The Clarion, Nov. 2020
Welcome!
November is a great month because we celebrate Thanksgiving. Giving thanks is very important to God. Psalm 100:4 tells us the first thing we need to do when we enter into His gates is to give thanks. “ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 9:1 tells us how we are to give thanks, “ I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 7:17 tells us why we should give thanks to the Lord. “ I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.” 1 Thessalonians 6:16-18, tells us how often we are to give thanks, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Messiah Yeshua. Let this Thanksgiving be a continual “Thank” offering unto the Lord. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Running With Horses, Part 7
We have been looking at God’s response to Jeremiah as he asks, “Why do the wicked prosper?” Jeremiah 12 1-5 “You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us. If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses.” In part 6 we were looking at the Armor of God. We want to continue looking at how we guard ourselves. After putting on the gospel we are to take up the Shield of Faith. We must pick up faith and use it to guard ourselves. We see with the armor that much of it is used to protect ourselves. Faith shields us from the attack of the devil and his fiery darts. The devil is the tempter and he wants us to fall into the ways of the world. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 tells us “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” But faith is also important when the wicked come against us, as we saw in the beginning of this series, Jeremiah crying out to the Lord. 2 Timothy 10-13 tells us, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Next we see that we must put on the Helmet of Salvation. Yeshua’s (not Jesus) very name means salvation. The evil one wants to knock us out of the race. He wants to give us a head wound. Beware, when the evil one comes and whispers in your ear and tells you that you are not in Messiah. You are not really saved. We begin reasoning in our heads, and then when we are convinced, and it goes into our hearts. We begin believing in that which we reasoned out and now believe. Guarding our heads protects us against wrong thoughts which lead to wrong attitudes which leads to wrong actions. Philippians 4:4-9 tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Prayer is a big part if not the biggest part of fighting the battle.When we pray then God joins in on the battle. He gives us His sword, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. As we see, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can not be separated. That is because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Yeshua who is the Word of God. Romans 8:9 tells us this, “ However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.” And again in Philippians 1:19 , “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua.” Without the Spirit you can not be born again. When we are in the fight, we tend to not see our way, but God has made the way where there seems to be no way and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 t ells us: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Prayer gives us the victory and victory makes us overcomers. Psalm 20: 6-9, “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. Save, O Lord; May the King answer us in the day we call.” Let’s look at Psalm 18 as our last example and we will see from God’s perspective what results from prayer. “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of His Presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot His arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning He routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare, He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” Our God is a mighty warrior dressed for battle. Are you?
Excerpts from the book “Taming the Tongue” by Mark S. Kinzer.
“ Our call to live for the glory of God should shape every aspect of our life– including our speech.” “Praising God is the most direct form of giving Him glory. When we offer to God the praise of our lips, we are doing more than simply expressing our feelings toward Him. In essence, the meaning of our praise is captured best by the very word “offering”; it is an objective gift or sacrifice, a pleasing aroma before God.” “The Psalms teach us many things about how we should praise God. According to the Psalms, the primary feature of our praise should be joy and exuberance: “ O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving , let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” (Psalm 95:1-2) “As the fire on the altar of the Temple and the flame in the lamp were to burn continually, so the praise and worship of God should well up within us continually. As the priests sacrificed burnt offerings on the altar every morning and every evening as a continual offering before God, so we should take special time every day to do nothing but offer God our sacrifice of praise. It is not enough to worship God one day a week; He is worthy of worship every day. It is not enough to serve Him fervently for a few years and then fade off into sleepy distraction for a few more; God is worthy of devoted service every year of your life.” “Much that was said about praising God applies to thanking God. Thanksgiving, like praise, is an offering, a sacrifice, and Scripture teaches that it also is to be offered continually. The difference between the two is subtle, but it is nonetheless important. Praise is offered to God in recognition of the greatness of His attributes: His wisdom, goodness, and power, His righteousness and holiness. Thanksgiving is offered in grateful response to God’s merciful concern for our lives. He has created us and redeemed us, He sustains us, and He will glorify us. The only proper response is for us to honor Him with our lips and offer Him thanks.” “ Let the Word of Messiah richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” ( Colossians 3:16-17 ) “A grateful heart and a thankful tongue will usually issue in a God-glorifying life. Another way of giving glory to God with our speech is to call upon Him for help in times of special need. Calling on God for help glorifies Him because it acknowledges Him as the beneficent source of our protection, provision and sustenance. We show our confidence in God when we look to Him and call upon His aid. The Psalms are filled with the cries of those who called out to God. “Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:1-3)
“I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” (Psalm 116:1-4)
“O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.” (Psalm 141:1-2)
“When we pray these psalms with sincerity and strength and faith, we confess that our limited human resources are inadequate to meet our needs. We must come to the rock that is higher than we are, the One who is a refuge and a strong tower for His people. In the very act of bringing our petition to the King, we acknowledge Him as the true sovereign whose storhouses overflow with bounty and whose will triumphs over all.”
Let’s learn from this line of Scripture the next time we find ourselves fighting a battle… 2 Chronicles 20: 21-22, “Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever.” The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. ” The sound of Praise will send the devil fleeing. When you feel down and out, when you feel that you are in the battle of your life, when you feel that you are all alone, sing praises to the Lord and as you draw close to God, God will draw close to you and there is no room for the lies of the devil. God will lift you, He will make the way where there seems to be no way, He will hold you tight and you will gain strength for your soul and your spirit will take flight. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice!
Cucidati–Italian Fig Cookie
Filling:
½ cup diced figs…
(1) small package of dates,diced…
(1 ½) cups raisins… juice and rind from (1) orange-
Cook filling medium heat in a saucepan. Hot water may be added to the mixture to make it pliable. Cool completely.
Dough
(1) cup of shortening…
(1) cup of sugar….
(3) beaten eggs
(6 )cups of flour…
(4) teaspoons of baking powder…
A pinch of salt
(1 ½) Tablespoons of vanilla…
A tinge of milk if needed
1 Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, then vanilla.
2 Roll dough on a floured surface and cut in desired shapes. Put filling in the center of each cut shape. If you cut the dough into circles, you can either fold the dough in half to cover filling, or you can cover it with another circle. Be sure to seal the cookie edges with a fork or pinch tightly so you don’t lose the filling while baking. You can roll the dough into little logs and cut after baking , cooling and glazing.
3 Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, depending on the size of the cookies.
4 Cool completely on a rack, then glaze totally and add sprinkles or jimmies, if you wish.
“ The Hebrew Corner”
This month’s Hebrew letter is:
ו Vav.
Vav has the sound of a regular v as in vogue. Vav numerically is the number 6, the number of man in the Jewish tradition. Man was created on the sixth day. Man is to work six days and rest on the seventh. There are six millennia before the coming of Messiah. The Antichrist is also associated with the number of man. In ancient Hebrew Vav was pronounced as a w. The picture of vav looks like a tent peg. The meaning of the letter vav means a hook, as a connecting hook used when the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was assembled. The word vav is used in Exodus 27:9-10 , “ Here is how you are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. On the south side, facing southward, are to be tapestries for the courtyard made of finely woven linen, 150 feet for one side, supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging are to be of silver.”
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