We want to look at the Feast of Pentecost in a different way today.I am sure that everyone knows about what happened on the day of Pentecost. Act 2: 1-4 tells us, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”Tongues of fire that did not burn. Fire that was dividing and distributing itself upon the heads of those who were in this place on this Pentecost day.

Today we want to look at what I am calling “Holy Fire.”

When we think of fire we usually think of the destruction fire causes and yet, we see that there is a fire that does not bring about destruction. 

Let’s look at a few scriptures.

 Exodus 3:2 tells us about Moses who when tending his father-in laws sheep came across a certain bush, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up.” Moses was witnessing “Holy Fire”. In fact God tells him in verse 5 this, “He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.”  Holy Fire is the very presence of God.

Exodus 13:21 tells us this about how God separated his people from the Egyptians  that first night,  “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.” Just a pillar of fire that never spreads,  this can only be Holy Fire.

Let’s look at the first Pentecost day which was 50 days after the first Passover when the Israelites left Egypt. 

Exodus 19:16-18 tells us this, “On the morning of the third day there were thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.” When God descended, that mountain became holy, and the people had been warned not to touch the mountain.

Once again we see that the fire did not destroy the mountain. 

The fire was Holy Fire.

We can not forget Elijah who was taken up in a chariot of fire. 1 Kings 2:11-12 says, “As they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  As Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “Avi! Avi! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” Then he saw him no more. So he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.” How can you have a chariot and horses of fire? It can only be the Holy Fire of God. 

 Let’s look at one more scripture in Daniel 3: 13-27, “Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then these men were brought before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?  Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.  He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.  Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.  For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”  He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”  Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire.  The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”

 So why were those Hebrew children not consumed by the fire? Because when God entered into that furnace with them, that fire now became holy fire. We see one interesting detail in this account. According to the King James Version it speaks of the appearance of the fourth man as having the appearance of one like the Son of God. We are going to take a closer look at this. 

Ezekiel 1:22-28 tells us, “Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads.  Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other.  I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.  And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.  Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.  Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him.  As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.” 

Ezekiel gives us here a description of God having a figure and an appearance of a man. Yet we know that God is a spirit as we are told in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

So how can all of this be? How can God have a figure of a man and be total fire and yet be a spirit?  There is so much that we do not know about the Spiritual realm and yet, there is so much that we do know from the Scriptures.  

Hebrew 8:5 tells us this regarding the Tabernacle. “They (the priests) serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the Tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.”  We see here that there is an identical eternal Tabernacle in heaven and Isaiah tells us what he saw.

Isaiah 6:1-4, “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;  the whole earth is full of his glory.”  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke”  

This sound like this could be on earth, doorposts and thresholds and smoke and yet this is in the spiritual realm. 

Let’s explain all of this: God is fire, a spiritual fire, a holy fire. When man connects with God, man has to see God in a way that his eyes can see into the Spiritual realm. So God gave us  Spiritual eyes to see and Spiritual ears to hear, so that we can look into the Spiritual realm because we too, have a spirit, but when God comes down to man then God has to have a physical element such as fire and smoke and peals of lightning and thunder, so we can see Him with our physical eyes and yet we do not actually see Him. 

This is what happened on Mount Sinai, the people heard the sound of God but they only saw the smoke. Deuteronomy 4:12-13 tells us, “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.” Later when the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, Moses asked God to allow Him to see His face as recorded in Exodus 33:18-23, Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”  And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”  Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.  When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” 

Hebrews 12:26-29 says this,  “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,  for our “God is a consuming fire.”

As we have seen God is fire, but His Holy Fire does not consume His people, but God has a side of Him that will consume the wicked as He did when He consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. But we, God’s people, must desire God’s Holy Fire. That is what the people received on the day of Pentecost at Mt Sinai. You may say, “How”? They received God’s Holy Fire when they received God’s Torah…His teachings. The Hasidic Jews believe that when God spoke the Ten Commandments, He spoke it in all 70 known languages and that His words created sparks of fire and when we speak God’s words, they also create spiritual sparks of fire. God’s Word is light.  The Menorah was the only light in the temple and it was a  seven branch candelabra. The Menorah represented the Messiah.  Isaiah 11:1-2 says this about the Messiah who is the Light of Life, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” So these seven flames or sparks from the Menorah which was called the Light of the World  also tells us about that day in Jerusalem when  those tongues of fire appeared upon the 120 people that had been praying for the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, in the upper room  for those ten day, and when they received the Holy Spirit with those tongues of fire upon them, they spoke in those 70 languages so all could understand.  Acts 2:5-12 tells us, “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.  Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome  (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Peter’s words on the day of Pentecost created those sparks of fire that resulted in 3,000 people accepting the Messiah that day, as it tells us in Acts 2:14-41.

How about you? Are you praying that God uses you to create those sparks of fire?

Today on Pentecost, ask God for His Holy Fire and go out to all the world and set the world on fire speaking God’s truth, His Word. 

Happy Pentecost

1. The Hebrew word for Pentecost is Shavuot, meaning “weeks.”

2. The Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai fifty days after crossing the Red Sea.

3. The Torah was given on Shavuot.

4. Pentecost ends the Passover season.

5. Dairy is always eaten on Pentecost because the Torah is referred to as the milk of the Word.

• 1 Corinthians 3:1-3: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?”
• 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
• Hebrews 5:12, “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!”

6. Greeneries and flowers are used to decorate because it is believed that the wilderness around Mt Sinai bloomed with flowers and grass at the giving of the Torah.

7. Also when God spoke the Ten Commandments there was a fragrance in the air.

8. Shavuot (Pentecost) is the Day of the First Fruits (Numbers 28:26) or the Harvesting Festival (Deuteronomy 16:9-10), and so because of this flowers and greeneries are used to decorate.

9. On this Day of the First Fruits (Pentecost) the Holy Spirit was given (Acts 2:1-4), and we know that the Holy Spirit has fruit also, as Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

10. While Pentecost is the Day of the First Fruits, there is an earlier Festival of First Fruits which takes place at the time of Passover (Leviticus 23:4-11). That was the day when Yeshua (Jesus) rose, for He was the first fruits from the dead, as 1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us, “But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” From this earlier Festival of First Fruits, we begin counting the days to Pentecost, which is the second Day of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:15-16).

Do I Have a Story for You

This is a Biblical story with a modern twist.

Taken from 1 Samuel 16– 2 Samuel 1

There was a king whose name was Saul and he had a son named John.

John was in the army of his father and he had great success in fighting the enemy. 

One day  a village man sent his son to bring the troops food. His son’s name was David. David took care of his father’s flock of sheep and in his own way was successful in protecting them. While David was unloading his goods that he brought for the troops, he caught the eye of the king. Saul asked David if he would be his  attendant in the battle, because he saw something in David that he liked, but the day would come when all of this would change.  The king sent word to David’s father that his son had been temporarily inducted into Saul’s army.  Saul also would have David attend to him at the palace. There was only one thing wrong, and that was that the king was tormented by evil spirits, so David, who was a musician, would play for the king until the torment passed. One day the enemies of the people gathered to attack the city. There was one in the enemy’s camp that was a giant of a man and when the people saw him they began to fear for their lives. The king was frantic, “What are we to do?” he said. “How will we ever be able to take this man down?” 

People had heard of this man named Goli, but they thought that it was just a myth, but now there he was calling out the people to come and fight him. He was taunting them and mocking them, which just made the people even more fearful. Even the king’s son John did not rise up to the occasion. Now three of David’s brother’s were also in the  army. Because David was the youngest in the family, he was home tending his father’s sheep.  Paul had something to say to Timothy because he was young in 1Timothy 4:12, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” We are going to see if this is true about David.

