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Writings by Barri Cae Mallin

Only

Thursday 21 July 2005 - 08:06:58

God makes a home for the lonely Ps 68:6 NASB
God sets the solitary in families Ps 68:6 NKJV

I grew up in a Jewish home. My father was raised as an Orthodox Jew
and my mother was raised as a Reform Jew. We were grounded in the
Jewish religion, although I would define us as secular Jews. Having a
personal faith in God was never ever a topic of conversation. God was
out there somewhere, but that He should know me, that I should know
Him was not even understood nor even ever communicated. Tradition was
important;, keeping the Jewish traditions were what counted. That we
attended the synagogue on the High Holy Days was important; that we
lit the Sabbath lights was important. But there was no emphasis on
knowing God. I was lost, I was an ignorant very lost sinner who
needed a Savior.

In January 1980, during a sales call, two businessmen who I had made
a sales call on, invited me to lunch. During that time in my cousin's
deli in Dallas, they shared their testimony and shared some Bible
verses and God saved me right then in the deli. I like to say that
Yeshua Jesus made me Kosher that day.

It was not easy being a solitary Jewish believer in my family. A year
later however, I did discover that my oldest brother had been saved at
a 'huddle meeting' of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. And since
then, I have discovered three other cousins are also believers, both
on my mom side and my dad's sides of the families. But two decades of
prayer and intercession, fasting and supplication have yielded few
results. But visible results are not of faith. Our walk is one of
faith, not of sight. Hope is not hope if one can see. Hope believes
before reality is seen. Faith pleases God. The LORD rewards faith. So
we must press on, fully trusting, fully believing.

The word only in Hebrew is yachid (yah-kheed) and it means unique,
solitary, or one. In Greek, it can mean single, only of its kind,
only begotten. Being an only is a challenging place. Isaac was
Abraham's yachid, Yeshua is God's yachid.

Our walk can be a lonely one, an only one. Yet it pleases the LORD
for us to find our all in Him. He is to be our only. Only in Yeshua
is our salvation; only in Him is our hope. Only from Him comes
everything that we need for daily sustenance, not only in this world,
but in the world to come.

Are you feeling only? Are you feeling as though you are the only
godly person in your company, in your environs? In your family? In
your neighborhood? In that place where God has called you?

Rejoice! You are in good company! Take courage.

God loves the solitary, the only, the single. He loves the one who
stands for Him. He will empower the only to endure, to persevere, to
overcome. He gives the only the victory. It is guaranteed!

He desires that we desire Him only. And in our single vision of Him,
He gives us single vision for Him. All because of love; all because
of Yeshua's love.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten (yachid)
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life. John 3:16

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His
only begotten (yachid) Son into the world so that we might live
through Him. I John 4:9