The Clarion, Nov. 2025
Welcome
I am thankful for another month, how about you? November is the month that we celebrate being thankful. But being thankful is supposed to be a part of our daily prayers. Psalm 136:1-3 tells us this, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His faithfulness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His faithfulness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” Isn’t this what Thanksgiving is all about? It is a day to be thankful to God for His faithfulness. The pilgrims were thankful to God that they made it through a hard Winter and that their crops grew and they survived in a new land. Here is a sandigram from the “Thank You, Lord” brochure. Copyright 2010
Thanksgiving Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your love and for teaching me how to love.
Thank You for giving me Your grace even though I did nothing to earn it.
Thank You for opening my eyes and ears so that I can see Jesus in the people
around me and that I can hear and understand Your Word.
Thank You for blessing me and for calling me out of darkness into the Light.
Thank You for abiding in me and for letting me abide in You.
Thank You for caring about me and for not leaving my side despite the trials I go through.
Thank you for being a good Father and for admonishing me when I need it.
Lord, this is a world where there is an evil force all around me.
But You send Your angels to form a hedge around me and protect me.
Thank You.
Thank You for putting the love of nature in my heart and for letting me see You
in all this beauty.
All Rise For The Judge
Yeshua tells us this parable in Matthew 25:1-13, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.”
There have been so many sermons given on this parable, but I have never heard one preached on the verse that says, “I do not know you!” Yes, one day when we all stand before God we certainly want to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Taken from the next parable in Matthew 25: 14-29. We see in the parable of the ten virgins that they were all waiting for the Bridegroom, so they all must have had a belief in the coming Messiah. So what does this parable really mean to believers? The oil is the oil of the Holy Spirit. It is the oil that lights our lamps so that we can be a light in the darkness. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
So Yeshua goes on to tell this parable in Matthew 25:14-29, “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’
Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’ Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore: take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
We read last month about being born again, born of the Spirit. Galatians 5:16, tells us that we must walk in the Spirit and we must be led by the Holy Spirit, if we want the oil of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-24 speaks about the fruit or the evidence of a Spirit led life. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.”
God has given us gifts and talents and He has told us to go out into the world and use these gifts and talents and if we don’t then we are not using our talents and gifts for the glory of God, nor are we advancing the Kingdom of Heaven.
2 Peter 1:2-11 says this, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Yeshua our Lord, for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Messiah Yeshua. For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Messiah Yeshua will be abundantly supplied to you.”
No oil, not using your talents and abilities for the kingdom, not adding to your faith and no fruit, this is why Yeshua said, “I don’t know you.” Yeshua tells the people one more parable about the judgment in Matthew 25: 31-46, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. ‘Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Just because we may say the name of Yeshua does not make us a faithful servant, nor does it make us one who lives in the Spirit. Even if we quote Scripture and yet we don’t live by the Scriptures, we are burying our gifts. We must crucify the flesh and begin living for the kingdom and walking in the Spirit. Then we will be born again, then we will have enough oil, then we will be the light and then we will be ready for the Bridegroom when He comes. Let’s all live to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
Sandiegram/Thank You Lord/Thank You Lord/copyright 2010
Thank You, Lord
I opened my eyes this morning
to another day—
Thank You, Lord.
You watched over me while I slept—
thank You, Lord
Thank You for my eyes
so that I can see the beauty of the day.
Thank You for my ears
so I can hear all the sounds around me.
Thank You for my nose
so I can have the sense of smell.
Thank You for my mouth
so that I can receive the bread of life.
Thank You for my hands and arms
so that I can work
and be able to embrace all I meet
along the way this day.
Thank You for my legs and feet
so that I am able to kneel
humbly before You.
Lord, although the world is not perfect,
thank You for letting me
be able to be a part of it.
For all these blessings, Lord,
I thank You.
Hebrew Corner: When Seven became One
We have been looking at the Fall Feasts and now we are going to look at the last feast, Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths.
Sukkot is ten days after Yom Kippur which brings you to the fifteenth day of the month. Ten days after the first ten days which are the High Holy Days, a time of repenting, a time of afflicting ones soul, a time when symbolically the gates of heaven are open till sundown the evening of Yom Kippur when symbolically the gates are closed, we now have this seven day feast like the seven day feast of Passover. So why booths? We see in Scripture that when Israel left Egypt in their first month they camped at a place called Sukkot and there they made sukkahs or booths for their cattle. Exodus 13: 18-20 says, “Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ‘God will certainly take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.’ Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.” In Leviticus 23: 40-43 God tells Israel this, “Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. So you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” The Sukkah represents our eternal home with God. We have gone through a time of reflection and repentance when the books of heaven were opened and our names were written in the Book of Life and now we celebrate God with us. Remember those palm branches that the people waved when Yeshua came riding on a donkey? The people thought it was strange indeed for it was the time of the Passover and yet, the Scripture says that the King would come riding on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” What do you do when you think that the King would be coming at Sukkot and He is here at Passover?” Well, you get those palm branches and begin to wave them, and ask questions later. God’s Appointed Times are for believers today because the Spring Feasts are about Yeshua’s first coming and the Fall Feasts represent His second coming. Let’s be like those people who did what they knew to do and asked questions later. Either way it’s all about the King!
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