Unless otherwise indicated, the collection of scriptures found in Food for Thought are quoted from the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures (The Old Testament) pub. by, the Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1988; and the Jewish New Testament, translated by David H. Stern, pub. by Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, 1994.

~ Meditations ~
~ From the Word of God ~
(Meditations are meant to be
pondered carefully.)

~ Do We Know Our God? ~

      “...Unto him That loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And bath made us kings and priests (and has formed us into a kingdom) unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
(Rev. 1:5-6 KJV)

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
And the glory of a king to plumb a matter.”
(Prov. 25:2)

“Who has ascended heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped the waters in his garment?
Who has established all the extremities of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name, if you know it?”
(Prov. 30: 4)

      Who has ascended heaven and come down?

      “No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. Just as Moshe (Moses) lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.”
(John 3:13-15)

      “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, “I ascend unto My Father. and your Father: and to My God. and your God.”’
(John 20:17 KJV)

      Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand?

      “One day Yeshua got into a boat with his talmidim (disciples) and said to them, ‘Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.’ So they set out; and as they were sailing, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake, so that the boat began to fill up with water, putting them in great danger. They went and woke him, saying, ‘Rabbi! Rabbi! We’re about to die!’ He woke up, rebuked the wind and the rough water; and they calmed down, so that it was still. Then he said, to the talmidim, “Where is your trust?’ Awestruck, they marveled, asking one another, Who can this be, that he commands even the wind and the water. and they obey him?”’
(Luke 8:22-25)

      Who has wrapped the waters in his garment?

      “When Yeshua learned that the P’rushim (Pharisees) had heard he was making and immersing more talmidim than Yochanan (John) (although it was not Yeshua himself who immersed but his talmidim), Yeshua left Y’hudah (Judea) and set out again for the Galil (Galilee). This meant that he had to pass through Shomron (Samaria).
      “He came to a town in Shomron called Sh’khem (Sychar), near the field Ya’akov (Jacob) had given to his son Yosef (Joseph). Ya’akov’s Well was there; so Yeshua, exhausted from his travel, sat down by the well; it was about noon. A woman from Shomron (Samaria) came to draw some water; and Yeshua said to her, ‘Give me a drink of water.’ (His talmidim had gone into town to buy food.) The woman from Shomron said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for water from me, a woman of Shomron?’ (For Jews don’t associate with people from Shomron.) Yeshua answered her, ‘If you knew God’s gift, that is, who it is saying to you, “Give me a drink of water,” then you would have asked him; and he would have given you living water.’
      “She said to him, ‘Sir, you don’t have a bucket, and the well is deep; so where do you get this ‘living water? You aren’t greater than our father Ya’akov, are you? He gave us this well and drank from it, and so did his sons and his cattle.’ Yeshua answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!”’
(John 4:1-14)

      “Now on the last day of the festival Hoshana Rabbah (the 7th day of the Feast of Tabernacles; also know as the Festival of Willows) Yeshua stood and cried out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!’ (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive later —the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been glorified. )“
(John 7:37-39)

      Who has established all the extremities of the earth?

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,

And the Word was God,
He was with God in the beginning.

All things came to be through him.
and without him nothing made had being.”
(John 1:1-3)

      What is HIS NAME?

      “Moses said to God, When I come to the Israelites and say to them “The God of your fathers has sent me to you” and they ask me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘Ehyeh - Asher - Ehyeh.’ (I Will Be What I Will Be) He continued, ‘Thus shall you say to the Israelites, “Ehyeh (I Will Be) sent me to you.”’ And God said further to Moses, ‘Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The LORD, (YHVH) the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you:
      “‘This shall be My name forever,
      “‘This My appellation (title) for all eternity.”’
(Ex. 3:13-15)

      “God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the LORD (YHVH). I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai (Almighty God), but I did not make myself known to them by My name YHVH.’”
(Ex. 6:2-3)

      What is HIS SON’S NAME, if you know it?

      “Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam (Miriam, Mary) was engaged to Yosef (Joseph), before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach-HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai (the Lord) appeared to him in a dream and said, Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach-HaKodesh. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. [which means ‘Adonai saves’,] because he will save his people from their sins.’
      “All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
            “‘The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
            and they will call him Immanu’el.’
            (The name means, ‘God is with us.’)
      “When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife, but he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Yeshua.”
(Matthew 1:18-25)

      “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. The mighty God, The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.”
(Isa. 9:6 KJV)

“The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh’khinah,

The Sh’khinah (God’s manifest presence) of the Fathers only Son, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14)

      WHERE was He born?

