the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
This is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know in whom I have put my trust (2 Timothy 1:12).
Rabbi Sha'ul (Saul; i.e., Paul) was writing to his talmidim (disciples) from prison. He had suffered and was continuing to suffer much hardship for proclaiming his faith in Yeshua. Nevertheless, nearing the end of his life, he was still able to write with great confidence concerning his own salvation and eternal life with the Lord. This is because he had placed his trust fully in Yeshua.
Compare Rabbi Sha'ul's thinking to that of the first-century rabbi who was the architect of modern-day Judaism, but who did not know Yeshua. The Talmud (Berakhot 28b) states, "When Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai fell ill, his disciples went in to visit him. When he saw them, he began to weep. His disciples said to him, 'Lamp of Israel, pillar of the right hand, mighty hammer! Wherefore weepest thou?' He replied,'...Now that I am being taken before the Supreme King of Kings ...there are two ways before me, one leading to Paradise and the other to Gehinnom [Hell], and I do not know by which I shall be taken, shall I not weep?'"
As believers in Yeshua, we are set apart by our hope and assurance of salvation. That hope springs from true faith in God's provision, his Messiah, through whom we can and do know our destiny. Let's rejoice in the assurance God has given us through faith in Messiah Yeshua.
...walk in the confidence of my salvation in Yeshua, and will look for ways to share that same hope with others.
DB
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
