Today our colleges and universities have drifted away from any kind of standard that may have applied in the past, but one thing has not changed and that is fraternities and sororities.  We look upon these organizations as something to be elevated in academia and the workplace. If you have the Greek letters added to your resume then you get special treatment. It is like those who belong to the Masonic Lodge are elevated and more likely to be hired. But let’s look at these organizations and expose who and what they really are. Yes, on the surface you may say, it’s great for comoratory and the friends you make, you make for life, but let’s look at the opposite side of the coin. Not all things that glitter is gold. There is a dark side to these organizations. Because of the secrecy involved with these organizations it has kept many people from speaking out.

The references used here are from Wikipedia.

“Sororities, originally called women’s fraternities, began to develop in 1851 with the formation of the Adelphean Society Alpha Delta Pi, though fraternity-like organizations for women didn’t take their current form until the establishment of Pi Beta Phi in 1867 and Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma in 1870. The term sorority was used by a professor of Latin at Syracuse University, Frank Smalley, who felt the word “fraternity” was inappropriate for a group of ladies. The word comes from Latin soror, meaning ‘sister,’ ‘cousin, daughter of a father’s brother,’ or ‘female friend.’ The first organization to use the term ‘sorority’ was Gamma Phi Beta, established in 1874.”

“The first fraternity in North America to incorporate most of the elements of modern fraternities was Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1775. The founding of Phi Beta Kappa followed the earlier establishment of two other secret student societies that had existed at that campus as early as 1750. In 1779 Phi Beta Kappa expanded to include chapters at Harvard and Yale. By the early 19th century, the organization transformed itself into a scholastic honor society and abandoned secrecy.” But from the 1800’s to today they are still secret societies. If they were something to be had, then why keep it a secret? “With a few exceptions, most fraternities and sororities are secret societies. While the identity of members or officers is rarely concealed, fraternities and sororities initiate members following the pledge period through sometimes elaborate private rituals, frequently drawn or adopted from Masonic ritual practice or that of the Greek mysteries.^”

“At the conclusion of an initiation ritual, the organization’s secret motto, secret purpose and secret identification signs, such as handshakes and passwords, are usually revealed to its new members. Some fraternities also teach initiates an identity search device used to confirm fellow fraternity members. Julian Hawthorne, the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote in his posthumously published Memoirs of his initiation into Delta Kappa Epsilon: I was initiated into a college secret society—a couple of hours of grotesque and good-humored rodomontade and horseplay, in which I cooperated as in a kind of pleasant nightmare, confident, even when branded with a red-hot iron or doused head-over heels in boiling oil, that it would come out all right. The neophyte is effectively blindfolded during the proceedings, and at last, still sightless, I was led down flights of steps into a silent crypt, and helped into a coffin, where I was to stay until the Resurrection…Thus it was that just as my father passed from this earth, I was lying in a coffin during my initiation into Delta Kappa Epsilon.”

“Meetings and rituals are sometimes conducted in what is known as a chapter room located inside the fraternity’s house. Entry into chapter rooms is often prohibited to all but the initiated. In one extreme case, the response of firefighters to a blaze signaled by an automated alarm at the Sigma Phi chapter house at the University of Wisconsin in 2003 was hampered in part because fraternity members refused to disclose to emergency responders the location of the hidden chapter room, where the conflagration had erupted.^”

“According to Assistant Professor Caroline Rolland-Diamond of the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, in one ritual popular in the 1960s, born out of frustration to the ubiquitous nascent counterculture, “The men were stripped to their underpants, tied up to a tree, and covered in a nasty mix of food and leaves, remaining there until their fiancées came to free them with a kiss.” Of course, we can not leave out the infamous Skull and Bones which several of our modern Presidents were members of. “Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class society at the university, Skull and Bones has become a cultural institution known for its powerful alumni and various conspiracy theories. Skull and Bones is considered one of the ‘Big Three’ societies at Yale University; the others are Scroll and Key and Wolf’s Head. The society is known informally as ‘Bones’, and members are known as ‘Bonesmen’, ‘Members of The Order’ or ‘Initiated to The Order.’”

“One legend is that the number represents ‘founded in ’32, 2nd corps’, referring to a first Corps in an unknown German university. Another possible reference of 322 is the Freemasonic Lodge of Virtue and Silence no. 322, in Suffolk, UK, signaling a fraternal but unspoken sponsorship between the two “secret society” organizations, regarding which silence is considered virtuous. Lodge 322 was founded in 1811, 21 years before the creation of the Skull and Bones association in 1832.”

“Skull and Bones” is featured in books and movies which claim that the society plays a role in a global conspiracy for world control. There have been rumors that Skull and Bones is a branch of the Illuminati, having been founded by German university alumni following the order’s suppression in their native land by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria with the support of Frederick the Great of Prussia, or that Skull and Bones controls the CIA.^”

Rumors have a way of telling the truth. 

“Studies have shown that fraternity and sorority members are more likely than the average college student to use or abuse drugs. Since the 1990s, fraternity members have experienced an increase of over 400% in the recreational use of prescription benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium. Amphetamine use with drugs like Ritalin and Adderall are more common among fraternity members than other college students. Fraternity members abuse amphetamines at double the rate than that of their non-college peers. Marijuana use is also more prevalent among fraternity and sorority members compared to college men and women not in fraternities or sororities.”

I’m sure that other drugs like cocaine, heroine, fentanyl, and opioids  and other popular drugs today could be added to the list.

“Studies show that fraternity men are three times more likely to commit rape than other men on college campuses. Fraternity pledges are at a higher likelihood to commit rape or sexual assault because of the pressure to meet the hyper-masculine standards that fraternities expect of their members. Overall, fraternity men are shown to have more rape-supportive attitudes than non-fraternity men. Fraternities have often been accused of fostering rape-supportive attitudes by promoting male dominance and brotherhood, and fraternity affiliation has been found to be a significant predictor of sexually predatory behavior in retrospective research. Sexual assault is such a common occurrence among fraternity organizations that one fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, is commonly referred to by the nickname, ‘Sexual Assault Expected.’ Attitudes towards women learned in fraternity life can perpetuate fraternity men’s lifelong attitudes, leading to the potential to commit sexual assault and rape after college life. Studies show that women in sororities are almost twice as likely to experience rape than other college women. A research article studied campus demographics and reported rapes and found that campuses that report more rapes have more fraternity men, athletes and liquor violations.” Unfortunately, many judges also once belonged to a fraternity and may now belong to the Masonic Lodge. So as you took the oath , you must remain faithful to your fraternity brothers.

Researchers have found that in predominantly male environments, such as fraternities, athletics and military groups, men feel pressure to meet the group’s standard of masculinity, which may contribute to men being more accepting of sexual violence. Nicholas Syrett, a professor of history at the University of Northern Colorado, has been a vocal critic of the evolution of fraternities in the 20th century. In 2011, Syrett stated that, “fraternal masculinity has, for at least 80 years, valorized athletics, alcohol abuse and sex with women.”

So the question is, should people of faith belong to these organizations? “Many early fraternities made reference to Christian principles or to a Supreme Being in general, as is characteristic of fraternal orders. Some, such as Alpha Chi Rho (1895) and Alpha Kappa Lambda (1907), only admitted Christians, while others, such as Beta Sigma Psi (1925) and Phi Kappa Theta (1959), catered to students belonging to certain denominations of Christianity, such as Lutheranism and Catholicism. Due to their exclusion from Christian fraternities in the United States, Jewish students began to establish their own fraternities in the period of 1895 and 1920, with the first one being Zeta Beta Tau, founded in 1898. Although many of the religion-specific requirements for many fraternities and sororities have been relaxed or removed, there are some today that continue to rally around their faith as a focal point, such as Beta Upsilon Chi (1985) and Sigma Alpha Omega (1998).”

According to Teaching Humble Hearts

“Sororities and fraternities are worldly alternatives to Christian fellowships, except they offer sisterhood or brotherhood based on high sounding human wisdom and principles. By combining verses from the Bible with Greek text and symbolism, they deceive many into believing that their moral code is righteous and virtuous. God’s Word warns us that this is far from being Christ-centered and is a deception by ‘spiritual powers of this world’.”

 1 Corinthians 3: 18-20 says this about human wisdom. “Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: ‘He is the one who catches the wise by their craftiness;’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.’” 

Colossians 2:8 tells us this,  “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”

Like the Masonic Lodge, there are oaths and rituals and pagan altars, and strict rules to follow. If a person of faith cannot serve two masters, then certainly they cannot serve two gods, especially when one is the True God.

Sororities and fraternities place supreme importance on their life-long oaths and pledges to the society, their guiding spirits, creeds and members. The Bible however, warns us against making any oath of any sort. Otherwise, we will “fall under condemnation” from God.

James 5:12 writes,  “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

If one takes an oath to serve and obey the rules or beliefs of their fraternity or sorority they do so knowingly that they are swearing to keep and practice something that is not of God. 

