Take Courage

            I haven't posted a personal devotional for some time, but I have something on my heart that I am compelled to share with any who will read this. I'll do my best to be brief, but that is not one of my finer traits. I have considered myself a believer in "God" and follower of "Jesus" for over 40 years now. Fairly recently my faith was nearly shipwrecked when I discovered four things in scripture I have never in 40 years and dozens of churches heard taught. I've since written two books about those four things, led two or three bible studies on the topic, and shared it with anyone who will listen. When I first became aware of the biblical fact that today's chosen adopted and grafted into the family of Jews who belong to Yahweh are, by confession, obliged to keep the appointed times (including Shabbat), observe Torah, address Him by His revealed Name and Titles, and observe the biblical dietary instruction, I nearly lost it. Many a morning I wept and cried out to Yahweh to tell me why he allowed me to remain ignorant of these vital truths so long. It is not my purpose here to convince anyone these four things are necessary ingredients for all true followers of Mashiyach to practice. I will just state that Yahweh Himself has assured me in my spirit that they are.

            What I do want to do, with every ounce of love and concern I have for brothers and sisters in Mashiyach who have recently confronted this truth and are struggling, is to help you deal with it effectively. If you're also asking yourself why Yahweh would have allowed you to spend so many years either not knowing them at all or being convinced by the teachers to whom you have submitted yourself that they weren't important, please take courage; I believe my experience and the answer I got will be helpful to you.

            As I already intimated, coming to the knowledge of how important they are nearly sabotaged my walk of faith. As already indicated, I struggled for several weeks asking Yahweh why He would allow me to be so ignorant of them for so long. Then, one morning while I was in tears on my knees before Him, He answered me. He said to me as clearly as if He were standing right beside me physically, "I took Moses into the wilderness of Midyan for 40 years before I called him to lead Israel out of Egypt. Do you consider yourself better than Moses?" As I consider all of the incredible stories of faith in scripture, I realize dozens of those who were promised things by Yahweh had to wait several years before they ever received the promise in their physical lives. Actually, Abraham never did receive the promise of inheriting the land Yahweh showed to him during his earthly life. So, my point is simple. If you have been ignoring some of the clear teaching of scripture because you cannot find anyone with any real knowledge of scripture who believes what it actually says, take courage and honor what it says. He'll take care of the rest in due season. May Yahweh bless you this day and for eternity.

            For anyone interested, all of my bible studies can be found on Amazon and are available for download on Kindle.  

Your Brother in Mashiyach
David L. Purkey