Hebrew Highlights 16 - Today

Shalom, this is Yuval Shomron, coming to you from Jerusalem.

PSA 118:24 This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Or, in Hebrew, “Zeh haYom asa Adonai, nagila venimecha bo.”

It doesn’t matter which day of which month of which year we read this scripture. Each day past, present, and future is made by the Lord. As we begin each day, we should count our blessings.

LAM 3:22-23 says, “The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.” How often I have been happy that this scripture exists. God must have known that we would awake many mornings feeling like a failure, and unworthy of His mercy. But His love, as we remember from I Cor. 13, does not keep an account of wrongs suffered. If we come to Him in repentance, He wipes our slate clean, and we start over.

Another scripture passage which blesses us particularly here in Israel, is found in JER 31:35-36; ‘Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day, And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the Lord, "Then the offspring of Israel also shall cease From being a nation before Me forever."

Every day and night when we see God's lights in the sky, we can be

sure that the people of Israel still exist, and therefore, God’s mercy is in place for the rest of us believer’s as well.

PSA 95:6-8 Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts… One of the questions asked at Passover is, “Why is this night different than any other night?. Well, in one sense, it isn’t. Every day we should be listening to God, and be expecting Him to continue His wonderful deeds.

LUK 2:8-11 “And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

What if the shepherds had decided to get together and watch Monday night football that night? That particular day, they witnessed a miracle that would never be repeated in the same way.

And what about the day Zaccheus was born again? The story is in LUK 19:2-10 And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax-gatherer, and he was rich. And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Has salvation come to your house today? Has forgiveness paid a visit? Did healing drop by to touch someone? When Yeshua quoted Isaiah 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth, He said "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Each day, the scriptures can be fulfilled in our hearing. As it says in HEB 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” His power, His glory, and His love are there every morning, afternoon, and evening.

We take most days for granted. Except for pay days, and birthdays, they are all pretty much the same. However, in 2PE 3:8, we see this warning, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” God can do a lot with one day; cleanse our hearts, save us eternally, heal our bodies, punish nations, or change History.

We tend to make big plans far in advance, and sometimes that is good. However, we should not count on things we cannot be sure of. JAM 4:13-15 reminds us, “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that."

In Hebrew, our days are not named after Greek or Roman Gods, as in most Western languages. We simply say, Yom Rishon, Yom Shenei, etc.

In other words, Day 1, Day, 2, etc. until we get to Shabbat, or Sabbath, which of course reminds us the God rested on the seventh day.

Let’s rejoice and be glad today and everyday. Continue the work the Father has prepared for us, and look forward to His rest.

Shalom, Shalom from Jerusalem.