 David’s father said to David one day, “Go and take your brother’s lunch, and there is food here also for the commander of the army.”  So David hurried to his brothers and when he got to them he saw what was taking place. As David was speaking to his brothers, Goli came out once again to taunt the people. David asked , “What is being done about this man who insults not only the people, but God?”  David’s brothers were angry that David came and left their father’s sheep. David just dismissed his brothers and went to the king and told him all about his battles that  he fought  while tending the sheep, like with a lion and with a bear.  Then he said to Saul, “The Lord who delivered me out of the hand of the lion and the bear will deliver me from the hand of this enemy.”  Saul thought, “What faith, what courage. No one in my army has stood up like this, but they were all cowards and hid. What do I have to lose?”  So Saul dressed David for the battle, along with his body armor and rifle and helmet, but Saul was a much taller man than young David, for Saul stood a head taller than anyone else,( 1 Samuel 9:2 , 10:23) so everything just hung on David. David laughed and said, “Take all of this off of me.”  David knew all he needed was the Lord God Almighty who had given him the victory time and time again, as he wrote in Psalm 44:6-8, “I put no trust in my bow,  my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies,    you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise Your name forever.”  David did not know how to shoot a rifle, so he grabbed three stones and went out to meet Goli. Goli laughed and  laughed at the sight of David. He was insulted that they should send out a kid to  fight him. It was insulting to Goli and he said, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”  David replied to Goli by saying, “Let all of the people of the earth  know that God is with us and not you, and let  everyone here know that the Lord does not deliver by guns or any weapons of war for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into my hands.” At that, Goli ran toward David, and David took one of his stones and threw it as hard and fast as he could and hit Goli right between the eyes so hard that Goli dropped right where he stood, dead.  Everyone cheered for David. It was at that point that David and John became not only good friends, but  brothers. David became quite good with the rifle and other weapons of war, so good that he was revered by the people as a hero and they would sing songs about the greatness of David. The king became very jealous of him, because the people held David higher than him. One day that evil spirit that haunted Saul came upon him very strongly and while David was playing for the king, for this helped calm him down, Saul picked up a knife and threw it at David. Just missing David, the king knew that he no longer wanted David in his midst because Saul knew that God was blessing David and he no longer had God with him. Saul would send David into many battles, hoping that he would get killed. He even offered  David his daughter in marriage to ease his conscience of the hatred he had for him.   Saul was not so generous though for he thought that his daughter would become a snare to him. Saul even would have his servants speak to David  telling him that the king would love to have him as a son-in-law.  But time and time again Saul would send David out to the battle hoping that he would be slain by the enemy and every time that David returned in victory, Saul would go out of his mind with rage. One day Saul said to his son John, “You must kill David.”  But John would hear none of it for David was like a brother to him, in fact he did just the opposite. He went and warned David.He told David that his father was seeking to put him to death. He told David , “Go and hide and I will confront my father again and then I will come to you.” John left and quickly went to his father and began speaking to him about David and all that he has done to help the king and his people. Saul began to be remorseful and told his son John that he would not harm David. John quickly ran to David and told him how he convinced his father that he was a friend and not a foe to him. Wow, David was so relieved, because he thought how he would have had to defend himself against the king, and he knew that he could not do anything to hurt the king. So John convinced David to go with him to see his father. Well everything was just as it was formerly.  Saul was sending David to the battlefield and David would be victorious in battle and Saul, well Saul still had his problem with that evil spirit that would come over him.  One day when David was playing for the king, that is just what happened. Saul picked up his knife, and once again, he tried to kill David, but David escaped Saul’s wishes. Because David never really trusted Saul again after the first time he tried to kill him,  he never took his eyes off of Saul. This time Saul sent his guards to David’s house to bring him back, but Michal, Saul’s daughter, David’s wife, warned him to save his life. She led him down through the window to escape Saul’s men. The men rushed into the house, but Michal had put an idol on the bed with a quilt over it and told the men that David was sick. But Saul told his men that he did not care if David was sick, bring him to me if you have to carry him in his bed.  When the men turned over the quilt they saw that it was only a statue. Saul was outraged at Michal for helping David escape, but Michal lied to her father by telling him that David said, “He would kill her if she did not let him go.” So David ran to the next town and hid. But the king did not stop , he was determined to find David and kill him. He sent his men out to search town by town till they found him. John went to David and David said to John, “What have I done, that your father treats me like an enemy?”  John said to David, “My father does nothing without telling me”, but David quickly stopped him and said, “Your father knows that we are like brothers, he is not going to tell you anything.” He said, “Tomorrow your father will be expecting me because it is a very important occasion, but when I do not show up, tell him I had to go to my father’s house, for my father  requested me to come to him. If your father tells you that it is too bad, because he would have liked to have seen me  there for this occasion, then we will know, but if he becomes angry, then you will know that he has evil in his heart for me. “The Lord, our God will be witness between you and I.”   Then John said to David, “ I swear, I will let you know so that you can go and be safe and you shall show your love for my house, even when the Lord cuts off all of your enemies from the face of the earth.” So John and David made a vow to each other because they loved each other like brothers. The day came and sure enough Saul was outraged at David and when John tried to defend David, Saul said, “Do you not know that as long as he lives you will never be king.” Oh! The truth comes out. The evil spirit had revealed to Saul that David would be the next king. John quickly tells his father that there is no reason to kill him and at that Saul throws his knife at his son John. So with that, John tells David to go and be safe. 

Saul continued to search for David and one day, David and his men came upon Saul sleeping in a cave. The men wanted to kill him right then and there, but David knew better. He knew that God would be angry with him, because vengeance belongs to God and we are to love our enemies and commit them into God’s hand. As Romans 12:17-21 tells us, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; 

I will repay,”says the Lord.  On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;  if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 So he told the men to leave him alone. When Saul awoke and saw that David could have killed him, he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.” Saul tells David that he knows that he will be king and so he too, makes David swear to him as the Lord is witness that he will not cut off his descendants after he is gone and destroy his family name. David swears to all and Saul left him and David and his men went to stay in their stronghold.  One day, David received word that Saul  and John had died in battle. David wept not only for John who he loved as a brother, but also for Saul. David did become the king and when he did, he asked if there was anyone left from the house of Saul, and they told him, “Yes” John’s son, Mephibosheth, who was five years old  when his nurse fled in haste and dropped him, which caused him to become crippled.”  David told his servants that this boy will always be welcomed at his table. So David kept his promise to John and Saul.

How about you? Would you spare your enemy  if you knew that one day you would make it big?

 Could you wait, like David, or would you start putting yourself before others?

As they say, it is a doggy, dog world, and you have to look out for number one.

David knew that if he trusted God, that God would make a way for him. He knew   that if he let God fight his battles, he would rise up in God’s time. 

Proverbs 14:12 says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” 

Today model yourselves after David. He trusted God to kill Goli and he trusted God to work things out between Saul and him.  David, who tended the sheep, rose up to be a great king because he knew God.  How about you?

Let’s pray, Father, I ask You to help us to wait upon You. When we do Your will, You fight our battles. You give us the victory. Lord help me to love my enemies and to not repay evil for evil. Father, I ask You to mold me into the person You want me to be, so that I can serve You. Prepare me to do the work that You have created me to do, even now, in my youth. I thank You Lord in Jesus’ name.

JudeoChristianClarion.Com/Torchbearers

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 “Clarion Call”

“Blow the trumpet in Zion;

    sound the alarm on my holy mountain.”(Joel 2:1)

It’s time for all people to awaken from their slumber. 

This is a time to see clearly the signs of the times.

No.23                          JudeoChristianClarion.Com      “America In Decline”

We have begun to see the decline of America. You may say that we have had our problems before and that we have always bounced back because this is America.

We act as though America is some deity, and that America can never fail, but this is unrealistic. There have been many societies and governments that have failed all throughout history. We are not exempt. Instead of holding on to America, and cherishing her, we have abused her, and why have we abused her?  Because we have taken her for granted, just by us always saying this is America. No, all things have a beginning, and they have an end. We must remember this, all things come about by God. He can raise up one nation, and He can bring down another. We presume too much and that is our biggest sin.  Our presumption has caused us to rebel. Today, so many people have walked away from God. They have walked away from the truth. Those who remain have become just like the world.  You can not tell a Christain from one who is not, because we are not holy.  Holy means to be set-apart, and we are not. Going to church does not make us holy.  Singing songs that mention God, does not make us holy. Only keeping God’s Commandments and living by His total Word sets us apart. 