Ephesians 5:6-17 says this, “See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them;  for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.  Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;  for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.  For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” 

Sororities and fraternities promote a false belief in the power of secrets. There are secret codes, hand-grips, symbols, songs and declarations, all of which are hidden behind forced ungodly oaths and promises. There is nothing we can hide from God Almighty. He will one day weigh every detail of our lives.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 tells us,  “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

And again in  Jeremiah 23:24,  “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.”

Amos 5:14-15 says, “Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.  Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice.”

There are other good organizations that you could belong to like Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators, or Athletes in Action. You could see if there are other Christian fraternities on your campus.

Today so many Pastors and church goers who were involved in fraternities are now members of the Masonic Lodge. Many also are involved in pornography and other things that are not of God.

The church today has lowered its standards because we want seeker friendly churches. Sermons do not talk about sin and the things that bring about conviction. We no longer are taught to forsake the world’s ways and draw closer to God in holiness, and certainly, we are not taught to flee from things like secret societies.

If you are a believer in the One True God, and you have taken any pledges or oaths to uphold such as a fraternity or sorority member, or even as a member of the Masonic Lodge or like organizations, denounce the oaths. Turn from these ways as members, or once members, and repent and confess to God your loyalty to Him and Him alone, and then go out and tell the world. Yes, expose those deeds of darkness, so others will not fall into the same trap. 

See our brochure on Secret Societies and Fraternities at

https://judeochristianclarion.com/brochures/secret-societies-fraternities/

Many people do not know about spiritual warfare, or they do not know how to engage in spiritual warfare. Yet, it is very important that we do understand it. Yeshua has given those who believe in Him the victory over the enemy if we are willing to stand up and fight. The rest of this teaching will be a template you can use as a prayer guide in your own spiritual warfare. Certain parts are marked with blank lines, and in these parts you may fill in the information that is specifically relevant to you.

Father, we come in the righteous name of Yeshua, who is our Advocate, Great High Priest, Shepherd and our Redeemer. You are our Protector, Provider and Healer, our Refuge and the God in whom we trust. Father, we draw near by Yeshua’s sacrifice on our behalf with thanksgiving in our hearts, and we enter Your courts with praise. We pray that You forgive us of our known and unknown sins and all that we have committed with our thoughts, words and deeds. Wash us clean in the Blood of Yeshua as we repent of our sins, and give us the victory over those sins that so easily entangle us, and robe us in the righteousness of Yeshua, for He is our righteousness; our lives are complete in Him.

We ask, Father, that You cover us with the protection of Your wing and surround us with Your warring angels. We pray that Your mighty right hand will gain us the victory. So, in the Name of Yeshua, we bind you Satan in the Name and power and authority of Yeshua Hamashiach. Satan, you have no hold over ________ (read the name of the people in your household and include your pets). You have no hold over our minds, hearts, souls, spirits and bodies. You have no hold over our finances, our properties, or our needs. You have no hold over ________ (name any specific need or maybe like this country or this election). In the Name of Yeshua, we bind and rebuke you and all your rulers and powers of the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

By the authority given to us, we bind and speak to the spirits of guilt, fear, doubt, confusion, pride, arrogance, haughtiness, stubbornness, selfishness, self-righteousness, bitterness, hatred, anger, murderous spirits, resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, strife, witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, occult, superstition, demonic forces, idolatry, horoscopes, all lying spirits, deceiving spirits, cheating, slothfulness, greed, covetousness, presumptuousness, lustfulness, evil and unclean spirits, rebellion, criticizing, complaining, judging, any hindering spirits, any familiar spirits, preoccupation, oppression, depression, obsession or seducing spirits. We rebuke you and denounce you and command you to flee from us. You have no hold over us. We take the authority over you by the Name and power and authority of Yeshua Hamashiach. Your hold and influence over us is broken and destroyed by the Blood of Yeshua.

We rebuke and cast out any sickness, disease or death that may try to enter our bodies, including the coronavirus , and we cast it out and we refuse to accept it in the Name and power and authority of Yeshua, and we command it to leave by His Name. For by the stripes of Yeshua Hamashiach of Nazareth we are healed and made whole. We receive our healing now as we stand on the Word of God and our covenant blessing in the Torah. We thank You Father for our healing at this time.

We speak to our finances in the Name of Yeshua and declare that they are set free, “For my God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Yeshua.” We stand on our Blood Covenant with you, Father, as we receive our healing, deliverance, prosperity, protection and salvation in the Name of Yeshua. We loose the ________ of us (number of people from the beginning), our finances, our needs (list those specific needs from the beginning) from you, Satan, and your demonic forces and evil spirits, and we loose the power of God in us, in our finances, in the healing of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits and bodies, (list those specific needs from the beginning again) in the Name of Yeshua.

We are destroying every speculation and every lofty thing that has raised itself up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Yeshua. We speak to the obstacles and circumstances in our lives that are keeping us from going forward in Yeshua and gaining the victory, and we command them to remove themselves in the Name and power and authority of Yeshua Hamashiach. For it is written, truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted to him. For where 2 or more agree touching anything on earth it shall be done by My Father in heaven.

Father, we pray that You deliver us from our enemies. Your Word says that Your enemies will fall back at Your presence. Father, rise so your enemies will be scattered.

We praise You and give You the glory for Your continued faithfulness in our lives. Father, help us to be strong and courageous. Father, we believe in the promises of God and declare them to be true, so we declare the victory on earth and in heaven in the Name of Yeshua Hamashiach. And let all say: Amen!

Today the world has become so uncertain. We have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Fear has gripped our souls. Well, we are not alone, for even the disciples of Yeshua felt that way. Let’s take a closer look at this story.

Mark 4:35-41 tells us this story: “On that day, when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Yeshua Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'”

The fact that the Scriptures tell us a storm arose tells us that out of nowhere, without their knowledge, a wind storm came upon them. Of course, they did what they needed to do to keep the boat from sinking, but when they realized they were going to sink they thought to themselves, “Does He not feel the waves?” “Does He not hear the waves crashing against the boat?” “Does He not hear us crying out in fear?” “Doesn’t He care?”

So they asked Him, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Is this not what we do when things arise in our lives? We are filled with fear and anxiety, not knowing the future, but all we can see is the storm before us. As soon as the boat begins to rock, we ask, “God don’t you care that I am perishing? You must see me? You must know what is happening and yet You do nothing about it.”

What was Yeshua’s response? “Why are you afraid?” What did Paul tell Timothy? Paul records it in 2 Timothy 1: 3-7, “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Timothy was afraid for Paul, and Paul tells him that he was praying for him because of his tears. Paul knew that deep down Timothy had faith, but only needed to be reminded that being afraid was not from God. “Timothy, I tell you God has given you power and love and a sound mind” (some versions say “and discipline”).

Isaiah gives Israel a message from God In Isaiah 43:1-4, “But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.'”

God did not leave us defenseless in our times of trials and temptations. He loves us and cares about us too much, for He said He will never leave us or forsake us. Storms are going to arise in our lives, and most times we will not see them coming, but we should not be caught off guard.

Today, we say we have an invisible enemy, a virus, but as believers in the Messiah, we already know that our enemy is invisible. We know that he can strike at any moment, but as good soldiers we must always be ready to fight the good fight.

Today, everyone is putting on a mask, but as believers we must put on the armor of God. We have the shield of faith, we have the sword of the spirit, the Word of God. Our mask is the helmet of salvation. Prayer is our covering.

What did our Messiah do when the disciples came in fearful and panicked? He stood up! This is the time we must stand up. We are believers. We are the light to the world. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power. Yeshua rebuked the wind and so must we.

Psalm 91 tells us, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”

We have the power to speak to that mountain called Coronavirus and it must flee. We can trample down our enemy, the devil, who brings such things our way. But we have the power of Almighty God within us, “For greater is He who is in us than he who is in this world.” We get our marching orders from our heavenly Father, the creator of heaven and earth. We are not of this world. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. Our Father, who is in us and who loves us and cares for us, has surrounded us with His angels, and our lives are in His hands.

Fear not! Time and time again God’s people have been afraid, but we read in John 20:19-20 this: “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Yeshua came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

People, let us arise and stand tall, letting our light shine in this darkness with peace in our hearts. Let our faith be bold because we know who we serve, and yes, let us rejoice, because our Savior has given us the victory. He has risen and we must too.

Today is New Years Eve and I would like to give a few thoughts about this past year, and I would like to speak a few words about our new incoming year.

As we all know, this has been quite the year. There is no need to go into every detail because we all have lived it. But what I would like to say is this, so many people here in America and around the world could tell story after story of the endure some hardships, go through some kind of trial, and so many people have seen others not make it through. I want to look at Lamentations 3: 1-10 for the writer, he too, went through many trials and hardships.

“I  am the man who has seen misery because of the rod of His wrath.  He has driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Indeed, He has turned His hand against me repeatedly all the day. He has consumed my flesh and my skin, He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me live in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with cut stone; He has twisted my paths. He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in secret places.”

