The Clarion, Dec. 2025
Welcome
December is certainly the darkest time of year, when the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest, so there is no better time than to have the Season of Light. John 1:4-5 tells us this about Yeshua. “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.” Today, for sure, this Scripture seems to be true. Darkness, deep darkness has fallen upon us. So many people have fallen away from the truth. Our children no longer want to go to church or to even believe in truth. Crime has grown by leaps and bounds, but the light still shines in those who have the hope of salvation. Israel is the light to the nations. This was their calling from the beginning as Isaiah 60 tells us. Here are a few verses, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Yes, Israel may see her darkest days but the Light will shine when King Yeshua sits on the throne of King David as Luke 1:30-33 says “And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”’ And what did the angels say to the shepherds? Luke 2:10-14 says,“And so the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”’ John 8:12 says,“Again Yeshua spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’ Shalom..Here is to light and life!
All Rise For The Judge
God’s Word has shown us how the Judge will judge all things on Judgment Day. We need to believe God and His Word for it is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path, Psalm 119:105. God says a lot about believing. Hebrews 3:12-19 tells us this about those who died in the wilderness. “ Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Messiah if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end, while it is said, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.’ For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”
Romans 11:17-23 again speaking of unbelief says, “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. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again.”
Unbelief was not only in the days of Moses but also in the days of the Messiah. The Scriptures tell us that Yeshua was hindered in doing any miracles because of unbelief as Matthew 13:58 tells us, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”
Mark 9:14-23 tells us this story. “And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, ‘What are you disputing with them?’ And one person from the crowd answered Him’, Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.
And He answered them and said, ‘O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!’ And they brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us! ‘But Yeshua said to him, ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes. Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I believe but help my unbelief.”’
Yeshua says this to His disciples in Mark 16:14, “Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”
Yes, we can struggle with our faith and believing in the power of God, or even in His faithfulness toward us, but we must learn to trust and believe in God. Romans 10:5-13 tells us this, “For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: ‘Do not say in your heart, who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Messiah down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.’ That is, the Word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”’
Yeshua spoke a lot about man’s heart because it is the center of all things with man. Mark 7:14-23 says this, “After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, ‘Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person. ’And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’ And He was saying, ‘That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. For from within, out of the hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”’
We must have the seeds of faith to grow in our hearts so that we can have a believing heart in all that God’s Word has to say to us. Yeshua tells this parable in Matthew 13:3-9, “And He told them many things in parables, saying, ‘Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. The one who has ears, let him hear.”
Yeshua explains the Parable this way in Matthew 13:18-23, “Listen then to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the Word, immediately he falls away. And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the Word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”
In John 14:36-40 Yeshua says this about love. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Unless we have great love for God we will not have true faith and trust in Him. We will not follow Him by crucifying the flesh or letting go of the world or even being born again. There will be no oil for our lamps to shine. We will not endure persecution for the sake of the kingdom. We will not store up our treasure in heaven because we will want our riches here and now. I repeat the warning of Hebrews 3:36-40, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Messiah if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end, while it is said, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”’
Sandiegram: Christmas/ Christmas/ Copyright 2010
Christmas
Christmas is a gift from God to all of us.
The Word became flesh and God sent us
His Son to be born of a woman on a
quiet, silent, holy night.
Emmanuel is His name.
Christmas is not the glitter of the world
but the love and joy of Jesus.
Christmas is sharing that love and joy
of Jesus with others.
Just as Jesus was born humbly in a manger,
so should we keep our lives humble.
The worldly hustle and bustle of Christmas
takes our eyes off of
the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas is rejoicing over the birth of Jesus
who came to save us by dying on the cross
and redeeming us.
Let Christmas be a time of joy,
praising, and singing.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Praise the Lord, our King!
sandiegram/Christmas/A Savior is born/ Copyright 2010
A Savior is Born
The angels are all around.
The shepherds are in the field.
This night a Savior is born.
Emmanuel is His name.
Glory, glory in excelsis Deo,
for this night the world has a King!
Hebrew Corner: When Seven became One
We have looked at the Spring Feasts and the Fall Feasts and we saw how intertwined they were. We looked at the Feast of Sukkot or Booths. Sukkot is a time to rejoice. It’s a time to reflect that one day we will live with God forever. Yom Kippur was a time to reflect on eternity and now it is time to rejoice in eternity. The very thought of being with God forever and to see Him face to face is such a special time of year, but did you know that at this time we also celebrate the birth of Yeshua, the Word made flesh and dwelt among us? The 7th day is called Shemot Torah which is rejoicing in the Word. It is strongly believed that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot and was circumcised on the special feast called the eighth day or Shemini Atzeret. Yeshua was born in a sukkah, a booth for animals. He is also called Immanuel, “God is with us” and that is the whole meaning of Sukkot.December 25th was the day that the Emperor Constantine came up with to coincide with the birth of the sun god, which he worshiped. Sukkot is also called the Feast of Tabernacles because Revelation 21:22-23 says this, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple (tabernacle). And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” God is our eternal tabernacle. On the 7th day, the “Great Day” of the feast (the last day), as it is called, Hoshana Rabbah, in the morning service, the congregation marches around the bimah (Torah reading table) 7 times instead of just once. Why seven? In Jewish texts, we can find several explanations. Some say that the 7 times correspond to the 7 Hebrew words in the verse, “I wash my hands in purity and circle around Your altar, O Lord.” These 7 times correspond to the seven encirclements of Jericho by Joshua and his army; Some commentaries say that the purpose of these seven times is to tear down the wall that separates us from our Heavenly Father, as the wall of Jericho fell down. Yeshua is the living water. During the Water Ceremony, a large procession carrying water would go through Jerusalem and circle the Temple, and then the water would be poured onto the altar. The joy accompanying it was so great that it became a proverb: “He that has not seen the joy of the drawing (and the pouring) of the water has not seen joy in his life.” It is in the context of this celebration, while the procession with water was walking through Jerusalem, that Yeshua speaks His famous words about “rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38 says, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Yeshua stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” Sukkot also is the Feast of the Ingathering. It’s time to harvest! Let’s be a witness to our Creator by keeping the first month and the seventh, and all of His holy times ( Leviticus 23), for they all have a purpose, as we too, are witnesses to their meaning.
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