Deuteronomy 4:5-9 says this,  “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it.  So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’  For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?  Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today? Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”

Do you know that God chose Abraham because He knew that he would teach his children? Genesis 18:19 tells us, “For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham’s sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.” 

We are no longer a holy nation. Notice, I did not say a Christian nation, for the word Christian has become so common, and it no longer means what it once meant. Today everyone thinks they are a Christian, and yet, they use God’s name in vain, they fill their minds with polluted thoughts and images, they do things that bring dishonor upon the name of the Lord, and yet, they even think that they can even be witches and sit in our pews and be Chrisitan. 

1 Corinthians 10:21, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 tells us, “Don’t be teamed with those who do not love the Lord, for what do the people of God have in common with the people of sin? How can light live with darkness? And what harmony can there be between Messiah and the devil? How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn’t believe? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For you are God’s temple, the home of the living God, and God has said of you, “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.”  That is why the Lord has said, “Leave them; separate yourselves from them; don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you  and be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters.”

1 Peter 4:17 says,  “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

We have already lost our children. They have walked away from God, and less and less people consider themselves to be members of any one denomination. Many of our Pastors do not even believe in what they preach, and many of them struggle with sins like pornography.

Let’s look at Revelation and what God tells the churches. You will  see a constant theme and that is to repent. The one thing people in the church today think they do not have to repent  because Yeshua died for our sins. Yes, Yeshua died for our sins, this is true, but not having to repent, this is a lie. 

It starts by telling us to return. Revelation 2:4-5 says this “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

Revelation 2:14-16 “But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.  So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.” 

Baalam turned the hearts of the people to worship idols, and enter into sexual impurities, all for his love of money.

The Nicolatians are assumed to be those who followed Nicolaus of Antioch, who through his false teachings, also, like Baalam, led the people astray  from the true Chrisitan doctrine into lives of self- indulgence and immoral living on the belief that the body was evil but the spirit was good, so the body was of no importance and you could do whatever in the body, because the spirit was all that mattered and it would receive grace.

Colossians 3:5 says,  “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

Revelation 2:20-23 goes on to say, “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.  I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.  Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.  And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”

Once again we see God’s people involved in immorality and idolatry and false teachings.

Revelation 3:2-4, “Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.  So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”

God loves us and He wants to bless us, but we must live holy lives.

Revelation 3:15-20 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,  I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Yes, judgment is coming to the people of God, because we are to be the light to the nations. We must set the example. We must be that people, so that the nations see and say,  ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’  For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?” 

Today we are losing more and more of our rights. The freedom to speak, and the freedom of religion and soon it will be the freedom to gather.  This is all the beginning of religious persecution. It has already begun and it will only increase. We have seen it increase in other countries, and now it has come to us. 

When we remove God from a country , God removes His blessings from that country, and then we see that country go into decline. Crime, poverty, famines, draughts, persecutions, are a few, and then we even see the people become enslaved. Yes, when you lose your freedoms, you become enslaved. Politics will not change a thing.  The Roman Empire collapsed because of all the things we see today in America.God brings warnings, and when we do not heed His warnings,  He then brings judgment. Today the world no longer respects America. We have given up our lead in the world, and once that happens it does not quickly return, if ever. We are extremely in debt and half of this country is in severe drought. Because of the cost of things, farmers will not be planting. We have seen shortages, but that is only the beginning of it. More and more people will not be able to afford to live. We will see people lose their homes, their jobs, and all that they have enjoyed over the years. We can only hope that the recession that we are in will not turn into a depression. The economy has already slowed down, and the value of the dollar has dropped significantly. No money, no jobs, no food, open doors to people coming in and having their way with this country, all will lead to a further decline.  Our military, our police, are in decline, and there are only a few to defend us.  It is all the beginning of the decrease. It’s like pouring out a glass of water and soon there is only a drop left. This is not a doom and gloom message, this is what the Bible tells us in the Seal Judgments, and then the Trumpet Judgements, and then the Bowl Judgements. These judgements, yes, will fall upon the nations, and we have seen this with this global pandemic, that this has all begun. We also see that the threat of wars is upon us. Not just with Russia, China, and even North Korea, and soon to be Iran.  2Chronicles 7:14,  “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We have already seen the beginning, and that is the decline in the church. And now we are seeing the decline in this country, we have begun to lose God’s blessings. But we still have time to come back to Him if we get on our knees and repent, and let go of the world’s ways and begin living by the Word of God,  

before He comes to us like a thief in the night and removes our nation’s candlestick from before Him.

Click to access FORGIVE-INSP-FINDER-TRUTH.pdf

Click to access WORDS-INSPEC-FINDER-TRUTH.pdf

Click to access Keeper-Faith-Faith-Keeper.pdf

Click to access Officer-Keeper-Faith-Kind-Words-2.pdf

Welcome

With Pentecost beginning on June 4th at sundown to June 5th at sundown, we want to remember just how important the Holy Spirit is to us, and not just the Spirit of God, but the Word of God, which was also given to Moses on Pentecost, meaning 50, Shavuot in Hebrew, meaning weeks. We have been counting down to Pentecost 50 days since the Resurrection of Messiah or 7 weeks. We have learned by the Sword of the Spirit, that  the Spirit and the Word go together, you can’t have one without the other.  We hope that you will also take the time to be thankful for the role that each plays in your life.

We hope that you enjoy this sandiegram.

Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart with Your love. Let Your Spirit flow through me so that I may show love and compassion to all people. Let me be Your guiding light to bring my brothers and sisters to kneel before You. Let me be Your shepherd in search of lost sheep. Let me bring peace into troubled hearts. Holy Spirit, let me be Your finger to point to the road to Your eternal glory. Let me be Your hands to embrace the sick and the dying so that they can come to You without fear. Holy Spirit, let me be Your instrument to help the poor of spirit find nourishment in the Bread of Life. Holy Spirit, let those who are lost find the path once again to You. Let Your love shine upon us all.

Sandiegram; Holy Spirit/copyright 2010

The Fruit of the Torah

The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. We have been taught that these books are only for the Jewish people. The Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible, which consists of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings all which are called the Old Testament. Today we want to look at the Fruit of the Torah, because Yeshua, not only lived it out, but quoted it again and again, and also from the Tanakh. When the Apostles wrote their letters to their congregations, it was all based on Torah.

John, when writing the Revelation, was all aligned with the visions of Daniel in the Tanakh. What we call old is actually our foundation that everything was built upon, and it all started with the Torah. How else would we have known about Creation, the flood and people like Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, all of which were a type of or foreshadowing of  Messiah? 

We must consider  the gospels were an account of the life of Yeshua and Acts was just that, the Acts of the Apostles. The rest were letters written to people in different congregations around Asia Minor or present day Turkey, on how they should conduct their gatherings or how to choose their elders, and how they should live as a family, and as an individual, in this new walk of following the Master Yeshua. The New Testament was basically an instructional handbook. This was exactly why they wrote the Didache which was written as a catechism book of instructions by the early Apostolic Fathers, based on the writings of the Apostles.

When we think of God’s Word we think of verses like Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” or Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

 And how about Psalm 19:7-11, “The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, Your servant is warned by them; in keeping them there is great reward.”

But I don’t see anything about fruit. So what is the Fruit of the Torah? Well, we find a hint, not in the Torah, but in Ephesians 6:17b, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This vital  part of the armor tells us that the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are one. We also see this in the fact that on Pentecost or Shavuot (in Hebrew), that the Torah was given at the time of Moses, and the Holy Spirit was given at the time of the Apostles. Bookends!  They go together, the Word and the Holy Spirit. Yeshua is the Word and the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Yeshua. “Yeshua said that He and the Father are one,” John 10:30.

John 14: 9 tells us this, Yeshua said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 5:19 says, “Therefore Yeshua answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way.”

Again in John 12:49, “For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.”

Hebrews 1:3-4 tells us, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

So if Yeshua is the Word, (the Torah) and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, then you can safely say that the work of the Spirit and the work of Yeshua went hand in hand.