For so many people this year, it was like God turned His back on us. We prayed and prayed and prayed even more, but it seems like we are ending the year like we started.  We ask where is God? My life has been turned upside down and my God seems like He is nowhere to be found. The writer goes to say this in verses 17-32 “My soul has been excluded from peace; I have forgotten happiness. So I say, “My strength has failed, and so has my hope from the Lord. ”Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and bitterness. My soul certainly remembers, and is bent over within me. I recall this to my mind, therefore I wait. 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.”

 The Lord is good to those who await Him, to the person who seeks Him.

 It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and keep quiet, since He has laid it on him. Let him put his mouth in the dust; perhaps there is hope. Let him give his cheek to the one who is going to strike him; let him be filled with shame.

 For the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion”

 God says to Isaiah  in Isaiah 54 7-8, “For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger    I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness    I will have compassion on you,”    says the Lord your Redeemer.”

God has not abandoned us, He is only preparing us.  This is what our Messiah told His disciples before the crucifixion. John 16: 31-33, “Do you now believe?” Yeshua replied.  “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me. “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1 John 5:4 tells us this, “For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.”

Yes, God is preparing us for this new year, 2021 and possibly many years after. As we entered into the new decade last year, we saw what it brought and this whole decade may be a time of trials. Yeshua said this to His disciples in Matthew 16:2-3  “But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’  And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times?”

We too, must discern the times. 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.”

 God has not abandoned us. He will never leave us or forsake us, but we must draw close to God, like never before. This is the time to let go of the world and hold on to God. He is our salvation.  He is our hope. He is our refuge in the times of trouble. Draw close to God and He will draw close to you. Does this mean that everything will be the way I want it to be? No, this means that you will make it through the storms of life.  Yeshua told His disciples this also in Mathew 24:4-14,

“Yeshua answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”

The Clarion just finished this month on it’s 8 part series of  “Running with Horses.”  We need to look good and hard at the signs of the times and we must be ready and alert. This is not the time to be sleeping, we must have oil in our lamps, waiting for the return of our Bridegroom. Does this mean that He is coming this year? No one knows the day or the time but we do know the signs. This new year we must draw ever so close to God. we must learn to walk with Him and trust Him in all situations. And know this, we may not know the future, but He does, and He will be with us, if we stay close to Him. Let us pray for a revival and a renewal of our lives. Let us truly be that light in the darkness. Let us truly be that clarion, shouting from the rooftop. Let us be like John the Baptist, one crying out in the wilderness, “prepare ye the way of the Lord.” This is our time to shine, our time to advance the Kingdom, our time to bear fruit. Trust in the Lord, for He will not forsake us, but will we forsake Him? Put on the full Armor of God and when you have done all that you can, then stand!  Who will be standing when the Lord returns?  Will it be You? Then put on faith and take hold of the Sword of the Spirit and I say, “Onward Christian Soldiers” for there is a battle to be won.

God Bless His people in 2021

Laying The Foundation

Today all we hear is the sins of our founding fathers and how we should reject all that they did. But what about the sins of our forefathers who passed on their religious beliefs?  To answer this question we must look back with eyes that see clearly. So let’s take a closer look into church history. I think you may be amazed at what you are going to hear. But first we must establish a foundation.

 Moses, before  he died, spoke to the children of Israel and once again repeated the Ten Commandments to them.  Deuteronomy 5:8-10 says this about the sins of the fathers, 

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.  You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, even on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,  but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Messiah Yeshua

Yeshua was Jewish, born of Jewish parents, with a Jewish genealogy, from  the line of David. During the life of our Messiah, He never once told  His followers who were Jewish that He was beginning a new religion. Not once did He ever say, “Do not keep the Commandments, or the Sabbath, or the Biblical Feasts of God” mentioned in Leviticus 23. No! He said just the opposite. Matthew 5:17-19, “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!  Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

We have a long way to go before God’s Word has accomplished all that it needs to accomplish and heaven and earth are still here and so every stroke of the pen is still enforced and has value. As far as the Sabbaths, In Mark 2: 27-28 says this,  “Yeshua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

And regarding the Biblical Feasts, we see time and time again Yeshua keeping the Feast days; John 7:37-38, Yeshua at the Feast of Tabernacles, John 2:13-23, Yeshua keeping Passover. 

The Apostles

During the life of the twelve Apostles, who were Jewish, did they ever say, “We are beginning a new religion, or do not keep the Commandments, or the Sabbath, or the Biblical Feasts of God”?  On the day of Pentecost when Peter stood up and preached to thousands of Jewish people who were in Jerusalem for the Feast, not once did Peter tell the crowd that they were beginning a new religion. On that day 3,000 Jewish believers accepted the Messiah, and shortly after in Acts 4:4 5,000 also. Not Peter or any other Apostle, ever started any new religion. All those on Pentecost went back to their homelands, and still worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath, but now their lives were complete because of Yeshua the Messiah.

God Fearers

All throughout the journey in the wilderness there were people who sojourned with Israel because they saw and knew that Israel believed in the One True God. They did all that the Jewish people did. In fact God commanded it so. They lived like them and worshiped like them. In the days of the Messiah, there were still people who clung to Israel, they were called God Fearers. Luke 7:1-10 tells us this story.  We will look at verses 2-5,  “Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.  When he heard about Yeshua, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.  When they came to Yeshua, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;  for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

We know or should know that after Yesua’s victory on the cross over Satan, that he would do everything in his power to destroy that victory,  and we will see as we go on in time that he did just that. But the powers of evil will never undo what Yeshua did on the cross, no matter how much the devil does to destroy that truth. 

God is truth and His truth is eternal, but we must search for truth, for truth is not with man, but with God.

James

James Hatzaddik, (The Righteous), was the brother of Yeshua. James was a Nazarite and he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, (Episkopos in Greek). A bishop was an overseer or elder of a congregation. A Nasi in Hebrew, was a prince or the head. We see Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7  explain the duties of an overseer. “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching,  not overindulging in wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity  (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),  and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.”

 James was the head of the Jerusalem Congregation, and the head of the 1st Council called the Jerusalem Council, which we will see in a moment. Tradition tells us that James was appointed by Yeshua, prior to Yeshua’s ascension into heaven. James, now was the steward of the throne of David. In 62CE James was martyred along with five other of his disciples. In reading the Book of James, you will never find him telling his readers not to obey the Commandments or not to keep the Sabbath or the Biblical Feasts of God.

Paul

Paul, during his lifetime, never said that he was starting a new religion, nor did he ever say, “ Do not keep the Commandments, or the Sabbath, or the Biblical Feasts of God.” No, he never said any of this because the Jewish people would have never thought to not keep the Commandments and Sabbaths of the Lord.

When Paul went to the Gentiles, which was part of God’s plan from the beginning, he spoke to them about the One True God. These people were pagans. They worshiped many gods. They had no knowledge of the One True God. They had no knowledge of the Messiah Yeshua, but when they came to believe, then  they too, worshiped right alongside the Jewish people in their synagogues. There was no new religion. There was just one form of worship, just as God is One. 

Jewish Form of Worship

We must realize that churches as we know them did not come for many centuries later as we will see as we go along. The only form of worship was Jewish.

“Synagogue” is a Greek word that literally means a gathering of people, like when the believers would meet at Solomon’s Portico, Act 5:12, “At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.” But it can also refer to the place of assembly. Synagogues were used for a variety of communal needs: such as schools, for communal meals, as courts (Acts 22:19), as a place to collect and distribute charity (Matt 6:2). Worship also took place in first-century synagogues.  Synagogues today are not like the synagogues in the days of the apostles.  Nonetheless, reading and interpreting the Torah and the Prophets are well attested to in first-century synagogues (Acts 15:21), along with communal prayers, (Matt 6:5). We know that Paul went to the synagogue and preached, but we also know that in many places where there were no synagogues, believers met in houses. Over these congregations was an overseer and Paul appointed many of them as we see in Acts 14:23, “After appointing elders for them in every congregation, Paul  and Barnabas, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust.”

Also in Titus 1:4-5, “To Titus, my true son in a common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Messiah Yeshua our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.”

So now let’s look forward, beginning with the Jerusalem Council, which took place around the year 50 Common Era. The question that was being asked was, “Do Gentiles who are coming to the faith need to be circumcised?”  This question is what Paul dealt with throughout his whole ministry.  Paul called it, “My Gospel.”(Romans 2:16,16:25) It was given to him by God, because he was chosen to go to the Gentiles. Ephesian 3:2-10 tells us this, “If indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you;  that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Messiah,  which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;  to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Messiah Yeshua through the gospel,  of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.  To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Messiah, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”

Paul died defending his gospel which was simply Gentiles did not need to go through the ritual of  becoming Jewish, which  circumcision was a part of, nor did Gentiles need to be circumcised to be saved, for circumcision did not save us, but the shed blood of Messiah did. When reading the Epistles of Paul you must keep in mind that this is the background for all he taught, and you need to place this background into interpreting his teachings. Paul did not start a new religion for Gentile believers, Paul tells us in  Philippines 3:3-6, “For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship by the Holy Spirit and glory in Messiah Yeshua and have not depended on the flesh— though I myself might have confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he might depend on the flesh, I far more—  circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel; from the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Torah, a Pharisee;  as for zeal, persecuting Messiah’s community; as for Torah righteousness, found blameless.” Paul did not say I used to be.  

