The Importance of Having a Daily Devotional

Twenty-One Reasons to Have a Dedicated, Daily Devotional (or Time Alone With YHVH)

The reasons are too numerous to mention! Here are only a few reasons.

  • Draw near to Elohim and he will draw near to you. That is to say, incline your heart to Elohim and  he will incline himself to you. The converse is also true. Disincline your heart to him and he will respond accordingly. (Pss 71:2; 78:1; 88:2; 102:2; 119:36; 141:4) 
  • You are what you eat. What you feed on is what you will become; what a person puts into his mind and heart is he who he is (Prov 23:7). If you do not feed on the Word of Elohim, you will not grow spiritually, and the converse is also true. 
  • We need to be continually renewing our mind by spiritually brainwashing our mind and heart with the Word of Elohim to combat the distracting and hell-bent influences of the world, the flesh and the devil. We wash or cleanse our minds by washing in or feeding continually on the water of the Word of Elohim (Rom 12:2; Eph 5:26).
  • Yeshua instructs us to ask, seek and you shall find, and knock (Matt 7:7). YHVH Elohim like is a vast ocean wisdom, knowledge, understanding and truth, and we are little children on the edge of that ocean. How can we learn and grow spiritually if we do not ask and seek?
  • If we don’t ask through prayer, we will not receive from our Father in heaven (Jas 4:3).
  • The Bible commands us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), and even to pray for our enemies (Matt 5:44). 
  • With regard to prayer, Yeshua instructed us to pray (Matt 6:9–13). The implication was not if you pray, but when you pray. Yeshua lived a life of prayer and set us the example of being prayerful. If we are followers of Messiah, then are we not to imitate him in all areas of our life, to walk in his footsteps (1 Cor 11:1; 1 John 2:6) and to do all that he commanded us to do (Matt 28:20)?
  • The Bible commands us to be thankful in all things (Col 3:17). We express our gratitude to our Father in heaven through prayer.
  • David, a man after YHVH’s heard prayed and thanked Elohim seven times a day (Ps 110:164).
  • The morning and evening sacrifices are our example to follow for the sacrifice of our lips (Pss 27:6; 50:8–15; 69:30–31; Hos 6:6; 14:2 [KJV]; Heb 13:15; 1 Pet 2:5).
  • The Bible instructs us to a living sacrifice, that is, live a life of prayer, fasting, worship, praise, self-negation and service (Rom 12:1; Phil 2:17; Heb 13:15–16; 1 Pet 2:5).
  • Study to show yourself approved by rightly dividing the Word of Elohim (2 Tim 2:15).
  • Be like a noble Berean by searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:10–11).
  • Be like a tree planted by (Yeshua) the river of life by meditating day and night on YHVH’s Torah-Word, so that you will bear much spiritual fruit and you will not whither spiritually in the day of adversity (Ps 1:1–6).
  • Abide in and be strongly attached to Yeshua (and his word) who is the true vine and we are the branches (John 15:1–8).
  • Walk  in the Spirit by not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, which war against the Spirit (Gal 5:16–17). Establish good disciplines in your life. Self control or self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). Learn to reign in the lusts of the flesh by not always doing the things our flesh wants to do (Gal 5:19–21), but following the prompting of the Spirit by spending time with Elohim, which is an act of self-discipline.
  • Feed your inner spirit man by feeding regularly on the Word of Elohim as opposed to continually feeding your soul man (i.e., your mind, will and emotions) (Gal 5:5:16–18; Col 3:1–2; 2 Cor 10:4–5).
  • If you don’t know the Word of Elohim, how are you going to do spiritual warfare by resisting the temptations of the devil with the Word of Elohim as Yeshua did when combatting the devil (Matt 4:1–11), and by taking every thought captive to the mind of Yeshua (2 Cor 10:4–5)?
  • How are we to fulfill Romans 12:2 by being transformed into the image of the Messiah (Rom 8:29) by renewing our minds and not being conformed to this world if we are regularly reading and studying the Word of Elohim?
  • The wise virgins in Yeshua’s parable were ready for Yeshua their Bridegroom, since they had oil (i.e., the Spirit and the Torah-Word of Elohim) in their lamps (Matt 25:1–4).
  • Seek first the kingdom of Elohim and his righteousness by starting every day with our daily devotionals (Matt 6:33). YHVH deserves the first and best part of each of our days.

