Ezekiel three

The New Covenant

2010-03-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

When we look at the New Covenant we see that the word "new" means just that - new. In the Old Testament the word "new" in Hebrew is hadash which has the sense of something "fresh". It is used in the case of newly harvested grain in Leviticus 23:16 and Numbers 28:26. Also it is used in referring to new songs being sung to Yahweh in Psalms 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1, and so on.

And finally it is used in speaking of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31 and speaking of the promise of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:26.

The other word for "new" that is used is beriah which is only found in Numbers 16:30. The usage in that passage alludes to God bringing about something completely new and in an unprecedented fashion. As we know, He caused the ground to open up and swallow those in rebellion, alive. This was definately something totally new which had not been done before.

In the New Testament the word for "new" that is primarily used (especially in regards to the New Covenant) is kainos which again has the idea of "fresh".

As we know something that is fresh is not necessarily something that is entirely new. In fact freshness has the idea that something that is already there needs refreshing. A word is always defined by the context in which it is used. Take the example of the Hebrew word for "day" which is yom. Yom is a fairly broad word which can mean a literal, 24hr day or an entire age. So how do we know that the days of the Creation Week are literal 24hr days? By the context. We find that every day in that Week is accompanied by "...so the evening and the morning were the [a number] day." Throughout Scripture, everytime the word yom is used with either a number or a time of day, it is a literal, 24hr day.
Also, as I said of the new moon. The moon is always there just because we can't see it. Every month there is not an entirely, newly created moon, but the same one that has always been there, but is new again to us. Interestingly, the new moon reminds us of God's covenant.

Now looking back at the word "new" we find the same to be true. The context gives us the definition. If we ignore what is being said before and after the word then we are ignoring God's use of that word and making up our own definition. The word new in the sense of the New Covenant must be looked at in the same way.

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying 'Know the LORD' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34

Notice that God says "the house of Israel" the second time, compared to when He said both houses in verse 31. He is speaking of ONE house, ONE people under Him.
"There is neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

Earlier in that same chapter, Paul wrote, "Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." Galatians 3:7 speaking of the fact that our heritage, whether Jewish or any other does not save us, but only by faith are we saved.

Abraham was a Gentile called out of a Gentile nation (Genesis 15:7; 11:27-32; 12:1). He was called a Hebrew (which means one who crosses, or passes, over; as in the Euphrates River). God called Abram Abraham - father of mulitudes. He was calling him to make a people unto Himself. That includes ALL who come to the LORD by faith. If we understand this concept, then we begin to realize that everything God has given to His people Israel is not just speaking of the physical nation so much as it's speaking to ANY and ALL who come to Him by faith in receiving His gift of salvation through His blood that was shed on the cross as a sacrifice on our behalf. That is why His WHOLE Law is for both Jew and Gentile who come to Him by faith.

Now when He says in Jeremiah that He will put His law in our minds and write it on our hearts - we must realize that this is a major part of the New Covenant. He accomplishes this by giving us His Holy Spirit as we read in Ezekiel.
"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." - Ezekiel 36:27
This goes right in line with Ephesians 2:10.

By God causing us to walk in His statutes and judgments (which always speak of His entire Law, not just the Ten Commandments) we can now see the connection with the word grace. The true definition of the word grace (charis in the Greek) is "a divine influence upon the heart with a reflection through the life". God's grace is not only unmerited favor, but it is especially His Spirit enabling us to walk in His ways and His light which then shines to all men that they may glorify Him (Matthew 5:16).

Notice also that a part of the New Covenant as expressed in Jeremiah is that all who are under that covenant will know God. Psalm 111:10 says, "...A good understanding have all those who do His commandments." Genesis 26:5 tells us this: "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Abraham knew the LORD because he not only believed in Him, but obeyed His commandments as well.
And notice that this was four hundred and some years before the law was given at Sinai!
God's law has always been, and that is what we'll look at next.

God's intention all along was to dwell with His people as He does and now and soon will forever. Some have mentioned that because there is no temple then the feasts are no longer commanded for us because everything revolved around the temple. However, WE are the temple. The body of Christ is the tabernacle in which God dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). WE are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and Messiah is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus is THE sacrifice and we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.

"You also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:5

This passage in a nutshell shows us the reality of what was changed, or rather renewed, in the New Covenant. God is getting back to what He desired all along. Not to dwell in temples made of stone, but in us. Not to have a priesthood that offered up the blood of bulls and goats, but a priesthood that walked in His good works following our great High Priest - Yeshua the Messiah. The temple, Levitical priesthood, and the animal sacrifices were all three related because they were all tied in together with people's relationship to sin. The Levites would assist in sacrificing the animal in the temple. NOW that we are the temple and the priesthood we can look to our High Priest Who offered up Himself as the ultimate sacrifice and keep the Sabbath, the Feasts, and the rest of the Law in true freedom. Read Acts 7:46-50; Hebrews 9:11-15

"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." - Romans 3:31

It is by the law that we experience freedom, not bondage. We become slaves of righteousness, not of sin (Romans 6:17-23).

Remeber, James says that faith without works is dead. Works can't save us, but they prove our faith is real. Obeying the law cannot save us, but it proves to us, and those around us, that we love God and our faith in Him is real. (1 John 5:2-3)

When we place our faith and trust in Christ we enter into a relationship with Him, as heirs, by which we find peace and joy in walking with the Spirit, in obedience to His laws. "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Romans 7:14 "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." Romans 7:22 "...So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Romans 8:7

It is because of the constant struggle between our flesh and our spirit that we must submit to God's law in order to be free. We must be a "slave of righteousness" (Romans 6:19).
NOT that we are justified by keeping the law, but that in keeping the law, we are being obedient to the faith, and are able to crucify our flesh.

ONE law for ONE people under ONE God. HE saves us by His grace through our faith, and gives us His instructions and laws for us to live by. Jesus said in John 7:16, "My doctrine is not my own, but His who sent Me." The word 'doctrine' means teaching, or instruction. What are the Father's instructions? The commandments, statutes, judgments, laws. The Feasts of His are a part of that. This is also why we should not participate in holidays that are in opposition to His word. Easter, Christmas, etc... are clearly pagan in origin and tradition and the Lord specifically tells us not to worship HIM with those types of things (Deuteronomy 12:1-4).

Yeshua (Jesus) said, "For this is My blood of the covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28. Neither Matthew nor Mark record the word 'new'. It is a 'new' covenant and one that I am very thankful for!

What's Coming

2010-02-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything, but over the coming weeks we'll be looking at some things that I believe the LORD has been speaking to me on concerning His Covenant, His Name, and the Judgment that comes to those who reject both. Until next week, blessings, Jason

Preacher's toe touches school lawn, he gets arrested

2010-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting article for your reading (dis)pleasure.

Preacher's toe touches school lawn, he gets arrested

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

2009-12-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Today we hear the vehement cry to "Keep Christ in Christmas!", but what if He was never in it to begin with?

If we look closely we can see that every tradition of Christmas has it's beginnings in the ancient winter solstice festivals of old. From the christmas tree to santa claus, from the gift giving to the "spirit of christmas". Even the downright silly clothing has it's origins in the solstice.

Let's start with the date - December 25th. Was Christ born on this day? If you ask your pastor he'll say "No." and he's right. Christ was not born on December 25th nor even in that month. Unfortunately most pastors will then proceed to tell you that it's okay to celebrate Jesus' birth on that day, though, because we have liberty in His grace to do such things. Really? Hmmm....I wonder, then, why does God say not to worship Him with such things in Deuteronomy 12:4? "Such things" being pagan, idolatrous images, places, and names. So what is December 25th and what do others say about this date?

December 25th was the date chosen and designated by the Roman Catholic church as the day to celebrate the birth of Christ. This was done in 350 A.D. by pope Julius I in an attempt to establish a time in which Christians could celebrate the birth all on the same day. However, the 25th of December had always been the winter solstice*, when the dark days of winter began to be longer, leading many to believe the sun was being “reborn”. Consequently this made the date of December 25th the “birth day” of nearly every single sun god in most pagan cultures throughout the world.

In Mesopotamia, the festival was called Sacaea, or Zagmuk, during which slaves and servants would trade places with their masters. It lasted 12 days overlapping the winter solstice, or vernal equinox, in its center peak. It was a festival held in observation of the sun god, Marduk and his battle over darkness. The Babylonians held both land and river parades as well. Sacaea, as Berossus* referred to it, had festivals characterized by the aforementioned subversion of order leading up to the new year. Masters and slaves interchanged, a mock king was crowned and masquerades filled the streets. This has been a suggested precursor to the Festival of Kronos, Saturnalia and possibly the modern version of Purim.

In Egypt, they celebrated the feast of Osiris for 12 days by decorating their homes with palms and other outdoor greenery. They kept it for 12 days because that number was in accordance with their calendar system and the palm was used because it was believed there was a correlation between it and the twelve months in a year.

In Rome, the festival of Saturnalia was celebrated during this time, which honored the god Saturn. The festival was kept to usher in the Golden Age of Saturn. Following this celebration, the Romans commemorated the god Mithra, the sun god, who was known as the Grand Deliverer. In Egypt he was known as Horus and in Babylon - Tammuz.
   During Saturnalia, the people gave themselves up to wild joy: they feasted, they gave gifts, and they decorated their homes with greenery. The usual order of the year was suspended: grudges and quarrels forgotten; wars interrupted or postponed. Businesses, courts, schools closed. Rich and poor were equal, slaves were served by masters, and children headed the family (this is a forerunner to the transition in America where the focus became more on the children during the holiday season, and this grew evermore popular in the 1830‘s and 40‘s). This all leads us in seeing the general “Spirit of Christmas” or the “Spirit of the Season” with which people become much friendlier and more giving.
   Cross-dressing and masquerades, merriment of all kinds also prevailed. A mock king -- the Lord of Misrule -- was crowned. Candles and lamps chased away the spirits of darkness.

Seneca the younger writes about Rome during Saturnalia around 50 A.D: “It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business....Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.” --From the Epistolae

In northern Europe the festival of Yule was kept, in which the people would celebrate by decorating fir or pine trees, burning the Yule log, giving gifts, drinking, and decorating their homes with the evergreen boughs and holly. Our modern Christmas holiday is the most closely related to the celebration of Yule.

In choosing the 25th of December, the Roman Catholic church was trying to make the statement that Jesus is the only true God who was born, not the false sun gods of pagan cultures. But mixing truth with paganism and idolatry is an abomination to the Lord and as a result the church began celebrating a holiday that was pagan from the beginning, only now Jesus was thrown into the middle. What we see is that a door was opened to celebrating the birth of Jesus with pagan traditions and a holiday that has actually very little to do with Christ and more to do with greed and heathen customs.

The early “church father”, Tertullian, wrote in 230 A.D., “By us who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.”

Are you willing to look further? Or would you rather pretend that it wasn't true? Do you say to yourself, "Well that's not how I look at Christmas." But doesn't it matter how GOD SEES IT? It does. If you're willing to follow Him then at least ask Him to reveal the truth to you no matter what that might be and He will. And those who trust in Him will never be put to shame.

*Berossus - a Babylonian writer and astronomer from                    the early 3rd century B.C.

Caught Red Handed!

2009-11-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Reading through the book of Joshua has been great, since it's one of those books that I rarely read but I forget how powerful and edifying it is (it is part of the Scriptures after all!) Usually we pull out the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD". Cross-stitched on a pillow or etched on a coffee mug, this verse has become the Christian anthem that most people really do not think about.

The context of that phrase is one of serving ONLY Yahweh! Putting away the other gods in your life to serve Him alone.

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

- Joshua 24:14-15

Notice that the gods Joshua spoke of were gods from the other side of the River AND/OR the gods of the Amorites which is where the people of Israel were living. Gods from where they CAME from and gods that were where they were PRESENTLY living! We'll talk more about that in a bit.

The people answer Joshua in verses 16-18 and say that they will serve the LORD, but Joshua says in v. 19 that they CANNOT serve HIM! Not a very positive reinforcement there, is it? But read on...

"But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and seve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.'"
-Joshua 24:19-20

We cannot be with God and have other gods/idols in our lives and expect Him to be okay with that. He won't be. In fact in Deuteronomy 12:1-4 He told the people there (and us today) not to worship Him with pagan idolatrous things!

The first commandment, God says, is to "not have other gods before Me". That phrase 'before Me' that God uses means, in the presence of or in the face of', meaning other gods in His presence. We are not to serve other gods in the LORD's presence. Remember, God sees everything. He knows if we are serving something, or someone else along with serving HIM.

But the people answered Joshua again saying, 'No, but we will serve the LORD!" How emphatic!

"So Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses!'"
-Joshua 24:21-22

We can fool ourselves pretty well into thinking that we are serving the LORD alone, but are we really? How do we know if we are only following HIM?

By obeying His Commandments. Time and time again the prophets came to the people and warned them to turn back to the Torah/Law which they had forsaken. They followed after other gods throughout much of their history because they continually rejected His Covenant, His commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) said to the Pharisees and some of the scribes (namely the religious leaders),

"Laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men,..."
And
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
-Mark 7:8a, 9a

He was giving them the same message He gave His prophets to deliver to the people in times past...Repent! and turn back to the Law of the LORD!

Back in Joshua 7 we read about Achan. The Israelites lost the battle at Ai and 36 men of the Israelites died in battle because of Achan's sin. What was his sin? Achan had taken a wedge of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a Babylonian garment. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it? But the LORD called them 'accursed things' and men lost their lives and Israel lost a battle because of Achan's covetousness.

It says that YHWH's anger burned against the children of Israel because of those things which Achan had taken. Then YHWH told Joshua that He would not be with him unless he destroyed the accursed things from among them. Did Achan confess? Not yet.
So Joshua gathered the people according to their tribes and the LORD brought forth the guilty.

"In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
-Joshua 7:14

And the LORD did just that until finally Achan was brought forth after going through all those people, and Joshua came to him and said,
"My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
-Joshua 7:19

Can you imagine being Achan? Being in that position where all the people are gathered...thousands, perhaps millions of people...and slowly out of each tribe, out of each family, out of each household, it comes down to YOU. You would HAVE to know that God is singling you out for what you knew was already a sin. But Achan never said anything until finally he stood before Joshua and had to confess. Would the LORD have forgiven Achan if he'd repented before Joshua came to him? I believe so because the LORD is merciful and has allowed us to do just that, but we'll never know about Achan because he didn't do that. As a result he, his children, his livestock and all that he had were stoned and burned. This is a very serious issue with YHWH. As Joshua says in ch. 24, YHWH is a holy God. Sin cannot stand in His presence.

There is no hiding from the Father who formed us and sees everything within us.

Achan was caught red handed for his disobedience to YHWH's command (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)! There in Deuteronomy the LORD told them exactly what not to do...exactly what Achan did!

But we're all guilty of doing something similar, aren't we? I know I am, but we can't take the professing church's stance and say, "Well none of us are perfect, but thank God for His grace!" Grace is NOT a license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15-23), but it is the power of God working in us to accomplish HIS will and follow HIS Law (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). We have no excuse for if we sin willfully we count the blood of Yeshua as worthless, and can expect judgment (Hebrews 10:26-31)

That doesn't mean that we will never mess up, but that our heart's desire should be to not mess up! And when we do sin, to REPENT! We are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity, but we should be walking after the ONE who IS perfect...Yeshua our Messiah! Walk just as He walked...in perfect submission to Torah. Walk in the light as He is in the light...He IS the Light! (1 John 1)

We can see how our sin can affect those around us, just like Achan's did the children of Israel. Our sin can affect our household, our family, our church family, our co-workers, etc... because God is faithful to deal with the sin in our life and He WILL NOT let it be swept under the rug. And we can't forget that He isn't concerned with just us, but those around us as well. He wants our witness to be unblemished, but if it's not, He will expose our disobedience to deal with others in our life, so that they might see the power of a holy God.

Personally I'd rather have Him deal with them through my obedience rather than my disobedience!...but it's my choice. It's your choice.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...

...but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.

The Feast of Tabernacles

2009-10-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here it is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. It's been an interesting week for sure.

One thing I've continued to learn this year is the concept of thankfulness tied in with the Feast. There are over 80 verses in which thanking the LORD is noted.

In Exodus 23:16 and 34:22 the Feast is also called the Feast of Ingathering, because they were to bring in the harvest. It was a time of thanking God for all that He had supplied. This is where the concept of Thanksgiving comes from, however it is merely a replacement of HIS Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles.

There is so much that I can be thankful for that my Father has given me. It's a wonder to me that many times I complain or grumble about the very things that God has supplied for my good! Complaining, or murmuring, against the LORD is sin (Numbers 14:27). It's my carnal nature, the flesh, that hates God and cannot be subject to HIS Torah (Law) (Romans 8:7) that refuses to acknowledge His goodness and mercy! However, my spirit, in walking with His Spirit, sees the blessings He has bestowed upon me and rejoices in the fact that my Father loves me so much! I have to ask for His forgiveness for my selfish attitude and continue to walk in the light of His Torah that I might crucify that carnal nature (Galatians 5:24).

