Time Well Spent

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

Psalms 95:1-2 ESV

When I read this today it was like getting hit with a two by four! This is how I should be starting off my day. 

Somehow I allow every other little thing to get in the way of what is most important. It isn't like I don't talk with Him through out the day. Still it isn't the same as just setting aside time to really be in His awesome present and give Him the time He deserves. 

He deserves my undivided attention with no interruptions and my expressions of love just for Him and Him alone. 

He gave His all for me so I should at least be able to set a portion of my time aside for Him.

Forgive me Jesus when all I do is start off my day and not to put You at the forefront. Forgive when I don't set aside a time for just You and me. It is inexcusable! Even in this I will need You to spur me on. Give me a swift kick to what is most important and that is spending time with You. 

Amen.

If in Distress...

"From my distress I called upon the Lord;

The Lord answered me and set me in a large place."

(Psalm 118: 5 NASB)

When we find our selves in dire needs are we to call upon those in the world to help us? 

Those in the world may mean well, but will usually let us down. God will never let us down. 

The psalmist continues in verse 6 to say, "The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?"

We can see here that man himself was not a help, but in this case an enemy of the psalmist. 

Jumping to verses 8 and 9 he stated that it was better to put your trust in the Lord and rely on Him for your protection rather than trusting in man or princes.

So now whom do we call upon when we find ourselves in insurmountable problems? We call upon the Lord!

Thank You Lord for always being just a shout away. Thank you for always knowing our every need before we even present it to you. You are so faithful. We love you. Amen.

Jeremiah 23

I was reading Jeremiah 23 today where God was warning the people not to listen to those that called themselves 'prophets', as they were not sent by Him. These were men that were leading the people away from God rather than towards Him.

I started thinking about how many disguises false prophets come in besides the obvious of palm readers, fortunetellers, and the big one psychics. I mean even the devil himself came camouflaged as an 'angel of light'.

What about teachers? That one is scary! It only takes one teacher to draw a student away and that student will draw another student and then another student and then a snowball effect takes place.

What about a priest/minister? Is he speaking biblical truth or traditional feel good, go in peace sermons?

How observant are we to what is really happening around us?

Please don't think I am putting prophets, teachers, or ministers down. Far from it! What I am saying is that we need to be in tune with the spirit and to recognize God's voice in all situations. We are not to assume something is correct just because it sounds plausible. We need to know it, unequivocally, in our spirit. We must know that it lines up with God's word. Amen.

Bless you,

Shifra

Shalom My Friends

I am sure you are curious why you haven't seen anything from me recently. I have gone through a lot, but as always God has been right at my side through it all. 

Even with all the upheaval of a non-evasive brain surgery for a aneurism and my mom's passing God still helped me to complete and publish another book. It is called "The Willow Bay Series." You can find it at Barnes & Noble, Book-A-Million and Amazon. I'm sure you can find it at Christian bookstores too. It can also be found as an ebook.

I also want to invite you to follow my Facebook page called Shifra's Books. You can follow me on my journey. I am now trying to write my own story. It isn't easy. You would think writing about yourself would be easy, but it is the opposite. Trying to decide what is important and what isn't comes into question and wording things so people can understand it is another issue. I went through it, but it is a whole different thing trying to put it into words.

I tried writing this for about a week, but then found out I needed to update the app. The old app kept knocking me out. 

Anyway, I am so glad I finally got a chance to hit base with you. I will try to get back with you again shortly, in the meantime, be safe and be blessed in the name of our Lord and Savior Yeshua.

Shifra

Portrait of God

Unto You, O Lord, I lift my voice in praise and wonder. I am in awe of You. You are marvelous in all Your ways. I look around and see the works of Your hands. It is a tapestry! It is like looking at a beautiful piece of art that has been brought to life. 

I do not wonder if You exist. It is so obvious with all the beauty that surrounds us. Even with things like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes it still shows Your hand at work.

Let me be aware each and every day of what You have accomplished in my life and be ready for the next step along the way. Give me Your knowledge, wisdom and discernment and let me do Your will.

In Jesus name. Amen.