      “... Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria. Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Yosef (Joseph), because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret (Nazareth) in the Galil to the town of David called Beit-Lehem (Bethlehem, meaning House of Bread) in Y’hudah (Judea), to be registered, with Miryam (Miriam, Mary), to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant. White they were there, the time came for her to give birth; and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them at the inn.”
(Luke 2:1-7)

      “After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y’hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and asked, ‘Where is the newborn King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard of this he became very agitated, and so did everyone else in Yerushalayim. He called together all the head cohanim (priests) and Torah-teachers (scribes) of the people and asked them, ‘Where will the Messiah be born?’ In Beit-Lechem of Y’hudah,’ they replied, ‘because the prophet wrote, (in Micah chapter 5)

“And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y’hudah,
are by no means the least among the rulers of Y’hudah;
for from you will come a Ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
(Matthew 2:1-6)

      Why was He born?

      (Yeshua said): “The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to bear witness to the truth.’”
(John 18:37a)

      (Yeshua said) For I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me; that I should not lose any of all those he has given me but should raise them up on the Last Day. Yes, this is the will of my Father;: that all who see the Son and trust in him should have eternal live, and that I should raise them up on the Last Day.”’
(John 6:38-40)

      What is truth?

      (Yeshua said) “‘Every one who belongs to the truth listens to me’ Pilate asked him. What is truth?”’
(John 18:37b-38)

      “Yeshua said. ‘I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me...
      “‘...whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do!...
      “‘If you love me, you will keep my commands; and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever. The world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him. You know him, because he is staying with you and will be united with you. I will not leave you orphans — I am coming to you. In just a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. (speaking of His death and resurrection) Because I live you too will live. When that day comes, you will know that I am united with my Father, and you with me, and I with you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.’”
(John 14:6,12, 15-21)

      (Speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees) ‘Yeshua said, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am who I say I am, and that of myself I do nothing, but say only what the Father has taught me. Also, the One who sent me is still with me; he did not leave me to myself, because I always do what pleases him.’
      “Many people who heard him say these things trusted in him. So Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted him. ‘If you obey what I say. then you are really my talmidim (disciples). you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They (the scribes and Pharisees) answered, We are the seed of Avraham (Abraham) and have never been slaves to anyone; so what do you mean by saying, “You will be set free”?’ Yeshua answered them, ‘Yes, indeed! I tell you that everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain with a family forever, but a son does remain with it forever. So if the son frees you, you will really be free!’”
(John 8:28-36)

      Is He the King of the Jews?

      “So Pilate... called Yeshua and said to him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Yeshua answered... ‘My kingship does not derive its authority from this world’s order of things...’”
(John 18:33,36)

      Is He the King of Glory?

      Yeshua ... looked up toward heaven and said, ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you — just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those whom you have given him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah.”
(John 17:1-3)

“Who is the King of glory?
the LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory!”
(Psalm 24:10)

“Holy, holy, holy!
The LORD of Hosts!
His presence fills all the earth!”
(Isa. 6:3)

      How did He glorify His Father?

      “‘I glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me alongside yourself. Give me the same glory I had with you before the world existed.
      “‘I made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, because the words you gave me I have given to them, and they have received them. They have really come to know that I came from you, and they have come to trust that you sent me.”
(John 17:4-8)

      How did He pray for us?

      “‘I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given to me, because they are yours. Indeed, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and in them I have been glorified. Now I am no longer in the world. They are in the world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them by the power of your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are. When I was with them, I guarded them by the power of your name, which you have given to me; yes, I kept watch over them; and not one of them was destroyed (except the one meant for destruction, so that the Tanakh [Hebrew Scriptures] might be fulfilled). But now, I am coming to you; and I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
      “‘I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world — just as I myself do not belong to the world. I don’t ask you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. On their behalf I am setting myself apart for holiness, so that they too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth.
      “‘I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you. I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one — I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.
      “‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.’”
(John 17:9-26)

      Would God call us His people?

      “... the time is coming — indeed, it’s here now - when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly (in spirit and in truth), for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him.”
(John 4:23)

“... God’s people, those who
observe His commands and
exercise Yeshua’s faithfulness.”
(Rev. 14:12)

      “Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says.”
(John 8:47a)

      “O LORD, there is none like You, and there is no other God but You, as we have always heard. And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom God went and redeemed as His people, winning renown for Yourself for great and marvelous deeds, driving out nations before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt.”
(II Chron. 17:20-22)

“None but the LORD of Hosts
Shall you account holy;
Give reverence to Him alone,
Hold Him alone in awe.
He shall be for a sanctuary,
a stone men strike against:
A rock men stumble over
For the two Houses of Israel,
And a trap and a snare for those
Who dwell in Jerusalem.
The masses shall trip over these
And shall fall and be injured,
Shall be snared and be caught.”
(Isa. 8:13-15)

      Are we His Servants?