Romans 8:9,11 says this, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah ,he does not belong to Him.” “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Yeshua from the dead is living in you, He who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

At the time of the giving of the Torah, the people faltered in keeping God’s Word

because they did not have the Holy Spirit. But we do, and because of that, we can walk in the Spirit, and live in the Spirit, and we can also have the gifts of the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit.

Galations 5: 22-23 speaks of this fruit.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law or should we say there  is no penalty .”

The Fruit of the Spirit can only be who God is. And who God is, is who we need to be like. We need to be God-like , that is what Godliness is. So how do we get the Fruit of the Spirit?

Proverbs 3:13-18 tells us, “Blessed is a person who finds wisdom, and one who obtains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her produce better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are those who hold on to her.”

Every tree has fruit and when we find wisdom in God’s Word it is fruit. Wisdom gives you understanding, and understanding gives you knowledge, and knowledge gives you life.  When we live by the Word of God then we are walking in the Spirit as Galatians 5:16 tells us,

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” It is the desire of the flesh that separates us from God as 1 John 2:16-17 tells us,  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.” 

As we walk in the Spirit, keeping the Word of God, then we naturally are living by the Spirit, and when we are living by the Spirit, and not by the lust of the world, which causes us to sin and be separated from God, then we begin  reaping the Fruit of the Spirit, from the tree of life as Proverbs 3:13-18 tells us. So where is the Fruit of the Torah? The next step is God writing His law upon our hearts.

We see in Hebrews 10:15-16 the writer quotes  part of Jeremiah 31:31-33, “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts.”

“And write them on their mind, Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,  not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.  “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Remember, Israel could not keep the first covenant because they did not have the Holy Spirit, but with the New Covenant we do, and that is the Fruit of the Torah. We can live a godly life, when we live by the Spirit, and walk by the Spirit, living out God’s Word, His Torah, the Tree of Life. And as we do, we bear fruit, the Fruit of the Torah, the Fruit of the Spirit, and as we bear fruit, we become more and more like God, and as we do, God writes His laws (His Torah) upon our hearts, and we become God’s people.

Recipe Corner:         Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms 

by may i have that recipe.com

• INGREDIENTS:
• 6 very large portobello mushrooms        6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 large Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 ½ lbs). You can use any kind you have on hand
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil                           ¼-½ tsp salt 
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper                    ¼ cup plain unsweetened plant-based milk ( almond, cashew coconut, oat) or some of the potato cooking water
• 3 tbsp capers (you can use olives if you don’t like capers)
• 3 tbsp sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped small (or sun dried tomatoes soaked in hot water, chopped small)
• ¾ cup of store-bought marinara, spaghetti or pizza sauce
• ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese         6 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• INSTRUCTIONS:
• Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
• Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and using a small spoon, carefully scrape off the gills, making sure the mushrooms don’t break (you want to create a cavity for the filling)
• Brush each portobello mushroom top with some olive oil and place the stem side down on the  lined baking sheet. Wrap the unpeeled garlic cloves in aluminum foil and place them on the baking sheet next to the mushrooms. Bake for 12 minutes (15 minutes if the mushrooms are extra large)
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Carefully transfer the mushrooms to a large plate, discard any water that may have puddled on them and return the baking sheet to the oven to continue cooking the garlic cloves for an additional 15 minutes.  Do not turn off the oven after you take out the garlic
• While the mushrooms bake, peel the potatoes, cut them into 2″ pieces, and place them in a large saucepan with abundant salted water ( at least 2″ of water above the potatoes).  Boil for 15-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (the smaller the pieces, the faster they will cook)
• Once the potatoes are done, reserve about 1 cup of the potato cooking water and set it aside
• Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Peel or squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves and add them to the potatoes along with the salt and black pepper
• While the potatoes are hot, mash them with a potato masher or a fork, add the olive oil, and as much of the reserved potato cooking water or plant-based milk needed to get a thick, creamy consistency. Add  the liquid a little bit at a time, to make sure the potatoes are not runny
• Add the capers and sundried tomatoes and mix well
• Place a clean piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet you used to bake the mushrooms. Arrange the mushrooms on the baking sheet and fill each one with a heaping pile of mashed potatoes ( the amount will depend on the size of the mushrooms). Pour the marinara sauce, top with mozzarella cheese and crumbled feta, and bake for 15 minutes

Hebrew Corner:     The Month of Sivan, The Third Month

 The Month of Sivan  on the Jewish Calendar usually begins in late May or early June. Sivan is its Babylonian name for the third month. The counting of 50 days which is called the counting of the Omer brings us to Pentecost. During these 50 days counting down to Pentecost, we have been preparing for the giving of the Torah, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We also saw on the 40th day,  the Messiah Ascended into heaven, so that He could send us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would help us live out God’s Word. But what is overlooked most often is that this was the time that God entered into a covenant with His people. 

Exodus 19:5 says, “And now if you will hear to listen to my voice and you will keep my covenant, you will be more beloved to me than all the nations of the Earth, because the Earth is mine.” 

Peter writes 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” Peter, speaking about being built up as a spiritual house in the previous verses, reminds us that we are in covenant with God, and because of that, we must remember that we are His own people, and with that, we are to be a royal priesthood ministering before God’s altar daily bringing Him the sacrifice of praise. Paul tells us in  2 Corinthians 3: 2-3, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people, revealing  yourselves, that you are a letter of Messiah, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  This is the third month, this is Shavuot, this is Pentecost, this is a day not only to remember, but to live out every day.

Luke 3:1-6 tells us this,  “And he (John the Baptist) came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight! Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be lowered; the crooked will become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh will see the salvation of God!’”

So we see that John came to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. We also see that one needs to repent of his sins before they can even receive the Messiah.

The word ‘repent’ literally means to turn back. When we sin , we miss the mark, (like in archery, one misses the bullseye or the mark) that is the meaning of sin, and so we once again must hit the mark. To do this we must first repent and come back to hitting the bullseye or the mark. In other words, we drifted from God’s Word, this caused us to be separated from God and so we must once again go back to living by God’s Word. 

So how do we know if we have truly repented?

Luke 3 :7-9 continues to say,  “So he (John) was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.  But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John was telling them that they had not truly repented and that they thought if they were baptized by John that they would be ‘good to go’, as they say. John told them that they had to have proof of their repentance…in other words, fruit.

Does this sound familiar? It should. Yeshua tells us in John 15: 1-11  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.  Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.  Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Yeshua tells us that if we walk according to the Word of God it cleanses us, and when the Word is within us, then we will bear fruit and prove to be His disciples. But if we are not living by God’s Word, then we will not bear fruit and we will dry up spiritually and then we will be tossed into the fire. Sin separates us from God and then if we die in our sins, we die without God. Many people do not believe this, but there are many Scriptures to indicate just that.

Luke 13:1- 5 says, “Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  And Jesus responded and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate?  No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.  Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

 Revelation  3:1-3 tells us, This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.  Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.  Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.”

And again in Revelation  3:15-19,  “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot!  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth!  Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing,” but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see!  All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent!”

These Scriptures and so many more, like the parables, are being spoken to believers, not non-believers. Paul found some men as he was walking in Corinth, and asked them this question. Acts 19:2-4 says,  “Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”  And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”  Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Yeshua.”

After one is immersed into the immersion of repentance, then one enters into a relationship with God, and His Messiah Yeshua, and the fruit of this relationship, is walking according to the Word of God. But Yeshua sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit, to help us walk in God’s ways. He does this by convicting us of our sin. 

This is why Paul was asking if they had received the Holy Spirit. When they did not Acts 19:5 goes on to say this, “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yeshua,  and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.”

So I ask you, have you repented, no not just once, but every time you have sinned against God or your neighbor? If you have fruit of your repentance then I ask you, have you received the Holy Spirit?  If you say “Yes”, then are you walking in the Spirit, and do you have the fruit of the Spirit? Galatians 5:22-23.

No fruit, then you have to read John 15 again to see what happens when one does not bear fruit. Maybe you skipped over the Baptism of Repentance, and its fruit. Once you have that, then you can receive the Holy Spirit, so you could now have its fruit, and be God’s disciple.  

