The Clarion, Sep. 2025
Welcome
September is one of those transitional months, in this case, where you go from Summer to Fall. Everyone has transitional times in their lives, like when you go from a child to an adult. In fact, many things in life are transitional. One famous line is when Yeshua tells Nicodemus that he has to be “born again” in John 3:7. Titus 3: 5 tells us how we can be reborn, “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Well, we have had the Summer rain and even storms, and now we are entering into a time when the leaves and flowers begin to die. Oh, but death can have its beauty also. The leaves change their colors just like people need to change their lives. We must go through the same process. Romans 12:1-2 says this about that process. “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” To be born again we must die to ourselves first. The Holy Spirit helps us in this process but we must work alongside the Holy Spirit allowing Him to do His work in us. But when we let go of this world and all that is in it and we pick up our cross and follow Yeshua, then the dying process isn’t as hard as you may think. But the rewards outway the cost of dying. John 12:24 tells us this, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” We must die to bear fruit as John 15:5-8 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me, and My Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
Let your leaves change their colors and begin the process of letting go of this world and dying to yourself and you will see how beautiful you will look to God.
All Rise For The Judge
We have been looking at different topics to see how Yeshua judged such matters. The Commandment says thou shalt not lie. So does this mean if you tell a little white lie you have sinned. Well, the commandment says what it says.
Revelation 21:8 says this, “But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
We must understand that lying includes deceit, false witness, and even slander.
Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.”
In Matthew 15:10, Yeshua called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”
Later the disciples were puzzled about His statement so Peter said to Him in Matthew 15:15-20 this, ‘Explain the parable to us.’ Yeshua said, ‘Are you also still lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements. These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”’
Lying is equated with hatred as Proverbs 10: 18 says, “One who conceals hatred has lying lips, and one who spreads slander is a fool.”
Yeshua even called those liars children of the devil in John 8:42-46. “Yeshua said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My Word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin?”’
Proverbs 10: 19, “When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable,but one who restrains his lips is wise.”
Yeshua also tells us in Matthew 5:37 this, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
The Bible also talks about false witnesses, those who lie, and in their lies, slander a person’s credibility, reputation and even ruin their lives because of it.
The Commandments say in Ex 20:16, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Yeshua knew that people were going to lie about Him and they would lie about those who follow Him.
Matthew 5: 11 says this “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 23: 1-5 says this about the false accusations brought against Yeshua, “Then the entire assembly of them set out and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is the Messiah, a King.’ Now Pilate asked Him, saying, ‘So You are the King of the Jews?’ And He answered him and said, ‘It is as you say.’ But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.’ But they kept on insisting, saying, ‘He is stirring up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, as far as this place!’”
Proverbs 14:5, “A trustworthy witness will not lie, but a false witness declares lies.”
Proverbs 14:25 goes on to say, “A truthful witness saves lives, but one who declares lies is deceitful.”
Proverbs 19:5, 9, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.”
Acts 5: 1-6 tells us a story about a couple who lied and testified to it. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself ? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.”
Unfortunately, not only Ananias but his wife plotted the deception and told the lie. Acts 5:7-10 continues, “Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ She said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.”
Colossians 3:9-10 says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.”
1 Peter 3:10-12 says, “He who would love life and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of theLord is against those who do evil.”
1 Timothy 1:10, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.”
1 Timothy 4:1-3 also says this about false teachers, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”
Psalm 101:7 says, “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in My house; no one who utters lies shall continue before My eyes.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 says, “But false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Revelation 22:14-15, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
safetyzoneforteens.com: Life and Our Part In It
Life is like a play. We have all been given a part to play and so we are all playing out our part. The play can not be complete unless each of us does our part. Wm. Shakespeare wrote these famous words from the Seven Ages Of Man: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances.” This certainly sums up life. We are born and we die, but it is what we do in the in between. You see, if a theatrical company put on a play and one person decides that he would recite his words other than how they were written, well, that would throw off the person who may have had to respond to his original lines, or if that person suddenly felt like he did not want to go out and act out his part. Well, that would stop the play and if they skip over his part the play would not make any sense. You see, we have a responsibility in life to do our part. Each one of us depends on the other to do their part so that life goes smoothly. You see this in a family. You see this at the workplace. Can you imagine playing any kind of sport and your team mate does not want to do his part in playing as a team? You would lose the game. We all need each other because we all have a part to play, no matter if it is a big part or only a little part. In many movies it is the supporting actor or actress that carries the movie. Consider our bodies. The Bible says this about how our body functions as a whole. “For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” Don’t let us down, we need you to do your part because your part in this world is very valuable. So as the song goes, “Pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and start all over again,” because you have a part to play and you’re on stage right now!
Hebrew Corner: When Seven Became One.
Last month we said that the seventh month became the first month and the first month became the seventh month. So why did God change the months? Well because the first month was about God freeing His people and because Passover would find its fulfillment in the crucifixion of the Messiah. He now is our Passover Lamb that was slain. It was His blood now that is smeared upon our hearts like the doorposts in Egypt. The death angel now passes over us, like it did that first night. Also the Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost (Shavuot) all took place first on God’s Agenda and the Fall Feasts which are all now in the seventh month are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot which still have to be fulfilled. They represent Messiah’s second coming. Rosh Hashanah is also called the Feast of Trumpets because the blowing of the ram’s horn represents the King is coming for it was customary to blow the shofar so all the people knew that their king was about to arrive. Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement has a lot to do with Passover. On the tenth of the first Month. Exodus 12:3 tells us this about the Passover, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.” Leviticus 23: 26-27a says this about the tenth of the seventh month and Yom Kippur. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation.”’ Leviticus 16: 7-10 says this about Yom Kippur, “He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.” Yeshua, was the Passover Lamb and He was also the goat for the sacrifice of Yom Kippur and He was also the scapegoat because He took our sins upon Himself, making Him the scapegoat who took the sins of Israel upon Himself. Both were chosen on the tenth of the month. The animals had to be chosen and then inspected to see if they were without blemish, so was Yeshua on the day we call Palm Sunday when He rode upon the donkey and came before the people and they casted their vote by crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel!” From the beginning of Rosh Hashanah to the day of Yom Kippur are ten days and they are called the High Holy days because Yom Kippur is the holiest day of God’s Appointed Times. It was only on Yom Kippur that the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, behind that same veil that was torn on Passover of the Messiah’s death.
Next month we will look at Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths and the second coming.
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