving against sin,’ until he is seeking, with the best of his strength, to get Christ’s law, which is righteousness, established on the face of the earth.
Talk of dynamiters and explosives, why, there is explosive power enough in Christianity to shatter to pieces the corruptions that make so large a part of modern social life. But, alas! The Christian Church has too long and too generally been employed in damping down the gunpowder instead of firing it and seeking to explain away the large and plain commandments of the Master instead of seeking to apply them.
There is a new spirit around us today, for which we should be devoutly thankful, but we must also forget that, like all new move-merits, it is apt to be one-sided and exaggerated. Much harm is done in many directions by Christian teachers seeking to apply the principles of Christ’s commandments to various phases of social iniquity without explicit knowledge of the facts of the case. But that being fully admitted, I still rejoice to believe that Christ’s men round about us are waking up, as they never did before, to the solemn obligation laid upon Christian churches, if they are not to perish of inanition and inactivity, to proclaim and seek to have recognized Christ’s laws for the individual and Christ’s direction for the community.
Only remember the limitations and the antecedents about which I have already spoken a word. Man has the business to go crusading among other people once he has cleansed himself. And the first task of the Christian reformer is with his own heart. And again, it is only helpful to deal with institutions if you deal with the men who live under them. The main work of the Christian Church must always be with individuals, and through their improvement, the improvement of society will be most fully secured. But the error of many excellent and earnest men today is in thinking that if you set the ‘environment,’ as they call it, right, you will get the men right. It is a mistake. Take a pack of drunken wastrels out of the slums and put them into model lodging houses, and in a fortnight, the lodging houses will be as dirty as the sites from which the men were dragged. Mend the men, and then you may set them in a new environment; mend them, and society will be mended. And repair yourselves first, and then you can fix society. Resist your sin, and then go out to fight with the evil of others.
Notice the brunt of the battle which others have born.
I have already said that the immediate context suggests two contrasts between the comparative immunity from persecution of the letter’s readers and others.
The first is that suggested by all that glorious muster-roll of heroes and martyrs of the faith which precedes this chapter. Without dealing in rhetoric or dilating on the subject, Christian men in this generation may well think themselves of what their fathers bore and did that has won for them this ease.
I think modern Christianity, in its complacency with itself, would be all the better if it went back sometimes to remember that there were times when ‘young men and maidens, and old men and children,’ had to resist blood and when they went to their deaths as joyfully as a bride to the altar.
I remember an old church on the slopes of one of the hills of Rome, covered over on all its interior walls with a set of the most gruesome pictures of the martyrs. There may be an unwholesome admiration and adoration of these. I think modern Christianity, in its complacency with itself, would be all the better if it went back sometimes to remember that there were times when ‘young men and maidens, and old men and children,’ had to resist blood and when they went to their deaths as joyfully as a bride to the altar.
Ah, brethren, you Nonconformists in this generation, who have an easy-going religion, only sometimes remember how it was worn. Think of George Fox and the Friends. Think of the early Nonconformists, hunted and harried, their noses slit and ears cropped off, their pillories and exile, and then be ashamed to talk about the difficulties that you have to meet. ‘Ye have not resisted unto blood.’
A far more touching contrast is suggested, and apparently mainly in the writer’s mind, because just before he has said, ‘Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners.’ His word for ‘consider’ might be rendered ‘compare, weigh in the balance,’ Christ’s sufferings and yours. He has borne the heavy end of the Cross, laying the light end upon our shoulders. Of course, the more mysterious and profound aspects of Christ’s death, in which He is no pattern for us, but the propitiation for our sins, do not come into view in this contrast. They are abundantly treated in the rest of the letter. But here, the writer is thinking of Yahushua Christ in His capacity as the Prince of sufferers for righteousness’ sake, who could have escaped His Cross if He had chosen to abandon His warfare and His witness. Yahushua Christ is a great deal more than that. And the differential of His sufferings and death is not touched by such a consideration. But do not let us forget that He is that, and whatever else His death is, it also stands as the very climax of all suffering for righteousness. He is the King of the Martyrs and the Sacrifice for the world’s sins. Let us turn to Him and mark the heroic strength of character, hidden from hasty observation by the sweet gentleness in which it was enshrined, like the iron hand in a velvet glove.
Let us understand how His pattern is held forth to us and how the Cross is our example and the ground of all our hope. ‘Ye have not yet resisted … Consider Him.’
And now, lastly, note the lighter warfare incumbent upon us.