When we speak of the Kingdom, so often we think of it in imaginary thinking. It is a concept that just does not seem real to us and yet the Kingdom is right before us. We want to look at the Kingdom so that we can make it a part of our lives right here and now. Yeshua, right from the beginning of His ministry, began with this message as we see in Matthew 4:17, “ From that time on Yeshua began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

This message of the Kingdom was not for just one day, but Yeshua spoke often about it, and so did His disciples, and even John the Baptist spoke of it before Yeshua. We can not even begin to live in the Kingdom unless we repent of our sins.  

So let’s take a closer look at the Kingdom, and when we are done we will have a picture of the Kingdom in our own lives right here and right now.

Matthew 13:24-30, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left.  And when the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident.  And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’  But he said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

When God created the world, He called it good, but as we know, the devil came and corrupted it. But one day God will separate the wheat from the chaff, and that does not necessarily mean the believer from the unbeliever, but those who produced fruit and those who did not.

Matthew 13:31-32, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field;  and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

Matthew 17:20b tells us this, “For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

We see that the Kingdom is a kingdom of faith.

Matthew 13:33,  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.”

We are the yeast and we must grow the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:45:46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.”

Matthew 19:29, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”

When you truly find the Kingdom, your response can only be that you found a great treasure that causes you to leave everything behind. 

Matthew 13:47-52, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;  and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.  So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous,  and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, “Yes.” And Yeshua said to them, “Therefore every teacher  who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”

How important it is to be in the Kingdom right now, and to do that we must be disciples of Yeshua. To be a disciple means that we must walk in His footsteps, and to walk in His footsteps we too, must pick up our cross which is the yoke of the Kingdom, and die, by crucifying our flesh, and living in the Spirit  and that is called being born again.

 John 3:3, “Yeshua responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Yeshua tells us what the kingdom is like but there is even more than this to a kingdom. Every kingdom must have a king. 1 Timothy 6:13-16 tells us, 

“I direct you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Messiah Yeshua, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,  that you keep the commandment without fault or reproach until the appearing of our Lord  Messiah Yeshua,  which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,  who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

Also in (Revelation 17:14) and Revelation 19:16,  “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Every Kingdom has to have laws and our King also has laws, they are called the Ten Commandments. 

Hebrews 8:10 says this, “This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel  after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds  and write them on their hearts. I will be their God,  and they will be my people.”

 John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  And again in John 15:10, “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

Every Kingdom has its own banner..remember the song, “Lift high the Lord our Banner”?  Yeshua is our banner for it is by His name that the enemy flees. It is His name that we want written on our foreheads. 

Revelation 22:3-4 tells us,  “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;  they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”

One day we will feast at His table as Song of Solomon 2:4 tells us “He has brought me to His banquet hall, and His banner over me is love.”  

 And again in Revelation 19: 7,  “Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come,  and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself  with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Because our Father is a king, we are a royal priesthood as 1 Peter 2:9 tells us,  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” And so we must everyday minister at the altar bringing our sacrifice of praise, Hebrews 13:15, “Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.” And laying our lives upon the altar, Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

People from all over will come as Isaiah 60:5 tells us this: “Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you.”

And again in Zechariah 14: 9-11, 16-21, “And the Lord will be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.  People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will live in security.” “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.  And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of armies, there will be no rain on them.  And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar.  Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of armies; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of armies on that day.”

If this is how God feels about His Appointed Times, maybe we should be celebrating them now if we are truly in the Kingdom.  So is the Kingdom here with us? Luke 17:20-21 tells us,  “The  Pharisees asked Yeshua when the Kingdom of God would come. “The Kingdom of God,” He answered, “does not come with visible signs;  nor will people be able to say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘Over there!’ Because, you see, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

You see every moment that you live out the Word of God, serving our Lord and Savior, being that royal priesthood, fighting the good fight for the Kingdom and as you take hold of the Kingdom inwardly and outwardly, you are in God’s Kingdom.

Our citizenship is in the kingdom. And we eagerly await our Savior, our King, the Lord Messiah Yeshua.

Click to access keeper-faith_hope.pdf

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Click to access Be-attitude.pdf

Let’s Stop The Pretending

Have you noticed that almost all of our commercials today have people dancing,  and as they would say, being in the groove, because everything is groovy. 

Well I may be dating myself,  but the idea is that you would think that everyone is so happy and that life is so great. And if we look happy, then we must be happy. Right?

But is that true?  Because we are a broken society,  mental illness, suicide, depression, broken families, poverty, illness and death and more, all reign supreme in our lives today. 

 “No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.”

– Adam Smith.

The idea is that if we keep moving, then we do not have to stop and think about it. If  we stay hidden behind our happy face, then we can keep pretending,  and maybe it will go away. Maybe the anger and hatred will go away. Maybe the pain and heartache will go away. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Maybe we won’t have to face reality.  Maybe, maybe, maybe, but we have to face facts, and stop hiding behind our moves, because our dancing will not change anything.

People are crying on the inside, and we are not standing still long enough to see. It’s like the clown at the circus that makes you laugh, but inside that clown is really, truly, crying, hoping that someone would notice and reachout. Did you ever stop to think about the one you are bullying and laughing at, what they may be going through at home, or that co-worker that you are talking about behind his back?

Let’s stand still and reach out and help one another, like that  co-worker, or that neighbor, or that friend, or maybe most of all,  that family member. We need to take time and invest ourselves in the lives of the people around us. Talk about deeper subjects. Share your feelings. Extend a helping hand, and see where it may lead you. We need to unite and not divide. We need to gather and not separate.  The time is now, not later. We concern ourselves with things like global warming and the planet. We are afraid that if we do not do something quickly we will all perish. But now is the time to concern ourselves with people, because so many people are dying from suicide, and drugs, and violence of all types, which is a result of mental illness and depression, and just not being able to cope with life. Let’s stop with the dance moves and let’s stand still long enough to help society which is also moving further and further away from reality. Let’s help the planet by helping ourselves, because without us, who needs a planet. 

James 2:14-17 tells us this, “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?”

Are you going through a crisis, or know someone who is? Go to the “First Aid Kit”  on our website and get help today!

Lawlessness Has Become The Rule Of The Day!

Every civilized society must have laws. Without them we would have nothing but chaos and confusion, destruction and despair, all of which would only lead us to an uncivilized society. It is in laws that we can have justice, otherwise by what standard shall we judge? There is only equal justice under the law, for what is right for you is right for me, and what is wrong for you is wrong for me. There is no question, no doubt, no double standard. This is why God Himself, the Supreme Judge gave His people the Ten Commandments many of which are part of our laws today, like do not steal, do not murder, for just a few. But what we have seen in the last several years is that we no longer enforce our laws. We also have a double standard. What may be wrong for you is not wrong for me. We also no longer have justice, for justice is the price for breaking a law. Today we feel that some people do not need to pay for their crime.  We feel that justice is being served when one person is let go, and another serves time, not on the basis of their crime, but their place in society. The very rich and famous at the top, and the poor and underserved at the bottom are excused from their departure from the law.  Justice is blind, at least she used to be, but today she has her eyes wide open to see, so that she can decide what is right and wrong instead of our laws.

This is why murder is up and theft is up, and all sorts of violent acts against humanity. Our streets are not safe, our homes are not safe and our schools are not safe. 

Proverbs 28:12 says, “When good people triumph, there is great happiness, but when the wicked get control, everybody hides.”

It has nothing to do with guns or knives or fists, it has to do with no equal justice under the law. I know that I will not have to pay for my crime, so, why not then commit more crime.  When I steal , well, it is only my right, because I am underprivileged. When I murder, well, I am from a poor neighborhood. When I knock over an old person, well, I never did like my parents. When I protest and destroy property, well, I don’t have a nice home or own any business.

When I kill kids at a school, well, they shouldn’t have laughed at me.

There are all kinds of excuses to be lawless. Proverbs 28:5 says “Evil people do not understand justice, but those who follow the Lord understand it completely.”

