Habit of Trust

Encouraging Words with Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

Good day to you from Pastor Bruce & Suzi!

Do you find yourself asking GOD what He is doing in your life and in your walk with Him, not always understanding? Well, if we always understood we would have no need for trust.  You may find yourself asking questions like: “What does my future hold?” or “Will I ever see my breakthrough?”

We have to learn to trust our heavenly FATHER, especially when we don’t understand His ways and/or what might be happening in our lives!  We need to become comfortable with the unanswered questions.   We need to relax and get comfortable trusting and believing GOD (the One who does know!). 

Make it a habit of trusting. Even if you only see one step ahead of you, take that step, and then trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show you the next step!

Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways, say the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways. My thoughts than your thoughts.    

If your answer is delayed, trust and know His timing IS Always perfect! GOD’S thoughts and ways are not ours, and His are higher and wiser, even when we don’t understand! Yes! 

In Yeshua’s Name. Amen. 

With lots of prayers, hugs & love, Shalom!

Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

L’Chaim Messianic Congregation

Saving Grace

Encouraging Words with Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

FATHER GOD has predestined every believer to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, YESHUA. This process begins at salvation and will continue throughout your lifetime until you join Him in Heaven.                                 

The apostle Paul is a good example of the LORD’S power to transform an unrighteous man or woman into an image-bearer of YESHUA. Paul was deeply religious before his conversion! When he met the LORD on the road to Damascus, the future apostle learned that all his religious zeal meant nothing. The only way for people to be acceptable before GOD is to receive the saving grace of MESSIAH YESHUA—He replaces our sin nature with a righteous spirit!

Romans 8:30
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and who He justified, these He also glorified.

Paul was welcomed into the Kingdom in spite of his hostility toward the body of believers! (promoting blasphemy and punished believers). No one is beyond the LORD’S capacity to forgive. His grace is sufficient  (such amazing grace)!

Love & Blessings,

Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman

L’Chaim Messianic Congregation

When You Know Who You Are

Encouraging Words with Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

Excerpt from one of Pastor Bruce’s sermons:  

We live in a world where biblical values are constantly under attack. We won’t change the world’s way of thinking any time soon.

But will the world change our way of thinking?

That’s the question that hangs in the balance.

IT finally comes down to one great principle:

When you know who you are, you can serve Messiah anywhere!!

And the reverse is also true: When you are unclear about who you really are, you will struggle to serve Messiah anywhere.

A man with a divided heart cannot grasp his true identity.

He will be pulled this way and that.

Under pressure, he almost certainly will cave in.

But the man with an undivided heart knows who he is.

Because he knows who he is, he doesn’t have to constantly make decisions.

Once you make up your mind, life becomes simpler (though not always easier).

And that brings us to Psalm 86:11
“Unite my heart to fear your name” and “Put me together, Lord.”

As Charles Spurgeon contemplated this verse, he offered this succinct summary:

“A man of divided heart is weak, the man of one object is the man.”

Sometimes in our conversation, we will say so-and-so, “He is the man.” We mean he is a man of one purpose, the man we admire and want to follow.

There is no prayer more appropriate and more needed in our day. Every honest man or woman must at times say, “My life is far from what I want it to be.”

We run low on love.

We find ourselves distracted, worried and easily confused.

We fall prey to little temptations that lead to bigger ones.

We marinate in hate.

We dawdle in our duties.

We make excuses for every failure.

We find ourselves both disagreeing and disagreeable.

We love the world more than we love God.

We  live in unbelief instead of walking in faith.

We refuse to submit because our pride is at stake.

And so it goes, this struggle of the soul to find rest and peace.

No wonder we are frustrated.

When the heart is not united, nothing works right. Without God, we will be fragmented and torn and pulled and distracted. 

We must do as David did. We must pray, “O Lord, take the scattered fragments of my heart and unite them so that I may praise you.” 

Only God can do this, but God can do it if we will come to him in humility and sincerity.The hardest part is coming!! 

So don’t give up, but instead, give in—to the One who made you and give Him your whole, undivided ️ heart!!

 

Love & Blessings,

Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman

L’Chaim Messianic Congregation

Forever & Ever

Encouraging Words with Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

The Book of Revelation may be the most ignored book in the New Covenant, simply because it can be difficult to understand. Revelation has some of the richest descriptions of our LORD YESHUA that the Bible has to offer. We love seeing Him as a baby in a manger, and of course, we know the importance of His death and resurrection, but the story doesn’t end there! Let’s not miss out on the ending of the story.

The apostle YOHANAN, who wrote the Book of Revelation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was given a dramatic vision of the exalted LORD as He is now in Heaven. He sees YESHUA as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings and the LORD of THE BODY OF MESSIAH, in the midst of the lamp stands. All Heaven erupts into praise and worship because MESSIAH is found to be the only one worthy to end the age and set up His righteous Kingdom!

Revelation 5:13C
Blessings and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

If you are a believer in MESSIAH YESHUA, as you read Revelation, you are reading about your future! Picture yourself in the scene, seeing YESHUA as the exalted LORD and Lamb of GOD! Let this glimpse of our future elevate our praise and worship to a new level! Indeed!

 

Love & Blessings,

Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman

L’Chaim Messianic Congregation

Lake Worth/Lantana, Florida

Showing God’s Love

Encouraging Words with Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

In John 13, we see the premier example of servanthood as YESHUA washed the disciples’ feet! Remember, back then everyone wore sandals and the roads were not paved (just dirt), so by the end of the day everyone’s feet were really dirty.

YESHUA offered to wash their feet to teach them a great lesson (John 13:8). YESHUA clearly explains in verses 13 to 17 that we must do things for each other, otherwise, we are really not part of one another. The things we do to serve one another are the things that bind us together. YESHUA was able to wash their feet because He was free; only a person who is truly free (not insecure) can do menial tasks and not feel insignificant as a result. Serving others is not typically viewed as a high position, yet YESHUA said it is the highest of all.

John 13:5
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the servant’s towel with which He was girded.

The purpose behind being a servant is to show others the love of GOD that He has shown us! How can you serve someone today (showing the love of the FATHER)?

With tons of prayers, love & hugs, 

Shalom! 

Pastor Bruce & Suzi Elman

L’Chaim Messianic Congregation