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Welcome

The middle of July to the middle of August is known as the dog days of summer. The ancient Romans called the hottest, most humid days of summer “diēs caniculārēs” or “dog days.” The name came about because they associated the hottest days of summer with the star Sirius. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star” because it was the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).

Well, dogs are man’s best friend, so we should take their example and be a friend. 

Do you have a neighbor or maybe someone at your church or even a relative, who is elderly or handicaped, that could use your help, or maybe just someone to talk to? Maybe they have just lost a loved one, or they don’t get to see their children. So many people need someone just to take the time for them. You know dogs love people unconditionally, and we should, too. Why not begin this August. 

I think you will see that it will change you and you will be glad for those “dog days” of summer. 

The Testings of the Lord

I think that we all know the story of Job, but maybe not as well as we should. Job was no different than you or me. We go about our daily lives until one day things begin to happen in our lives, things that disrupt our daily course of living, things like sickness, or poverty, and even death. We lose our identity, and purpose in life. We begin to doubt God and in fact we even get angry at God. Our family and friends begin to judge us and lecture us and even condemn us. Well, this is the story of Job. 

Job 1:1-3 tells us about the wealth of Job. “ In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.  He had seven sons and three daughters,  and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.”

We will pick up the story in verses 6-12,  “One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”  Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.  “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

The story goes on that Job loses his children and his livestock all in one day. He goes from riches to poverty. When things happen in our lives, we often blame God. We for sure ask “Why? Why me? Why has this happened?” And maybe it was caused by the hand of another, a lie, an accusatory remark, a fatal accident, an injustice. We not only blame God, but we vow revenge, and we allow hatred and unforgiveness to rule our hearts and our actions. We never stop to think that what is happening may result in our favor, like out of this tragedy I was able to relate to others. Now I can see what others go through and now I have empathy, another step closer than sympathy. Or this has made me a stronger person and even yet, from this, I have now started a new ministry.  We see that Job had a different response.

 Job 1:20-22 tells us this, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship  and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;  may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

Job makes this remark in Job 7:18, “What is man that You exalt him, and that You are concerned about him, that You examine him every morning and put him to the test every moment?”

God must have thought that Job could withstand such a trial in his life or else God would not have allowed Satan to press him so hard. 

1Cornithians 10:13 tells us this, “No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial He will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it.” (NCB)

Psalm 17: 3 says, “You have put my heart to the test; You have visited me by night; You have sifted me and You find nothing; my intent is that my mouth will not offend.”

In Jeremiah 17:10 God says this,  “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, to give to each person according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.”

 In Zechariah 13:8-9 God also says this,  “And it will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 says this,  “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,  each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work.”

So we see from these few Scriptures; that God puts everyone to the test and yes, these tests can be like going through the fire. 

1 Peter 4:12-13 also tells us this,  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you;  but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Messiah, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed.”

James 1:2-4 says this,  “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete.” 

Romans 5:1-5 tells us this,  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Messiah Yeshua, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;  and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

James 5: 11 “You know how we call those blessed (happy) who were steadfast [who endured]. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord’s [purpose and how He richly blessed him in the] end, inasmuch as the Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy.”

For several chapters God questions Job, and asks him if he was there at Creation, and if he had more wisdom and knowledge than God. 

Then in  Job 42:1-6 Job says,  “I know that You can do all things, and that no plan is impossible for You. ‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.‘Please listen, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”

Job admits to God that he had no knowledge or understanding of things, but now he saw God for who He was, and he realized that through it all, God was not only in control of all things, but that God knew what was best for him and he repents. We know that God totally restores Job and blesses him with more than what he had before. Today as you may be going through your own trials, know  this, that God tests us to see if we are faithful. He also tests us to make us stronger in our faith. James 1:12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” 

Recipe Corner:  Creamsicle Cheesecake by Delish

INGREDIENTS:                 FOR THE CRUST

24 whole Golden Oreo cookies, crushed        6 tbsp. melted butter       Pinch of kosher salt

FOR THE FILLING

1 (3-oz.) box orange Jell-O

1 c. boiling water

2 c. whipped topping

2 (8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sour cream

1 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt

FOR GARNISH

1 c. whipped topping

1 clementine, peeled and separated into segments

 DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, whisk together orange Jell-O and boiling water until Jell-O is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.

Make crust: In a medium bowl, mix together Oreo crumbs, butter, and salt. Press into the bottom of an 8″ springform pan and up the sides. 

Make filling: In another large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture, then pour half of mixture into cooled Jell-O. Whisk until smooth. 

Onto the crust, alternate pouring 1/4 cup dollops of cream cheese and Jell-O mixtures until both mixtures are used up. With a butter knife, gently swirl the layers. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours, or until firm. 

To serve: When firm, pipe dollops of whipped topping around the outside of the cheesecake. Top each dollop with a clementine segment, garnish with orange zest, and serve.

Hebrew Corner:   The Month of Av

The month of Av is the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar counting from Passover. Av is the most tragic month in Hebrew History, it starts with the first day of the month with the death of Aaron (Numbers  33:38). On the 9th day of the month, God said that this generation would not enter into the Promised Land. Also throughout history both the first and the second temples on the 9th day were destroyed. Starting with the 17th day of the fourth month, with the breaking of the stone tablets, to the worship of the golden calf, and to the 9th day of Av, with the destruction of the temples, this time of sorrow  is called the “Three Weeks of Sorrow.” It is a solemn time of reflection, fasting and mourning to this day. There are no weddings or parties during this time.  The time from Pentecost, which is the last of the Spring Feasts, to the first Feast of Fall, which is Rosh Hashanah, represents Yeshua, first coming to His second coming. For Believers in Messiah the time in between the two is considered the time in which the Bride is preparing for the Bridegroom. We are to use this time figuratively to prepare ourselves for the Messiah’s coming, for we do not know the day or the hour that He will come. The Parable of the Ten Virgins speaks to this coming and how five were ready and five were not (Matthew 25:1-13).

I’m sure it will not be in the month of Av but Revelation 7:14 says, “I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 19:6-9 tells us this, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God  the Almighty reigns. 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.  And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Let’s take this time during the month of Av to also reflect on our lives and if we need to repent, then repent, if we need to draw closer to God, then let’s get closer to God, but whatever it is, let’s prepare for the Lord’s coming. Romans 13:10-11 days, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.  Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.”

 Gen 1:26-27 tells us “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”

Gen 2:7 also tells us that God made man out of the soil of the ground.   “The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

So why out of the soil? Why did God not speak, and man was created? 

Let’s take a closer look at this to see if we can find the answer.

Genesis 1:25 tells us that God made the animals also from the earth, “God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.”

So when it came to the sixth day did God get tired of speaking things into existence and He just wanted to play in the dirt? I don’t think so. When you analyze the soil of the earth you find every kind of mineral. These minerals are important for  life to man and beast. Each mineral brings life to every part of man, and when we lack these minerals it affects us in many ways.  In John 9:7 we see an interesting story of how Yeshua took the soil of the earth to heal a blind man. “Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put the mud on the man’s eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash off in the Pool of Siloam!” So he went and washed and came away seeing.”

It was a great reminder that God made man out of the clay, and then used clay to heal the man’s eyes. Of course the human body and how it works is very complex, and the body has more to it than minerals. There are a slew of chemical elements or atoms to it, like oxygen and nitrogen  and carbon, and we could go on and on. But even though we have learned so much over the decades, we still can not understand everything about the human body. But as we have seen recently because of the advancements of NASA it seems that every planet has these same elements . So the question is still why?  We know that when God made man in His own image that it certainly did not mean that God consists of dirt, but that God made man to be able to reason and to know everything unto life as 2 Peter 1:2-3 tells us, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of  Yeshua our Lord,  for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

God is a spirit, and we too, have an eternal spirit. God is the source of life, and when He breathed into man, He was not only breathing into Him life, but His life, life eternal, and to have life eternal  means that when we die our spirit lives on. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says,  “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Messiah Yeshua.