So why don’t we help people instead of allowing them to have excuses? We want to send social workers along with our police officers, but that is not the time to reform a person. Let’s keep our laws and our society, and turn our prisons into teaching centers.  That is where you need the social workers and the counselors, and let’s use this prison time to train people to be useful citizens. Our money would be better spent and these people will be grateful, because I believe that many people who sit in jails just need a little love and compassion, but at the same time they must realize that there is a price to pay for their crimes. God Himself has justice first as we see here in  Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to carry out justice, to love faithfulness, and to live obediently before your God.”

You see, this is really social justice when laws are kept, and when a law is broken there is a price to be paid for by the offender, and people love one another, and we all walk in God’s ways. We don’t need any politician or activist to tell us about social justice, because God’s Word says it all to us in His laws. 

You see if we keep going down this road that we are currently on we will find that one day a man who will be called lawless will rule over us all, and he will not have mercy or compassion or love and we will no longer have a free society, nor a civil society, but only a society of complete lawlessness.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 tells us this, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

You see once a society closes its eyes to the truth, and they no longer live by a rule of law, then they all become like blind people walking in darkness. Today even church goers have fallen for this fake social justice, instead of walking in God’s laws which teaches us how to have justice and mercy correctly for all. Many people who once believed, have now fallen away. People today think that they do not even need to keep the Ten Commandments, because they say they are not under the law. 

Paul tells Timothy this in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.”

Yes, down this road we walk and as we walk, we will see less and less truth, and light, and godliness, and what lies ahead is a future of chaos and confusion, and destruction and despair, unless we turn ourselves around and once again become people who live by justice in keeping the law.

If you are going through a crisis, visit the “First Aid Kit” on our website.

Violence, What’s It all About?

America has seen a growing epidemic of violence. But aren’t we a little narrow minded to think that it is all just gun violence? Violence comes in many shapes and forms and it all has its roots in anger and hatred. We have seen this from the beginning of time when Cain killed his brother Abel over jealousy. People have killed for power, and just because they wanted something that someone else may have that they want. We have a problem in America. We have glorified violence. The news media and politicians have condoned the violence, and now, we are reaping the whirlwind of violence. 

“No society that feeds its children on tales of successful violence can expect them not to believe that violence in the end is rewarded.”

– Margaret Mead.

We have taken violence to a new level. We have destroyed cities, and not only are we allowed to do it, but we  are praised for doing it all in the name of peaceful protesting.  But this has brought us down, quickly, like a building that falls from an earthquake. America has experienced an earthquake, and many people have died, and many more are injured, and many more live in fear of another tremor.

 “We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.”

– Nelson Mandela.

Proverbs 3:29-33 says, “Do not plot evil against your neighbor

when he dwells by you unsuspectingly. Do not accuse anyone without legitimate cause, if he has not treated you wrongly. Do not envy a violent man,

and do not choose any of his ways; for one who goes astray is an abomination to the Lord, but he reveals His intimate counsel to the upright. The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.”

So how do we stop this cycle of violence, and when will it all end? I tell you this, no politician can solve this problem if they continue down the path that they are on. This problem can only be solved by us. Yes, the people of this country. Years ago we did not have such violence that was so out of control. We must return, and do those things we did back then. The family unit must be restored, and that starts with God. We have turned our backs on God. We have taken God out of our schools, our families, and our everyday society, and we have replaced God with Secular Humanism, which says, “ There is no God, for I am god.” The absence of God in our families has led to single parent homes, children rebelling, and the loss of respect for authority, which has all led to drugs, suicide, murder, and violence. Years ago families would all go to church together, today you have to ask yourself, “Where are the children, especially the teens?”

This is why we see so many teens committing crimes, and especially shootings.

We have failed our children. You may say, “Well, it is the school’s fault for what they teach, and what they don’t teach.” This is true, our schools have been hijacked, but still we have the responsibility for the welfare of our children.

Our children are bullied into thinking that they are no good, because they may be different, or even because they are white and male. Yes, much of this comes from the schools, and politicians, but still, it is up to us to encourage our children, and give them the proper foundation for life, which is God. The solution to our problem is still rooted in God. It is still up to us to live, and teach, and set an example for our children, and that example is in following God. We must be rooted and grounded, so that our children will be rooted and grounded. Is there still hope? Yes, there is always hope in God. Let’s place criminals back in jail, and then teach them how to be good dads and rehabilitate them to be able to get good jobs, and to live in society. This has been accomplished by many men. Let’s help those who have mental illness, and not just look the other way. Let’s get those who are addicted to drugs off of those drugs, and to do that we can not keep feeding their drug habits. This can be done and it has been done. These things all can be done with God’s help and He will help, if we return to Him. God gave birth to this country and He  protected it and prospered it all of these years, but we have slowly turned from Him, and we have seen the results in our everyday lives. Let’s come back to God by humbling ourselves, because that is what He is doing to us, He is humbling us, with all of this violence, murder and destruction.

2 Chronicles 7: 13-14 tells us this, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people,  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

James 4:4 -10 also says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”?  But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

We have many teachings on our website if you have never received the Messiah in your life.

If you are going through a crisis go to our “First Aid Kit on the front page of our website.

When Self Medicating Doesn’t Work

Today we see many people who are self-medicating. These are people who have a problem or problems, and  do not go to a doctor.  They use things like drugs and alcohol, even smoking, and eating to relieve their depression and anxieties and in some cases their pain.

We have failed so many people because we do not give enough attention to mental illness, depression and anxiety disorders. Insurance companies do not cover many of these illnesses and disorders the way they should. The cost of healthcare is out of control, and for most people the cost of insurance is way too high, even with state insurance.   Insurances like Medicaid leaves a person with so little to choose from, and the doctors are few and far in between. 

We have created stereotypes, and in our schools even some teachers are the bullies. So this leaves so many people in the shadows. All they can do is what they can do to help themselves to get some relief. America has become bloated, and its programs have become so full of bureaucracy and inefficiency  that it leaves the vulnerable to have even more anxiety and grief. 

Today drugs of all kinds are being misused. We have an epidemic of drug use. The pharmaceutical companies have become extremely rich on the backs of suffering people. Today so many people get their drugs from the internet, and these drugs come from all over the world. There is very little, to no oversight on this market, and today so many people think they are buying one thing, and they are getting another, and this is leaving many people dead.  The death rate is off the charts for people who have died from fentanyl tainted drugs, and from fake drugs being sold on the internet, and even by drug dealers on the streets. We are losing our children mostly who use these drugs to self medicate. Today so many children can not talk to their parents or even to any adults. They feel alone and abandoned by society, because maybe they are different, or feel different, and their only recourse to help themselves is to self medicate. There are many people on the street who would be glad to speak to our children, except what they have to say to them is very misleading and harmful. Our society today has made people stressful, anxious, lonely and depressed all of which causes mental illness, and many different types of disorders. It used to be the worst thing when our children started smoking, but then it went to drinking, and then illegal drugs, and now prescription drugs.  Eating disorders, anxiety disorders and even social disorders all have come about because of the pressure put on our children today. It is not only the pressures of family life today, but school life. If children don’t fit the mold they are harassed and bullied and made to stand out. There is no love or compassion in our schools today, not by students and not even by many teachers. Suicide in children is alarming. Why does a school shooting surprise us? What we have done to our children in our schools is overwhelming.  Either you conform to our ways or you will be canceled. Really? Our schools sound more like children camps in other countries that turn their children into political pawns and even child soldiers. It is so sad..How has this happened to us in America, the land of the free that our children have become victims and even turned into activists?   The land of opportunity, is the land that now tells people to come and be free, but only if you fit the mold. Drugs, alcohol,  eating disorder and even smoking are all used for self medicating, and when the stress becomes too much and the anxiety turns to fear, and the depression hits an all time low, there is no bouncing back, and illness takes over, yes, and maybe asthma, or other nervous disorders and especially mental illness, and it all leads to one thing, suicide, the supreme self-medication. America  can no longer cope, no longer  hide, No! We can’t pretend any longer. We must stop this cycle that causes us to self-medicate. It is time to rise up and begin the journey back to a society that allows our children and young adults to live lives that they were meant to live. 