As this Feast draws to a close I am reminded of the beginning of this year, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, how the principle of removing the sin (represented in the leaven) from my self continued long after the Feast was done. I believe this Feast of Tabernacles will be no different. Long after it is done, I will no doubt be challenged and reminded to offer up thanksgiving to my God for who He is and all that He has done and is going to do! He is worthy of my praise! And all of this is a grand reflection of the fact that we will one day dwell, literally 'tabernacle', with HIM (Revelation 21:3). Hallelujah!

That is why Yeshua (Jesus) came to dwell with man the first time...to destroy the works of the devil and give us new life and a hope for eternity with HIM (1 John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). He was called Immanuel which means God with us (Matthew 1:23). Read Revelation 21:3 again.

It's amazing that the professing church has taken elements of the Feast of Tabernacles and embellished them into Thanksgiving and Christmas! What a perversion of the truth! I pray that He continues to open eyes and ears to the Truth of His Word, His Law, and guide us in all righteousness.

I'm far from perfect, but I don't want to use that as an excuse and reject His Torah, which is loving instruction, just because of my humanity. On the contrary I want to walk in the light of His Law so that I might crucify my flesh and know what is pleasing and displeasing to Him who bought me with His own blood!!

He tabernacles with me now (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and will forevermore Revelation 21-22!!!

The Feast of Tabernacles

2009-10-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well I purposely did not write on the Day of Atonement because the LORD did not give me anything to write. There seemed to be a lot to process during that Day and the days surrounding it which gave me much to think about but hard to put into words.

One thing that is very clear and apparent is the fact that it is a day of heaviness if one is truly afflicting their souls. But is that through fasting from food?

It appears as though physical fasting can play a role in afflicting one's soul, since it definately afflicts the flesh! But there is much more to it than that.

I would suggest reading not only Leviticus 23, but Isaiah 58 as well.

But here we are already half way into the Feast of Tabernacles. The last great feast of God's year and a perfect picture of spending eternity with HIM! The command to rejoice before Him for seven days has become evident this year. Will we choose to let the enemy rob us of that joy or will we choose to rejoice in YHWH!

Bless the LORD, oh my soul!

Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) pt. 2

2009-09-18T23:39:00.001-07:00

"...on the first day of the [seventh] month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."
-Leviticus 23:24b

"a memorial of blowing of trumpets" is teruah in the Hebrew:
H8643
תּרוּעה
terû‛âh
ter-oo-aw'
From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarum: - alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).

H7321 is 'rua' which literally means "to shout (for alarm or joy); to sound an alarm; to cry aloud; to make a joyful noise."

The Feast of Trumpets is much more than just blowing the shofar (Hebrew for trumpet). In fact it's not limited to the blowing of the trumpet, but it is for the voice as well. This is important because as we shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1) there is a Voice that we are to be listening for - The Lord God Almighty's!

In fact that is what this Feast, or Day, is all about...hearing HIS Voice!

In looking at the pattern of the fall Feasts of YHWH, there is no doubt that Tabernacles is about the time of restitution and Him dwelling with (literally 'tabernacling with') His people...for eternity! (Revelation 21:3). Going backward to the Day of Atonement we see not only the picture of redemption in Messiah Yeshua, but also the Day of His judgment upon the earth. This inevitably leads us back ten days to Trumpets which is a picture of His heralded return! The day Yeshua comes back for His bride, the church! If this is the case then there should certainly be more than one witness of this in the Scriptures.

The first picture we have took place at Mt. Sinai, as Yahweh called His people to enter covenant with Him.

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation...

Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice."
-Exodus 19:5-6; 10-11; 16; 19

What an amazing event! And there are so many things to see in this passage that one could devote hours to it, but we won't do that today! But do check out a couple of passages about whom the LORD calls to be a "kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a special treasure"
(1 Peter 2:4-5; 9; Revelation 1:6).

One thing that obviously stands out is hearing God's voice. This isn't the only place in Scripture that He tells His people to hear His voice. But we also see this clearly in the New Testament,

"As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
-John 10:15-16; 27

Notice that He says that His sheep hear His voice. Back in verse 5 of John 10, Yeshua said that His sheep will not follow a 'thief' because they do not know his voice. If we do not know the voice of God then we will end up following those who are lawless. If we expect to hear the LORD call our name when He returns then we better know His voice, which He identifies with keeping HIS Commandments (Genesis 26:5; Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 13:4, 18; 15:5; 26:17; 27:10; 28:1, 15, 45; 30:8, 10; Psalm 103:20).

Are you lawful or lawless? The anti-christ is identified as the 'man of lawlessness' in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 . Something to think about.

Hearing the voice of Yahweh is knowing His Word and keeping His Commandments which the Holy Spirit writes on the hearts and minds of true believers (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; John 16:13, 17:17 /Psalm 119:142).

As we continue to look at this, keep in mind the picture of the feast of trumpets - the Lord's return.

As we've seen the blast of the shofar (trumpet) is the awakening sound of the voice of the LORD calling His people to HIM!

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
-Matthew 24:29-31

"...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
-1 Corinthians 15:52

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
-1 Thessalonians 4:16

Messiah will return with shouting and blasting of a shofar...an awakening blast! A cry of battle and terror for the lawless, but a shout of joy and acclamation for those who are His! Those who hear HIS Voice!

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"
-Revelation 1:10-11a

Yeshua, in speaking to John about the Day to come, shouted His return. It will be for all to hear, but not everyone will hear the same message depending on where they stand. We are either with Him, standing on His commandments, or we are against Him, standing on shaky ground.

I want to leave you with a psalm that speaks of not only His return, but of how triumphant and joyful it will be in that Day. When Messiah returns for His bride, may we be awake and ready, with oil in our lamps, our wicks trimmed, and listening for His Voice.

"Oh, clap your hands all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For YHWH Most High is awesome!
He is the great King over all the earth
He will subdue the peoples under us,
and the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
YHWH with the sound of the trumpet.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people
have gathered together.
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
-Psalm 47

Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets)

2009-09-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

You can read more here: http://www.ezekielthree.com/trumpets.html

In just a few days it will be the first day of the fall Feasts of the LORD - the Day of the Awakening Blast, also called the Feast of Trumpets.

In Leviticus 23:23-25 we read,

"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'"

There's several things in this verse that would make people jump to the conclusion that this feast is not for His church/body today, mainly the fact that He speaks to Israel and that an offering of fire should be made. Granted these seem to point to that conclusion, but they wouldn't be taking in the whole context of Scripture.

To understand this let's consider the New Covenant for a moment. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 we read,

"Behold the days are coming says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, form the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'"

We see first of all that the LORD is speaking to Israel and Judah at first, but then in verse 33 we read only Israel. Is He not including Judah now? No, He's simply pointing out that they will be made whole again, remembering of course that He is speaking to those of Israel and Judah who are BELIEVERS in HIM. The Jewish people are not saved because they are of Israel, but only if they believe upon Yeshua as Messiah! And what about us Gentiles? We'll get to that!

Next we see that He is certainly speaking of the New Covenant that was made in Messiah's blood because of verse 34, where He says He will 'forgive their iniquity' and remember their sins no more.

Yeshua said,

"For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
-Matthew 26:28

Also in Jeremiah 31:34 God promises to be their God and that they will be His people. We see this fulfilled in it's entirety in Revelation.

Revelation 21:3 says,

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.'"

Clearly in Jeremiah the Lord God is speaking of the New Covenant that we have entered into today as followers of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). So if that is the case, then where do the Gentiles fit into this according to Jeremiah 31? If He was only speaking of Israel what about Gentiles? In Scriptures like Deuteronomy 29:14; 32:43; Isaiah 56:1-8; Acts 15: 7-9; Romans 11:11-36; Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:3-6 and others we see clearly that the Gentiles have always been welcomed to YHWH by His grace, through faith in Messiah Yeshua just as the Jews. But as Paul wrote in Romans 2:9-11, it was offered to the Jew first and then to the Gentile as well. Both Jew AND Gentile can enter His New Covenant by faith in Yeshua!

So what does all this have to do with the Feast of Trumpets? Well, if we as Gentiles in the flesh can become partakers of the New Covenant then we are now able to enjoy His feasts as well, along with ALL of HIS Commandments! The church is made up of both believing Jew and believing Gentile - one new man created in HIM for obedience to the faith (Galatians 3:28; Romans 1:5).

His commandments, including HIS APPOINTED TIMES (Heb. moedim) ie. His Sabbath, His feasts, His new moons, are for all His people - the church.

What about the offering made by fire? I explain this a bit further in my study on this feast, but basically that commandment has not been done away with. We are still to offer up a burnt offering, but not animals, rather, we are to offer up ourselves! We are to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) and we are to offer up sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to His name, by which sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:15-16). Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 also says that God is a consuming fire. If He accepts our lives as an offering to Him, wouldn't that be a burnt offering? I know this seems like I'm spiritualizing the matter, but this is not a new concept. Long before Messiah came to earth in the flesh, God had always wanted the New Covenant for His people, however many of them rejected it. He always wanted their hearts circumcised (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4) but now we see it fulfilled in Messiah (Colossians 2:11). He always wanted His people to allow the Holy Spirit to indwell them and for them to be His house (Numbers 11:29; 2 Samuel 7:6-11; Isaiah 63:11) yet we see it fulfilled today (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:5).

I suppose to an extent we are spiritualizing, but only in the sense that the Scriptures give us. Yeshua said,

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."
-John 4:23

God had placed His Spirit in those of old - Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others - as well as circumcised their hearts, and today we are a part of that family who worship Him in spirit and truth (if we have faith in the Son of God). Remembering that God is spirit and His Word is truth and that Yeshua IS the Living Word. His Law/Word is the very truth that the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts (Psalm 119:142; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:27) and by our obedience we know that we love God and love His children (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3; James 2:14-26).

As the day approaches we'll look more at this feast and what it means for us, but for now consider that it IS for us. Also, consider the time coming, looking unto Him...and listening for His voice.

Ephesians 5:11

2009-09-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

Well I thought that it was time to clean things up a bit :)

I've started an additional blog to this one entitled Ephesians 5:11.

In the book of Ephesians, chapter 5 v 11, Paul writes:

"and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."

This is a call to all believers to not stand idly by as wickedness takes place, but to stand up and call out the enemy, our flesh, and this world which are in opposition to the LORD! To expose the evil practices of man by shedding the light of the Word of God on them, but we can only do that if we ourselves are walking in the light of His Word...in obedience to His Commandments.

Actually I wanted to call it Ephesians 5 because the entire chapter speaks volumes of what we should be doing and living like according to God's standard of righteousness, but believe it or not that name was already taken! So I figured verse 11 kinda says it all.

I plan on devoting more time here at Ezekielthree to studies in the Scriptures, while the new blog will also incorporate some of that but mostly focus on looking at the evil practices and demonic goings on in the world including paganism (especially that which is in the professing church), the many lies concerning health issues, false doctrines, and other such topics.

I will be eventually moving some articles from this blog over to Ephesians511, those that would fit better there. But as I said my goal is to dig more into the Scriptures here at Ezekielthree and seek the LORD for His understanding.

Hopefully these two blogs will help keep things a bit more organized and easier to find as well as cause awarness of what we as followers of Messiah need to be doing as we sojourn through this world.

Blessings in HIM, Jason

Swine Flu Pandemic?

2009-09-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Well I had to write a short stint on this supposed "outbreak" of swine flu that's supposed to ravage the states this fall and winter. It seems as though there's a bit more to it then we've been told (are you really surprised?), but the majority of cases here in the U.S. have been overly-hyped with little pay off for the drug companies. People complain of the symptoms which they say are no more potent than the regular flu!

Below are two videos I found interesting. The first is from the CBS Early Show revealing as with most all cases that the symptoms of the swine flu are nothing more than the regular flu.

The Second video is a bit more interesting and worth watching...pay close attention to what's being said...as I said, interesting.

Still Here...

2009-08-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything other than some links...I've been way too busy! The Lord continues to teach me when to slow down and focus on the things that matter most. The more I study His Word and continue to try and submit to His ways the more I learn that He is always teaching me to keep my eyes on Him.

We were going through Deuteronomy 16-18, Daniel 3, and Revelation 5, 6, and 7 at our gathering last night and it amazes me how awesome the Lord truly is! I can't even begin to fathom His greatness but I catch these little glimpses all throughout His Word.

One thing that jumped out at me was how we have such little control in our lives. Yet the Lord is in COMPLETE control and His love extends far beyond us. He promises to keep those who are His and we see that in the book of Daniel when king Nebuchadnezzer had Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - their Babylonian-given names) thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to bow down and worship the image of gold that the king had set up. Nebuchadnezzer, in his fury, ordered the three men to be thrown into the furnace and he heated it 7 times hotter than before, so hot that it killed the guards who were throwing the young Hebrews into it. Yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were protected in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzer saw them and a fourth man whom he said looked like the Son of God. Yeshua (Jesus) kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego safe through the fire.

In Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 we read that our God is a consuming fire. It's by fire that He will judge the world and if we're not submitted to Him then we will be burned up in His judgment. The fire of king Nebuchadnezzer's furnace was nothing compared to our God.

I can't imagine being put in the position that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were put in, yet if/when the day comes that I am I pray that I will trust in Him to protect me, even if that means death for His name's sake. If that's the case, it's nothing that isn't coming anyway...as I see it I'm going home at some point and only He knows when that is because He's in complete control.

He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lillies of the field...will He not take better care of His sons and daughters whom He loves?

Love

2009-08-22T21:44:00.001-07:00

Love & The Commandments

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Which Day is the Sabbath?

2009-06-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

An interesting article on the Sabbath found at World Net Daily, a conservative news publication:
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57978

This is a link to the Sabbath page on my site:
http://www.ezekielthree.com/sabbath.html

Thinking Allowed

2009-05-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Over the past several years it's become quite clear that people (myself included) don't like to think. Whenever we're challenged on an issue we'd rather have someone else do the thinking for us and tell us the answer. I can't seem to do that anymore.

I praise YAHWEH that He has opened my eyes and given me ears to hear! I thank Him for waking me up and continuing to call me out of the paganism I was in, my Egypt if you will, ...professing christendom! The problem is that the professing evangelical church is just as steeped in the traditions of men as Catholicism and even Judaism, which all reject the pure Law of the LORD for their own doctrines and commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) declared that the traditions of men make the commandments of God of no effect in people's lives (Mark 7:9-13).

One thing that got me "thinking" lately is the return of our LORD. Especially concerning that of the pre-tribulation rapture theory. Actually I've been considering this for a few years, but as of late there has been a renewed interest in my spirit concerning THE event of history...coming soon! While, according to the Scripture, it seems as though we are raptured, or caught up, to meet the LORD, we have to examine what HE says in HIS Word to know "when" this will happen.

One thing we must first examine is "What is the pre-tribulation rapture theory?" and what is the origin of this theory? Is it in the Scriptures or not?

The theory says that Christ will come back, in secret, to bring the church up to meet Him in the air. The dead will rise first, and then the living. All this will take place in the twinkling of an eye before the seven year tribulation starts. Christ and all His saints will then return at the end of the seven years and reign for a thousand years. This would suggest that there is not just a Second Coming of Christ, but a Third Coming as well! This is the premise of the theory.

The word "Rapture" is not found in the Bible. It was invented by the reasoning that Christ will "take up" or "catch away" His church.

What is the origin?

I have not yet found any substantiation in the Scriptures for a pre-tribulation rapture (which we will look at in a moment). And throughout centuries of church history and writings, there is nowhere to be found, any thoughts on a "pre-tribulation" rapture.

It wasn't until the 1830's that the teaching of the rapture came to prominence. Nowhere before then was it found. Not in any culture or writing was there found any discussion of the rapture theory, particularly the pre-tribulation view.

In the 1820's a Presbyterian minister by the name of Edward Irving began teaching a message of the restoration of the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12-14, which are discussed before Paul talks about the return of the Lord in 15. This was unusual for the time and it prompted some to consider what Irving was suggesting. That the time of the Lord's return was near, and so the spiritual gifts must begin to manifest themselves, essentially. Irving was an impressive speaker and a great deal of excitment accompanied his messages. Soon people began experiencing the "gifts" which led to an assumption that Irving's messages where true, and thus Christ would be returning soon. Because of these "gifts", the Presbyterian Church dismissed Irving in 1832 and his group then established themselves as the Catholic Apostolic Church. As a result, some historians refer to Edward Irving as the "father of modern Pentecostalism".

Two years before Irving's dismissal, people in the lowlands of Scotland were experiencing the supposed outpouring of the Spirit according to Irving's teachings, with phenomena such as speaking in "tongues". On one particular evening the Holy Spirit was said to have rested on a Miss Margaret MacDonald while she was at home ill. It is said that while she was dangerously sick she experienced the power of the Spirit for several hours. She experienced manifestations of "mingled prophecy and vision", leaving her mind in an altered state as she went through intense visionary activity.