Next we will  look at the Jerusalem Council.

The Psalmist writes, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”

Do we ever meditate on the name of God? Do we ever think about how much power is in the name of God? God has many names and each of His names tell about His greatness. 

Let’s start with Elohim which means God the Creator, Genesis 1:1. 

 John 1:1-4,14 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.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

Yahweh  means I AM…I Am, I was, I will be, Exodus 3:14-15.

Hebrew 13: 8 says, “Messiah Yeshua  is the same yesterday and today, and forever.”

El Roi  means God sees me, Genesis 16:13-14.

John 1:47-49 says this, “Yeshua saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”  Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Yeshua answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”  Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!”

El Shaddai means the all sufficient one, God Almighty…the God who supplies all our needs, Genesis 17:1-2.

Isaiah 9:6 tells us this about Yeshua, “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.”

El Olam which means, He who has no beginning and has no end… the Lord Eternal, Genesis 21:32-33.

1 John 1:1-2 says, “ [We are writing] about the Word of Life [in] Him Who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our [own] eyes, Whom we have gazed upon [for ourselves] and have touched with our [own] hands.  And the Life [an aspect of His being] was revealed (made manifest, demonstrated), and we saw [as eyewitnesses] and are testifying to and declare to you the Life, the eternal Life [in Him] Who already existed with the Father and Who [actually] was made visible (was revealed) to us [His followers].”

Adoni means, Lord and Master, Psalm 16:2.

John 13:13 tells us, You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

Yahweh Rapha means God is our Healer, Exodus 15:26

Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us this “However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Yahweh Shalom means He is our peace, Judges 6:24.

Ephesians 2:14-16 tells us,  “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, (one must become ceremonially Jewish to be saved) so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace;  and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross ,by it having put to death the hostility.”

Yahweh Roi  means God is My shepherd, Psalm 23:1.

John 10:11-16 says this, “I am the Good Shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.  He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.  I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,  just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd.”

Basileus Basileon comes from the Greek meaning King of Kings referring to God Almighty. 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Revelation 19: 11-16 says,  “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.  He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”’

John 10: 29-30,38 “ Yeshua tells us this, I give them (My sheep) eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

“But if I do them, (works) even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”

 John 14: 9 says this, Yeshua said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Here are ten names to consider when you come into God’s presence, and when you stand praying, believe in the power of His Name.

And Yeshua and only the name Yeshua means God’s Salvation.

Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.”

Yeshua Hamashiach: the Anointed Salvation of God

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.”

All throughout God’s Word, God asks us to remember. In  Luke 22: 19, Yeshua tells His disciples when doing the Passover Seder, and they get to the part of the Afikomen, to remember Him. “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  

 Remember Him for what? Remember His death. So we want to remember the Holocaust. We want to remember their death. Why is it important to remember the Holocaust? Probably for the same reason we remember 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. Atrocities done to humanity should never be forgotten. We have an obligation to remember, and to learn from it, so that it may never happen again. What happens to one, happens to all of us, because we are all part of humanity. We all share this planet and we must all coexist on it in a civilized manner. 

John 13:34-35 tells us this, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This does not say only to love one another but Yeshua says that we are to love, as He  has loved us. And how has Yeshua loved us?  By laying down His life for us

 John 15:13 continues to say, “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.” 

If we are to love like our Messiah loved then we are to lay down our lives for one another. Now, this does not sound like we should be annihilating one another.  Today we have so many activists protesting about one thing or another, but we do not see anyone protesting against countries or people who are mistreating or persecuting or systematically eliminating a whole culture or religion or nationality of people. We need not go any further than those who rule with their ideologies. We have done a thirteen part series on “The Sins of our Forefathers.” In this series we discuss the attitude that many theologians had toward the Jewish people. But Paul reminds us in Romans 3:2, that the Jewish people were entrusted with the Word of God. Romans 9:4-5 says this, 

“Who are the Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, (Ten commandments) the temple service,(worship) and the promises;  whose are the fathers, (the Patriarchs) and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen”

Romans 11:17-18 tells us, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”

Again we are told to remember. We seem to forget that Yeshua was Jewish. Our roots are Jewish roots. We must look and act like our Messiah, that is the true definition of a disciple. He told us to love one another.  

The Jewish Deicide is a notion that the Jews collectively were responsible for killing the Messiah. The notion arose in early Christianity; the charge was made by Justin Martyr and Melito of Sardis as early as the 2nd century. The accusation that the Jews were Christ-killers fed Christian anti-Semitism and spurred on acts of violence against Jews such as pogroms, massacres of Jews during the Crusades, expulsions of the Jews from England, France, Spain, Portugal and other places, and torture during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. 

The text of Matthew 27:24-25 has been the Scripture that they hung their hat on. “Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you yourselves shall see.”  And all the people replied, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” This was an organized mob that the elite Jews formed for this very purpose. Remember thousands of people would come and gather to hear the Messiah speak. It was not them who condemned Him to death.  John Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople and is known for his fanatical anti-Semitism, collected in his homilies, such as Adversus Judaeos. The charge of Jewish Deicide was the cornerstone of his theology, and he was the first to use the term deicide and the first Christian preacher to apply the word deicide to Jews collectively. He held that for this putative ‘deicide’, there was no expiation, pardon or indulgence possible. This idea that the Jews killed the Messiah went on through the centuries. But in the catechism which was produced by the Council of Trent in the mid-16th Century, the Catholic Church taught the belief that the collectivity of sinful humanity was responsible for the death of Jesus, not only the Jews. Even though this proclamation was made there were still people who did not believe it to be true and held the Jews totally responsible. Nero and the other Caesars did not know such teaching, but Hitler should have known. We are going to take a closer look at Adolph Hitler and his view of Christianity and the Jewish people to help understand what took place, and why and to see how people come to conclusions that are extreme because of teachings that are not true. According to Wikipedia and other historic writings, “Hitler was born to a practicing Catholic mother, Klara Hitler, and was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church; his father, Alois Hitler, was a free-thinker and skeptical of the Catholic Church. In 1904, he was confirmed at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Linz, Austria, where the family lived. According to John Willard Toland, witnesses indicate that Hitler’s confirmation sponsor had to “drag the words out of him … almost as though the whole confirmation was repugnant to him”. Hitler biographer John Toland offers the opinion that Hitler “carried within him its teaching that the Jew was the killer of God. Their extermination, therefore, could be done without a twinge of conscience since he was merely acting as the avenging hand of God …” Later Hitler called himself a German Christian. The German Christians were a Protestant group that supported Nazi Ideology. Hitler and the Nazi party also promoted “nondenominational” positive Christianity, a movement which rejected most traditional Christian doctrines such as the divinity of Jesus, as well as Jewish elements such as the Old Testament. Eventually Hitler no longer believed in anything Christian. He believed that there was one god,  and that was Germany. According to Table Talk, Hitler believed that Jesus’ true Christian teachings had been corrupted by the apostle Paul, who had transformed them into a kind of Jewish Bolshevism, which Hitler believed preached “the equality of all men amongst themselves, and their obedience to an only God and this is what caused the death of the Roman Empire.”

 Hitler had admired the pomp of Catholic ritual and the hierarchical organization of the clergy. Later he drew on these elements, organizing his party along hierarchical lines and including liturgical forms into events or using phraseology taken from hymns. Because of these liturgical elements, Hitler had a messiah-like status and the ideology’s totalitarian nature, the Nazi movement, like other fascist movements and communism, is sometimes termed a “political religion” that is anti-ecclesiastical and anti-religious. Throughout Hitler’s life he went back and forth on his ideas of Christianity, but true Christianity was never in his heart. Hitler believed in science over Christianity. Germany was his god and he was going to create a new world order. National Socialist ideology developed a racial hierarchy which placed minority groups – most especially the Jews  as subhuman. The categorization was based on the Nazi conception of race, and not on religion, thus Slavs and Poles (who were overwhelmingly Christian) were also grouped as inferior to the so-called “Aryan” peoples. Hitler espoused a ruthless policy of “negative eugenic selection”, believing that world history consisted of a struggle for survival between races, in which the Jews plotted to undermine the Germans, and inferior groups like Slavs and defective individuals in the German gene pool, threatened the Aryan “master race”. Writing for the public in Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Jews as enemies of all civilization and as materialistic, unspiritual beings: “His life is only of this world, and his spirit is inwardly as alien to true Christianity as his nature two thousand years previous was to the great founder of the new doctrine.” In the work, he also described a supposedly divine mandate for his anti-Semitism: “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”