But the journey back must also be a return to God.

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

We no longer see children, especially teens, and young adults in churches today.

Even the church has abandoned our children. We must find a way to bring them back into the fold, but it must start with parents, for we find many of them, not sitting in pews today. We must return to our First Love, and then when we return, God will once again bless this land.

“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3

God’s Word is good medicine when we apply it to our lives. It is the best self-medicating we can use.

“My son, pay attention to what I say;    turn your ear to My Words.

 Do not let them out of your sight,   keep them within your heart;

 for they are life to those who find them    and health to one’s whole body.”

Are you going through a crisis? Visit the “First Aid Kit” on our website.

Racism– Is It Real Or Just Words?

All we hear today is that everything is racist. Everything?  That in itself is ridiculous! What is racism? Racism is a prejudice. A prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.  We want to take a closer look into this, and we will start at the beginning.  In the beginning, God created all mankind in His image, and all people were created equal. Well, God can not be racist if He created us equal, and yet, we call His Word “Racist”.  Adam and Eve had no nationality, we do not know what color they were, it has never been a concern, but we do know that the human race came from the two of them. We are all nothing, but the dust of the earth. Our Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

So why have we become so divided, and I ask, divided over what?  We do not mean to minimize or deplete anything about history, but let us look at it in the right lens, the lens of truth. And I hope that we can look at it without jumping to conclusions, because that is what we like to do, and  that too, is racist, because that is the problem here. When we look at our history, we say, “This country is so bad, and so racist, and our founding fathers were evil men.” I say, “Should we be judging all of  them?” We have to stop condemning the whole. There may be one rotten apple in the bushel, but that does not make the whole bushel bad, when we do this are we not just as bad?  When someone murders someone, should we blame the whole human race?  We may all belong to the human race, but we are all individuals. There were many of our forefathers who wanted to abolish slavery, but because of the few that didn’t, they could not risk not passing the Declaration of Independence, and without it, we would not have become a country. There are people who will say, “That would have been a good thing.” If that is so, then we would not have our freedoms which we have enjoyed for almost 250 years. And slavery would still be in place.  Many black people fought in the Revolutionary War  because there were many black people who were free like Peter Salem, Salem Poor, Barzillai Lew, Blaney Grusha, Titus Coburn, Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and Seymour Burr were just a few. In the Civil War many black people also fought on the side of the North, like the predominantly all black  54th Massachusetts, their  bravery was matchless.  Why did these people fight? Because they believed in and loved America.  Today American symbols like our flag, and the Pledge of Allegiance, and even the Statue of Liberty are all called racist. Is that why thousands of people are coming into this country,  because we are so racist?

As we look all thoughout history,  we see that many people of all nationalities were slaves. They were uprooted and taken to other countries, and when kingdoms rose, and kingdoms fell, they were still slaves. We have slavery today, it’s called Human Trafficking, and thousands of people are missing, and live in the shadows in fear and abuse.  You see, when something is said to us long enough, it causes us to believe that it is true. If words do not lift us up, then they will bring us down.  And we have been brought down to the point that now we have become divided. And why? Who wants us to be divided that the word racism is on the lips and in the mouths of so many people today, and why today? All we hear today is white people, especially white males are racist, and black people are victims. So I ask, “Why are there so many mixed marriages?” We are all Americans. Yes, many people have come a long way in their thinking, and I think that we had gotten there till some people wanted to replant the seeds of the past. Today we have so many minorities who have become heads of businesses, lawyers, and professionals in all areas, and politicians, and even the President, and Vice President of the United States.   In American  history we  have had many, many famous black people who have done great things like George Washington Carver and Frederick Douglass to name a few and there are those who have even become millionaires, and billionaires, and not just black people, but people of so many different minorities. Is racism really our problem or are we just meant to believe this? We have come a long way from the 1960’s. But we have allowed others to think for us, and to tell us what it is that we need to see, and what we need to believe. In doing so,we have given up our freedom. Maybe this is why we hear so much of this today because there are those who do not want to let go of the past. 

Only love will heal and restore, only God’s love. Our division  is because we lack love on both sides.  Our churches have gone lukewarm. We hear ministers preach about racism, and social justice, which is nothing more than politics. It only takes for you to look up its history to see the truth, history which is told in the true light for sadly people in high positions have allowed our history to be rewritten. Only God’s Word can teach us about love and justice, and if we put God’s Word into practice then we will see hatred and division become less and less. We will help our brother in need. We will lend a helping hand. We will care for the homeless. We will become color blind, and we will care for our fellow man in any way that he may need help, no matter what color, nationality or religion he may be. Because we have already become as one,  with so many mixed marriages, and with their children who are mixed in many different nationalities. America is a melting pot, and our color is red, white, and blue and no one is going to tell us that that is not true.  We are only one race, and one family,  and one country under God.  So let us lay down the weapons of distrust and anger and hatred and politics and let us pick up one another in love, and in appreciation for each other, because we do need one another. We only have one home while we are alive and that is earth. Let’s live in unity! United we stand, divided we fall. Let’s come together and stand and not fall. We can, if we love one another.

 “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” Philippians 2:3

 “My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know Him if you don’t love. This is how God showed His love for us: God sent His only Son into the world so we might live through Him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.” 1 John 4:7-11

Let us not allow the real enemy, the father of lies, the devil, to stir us into such hatred and division, and let us come together as brothers and sisters and be united in love.  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”   Philippians 4:8

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America Is Crying

We have seen that America is in decline. We have lost everything that is of quality, the most important being the quality of life. But life is not in goods or even jobs. No, quality of life is in life itself.  America is crying. We are mourning over our loss. We have lost our sons and daughters, and even husbands and wives, and yes, also our babies. Between wars and the pandemic, to drugs, and increased violence in our streets and in our schools, and we have been saddened by suicides and yes, even abortions, America has had its sorrow, it has had its death. It was God who gave birth to America, and He taught her to walk, He protected her,  blessed her with great blessings, and America became strong. France gave her the Statue of Liberty, and she has held that torch for all these years. The torch was not just any torch, no it was the Light of God, who not only brought people to its light, but guided her through her dark times, until we began to change. We kicked God out of our schools, out of our workplace, and the marketplace, and even out of our homes. We replaced Him with Secular Humanism, which says, “There is no God, for I am god, and it is the work of my hands.” 

Deuteronomy 8:16-17 tells us this, “In the wilderness it was He who fed you manna which your fathers did not know, in order to humble you and in order to put you to the test, to do good for you in the end.  Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth. But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

With today’s culture of death, instead of life, we have reaped what we have sown, we have seen the fruit of death. Life without God, the God who brings life, means we are only left with darkness.  Death and violence and immorality are constantly before us on our tvs, movies, video games, and music. America is at a breaking point. Yes, a nation can have a breakdown, and we certainly are at the brink. So much sorrow has caused us to be depressed, and our depression has only caused us to increase many of  these things that have driven us to this sorrow and depression.  We no longer can continue in the drugs and violence and the lifestyle that all lead to death.  We may never get over our crying. We may never recover, unless of course, we change course. Let us return to God, we have walked away from Him. Today there are so many people who no longer call themselves Christians, not even the pastors who teach their congregations. 

Jeremiah 1:16 says,  “And I will pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have abandoned Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.” 

Let’s end with this in Revelations 3: 15-19, “ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,  I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” 

America, let us hear what God has to say to us, and let us quickly repent, and come back to the One who gave us birth, and gave this country birth. He is our Father and He will fight for us, if we return to Him, and if we do not return but go our own way, well Proverbs 1:25-33 says this,

“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out My hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all My advice and did not want My rebuke;

 I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,

 When your dread comes like a storm and your disaster comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently but will not find Me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They did not accept My advice, they disdainfully rejected every rebuke from Me. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes. For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

 But whoever listens to Me will live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

Today let us stop that which is causing us such distress and harm, and let us make peace with one another, living and respecting one another, as God intended us to live, for only His ways bring peace,only in peace can you have freedom. But the world’s ways will cause us only to keep crying over our losses.