*After having read her written utterances it seems as though Miss MacDonald saw, or held to, a post-trib. rapture. Though many have thought that she gave birth to the pre-trib. rapture view (myself included), it doesn't appear to be so. In fact, it was John Darby who, three years earlier in 1827, first taught the pre-tribulation rapture theory.

Having heard of the strange happenings, Darby and Samuel Tragelles visited the area around Edward Irving's church and found the "gifts" that were being manifested to be demonic, in their own opinion. It seems unlikely that Darby gained his pre-trib. views from Margaret MacDonald or any other person involved at that time. Given that he didn't seem to think that what was occuring was from God, but from the devil.

Perhaps MacDonald's vision was from the Lord, perhaps not, but her statement "This is the fiery trial which is to try us. - It will be for the purging and purifying of the real members of the body of Jesus; but Oh it will be a fiery trial. Every soul will he shaken to the very centre." seems to point out that she did not believe in a pre-trib. rapture but a post-trib. rapture.

So how did Darby come to his conclusion of a pre-trib. rapture? It seems as though he couldn't reconcile the relationship between Israel and the church. This led to a fabrication of the rapture theory and the origin of Dispensationalism. Members of Darby's church, the Plymouth Brethren, called his secret rapture theory "unbiblical" and even he had supposedly lingering doubts as late as 1845.

It makes sense that Darby taught what he did. After all, it is tradition that blinds us to the truth of God's Word. John Darby, like other theologians, did not hold to the truth of the Scriptures, but instead believed the lie. He could not understand the view of Israel and the church because he did not have the foundation of the Torah of God. Without the foundation, we have nothing to stand on and will then believe what the enemy perpetrates.*

Regardless of who really started or popularized the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine, the point is that it doesn't seem to line up with Scripture and that's what we will look at.

The Scriptural pattern seems to be that Christ returns, pronounces judgment, and divides the wicked from the righteous (Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54; Matthew 13:37-43, 25:31-33; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Acts 1:11; Hebrews 9:27-28). There is no secret gathering in the air seven years before His next return. We are seemingly gathered to Him when He returns the Second time.

The pattern in the bible seems consistant, that the Lord never took His people "out of" the world in order to save them. He always took them "through" His judgments.

Noah was preserved through the Flood. The children of Israel were kept through the plagues. The prophets were never taken out, in fact they were all killed. Only Enoch and Elijah were mentioned as being taken away. But there's question as to whether God actually took them to heaven to be with Him from that point on. The situation with Noah interests me, considering people always look to Noah to support their view of the rapture being pre-trib.! The Flood was God's judgment on the whole earth, a picture of the judgment that's coming. The first by water and the second will be by fire. Noah was told to build an ark and God took him through the Flood...not out of it, but through it. It makes no sense to me how they can look at it that way. I guess when you see things how you want to see them, you'll end up believing anything.

Proponents of the pre-trib. rapture theory also look to
1 Thessalonians 5:9 which says,

"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

I guess I must be missing something here. How does this support their view? God has not appointed us to wrath. This is a true statement. But the wrath Paul is speaking of here is that of eternal condemnation. Salvation isn't temporary, but eternal, if we hold fast our confession of faith. Jesus won't just save us from one event or circumstance, but from an eternity in hell, if we hold fast to HIM! Hallelujah!

Another verse held on to by pre-tribbers is in Revelation where John is told "Come up here" by the angel. Actually it says,

"...Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
-Revelation 4:1b

John was told to "come up" to heaven so that he might see more of the vision which he was being shown and the events taking place in heaven as well as on earth. He was to see the perspective from the Lord's dwelling place and what would come upon the world. This does not substantiate the church being raptured out.

Some say that the Philadelphian church is us today and when John writes of it in Revelation 3, this is a representation of the church that will be raptured out.

"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth, to test those who dwell on the earth."
-Revelation 3:10

The key here is the word "keep" and its meaning.

KEEP
G5083
τηρέω
tēreō
tay-reh'-o
From τηρός teros (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from G5442, which is properly to prevent escaping;
and from G2892, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), that is, to note (a prophecy; figuratively to fulfil a command); by implication to detain (in custody; figuratively to maintain); by extension to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively to keep unmarried): - hold fast, keep (-er), (ob-, pre-, re) serve, watch.

The Lord is not saying that He will keep, or take away, the church from the hour of trial, but that He will guard it, keep a watchful eye on it. He is a mighty fortress and our shield (Psalm 144:1-2). As the above definition shows, He will even prevent escaping.

The church will go through the hour of trial that will come upon the whole earth, but under YAHWEH's protection!

Later in Revelation we read two interesting passages, both of which deal with believers who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ". (Revelation 12:17 & 14:12)

Given the context of chapter 12 it would seem as though those who keep God's commandments and have the faith, or testimony, of Jesus are not simply believing Jews, but believing Gentiles as well. While this might be those who come to faith after a supposed pre-trib. rapture, it would make more sense that it is those who knew the commandments of the LORD and have already placed their faith in Jesus, thereby heeding His warning to them in Matthew 24. and resisting the lies of the wicked one and the antichrist, also called the man of lawlessness.

Speaking of Matthew 24, let's look at what Messiah Himself says.

After Jesus' disciples ask Him what will be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, He responds first with this statement,

"Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."
-Matthew 24:4-5

I never realized that Messiah answered with this first for a specific reason...and that He spoke of this throughout His exhortation to them. False messiahs and false prophets have come and will continue to come, leading up to the antichrist and false prophet that will deceive many on the earth. Yeshua (Jesus) was giving them (and us?) warning about the enemy's deceitful plotting. That has been the devil's intentions from the beginning...to deceive God's people into trusting in themselves or someone else rather than the LORD Himself. But there is only ONE Lord and when He returns it will be as when the lighting flashes from the east to the west, across the whole earth. No other messiah could or will do that. No other prophet will lead people to the truth of God's Word except Messiah Yeshua! The enemy will even work miracles that seem so convincing to the lawless that they could almost deceive the elect if it were possible.

Then in verses 29 through 31 we read,

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then
all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather together His elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other."
-Matthew 24:29-31

Immediately after the tribulation! Not before, but after. It mentions nothing of Him bringing the elect back with Him (after some supposed pre-trib. rapture and seven years in heaven with Him), but rather, gathering them to Himself at that time.

The Rapture certainly is a subject worth studying and I am continuing to do just that. I don't have all the answers, and IF there is a rapture before the tribulation, then GREAT! I won't complain! But if that's not the case and we are here through the tribulation then we'd better be ready to hold fast to the LORD our God.

Wouldn't it be just like the enemy to get us to believe that we'll be raptured out before the tribulation starts, so that when it does people won't think that it could possibly be the tribulation, because "We won't be here during the tribulation" they'll be thinking.

Thinking...that's the key...but thinking according to the Scriptures.

Slaves of righteousness

2009-05-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Having come out of (or should I say still coming out of) professing Christendom I realize more and more how wrong we teach the Bible.

One of the overall points that the "church" makes today is that the Law of God is dead and no longer of any consequence to a believer in Jesus. The Old Testament is pretty much done away with and now all we need is the New Testament.

I ask them what do they do with passages like Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:27, Matthew 5:17-18, Mark 7:8-13, Romans 3:31, 7:12,14,22-25, 8:4,6-7, 2 Corinthians 3:14-16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 John 2:3-7, 3:4, 5:2-3, Revelation 12:17, 14:12, and others? (I suggest you go and read these.)

Jesus said,

"Most assuredly I say to you that whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
-John 8:34-36

The professing church interprets this as meaning that Christ has come to free us from the Law so that we can live freely in His grace, which by the standards of the "church" seems to mean that we can just about live however we want. In reality, grace is defined as God's influence on our hearts with a reflection through our lives. Biblical grace is the LORD writing His Law on our hearts and that work shining out in our very life!

If Jesus sets us free then what does that look like? Can we really live however we want? Oh, I'm sure most pastors would say no and they'd give some guidlines, or some rules much like the Jerusalem council gave in Acts 15. That's all we Gentiles have to worry about, but we certainly don't have to keep all of God's commandments, right?

"And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."
-Romans 6:18

Did you catch that? If you have been set free from sin, having experienced the grace of God, then you are NOW a slave of righteousness! You're still a slave, but not to sin, rather to God. How can that be free? Well, when we were slaves of sin we did things according to our flesh that were in opposition to the will and Word of God. But now that we are in Him (if you truly are in Him) we have been given the power of His Spirit to say no to sin...we are no longer it's (sin) slave! We do that which opposes sin and should align itself with God's Law. By His grace, our spirit forces our flesh into submission.

Paul says in Galatians,

"For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ."
-Galatians 1:10

The definition for "bondservant" is this:

G1401
δοῦλος
doulos
doo'-los
From G1210; a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): - bond (-man), servant.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's."
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20

If we are not our own, but bondservants of Christ, slaves of righteousness, then shouldn't we walk as HE wants us to? How does He want us to walk?

Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
-John 14:15

As some teach, the commandments that Jesus was talking about here are the new ones He supposedly gave in the gospels. What?! Show me one place that He actually did that! He said in John 7:16,

"My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me."

Who sent Jesus into the world? The Father. So the doctrine, or teaching, that Jesus brought was not His but the Father's. So what was the Father's doctrine?

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart."
-Deuteronomy 6:5-6

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey Me voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
-Exodus 19:5-6

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
-1 Peter 2:9

God has called us out of confusion, out of "Babylon" if you will, and has given us His Law as a light. If we are in Christ then we are no longer under the letter of the Law as a ministry of death, but in the Spirit, who writes the Law upon our heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34, 2 Corinthians 3:1-18).

If we have accepted Jesus as the ONLY way to the Father, then we have entered the New Covenant, which is really the Old Covenant with a change in how sin is now dealt with - no longer is there a Tabernacle, a Levitical priesthood, or animal sacrifices. Jesus IS the temple (tabernacle), our great High Priest, and the once for all atoning sacrifice for sin! Hallelujah!!

The awesome thing is, He now makes us His temple, His priesthood, and requires us to offer up ourselves as living sacrifices. This all makes sense since we are HIS body!

The Law of God isn't dead or done away with and it never will be until the LORD returns, apart from sin for salvation, sin is cast away and heaven and earth pass away. Only then will His Law no longer be needed in the same capacity it is now. But we will always be under His Word.

We are not our own and we are not free to live sinfully (lawlessly)! It is only by His standard of righteousness (His Law) that we can know what sin is and turn from it toward Him.

A Little Leaven...pt 1

2009-04-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

For years I never noticed this verse (mainly because I hardly read my bible!), but when I did begin to dig into the Lord's Word I soon noticed this passage. When I did I couldn't believe what it said, that Christ is our Passover! As John said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
- John 1:29 Jesus, the Son of God, was/is also the spotless Lamb of God! Because of His sacrifice our sins have been forgiven and we are now heirs with Him according to His Word (Romans 3:24-26).

There is no longer a need to offer up a lamb at Passover because He has once, for all, cleansed us by His blood and because He is the Passover Lamb.

This does not do away with His Feasts, it only makes them more relevant as we seek to keep them.

Today as I write this it is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A feast in which we remember the death, burial, and resurrection of the spotless Lamb of God - Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

Every year the feasts become more and more real in the work that God is doing in our lives. He is constantly removing the leaven (sin) from us if we are willing to obey Him. However, during the feast itself the intensity of the spiritual warfare is almost exhausting, except for the fact that YAHWEH gives us strength.

He is without sin, yet He became sin for us so that we might be saved through His sacrifice and now He has given us His Holy Spirit to war against principalities and powers AND against our own flesh!

One passage of Scripture that the LORD has led me to over and over again is Romans 6,7, and 8. It seems especially powerful during this feast of Unleavened Bread when Christ, the Bread of Life, came to redeem us from the power of sin and proved He was without spot or blemish by resurrecting from the dead! Because of this, all who place their faith in Him, repent, and obey His Word are no longer slaves of sin, but slaves of righteousness.

Now we look unto His coming at the end of the age! He has fulfilled the feast of Firstfruits by His resurrection and He will resurrect us...His bride who is without spot IF we are cleansed by the washing of His Word.

"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep."
- 1 Corinthians 15:20

'Tis the Season

2009-03-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

Another season is upon us. What season am I speaking of?....the beginning of the LORD's appointed times!

In the Scriptures we read about the feasts of the LORD, His Sabbaths, and other holy convocations. These are all times that HE has appointed for His people to gather before Him in praise and worship.

And it all started around the end of this past week (approx. Mar. 26th) with the New Moon. The New Moon is the beginning of each new month, according to God's time keeping, and last week's new moon started what is called the month of Abib, or "tender", as in a tender ear of grain. This happens in the Middle East around this time every year.

In Exodus, as God was instructing Moses and Aaron about the Passover, and preparing them to go, He told them when the start of each year would begin,

"Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.'"
Exodus 12:2

"On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth."
Exodus 13:4

The month of the Passover, the very month they were leaving, was the month of Abib. That month is the beginning of the new year. It makes sense when we look at His creation that He would start each new year in the spring, when life begins to bloom again. What never made sense to me was why we celebrate the new year in the middle of winter (when every thing is still dead) or why some pagans (and the Jews) ackowledge the new year in the fall when everything is getting ready to die. God's way always makes sense.

So why is this so important? Because we can plainly see just from this one thing that our way of looking at time is vastly different than the way the Creator keeps time. Not only does the start of our year begin in the spring, but it's the rest of the LORD's appointed times that make up His yearly cycle of gathering before Him.

The word for appointed is:
appointed
H4150
מועדה מעד מועד
mô‛êd mô‛êd mô‛âdâh
mo-ade', mo-ade', mo-aw-daw'
From H3259; properly an appointment, that is, a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand): - appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn (-ity), synagogue, (set) time (appointed).

They are HIS appointed times, not ours. It is about how HE views things, not how we see them. And as Paul says in Galatians 1, are we seeking to please men (and by implication ourselves as well) or are we seeking to please God?

Now certainly we can, and should, worship the LORD daily, but that doesn't mean we are to disregard HIS times of meeting! Who made up time anyway....us or the Lord of heaven and earth?

So in the very first month of the year what do we come to? The LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread, which included Passover and Firstfruits. This feast is NOT the feast of the Jews, but HIS feast (Leviticus 23). For so many years we looked at them as belonging to Israel, but the LORD said they are His feasts. They are His holy convocations.

What are holy convocations? The word 'convocation' actually has the meaning of being like a rehearsal. The Strong's definition says it well:

convocation
H4744
מקרא
miqrâ'
mik-raw'
From H7121; something called out, that is, a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the palce); also a rehearsal: - assembly, calling, convocation, reading.

So a holy convocation is a meeting that is sacred and set apart, for the LORD and His people. It is a holy rehearsal. So what are we rehearsing for? The only thing that we truly look forward to....the marriage of the Lamb and His bride (us)!

We are rehearsing for an eternity with our God and King! Every Sabbath, every feast day is another time of rehearsing for that Day when we will be with our Savior, the Bridegroom! Hallelujah!!

These times of meeting are, as I said before, appointed by the LORD. God has specifically set aside times throughout the year just for meeting with, and worshiping, Him. Of course we can do that on a daily basis, but we can't forget the fourth commandment that says we must work six days and rest the seventh. So the LORD has given us a pattern of working through the week and gathering before Him on His weekly appointed time - the Sabbath.

His feasts are another opportunity to fellowship with Him and those of His body. The feast of Unleavened Bread is coming soon, in the middle of the month of Abib during the full moon. It is a time of reflecting on how we can get rid of the leaven in our house, a perfect picture of ridding ourselves of sin. Leaven represents sin, and "cleaning" out the "house" involves diligence and watchfulness. We must call upon the Spirit of the LORD to help us crucify our flesh and reckon ourselves dead so that we may live to God. This is what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is about....that and realizing that the perfect, sinless Lamb of God offered Himself up so that we might have the chance to be saved and live for Him!

The day of Passover begins this feast and it is all about His sacrifice for our sins and the atonement that came with that. Following the High Sabbath (first day) of Unleavened Bread, after Passover, we count three days and come to First fruits. This day is the most glorious day when our Lord conquered the grave and was risen from the dead!!

These "old testament" feasts are for the people of God and are according to HIS time, not ours. Wouldn't we be wise to seek Him according to His design, His time, His ways?

"Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
1 Corinthians 5:7

Walking in the Spirit

2009-03-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to "walk in the Spirit"? Paul uses this phrase in Galatians 5:16, but what is it that he's speaking of?

Many professing christians today believe that walking in the Spirit is many things depending on how they interpret the Scriptures.

John MacArthur, a well known pastor and author said this of the Holy Spirit:
At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the life of a believer and becomes the source of power for his life."

The question is - "The source of power for his life...to do what?"