But Hitler had no regard for the Catholic Church either. Hitler promulgated the sterilization law, and began work to dissolve the Catholic Youth League. Clergy, nuns and lay leaders began to be targeted, leading to thousands of arrests over the ensuing years, often on trumped up charges of currency smuggling or “immorality”. Catholic publications were shut down. The Gestapo began to violate the sanctity of the confessional. On Protestantism, Hitler proposed to unite Germany’s 28 Protestant churches into one Reich Church, which was the German Evangelical Church. Hitler stated to Albert Speer, “Through me the Protestant Church could become the established church, as in England.” Steigmann-Gall wrote that Hitler demonstrated a preference for Protestantism over Catholicism, as Protestantism was more liable to reinterpretation and non-traditional readings, more receptive to “positive Christianity”, and because some of its liberal branches had held similar views. Hitler’s interest was opportunistic: “From Hitler’s point of view, a national church was of interest purely from a point of view of control and manipulation”, wrote Kershaw He installed his friend Ludwig Müller as leader of the movement and sought to establish a pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic unified Reich Church. We have seen that nothing good can come from those who only want power and control. They don’t care whose lives they ruin or eliminate. It is important that we teach the Word of God in the true light. The church has taken many Scriptures and incorrectly interpreted them to align with their doctrine. This is sad but true, and it cost 6 million Jewish people to lose their lives and it ruined the lives of millions of others. The Jews did not kill the Messiah, it was our sins.  Isaiah 53:4-5 says, “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”

 Yeshua tells us this in  John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back.  No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.” Yeshua was a Jew and He did not hate the Pharisees or anyone else. He came to correctly teach the Word of God, not to eliminate it. He did not eliminate the Hebrew Scriptures, which we call old and not necessary. And He did not in any way, shape or form, tell us that the Jewish people were no good or enemies of God. We have been grafted into Israel and they support us and not the other way around. The Hebrew Scriptures are the foundation to all other Scriptures, because God’s Word is eternal. Yeshua quoted them regularly. Today as believers we must remember and ask forgiveness for our forefathers who caused the death of so many people throughout history. Yes, we must repent, because we are part of humanity. Today, anti-Semitism is on the rise and history will repeat itself. We must stand with  the Jewish people, because they are the root that supports us. Revelation 12:17, speaking of the Antichrist says, “So the dragon was enraged with the woman,(Israel)  and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Yeshua).”

The evil forces are not only going after the Jewish people, but those who also believe in Messiah Yeshua, Christians. Let’s stand with Israel, and the Jewish people in whom we have been grafted into. Their plight is our plight, their persecution is our persecution, their God is our God, so we must stand together, because history is repeating itself.

Welcome

There is a poem called “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti. The first two verses says this, In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; 

snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Even though December begins the season of Winter, when night is at its darkest point, there are still many things that we can find to be thankful for. Maybe that is why Thanksgiving comes right before this time.  Even though Messiah was not born in December, we celebrate the Season of Light of Christmas and Hannukah. Yeshua is the Light to the World and as the world grows darker with  the increase of lawlessness, our lives must be light for we are the children of light as 1 Thessalonians 5:5 tells us,  “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:8 continues saying, “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.” 

So let us end the year with our light shining, and in so doing, fulfilling Isaiah 9:2,

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

God bless your Holiday Season, not with worldly blessing, but with the Light of His love shining upon you.

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26

Egypt: Moses in Midian, Part 6 

Last month we read that Moses, this “good” child, became the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. Exodus 2:11-14 goes on to tell us this, “ Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.  So he looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.  Now he went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”  But he said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known! When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”

 Did we not see this with Abraham’s servant? Genesis 24: 11-14,  “He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water when it was evening, the time when women go out to draw water.  And he said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.  Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;  now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

We also saw that Jacob met Rachel by the well in Genesis 29:1-3,9, “Then Jacob set out on his journey, and went to the land of the people of the east.  He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.  When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.   ‘While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.”

Hebrews 11: 25-27 says, “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of the king, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Messiah  than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.  And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger.”

Moses knew his heritage and he chose his people over the people of Egypt. This did not just happen, No! Moses had a calling from God, just like Joseph. Joseph told his brother this in Genesis 50:19-20, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.”

This was so for Moses, for he too saved a people, but first Moses had to leave Egypt for a while.  The writer of Hebrews knew that Moses did not know about the sufferings of Messiah, but he did, and he likened Moses to the Messiah.

Exodus 2:16-22 continues. “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.  Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.  When they came to their father Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”  And Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.  Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

So let’s look at this closer.  Midian was east of the Jordan River. The Midianites were descended from Midian, a son of Abraham through his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6). Remember it was the Midianites who pulled Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. In the book of Judges it seems to support the idea that the Midianites merged with Israel, especially the Kenites. The Kenites were the descendants of Jethro, the Midianite priest. According to Judges 1:16, The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms (Jericho) with the men of Judah to live among the people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad. Later, the wife of a man named Heber the Kenite played a major role in the Israelite victory commemorated in the “Song of Deborah.” Heber’s wife Jael lured the Canaanite commander Sisera into her tent and assassinated him in his sleep. The Bible preserves a lengthy poem describing the event, which declares: “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women” (Judges 5:24). Later, when King Saul is commanded by God to destroy the Amalekites, among whom some of the Kenites dwell, the Kenites are spared by being given a warning to move away from the Amalekites before the slaughter begins (1 Samuel 15:6).

 So now that we know about the Midianites let’s consider Moses. Like Joseph, Moses also dressed and looked like an Egyptian, and he also spoke their language, and like Joseph, Moses married a girl whose father was a priest. Reuel’s name means “friend of God” and when he took in Moses, he surely was a friend of God. But there seems to be  a conflict in Scriptures for in one place they call him Reuel (Exodus 2) and in another place they call him Jethro (Exodus 18:1-18) and still in another place they call him Hobab (Judges 4:11). Some believe that Reuel was the grandfather to the girls, and that Hobab was Reuel’s son. 

According to Rabbi Dovid  Rosenfeld, there are also those who suggest that Reuel was not Moses’s father-in-law but his grandfather-in-law, Jethro’s father – as implied by “Hobab son of Reuel” of Numbers 10:29. Although when Moses first arrived and helped water the family flocks the Torah states that the girls returned to “Reuel their father,” that might be because young children will often call their grandfather “abba” which is father (Sifri Numbers 10:29). 

Exodus 2:23-25, “Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.  So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.”

Because this took place in the Prehistoric Era, it is hard to determine the timeline of all of these events. Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg, a Senior Fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, published an article in the Jerusalem Post in 2015 suggesting that the Hebrews were enslaved for a wave of building projects instituted by Akhenaten, an iconoclastic but unpopular ruler. Upon his death, the crown passed to his son-in-law Tutankhaten, later called Tutankhamun. In about 1325 BCE Tutankhamun was forcibly succeeded by his general Horemheb. This also fits in well with the fall of the walls of Jericho, which its British excavator Kathleen Kenyon placed during the fourteenth century BCE. David Rohl‘s 1995 A Test of Time revised Egyptian history by shortening the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt by almost 300 years. As a result, the synchronisms with the Biblical narrative results in the Second Intermediate Period when King Dedumose II, who died in 1690 BCE, as the pharaoh of the Exodus. 

Whomever he was, this Pharaoh died and God is about to send Moses back to Egypt.

Next month we will continue with the story of Moses.

Podcast: Encouraging Moments  8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ephesians 3:20-21

A Thread

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  FAITH: faith in the Lord that He will see us through our strife and pain.

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  TRUST: trust in the Lord that He will take care of our needs.

Our life is but a thread— a thread held together by  HOPE: hope in the Lord that He will always be with us.

Sandiegram/Storms/copyright 2010

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

Hebrew Corner:       The Martyrs, Matthew

Matthew, who was one of the twelve disciples, a Galilean, who may have been a Syrian, was also one of  the four  Evangelists, so he is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. We read about the calling of Matthew in his gospel. Many people do not believe that Matthew wrote this gospel because he does not claim to be an eye witness. The tradition that the author was the disciple Matthew begins with the early Christian bishop Papias of Hierapolis (c. AD 60–163), who is cited by the Church historian Eusebius (AD 260–340), as follows: “Matthew collected the oracles about Jesus) in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could.” On the surface, this has been taken to imply that Matthew’s gospel itself was written in Hebrew or Aramaic by the apostle Matthew and later translated into Greek, by the Apostle James, but no one knows for sure. Matthew 9:9-13, “As Yeshua went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Yeshua was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Yeshua said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:13-14 tells it a little differently, “Once again Yeshua went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them.  As He walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” Yeshua told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.”

Matthew was sitting by the customs house in Capernaum when Yeshua called him into His company. Assuming that the identification of Matthew with Levi is correct, Matthew (probably meaning “Yahweh’s Gift”) would appear to be the Greek name of Levi (called by Mark “Levi the son of Alphaeus”), who had been employed as a tax collector in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. Countries evangelized by Matthew,  almost always mention Ethiopia to the south of the Caspian Sea (not Ethiopia in Africa), and some Persia and the kingdom of the Parthians, Macedonia, and Syria. He suffered Martyrdom in 60 CE, but it is not known if he was stoned, burned or beheaded. One thing is for sure, that God can use any one, a fisherman, or a sinful tax collector, either educated like Paul or a simple laborer, God can take even a broken vessel, and remold it, and shape it  into a vessel of honor.