Things That Keep Us From Having a Daily Devotional

We have become spiritually lukewarm.

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“Fight, Fight, Fight!”—The Take-Away From the Assassination Attempt

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the first words from the president’s lips as he was being whisked off the platform were”fight, fight, fight.” So what are we really fighting for and against? Is there a political solution to a spiritual problem? Who is the real enemy? How can YOU fight and who are you really fighting? What is the take-away from this horrific event for serious Christian believers?

 

News Flash! Hoshana Rabbah Is Now on Apple Podcast

I am pleased to announce that you can now listen to our Bible teachings on Apple Podcast as well as Spotify. To access Hoshana Rabbah’s YouTube videos that are now in podcast format, go to the search window of your chosen podcast platform and type in “Hoshana Rabbah Bible Resource” or “Nathan (Natan) Lawrence.” Then please subscribe and like.

Look folks, this is not about me, Nathan Lawrence. No! This is about the kingdom of YHVH Elohim and Yeshua our Messiah. It’a about getting the gospel message as connected to its Torah roots to as many people as possible for the glory of Elohim and the expansion of his kingdom. Period! I make no money off of this, have nothing to sell, and am not trying to start a following, denomination, or anything of man. It’s all about Him!

Thus says the YHVH: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am YHVH, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says YHVH. (Jer 9:23–24)

Thank you!

Nathan Lawrence

 

Prophetic Implications of the Second Exodus, Rapture, Bride of Yeshua & Eternal Rewards

In this video, Nathan shares insights about the timing of second exodus, who will be raptured (that is, resurrected at the last trumpet to meet Yeshua in the air), what happens to the saints after the first resurrection or rapture, the timing of the second coming, who will be the bride of Yeshua, and how this all relates to the defeat of Antichrist and Babylon the Great and marriage of the Yeshua. Buckle your seat belts and hang on tightly. This is a fast moving aerial view of many end time Bible prophecies!

 

How to View Sunday Christians From the Father’s Heart

For those Christians returning to the Hebrew, Torah roots of their faith, how is one now to view the mainstream church and the Sunday Christians they have left behind? Are they saved or unsaved, friend or foe or what? More importantly, what is the heart our Father in heaven’s view of mainstream Christians? As always, the Bible gives us the answer as this video reveals.

 

Back from a family trip to Alaska

Please enjoy a few photos from our recent family cruise to Alaska via the famous Inside Passage. On this trip, Sandi and I were joined by three of our four children, plus two of their spouses, plus our first grandchild who is forming in the womb of one our youngest daughter, and who is due to be born this fall. Yay!

Our family. From left to right: Captain Ryan, USAF; Kaeli, MSW and who is a clinical therapist for a Christian counseling service; Jared who is an ISA Certified Arborist and project supervisor for Good News Tree Service, Inc. and is engaged to be married; Lucy who is just entering medical school to become a surgeon; Spencer who is a public school science teacher. Front and center: Sandi and Nathan
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Lucy
Ketchikan, Alaska. Photo by Lucy.
Juneau, Alaska. Photo by Lucy.
Entering the Yukon Territory, Canada out of Skagway, Alaska.
A Tlingit genealogical, family clan and history totem pole, Juneau, Alaska. Photo by Nathan
A bald eagle taking off, Juneau Alaska. Photo by Nathan
A bald eagle, Juneau, Alaska. Photo by Nathan
Cruising into Skagway, Alaska. Photo by Lucy.
The Yukon Territory
College Fjord. Photo by Lucy
College Fjord. Photo by Lucy
Sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Photo by Nathan
College Fjord. Photo by Nathan
College Fjord. Photo by Nathan
Glacier Bay, Alaska. Photo by Nathan
A brown or grizzly bear. Photo by Nathan
A brown or grizzly bear. Photo by Nathan