Is the Holy Spirit working in us to give us power so that we can live according to how we think we should? Many people believe so. How many times have you heard, "If God wanted me to do that, then He would have..." Just fill in the blank, as I'm sure we can come up with a million reasons as to why we disobey the Lord in what He tells us to do.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9

The fool has said in his heart "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good. God looks down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there are any
who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good.
No, not one.
Psalm 53:1-3

How can we think that we can know best, that we can set the standard of how we should live? Yet we do all the time. "Oh no, not me!" Yes, even you. I have found myself far too many times deciding that I know better than God what is best for my life, and I'm sure that you've done it from time to time.

How do we do it? By adding to His Word, or taking away from it. It is a constant process of submitting to His will and letting go of ours that will give us direction, because we are choosing to follow the One who knows ALL things, and certainly knows what's best for us.

Only by keeping His Commandments can we begin to see the corrupt nature of our flesh and crucify the "old man", that sinful nature.
This is where the discussion usually has people spewing out terms like, "legalist" or "bondage", in reference to a believer choosing to obey God's Commandments. "We're free from the Law." "The Law is dead." Really? That's not what Jesus said,

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Matthew 5:17-18

Until when? Until heaven and earth pass away, not one single mark will be removed from the Law (His Word)! Has heaven or earth passed away yet? Nope. When will they? Not until Messiah returns to consumate the marriage with His bride (the church). In 1 John 3:4, John writes that "sin is lawlessness." Jesus Himself said that there will be people who come to Him and claim to have done great things in His name, but He will say to those people, "I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23)

How can we know Christ if we do not know His Law? The answer is - we can't. Remember, it's HIS law, not ours. Since He is the Creator of life and the giver of all good things, then He knows what is good for those who love Him.

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" Jesus said this in John 14:15 and it is not an ultimatum or a command, but simply a fact. If we truly love Him, then we will naturally obey His Word, His Commandments. This is walking in the Spirit.

The Spirit is our Helper, our seal of redemption, and He gives us the power, by His grace, to obey His Commandments through faith. It is only through faith that we can access grace and it is only by God's grace that we can hope to be obedient to Him. Like James writes,

"faith without works, is dead"
James 2:26

If our faith is real, then good works will follow. Those works are proof that our faith is real. These are the fruits of the Spirit. These are the works that God prepared beforehand in Messiah for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:8-10).

So let's look at Paul's discussion of what walking in the Spirit is about, in Galatians 5.

He writes:

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
Galatians 5:16-18

Before we move on I want to point out that this argument is identical to what Paul wrote in Romans 7 and 8.

Paul cries out "O wretched man that I am who will save me from this body of death?" Of course we know the answer - Yeshua! (Jesus). But why does Paul say that? In verses 14 through 23 we see the struggle that is in all of us! Our spirits want to do one thing, but our sinful nature wants to do another, and sometimes we end up doing things against the will of our spirit because we've given room for our flesh to win a victory in our lives instead of yielding control over to the Holy Spirit. In Romans 6:18-19 Paul points out that we are to be slaves of righteousness, going against the will of our flesh and obeying the Law of God.

In Romans 7:14 he writes that the Law is spiritual. The Spirit and the Law work together in the life of the believer because they are both "spiritual" (Romans 8:2-4). The flesh hates both the Spirit and the law. In fact Romans 8:7 says this:

"Because the carnal mind [sinful nature] is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
Romans 8:7

Did you get that? Our flesh CANNOT be subject to God's Law and it is hostile toward Him. Is it any wonder that we don't "feel" like obeying the Commandments of Yahweh?! That's because our flesh is lying to us, telling us that we don't need to follow a "dead law", as it says. However, the Law is NOT dead, as Jesus already said He didn't come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. That word "fulfill" actually means to fully preach!

What about Paul's statement back in Gal. 5:18 about not being under the law if we are led by the Spirit? The same thing we just talked about. To be under the Law is to be under God's wrath and the condemnation of death. Remember, the Law shows us what sin is, what sinners we are, and our need for a Savior. This is being "under" the Law. Perhaps you recall the verse that says "Christ is the end of the law". Well, it says

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
Romans 10:4

If Christ already said that He didn't come to destroy the Law but to fulfill (fully preach) then what is being said here? The word for end in the above verse actually means 'goal' or aiming for a mark.

G5056
τέλος
telos
tel'-os
From a primary word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare G5411.

The Law is all about Messiah - the Living Word! It points to Him, but that doesn't mean that He did away with it in the process of fulfilling it!

To be under the Law is death, that's one of it's ministries
(1 Corinthians 3:7) as it was, written on stone. The Law is the knowledge of sin and therefore shows us our sin - that which leads us to death, but it is also for our good (Deuteronomy 10:13; Romans 3:17-18) and David and Paul both said they delighted in the Law of God (Psalm 1:2; 19; 119; Romans 7:22). Paul also said that he serves the Law of God with his mind and that we, as believers, actually establish the Law through faith! (Romans 7:25; 3:31)

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kindgom of God."
Galatians 5:19-21

Practice what things? All of the things Paul just listed - which are sinful. Sin is what? - lawlessness. People who practice lawlessness will be told by the Lord that He never knew them and they will be told to depart from Him.

"but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Galatians 5:22-24

The Law of God, which not only shows us our sin, but shows us how to live for Him, tells us what HE wants from us. The Spirit, testifying with our spirits that we are children of God, shows us this by acknowledging whether or not we love Him and whether or not we'll follow Him.

We crucify our flesh by dying to it daily. Laying ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices. How do we do that? By loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as ourself - by obeying His Torah/Law!

"On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:40

How do we love God and love others?...by obeying His Commandments. Simple. How do we walk in the Spirit?...by obeying His Commandments. Again, simple.

God's Fingerprint

2009-03-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

Everything the LORD does He does for all generations to see.

I received this e-mail from a friend and thought it was worth passing along.

Despite the story itself being an urban legend that's been passed around since the sixties, the truth of the Scriptures still stand!

Subject: NASA & The Bible
Thought this was pretty amazing and interesting! For all the scientists out there, and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible, here's something that shows God's awesome creation, and that He is still in control. Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called 'myth' in the Bible is true?Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland, and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development. 'I think one of the most amazing things that God has done for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Green Belt, Maryland. They were checking out where the positions of the sun, moon, and planets would be 100 years and 1,000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send up a satellite and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.
They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries, and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong with either the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out, and they said, 'What's wrong?' Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair out. There was no answer.Finally a Christian man on the team said, 'You know, one time I was in Sunday School, and they talked about the sun standing still.' While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, 'Show us'. He got a Bible and went to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with 'common sense.' There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, 'Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before Thee.' Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy And if darkness fell, they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right... 'The sun stood still and the moon stayed and lasted not to go down about a whole day!' (Joshua 10:12-13) The astronauts and scientists said, 'There is the missing day!' They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes. not a whole day. They read the Bible, and there it was about [approximately] a day. These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes, you'll still be in trouble 1000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.
As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his death bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said 'Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?' Hezekiah said, 'It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees.' Isaiah spoke to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD! Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes!' Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe! Isn't it amazing? References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11. Forward this to as many people who you believe would think this is equally as cool. If God could do this then; how much more can he do for us today. If we only believe in his word. Never be afraid to try something new. All I have and all that I am is by the Grace of God! And so it is!

Blessed be the LORD God Almighty!

Stranger than Fiction

2009-02-21T22:26:00.000-08:00

http://rfdamerica.com/?p=333

Valentine's Day

2009-02-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

I figured now that the festival of Valentine's Day is past, people might be a little more interested to see just where this celebration really stems from. Find out more about this and other major holidays and how the LORD sees them.

http://www.ezekielthree.com/valentine.html

What's Really Going On

2009-01-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting article written about some of the recent goings-on of our gov't. Just follow the link below if you care to read it:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=400282

"But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.' Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
- 1 Peter 4:7-10

The Majesty of God

2009-01-21T19:30:00.001-08:00

Recently a scientist remarked about the universe saying, "The more we discover, the less we know."

Scientists have been trying to figure out how big the universe is but none have been able to discern the measurement. Often, they use an evolutionary basis to calculate their findings but are clearly in error since evolution has been proven false time and time again.

Some purpose (again, through evolutionary thought processes) that the universe stretches out at 156 billion light years wide! That's astounding, but there's no way to be sure since they're using a false belief to determine the information. The truth is the universe is so vast that even if we could find the size of it we wouldn't be able to wrap our minds around it. In fact, people can't even fully understand the vastness of our galaxy, or even our solar system for that matter.

If we step outside and peer into the night sky we can see the stars in that sky (if we live away from too many city lights) and get a "small" glimpse at the enormity of Yahweh's creation.

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?"
- Psalm 8:3

But that's just it, isn't it? Even in all of God's splendor and majesty, He made the universe and all that is in it - for us! We are His greatest creation, made in His image. Yet we choose to sin and walk away from Him day after day without the thought of repentance. Without the thought of eternity. Do we ask ourselves "Why"? Why do we shun the One who gave us life and all good things under the sun? Our pride and selfishness keep us from falling on our knees before our Creator.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
- Jeremiah 17:7-10

Jeremiah is partially quoting from Psalm 1 in the first few verses here. Notice that if we trust and hope in the LORD, rather than ourselves, we will be upheld by His hand and planted firmly....unmovable. If we choose to look to our own strength, however, then we will surely be deceived and perish because the heart of man is "deceitful" and "desperately wicked". It will not tell us the truth, therefore we cannot trust in our own ways lest we be led astray, away from God. But if we place our faith and trust in Him and His perfect Word, then we will yield fruit/good works which men will see and then glorify the God of heaven and earth. And though our heart is not trustworthy and will condemn us, the LORD is greater than our heart, and He knows us (1 John 3:20).

The apostle Paul writes:

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
- Romans 8:7

Our flesh will never be submissive to God and His standard. His standard (the Law) is the plumb line with which to measure sin, yet many in the professing church throw it out saying it was "nailed to the cross" when in fact it is the only truth there is. It is HIS word. If it is truth and men have tried to say it is no longer in effect, then we see how they can look past Yahweh as the Creator of all things and deny Him in their own lives.

Scientists are just now getting there first look into some of the moon's deepest craters. Something that is so close to our own planet (in comparison with the rest of the universe) and they think, in their pride, that they have accomplished such great things. Though I marvel at the technology of today it saddens me to think that for all that mankind knows, it is like Solomon in all his wisdom. He knew the truth but in the end he could not grasp it with his heart, therefore he turned away from the LORD and followed after other gods.

What do you see when you look at our universe? A vast emptiness of cosmic coincidences....or the work of a loving Creator?

The Faithfulness of YAHWEH

2009-01-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

I can't say it enough....the faithfulness of the LORD is AMAZING! It overwhelms me sometimes when I stop to think about His consistency in my life.

David writes in Psalm 28:1,

"Unto You I will cry, O LORD, my Rock..."

The LORD is unchanging and steadfast. More and more through my life I realize that when I am like the shifting sand, He is immovable and constant.

I say all of this because once again He has shown me that the more I try and do things my way the more I step away from Him. But if I slow down and listen to what He is saying to me then I will be able to walk with Him through this life.

It's so important for us to understand HOW to listen to the LORD when He speaks. He speaks clearly through His Word. If we do not read His Word then we will have no idea what He is trying to say to us.

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ouselves, and the truth is not in us."
-1 John 1:5-8

Notice John mentions both "light" and "truth" several times in this passage. What is the light and truth that John is speaking of? Is it some ethereal light surrounding God? Perhaps a glowing light around His throne?
And what about the truth? Pilate asked Messiah "What is truth?"

In Revelation 21:23 we read,

"The city [New Jerusalem] had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."

The Lamb, Yeshua (Jesus), is the light of the New Jerusalem, which is to say He is the light of His people.

We know that Yeshua is also the living Word of God.

In John's gospel, he writes,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,"
- John 1:1

and also

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
- John 1:14

Messiah was/is the living Word of God and the Light. Yeshua said to Nicodemus,

"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
- John 3:20-21

Christ as the Light and the Truth are synonymous with that of God. There can only be one source of Truth and since the LORD created everything, He has to be it. So what does this have to do with His faithfulness. Well as we've already seen, His faithfulness is most effective in our lives when we listen to what He is saying to us. Though the faithfulness of the LORD is not limited to our ability to hear Him (He can clearly work in and through us IN SPITE OF US), but in a relationship with the Living God we must be able to hear Him speaking.

If He is the Word, and we must listen to His Word, then it stands to reason that we must come to Him and allow Him to expose our evil deeds for what they are - lawless acts against Him - and cleanse us from our sins. That is what He was saying to Nicodemus, that those who hate the light hate it because it exposes the very things their flesh delights in.

So, in order to hear what He is saying, we must listen to Him through His Word which is both light and truth.

Again, in John, Yeshua says,

"Father, sanctify them by Your truth, Your Word is truth."
- John 17:17

What "Word" is Jesus speaking of here? The New Testament? It wasn't written yet. His own words? Well technically yes, because He's God, but He clearly makes the point throughout His time here on earth that He didn't come to speak His own words.

"I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."
- John 12:49

Why would He say that? Isn't Jesus God? Yes, but He was making a very clear point. That point is that He came, not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill (fully preach) them. He came to firmly establish the Torah (Law) in the hearts and minds of believers. In order to do that He had to A)Live Torah perfectly and B)Obey the Father and speak on His behalf.

Jesus didn't come to set down any new rules. If He did then He would be against the commandments of God and therefore would be disqualified as the Messiah. But we know that He IS the Messiah because He lived the Law perfectly, not to do away with it (which makes no sense contextually)but to fill it up full, which is what the Greek word for fulfill, pleroo, means.

Looking again at the concept of Light and Truth, if we look back into Psalm 119 we find something very interesting. Remember, Yeshua said, "sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth". And we asked the question, "what is the word He is speaking of?"

"Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and
Your Law is truth."
-Psalm 119:142

The entirety of Psalm 119 is all about God's Law/Torah. Verse 160 says, "The entirety of Your word is truth."

We cannot separate the Word of God into sections that meet our purposes and throw out the parts that we don't like. The WHOLE Word of the LORD is truth, and all of it is founded upon His Torah/Law. Back in verse 29, the psalmist writes,

"Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously".

He writes this because he knows that the Law of Yahweh IS truth, and what better teacher to correct his lying tongue than the Law of the LORD?

We cannot deny that the Law of God, which is truth is also light.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments."
- Psalm 119:105

Remember that the context of Psalm 119 is the entire Word of God, namely His Law.

Solomon wrote, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light."

So God's Law, which is the foundation of the rest of His Word, is both Truth and Light. Jesus, the Living Word, or we could say the Living Torah, came to speak that which the Father told Him, thereby establishing again the foundation of Torah. This leads us to see a little more clearly what John was writing about in his 1st epistle when he said, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." If we walk apart from His Torah, then we are living according to our own standard of righteousness which is to say, none at all.

"There is none righteous, no not one." - Romans 3:10 quoting from psalms 14 and 53.

It is by His standard - Torah - that our sin is identified and can be dealt with, all in line with His will.

John goes on to say in 2:3,

"Now by this we now that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."

Yeshua said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
- John 14:15 Again, He didn't come preaching a bunch of new commandments, but those which the Father (and He) had already established from the beginning.

If we truly love our Savior then the natural extension of that love will be that we keep His Commandments. Not to be saved, but because we ARE saved.

His faithfulness is that He continues to pursue us when we stray, reminding us by His Law that because we are in Him, our flesh is not in control. It can only give off the illusion that it is, but there is no power in our flesh. It's dying and we are told to crucify it along with its desires.

The flesh is hostile toward the law of God and cannot be subjected to it. This should be enough of a reason for us to seek the Lord and His Torah in order to gain a better understanding into His will for our lives. If we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) then we should be walking in obedience to His Law, knowing that it has shown us our sin and that we needed a Savior, but now that we are no longer under that schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24-25), we are free to live according to His Law by our own choice, knowing that His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3) but a delight (Matthew 11:30).

The Season of the Solstice

2009-01-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but it's been quite busy for me over the last month....not because of the pagan holidays, but because life just gets that way sometimes.

We've made it through another season of the winter solstice celebration, disguising itself as Christmas and New Year's but I find myself wishing it was still upon us so that I had more time to share the truth with those around me. I hate to say it, but it went by too fast. Not that I long for confrontation and strife, but that others might see those things which the LORD wants to expose. Those works of darkness that only His light (His Word) can reveal and show them for what they are.

Christmas and the whole festival, for those of you who may not know, is simply a renewed celebration of the winter solstice festivals of old. Nearly every single tradition of Christmas and New Year's is pagan in origin and all the church has done is thrown Christ into the middle of it and called it good.

However, the LORD does not take much of a liking to worshiping Him with pagan things (Deuteronomy 12:1-4) and the golden calf incident, in Exodus 32, is a perfect example of that. After Aaron built the idol, he then proclaimed a feast to Yahweh on the very next day! Trying to involve the LORD in idolatrous practices does not and CAN NOT sanctify the idol or the paganism.

