The Clarion, July 2025
Welcome
Here we are already in Summer. Summer is a great time with all the flowers that have bloomed and blue skies and the warmth of the sun. God is so good. He is like looking into a body of water and seeing the reflection of the mountains or the trees or the hillside reflecting in the water. So too with us, when people see us, are they seeing God in us? When we are with people, are they feeling the warmth of God through us? When we speak, are we speaking God’s Words? We are supposed to be the reflection of God. We also are supposed to represent God our Father and our Creator, especially to a world who does not know Him. We should have a sweet aroma just like those flowers of Summer, a bouquet that all will want to grab hold of in their hands. We are God’s children and we ought to truly be a child of God representing our Father to a lost world.
Creator of All
Father, Creator of all the universe,
I love You.
Thank You
for calling me by name.
Thank You
for sending Your Son Jesus to redeem me.
Thank You
for all the beauty of the earth,
for who but You could give us
a beautiful sunrise and sunset?
Who but You could create
a tree or beautiful flower?
Father, let Jesus, my brother,
one day bring me before Your throne,
for I long to see You face to face.
Sandigram copyright 2010 /Thank You, Lord
All Rise For The Judge Part 1
When a judge enters the courtroom the bailiff says , “All rise. This court is now in session.” We want to look at the most powerful Judge ever, God. One day God will judge everyone. We will all stand and give an account. Romans 14: 10-12 tells us this, “But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. For it is written: ‘As I live says the Lord, to Me every knee will bow and every tongue will give praise to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” John 12:44-48 says, “Now Yeshua cried out and said, ‘The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day.”’ While the people were in the wilderness, Moses was their judge. Exodus 18:13 says, “And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.” Moses spoke the Words of God to the people. God gave His Ten Commandments as we read in Exodus 20,“Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, 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, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This was the foundation of all of Israel’s laws.When the people entered into the land and after Joshua died God appointed judges. Judges 4: 4-5 tells us about one famous judge. “Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment.” After the days of the Judges the people asked for a king and the king judged the people. We know this famous story in 1 Kings 3:16-28, the two women who came before King Solomon. One baby had died and they argued over the live baby. “Then the king said, ‘The one says, this is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ And the king said, ‘Get me a sword.’ So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, ‘Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.’ But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son, and she said, ‘Pardon me, my lord! Give her the living child, and by no means kill him!’ But the other woman was saying, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!”’ Then the king replied, ‘Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.’ When all Israel heard about the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.” But after the days of the kings, then Israel began the Sanhedrin, the Great Council, headed by the High Priest and 70 others. So now let’s look at a few things that Yeshua made judgments on. John 8:1-11 says, “But Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them. Now the Scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?’ Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Yeshua stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. And straightening up, Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Yeshua said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”’ We know that adultery is a sin and yet, Yeshua did not condemn her.
Why? Well, first of all, He said that He did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There will be a time and a place when all things will be judged. Yeshua was more interested in the larger scope of things. Many people think that Yeshua was writing out the law on adultery. This may be so, but maybe He was writing the words, I forgive you. Yes, because according to the law, the one who witnessed the crime would be the one to cast the first stone. Yeshua said he who is without sin. What sin? The sin of adultery, cast the first stone. How did these men know how to catch this woman in adultery unless they too had an affair with her? So they were all guilty. When Yeshua told the woman to go and sin no more, that was as good as repenting of her sin and so Yeshua did not condemn her, but forgave her. Matthew 12:1-8 speaks of a time when the Pharisees wanted to know how Yeshua would judge on the Sabbath. “At that time Yeshua went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!’ But He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means: I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”’ Back in Yeshua’s day there was much debate around the oral law, which was different from the written law, because the oral law concerned itself with how to keep the law, rather than what was the actual law. Things like it is right to do good on the Sabbath. One must do what is right in cases of health and well being. Luke 14:1-6 says, “It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from edema. And Yeshua responded and said to the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, ‘Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?’ And they could offer no reply to this.” It is permissible to render help when you see help is needed. Yeshua healed many people on the Sabbath. He did good on the Sabbath and yet, He kept the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Yeshua is the Lord of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Judgment is for the Judge. Matthew 7:1 says, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”
safetyzoneforteens.com Summertime Fun
There is nothing like summertime fun in the sun. Everyone likes to spend summer in a different way. Maybe you have to work during summer or maybe you are as free as a bird to enjoy those summer rays. It’s summer and we all need to chill out. Let’s take time to enjoy the moment and put everything aside. I always have liked this song by Martha and the Vandells called “Dancing In The Streets.”