Welcome

God’s blessing on the New Year and what a year it may turn out to be. Every new beginning is a new chance in life. It is a new chapter that needs to be written, and to some extent, we have the choice on what will be written. Every day is from God and so every day, we must pray and seek Him out as to what is His will for us that day. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” But it goes beyond even that as Proverbs 3:13-18 says, “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.”

Can you imagine that you today can eat from the tree of life? God’s wisdom can only be found in His Word.  The things of this world can not give you anything that compares to God’s Word.  Knowing and living by God’s Word leads you on the path to peace, but not only to peace, but eternal life. This is what the tree of life is all about, eternal life. This is what Adam and Eve could have had if they had just kept eating from the tree of life. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us,  “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.”

Today, let your New Year’s resolution be reading and living by God’s Word daily, and then God will write His Word on your heart. This is the New Covenant blessing.

Egypt: The Calling of Moses, Part 7

Last month we left off with the king of Egypt dying and God looking upon the suffering of His people. Exodus 3:1-6 says,  “Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.  So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!”  When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  And He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Moses spent forty years in the household of Jethro tending his flocks.  Numbers 12:3 tells us, “Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.”

You can well imagine how it must have been quite the change for Moses going from the riches of Egypt to the poor and lowly life of being a shepherd. During this time God was preparing Moses, and the biggest change was learning humility. In Egypt Moses would have ruled in power and might, but now he will also rule, but with humility and mercy. From the above Scripture we see that Moses finally meets the God of the Hebrews. This is a foreshadowing of things to come. One day Moses will meet God on this same mountain also in blazing fire.  This is what we call a divine appointment. It was not by chance that Moses brought his sheep to the west side of the wilderness. One, the wilderness was in the direction of going back to Egypt. Two, Horeb is the same mountain range which is referred to as the mountain of God, Mount Sinai is the mountain peak that Moses will one day come to. God calls out  Moses, Moses, just like He called Abraham and Jacob twice  and Moses says, “Here I am,” as if he too, is one of the patriarchs. God tells Him to remove his sandals. We also see this in Joshua 5:15, “And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” Today we are not taught about the holiness of God. Semitic culture regards any place of worship where God is present that they remove their shoes. This is for the Muslims in their Mosques and the Jews also at holy sites. We see that Moses hid his face.  Moses hides his face, but one day he will ask to see the face of God.

Only one who is that intimate with God would have such a request. Moses knew the holiness of God, because he saw God’s glory leave him at the cleft of the rock, in Exodus 33: 22. God reaffirms to Moses that He is his God, and that He is the same God of his forefathers. Exodus 3: 7-12 continues, And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.  So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.  And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”  But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”  And He said, “Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

First, we would like to say that as God saw Joseph when he was sold into slavery, so too, God saw the whole family of Israel while they were in slavery all those years. God took Joseph out of slavery and elevated him and so too, God will take Israel out of slavery and elevate them in the promised land. So Moses finally realizes that he has been called to a great task, and that all that has happened in his life right up to that very moment was for this reason. When he heard God say, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people,” Moses knew that his God was all knowing and all seeing and ever present. Soon he will see that his God is also all powerful. The Hebrews are about to go back to the land of their forefathers. Now, God tells Moses that he will have to go back and face Pharoah. Now this will not be the same Pharoah as when he left, for he had died. Moses knew that he no longer had any influence in Egypt, and especially with the Pharaoh. You have to realize that in Hebrews 11 where it says that Moses refused Egypt, what he was refusing was the throne of Egypt in which he was next in line.  Moses argues with God that the people will not receive him and Pharoah will not receive him, so God demonstrates to Moses different signs to perform. It was like Moses was trying to give God every excuse in the book and then he tells God this, Exodus 4:10-17, “Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” TIME OUT! Acts 7:20-22 tells us this, “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” Let’s continue in Exodus 4:11-17, “But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.”  But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.” Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.  So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do.  He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.  And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

God knew very well that Moses could talk as one who would have been Pharaoh one day, and that was why He was sending Moses to Pharaoh. God could have easily sent an angel to Pharoah. So Moses took his wife and two sons and left for Egypt. But a strange thing happens on the way back. Exodus 4: 24-26 says this, “But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met Moses, and sought to put him to death.  So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—because of the circumcision.” This obscure Scripture is a foreshadowing of two things, the death of the first born at the time of the Passover Seder when they put the blood on the doorposts and the death angel passed over, and circumcision, which was the requirement for  those who partook of the seder. Exodus 13:11-15 also says this, “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,  you shall devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord.  But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.  And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 

Next month we will continue with Moses back in Egypt.

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A Smile Goes A Long Way

There are so many people who go through the day without anyone smiling at them. You may say, so what! Well, a smile is a sign of encouragement. When a person smiles at another person it’s like saying, “I’m with you,” “I’m for you,” “I’m on your side.” It gives that person  emotional support, which gives them strength. It’s like saying, “You’re not alone.”  “I see you.”

There is a song written by Diane Eve Warren called “When I See You Smile.” “When I see you smile I can face the world. Oh oh, you know I can do anything when I see you smile. I see a ray of light, Oh oh, I see it shining right through the rain. When I see you smile Oh yeah, baby when I see you smile at me.”

No one knows what a person may be going through at any given point in their life. Many people can hide it from the world to see. It could be the person sitting next to you in school or a neighbor or even your friend. But we shouldn’t have to know what a person is feeling for us to do the right thing, and that is to acknowledge a person by a simple smile. There are so many people committing suicide because they have lost all hope. What if someone would have just given that person a smile?  A smile would have said, “It’s OK,  there is always hope. There will be a tomorrow. Someone sees you, I see you.” The song goes on to say,  “Sometimes I want to give up. I want to give in, I want to quit the fight and then I see you baby and everything’s alright, everything’s alright.”

If you are reading this and this is how you feel, know this, that God sees you and His face is shining upon you. There is a blessing that God spoke to His priests, and He told them how to bless the people. “ May the Lord  smile down on you and show you His kindness. May the Lord answer your prayers  and give you peace.” There is nothing hidden from God’s sight. There is nothing that He does not hear or know. God loves us and that is why He created us to smile, because He knew that a smile would bring healing and hope and strength to those who were in need of these things. A simple smile can go a long way. Why not try it, it really won’t hurt to crack a smile to someone you do not know. Maybe that person will lift up his head and thank God for you.  When I see you smile I can face the world! It’s a nice thought for a simple action.

Hebrew Corner :                  The Martyrs

James the Less

James was born in Galilee  James was also known as James the “Minor” or even  the “Little” or the “Younger.” James was considered to be the son of Alphaeus, but some believe that he was James the brother of Yeshua, and called lesser because he was called after James the son of Zebedee, who was called the Great, thus leaving James, to be called the Lesser.  He appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles. His mother, Mary, whom John refers to as Mary of Clopas in John 19:25.  There is much confusion around the two James, because both James are referred to as apostles, and both James had brothers named Mark and Matthew and both had mothers named Mary. John 19:25 says,   “Now beside the cross of Yeshua stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene Mark 15:47 says this, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching to see where He was laid.” Mark 16:1 says this about James’s mother. “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him.” This could mean that James was a cousin to the Messiah. There were the twelve apostles and then there were the seventy apostles, so it is safe to say that He was a disciple of Yeshua. James the Less is one of the least known among the disciples, even if he was the brother of Yeshua, or cousin  we do know that he followed Yeshua and went on to live a life in the manner of all the disciples in preaching the Word of God and testifying to the Messiah.  1 John 4:14,  “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” If he was the Messiah’s brother then we know that he was the elder over the Jerusalem Church and held the Council of Jerusalem in the book of Acts, 50CE. Peter, and other Church leaders discussed whether Gentiles, or people who were not Jewish, could become followers of Messiah. James listened carefully to the discussion and helped the group to decide that the Church was open to all and that all people could be saved by living as followers of the Messiah and did not need to be circumcised. James was martyred in the year 62CE. Although he had the respect of most people, some of the scribes and Pharisees were jealous of his hold over the people. He was thrown from the walls of the Temple for refusing to renounce his faith in Messiah, then stoned and clubbed to death after he fell, still praying for those who were killing him. He is usually shown in art holding a book and a club. He is the patron saint of pharmacists, fullers and hatmakers, all of whom use clubs in their work.

God created such a beautiful place for us to dwell. He took the matter into His own hands and worked it like a Potter with His clay, molding it, and fashioning it to His liking.  Like a Sculptor, He chiseled out the mountains, and dug out the rich green valleys, and the waters go on as far as the eye can see. He painted a picture of many colors, a masterpiece when completed, and He hung it in the universe for all to see, and He sprinkled the vastness with stars to glitter and shine. The Bible is full of the Creation story. It tells us of the glory of the Lord. But we as humans get to experience such great workmanship. The details in every part of the human body is beyond our knowledge. The incredible speed of sound and light that just keep going forever. The variety of animals and trees and different foods to eat for our enjoyment. The Earth was truly a paradise. God created a garden for Adam and Eve to enjoy and they did. They were eternal creatures shining like the sun, with nothing to fear, till they sinned and became mere mortals, who would one day die. They lost the glory of the Lord that shone around them, and they saw themselves for who they truly were, naked and vulnerable and the earth was cursed along with man. Genesis 3:17-19 says,  “Cursed is the ground because of you; with hard labor you shall eat from it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; 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.”