2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us, “For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.”

We see several times in the Scriptures where God refers to Himself as the potter and we are the clay, the dirt of the earth, and that He has the right as the potter to do as He sees fit.

 Romans 9:20-21 says, “On the contrary, who are you, you foolish person, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object for honorable use, and another for common use?”

Jeremiah 18:3-4,  “So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel.  But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.”

Isaiah 64:8, “But now, Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter,and all of us are the work of Your hand.”

So we see that God made man out of the earth and that He as a potter, took us, the clay, and molded us as  human beings, and then breathed into us His own life, which made us His own. So it seems that man is not only part of the world, but the whole universe, as we share the same elements, and  maybe God wanted His creation to be as one, and that one, is a part of Himself. The only difference is that we humans have the breath of God within us. We then are truly a witness to God’s creations.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 tells us,  “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah.  But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”

We did not just happen because of a big bang, nor did we develop from some other organism, we are unique above all creation, because we are not only made in God’s image, but we have the breath of God in us. 

Genesis 3:9 says, “By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

God did not just want to speak us into existence as He could have, but we were special to Him. He truly is the Potter who personally took the time to mold us and fashion us into uniqueness, and gave each of us our individuality, and freedom to become a true child of the living God, our Father.

Welcome

September is a time to say good-bye to Summer and hello to Fall. The kids go back to school, football begins once again and the leaves begin to turn and fall. It is quite a time for change. Many people may be ready for that change, but so often people are never ready for any kind of change. But we can say, thanks be to God who never changes, Hebrews 13:7-8,tells us, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith. Messiah Yeshua is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” He is for sure a Rock and a Stronghold. When changes come or uncertainty shows itself, we must know that we can always depend on God. Psalm 33:11 says, “The plan of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.” He is our anchor, and when you drop your anchor, you know that you will not drift away. As the days get shorter and cooler, we can trust God to be long suffering, and faithful. We no longer have to fear the darkness, which can also bring loneliness, because Yeshua our Messiah, is closer than a brother, Proverbs 18:24.

I’m Going to the Mountain

I’m going to the mountain.  I’m going to rendezvous with my Beloved. I’m going to praise the Lord. The Lord is calling me to the mountain. He beckons me to be with Him. I can feel His strength in the mountain. I can feel His love for me. There is beauty in the mountain. There is peace and joy for me. I will lift up my arms and praise the Lord, and I will thank Him for His blessings. The Lord will commune there with me, and I will be filled with joy. I am on my way to the mountain. I am going to the Lord.

Sandiegrams/Holy Ground/copyright 2010

The Mountains of Jerusalem

We want to take a closer look at the center of our faith, Jerusalem.  It was here that Yeshua ministered to people and He also stood trial, and was crucified here, and resurrected on the third day, and the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost here, and  we could go on and on. Jerusalem is the most fascinating and renowned city in the world, it is the place that God chose to put His name (Deuteronomy 12:12).

One day Yeshua will sit on the throne of David right here in Jerusalem, the city of David as Isaiah 9:7 tells us, “Of the greatness of His government and peace  there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne  and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it  with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty   will accomplish this.”And again in Luke 1:32-33, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”

Jerusalem will one day be the capital city of  the Kingdom of God. Jerusalem is located roughly in the middle of a range of low mountains running north to south throughout central Israel between the Mediterranean and the Jordan Valley, stretching from the Jezreel Valley in the north all the way to Beer Sheva in the south, but Jerusalem is not built on a mountain. Rather, it is built in the mountains, and the city is, in fact, surrounded by seven mountain peaks higher than itself. These seven mountain peaks surrounded the ancient city of Jerusalem (which was then much smaller than modern day Jerusalem which has greatly expanded in recent generations). These peaks are (1) Mount Scopus, (2) Mount of Olives, (3) Mount of Corruption (all three are peaks of a ridge stretching east of the City itself), (4) Mount Ophel, (5) the original Mount Zion/Moriah (today’s Temple Mt.), (6) the New Mount Zion (where the traditional Upper Room is located), and (7) the peak upon which the Roman Antonia Fortress was built just north of the Temple.

The entire area of Jerusalem is called the “Land of Moriah.” Genesis 22:2 says, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 2 Chronicles 3:1 tells us, “Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite…”

Mount Moriah also is called the “Land of  Myrrh” because the Hebrew word for Myrrh is mor. Myrrh was an ingredient in incense, which was used in the Temple service, thus indicating the worship of God. Mount Moriah was also called the land of worship because of the Temple. The word Moriah comes from two words, Mori which means my teacher and Ya which is Yahweh. So then the whole area means God is my teacher. Isaiah 2:3 tells us, “Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,    to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways,    so that we may walk in His paths.” The law will go out from Zion,    the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” We also see this in Micah 4:2.

Yeshua once gave a sermon called the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5-7) which foreshadowed not only Isaiah’s prophecy, but also the fulfillment of it, at the time of the Messianic Era when Yeshua, our Teacher, will teach us not only the Torah, every jot and tittle of it, but also the deep truths of God’s Word.

Those mountains remind us also of the boundaries that we are to set around God’s Word as we see in Exodus 19:12, “ But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death.”

God had the people set up boundaries to safeguard them from touching His holy mountain. God’s Word is holy and His commandments are holy and we too, must set boundaries so that we walk in His ways and not drift off His path.  

Romans 7:9-12 tells us this about sin, “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died;  and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;  for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me.  So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

Sin kills and the Commandments bring life, so we want to make sure that we do not wander off into sin, so we set a perimeter around the Commandments to leave us the room we need not to cross the line.   Here is one of those teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:13-14. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Those mountains that surround Jerusalem also reflect God’s compassion for us as Isaiah 54:10 tells us, “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My favor will not be removed from you, nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.”   

We also see just how true these words are in Psalm 125:1-2 which says, “ “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem,   so the Lord surrounds His people    both now and forevermore.”

This Psalm was sung by the Levites and the people who ascended on Jerusalem during the time of the pilgrimage feasts: Passover, Pentecost, Sukkot (Tabernacles). They would climb up the Temple steps singing, and even though there is no Temple today you can still hear the Psalms of Ascent being sung during these feasts. So what does God as our teacher have to do with the mountains around Jerusalem?  When we trust in the Lord we too are immovable, and can not be moved as  1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us, “Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord,” just as God is immovable in Psalm 144:1, “Bless the Lord who is my immovable Rock.”

Just a few more things about those mountains, Revelation 14:1-2a “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder.” 

Isaiah 40:9  speaks of the Second Coming of the Messiah, “Go up on a high mountain, Zion, messenger of good news, raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 

So the mountains surround Jerusalem to protect it, and we too, have God who surrounds us and protects us. Psalm 32:7, “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.’ Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.”

Let’s thank God for those mountains, for they remind us, and teach us, of God’s faithful protection around us.

Recipe Corner:      Mom’s Apple Fritters  by Allrecipies

1 quart vegetable oil for deep-frying                     1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar          2 teaspoons baking powder     ½ teaspoon salt                  ⅔ cup milk                          2 eggs, beaten                 1 tablespoon vegetable oil    

  3 cups apples – peeled, cored and chopped                  1 cup cinnamon sugar

Step 1
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or electric skillet to 375 degrees F 

Step 2
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in the milk, eggs and oil and stir until well blended. Mix in apples until they are evenly distributed.

Step 3
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes depending on the size. Fry in smaller batches so they are not crowded. Remove from the hot oil using a slotted spoon and drain briefly on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon sugar while still warm.