Instead of me writing a bunch of things here I'm simply going to give you a link to the Ezekielthree website page on Christmas where you can read for yourself all about the traditions and practices and find out for yourself their origin. You then have to ask yourself, "What does God think about all of this?"

Here's the link - http://ezekielthree.com/christmas.html

Be sure when you visit the page to click the icons on the left which will take through all kinds of information.

Blessings as you seek His truth.

Life Insurance

2008-12-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

I saw a commercial the other day in which a dad and his young son, probably around 7 or 8, were watching t.v. and a 'commercial' came on about life insurance. The boy turned to his dad and asked, "Dad, what's life insurance?" The father turned ever so caringly to his son and said, "Well...it's something that....if anything happened to me or your mom, then you kids would be taken care of." Or at least something to that effect. The boy faced the television again, reassured now that dad had answered his question and then turned back to his father and said, "Do you have life insurance?" The father answered "Yes." and then the boy paused for a moment then replied, "I'm glad we have life insurance."

Seeing this advertisement made me stop and think for a bit. I have life insurance for my family, but money only goes so far. If anything happened to me, I know they would be taken care of financially but is that all that I'm giving to my children?

For some people that's more than enough. If they can give their children a good "cushion" if anything happened to them then they're doing all right. I think that there's a whole lot more that we can be doing for our children besides life insurance. Let me explain.

The first question we have to ask ourselves as parents is, "Do my kids have a relationship with the Living God?" "Do they know and obey Yeshua the Messiah, or do they just do what we tell them?"

If these questions go unanswered then it could be a horrifying thought of what could happen to our children when they pass away, no matter what their age.

As parents raising our children is a task, that's for sure (especially in this world today), but I'm reminded of what the Lord commanded for His people to do,

1. "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you that you may ovserve them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2. that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
3. Therefore, hear O Israel, and be careful to ovserve it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you - 'a land flowing with milk and honey'.
4. "Hear O israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
5. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
- Deuteronomy 6:1-6

Notice how many times the Lord mentions His commandments, statutes, and judgments in these few verses. Also, see that the purpose of these are that we would fear the Lord and keep His commandments. The LORD is one and they were to love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. Sound familiar? Jesus said this to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:37. We know that we are to do the same, yet notice what the Lord continues to say,

"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."
- Deuteronomy 6:7

What are we to teach our children? The commandments. And we are to teach them diligently, the Lord says. The word for teach them diligently is the Hebrew shanan which means 'intensively to pierce'; prick, sharpen.' Think of it, we are to pierce, or prick our children's ears and hearts with the commandments of Yahweh! To sharpen them with His Law. Notice that it's not just a quick prayer when they head out the door, or a quaint bible story before they go to bed. No, it should be throughout the entire day...when we sit, walk, lie down and wake up together.

This doesn't mean that we should constantly be shoving the Law of God down their throats, pointing out every thing they do in which they break the commandment, thereby causing them to disdain His Word. Certainly not, for if we are looking unto our Savior and living for Him according to His Torah/Law, then His grace in our lives (divine influence upon the heart with a reflection through the life) will almost effortlessly come out in our relationship with our children. We must make a constant effort to teach them the Ways of Yahweh, in His entire word. If we are walking in Torah, obeying the voice of the Lord, and teaching our children how to hear His voice, then they will very early on begin to hear Him. In their lives they will know Him intimately and walk on their own with the Spirit in His Torah.

A Torah life is one that exhalts the Lord of heaven and earth and seeks to know Him more and to be obedient to Him in all that we do. It is not bondage, as some say, but true liberty. The truth shall make you free indeed! Messiah said this to those who did not fully understand the purity of God's whole word. Yeshua (Jesus) also said,

"Sanctify them by Your truth, Your Word is truth."
- John 17:17

When we look at Psalm 119 we read,

"Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Law is truth."
- Psalm 119:142

Here specifically we see that God's Law is truth. We know that it is His instruction, His standard, and His direction for us. The word Torah actually has the meaning of "a prescribed grazing". His Law is food for us, much like Jesus said in Matthew 4 quoting....well Himself from Deuteronomy 8:3, saying,

"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
- Matthew 4:4

What 'word' was He speaking of? The entire Word of God including the foundation - the Torah!

If we teach our children about who the Lord is and train them up in obeying His Commandments, then we are giving them everything they need for life and godliness. His Torah is His standard by which He judges all men. Our children were sinners from birth and they need to be born again in Messiah Yeshua, believing that He is the only way, truth, and life and that there is no other way to the Father except through Him! The Law of God teaches them this and will lead them to a point where they must either except Him as Savior or reject Him. They are not saved just because they are born into a family that follows Messiah. They must make the decision to follow Him on their own.

We CANNOT make the decision for them, no matter how badly we want to. We cannot force our will upon them anymore than our Father WILL NOT force His will upon us. But like He does with us, so we must do with our children....love them by being patient with them, disciplining them when they disobey, and teaching them along the way to be obedient to the Torah of Yahweh, because His love for them is greater than ours.

So life insurance, as best we can provide in our limited abilities, can be money related (though only temporary), but at best is simply living in obedience to the LORD, training our children up in Torah, in the way they should go, and as they grow they will not depart from it. This will hold true if WE hold true to His Word and our children will see that in our lives. They will see that no matter how much we love and care for them, their heavenly Abba much more so.

We must give them more....much more than money. We have to offer up our lives as living sacrifices to God, praying that our testimony and our parenting will result in our children's obedience to Him. Though they may not, that will be between them and Him in the end. But they must be warned that only HE can provide a true assurance of life eternal....a real life insurance.

Forgiving

2008-11-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

On my last post I talked a little about asking for forgiveness, but what about forgiving others? Are we to just forgive people whether they ask for it or not, or are we supposed to wait till they come to us? When and how do we forgive? Let's see what the Lord says in His Word.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."
- Luke 11:4

"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
- Luke 17:4

"And be kind to one another and forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
- Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."
- Colossians 3:12-13

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."
- Psalm 130:4

The Lord, full of mercy and compassion, and justice forgives us of our sins when we come before Him in repentance and not before (1 Samuel 7:3; 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Chronicles 7:14, 30:6; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 36:3; Ezekiel 18:21, 33:11; Zechariah 1:3; Matthew 3:2; Acts 17:30). This tells us that we cannot expect to be forgiven of our sins without asking Him for forgiveness.

The grace of God is something that we can't earn or work for, but it certainly isn't given to those who are not seeking Him. The professing church today has been preaching a message of grace without truly understanding what God's grace is really all about. In fact, most of us have no idea what grace even means.

Grace
G5485
χάρις
charis
khar'-ece
From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

The grace of God is His influence on our hearts which then reflects, or shines, outward in our lives. In other words His will in our life produces fruit. That's how James can say that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

So what is God's influence? It is His Law written upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit because of Jesus' atoning sacrifice, and all of which reflects through our lives in good works which God had prepared before hand (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Matthew 5:16-19; Ephesians 2:8-10).

So the forgiveness that God brings and which is unchanging because HE is unchanging, cannot be given unless we come to Him first. Does this apply with us forgiving others? What's interesting about the Scriptures that we read earlier is that almost (if not every) situation seems to be dealing amongst the body of Christ. But even if a non-believer asks for forgiveness it would appear that we are to forgive them, but most certainly if it is a brother or sister in Messiah. There is no doubt that we are to forgive those who have sinned against us but then come asking for forgiveness. If they show fruit bearing evidence of repentance then we are commanded by the Lord to forgive them.

But should we forgive those who don't ask for forgiveness? Though we are certainly NOT God, we are to follow Him as our example and walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). However, again because we are NOT God we are not without sin. Our relationship with other people is affected by this. Christ, who was/is without sin, forgives us of our sins when we come to Him in repentance. Can we do the same being sinners ourselves? Though we are sinners, if we are IN Him and abide in His love then the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to obey His voice. He also brings about fellowship among those who individually have fellowship with Messiah. If a brother sins against us it does not appear that we should automatically forgive them unless they come to us and ask for forgiveness. Until they come, though, we should certainly be praying for them, showing them love and grace in our actions and words toward them.

The context of passages like Mark 11:25 is clearly dealing with our sin against our brother or sister - the sin of unforgiveness.

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25

We are clearly told not to harbor anger unjustly toward anyone (Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26) and surely the Lord will not forgive us if we will not forgive those who come to us asking for it.

Paul writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth,

"so that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."
- 2 Corinthians 2:7-11

We really should know better as to what the enemy of our souls is doing to get us to turn away from the Lord. If anyone has been made to sorrow (a godly sorrow to be exact) then we should forgive them and not give Satan an open door in which to bring division in Messiah's body. That person which was sorrowful was obviously experiencing a godly sorrow which produces repentance leading to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10)! Who are we to deny forgiveness to someone who has repented?! The only way Paul could say to forgive someone is if they were in that place where they had experienced the sorrow of the Lord and asked for His forgiveness, which then would lead any who are already His to forgive that person.

We can become too haughty, too self absorbed to notice that we are in the same place as everyone else - we ALL need to seek the Lord of heaven and earth for salvation and to set our minds on things above rather than on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-3). In other words looking unto Him rather than ourselves or the things of the flesh (our sinful nature).

I have often noticed that I am quick to judge, but slow to listen and seek His guidance. If I listened to my Savior more often I would see others as He sees them. I would reach out to others as He reaches out to them, and I would forgive those who need and want it. I've been forgiven and I don't deserve it. That should say it all. His commandments, His statutes, His judgments are righteous and true, they speak His truth and I hold them close because they are His words. In them I see that His love is greater than anything I could imagine and yet simple enough for a child to understand. I'm forgiven because He was forsaken. Amen.

Hallelujah! His mercy endure forever!

Asking for Forgiveness

2008-11-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

It always seems that when you know you have to ask for forgiveness from someone it's the hardest thing in the world to do. The feeling of shame, embarrassement, humility....all rise up inside and seem to push and pull you away from doing the right thing and going to the person you've wronged.

No one wants to feel bad, right? We shouldn't be made to feel bad....right? Well my friends, our flesh (sinful nature) is telling us this lie!

There is a HUGE difference between just feeling bad about ourselves and knowing that we are sinners who sin against the Most High God. If I feel bad about myself it's just a selfish pity party that I'm throwing....and no one's invited! It's just for me!...how ridiculous! What have I got to feel bad about. I'm above ground and breathing, right?! God could wipe us off the map for just some of the thoughts we have throughout the day, much less the things we actually do! His mercy endures forever!

One thing that I have to remind myself of is that my flesh fights against my spirit and is hostile toward God. It CANNOT be subject to God's Law (Romans 8:5-7). How then can I expect it to do good things?

But there is a sorrow which we should experience from time to time. A godly sorrow that actually nourishes us and brings us back closer to the One who purchased us with His own blood. The apostle Paul says it best:

"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. for you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For a godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

Isaiah spoke of this sorrow:

"And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth."
-Isaiah 22:12

A wordly sorrow actually produces death! But how? By feeding our flesh which is a enemy of God. Everytime we feed our flesh we've sinned and everytime we sin is a step away from God. Nothing can remove us from His hands (Romans 8:37-39), but we can remove ourselves (Hebrews 6:4-6).

So if I don't ask for forgiveness (to the LORD first and then to the person) I'm sinning. If I sin against an individual, I haven't just sinned against them, but against the LORD!

Look at 2 Samuel;
After Nathan had confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah, we read:

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.'"
- 2 Samuel 12:13a

David knew that though his sin involved people, it was primarily against YHWH that he sinned.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28

Jesus was pointing to the fact that if we sin against God there is no escaping His judgment. Therefore we need to repent and ask Him for forgiveness. Though it may be difficult to swallow our pride and humble ourselves before Him, we'd better get to swallowin'!

Paul said that love is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14) and so in that I say that pride is the bond of imperfection. Our pride holds all our sins closely together and refuses to let go lest we humble ourselves before the King and Judge over all creation!

If we don't repent then we don't have access to the free gift of salvation that God offers us through His Son Yeshua/Jesus. If we do repent and exalt Him as Lord and Savior over us then we have entered His covenant and must now walk in that covenant by adhering to its terms -which is obeying His voice (commandments, statutes, judgments, laws). Each time we disobey, we begin to walk away from Him, BUT we can always turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness. His mercy endures forever!

Look again at 2 Samuel 12:13 -

"So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said to David, 'The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.'"

Blessed be the name of YAHWEH! When David knew in his heart that he sinned against the LORD and then confessed it, the LORD had forgiven him!

That same forgiveness is promised to us when we come before Him and seek His forgiveness;

"Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:7

"Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnatn of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy."
Micah 7:18

"Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:19-23

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD and He will lift you up."
James 4:7-10

-We can see that what James writes here and what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 is what the Lord called for through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 22:12.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

Going to someone we've sinned against, whether it be because we've lied to them, had an outburst of wrath against them, mocked them, or whatever, is the most crucial thing we can do as a follower of Messiah. Whether they be our enemy, friend, or especially a brother or sister in Him, we MUST go before our Father first and then them in asking for forgiveness! We cannot let our sin tear at the relationship we have with HIM and with them. If they are an enemy or friend, then our opportunity to be a light to them for the sake of Yeshua is up to us whether or not we apologize and seek forgiveness. If they are a part of His body, then we have surely sinned against Him as well as them. If we don't seek them out and hear from the Lord through them then we will eventually be cast out from His body (Matthew 18:15-17).

Asking for forgiveness is a hard thing to do, especially if we're living in the flesh (our sinful nature). But the more we crucify our flesh by obeying His commandments (Romans 7:14,18,22-25; 8:3-8)then we will begin to see things as He sees them (Psalm 111:10) and offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2).

If we can then humble ourselves before the God of the universe, then why wouldn't we humble ourselves before those who are just like us....people in need of HIM. For YAHWEH is God and His mercy endures forever!

Remember...

2008-11-22T03:52:00.001-08:00

I was reading a wonderful post on a friend's blog the other day and was reminded of something very special. The article was about my friend remembering the good 'ol days of her youth. As I finished reading it dawned on me that rememberance plays a key role in our relationship with the LORD in two ways:

1. The LORD always remembers us and...
2. He tells us to remember what He has done for, and commanded, us.

(the LORD)"Who remembered us in our lowly state: for His mercy endures forever; and has redeemed us from our enemies; for His mercy endures forever." - Psalm 136:23-24

Our God will never leave us nor forsake us when we cling to him (and even when we don't), because He remembers us in our times of trouble and distress.

"And God remembered Noah..." - Genesis 8:1
"God remembered Abraham..." - Genesis 19:29
"God remembered Rachel..." - Genesis 30:22

and the list of Scriptures goes on....

Now that's not to say that God forgot about Noah, Abraham, and the rest and all the sudden remembered them! It wasn't like God was sitting there and went "Ooops! I almost forgot about that guy down there!" Not at all! When we read that God remembered someone or something it's that He did NOT forget them. He had marked a special place for them in His plan and He was going to keep His promises to them, just like He ALWAYS does!

The Lord of heaven and earth will never forget those who call on His name to be saved. If we are born again then we are His children and nothing outside of our relationship with Him can remove us from His hand. Though we can remove ourselves, it is not a quick process.

Another fascinating thought in the realm of memory is what the Lord commanded concerning the Sabbath;

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" - Exodus 20:8

The Lord is not simply saying to remember which day it is (though that's part of it) but look closely at what He is telling us to remember:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy".

That's the key to remembering the Lord's Sabbath...that we keep it holy. Not that we can keep, or make, the day holy, but that we would treasure it in our lives. God has already made it holy (Genesis 2:3) because HE said it was, and by setting it apart from every other day, He sanctified it.

Our Creator is telling us to keep it holy (separate) from every other day in our lives. To keep it sacred before Him.

Jesus said that the Sabbath day was made for mankind, not the other way around (Mark 2:27) thereby making it important for us to see what God's purpose in this day is all about.

It is not only about physical rest, which our bodies need, but spiritual rest. A day of reflecting on the Lord and the coming eternity that we will spend with Him. Some argue that our Sabbath rest can be anytime or rather, all the time in Jesus. This doesn't make any sense, Scripturally, given the fact that even though our eternal rest is in Him, we still exist in this physical existence and God has still given us bodies to dwell in and a physical earth to live on. He still expects us to live for Him in the same way His people have lived for Him for thousands of years. We can't hyper-spiritualize everything to the point where we're just constantly thinking about things and that's all we need to do. If all I do is just think about eating, I'll end up getting pretty hungry and would eventually starve to death.

The time is coming when we will rest with our Lord forever, but until then we have a weekly, holy reminder/rehearsal with Him and His body until He returns.

What is Faith?

2008-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

What is faith? Or more directly - what is faith in Jesus?

Is it simply believing in your mind that He is your Savior and nothing more?

James says even the demons believe. Are they saved? Certainly not. So what is faith?

Paul says in Romans 10:17,

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

So true faith in God comes from hearing His Word....but not only hearing, but acting on it.

Let me explain.

Genesis 15:6 says, "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

So that must be it, right? Just believing?