      “Who is the faithful and sensible servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time?”’
(Matt. 24:45)

      “This is the revelation which God gave to Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus), so that he could show his servants what must happen very soon. He communicated it by sending his angel to his servant Yochanan (John), who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, as much as he saw.”
(Rev. 1:1-2)

      (Yochanan said): “‘I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, saying, Write down what you see on a scroll, and send it to the seven Messianic communities — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea!’ I turned around to see who was speaking to me; and when I had turned, I saw seven gold menorahs (lampstands); and among the menorahs was someone like a Son of Man, wearing a robe down to his feet and a gold band around his chest. His head and hair were as white as snow-white wool, his eyes like a fiery flame, his feet like burnished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, out of his mouth went a sharp double-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
      “When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand upon me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. the Living One. I was dead. but look! —am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Sh’ol (Hades). So write down what you see, both what is now, and what will happen afterwards. Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold menorahs: the seven stars are angels of the seven Messianic communities, and the seven menorahs are the seven Messianic communities.”
(Rev. 1:10-20)

      What is He saying?

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Ephesus, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who holds the seven starts in his right hand and walks among the seven gold menorahs:...
      “‘Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in God’s Gan-Eden (Paradise).”’
(Rev. 2:1,7)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Smyrna, write: ‘Here is the message from the First and the Last, who died and came alive again:...
      “‘He who wins the victory will not be hurt at all by the second death.”’
(Rev. 2:8,11b)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Pergamum, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:...
      “‘To him winning the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, on which is written a new name that nobody knows except the one receiving it.”’
(Rev. 2:12,-17b)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Thyatira, write: ‘Here is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like burnished brass:...
      “‘... hold fast to what you have until I come. To him who wins the victory and does what I want until the goal is reached,

“I will give him authority over the nations;
he will rule them with a staff of iron
and dash them to pieces like pottery
just as I have received authority from my father,
I will also give him the morning star.’”
(Rev. 2:18,25-28)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Sardis, write: ‘Here is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars:...
      “‘... you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; and they will walk with me, clothed in white, because they are worthy. He who wins the victory will, like them, be dressed in white clothing; and I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life; in fact. I will acknowledge him individually before my Father and before his angels.”’
(Rev. 3:1a,4-5)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Philadelphia, write: ‘Here is the message of HaKodosh (the Holy One), the True One, the one who has the key of David, who, if he opens something, no one else can shut it, and if he closes something, no one else can open it:...
      “‘Because you did obey my message about persevering, I will keep you from the time of trial coming upon the whole world to put the people living on earth to the test. I am coming soon; hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. I will make him who wins the victory a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. Also I will write on him the name of my God and the name of my God’s city, the new Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.”
(Rev. 3:7,10-12)

      “To the angel of the Messianic community in Laodicea, write: ‘Here is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Ruler of God’s creation:...
      “‘My advice to you is to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be dressed and not have to be ashamed of your nakedness; and eye-salve to rub on your eyes, so that you may see. As for me, I rebuke and discipline everyone I love; so exert yourselves, and turn from your sins! Here, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he will eat with me. I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
(Rev. 3:14,18-21)

      “Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.’
(Rev. 3:22)

      (Yeshua said): “Do not fear those who kill the body but are powerless to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gey-Hinnom (Gehenna, hell).”
(Matt. 10:28)

      Are we winning the victory?

God’s holy people must
persevere and trust!”
(Rev. 13:10c)

      “‘...How blessed are the dead who die united with the Lord, from now on!’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘now they may rest from their efforts, for the things they have accomplished follow along with them.”’
(Rev 14:13b)

      “Then I saw standing there with the throne and the four living beings, in the circle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. When he took the scroll, the four living beings and the 24 elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one held a harp and gold bowls filled with pieces of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people; and they sang a new song,

‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language people and nation. You made them into a kingdom for God to rule, cohanim (priests) to serve him; and they will rule over the earth.”’
(Rev. 5:6-10)

      “... many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).”
(Matt. 8:11)

      Do you read the Scriptures daily? Are you getting to know God better each day? If not, start today, and

      Be Blessed!

            SAW