Hebrew Corner:  The month of Elul

Elul is the sixth month after Passover. We see at the time of the first Passover that God changed  the months around. God spoke to Moses as Exodus 12:2 records. “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you,” (this being the month of Nissan, the time of the Passover). On the civil calendar, Elul is the last month, which precedes Rosh Hashanah, that begins the seventh month and the beginning of the civil  New Year. Elul is a time to prepare for the Fall Feasts, mainly Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. The Fall Feasts represent the Second Coming of Yeshua, our Messiah. We are to prepare and be ready for His coming as Matthew 24:44 tells us, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”  And of course, in Matthew 25:1-13, with the parable of the Ten Virgins, see this, “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

We seem to forget that these virgins represent believers…who else would be waiting for the Bridegroom? During this time we must consider our deeds.         2Corinthians 13:5  says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Messiah Yeshua  is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”  When we do, then we must make a change, we must repent of our sins. Matthew 7:14 tells us, “From that time on Yeshua began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This 40 days of preparation is like the 40 days of Lent as we prepare to remember the crucifixion of Yeshua, except we are not giving up candy or goodies, but we are giving up our sinful nature,and dying to ourselves, by repenting and returning to the ways of the Lord, so that we too, can have our resurrection day in newness of life, when Yeshua comes in all of His glory.  This is the sixth month. The month of preparation.

The story begins in Exodus 34:1-5 when God called Moses to the top of Mt Sinai.

“ The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.  Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.  No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.” So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.  Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord.”

We see that God starts off by proclaiming His name, the Lord. But what is in a name? With the Lord, about thirteen attributes.

Exodus 34:6-7 goes on to speak of those thirteen attributes of God. 

“And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

So let us take a closer look at this passage of Scripture and see these thirteen attributes of God

1- The Lord! (HaShem)–The Name, God does not change. Revelations 1: 8 says “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”   Hebrews 13:8  tells us the same, “Messiah Yeshua  is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  God does not change, and because of that He is our rock. The sage tells us that the first Lord means God is merciful before a person sins, even though He is aware that future evil lies dormant within him.

Romans 5:8 says this,  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us.”

2.– The Lord, the Lord! (Adonai)– When God repeats Himself it is to put emphasis on what He is saying. The sages tell us that there are two types of mercy. We just saw the one way and this is the other. God is merciful after the sinner has gone astray.  

1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

3.– God (Elohim)–a name that denotes power as ruler and judge over nature and humankind, indicating that God’s mercy sometimes surpasses even the degree indicated by this name.

Romans 2:12-16, “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;  for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified.  For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves,  in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,  on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Messiah Yeshua.”

Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age,  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.”

God is a righteous Judge and He  will judge us according to the Law, (Torah), but when we repent of our sins (a turning back to the law) the blood of Yeshua becomes our blessed hope.

4– Compassionate (rahum)– the word rahum is closely related to the word rheum meaning womb. God has a motherly side to Him and He being our Father, also gave birth to us. God is filled with loving sympathy for human frailty, and does not put people into situations of extreme temptation, and eases the punishment of the guilty.

James 1:13 tells us, “No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

5.– Gracious (chanun) a variation of this word is chen which  means favor. God shows mercy even to those who do not deserve it, but He also consoles the afflicted and raises up the oppressed.

Romans 5:15,  “ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Yeshua Messiah, overflow to the many!”

Psalm 113:7 speaks of God’s graciousness, “He raises the poor from the dust  and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes,  with the princes of his people.”

6.– Slow to anger (ereh apayim)– which actually means “slow nosed ” It is a Hebrew idiom for growing angry.  God gives the sinner ample time to reflect, improve, and repent.

2 Peter 3:9 says,  “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

7– Abundant in kindness or loving kindness (v’rav hesed)– a better translation of chesed  is devotion, covenant devotion. God is kind toward those who lack personal merits, providing more gifts and blessings than they deserve; if one’s personal behavior is evenly balanced between virtue and sin, God tips the scales of justice toward the good.

Titus 3:4-7 tells us, “ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Yeshua Messiah our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Covenant devotion is found in a marriage. It is that faithfulness and love that keeps the covenant going. God made a covenant with Israel and called them His “Segula”, His special treasure, and He brought them out of Egypt. Yeshua said this in John 15:10, “If you keep My commands, you will stay in My love — just as I have kept My Father’s commands and stay in His love.”

8– Truth (v’emet)–God never reneges on His word to reward those who serve Him. Emet can also mean faithfulness. God is faithful to fulfill every promise. Isaiah 40:10 says this, “Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm; here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him.” 

Isaiah 65:16 testifies that God is a God of truth. “Whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of truth; whoever takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; for the hardships of the past shall be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.”

Yeshua says this in John 14:6,  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Revelation 22:12 tells us, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.”

9– Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations (notzeir hesed la-alafim)–God remembers the deeds of the righteous for the benefit of their less virtuous generations of offspring (thus we constantly invoke the merit of the Patriarchs).

Deuteronomy 7:9 says , “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His faithfulness to a thousand generations for those who love Him and keep His commandments.” 

Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us, “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”

10– Forgiver of iniquity (nosei avon)–God forgives intentional sin (anomia) in the Greek, meaning lawlessness, resulting from an evil disposition, as long as the sinner repents. 1 John 3:4 says, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

Acts 13:38-39 says, “Therefore let it be known to you, that through this One, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses,  by this One everyone who believes is justified!”

God forgives the sinner, but the sinner must be repentant, also we, too, must forgive the sinner. Luke 17:3 tells us, “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”

11– Forgiver of willful sin (pesha)– (transgression which means rebellion). God allows even those who commit a sin with the malicious intent of rebelling against and angering Him the opportunity to repent.

Nehemiah 9:26-27 says, “But they became rebellious and revolted against You, and threw Your Law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who had admonished them in order to bring them back to You, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them, but when they cried out to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them people who saved them from the hand of their enemies.”

12– Forgiver of error (v’hata’ah)–God forgives a sin committed out of carelessness, thoughtlessness, or apathy. The word for sin is “chata” which means to miss the mark.  1 John 2:12 says, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name.”

Jeremiah 31:34 speaks of the future redemption, “They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”

We see that God is merciful, forgiving, loving, and covenant keeping, but the last attribute of God is a Righteous Judge.

13– Who cleanses (v’nakeh)–God is merciful, gracious, and forgiving, wiping away the sins of those who truly repent; however, if one does not repent, God does not cleanse.

Exodus 34:7 says, “Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

The thirteenth attribute is punishment, not only to the one who sins, but who  does not repent, even to  his children to the third and fourth generation. It seems that all that we have just read about God and His love just went out the window. 

We have to realize that God is a God of justice, as well as mercy.  Isaiah 30:18 says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;  therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice.   Blessed are all who wait for him!”

God is the Righteous Judge as Psalm 7:10-15 tells us, “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who shows indignation every day. If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim. He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself; He makes His arrows fiery shafts. Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice, and he conceives harm and gives birth to lies. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, and has fallen into the hole which he made. His harm will return on his own head, and his violence will descend on the top of his own head. I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”

God forgives and God washes us clean in the blood of Yeshua, but we must repent and turn back to living by God’s Word or else  Galatians 6:7 tells us this, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.”

God will not only turn from you, but all your children until God finds one who is ready to not only repent of the sins of the fathers, but also one who will be a covenant partner with Him.

 Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

Isaiah 49:13 tells us, “Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.”

So often we read Scripture, but we just don’t feel it. In our minds we say that God’s Word is truth, but in our hearts we tend to think differently. That is where we have to deal with reality. And reality may be just the opposite, especially when it comes to comfort or compassion and even our needs. We think that God really doesn’t see or hear or even care about what is going on in our lives.

Isaiah 49: 14-16 continues to say,  “But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,

and the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”

You may be that one who may think that God has abandoned you, that He has forgotten you, but God says differently. He can not forget His own. God has inscribed you on the palms of His hands. You are special to Him, so special that He sent His only begotten Son to die for you, so that you may have life eternal.

But life can be hard and it can be cruel, but there are many reasons for that. One, we can bring about our own difficulties by the choices that we make, and two well,  1 Peter 1:6-9 tells us this, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,  so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

Yes, God tests our faith, and this can be a difficult time, but God is still our answer. We must grow in life. We can not stay in the same place forever.    1Corinthians 13:11 says this,  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” 

This is the same with God, we must mature in Him and if we do not go through those times of testings and trials, well we just don’t grow. We must stretch our faith, we must pray with faith  

Hebrews 11:1-2,6, tells us, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.  For by it the people of old gained approval.”