The animals that they once enjoyed, now feared them. Today we are living in a world that has fallen due to Adam and Eve. But the world did not lose all of its beauty; yet, it still is not the same. The world is broken and sin has destroyed much of  its beauty, but God in His mercy has kept the foundation of the world intact.  We still have the hope of a renewed earth when Yeshua will come back and restore all things, even though war after war will destroy our habitations, and its destruction will destroy society as a whole, and the light that once shone will keep turning into darkness, but Yeshua will come back and makes all things new again.  As Acts 3: 20b-21 tells us, “God will send Him (Messiah) back to you again.  Yeshua must stay in heaven until the day that God will cause everything to become new again.”  

So the world will return to all of its original  glory in what is called the Millennium or the Messianic Age when Yeshua will sit on the throne of King David for 1,000 years. 

Ezekiel 36:33-36 tells us this about the restoration,  “This is what the Lord God  says: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the cities, and the places of ruins will be rebuilt.  The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by.  And they will say, ‘This desolated land has become like the Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’  Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.”

Isaiah 11: 6-9 speaks of the restoration with the animals.  “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Revelation 21:15-21 speaks of the New Jerusalem that will come down after the 1,000 year reign of the Messiah. “The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.  The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal.  And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.  The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.  The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;  the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” So I say all of this, to say this, why do we fear death? With all the beauty that is around us in this life, and the beauty that will come in the restoration of the earth  during the Messianic Age, and the beauty beyond what we can even imagine in the life eternal when God will have His eternal new city with such beauty and His glory shining forever, why do we think that there is no beauty in death? Would not this same God have created a place for us to go to after we die that is also filled with the glory of God?  Would not God’s presence be there also?  Psalm 139:7-10 says,  “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.”

Yes, our bodies may go back to the dust of the earth, but our spirit lives on. We do not sleep as some people teach. Soul sleep is just all wrong and is only a new concept. Sleep in the Bible is only a Jewish idiom, like when we say it is raining cats and dogs. Well, we all know that cats and dogs are not coming down like rain. So too, with sleep. Yes, the body rests in the earth, but we have an eternal spirit, and that spirit when it crosses over the divide, no longer feels pain or tiredness or hunger, because these are things only known to the body. We have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear, because God dwells inside us. He is a spirit and He sees and hears. The angels are spirits and they see and hear. They fight a spiritual battle with spiritual weapons, like we fight a spiritual battle by putting on the Armor of God and speaking truth to lies. And who do the angels  and we fight, but the devil himself and all of His demons who are also spirits.  God and His angels reside in a real place, the throne room of God where they continually cry Holy, Holy, Holy!  There is a real place where all those who have gone before us reside in the beauty of the Lord. I’m sure that this place is no different than the Garden of Eden, Paradise, as Yeshua called it in Luke 23:42-43, “And he (the thief on the cross) said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Now does that sound like you’re sleeping?  

No! No, you will be with your loved ones and friends just basking in the beauty and the glory of the Lord. There is a song called, “Death Shall Not Destroy My Comfort”  written by Max Wilberg and is song by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir If you fear death, then keep these God given words close to you.

“Death shall not destroy my comfort. Christ shall guide me through the gloom.

Down, He’ll send some Heav’nly convoy to escort my spirit home.

Jordan’s stream shall not o’er flow me while my Savior’s by my side.

Canaan, Canaan lies before me! Soon I’ll cross the swelling tide.

See the happy spirits waiting on the banks beyond the stream!

Sweet responses still repeating “Jesus! Jesus!” Is their theme.”

This is the God I know, for He will never leave my side and one more thing,  2 Peter 3:8-9 says this, “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.” 

This reference was made for our benefit, because God does not dwell in time. The estimation of time is that the world, since Adam and Eve left paradise, is about 6,000 years or 6 days ago. Now with that in mind, is there a loved one that can be that far away from you? If Adam and Eve have only been gone 6 days, how about the one who has only been gone, well, less than a thousand years, of course, so they have not even been gone a day. Yes, that’s how close they are to us. They are never far away. Now should we fear death knowing the beauty that awaits us in Paradise?

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Welcome

February is the month of love. 1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us that love never fails. So instead of giving candy and flowers and gifts, maybe show the one you love a little patience and kindness, and do something selfless, and show gratitude not just for one day but for every day. It seems that we only think about our wives or maybe our husband’s on the day we have set aside for love. But how about showing love to those who may need a little love, like the poor, giving them a blessing to show your love or the elderly, pay them a visit. Go to a nursing home and hand out gifts of love to them or maybe even someone who has come to this country and knows no one. Be a friend, be a neighbor, be a concerned co-worker or even be a Christian showing concern for another Christian, or even someone who shares another faith or political opinion.  And of course, love your enemies as Luke 6:32-36 says, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

WOW! Love is powerful, but love is not blind. We must be careful to not fall into a trap that says in my love I must compromise the truth or lower my standards. We are not to quarrel or turn our backs when we see one in need, or who does not measure up to our standards. How one gets themself in need is not for us to determine if love should apply. 1 John 3:17-18 says,  “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

This year let us continue living in the month of love, and by the end of the year, we will count our blessings which we received by showing love to one another.

Egypt: Moses Back in Egypt, Part 8

Last month we read about how God called Moses and told him to go back to Egypt.  So now we find Moses back once again in Egypt. Exodus 4:29-31 starts us off,  “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,  and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,  and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” The people accepted what Moses said,  maybe because they knew Aaron, but now Moses had to face Pharoah. Back in Genesis we read that Pharaoh called Joseph to interpret his dreams, and when he did, Pharaoh accepted him and elevated him to second in command, but now we see Moses who had been second in command and  it will be a whole different story.

Exodus 5:1-5 says this,  “And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”  But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”  Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.”  But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!” Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!”

First we see here that they tell Pharaoh that they need to go on a three day journey. Remember Abraham’s three day journey that resulted in Abraham binding Isaac as the sacrifice?  Genesis 24:3-5 says,  “So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”…And how about the baker and the cup holder whose dreams Joseph interpreted regarding three days?

Genesis 40:12-13, Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;  within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer.”

Genesis 40:18-19, “Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;  within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

Three days had its good points, and it had its bad. For Pharaoh he will find out that a three day journey would have been ok. But he hardened his heart. Pharaoh had cheap labor, and he was building a mighty empire for himself, and no way was he going to stop even for three days. In fact he did just the opposite as Exodus 5: 10-14, 15 tells us,  “So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw.  You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’”  So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.  And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.”  Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

Well this did not sit well with the people. Pharaoh was shrewd and he had Israelites as the foremen of the people. This way they could be angry with their own people, instead of him, but they went to Pharaoh, because they were now being beaten.

“Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants?”

Well, Moses’ worst nightmare had unfolded and his doubt at the burning bush was becoming a reality. This important passage in Exodus 6:1-9 tells us this, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”  God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord;  and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them.  I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.  Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.  Then I will take you as My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians.  I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession; I am the Lord.’”  So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.”

From this Scripture we get the foundation of the Passover story which is the essence of the Passover Seder, this is also the story of our redemption in Messiah. Moses is the suffering servant.  We read in part 6 this scripture from Hebrews 11: 25-27 which says,  “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of the king, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Messiah  than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.  And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger.”

We want to look at a few ways that Moses was like Messiah: (1) In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses makes a prediction: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers.” (2) An evil king/Pharaoh tried to kill him as a baby: Exodus 1:22 …  King Herod tried to kill baby Yeshua: Matthew 2:16. (3) He was hidden from the evil king/Pharaoh: Exodus 2:2…  An angel said to hide the child from the evil King Herod: Matthew 2:13. (4) Moses became a shepherd: Exodus 3:1 …  Yeshua is the Good Shepherd: John 10:11. (5) Moses’ mission was to redeem Israel from slavery of Egypt…Yeshua’s mission was to redeem Israel from the slavery sin. (6) Moses was often rejected by his own people…Yeshua was often rejected by His own people. (7) Moses spent 40 days fasting on the mountain: Exodus 24:18; 34:28…Yeshua spent 40 days fasting in the desert wilderness: Matthew 4:2. (8) Moses performs signs/ miracles…Yeshua performs signs/miracles. (9) Moses offered his life for the salvation of his people after the sin of the Golden Calf: Exodus 32:32-33….Yeshua offered His life for the salvation of the world: Isaiah 53:12; Romans 5:12; 6:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Colossians 1:19-20; 2:14-15; 1 John 1:7; 2:2.

