Judeo-Christian Clarion — Teaching Letters

This month we want to look at the Abundant Life. Many TV Pastors and Evangelists speak of the abundant life as financial prosperity. In some small way this could be true, but when Yeshua (Jesus) said "I have come to give life, and that life abundantly" (John 10:10), I don't think He was thinking in a financial way, for He also speaks of how hard it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23). So what was the Messiah speaking about? Let's take a closer look because I think we all want life abundantly: or do we?

In our last newsletter we saw that the Tabernacle represents the abundant life in God. We are going to continue our journey where we left off in the Holy Place and continue on into the Holy of Holies. We want to remember that even though the Tabernacle does not exist any longer, the heavenly Tabernacle does.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 tells us, "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." We want to take a look at what it takes to be vessels of honor.

Paul paints a picture of the last days. Our question is this: are we in the last days? In the last days, there will be difficulty. It seems as though all throughout history there has been difficulty of all sort, but Paul mentions some things in 2 Timothy as proof of the end times.

Ask any believer and he will tell you that he is saved by grace through faith; and that not of himself, it is a free gift of God; and not as a result of works, that he should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Though this may be true, I ask, what happened to the blood and the cross and sin? Should this not be our first response?

In our December 2017 newsletter, “A Fall from Righteousness” we looked at what Paul had to say about the end times. We saw that people will become lawless against God's commandments and the laws of the land. We want to continue with that thought and take a closer look at the man who is called the man of lawlessness.

We as Christians speak about holiness, and yet many of us do not know what holiness is. We do not know what it looks like. I think that without an understanding of what true holiness is it is hard to understand that it has disappeared. So we are going to do some detective work to find clues that will lead us to true holiness.

We found three clues in part one. We are now going to continue in searching for clues.

I remember many years ago the debate was about whether we are once saved always saved: true or false? Those on the one side said, No! If you are truly saved you can not fall from grace. The other side said, Yes, you can! We want to look into this closer and see, according to Scripture, which side was correct.

The Psalms tell us a lot about God's character and also how He deals with mankind. Who He is and what He requires of us are important for us to know: how else can we serve Him? We are going to look at Psalm 18, especially verses 24-26, which tells us how God will reward our righteousness by our godly living.

Everyone should have a spiritual garden. Yeshua/Jesus tells us that we need to bear fruit, and much fruit at that. So we are going to take a closer look at this subject to determine if we are keeping the commandment to bear fruit.

As we celebrate the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), we want to look at who Yeshua is. Isaiah speaks to us about the man of grief and sorrow. We want to take a closer look at this passage in Isaiah 53, because we as believers don't meditate enough on this thought about Yeshua (Jesus) as a man who went about with grief and sorrow . . . or is this passage talking about someone else?

So what is prophecy and who is a prophet? We want to take a closer look into this and see if you can learn how to prophesy and be a prophet.

In Mark 10 we find a strange request from two of Yeshua’s disciples. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask to be granted the right to sit on either side of Yeshua when He comes into His glory. Now that seems a bit forward, don’t you think? Yeshua tells us to be humble in heart. So the question is, are you a servant? Do you have a servant’s heart?

We want to look at what the Bible tells us about judging. You hear it all the time, that you should not judge, but what does that really mean?

Do we have what it takes to be Don Quixote? You may say what does Don Quixote have to do with being a Christian? In the movie the man from La Mancha, the aged Alonso Quixano pictured himself as a warrior knight dressed in full armor riding on a horse throughout the land calling himself  […]

Today there are so many voices speaking to us, from TV, social media, family and friends. Who do you believe? Who do you trust? Most people will go the way that will suit their lifestyle. Yeshua had some people following Him one day, and they did not like what He had to say. Let’s take […]

In Matthew 24, Yeshua speaks to us about the last days. Like the book of  Revelation, it is very cryptic at times. We see here in Matthew 24:21-22, Yeshua tells us this, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever […]

Most people do not understand the meaning behind Yom Kippur, otherwise known as the Day of Atonement. If we understood it clearly,  I think people would see why it is so important to keep this Biblical Feast Day. So let’s take a closer look at the Day of Atonement, because like all of God’s Biblical […]

It is important for everyone to have goals.  Philippians 3:14 tells us this, “So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Messiah Yeshua to the life above.” When we set goals in our lives then we must do just that, run straight toward the goal […]

According to wikipedia a virtue  is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards: doing what is right and avoiding what is […]

When we speak of the Kingdom, so often we think of it in imaginary thinking. It is a concept that just does not seem real to us and yet the Kingdom is right before us. We want to look at the Kingdom so that we can make it a part of our lives right here […]

The story begins in Exodus 34:1-5 when God called Moses to the top of Mt Sinai. “ The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.  Be ready in the morning, and then […]

The imagery of Yom Kippur is the end time judgment, when God will separate the sheep from the goats. Also it is the imagery of a righteous Judge who will open the books of each of our lives. The question will be is your name  written in the Book of Life? The Fall Feasts are […]

So what is faith? Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “ Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. For by it the people of old gained approval.” Let’s take a closer look into faith. Romans 4:1-5 tells us this, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to […]

Genesis 3:8-18 speaks to us about God in the Garden with Adam and Eve. It begins by saying this, “They heard the voice of  the Lord God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze.” We know that God must have met with them often and spoke to them because they knew […]

Many states today still have the death sentence. Many people are still in favor of it for crimes of  murder. Though many of our Supreme Court Justices are not in favor of it, because they cite that an innocent person may die by mistake. They have softened their stance over the years, and they believe […]

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 […]

The Scriptures tell us that Moses went up to the Mountain of the Lord to meet with God, and that twice God gave him the Ten Commandments. We want to look at the second time, the time after the people fashioned the Golden Calf.  Exodus 34:1-3 tells us this, The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel […]

How many times when babies are born do we hear the question, “Who do they look like?” Our children grow up and they begin to act like one of the parents. It’s natural, they have their parents genes and they have grown up in their parents’ ways. The Proverbs 22: 6 tells us, “Train up […]

Before batteries, people would burn oil lamps. The Bible speaks of a very well known lamp called the Menorah. In Jewish observance, only pure  olive oil was allowed to be used in the seven-branched Menorah in the Mishkan, otherwise known as the Tent of Meeting, and later in the permanent Temple in Jerusalem. We know […]

We have been taught that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be in heaven, but is this true? Maybe not, maybe it will be here on earth.  Let’s take a closer look.  Revelation 19:6-9 says,  “Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, […]

Do angels wear armor?  There are many known pictures of angels wearing armor, mainly the Archangel Michael.  Exodus 23:20-23 says this, “Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do […]

We first learn about the Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-3, “ So the earth, the sky, and everything in them were finished. God finished the work He was doing, so on the seventh day He rested from His work.  God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it special because on […]

I think we all know that God created for six days and rested on the seventh day because He had completed all of His work. The number seven is the number of completion. So let’s look at some of these sevens. Revelation 1: 4a speaks of the seven congregations (churches). “John to the seven congregations […]

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be in God’s presence, and to actually be face to face with God? There is a great song called “I Can Only Imagine,” written by  Bart Millard that addresses that very thought. “I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your […]