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.”

But God will have compassion on His people. He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can handle. We must find comfort in God and this is only done when we walk with God. Psalm 23 says it best, “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

The Lord’s rod and staff brings us comfort. God will lead us if we want to be led. God corrects us when we wander off the path. This should be a great comfort to know that God watches over us, but we need to walk with God in His ways. When we do, He will lead us to green pastures. He will take us to quiet waters. We must learn to walk with God, and do learn, we must go through those trials. How else do you learn to trust anyone, unless you have reason to, those reasons come with walking with a person, and knowing a person, and it is the same with God.

Today you may be having a hard time, but Psalm 93:3-5 tells us,  “The floods have lifted up, Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. Your testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness is pleasing to Your house, Lord, forevermore.”

When you see the floods have lifted up and your neighbor is in need or your co-worker, or your family members, or church members or even the one one the street, then reach out, and be the hand of God who comforts His people.

Be that one who relieves the sorrow, the hurt, the conflict, the situation that is at hand, and brings comfort and show compassion. 

God also brings trials in people’s lives, so that we too, can be the hand of God showing mercy and love and compassion, so that on the day of our need, people will help us. Today, do not give up hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God is in control. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Romans 5:5,  “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us.”

This is a good recipe for us to remember, Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.”

Never forget that God loves you. Yeshua came just for you, and He will see you through your storm, and bring peace to your heart, because He does not want you to perish.

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Welcome

It is amazing how fast the cycle of life comes and goes. Once again we find ourselves in Fall. We planted our seeds and watched them grow and harvested our fruits and vegetables and now we are here at the end of the process once again.  Psalm 103: 15-16 reminds us of this, “The days of man are like grass. He grows like a flower of the field.  When the wind blows over it, it is gone. Its place will remember it no more.” This is the theme of the Biblical Fall Feasts. We have no time to waste. Everyday that we live, we must live for the future, oh! not our future here on earth, but our future for eternal life. Yom Kipper asks the question, “Is your name written in the Book of Life?” And Sukkot (Tabernacles) asks the question, “Where will your eternal home be?” These are two important questions which we must ask ourselves everytime we participate in these two feast days. 2 Peter 1:1-11 tells us this, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Messiah Yeshua. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Messiah Yeshua.”

Yom Kipper asks us to examine ourselves honestly, and if we are honest, I think we all would say, “There is room for improvement.” And that is why we keep the day of Yom Kippur.

A Time of Rest

Everyone needs rest. Our bodies were made to rest. We spend most of our lives sleeping, and a great deal of our time resting. I think everyone will agree to that.

We see even God needed to rest as Genesis 2:1-2 tells us, “And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”

I suppose after all of that  creating any one of us would have needed to rest.

But doesn’t it seem strange that God the Almighty would have needed to rest?

There must be something more to all of this. Let’s take a closer look to find out why God rested. The first chapter of Genesis tells us all about Creation. God created for six days and He said that it was all good, even very good! Now if a day equals a thousand years or if it doesn’t, does not really matter as far as God needing to rest. But what we do know is that on the seventh day He rested.  If we look at our calendars we see that we have seven days to our week, so the seventh day was not just a reference to God resting, and it wasn’t a day belonging only to Him, but it was a day that He gave us. We have seven days in our week, not six, not eight but seven. Why? Because seven is the number for completion, like in a week. We see Noah took seven pairs  of every clean animal in Genesis 7:2. After seven days it began to rain, 7: 3. We see that every week Noah sent out a dove, 8:10. Pharaoh’s dream had seven good cows and seven bad cows, Genesis 41:4. The Feast of Unleavened bread is seven days, Exodus 12. The Menorah has seven branches with seven flames. Exodus 25: 37. How about the feeding of the four thousand with only seven loaves, with seven large baskets leftover, Matthew 15. How many times should we forgive our brother..seventy x seven, Matthew 18:22. Seven men were chosen to be deacons, Acts 6:3. Letters to the seven churches, Revelation 1:4. Seven stars, Rev. 1:16,   seven golden lampstands, Rev.1:20, seven spirits, seven seals, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven peals of thunder, seven heads, seven crowns, seven bowls,seven mountains…all of these in the Book of Revelation and we only listed a fraction of seven. We see that seven is an important number with God. It is so important with God that Genesis 2:3 tells us this, “And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He ceased this work of Creation.”

God gave the seventh day His blessings, and He set it apart from the other six days.Wow! This is truly the Lord’s day. It is the day that commemorates the completion of Creation. This is what Yeshua says about this day, Mark 2:28, “And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Yeshua, our Lord, is the Lord of the Sabbath. And you know what else He said in Mark 2:27?

“Yeshua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

This is the seventh day Sabbath that He was referring to and He said it was made for man…not God! The Sabbath was the crown jewel of Creation. Everything was complete. God had just made man, and now He created the seventh day as a day just for Him and man to be together. This is why He blessed it, this is why He set it apart. God considered it holy. When God gave the Ten Commandments, notice that after He speaks of the commands regarding Himself, He gives the command of the Sabbath. The Commandments were given to the Jewish people only because they were the only people who believed in the One True God. At Mount Sinai, God gave them the Torah (the first five books) and part of the Torah was the Commandments, which covers several chapters. There is more to it than just one line of the Commandment. This was His covenant with them, but this covenant did not eliminate the one with Noah or with Abraham as Galatians 3:17 tells us,  “What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.”  Not even God can nullify a covenant because then He would be going back on His word.

Jeremiah 31:31-34, says this, “Behold, the 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 that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

What God can change is the mediator. Moses was the mediator of the first covenant, but then God made Yeshua the mediator of the second. This did not change the covenant. This did not change the commandments, this only changed the mediator. Hebrews 9:13-15 tells us, “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,  how much more will the blood of Messiah—who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God—cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that those called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—since a death has taken place that redeems them from violations under the first covenant.”

2 Corinthians  3:2:3 tells us,  “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.”

So how is the Word now written on our hearts?  Galatians 5:16-18 tells us, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” The word law here is referring to the curse of the law which Galatians 3:13 tells us,  Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” 

So what does all of this have to do with the seventh day Sabbath?

Just this! We are all under the first covenant.  You can not be under the New Covenant unless you are under all of the covenants. They all hinge on each other. We want Abraham’s Covenant but not Moses’. From Noah to Yeshua, God laid a foundation, and all that He has built has been built on that foundation. So if we build our house upon the Rock then it must have it’s foundation from the beginning. Sunday starts the first day of the week and not even God can change His Covenant, so who gives man the right? Yet, it was man who changed the Sabbath. People are beginning to return to the truth. No, you will not find the world changing, but we are not of the world. God made the Sabbath for man, so that man and God could be together. We are to rest from our work, and take time to worship our Creator, for this is what God intended. This gives witness to the Creation and the Creator. Yeshua, His disciples and for many decades after Yeshua’s death, believers kept the seventh day Sabbath. We are to come out from Babylon and have nothing to do with her. Babylon represents Humanism which is the religion of the Devil, for it says, there is no God and we are all gods. When we do not worship God on the day that He set apart from the beginning and Yeshua who is the Lord of the Sabbath, then we are saying that we are following man and not God the Creator. You may say this is ridiculous, but God’s Word is the truth and all you have to do is follow the truth and this is what we tried to lay out for you in this teaching. The seventh day is for mankind, not just the Jews. God is not just the God of the Jews. Yeshua said, if you love Me, then keep My Commandments. Yeshua is our example in all things and He kept the seventh day holy. He never said, not to! Today if you find that you are struggling with this then we say this, start by remembering the Sabbath. Take time to pray, maybe even sing and worship for a time. Read the Scriptures, we have a weekly schedule on our website, and begin to cut back on your activities. Soon with the help of the Holy Spirit you will see that the Sabbath is a joy  and not a burden. You can always go to church on Sunday to gather with believers, but you will see that you will look forward to meeting with God on His Biblical day of rest.