Joy in the Midst of Grief

“"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

John 14:1-3 ESV

My husband went home to reside with the Lord a year ago yesterday, March 25th. I may be grieving, but I also rejoice knowing that he is truly home.

This scripture reminds me that I will one day, in the future,  also be truly home. 

God has a place for me and for anyone who believes upon the name of the Messiah, Jesus. One day I will also walk the streets of gold just as John is. (“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”) 

Revelation 21:21 ESV

I am in awe of the fact that I will be part of the 'marriage supper of the Lamb'. (“And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."”) 

Revelation 19:9 ESV

Prayer:

Daddy, I pray for all those who may be in a similar place as I am. I pray that they will take comfort in knowing that they too have a mansion waiting for them. Help us to remember that we may live here on earth, but our true home is not here. Our true residence is in heaven and we can look forward to that day. Yes, mourning is a must, but it is just another season in our lives. We may not always be happy, but Daddy, because of Jesus, we can still have joy. 

Amen

Be Strong and Courageous

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 ESV

Why are there times that I end up feeling fearful and discouraged? Why do I tend to act like a wimp? Your word, O Lord, continuously tells us to be courageous. I am not to be fearful as you are always right near my side. There is scripture after scripture that assures me that I am loved and protected. You go before me and all I need to do is follow your lead.

 

Prayer:

Thank you, O Lord. Help me to be a person who lives by faith and not only talks about it. Let me exemplify what I speak. Let me not use my own understanding, but to rely on the truth of your word. Amen.

Supporting scriptures:

Numbers 13:20; Deuteronomy 31:6, 7, & 23; Joshua 1:6, 7, 18, & 10:25; 

2 Samuel 10:12; Psalm 27:14; 31:24.

¿"Yo no os he mandado? Sé fuerte y valiente. No os asustéis y no desmayes, porque Jehová tu Dios está contigo dondequiera que vayas. Josué 1:9 ESV

¿Por qué hay veces que termino sintiendo temerosos y desanimados? ¿Por qué tiendo a actuar como un cobarde? Tu palabra, oh Señor, continuamente nos dice que ser valiente. No quiero ser temeroso como siempre tienes razón cerca de mi lado. Hay escritura tras escritura que me asegura que soy amado y protegido. Vas antes de mí y todo lo que necesito hacer es seguir su ejemplo.

 

Oración:

Gracias, oh Señor. Ayúdame a ser una persona que vive por fe y no sólo habla de él. Permítanme ejemplificar lo que hablo. Me dejó no usar mi propio entendimiento, pero to confiar en la verdad de su palabra. Amén.

Apoyo a las escrituras:

Números 13:20; Deuteronomio 31:6, 7 y 23; Josué 1:6, 7, 18 y 10:25; 

2 Samuel 10:12; Salmo 27: 14; 31:24.

". אני שלא ציוויתי? להיות אמיץ. . אל תהיה מודאג ומדוכדכת לא, כי יהוה אלוהיך הוא איתך בכל מקום שאליו תלך. יהושע 1:9 אשד מזרקות

למה זה פעמים שם בסופו של דבר אני מרגיש מהתערבות ו מיואש? למה אני נוטה להתנהג כמו פחדן? המילה שלך, אדוני, אומר לנו ללא הרף, זה להיות אמיץ. אין לי לחשוש מפני כמו תמיד אתה צודק ליד הצד שלי. כתוב לאחר הכתיבה שמבטיחה לי כי אני אני אהוב ומוגן. תלך לפניי, כל מה שאתה צריך לעשות זה לבוא בעקבותיו.

תפילה:

. תודה, אדוני. לעזור לי להיות אדם שחי על ידי אמונה, לא רק לדבר על זה. . הרשו לי להדגים מה אני מדבר תן לי את ההבנה שלי, אלא להאמין באמת של המילה שלו. . אמן.

תמיכה כתבי הקודש:

המספרים 13:20; דברים 31:6, 7 ו- 23; יהושע 1:6, 7, 18 ו- 10:25; 

Samuel 2 10:12; תהילים 27:14; 31:24.