James says that faith without works is dead. So what is James saying, that we must have works to be saved? Well, let's look a little more into Abraham's situation, shall we?,

When did Abraham believe God? Was it there in chapter 15 like we just read? And what was he believing God about? What had God said to him? Abraham's journey actually started a while before.

"Now the LORD had said to Abram:
Get out of your country,
from your family
and from your father's house
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and I will curse him who curses you;
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.
And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."
Genesis 12:1-4

Notice that the LORD told Abraham (still named Abram at that point) to leave everything behind. His country, his family, his father's house....everything!
Many of us would have a difficult time doing something like that, even if we knew that the LORD was calling us to do it. Yet if we have faith in Him, then we must obey. Abraham obeyed the LORD. He trusted in Him and had faith enough to believe Him so he left his homeland and his father's house behind.

Notice, too that Abraham was from Ur originally, which was in Mesopotamia (Babylon). Abraham was a Gentile living in a pagan, Gentile nation. The LORD called him out to show him to the land of Canaan, which Abraham was to inherit.

The significant part is, though, that Abraham was told by the LORD to do something (leave everything behind) and he DID IT! He didn't just say "Okay Lord, I believe you, and so I'm going to just stay right here." NO! Abraham actually left his country and family behind! That's real faith!

God spoke again to Abraham some years later saying this:

"Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, 'I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. And he said, 'Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?'"
Genesis 15:5-8

The LORD proceeded to show Abraham through a vision that his descendants would be enslaved in another land (Egypt) and they would then be rescued by the LORD and be brought back into the land.
The LORD reminded Abraham that He called him out of his homeland, and HE was the One to give Abraham the land of Canaan. He was reminding Abraham of the promise He made to him and that Abraham had responded to the LORD and did something....he left his home.

The letter to the Hebrews tells us more about what Abraham did:

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going."
Hebrews 11:8

Notice again, by faith Abraham obeyed and went out.

Some argue that what Paul writes in Romans and what James writes about in his epistle contradict each other, concerning faith. If that's true, then we have a serious problem in the Scriptures! However, we can rest assured that the Word of God is whole and complete and absolutely true! Let's look at those passages.

"For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt." Romans 4:3-4

It sounds like Paul is saying that all we have to do is just believe. But we must look at what Paul is saying through the entirety of his letter to the Romans. Look just a few verses back, at the end of chapter 3.

"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." Romans 3:31

But wait a minute! I thought the law was works! No. Paul, in Galatians 2:16 says "for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." Yet in Romans 2:13 he says, "for not the heares of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;"
Hold on! What is Paul doing here? Is he back tracking? Is he contradicting himself? Not if he's inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these things.

Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 5,

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your rightousness exceeds the rightousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:17-20

Now while that may seem to make matters more confusing, look at what the Lord is saying. Besides the fact that He didn't come to do away with the Torah/Law of God, He also said that anyone who breaks even the smallest commandment would be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. That doesn't mean that someone would be in the lowest position in heaven, but rather, that those called the least in the kingdom of heaven will be cast out from it. He clarifies this in verse 20 by saying that one's righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The scribes and Pharisees taught the Law, but they did not apply it to their lives by faith. And not only that, but they added to and/or took away from God's commandments by adding their own additions and subtractions to His Law. Their "oral torah" was a burden for many and they tried to establish their own righteousness instead of trusting in Yahweh completely.

No one can be justified by doing any works, including those of the law, hoping to merit salvation. However, when we call on the name of the LORD to be saved and repent of our sins (doing something) then He saves us. Then when we obey the Lord and His righteous standard (the Law), He supplies us with His grace and righteousness. We are in right standing with Him, because of our faith which then produces fruit (works). Real faith produces fruit befitting salvation. If our faith isn't real, then we will show no fruit. That's why James says faith without works is dead. If faith is not accompanied by works, then it is lifeless and cannot save us.

We are not saved by works, but we are saved by faith - which should produce works - if it's real faith.

We cannot earn God's favor nor His salvation. It is a free gift for all those who would believe in Him. Our faith accesses His grace in our lives. Therefore we must define faith. As we've already seen, faith is not just saying you believe in something, but doing something about it.

Here's a passage that'll throw you for a loop. We all know the famous verse that we just read above, that Abraham believed God and "it was accounted to him for rightousness", right?

Well in Psalm 106 we read something very interesting,

"They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore." - Psalm 106:28-31

So what did Phinehas do? Well, I'd suggest going back to Numbers 25 to get the whole context, but essentially the Lord had commanded Moses to have the leaders of the tribes kill all those who had taken Moabite women and committed harlotry with them. Then a certain Isrealite man came and presented a Moabite woman that he had taken to his brethren in the sight of Moses and the rest of the camp, who were weeping in front of the tent of meeting. He then took this woman into his tent. Phinehas got up, grabbed a javelin and went into the tent and shoved the javelin through both the man of Israel and the Moabite woman - through her stomach actually. They were going to have children together which the LORD told His people not to do. Because of what Phinehas did, the Lord stopped the plague and honored him. Now to us that seems a tad bit harsh, to kill two people like that. But the Lord doesn't mess around with sin, because ultimately, that's what kills us. And because of what Phinehas did, it was accounted to him for righteousness!

By faith, Abraham did something - he left his country and family. Later on, he offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, by faith, to the LORD reasoning that the LORD would bring him back to life.
By faith, Phinehas did something.

Back in Hebrews chapter 11 we read a passage that ties this all together,

"by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the rightousness which is according to faith."
Hebrews 11:7

Notice that Noah prepared, or built, the ark by faith! Now that's doing something. The ark was approx. 450' long by 75' wide by 45' tall. That's no small boat. Yet Noah built it by faith.
Also, because Noah did so, he saved his household and it says he condemned the world. How did Noah condemn the world by building the ark? He was proving that his faith in what God said was going to happen, was real. Thereby showing that God was going to bring judgment upon the world unless people repented.

It then says that he became heir of the rightousness which is according to faith. How? By thinking about building the ark? Or by actually trusting God and preparing the ark for the coming flood.

It's no different for us today. If God speaks to us, either through His written word or by those in His body, then we must have faith in what He says, and then act on it.

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." - John 14:15

He didn't say "If you love Me, think about My commandments", OR "believe My commandments". No, He said "keep My commandments". Keep, or do, His commandments. Keep them close, like gaurding them as being precious to you. It's that simple. If we love Him and believe in Him, then fruit should come of that.

Ephesians 2:8-9 are some of the most quoted verses in the professing church. But what about verse 10?

Let's read all three;

8. "For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10

Are we saved by works? No. Are we saved by anything we can do? No. We are saved by the grace of God, through our faith in Him. BUT, once we're saved, then we are to walk in His works which He has made beforehand just for us to walk in. His Law/Torah is His doctrine/teaching/instruction that He has given us to walk in because He loves us and cares for us. Because He died to save us from the wages of sin AND from the power of sin in our lives. Walking in His commandments is how we crucify our flesh. Dying to ourselves, we offer ourselves up as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). If we love Him, let us keep His commandments, for they are not burdensome (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3)

So what is faith? Hearing the Word of God and acting upon it, believing and trusting in Him to perform that which He has spoken. Remember, real faith produces real fruit (works).

Freedom's Slipping Grip

2008-11-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

A former youth in Adolf Hitler's Nazi party is warning America that it's headed in the same direction.

Hilmar von Campe served in the Hitler Youth under Nazi Germany and saw first hand the National Socialism first hand, though he didn't fully understand it until years later.

Now a U.S. citizen and author, von Campe is proclaiming a warning to Americans that we are walking the same road that leads to National Socialism.

"Today in America we are witnessing a repeat performance of the tragedy of 1933 when an entire nation let itself be led like a lamb to the Socialist slaughterhouse.", said von Campe.

His message is most poignant to the churches in this country -
"The silence from our pulpits regarding the moral collapse of American society from within is not very different from the silence that echoed from the pulpits in Germany toward Nazi policies,"

However, it is not simply a lack of churches getting involved with the political system. No, in fact it goes much further than that. Professing christians today, especially pastors and leaders, are rejecting the very Living Word - Jesus our Messiah. They are rejecting the Torah of God and thereby opening a door for the man of lawlessness.

The church has painted their picture of a Jesus that looks very little like the One of the Scriptures. Blond haired, blue eyed, and saving us no matter how much we sin without repentance...this is not the God of the bible.

Jesus, the Living Word of God, the Law/Torah in the flesh has given His word which, like a sword, divides. It divides between our spirit and our flesh. It divides those who are for Him from those who are against Him. Between the wheat and the tares which are growing together until He seperates them...the wheat being believers and the tares being unbelievers. He will gather His people (wheat) unto Himself, but those who are unbelievers (tares) will be cast into the fire.

If we find ourselves in opposition to His Torah, then we are in opposition to Him and therefore will be cast away. Additions and subtractions to His Word are lies, and because of that very reason, the Pharisees and other religious leaders missed Jesus - the Living Word - when He was standing right in front of them! They were blinded by their own traditions and laws and made the commandments of God ineffective in their lives(Matthew 15:3-9).

"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates to the city. But outside are dogs, sorcerers, adulterers, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice a lie." - Revelation 22:14-15.

Does that mean that if we obey His commandments we're saved? We know that no one is justified by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16) but by faith we are justified, and by that faith we establish His Law in our lives (Romans 3:31).

True, biblical faith is hearing the Word of God and acting upon it (Romans 10:17; James 2:17-26).

So now, with the presidential election over, and president-elect Barack Obama soon to take office, we must remember that Yahweh is far bigger then Obama or any other leader in this world. The LORD is far bigger than the devil - the enemy of our souls. HE is our Rock and our Salvation! Our faith must be in Him and through obedience to Him, out of love for Him, we will abide in His love and protection. What can man do to us when God is on our side!

There is no need to fear, but there is certainly a need for prayer. Barack Obama can still accept the Lord Jesus as Savior and turn his life over to the ONLY King! It is not in our hands, but in the LORD's, and greater is He that is in us, then he who is in the world. But if Obama continues in his "socialistic" ideals we may find ourselves in a similar situation to what von Campe did when he was a boy growing up in Nazi Germany. Plans like Obama's required "civilian national security force" is a high point of discussion for many. Granted, most youth (and adults) in this country need to be "encouraged" to get off our lazy rear ends and DO something productive. However, creating a civilian "police force" with the same amount of funding as our branches of the military, and mandatory boot camps for youth sounds a bit...troubling. Here's a link to an article on this subject found and World Net Daily:
"Emanuel volunteers Americans to do 'a lot'"

If Obama pushes his liberal agendas, this country will be sorely up for judgment by God. He will not be patient with sin forever. We can rest assured in His promises as we continue to truly seek Him and walk as He walked...in the truth of His Torah.

Whom Will You Choose?

2008-11-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at what some call a milestone election. Perhaps the most important election in the history of this country, others would say. The nation is on the brink of financial disaster, a bad recession to say the least, and the world is following close behind. Home foreclosures are at a record high, unemployment is the highest it's been in years, businesses are closing up faster than they can let their employees go, and natural disasters have hit our country furiously over the last few years causing untold damage and expense. Not to mention the national debt is over 10 trillion dollars and the government is slowly but surely buying us, uh... I mean the banks, up left and right. All of this and more is awaiting the next president.

But most people are confident that he (whoever he is) will get this country going again and restore America to her glorious self! Though the road will be difficult, our nation will pull through. I say....don't count on it.

It's amazing how we as a society are so quick to gravitate to men in hopes that they will save us. Can John McCain or Barack Obama do anything to thwart God's judgment on a nation that is unrepentant and non-submissive to His Law? Somehow I doubt it.

Yes, you read that right....God is judging this country.
"But we're blessed by God in this country, with all of our freedoms, right?"
To that kind of question I would say, "Look around".

This country has only been blessed by God in the sense that He hasn't wiped us off the map yet! The freedoms we have, that God has allowed us to have, have made us think we are a nation blessed by God....His special christian nation, but if we take a deeper look we'll find something quite different.

We're constantly opening doors to things that are clearly in opposition to the Word of God - legalizing homosexual marriage, pornography, violence, abortion, etc...

God is not pleased with our lazy, greedy, ungodly lifestyles in this country and our almost total rejection of Him as our God - Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge. Money has become our god. Power has become our god. Influence and prestige have become our gods. All these things and more have become our gods and we've placed them on the altar of our heart, in place of Yahweh - the Living God of the bible!

Our nation is no different then some of the world's largest empires throughout history. Empires that built upon their own strength and grew nationally by "patriotic" endeavors in which they conquered civilizations under the guise of freedom. The Greeks and even the Romans had Democracy and certain freedoms for the people. We ourselves have become a Democracy, though we were created to be a Republic. You know, "...and to the Republic, for which it stands. One nation, under God..." A Republic is ruled by law (the Constitution in our case) whereas a Democracy is ruled by the majority (mob rule). We have walked in very similiar paths as some ancient empires. We've even had slavery in this country, closer to the time of it's foundation. We believe we've become more advanced and knowledgable, but all we've done is replaced one sin for another. Now instead of enslaving people with physical chains, we use prescription drugs, parts of the entertainment world, man-made foods, etc...

We have not realized, that as a country, we are blaspheming the name of God by "saying" His name and "saying" we love Him, but we live like we never knew Him!We hold on to cheap grace, believing God has forgiven us of all our sins so that we can keep on sinning! How heretical. Did Jesus die so that we could continue to sin freely? Absolutely not!(Romans 6:1-2). In fact, He came to defeat sin in the flesh. If we are in Christ, then we are free from the power of sin, but still have the capability to do it. God has given us, then, His Spirit so that we would not walk according to the flesh, but according to His Commandments - thereby crucifying our flesh (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Romans 8:1-4).

The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires to ever rule most of the known world. It covered approx. 2.3 million square miles at it's zenith. Rome absorbed cults and religions into it's own pagan belief system thereby assimilating whole nations into itself. When the Roman Catholic church became an empire in and of itself around the beginning of the 3rd century, it carried out it's missionary work the same way, allowing pagans to keep many of their traditions and objects in hopes that they would more easily convert to christianity. Through the Dark Ages, the people were kept in the "dark" as they had no copies of Scripture for themselves. The Catholic priests taught the people since the bible was in Latin and they were the only ones that knew the language. Do the research, it's not hard to find. In doing what they did, the priests taught the people many heresies along with the truth, and the people bought it. Heresies like purgatory and praying for the dead, certain people being saints, and even that Mary was the co-redeemer with Christ! Unbelievable apostasty! This historical background is given to point out a fact: we as a religious nation have come from this very same Roman Catholicism more than we realize. And by so doing, we have walked in our own paths rather than in the LORD's. We have taken man's word over God's. We've kept our own traditions thereby making the commandments of God of no effect in our lives (Matthew 15:3-9). We sit in our pews and chairs and listen to our pastors, many of whom are not wholly teaching the Word of God, and we're buying it. It's the blind leading the blind. It's time we wake up and heed the voice of the LORD. We need to seek Him in His Word and test these doctrines and teachings to prove if they are right or not. Like the Bereans saught to see if what Paul was saying lined up with Scripture (Old Testament) so we must do.

The Founding Fathers of our country, most of whom were deists, wanted this nation to have freedom of religion, unlike the tyrrany they had escaped in England. Unfortunately for them, God isn't a big advocator for freedom of many religions.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" - John 14:6

Many of the Founding fathers were, as I said, deists including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and even George Washington.

The definition of deism is: A belief in God, the Supreme Being, based on reason rather than revelation and involving the view that God has set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs.
Deism became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment. Deists do not believe in a triune God, three persons existing in one. In other words, they reject the Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and believe that God is just one individual who, as stated above, does not get involved with His creation. And they reject the deity of Jesus Christ. This is unbiblical and heretical to say the least! Think of it! These men were not only deists, but wanted a country that would not be solely submissive to the LORD of heaven and earth alone, but where people could worship whatever god they wanted in whatever religious way they wanted. Today that's even more acceptable than it was then, however, the LORD said

"Before Me there was no god formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior." - Isaiah 43:10b

Our Founding fathers were philosophical in their approach to religion and government. Rather than seeking the God of the Scriptures - Yahweh - they sought their own definition of God and fought to create a country that would be molded to their image rather than His.

And the same problem persists even today. We are a nation that would rather be led by men than God.

When God's people asked for a king, it wasn't what the Lord wanted. In fact it was sinful. He allowed them to have a king and He even anointed David as king after Saul, yet it was still not what God had wanted all along - for the people to cry out to Him as their King.

The people speaking to Samuel said,
"Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, 'Give us a king to judge us.' So Samuel prayed to the LORD. and the LORD said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.'" - 1 Samuel 8:5b-7

The people didn't want God as their King, but rather, they wanted to have a man rule over them just as the nations had.

Their hearts were far from the Lord, and it showed even when Samuel tried to warn them what the king would be like, they still asked for one.