Recipe Corner: Beef Stroganoff Soup by the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. Butter, Divided

1 lb. Beef Steak (Sirloin Is Great), Thinly Sliced (See Note)

1 Small Onion, Finely Chopped

8 oz. weight Baby Portobello Mushrooms, Thinly Sliced

2 tbsp. All-purpose Flour

3 c. Beef Broth

2 c. Heavy Cream

1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Salt And Pepper, to taste

6 oz. weight Egg Noodles

1 c. Sour Cream

1/4 c. Finely Chopped Parsley

Directions:

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the pot and add beef. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, just until the steak is browned. Remove to a plate along with the juices. 

Melt remaining butter in the now-empty pot. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in beef broth and cream. Bring to a boil. Add Worcestershire sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add noodles and cook for the length of time recommended on the package, or until cooked to your preferred firmness. Remove from heat. Stir in beef (along with the juices), sour cream, and parsley. Taste once more to adjust seasoning and serve.

Notes:

• It’s easiest to slice beef thinly when it’s still somewhat frozen but not rock-hard.

• You can substitute ground beef for the steak if you prefer. If you do make that substitution, you can brown the meat “dry” in the pan and leave out the extra 2 tablespoons of butter.

Hebrew Corner:  The Month of  Tishrei

Tishrei is the seventh month after Passover. We now have left the sixth month which was the month of  preparation, and now Tishrei begins with the Feast of Rosh Hashanah. It is a month of renewal, repentance, and restoration. Being that seven is the number of completion, the seventh month completes the Biblical Feasts of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kipper, and  Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, all which represents Messiah’s Second Coming. These three feasts give us a picture of the coming King, the coming Judgment, and the coming of our future home, the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 19:11-16 says,  “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 20: 11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.  The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 21:9b-14, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,  having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.  Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:  three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ”

This is the seventh month, the month of Yeshua’s second coming.

The question is, does God pursue us?  Most people will say, “No”, but does Scripture bear that out? We see in Genesis 3:8-9 this,  “Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 

Now we know that God knows all things, so why did He call out to Adam? God could have just said, “Well, I guess Adam does not want to meet with Me today”, and He could have gone on His way. But God wanted Adam to know that He was going to pursue him and that he could not hide from Him. Right from the start of time God made it known that man could not run or hide from Him.

Psalm 139 :7-12 tells us this, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will take hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

Psalm 23:6 says this, “Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life;

and I will live in the house of Adonai for years and years to come.”

Who is goodness and grace? None other than our God Himself, who pursues us so that we may live with Him forever.

God pursues us like a man who pursues his future wife. 

Hosea 2: 14 says this, “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her.”

God loves us because He has chosen us, like a man who has chosen his future bride and so he takes delight in her. 

Zephaniah 3:17  says, “The Lord your God …will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

And nothing will separate us from His love.

Romans 8:38-39 tells us,  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.”

The reason we love is because He first loved us, 1John 4:19.

John 15:16-17 tells us, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.  This I command you, that you love one another.”

So If God pursues us, whom He loves, and whom He wants to share His kingdom with, then shouldn’t we also pursue those who need God? 

Luke 15:4-7 tells us, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

We too, must love others, and even pursue others with not only the truth of God’s love, but also in demonstrating that love.

Colossians 3:11-17 says, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;  bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.  In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let the peace of Messiah, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.  Let the word of Messiah richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

But some people do not want God, and they do not want Him pursuing them. But God will always give them a chance to change their mind. He will always try right up to their last breath. The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 is a good example of how our Father waits for us. We will look at verses 20-24,  “So he set out and came to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.  And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet;  and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate;  for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

As 2 Peter 3:8-9 tells us, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”

THE FOUR SPECIES

The hidden message behind the four species is very interesting. 

Leviticus 23: 39-40 tells us, “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have brought your crops in from your fields, celebrate the Feast of God for seven days. The first day is a complete rest and the eighth day is a complete rest. On the first day, pick the best fruit from the best trees; take fronds of palm trees and branches of leafy trees and from willows by the brook and celebrate in the presence of your God for seven days—yes, for seven full days celebrate it as a festival to God.”

We will start with the etrog. We are commanded to take fruit from the citrus tree, a tree lovely to look at, a new leaf from a palm tree,  boughs of a leafy tree, and willow branches, and shake them with joy as we celebrate the feast. 

So what is all this really about ?  Well, this takes us back to another time, and that time is in the Garden of Eden. Exodus 3:6 says,  “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.”

This resulted in great sadness for Adam and Eve. The four species create a picture of the Garden. God told Adam that he could eat from any tree, except the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.   So now God has us  putting things back together, with the fruit, the leaves, the branch, and the trunk (symbolized by the willows that grow in water.) If you continue the progression you then come to the Creator. By taking these in your hand and waving them in celebration, you now have joy and not sorrow. God is a redeemer, He is a restorer, reconciliator  and renewer of all things. Yeshua redeemed us from the sin of the Garden and He restored us to the joy of our salvation by renewing us as Titus 3:5-7 says, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,  whom He richly poured out upon us through Messiah Yeshua our Savior,  so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”  Also in  2 Corinthians 5:17-19 it says, “Therefore if anyone is in Messiah , this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Why Palm Branches?

The Bible records in Matthew 21 Yeshua riding on a donkey into Jerusalem and when the people saw this they got very excited. Why? Zechariah 9:9 gives us the answer. “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The people saw this prophecy being fulfilled right before their eyes, and they believed that Yeshua was their coming King, their Messiah whom they were waiting for. 

Matthew 21:8-9 records this, “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.  Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

So why the palm branches? Because the Jewish people have always believed that their Messiah would come during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). But it was not Tabernacles,  but Passover that was before them, so all they knew was to cut down the palm branches, which were used during the Feast of Tabernacles, and wave them like part of the four species, waving them in joy.

In retrospect- The Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First-Fruits and Pentecost all have been fulfilled by Yeshua, that is why we celebrate in remembrance, like when we celebrate an anniversary,  but the Fall Feasts have not yet been fulfilled, for they all have to do with Messiah’s second coming. The Jewish people did not realize that Messiah would come twice, once as a suffering servant and once as the true coming King, but they are nonetheless waiting for the Messiah. 

The Water Drawing Ceremony

The water drawing ceremony was held on the 7th or last day of the Feast. One of the names for this day is “Hoshana Raba”, which means Great Salvation. This is the meaning of Yeshua’s name – God’s Salvation. Shimcha Torah is on the 7th day of Sukkot, it means the joy in the Torah. Isaiah 12 says,  with joy you will draw water from the wells of Yeshua! Yeshua is the Word made flesh, He is our joy!

Isaiah 12: 2-4 says, “ Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation. And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.”

The water pouring ceremony was the most joyous occasion of the Feast, and this is how the Talmud describes the ceremony:

It was called the “Simchat Beit Hashoavah” – the water-drawing festival. The priests would go down to the pool of Siloam in the City of David (just south of where the Western Wall is today) and they would fill a golden vessel with the water there. They would go up to the temple, through the Water Gate, accompanied by the sound of the shofar, and then they would pour the water so that it flowed over the altar, along with wine from another bowl.  

They also had a light ceremony as it tells us this, “He who has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life. At the conclusion of the first festival day of Tabernacles they descended to the court of the women where they had made a great enactment. There were there golden candlesticks with four golden bowls on the top of each of them and four ladders to each, and four youths drawn from the priestly stock in whose hands were held jars of oil… there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illumined by the light of the place of the water-drawing. Men of piety and good deeds used to dance before them with lighted torches in their hands, and sing songs and praises. And Levites without number with harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets and other musical instruments were there upon the fifteen steps leading down from the court of the Israelites to the court of the women, corresponding to the fifteen songs of ascents in the psalms…” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sukkah 51a and 51b)

Those three golden candelabras stood about 75 feet high.