It goes like this: “Callin’ out around the world are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street. It’s just an invitation across the nation, a chance for folks to meet. There’ll be laughing, singing and music swinging, dancing in the street. They’re dancing in Chicago, Down in New Orleans, in New York City. All we need is music, sweet music, there’ll be music everywhere.”
It reminds me of the block parties. Everyone has fun. Of course, you can’t forget the Fourth of July picnics and fireworks and backyard games. The group Chicago had a great tune called Saturday in the Park. It goes like this:
“Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July. Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July. People dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream singing Italian songs. Another day in the park I think it was the Fourth of July. Another day in the park I think it was the Fourth of July. People talking, really smiling, a man playing guitar and singing for us all.” We have to have a pause for the cause or else we will regret it if we don’t take a time out. Let’s enjoy each other’s company and let’s put our differences aside. Come on, it’s summertime. Here’s a great song by the Jamies called Summertime, Summertime.
It goes like this: “Well shut them books and throw ’em away and say goodbye to dull school days. Look alive and change your ways. It’s summertime… It’s time to head straight for them hills. It’s time to live and have some thrills. Come along and have a ball. A regular free-for-all. Well we’ll go swimmin’ every day, no time to work just time to play. If your folks complain just say “It’s summertime”
I hope you have a great summer everyone and enjoy life. Life goes by so fast and the years come and go, so I say enjoy, enjoy and once again enjoy because summertime is a great time of the year.
Stay safe everyone as you enjoy your summer break.
Hebrew Corner: God’s Name
Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey is God’s personal name (YHWH) and it is holy. It is called the tetragrammaton, or the tetragram and also known as Ha Shem or Shem Hameforash (The Special Name).
The Third commandment tells us this, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” In Exodus 3: 14 God tells Moses this, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” I Am Who I Am is the meaning of God’s personal name.
Exodus 4:15-16 continues to say, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is the name for all generations to use to call upon Me.”
It seems as though the meaning of God’s personal name also includes the names of the patriarchs. In fact God’s personal name is endless, without bounds, because this is who God is. He is who He needs to be at all times. God goes by many names like (Adonai) which means Master, (El Olam) the Everlasting God,
(El Shaddai) the Lord God Almighty, (El Elyon) the Most High God, for just a few. But none of these is as holy as God’s personal name (YHWH).
In the Jewish Midrash (Exodus Rabbah 3:6) it is said, “The holy One, blessed be He, said to those, ‘You want to know My name? I am called according to My actions. When I judge My creation I am Elohim (God), and when I have mercy with My world, I am named YHWH.” Elohim is the name given for God as the Creator of the universe and implies strength, power, and justice. YHWH is more associated with the closeness of God toward mankind.
Genesis 2:7 tells us this, “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.”
God is a life giving God. Rabbis and Scholars believe that when you pronounce God’s holy name (YHWH) that it sounds like one taking a breath. The YH is when you inhale and the WH is when you exhale. If this is so, then every time we breathe we are speaking God’s name. From the first time we are born to when we take our last breath we are recognizing the fact the God is our Creator. His name is always on our lips and in our mouths. Psalm 51:15 says, “Lord, open my lips, so that my mouth may declare Your praise.”
Psalm 34:1 says this, “I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with His praise” (The Message Translation).
Tweet this!