Aren't we doing the same thing in this country? If we are supposedly a "nation under God" then why are we not submitted to Him as our King? Do we think that it just wouldn't work? That God can only rule over us in our individual lives and through men, but not over a whole nation by Himself? How absurd!

If God created the heavens and the earth and gave life to everything, then He can certainly rule over people who want to be submissive to Him. But that's the key: we need to be submissive to Him and then He will bless us (Deuteronomy 28). But a country that is under many gods cannot be subject to the One true God. We can only pray for His mercy upon us, and hold to His promises that He will carry us through the trials and tribulations.
Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." - John 14:15. Those commandments, by the way, were not a new set of commandments, but the one's He gave from the beginning (John 7:16; 1 John 1:7). It is only through obedience to Him that we are blessed. If we're saved by His grace through our faith, then we should produce fruit befitting that. God is God and we are not, which means He knows best.

The president is only a man! and we (mankind) are all unrighteous -
"Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" - Romans 3:4

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9a

"There is none who does good, no not one" - Psalm 14:3

Sure, men who run for the presidency and for Congress want to do good things for this country, or so they say, but they cannot compare to our Lord and Savior.

And that is precisely why I'm not voting (gasp!). That's right, I'm not voting (gasp again!).

As I've said, "the lesser of two evils...is still evil." It doesn't matter whether Barack Obama becomes president or John McCain; they will both continue to be lawless men walking in opposition to the Law of God.

I'm not condemning anyone for voting. I'm just doing what I know the bible says to do - pray. Pray for whoever becomes president and that this country would wake up and fall on its knees before the Almighty Lord. He is my King, and He is the only One I'm choosing to rule over me. Whom will you choose?

Halloween

2008-10-31T03:10:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to me how people can so easily deny something when it's smacking them in the face.

There are seemingly endless arguments out there that contribute the thought that Halloween is harmless fun for the kids and any connection what-so-ever to ancient pagan rites or the occult are merely amusing at best.

I find this disturbing....at best.

The LORD clearly states in His Word that He wants us to be separate from activities and traditions that are heathen in origin (Jeremiah 10:1-5; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). But why? Because He knows that what's behind these practices are demonic and each step we take toward such influences is another step away from Him. Heathen, or pagan, traditions like the Druidic divination practices in observance of Samhain (pronounce sow-een) which means "summer's end", are of the very sort that God warns to stay away from. The time of year during the end of fall when they believed the "line" between the living and the dead became blurred and spirits would often come back to visit the land of the living.

It would appear that every tradition in Halloween comes from these practices of the ancient Celtic people and have carried over into present times, almost unbroken.

What's more frightening is that people often deny the relationship between Halloween and the occult. Many people who have had serious involvment with the occult know full well that there is more to it than just urban legends.

Not to mention the sheer darkness that envelopes this festival is clearly not of God. In accordance with His Word it's safe to say that He is not pleased with the observation of this festival of the dead, which by the way, the Catholic church tried to "christianize" which is also condemned by the LORD. Melding pagan practices with true worship of Him (Deuteronomy 12:1-4).

All in all I'd say we had better start being serious about listening to what God is saying, not man.

For further study on this un-holy day here's a couple of links:

http://ezekielthree.com/halloween.html

http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=614

May the LORD bless you as you seek His truth.

A Legal Citizen?

2008-10-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Let me first state that I do not support either Barack Obama or John McCain for president.

Neither man follows the Lord according to His Word, and to vote for the "lesser of two evils" is still evil.

Now, with that being said, this video sheds some pretty interesting light on Barack Hussein Obama and whether or not he is actually a legal citizen of the country he's wanting to lead.

Light in the Darkness

2008-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

As The Feast of Tabernacles is already upon us I've been thinking about a few things given the time of year.

Most of us as christians do not, or have not, given much thought to areas of Scripture like we should. Like the birth of Jesus, for example. Now, while much of the story we hear is true, there are elements of it that have come from either being misinformed or from false teaching.

The main element that has been falsified is the date of the Messiah's birth. Jesus was NOT born on December 25th. In fact, just a brief study through the Scriptures reveal this plainly.

"And there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the fields, watching their flocks by night" - Luke 2:8

Simply put, shepherds would not be camping in the fields of Israel, near Jerusalem, at night watching their sheep. Why? Because it's cold. Very cold.
Israel is very similar in climate to Indiana and other areas of the mid-west. Winters there are very cold, even producing snow. This time of year would be well past the time when shepherds would be in the fields with their sheep.

This one little fact of climate and location quite easily shows us that Christ was not born in December. But we also know by looking at Luke and 2nd Chronicles 24 that there is further evidence that the Lord was not born in December, but actually in the fall of the year. Most pastors and biblical teachers know this fact, but fail to teach it. Why?

Because of tradition.

In fact, they also know that the Catholic church is the one that mandated the date of December 25th to be the "official" birth date of Jesus, and yet they fail to teach that. Again I ask....why?

And again I answer....tradition.

In fact, the date of Dec. 25th is historically known as the winter solstice and the birth date of every single pagan sun god in countless cultures across the world. They knew this day was the beginning of the end of the long cold winters. The days began to grow longer and thus gave the inclination that the sun was being "reborn" or "birthed anew".

The Catholic church, in it's attempts to meld paganism and christianity once again disobeyed God's commands. Numerous times throughout Scripture He reminds His people not to learn the ways of the heathens (Jeremiah 10 for example). Yet the "church" saw no reason to heed the voice of the Lord and instead felt that they knew best how to convert pagans to their belief. Well in a sense they did convert pagans to their belief, but not to the true religion of Yahweh.

For more information about the true origins of Christmas follow the link: http://www.ezekielthree.com/christmas.html

So when was Jesus actually born? At this time of year during the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles! Think of it! The word tabernacle means "to dwell with, or a dwelling place". What was the name given to Jesus - Emmanuel which means "God with us"

Look at Revelation...."and the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them" Revelation 21:3

The whole concept of the Tabernacle that we built was to be a meeting place between God and His people.

The idea of the word tabernacle and even the Feast of Tabernacles points truly to God dwelling with His people.

This is when Christ was born.

For a much more indepth look into this subject and the entire Feast of Tabernacles follow the link: http://www.ezekielthree.com/tabernacles.html

And because of all this I can't help but think of this time of year when Messiah was born into the world, taking on the likeness of sinful man. During this time for thousands of years, cultures have looked at the fall of the year as a time of darkness, heading into winter. The fall equinox looks at not only the harvest, but the oncoming shadow of death which winter brings. This is a time of spiritual darkness where the enemy of our souls seems to relish in people's love affair with evil. Halloween is coming soon and it is the culmination, in some ways, of the pagan rites and rituals of heathens that have existed for many centuries.

And it is into this ageless time of darkness when the Light of the world was born.

"And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does evil hates the light, neither coming to the light lest his deeds be exposed." -- John 3:19-20

What an amazing picture the Lord has given us by His Feast of Tabernacles, when He chose to be born among us, where He then lived, walked and talked, and healed many. Where He then took up His cross and died for our sins, laid dead in the tomb for three days and three nights, and then rose from the grave to shine His light on this world. What a fulfilled promise that He would, did, and will tabernacle, or dwell, among us!

False Prophets Will Rise

2008-10-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

Here's an interesting article from World Net Daily, a conservative online free press publication.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=77539

Louis Farrakhan alluded to Barack Obama as a messenger of the Messiah and even directly....as the Messiah himself! A lawless and heretical statement!
Men like this are continuing to rise all over the world with differences of faith and nationality but whether they know it or not they are in unity in the spirit of antichrist. This will continue to happen. We must be aware of what is being said and what is happening around us, and we MUST know the truth of God's Word, beginning with His Law/Torah.

Below is a video clip of Farrakhan. The youth of this country are the one's who are being duped by these servants of antichrist.

"You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

"For many will come in My name saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many,

"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."
- Matthew 24:5, 11-12

The Day of Atonement

2008-10-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a sinner rotting in a body of death.
Cheerful thought, heh? But it's a fact (Romans 3:10-19), and one that I'm coming to realize more and more as I look into the perfect Law of God.

His Torah not only shows me my sin,though, but it also amazingly demonstrates how to crucify it! Not leaving me to walk in my own understanding, which leads to death (Proverbs 14:12), but giving me the exhortation and understanding to walk in His light (Psalm 119:105-107).

Through the years I have come to find myself agreeing more and more with what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 7.

"For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." - Romans 7:22-25

Paul is not giving the o.k. to walk in hypocrisy, as some might try and say. Serving both the law of God and the law of sin as if that were acceptable. On the contrary, he's simply stating a fact that exists in the life of every believer in Messiah. A person who wants to serve God while still struggling against the flesh. But we can only serve God through the work and power of the Holy Spirit who then causes us to walk in His commandments (Ezekiel 36:27). True, biblical grace: God's influence on our hearts which then reflects through our lives.

So why am I saying all of this?
The Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is a sabbath rest that the LORD has commanded us to fast on, afflict our souls, and offer a burnt offering unto Him. We know how to fast (though, do we understand why?), but how and why do we afflict our souls and offer a burnt offering to the LORD?

In order to understand those we must first understand what atonement means, and so we have to go beyond the dictionary definition and look directly to our Savior.
Jesus died for us and we have to try and realize just how big of a statement that really is.

Think about it for just a moment. The Creator of the universe and all mankind, the Judge of both the living and the dead, the Beginning and the End of all things, the great I AM died on a cross to save us.
Yeshua the Messiah, our salvation, gave His very life to defeat sin and give us the chance to live.

And He didn't die peacefully. He died the most excruciatingly painful and horrific death that mankind has ever known. And He did it for us. If that doesn't afflict our souls then nothing will.

And that's the commandment for the Day of Atonement...that we afflict our souls.

We have to focus on the fact that we didn't deserve what He did for us. He was betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends, He was scourged, spit on, laughed at, beaten, and finally crucified. The wrath of God was poured out on Him because He took OUR place! That should have been us that went through all of that, yet He paid OUR debt!

As any person might ask, "Why did He do that?"
Because we couldn't...
and because He would not leave His creations in a place of hopelessness. Yeshua did not create us with the intention of letting us die. Man chose death for himself, unable to pay the price for his redemption.
But Messiah died to give us life....if we believe in His sacrifice.

Atonement has been made for us, even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8)

Afflicting our souls for the Day of Atonement is something that matters a great deal to the LORD because He knows the benefit it has in our lives. And realizing that not only did God die for us (who don't deserve it) but He also died for all of mankind, even those who reject Him. Many will go to hell, separated for eternity from the LORD who died to save them, because they refuse to let go of their flesh (which is dying anyway).
This should also cause affliction in our souls.

We can read in Isaiah 58 and Psalm 25 about true affliction of the soul and see that God's concern and compassion for those who are lost should be our concern as well. He wants to give people freedom from their sins and draw them closer to Himself and life eternal.

God didn't die so we could keep living in sin, but so we could be free from it!! Hallelujah! But our enemy, our flesh, and the world will not let up. We are in a constant war, and when we lose a battle, we have to get back up and keep going. But we have to remember that we can only do that by the power of God's grace in our life! We won't be perfect on this side of eternity, but we are to walk as He walked and He is perfect.

There is much to grieve about on the Day of Atonement: the sacrifice of our Savior for sinful man and the rejection of that sacrifice by much of sinful man. That's why the feast is called a sabbath of solemn rest.

But if we have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, then we can offer up our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable (Romans 12:1-2) to God, who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), thereby obeying the command to offer a burnt offering on this day. Then we can look forward to the next feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the joy that awaits us in the Day the LORD returns for His people to dwell with us forever. Yes, we can look forward to that great Day, but not without looking upon the sacrifice and atonement that was made for us.

For a more indepth look at the Day of Atonement, click on the title of this blog to visit my site, ezekielthree.com where you'll find a study on this Feast day and more.

Is Anybody Listening?

2008-10-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

I just read a quote from one of our country's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and he said,

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson (1802)

Are we not seeing this happen today?

It amazes me that people can so quickly forget where we come from and the direction in which we were headed, only to go off on a path of sure destruction.

Maybe it's just me, but I would think that a man who was our third president of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and an influential founding father would know a thing or two about how this country would best function (even if he wasn't a true follower of Messiah).

His ideas of the banking system is completely accurate.

And this mess we're getting into concerning the Federal Reserve system.....these are the one's who admittedly caused the Great Depression! The chief even admitted to it!

Not too sure about that? Just check out this article: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=59405

What's even more astounding is the fact that our country is completely oblivious to the fact that God is judging us for the sin and rebellious attitude that runs rampant in this "one nation under God". But that's for another blog.

May the LORD have mercy on us and may we seek His face as we fall on ours!

The Feast of Trumpets

2008-09-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

What is the Feast of Trumpets? Well, on our calendars it's known more familiarly as Rosh Hashanah. However, in reality we're talking about two completely different feasts.

Rosh Hashanah actually means "Head of the Year"; in other words, it's the Jewish New Year. The Jews believe that it is the beginning of their civil year, but it has very little to do with Yahweh's Feast of Trumpets as read in Leviticus 23.
In fact, the new year celebration of the Jewish people comes directly from the Babylonian calendar system which they began to adopt after their captivity there, some 2,500 years ago.

The Feast of Trumpets.
"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" - Leviticus 23:23-25

First of all let's define a few things:
The Seventh Month: While we're looking at the end of September, which is the ninth month, how can we say that the feast is in the seventh month?
Well, the LORD told Moses and Aaron before He led them out of Egypt that the beginning of their months, or the true new year, was actually in the spring around the time of our months March/April. So starting from there we end up with the seventh month falling around this time of year. God's calendar is the true time keeper, not our Gregorian calendar.

A Holy Convocation: What does the word convocation mean? The Hebrew word for convocation is "miqra" (mik-raw) which means a public meeting; also a rehearsal.
The idea is that the feasts of the LORD are holy meetings between Him and us, as well as rehearsals. Rehearsals for what, you may ask? Rehearsals for the time coming when we are with Him for all eternity.
The word for feasts is "moed" which means appointment, or a fixed time. The Feasts of Yahweh are appointed times that He has specifically set aside to meet with us throughout the year. They are important for that reason alone, but He also works in many ways during the feasts, in the lives of His people.

In verse 24, the LORD says that the feast of trumpets should be a memorial of blowing of trumpets.

Memorial = zikron - a memorable thing; a record
Blowing of Trumpets = teruah - clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry.

It is a memorial of an acclamation of joy!
In Nehemiah 8:1-12, Ezra read from the Law to all the people assembled on the Feast of Trumpets. As he read, the people were convicted upon hearing the Commandments and began to weep, however, the Levites who taught the people said,
"This day is holy to the LORD your God: do not mourn nor weep...do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

So how can we say that the Feast of Trumpets, which Yahweh gave to the Israelites, is for us as believers in Christ? And what about the 'offering made by fire to the LORD'? How does that work today under the New Covenant?

Quite simply, the feast itself speaks of not only hearing the voice of the Lord, but responding to Him with our lives as we await His return.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 12:1

If we offer up not only our praises, but our very lives as a sacrifice to God, then He will accept that offering if we are living in obedience to His Word.
And because our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), our lives then become a "burnt offering" in a sense.
This is not spiritualizing the matter, since the idea of literal, animal sacrifices were simply a shadow, or picture of the sacrifices which we are to now offer up.
In fact, in Hosea 14:2 it reads,
"for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips."
The word for sacrifices in the Hebrew is "par" which means literally - bull calves.

The Feast of Trumpets speaks clearly of Jesus'/Yeshua's return for His saints. Whether or not we respond to His calling by repenting of our sins is the decision we must make.

Because of this, it is beautiful to see that The Feast of Trumpets is literally Yom Teruah, or the Day of the Awakening Blast.
The Trumpet (Hebrew - shofar) was often used as an alarm, a call to battle, or an awakening blast for the people to respond to. This is why the shofar (trumpet) can be best identified with the voice of God. It represents His voice because the Lord often uses the trumpet as a picture of calling His people to Him.
Exodus 19:16 tells us of the shofar which sounded from the Mountain. It grew louder and louder and the people shook.
Moses spoke and God answered Him by voice. Moses responded to the blast of the shofar and God then answered him.
This should be our response as well. The shofar sounded louder and louder, just as the Lord does with us to get our attention.
Our prayer should be that we would hear His voice and respond to Him before He has to cry out to wake us up!
Like Elijah, we too should listen to the 'still, small voice' of the LORD. The one that is gentle and peaceful.
Otherwise we will not fully understand what He is saying to us when it comes to the point that He's shouting to get our attention.

The Day of the LORD (the Day when Christ returns) is a Day which Joel describes as terrible, and a Day of darkness and gloominess (Joel 2:1-2), and all accompanied by the sound of the trumpet (shofar). This is 'terrible' to those who do not know the voice of the LORD - those who do not have a saving relationship with Him and reject His commandments (Matthew 7:21-23)

But to those who love and obey Him, the Day of the LORD is a great day of salvation to all His people who wait for Him.