The priests would also carry large palm branches up to the altar waving them as they walked, reciting Psalm 118:25 “Save now (hoshanah), I beseech thee, O LORD! O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity!” and the sound of the large palm branches was like the sound of a mighty blowing wind.  Acts 2:2 tells us this about the day of Pentecost. “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

The priests  would then place the branches against the altar, and they would form a sukkah. It was on this last day, during the water ceremony that John 7 :37-38 says, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Yeshua  stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

The light ceremony which was called the Great light symbolized God who is light. The candelabra in the Temple was called the Light of the World. Yeshua tells us in John 8: 12 this, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

We could go on and on with the symbolism as we could with everyone of God’s Appointed Times, but we will end with this from Zechariah 14.

“On that day there will be no light; the luminaries will die out. For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the time of evening there will be light. And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. 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.”

“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.”

What was great sorrow and sadness in the Garden of Eden will turn to great joy when the Messiah returns and restores all things like in the day of the Garden of Eden. This is why we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles as we wait for our King.

“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.24                            JudeoChristianClarion.Com         “Secret Societies”

Secret Societies are just that secret, and you have to ask yourself why are they so secretive?  Why this shroud that covers their meetings, and yet they are so open about the good things that they do?  It is like a storefront business that covers for the crime that takes place in the back room. Can anything be good that is done in secret? God tells us to let our light shine before men, and not hide it under a bushel, Matthew 5:14-15. But this is just what they have done, they let us see the good things, but they hide their darkness under a bushel basket.

Luke 12:2 says, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

There are many secret societies like the Freemasons, (Shriners, Knights Templar, the Cross of Lorraine) Illuminati,  the Order of Skull and Bones,(which many of our modern day presidents belong to) and the Bilderberg, just to name a few. We also caution our college students, for many schools have their own secret societies in which they do their oaths and rituals. The Knight of Columbus also has its degrees where one can work up to becoming the 14th Supreme Knight and do it all shrouded by doing good works.

According to Joe Carter, senior writer of the Gospel Coalition writes  this on  February 2020

“Freemasonry is the teachings and practices of the secret fraternal (men-only) order of Free and Accepted Masons, known as Freemasons or Masons. The Freemasons are the oldest and largest worldwide secret society, with an estimated 3 million members around the world, including 1 million in the United States. In addition to the main body of Freemasonry, there are various offshoots, such as the Shriners (known formally as the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shriners, they are also required to be Masons).” Today there are women’s groups, and youth groups, and people of all races and creeds that can now join many of these societies.

The definition of Freemasonry as they sell it is “a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.”  Freemasonry was designed to make a man a moral man as found in Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics. “Moreover, the good man is not the one who does a good deed here and there, now and then, but whose life is good, ‘for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.’” 

Freemasonry today is a place where some people just make friends and acquaintances, and for some, it is a place or a way to discuss the philosophies of life, and yet for others, it is a way to do goodwill and charity. Many may have one or more of these reasons for joining the fraternity, but no matter the reason, Freemasonry is considered a “society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values,” according to the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. The Grand Lodge of North Carolina also explains that “Freemasonry seeks to unite good men of all backgrounds and make them better husbands, fathers, and citizens by encouraging and cultivating friendship, morality, and brotherly love. They also charge that “Freemasonry is the world’s oldest and largest non-religious, nonpolitical, fraternal and charitable organization.” 

But let’s uncover the truth, to be in most secret societies you have to believe in a god, because then they tell you all will be saved, so all is well. They have a narrative of salvation that is not in God’s Word. This is a universalist approach and it begins the appeal to the conscience. Anything that happens later, well you can tell yourself that it must be alright because these people believe in God and all will be saved.  Unfortunately, they may believe in a god, but it may not be your God, and going forward it all will only take you down. These societies are their own religion, it is nothing but idolatry. God does not do things in darkness, and He does not have you taking worldly oaths, and doing demonic rituals. Christians in Masonic Lodges who sit under these teachings and perform these rituals of Freemasonry that are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus claim, for example, that the “bloody oaths” they take are non-binding and shouldn’t be taken literally—and yet they will reject recommendations that such oaths be done away with. Also in these rituals they use the name of three different gods all from false religions, and it is upon these gods that people take these oaths. One must ask themselves, am I bringing glory to the One True God?

John 3:19 tells us, “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.”

Many denominations have condemned secret societies, and yet, today  what started as a prestigious  organization of businessmen has developed into an organization of all sorts of men, including clergy from all denominations and men from all walks of life. Their front is their good works. 

Ephesians 5:11 tells us,  “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Many of these societies have different levels to obtain. The deeper you go into their false religion, the higher you go up the ladder, and this illustration is used as they refer to Jacob’s ladder in their first ritual to make it easy on Chrisitans to begin their indoctrination. They speak of faith, hope and love to entrap the person into thinking that this is a moral organization and now that you are convinced and you have fallen hook, line, and sinker, they trap you to go to the next level. Every level requires taking oaths and having rituals that are not of the One True God, but only of the god of darkness, for this is what it does to a person, it brings them down deeper and deeper until they no longer believe in the One True God. Today many pastors do not believe in God. They do not believe in what they preach, and so because of this their preaching is shallow.

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 

 Also 2 Corinthians 6:14 says,  “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?”

We must also remember what it tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15,  “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Pastors who belong to secret societies most often will not condemn organizations such as the Freemasons, or other secret societies. They will shut down Biblical  truth or twist the truth, which only leads to a congregation that will not accept the truth either. Pastors who condone secret societies may do so if there are congregants who he knows belong to certain societies and are big financial  givers to the church which is just as bad as if he himself was a member.

The purpose of this podcast is not to delve deep into these secret societies, but to warn the flock of  the wolves that prowl around in congregations today including the pastors and deacons who head up their congregations. Today over half of the pastors in America do not have a Biblical worldview. Only about half of the American people consider themselves to be Chrisitan. Truly a result of false teaching and shallow teaching in our churches today.  But you have to wonder, how well are these secret societies doing today?  They are doing well feasting on men’s souls.

In Acts 20:28-30 Paul says this,  “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;  and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.”

If you would like to know more about the lies of secret societies and the people who live in the shadows of their deep darkness, and who put on sheeps clothing to do their good works, you can go to several websites or YouTube videos. Read the written transcript of this podcast for a few  more web addresses.

https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3800&context=doctoral

https://www.preachtheword.com/sermon/cults15.shtml

http://www.emfj.org/pastors.htm

Welcome

As we find ourselves in the middle of autumn and with the change in weather, we often start putting our thoughts on the holidays that are quickly approaching. Thanksgiving to New Years become a very busy time for us, but after coming so far in the year, it is hard not to begin to reflect on all that has happened this past year. It is amazing just how much really does happen in a year. We have so much to be thankful for as we have lived through this past year. Good or bad, happy or sad, either way, God was there. God saw and He knew, every moment of this past year. So today we are here, only because God has brought us to this point in time. We tend to diminish the time we take once a year to celebrate, not us, not all that we have accomplished, but all that God has accomplished. But for some people they do not have a problem going shopping or watching sports, instead of being with family or friends. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth. They came through a hard winter with many people dying, and they were thankful that they had made it through the year with a bountiful harvest.

Though it was not called thanksgiving, it was a time of prayer and reflection on all that God had done for them, and so as it was the custom, they  shared a meal. President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, calling on the American people to also, “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience  fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation…”. Lincoln declared it for the last Thursday in November. Lincoln  was thankful that our country survived the Civil War, with so many lives lost, and so many who lost all, that like the Pilgrims, he saw fit to have a national time of thanksgiving unto the Lord. We have gone through a pandemic, a time of great sorrow, and death in the world, and we also have seen our country so divided over this last year. We have seen shortages, and inflation, and crime soar, so we too, need to come as a country, and  be thankful for all that God has brought us through. Thanksgiving should be a National Day for all Americans to come together and be thankful that we have made it this far.

