May 12 at sundown - Day 43
Today is day 43 of counting the Omer
Today is day 43 out of Egypt
Today is day 43 of Messiah Resurrected
Equilibirium (2 Peter 1:1-10)
Greetings
1 Simon Peter, a slave and emissary of Messiah Yeshua, To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua:
2 May grace and shalom be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Yeshua our Lord. Qualities for Living Forever
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue.
4 Through these things He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption that evil desires have brought into the world.
5 Now for this very reason, making every effort, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly love; and to brotherly love, love.
8 For if these qualities are in you and increasing, they keep you from becoming idle and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
9 But anyone who lacks these qualities is blind—nearsighted because he has forgotten his cleansing from past sins.
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make all the more effort to make your calling and election certain—for if you keep doing these things, you will never stumble.
Reflect:
Bringing balance to the many competing elements of our lives is challenging. Whether it be taking care of our families, doing our jobs well, or dealing with circumstances outside of our control (illness, not being able to find a job, death of a loved one), we can become physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. Instead of being able to find stability in our lives, we can often feel like we are destined to live in constant chaos! God has a better way for us to live; He wants to bring all of these opposing forces into a state of balance, a state of equilibrium. He wants to do this by empowering our faith with seven key elements of His nature (virtue, knowledge, patience, self control, godliness, brotherly love, and love). He does this by hardwiring these elements into our character, by making us more and more like Yeshua each day.
He wants us to understand that adopting the virtuous elements of His nature will lead us to a better knowledge of who He is and what He stands for. This in turn will lead us to exercise the self-control that we need to overcome sin. This self control will lead us to be a more patient and restrained people. At this point godliness (a state of obedience to God) will naturally lend itself to brotherly love (love of those who believe in Yeshua). Focusing on this kind of love will train our hearts to extend the final element, God’s unconditional love towards even our enemies. The synergy we experience with this progression in our lives will empower us to become the purposeful and productive people God wants to be!
Today is day 43 of Messiah Resurrected
Equilibirium (2 Peter 1:1-10)
Greetings
1 Simon Peter, a slave and emissary of Messiah Yeshua, To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua:
2 May grace and shalom be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Yeshua our Lord. Qualities for Living Forever
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue.
4 Through these things He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption that evil desires have brought into the world.
5 Now for this very reason, making every effort, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, patience; and to patience, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly love; and to brotherly love, love.
8 For if these qualities are in you and increasing, they keep you from becoming idle and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
9 But anyone who lacks these qualities is blind—nearsighted because he has forgotten his cleansing from past sins.
10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make all the more effort to make your calling and election certain—for if you keep doing these things, you will never stumble.
Reflect:
Bringing balance to the many competing elements of our lives is challenging. Whether it be taking care of our families, doing our jobs well, or dealing with circumstances outside of our control (illness, not being able to find a job, death of a loved one), we can become physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. Instead of being able to find stability in our lives, we can often feel like we are destined to live in constant chaos! God has a better way for us to live; He wants to bring all of these opposing forces into a state of balance, a state of equilibrium. He wants to do this by empowering our faith with seven key elements of His nature (virtue, knowledge, patience, self control, godliness, brotherly love, and love). He does this by hardwiring these elements into our character, by making us more and more like Yeshua each day.
He wants us to understand that adopting the virtuous elements of His nature will lead us to a better knowledge of who He is and what He stands for. This in turn will lead us to exercise the self-control that we need to overcome sin. This self control will lead us to be a more patient and restrained people. At this point godliness (a state of obedience to God) will naturally lend itself to brotherly love (love of those who believe in Yeshua). Focusing on this kind of love will train our hearts to extend the final element, God’s unconditional love towards even our enemies. The synergy we experience with this progression in our lives will empower us to become the purposeful and productive people God wants to be!
Prayer: Abba, we all have circumstances in our lives that are out of balance. Show us that You want to bring these opposing forces into a state of balance by making virtue, knowledge, self control, patience, godliness, brotherly love, and love a chain reaction that will transform our character and make us more like You. Help us to become the purposeful and productive people You created us to be! Amen.
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At Restoration, we have made it a priority to seek God first in prayer. During this season of counting of the Omer, we have decided to do this collectively as a congregation in the days leading up to Shavuot. Together, we want to trust in His power to impact our lives, our congregation, our city, and our world. The last 10 days we will encourage a corporate time of fasting and prayer, which starts the evening of May 9 and ends the evening of May 19. The conclusion of this season of prayer will culminate in a congregational picnic on the 50th day, the day of Shavuot - Sunday, May 20 at noon.
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