Yes, Moses suffered like Yeshua, Hebrews 5:8 says,  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 11: 24-25 says,  “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,  choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin.” Moses also felt the pain of the people, as Yeshua, and they both showed mercy for the people.

Next month we will look at the plagues as the people will finally leave Egypt.

Safetyzoneforteens.com:           Heroes

Today we have superheroes and heroes and everyday heroes. “Yes,” everyone loves Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. The comic books and theaters made a lot of money on these heroes. We have heroes like firemen who have rushed into burning buildings to save a man and his dog. We have soldiers who have put themselves in the line of fire to save their comrades. But we also have everyday heroes. The unsung hero, that goes unnoticed, except by those they save. It can be a friend or a brother or sister, maybe a husband or wife.  They quietly touch our lives and hold us up when we need a little help. They are always there in the background as a shadow in our night. Bette Midler sang a song called “Wind Beneath My Wings” written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley that touched so many lives. “It might have appeared to go unnoticed but I’ve got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it, I would be nothing without you. Did you ever know that you’re my hero and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle for you are the wind beneath my wings.”

God’s Word tells us this in John 15:13, “There is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for another,” We can not say “I love”, and then when we see someone who needs our help, even if it is just a kind word, we then walk away. 1 John 3: 18 says this, “My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.” People today need love. People today need a true friend. People today need God. Josh Groban sang a song called “You Raise Me Up” written by Brendan Graham and Rolf Loveland. “When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary. When troubles come and my heart burdened be. Then, I am still and wait here in the silence until You come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains, You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas, I am strong  when I am on your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be.”

God will carry us as one who carries a little lamb upon his shoulder. He will hold us when there is no one else. He hears the cries of those who weep in silence and yet we do not call Him a hero, but we can call Him our Father. Today if you need a little wind beneath your wings or maybe your heart is burdened with pain, call on your Heavenly Father and He will carry you on the wings of eagles and bring you to Himself. He will raise you from that storm that’s raging within you, and He will carry you through the fire that burns inside. He will give you a peace, a peace that the world does not know.  Call on Him today.  Trust Him today. He will see you and hear you, and even send you an angel, a wind beneath your wings.

Hebrew Corner:              The Martyrs:  Andrew

Today we want to look at the Apostle Andrew. Andrew was one of the twelve disciples and he was the brother of Peter. Andrew was one of the first apostles that Yeshua called. “As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Yeshua said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.’  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him,”’  Mark 1:16-18.  John 1:40- 41 tells the story this way, “One of the two ( which were disciples of John the Baptist) who heard John say (behold the Lamb of God), and followed Him(Yeshua), was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’”  Andrew found the boy with five barley loaves and the two fish that ended up feeding the 5,ooo, John 6:8. Andrew was there when Yeshua explained about the destruction of the temple, Mark 13:3. Tradition holds that Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in the Greek city of Patras around 60 AD. Like his brother Peter, Andrew allegedly didn’t consider himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus, and tradition claims he was bound—not nailed—to a cross which was hung in an X shape instead of a T. However, the earliest origin of this narrative that we can identify today comes from Acts of Andrew, an apocryphal text which also includes numerous supernatural accounts of Andrew’s miracles which are recorded no where else, and it didn’t emerge for decades, possibly centuries after his death. According to Acts of Andrew, as he hung there dying, Andrew praised the cross as a symbol of Christ’s beautiful redemption: “Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the Body of Christ and adorned with his limbs as though they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear. Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift. Believers know of the great joy that you possess, and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared. I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me exultant as a disciple of the One who was hung upon you…. O blessed Cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs!… Take me, carry me far from men, and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the one who redeemed me by you, may receive me. Hail, O Cross; yes, hail indeed!” In the entry for Andrew, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs says: “He preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations; but on his arrival at Edessa he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Hence the derivation of the term, St. Andrew’s Cross.” Even though there are different accounts about Andrew, we do know that he followed Yeshua and he picked up his cross and laid down his life for the gospel. There are accounts that he brought many Greeks to the saving knowledge of the Messiah.

Over the Centuries there have been many stories, great stories, stories that they even made into movies. But there is no greater story than God’s story. You can not say this is the best of God or that is the best of God, because God has no bounds. There is one time in the Bible that God says this in Hosea 14:4, “The LORD says, ‘Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; My love will know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever.’” 

We know this, that God is love. 1 John 4: 8 tells us this, “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” We also know this, there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for another, John 15:13. We have designated the second month of the year for love. God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son, John 3:16. A son is always second to his father, maybe this is why we chose the second month. The son should always be the image of his father. Yeshua was just that as Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us, “Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently He spoke to us directly through His Son. By His Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God His Father, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what He says, powerful words!” God’s love knows no bounds. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a says this about love, “ Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.  It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.  It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Love knows no bounds so love never ends. When we look at the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 it says much of the same. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control.” This is a picture of the Messiah, the perfect Lamb of God, the Son of the Father. We do not dwell on the love of God. We do not pause and reflect on such great love, and we as children of the same Father, do not resemble His great love.

Isaiah 53 speaks of Messiah’s great love for us,  “He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from Him; He was despised, and we considered Him insignificant. But He lifted up our illnesses, He carried our pain; even though we thought He was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; He endured punishment that made us well; because of His wounds we have been healed. All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack Him. He was treated harshly and afflicted, but He did not even open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not even open His mouth.”

Yes, you could look at it as if it was an injustice done to Him, because He did nothing wrong and yet, He suffered and died for our sins. Yes, love bears all things and endures all things and it is not self-serving. Shouldn’t we be part of this greatest story ever told? As children of the Father, we ought to be like Him. God told the children of Israel that He was holy and they should also be holy, but 

1 Peter 1:16 tells us that we too, must be holy (set-apart). And how are we to live so that we will be holy?  First you must pursue it as Hebrews 12:14 tells us,  “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.” Second, we must lay our lives down as Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service.  Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” 1 Peter 2 1-5 adds this, “So get rid of all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  And yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, if you have experienced the Lord’s kindness. So as you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,  you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Yeshua the Messiah.” And we will end with  Colossians 3: 8-17, “But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices,  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it—  a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Messiah is all, and in all. 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.”

What a story and we are a part of it!

We want to look closer at the meaning of  this Name that is above all names. Philippians 2:5-11 tells us this, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  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 Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Luke 19:9-10 says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Acts 4:12 says this, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

We have exalted the name of Jesus as Savior, King and Lord of all, but is this correct? Let’s look closer.  Alexander the Great brought the Hellenistic civilization to the East more than anyone had done before him. Although many parts of Anatolia and its proximities were already influenced by the Greek language, creating the Empire of Alexander made it more popular than ever before. According to a specialist of ancient languages, it became the main reason why this language was so popular three centuries later – in the times of Messiah. So the known world became Hellenized by the Greeks, we see this with Paul. Paul was his Greek name, but Paul, who was Jewish was called Saul. We must not forget our roots. If we do then we really are not who we say we are. We have been grafted into Israel, not Greece.  Romans 11:17-18 says, “If some of the branches (Israel) were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”

This is why we have been called Judeo-Christians all these years. We have the same God as Creator and Father and we have the same Word  and teachings that we pattern our lives around. And of course, our Messiah is Jewish, even though people think that He and His Apostles started something new and we no longer need to keep the teachings and commandments of God.   We like to think that the Messiah did away with all of that, but that is not true as Matthew 5:17-19 tells us, “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!  Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” 

We want to believe that the Messiah did away with the Hebrew Scriptures, because He says He fulfilled them. I ask you, “When you have finished building a house, do you get rid of its foundation?” The Messiah says, “Not until heaven and earth pass away will one letter or stroke of the pen be nullified.”

We must first learn God’s Word, and then when we hear teachings that do not line up with the Scriptures then we must disregard what is being said. Unfortunately much of the Scriptures have been changed to look more like the Hellenistic forefathers than the Jewish Messiah. Let’s take the Name. There was no letter ‘J’ in the alphabet until the year 1524. The letter ‘J’ was originally the same letter as ‘I.’ The ‘father of the letter J’ is Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian author and grammarian who lived from 1478 to 1550. Before that time the Greeks or the Orthodox Church called Jesus “Iesous”, and in the Latin or Catholic Church they called Him “Iesus.” But this was not the name that the Father gave His Son.  Luke 2:21 says this,  “And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”

We know this is to be false, because the Messiah was Jewish and God would have given Him a Jewish name, not a Greek name. The Messiah’s real name, the Name above all names is Yeshua, because only Yeshua means, “God’s Salvation.” John 3: 16 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”   Let’s read it again in Acts 4:12 says this, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other Name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” You see God sent His Messiah (anointed one) to bring Yeshua (salvation). We deny truth when we change our roots from Jewish to Hellenistic Greek and in so doing, we can not bring the true light into the world. You can be sure that the last thing the devil wants is the True Light of God shining in the world because Yeshua is the true Light of the World and when we accept Him we have accepted all of God’s Word and if we accept our foundation then we will be built into a holy sanctuary for God and the devil no way wants this. When we say the Name of Yeshua, the devil must flee, because there is power in the Name of Yeshua.