Before Honor Comes Humility

Proverbs 15:31-33 tells us this, “One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke will stay among the wise. One who neglects discipline rejects himself, but one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.”

No one likes to be rebuked, and no one likes to be disciplined, but as we see, both are necessary before honor can come. So let us take a closer look at what God’s word has to say about all of this. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us,  “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.”

Then he says it again in, 2 Timothy 4:1-2, “I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Messiah Yeshua, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Titus 2:11-15 also says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people,  instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age,  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. No one is to disregard you.”

So we see that God is telling us to rebuke those who need to be rebuked, but we must rebuke them with great patiences and in love and of course, by the Word of God.  Scripture shows us that discipline and rebuke often go hand and hand.

Proverbs 12:1 says, “One who loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates rebuke is ignorant.” Proverbs 13:18 also tells us, “Poverty and shame will come to one who neglect discipline, but one who complies with rebuke will be honored.”

And once again in Proverbs 15:5,  “A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but he who complies with rebuke is sensible.”

Proverb 3:11-18 says,  “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His rebuke, for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights. 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.”

So we see that God our Father has to discipline us for our good as  Hebrews 12:7-12 also tells us,  “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.  For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”

In Revelation 3:15-19 Yeshua is speaking to the church in Laodicea, “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.” 

So we see that there are times when we must rebuke, and times when we must discipline, even in the church. James 5:20 tells us, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” 

To rebuke someone may be difficult, but if it is done in love, and not in malicious intent or pride or even in anger, then it is for the person’s well being.

Matthew 18:15-17 says, “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed.  And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the congregation; and if he refuses to listen even to the congregation, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector,” (as a non-believer).

Today we do not deal with sin within the church.  2 Timothy 3:1-5 tells us, “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.”

These are people who are, or even were, believers who sat in our pews. So how can we go to one and tell them of  the speck in their eye, when we have a plank in our own eye? Matthew 7:3-5, says we must first get the plank out of our eye!

Galatians 6:1-10 also says, “Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Messiah. For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another. For each one will bear his own load. The one who is taught the Word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.  Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.  So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

There is a great reward for those who endure discipline. They yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness  and riches and honor, and those who listen to a rebuke, wisdom, but what about humility?

Proverb 22:4 tells us this, “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord

are riches, honor, and life.” Again in Matthew 5:5,  “Happy are those who are humble;  they will receive what God has promised!”

True humility leads to repentance.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says,  “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, (repentance), then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Finally,  James 4:8-10 tells us, “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.”

Today, open your hearts to what people may say that seems like a rebuke. Don’t be afraid to let yourself be disciplined, and most of all acknowledge your sins before God and He will bring honor from humility.

Recipe Corner:         Apple Coffee Cake by My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:  

 FOR THE CAKE:   

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature.  

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar                   2 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups all purpose flour                                           1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons apple pie spice                                     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup sour cream                                                      2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups peeled, cored and chopped Granny Smith apples

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar                        1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice                           4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

FOR THE BROWN SUGAR GLAZE:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar                  1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract                              2 tablespoons warm water

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

FOR THE CAKE

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, apple pie spice, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream. Stir in the vanilla and fold in the apples until evenly incorporated into the batter. 
• Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. 

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING

• In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, apple pie spice, and butter, and combine with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. 
• Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

FOR THE GLAZE

• In a bowl, combine the sugar, apple pie spice, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let it harden slightly. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
• Enjoy!   HAPPY THANKSGIVING…

Hebrew Corner : The Month of Cheshvan

Cheshvan also known as Marcheshvan is the eighth month counting from Passover. Marcheshvan means “bitter Cheshvan” because there are no festivals, feasts or fasts in this month. This month marks the beginning of the cold and rainy season in Israel. The Torah records this about the month of Cheshvan, remember, God had not yet changed the order of the months which was done at the time of the first Passover. Genesis 7:10-11 says this about the flood and the month of Cheshvan, “After seven days the water flooded the earth.  On the seventeenth day of the second month of the 600th year of Noach’s life all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the sky were opened.”

We also see this in Genesis 8:13-14, one year later about Cheshvan, 

“By the first day of the first month of the 601st year the water had dried up from off the earth; so Noach removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry.  It was on the twenty-seventh day of the second month that the earth was dry.”

I guess that could be another reason why Marcheshvan is called bitter for it was a time of judgment and hardship. This month is also known for the infamous  “Die Kristallnacht” (Night of Broken Glass) when the Natzi’s began their terrorizing of the Jewish people. Also in this month the pogrom that initiated the Holocaust began with it’s purpose to disarm all German Jews, which was the pretext of genocide of all the Jews. But many Jewish people are hopeful, for they feel one day this month will lose its bitterness when the third Temple will be inaugurated in this month. Many Messianic believers believe this will be the Temple that the anit-christ will defame and Yeshua will restore. 

Revelation 21:3-4 tells us of the time that will follow the Messianic Age when God will remove the bitterness from our lives, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

This is the eight month, the month of restoration.

We want to take a closer look at Psalm 118, because it speaks of the mercy of God.

When people go through their trials, they tend to think that God does not care about them, or that He is mean and cruel. But the psalmist speaks differently.

We know by Scripture that David had many low points in his life. But as he wrote most of the psalms, we see that he always turned to God for he knew about God’s mercy.

Psalm 118 :1-4 says,  “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting. Let Israel say, “His mercy is everlasting.” Oh let the house of Aaron say,

“His mercy is everlasting.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His mercy is everlasting.”

Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-24 this, “The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.”

David continues to write in Psalm 118:5-9, “From my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and put me in an open space. The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me;

therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in noblemen.”

King David knew trials and distress, for Saul tried to kill him, and even his own son was trying to overthrow him from the throne. Many people wished him ill, and would not come to his aid. But one thing David knew was that he could always run to God. God was his refuge, his shelter and only in God did he trust.

Psalm 62:1-9,  David writes,  “My soul, wait in stillness, only for God from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress I will never be moved. How long will all of you assault a man, to crush him, like a leaning wall, a fence to be torn down? They only plot to topple him from his rank. Delighting in falsehood, they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse.  My soul, wait in stillness, only for God for from Him comes my expectation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my strong tower I will not be moved. On God, my salvation and my glory is the rock of my strength. My refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart in His presence. God is our refuge.”

Our trials, our struggles, our sorrows, can push us beyond our limit, and it seems as though the whole world is against us.  David understood this, that in all of his distress, God was with him. 

David continues in Psalm 118:10-14,  “All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off. They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished like a fire of thorn bushes; in the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off. You pushed me violently so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.”

 In  the midst of his trials, Psalm 139:23-24 tells us that David asks God to examine his heart. “Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting.”

David knew that unless he was right with God that he would be separated from Him, for sin separates us from God, and he would not, or could not have the victory. And though David was disciplined by God, God in His great mercy did not turn him over to death, which would have been a victory for his enemies. Psalm 118:15-18 goes on, “The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord performs valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord performs valiantly. I will not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not turned me over to death.”

Yeshua tells us that He is the door ( John 10:9) for all to go through, and David knew that Yeshua (God’s Salvation) was the only way to a life in God.

Psalm 118: 19-21 tells us this, “Open the gates of righteousness to me; I will enter through them, I will give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.”

Psalm 118 : 28-29 ends the same way in which it started.  “You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting.”

Today if you are struggling and you feel the whole world is against you, do what David did, as he writes again in Psalm 61: 1-4, “Hear my cry, O God,   listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to You   when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock   that is higher than I, for You have been my refuge,    a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever!   Let me take refuge under the shelter of Your wings!”

Did you know that the story of Creation parallels the story of Messiah’s birth?

Join us, as we take a closer look into the birth of the Messiah.

Colossians 1:15-20 says this about the Messiah, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:  for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also the head of the body, the congregation of believers; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.  For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,  and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

The fact that Paul says that He was the first born only means that He had supremacy over all creation.  John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.”