The resistance changes its form, but in essence, it continues. In the old days, warfare consisted of men bludgeoning each other or engaging in hand-grips, foot, and face-to-face. Nowadays, it is artillery duels — a great deal more scientific, a great deal less coarse; but it is warfare all the same. The world used to burn Christians, to hang them, to stone them. It does not do that now, but it fights them yet. The world has become partially Christianised, and the principles of Christianity have, in a certain imperfect way, infiltrated themselves through the masses so that the antagonism is not quite as hot as it once was. And the Church has weakened its testimony and essentially adopted the maxims of the world. So why should the world persecute a Church that is only a bit of the world under another name? But let any man for himself honestly try to live a life modeled on Christ’s maxims, and let him cast himself against some of the clamant evils round about him, and seek to subdue them, because Christ has bidden him. He will see whether the old antagonism is not there yet. What a chorus of select epithets will immediately be discharged! ‘Impracticable,’ ‘fanatical,’ ‘one-sided,’ ‘revolutionary,’ ‘Pharisee,’ ‘hypocrite.’ These will be the sweet, smelling flowers in the garland that will be woven. Depending upon it, a Christian man bent on living out Christianity for himself and seeking to apply it around him will have to fight and endure.
A Christian man bent on living out Christianity for himself and seeking to apply it around him will have to fight and endure.
But all that is. as nothing — nothing — to what the front rank had to go through, and went through, joyfully. They fell in the trenches and filled them up so the rear class could pass across. They bore sword stabs; we have only to take pinpricks. Stones were flung at them, as at Stephen outside the wall; handfuls of mud are all we must be afraid of.
So, brethren, accept today’s form of the permanent conflict and see that you do the task laid upon you unmurmuringly, cheerfully, and thoroughly. And do not think much of the discomforts and annoyances. For us to speak about sacrifices for Christ is as if a bargeman on a canal were to dilate on the perils of his voyage in the hearing of an Arctic explorer or as if a man that went in a first-class carriage to London were to speak to an African traveler about ‘the perils of the road.’ ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood. Consider Him; take up your cross, and follow Him.
This is a non-WLC article by Alexander MacLaren.
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
This is a non-WLC article. When using resources from outside authors, we only publish the content that is 100% in harmony with the Bible and WLC current biblical beliefs. So such articles can be treated as if coming directly from WLC. We have been greatly blessed by the ministry of many servants of Yahuwah. But we do not advise our members to explore other works by these authors. Such works, we have excluded from publications because they contain errors. Sadly, we have yet to find a ministry that is error-free. If you are shocked by some non-WLC published content [articles/episodes], keep in mind Proverbs 4:18. Our understanding of His truth is evolving, as more light is shed on our pathway. We cherish truth more than life, and seek it wherever it may be found.
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” Luke 6:35 (NASB)
Human nature generally indicates that we can love the people who love us. Unsaved men and women prove this to be true. Loving those who love us comes naturally. Although there may well be a selfish motive underlying human love, Yahushua tells us that if you only love those who love you, there is no credit in Yahuwah’s divine administration.
Loving, lending, and giving to others too often has an ulterior motive. Financial institutions, for example, only lend to those they are confident will repay. But, whether it’s a friendly bank or a kind person lending to others, they are generally expected to receive some remuneration. This may be the way of the world, but Yahushua introduced a heavenly standard that can only be implemented in a redeemed life – as empowered from above.
Yahushua called upon us to love our enemies as well as our friends. We are to love our adversaries and pray for those antagonistic towards us. We are to love those who oppose and are hostile towards us and are exhorted to do good to them. Yahushua even calls us to do good and to lend to others while expecting nothing in return. This is not normal human behavior but is unmistakably the conduct Father Yahuwah expects from a Christian who honors Him in his actions toward others.
This teaching of the Lord Yahushua has nothing to do with justification. We do not become children of Yahuwah by being good or offering interest-free loans to others. We are saved by grace through faith in the sacrificial work and glorious Resurrection of our Lord Yahushua Christ – and this is non-negotiable.
May the love and grace of Christ so fill our hearts that we manifest the divine love of Yahuwah to others, in word and deed, and become a beautiful reflection of Christ Yahushua, our Saviour and bring honor and glory to Father Yahuwah’s holy name.
However, those who have already been saved and have become children of Yahuwah by faith in Christ are expected to behave in a manner worthy of their status as children of Yahuwah, as empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The specific behavior and divine love described in this verse can only manifest in the one that has been born from above – as the life and nature of Christ are manifested in them. Only those saved by grace through faith in the Lord Yahushua can display these divine characteristics of our holy and loving Yahuwah and Father.
May the love and grace of Christ so fill our hearts that we manifest the divine love of Yahuwah to others, in word and deed, and become a beautiful reflection of Christ Yahushua, our Saviour and bring honor and glory to Father Yahuwah’s holy name.
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, my own, human love is found wanting, and without the love of Christ flowing through me, I am incapable of living as You would have me to live. Fill me, day by day, with the love of Christ so that I may love my enemies, pray for those who despitefully use me, and show goodness and grace to others in need. Help me reflect Christ’s godly characteristics to His praise and glory in my everyday life. This I ask in His precious name, AMEN.
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
The afflictions that Yahuwah sends His people always come from His love. He has no other motive for sending trials upon us. Through these trials, He prepares us for our place in glory! Trials and afflictions, therefore, come only upon Yahuwah’s children – they are a gracious gift to sinners like us, which required the death of Christ on the cross to earn them for us.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of [Yahuwah] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8-11)