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We celebrate our freedom, and we should because freedom is a gift from God.

But there is a responsibility that goes with freedom and it is not something to take lightly or for granted. Freedom is not free, someone has to pay for that freedom. Here in America, many thousands of lives were given for that freedom.  God, in His great love,  sent His Son to die for our freedom.  Galatians 5:1 tells us this, 

“It was for freedom that Messiah set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Because of that freedom we have a responsibility to the Kingdom of God. We serve a King, and we serve the One who set us free. When God gave Israel the Ten Commandments He began by saying this, Exodus 20:1-3,  “Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

We see that both times God was setting His people free from slavery. Paul told the Galatians that they were not to be yoked again to slavery.

Romans 6:16-18 says this,  “Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?  But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted,  and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.”

We must no longer serve our flesh, because  it is our flesh that must die for us to be free.

Romans 8:12-13 tells us, “So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—  for if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Galatians 5:24 says, “Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

If we are set free from sin and now we serve the One who set us free then we must follow in His footsteps and crucify our flesh and no longer serve ourselves.

Galatians 5:13-14 tells us this, “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we sin,  we sin against God and we sin against each other. But God is love and we are to be like Him. If we are truly free, then we must loveGod and we must love one another.

Galatians 5:15 goes on to say, “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

And why do we act like this toward one another? One because we do not love, but two because we have not truly become slave to righteousness.

James 4:1-5 tells us, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts?  You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures.  You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us.”

We must crucify our flesh and become new creations now living and walking in the Spirit, for the Spirit of the Lord gives us freedom.

Romans 8:9-11 says this, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah he does not belong to Him.  If Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Yeshua  from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Today,  let us be thankful for our freedoms, and let us consider the cost that was paid for that freedom. Let us also consider that we too must die so that we may be free in Messiah. Let us also give our freedom back to God, and make ourselves slave to His righteousness serving Him and one another in love, as we live in the Spirit  of Messiah.

Welcome

July begins the second half of the year.  It’s like the beginning of a new year. We have that hope that the second  half of the year may  go as well as the first half, or maybe we hope that things will be better than the first half of the year. Either way, July is that point where we can pause, and evaluate our progress, or our lack of.  It gives us time to change course if need be. The Psalmist writes, “So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise” Psalm 90:12. I think July gives us a second chance to consider many things about life. Let’s take that second chance. Maybe those New Year resolutions went by the wayside, now is the time to try it again. If we found that we have drifted away from God…no better time than now to come back for God,  for He is the God of second chances.

The Election of Grace 

In the May Clarion we had a teaching about “Grace Alone.” We want to continue looking at grace, especially the election of grace, which many call predestination and many do not believe in it.

Deuteronomy 7:6 says this about God choosing Israel. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, His treasured possession.”

 Israel did not choose God, but we see that it all started when God chose Abraham, and from there the rest of the Patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob and Jacobs 12 children which made up the 12 tribes of Israel as Genesis 18:18-19 tells us, “ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.”

 Paul tells us in Romans 9:4b-5, “The Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

So we see that God’s election of grace came through the line of Abraham and his descendant and right down to the Messiah. We also know that the Messiah will one day sit on the throne of David who also is in the lineage of Abraham. 

1 Samuel 16:1- 13 tells this story which says a lot about God and His grace.  “The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”  Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.  When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”  Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.”  Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.”  So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”  So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”  So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” 

This story shows that God does not look at people or the world through human eyes, but only His. Samuel was looking at the stature of a man. Samuel thought a healthy and appealing man would equal a king who would be respected, but God was looking at the heart of the man to see if he would be obedient to Him.  

Ephesians 1:3-12  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Messiah Yeshua, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah ,  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Messiah Yeshua to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace  which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight  He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him,  regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Messiah, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,  to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Messiah would be to the praise of His glory. “ 

1 Peter 1:1-2 says basically the same thing. “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,  who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Messiah Yeshua and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

John 15:16  tells us again, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. “  

And again in  John 15:19 .  “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

God claims the right to choose whom He wishes as Roman 9:16 tells us, “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.  For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” And continues in Roman 9:19-24, “ One of you will say to Me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath—prepared for destruction?  What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—  even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”

We see that God does the choosing as John 1:12-13 tells us, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.”

Romans 11:4-6 says, “And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.  And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” 

Ephesians 2: 4-10 tells us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Messiah and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua,  so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

As we have seen, God does the choosing, this is His part, because it is His grace, but we still have our part to do, and that is to  have faith, and  be obedient, and fulfill our calling, and do the works that we have been called to do. 

Ephesians 4:1-6 sums it up, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

Recipe Corner: Cherry Cookie Bars by The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:                        FOR THE FILLING:

4 c. fresh Bing or other sweet cherries, pitted and halved (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/3 c. granulated sugar           2 tsp. Cornstarch           1/8 tsp. almond extract

FOR THE DOUGH:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour         1 1/2 tsp. baking powder              1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks salted butter, softened        1 c. granulated sugar          Grated zest of 1 orange

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk            1/2 tsp. vanilla extract        2 tbsp. whole milk

 FOR THE GLAZE:

1 c. powdered sugar             Grated zest of 1 lemon 1 tbsp.    whole milk, as needed

 Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 ̊. For the filling: Combine the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch and almond extract in a bowl and let stand while you make the dough.
• For the dough: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Cream the butter, granulated sugar and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the milk, and beat until the dough comes together (it will be soft).Press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pour the cherry filling and any juices on top and spread it out. Crumble the remaining dough over the filling. Bake until the cherries are bubbly and the dough is golden, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

For the glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, lemon zest and milk in a medium bowl until smooth; thin with more milk, if necessary. Drizzle on the bars and cut into pieces.

Hebrew Corner:             Month of Tammuz

The month of Tammuz is the 4th Hebrew month starting with the month of the Passover. The fourth month is associated with the golden calf and Moses breaking of the tablets. Tammuz is the name of a  Sumerian god who was thought to be responsible for the seasonal life, death, and rebirth cycle.  We see God showing Ezekiel the people who were practicing a six day ritual for the god Tammuz, Ezekiel 8:14,  “Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

  We know that Abraham’s family worshiped other gods. Joshua 24:2 says this, “And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.” The fourth month is associated with sorrow, for it was in this month that the walls of Jerusalem were breached by Nebuchadnezzar’s army when they were all taken to Babylon. The fourth month is a time of reflection and mourning and fasting. Idol worship is always punished by God. Exodus 20 :1-7 tells us the commandment regarding God. “And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

We should all learn from the fourth month, from the exile to the golden calf to the destruction of the temple. God is a jealous God and it is Him that we need to serve and only Him.When the people came out of Babylon they kept the  Babylonian names for the months. We too, use pagan names for our months, it would be a lot simpler if we just called them by their number. How important it is to rid ourselves of any kind of idolatry and pagan ways. This is a good time to take a good hard look at our lives and our ways and even our speech. This is what we learn from the fourth month.

Today so many people are discouraged and feel helpless because of the state of our economy. All over the world there are famines and drought, a lack of food and water. But God sees all and knows all and He is in control of all things. Here are a few Scriptures to encourage you.

“But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.” Luke 12:7

“Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!” Luke 12:24

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32

“ My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Messiah Yeshua.” Philippians 4:19

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,  to Him be the glory in the church and in Messiah Yeshua to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” 

Ephesians 3:20-21

A Thread

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  FAITH:

faith in the Lord that He will see us through our strife and pain.

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  TRUST:

trust in the Lord that He will take care of our needs.

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  HOPE:

hope in the Lord that He will always be with us.

Sandiegram/Storms/copyright 2010

Father, we pray for those who are in need.  You see that the cost of everything is rising today, food, rent, fuel, everything. We ask that you meet people’s needs, and give them a financial blessing in their lives, and Father, we also ask for those who have no one they can call a friend to talk to, send them a friend today, and Father don’t forget those who are in need of shelter. We know that you are our Shelter, but today make a way for them to have a permanent place they can call home. We thank you Father, as Psalm 73:26 says “My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” 

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