So let’s start at the beginning and to start at the beginning, we have to start before the foundation of the world, before God created the heavens and the earth. It was then that God created the angels. 

Job 38:4-7 tells us this, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? Since you know.

Or who stretched the measuring line over it? On what were its bases sunk?

Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

We see that God called the angels “sons of God” because it was God who gave birth to the angels. Scripture does not tell us how the angels were created, but we do know that the angels were created to live in the spiritual realm where God resides.

 We also know several other things about the angels like they are ministering agents for God, (Hebrews 1:14). 

Psalm 104:4 tells us this, “He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire His ministers.”

Are we not also His messengers and ministering agents?

John 3:8 says this, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” 

The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Jesus, and we too, become like the wind, God’s messengers bringing the Good News when we are born of the Spirit of Messiah.

Yeshua is also fire as we read in  Revelation 19:12, “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.”

God is fire as Ezekiel 8:2 tells us,  “ As I looked, I beheld a figure that had the form of a man. From the area of his waist downward, He appeared to be like fire, and upward from His waist, He seemed to have a brilliance like gleaming amber.”

Besides the angels being wind and fire we also know that angels have titles showing rank like the Archangel Michael who is called the Chief Prince as we read in Daniel 12:1.

We see that angels have names, and their names are a reflection of the Messiah.

Michael whose name means “He who is as God”

 John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Again in  John 10:38 Yeshua says “ I and the Father are One.”  

The Archangel Uriel who is called the Angel of Wisdom, because he shines light on God’s truth. The name Uriel means “God is my Light”

 John 1:4 says,  “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

Archangel Raphael whose name means “God Heals,”

And who came down and healed? Isaiah 53:5 says, “ He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Archangel Gabriel whose name means “God is my Strength,”

 Exodus 15:4 says, “ The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”

Again in Psalm 46:1,  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Archangel Rophiel whose name means “Beauty of God,”

Psalm 27 :4 says this, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.”

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”  Song of Solomon 2:1 

This speaks of Messiah’s beauty and a sweet smelling fragrance as He offered Himself up as a living sacrifice unto the Lord.  Remember frankincense was given to Him by one of the wise men indicating just that.

Archangel Ariel whose name means “Lion of God”,

 Revelation 5:5 says this,  “And one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Archangel Chamuel whose name means “He who sees God.”

 John 6:46 says,  “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.”

Even though all of these 7 angels may have their name which  speaks about the Messiah, Philippians 2: 5-11 says this,  “ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah,  who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.  For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,  so that at the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that the Messiah  is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 Jesus’s Hebrew name is Yeshua which means “God’s Salvation” and we will refer to Him by His Hebrew name because Jesus does not translate into the Messiah’s given name and His real purpose in life.  Yeshua is also called by many other names as Isaiah 9:6 tells us, “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Again Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel (God with us).

Isaiah 11:1 says, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

John 15:5 says this of us, “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.”

We are the fruit of the Messiah, and when we bring the message of salvation to others, then we too, bear fruit.

Jeremiah 23:5 goes on to say this, “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” 

This of course speaking of the Messiah. The gifts of the Magi give us a picture of  the kingship of Yeshua in the gold, the deity of Yeshua in the frankincense, and the death of Yeshua in the myrrh.

So let’s continue on with the story of the Creation of God’s Salvation.

Luke 1: 26-35 tells us this, “ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth,  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”  But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God.” 

The angel tells Mary that she will conceive in the womb and give birth to a son.

Mary asks, “How can this be so?” He answers, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

Let’s look at Creation. Genesis 1:2 says, “And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” 

This sounds like the womb, hidden, formless, darkness, water. 

Psalm 139:13-16 tells us this,  “For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my formless substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

The angel  tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and over shadow her. Is this not what we see in the beginning of Creation, the Holy Spirit was hovering over the womb that would give birth to all Creation? Genesis goes on to say in verse 3, “Then God said, “Let there be light,and there was light.” God spoke and there was light, and when the Most High overshadowed Mary, 

God also spoke, and His Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Yeshua is the Light who dwelt among us! (John 1:14) 

Yeshua was also called the Son of God, because God gave birth to His only begotten Son as John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

The word in Hebrew for womb is Rechem, it comes from the root word Racham which means compassion/mercy. The womb is a place where one is protected from harm, like the ark that protected Noah and his family, who also were in the water, over the surface of the deep in darkness. Noah also sent out the dove who hovered over the waters, (Genesis 7) and as we know God created once again life.

We too are called the children of God. 

In Psalm 57:8  and 108:2 the Psalmist writes, “ Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.” And again,” Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!”

Ephesians 2:1-7 says this,   “ And you were dead in your offenses and sins,  in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.  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.”

It is God’s compassion and mercy, His Racham that gives us life.

Let’s look at one more, Psalm110:3 says, “Your people will volunteer freely on the day of Your power; in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.” 

Every day the womb of the dawn is giving birth to a new day, because God in His mercy and compassion, at the time of Creation gave us a womb that we call earth, our home till we one day will be with Him for eternity.

Let’s end with this . We are dead in our transgressions. So we must become alive in our souls. During the High Holy Days between The Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, we blow the shofar and say, “Awake you who are sleepy and consider your deeds and return to God.” In  John 3:3-8 Yeshua tells Nicodemus that unless He is born again, born of the Spirit, he will not see the kingdom. It is Yeshua who makes us alive. We are new creations in Him,  2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  “Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” We must die to ourselves and be born of the Spirit. We must come out of the womb, a place of darkness, and let God’s light shine upon us during this Season of Light.

Did you know that when the people of Israel left Egypt that they stayed in a town called Sukkot, which means booths, and they built these booths for their livestock, and slept in them that very first night. Yeshua was also born in a booth or what we call a manger, also with the livestock, and it is strongly believed that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot, which we call the Feast of Tabernacles. He was also born in Bethlehem as Micah 5:2 tells us, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Not only was Bethlehem the city of David, but Bethlehem means the “House of Bread.” Yeshua is the “Bread of Life who has come down from heaven, John 6:35. The bread of life is the Word of God

We saw in Job 38:7  that the angels were also called the morning stars.

Revelation 22:16 says, “I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

It was the star that led the wisemen to the Messiah.  Matthew 2:1-2 says, “Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Could the star have been an angel who led these men to the Messiah? We too, are suppose to let our light shine so that people will be drawn to Him as 

Matthew 5:14-16 says. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Now let’s read the story about that night when the archangel came with his glorious message, along with a heavenly host, praising the newborn king, the anointed one of God, the Messiah, our salvation

“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.  Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,  in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant.  While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.” When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.  When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.  And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told  them by the shepherds.  But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” 

Out of the womb Creation was born, a word that was spoken, a word that became our salvation. 

Click to access maggi.pdf

Click to access house-built-on-the-rock.pdf

Click to access LORD-MY-SERVANT-LIES-ILL-Google-Docs.pdf

Click to access A-farmer-scattered-his-seed-and-as-he-did-some-fell-along-the-path-and-the-birds-came-and-ate-it-up-Google-Docs.pdf

Click to access faith-as-a-mustard-seed.pdf

Click to access Teacher-dont-you-care-if-we-perish-Google-Docs.pdf

Click to access He-took-the-five-loaves-and-the-two-fish-and-gave-thanks-and-they-gave-it-to-the-people-Google-Docs.pdf

Click to access Jesus-put-His-finger-in-the-mans-ears-and-said-open-and-the-man-could-hear-Google-Docs.pdf

Click to access Poor-Widow.pdf

Click to access Baby-jesus.pdf

Click to access Glory-to-God-in-the-Highest.pdf

Click to access shepherds.pdf

Click to access He-taught-in-their-Synagouge.pdf

Click to access The-harvest-is-plentiful-but-the-laborers-are-few-therefore-plead-with-the-Lord-of-the-harvest-to-send-out-laborers-into-His-harvest.pdf

Click to access Blessed-is-the-King-who-comes-in-the-name-of-the-Lord-Google-Docs.pdf