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they willl gather together His elcet from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matthew 24:31

Notice the 'great sound of a trumpet' that accompanies our Lord's return.
Also,
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
1 Thessalonians 4:16

Notice the words like 'shout' and 'voice' which are alongside the phrase 'trumpet of God'. There is a definate link between the shofar and the voice of the Lord.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying,
'I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the Last'
Revelation 1:10-11a

We see from the context of this chapter that the 'voice' that John heard was the Lord Yeshua's, and it sounded like a trumpet.

Clearly, the shofar that sounded from Mount Sinai as God spoke to the children of Israel was also a prelude to the coming of our Messiah when the heavenly shofar will sound again and He will gather His saints to Himself!

Jesus said, "'My sheep hear My voice,'" - John 10:27a

Do you hear His voice?
Can you tell where the Lord is directing you?
If not, then you must search His Word to determine whether you truly know the Shepherd or not. If you don't, then when the shofar sounds from heaven and our Messiah returns for those who love Him, He will say to you,

"I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness"

Romans 7:18 (The NEED for God's Torah)

2008-09-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find."<

This was written by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, and here in the seventh chapter we see in such clarity the struggle between our spirit and our flesh (sinful nature).
In particular, Paul makes an interesting case for the importance of God's Law(Torah) in our lives as followers of Jesus(Yeshua)!

We of course have to remember that in Paul's case that he's making to the Romans, it is not just for them....it's for us as well. Simply put, Paul is building a case against all mankind that we all are sinners in need of a Savior. That savior is Christ.
We cannot do anything to earn our salvation, because we are sinful from birth and have no hope of attaining perfection outside of our Messiah. In fact, His salvation is a free gift, but it still must be excepted under His terms or it will not take effect in our lives.
His terms are that we walk in His truth(word) and come to Him in repentance, otherwise we will never be able to receive His salvation.

So in verse 18 of chapter 7, Paul points out that in his flesh(sinful nature) there is NOTHING good. But then he says, "for to WILL is present with me". What does he mean by this?
"for to will" is simply referring to what Paul wants to do according to his spirit, which is born again of God. Remember, there is no struggle between the flesh and the spirit in someone who isn't saved.
Only those who have accepted Messiah Yeshua as their Savior and walk in obedience to Him are saved/born again, and therefore experience the battle between the spirit and the flesh. Or in other words, what the mind wants to do (according to the will of God) and what the flesh wants to do conflict within the life of the believer.

Paul also writes that to will is "present with me". The will to do good in the sight of the Lord is "with" him and us because the Spirit of the Living God is within us. He is with us and works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Since, as he first said, there is nothing good in us because of our sinful nature which we inherited at birth, then it is only God who, being with us, is the ONLY good thing present with us.

Then Paul makes the statement, "but how to perform what is good I do not find". To truly understand the context of what Paul is saying here one must go back and read through the preceding chapters of Romans. But we can understand from just a few verses back that Paul, in and of himself, cannot find anything good within him nor can he find out how to perform that which is good.

So how can he, or any of us know what is good and how to perform it? By the Torah(Law) of God and His Word in it's entirety. As Paul just wrote back in chapter 6 verse 12,

"Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

AND

"and know His will and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law," - Romans 3:18

The Torah(Law) of God is not only good but also our instructions of His good will. He therefore, through His law, instructs us as to what is good and how to perform that.
That is why Paul goes on to say in verse 25 of chapter 7 that he thanks God through Jesus/Yeshua for delivering him from his own body of death and that with his mind he serves the Law of God!

Paul served God's law and delighted in it because he served in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter which brings condemnation and death.
That's why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:6 that we are ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life, which is the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34.

The Law for an unbeliever brings about wrath and death, showing us what our sin is and that we need a Savior. However, once we're in Christ Jesus, we are no longer under the Law but are free from sin and death and free to become slaves of righteousness...now walking in His Law which is a light unto our path (Psalm 119:97-106).

Professing Christendom has twisted the message of God, saying that the law is bondage in the life of a believer and thereby, in essence, they make sin good. This is heretical to say the least.
It is through the Law that we know what sin is (Romans 7:7) and it is by faith that we establish the Law (Romans 3:31). So how does repentance figure in to all of this? Well, quite simply, if we don't repent then we harden our heart to what the Lord is trying to say to us through His Law.
In Psalm 51, David writes,

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart -
these, O God, You will not despise." - Psalm 51:17

In Ezekiel 36, the prophet, speaking of the new covenant, shows us what God says about the heart.

The Lord said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them." - Ezekiel 36:26-27

Notice that he says the "heart of stone" and "a heart of flesh". It's the heart of flesh that the Lord is giving us when we are born again. This heart of flesh is soft and workable, and the more so, the easier it is for God to reveal His Law in our hearts and minds. But our heart is only one of flesh when we come before God in repentance. If we continually refuse to humble ourselves before Yahweh and His mercy then we will harden our hearts and make it more and more difficult for His Law to penetrate it. This will eventually lead us away from His love and salvation until we are no longer in Him (Hebrews 6:4-6).

We must repent before the LORD and seek out His Law for our instruction in the things that He approves of for our lives. In this, we will be like a lamp for all to see and glorify Him thereby.

Repentance softens our hearts, and that is what the Lord desires more than sacrifice.

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

2008-09-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Matthew 15:21-28/Mark 7:24-30 seems to be an interesting passage for most of us to try and understand. A Canaanite woman asks the Lord to heal her daughter but He seems to ignore her and treat her disrespectfully. Can this be right? Is Jesus cold hearted? Have YOU ever felt like God is ignoring you? This all seems to be contradictory to the character of Jesus, who is God...who is love.
We know that Scripture will never contradict itself otherwise it wouldn't be the Word of God.
So let's take a look at this portion of Scripture from Matthew.

"Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severly demon-possessed.' But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 'Send her away, for she cries out after us.'
But He answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me!' But He answered and said, 'It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.'
And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.'
Then Jesus answered and said to her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
Matthew 15:21-28

At first, this almost makes Jesus sound as if He doesn't care about the Canaanite woman or her daughter, and that He is simply ignoring her. But is that really the case? Certainly not! Why? Because Yeshua (Jesus) was sent as a light to the Gentiles and is the Savior of the world (Isaiah 42:6; John 3:16)
So why did the Lord seem to ignore her?
It seems as though He wasn't ignoring her, but testing her. Testing her faith to be exact.
There are many examples of the LORD testing people to reveal the true nature of their faith. For example:

"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." - Deuteronomy 8:2

So what about the comment He makes about being sent only to the lost sheep of Israel?
As we know, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6), but there is a plan with God and an order to that plan.
As we read in Deuteronomy 18, Yahweh speaking to Moses says,
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him."
Deuteronomy 18:18

Messiah was to come throught the physical lineage that began with Abraham...according to the seed. Yeshua had to be born in the flesh to defeat sin, and it was through the nation of Israel that that was to be accomplished. Also, in Romans chapter 2 we gain another look into the role of Jews and Gentiles outside of Christ.

"tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek[Gentiles]; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God." - Romans 2:9-11

God made a covenant with the children of Israel and because of that there is a particular order to His workings. However, that does not mean that any Jew is saved simply because they are a Jew, unlike many of the heretical teachings of today's worldly Zionists. A Jew must be born again in Messiah just like a Gentile.
So since the Father promised them that He would send a Prophet to them from among there own people He did that and as Paul says again in Romans -

"Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers." - Romans 15:8 He had to come to the Jews first to confirm the covenant that He made with them centuries before. Okay, what about what Jesus said to the woman in verse 26, comparing her to dogs? The truth is that the Lord was reaching out to her AND His disciples through this conversation. The term 'dog' was often given to the Gentiles by the Jews which was a spiteful remark since the Jews thought they were the only ones chosen by God for salvation. However, God had much different ideas. He wanted all people to come to Him through His Son, Yeshua.
To better understand what Yeshua was doing in this particular situation we have to look back at the previous chapter in Matthew.
Here we read the story that most of us know - Jesus was miraculously walking on water during a storm when the disciples saw Him and Peter cried out to Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Of course, we know Jesus said 'Come' and Peter actually walked on water! But soon he began to take his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm. He then began to sink and cried out for Jesus to save him. The Lord caught him and said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Maybe it's just me, but I would think Peter's faith in Christ had to be pretty strong for him to actually walk on water! Yet the Lord still says, 'O you of little faith." Wow, Yeshua actually called Peter's faith "little". Yes, he began to sink, but still....the guy walked on water! Okay, so why would Yeshua say that to Peter? Well our answer is actually back in chapter 15 with the Canaanite woman.

Twice she came and pleaded with Him to heal her daughter. She, a Gentile acknowledged Him to be the true King and Prophet that would be sent in the name of Yahweh by calling Him the 'Son of David'. She also came and worshiped Him even when He seemed to ignore her. And even after He seemed to deny her request in verse 26, she STILL humbly pleaded with Him, and she did so by reasoning with Him. The Lord Himself pleaded with His people through the prophet Isaiah when He said,

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD" - Isaiah 1:18

The faith of this Canaanite woman was stronger than that of the disciple Peter, or any of the others up to this point. Where Peter had failed to KEEP trusting the Lord through the storm, she continued with her faith through a time when the Lord was apparently not hearing her.

And so we see when the Lord said to the woman, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire."

A strong, great faith is one that continues on, even through trials and tribulations, not one that caves in when things get rough.

There are many times when in my own life I felt like God wasn't hearing a word I said, but He heard them. He just wanted to test me and know my heart. To see if I was seeking His will or my own. He will not listen to us if we are seeking our own gain or will. It's only when we, like the Gentile woman who sought Him, worship Him for who He is and humbly seek His will that He will hear us.

We must not forget either, that just previous to this situation, but after the event with Peter in the storm, Yeshua talked with the scribes and Pharisees. He rebuked them for the fact that they held their traditions and commandments at, or above the commandments of God. This is what He said to them:

"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me. In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" - Matthew 15:7-9

The religious leaders of the day did not realize that Yeshua was the Messiah and they murdered Him on a cross. They did not see Him for who He was because they had placed their own commandments and doctrines at the level of, or even in place of, God's. They added to and/or took away from the Word of God. This is why they were blinded, and this is also why many of the disciples themselves were blinded at times. Yeshua had to continually tear down those walls that were built up around them in order for them to see Him...the Truth.

The disciples were going through all of this (the storm, the argument with the religous leaders, the situation with the Canaanite woman) and were beginning to realize that it wasn't because of their heritage, or doctrines, or anything else that Yeshua had come to them, but because He is and God and the Savior of all those who place their faith and trust in Him alone! Even though the Canaanite woman belonged to a people that God had told the children of Israel drive out when they entered the land (Exodus 33:2), she still worshiped Him and cried out to Him....Yeshua....Salvation!

What a testimony of faith and perseverance.

Praise Yahweh for His mercy and goodness!

Let's read, again, the promise to Jews and Gentiles from the Lord. "Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision (Jews) for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the father, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
'For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.'
And again he says: 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!'
And again: 'Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!'
And again Isaiah says: 'There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope.'" Romans 15:8-12

Repentance leads to life!

2008-08-30T02:54:00.000-07:00

Repentance. What is it? How does it affect us and why should we care about it?
Well, repentance is much more than some nifty little doctrinal statement made by christians. Repentance is the basis for life in God.
It is, in a cosmic sort of nutshell, choosing to turn from our sins toward God and asking Him to forgive us of those sins which we had previously committed.
Repentance is NOT a one time deal where God forgives all the sins we've ever committed AND those we will commit.
Romans 3:25 says that God passed over our sins which we had previously committed, due to His forebearance and eternal knowledge.
However, we must realize that God does not forgive every sin we WILL commit unless we ask for forgiveness.
We must come before Almighty God in humbleness and fear, and ask for His forgiveness when we sin.
Hebrews points out why -

"For if we sin willfully after we have recieved the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation will devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

Did you get that? If we sin, knowing full well that we're sinning, Jesus' sacrifice no longer has a place in our lives. It doesn't count because we've put Him to an open shame all over again (Hebrews 6:6).

If we don't repent of our sins we'll die in them. But if we do repent then we experience the free gift of salvation that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) brings to us by His grace.

Messiah said in Luke 13:3 - "...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Not the message of Jesus that we're used to hearing, is it? But it's the truth of His Word.

Regardless of what people think Messiah said or didn't say, really doesn't matter because He said what He said! We can't change what He has said and done.
He does NOT change and His Word stands forever!

If the Lord died to save us from our sins then we have to ask ourselves why so many of us continue to sin willfully. Do we think God doesn't care anymore about repentance in our lives?
Certainly not! Of course He still cares. He's God and as we already said He does NOT change.
He therefore still cares every bit as much about us and our relationship with Him today as He did ages ago.

Without repentance we will continue to walk in sin, which, ultimately, is walking AWAY from God. He knows this and that is why He wants us to let Him work in our lives to destroy sin.

By the Holy Spirit we CAN overcome sin!

Many times, when Yeshua would encounter someone seeking forgiveness He would forgive them and then tell them "go and sin no more".
That statement would be some kind of awful joke if we couldn't get past our sins. But He knew/knows that by HIS strength and HIS grace we can be truly free when we walk in His Torah (Law).
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will know what it means to walk upright and free in His Law. Because we are saved by His grace through our faith.

Repentance leads to life, but walking in darkness and unrepentance just leads us closer and closer to eternal death and separation from God.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10

The Church of Oprah?!

2008-08-28T02:30:00.000-07:00

False teachers aren't just men.

Oprah and her hosts of "new age" teachers and authors are nothing but false prophets spreading a message of antichrist.
Far too many people are believing the lies of the enemy and Oprah and many others like her are empowering that false doctrine.

There is ONLY ONE WAY of salvation...ONE WAY to the Father...ONE WAY to eternal LIFE and that is through faith in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)!

Praise Yahweh that He sent His Son, Yeshua/Jesus (whose given name means 'salvation') to die upon a cross for our sins that we might be forgiven and able to walk in HIS commandments....HIS Torah. To walk in the light as He IS the light! Praise YAH (Yahweh) that He gave us a choice and didn't leave us nor forsake us in this darkened world.

Easter Bunny

2008-08-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

The bunny, or hare, has always been a sign of fertility in many ancient cultures. This would explain the association with a fertility goddess and why hares were used in many pagan rituals.
The hare (Easter Bunny), from ancient times was a symbol of the moon, it being a nocturnal animal. The hare is the only animal born with its eyes open. The Egyptian word for hare is "un," meaning "to open." Thus, the hare was associated with the opening of a new season, spring, in April, at the vernal equinox.
The hare and eggs were mutually symbolic in Egypt of the opening of their new year, at which time eggs were ceremoniously broken.

Because of its fertility (one doe can produce up to 42 young a year), the hare is an emblem of fertility, abundance, sexuality, lust, rampant growth and excess.
It became the emblem of gods and goddesses in many different cultures. Philostratus said the most suitable sacrifice to Aphrodite was the hare as 'it possesses her gift of fertility in a superlative degree'.

Pliny the Elder prescribed its meat as a cure for female sterility and reported that if you ate a hare your body would be sexually attractive for nine days. Hare's genitals were carried to prevent barrenness.

Through the centuries stories of the hare abound in relation to the moon and the springtime. If Eostre/Easter was the goddess of spring and the dawn, representing a rebirth of life on the earth, then it would make sense that the highly reproductive hare was associated with her. The sun was always closely connected with the moon as seen in many different cultures around the world.

According to myth, Eostre had a hare that was a large bird which she one day magically changed into a hare. Because this hare was still a bird at heart, it continued to build a straw nest in which to lay its eggs. From this, and countless other stories, we get the idea of an 'egg laying easter bunny'.

Hares are different from rabbits, however, they are not as common as their cousins which lead to the eventual use of the rabbit as the easter bunny, rather than the hare.

Around the 1500's written traditions surfaced in Germany which told of the Oshcter Haws (Osterhaas), a hare that brought colored eggs to children and placed them in the baskets they had made. German immigrants brought the Osterhaas legend to the Americas where it quickly spread throughout families.
As noted above, the rabbit soon replaced the hare due to it being more common.

Hare's build their nests in a flattened nest of grass, compared to the rabbit which lives underground in burrows. This could be where the idea of the 'grass-filled' easter basket comes from, along with the idea of new grass growth in the spring time.

As most myths go, the Easter bunny has been engrained in our culture with the likes of Santa Clause and Cupid. What makes these symbols even more disturbing is that people insist they hold a place in celebrations of our Lord and Savior! Jesus did not die on a cross and rise from the dead in order that we might have liberty to worship Him with abominable things.

"You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things." Deuteronomy 12:4

If God doesn't care whether or not we worship Him using these types of symbols, then that is a far more frightening thought than if He does care (and He does).

Easter Eggs

2008-08-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

The “Easter egg” has been a staple of the festivities as long as we know. Eggs were also a symbol of fertility and were often used in various ceremonies and pagan practices. Again, this would explain the connection between the fertility goddess easter and eggs.

How the tradition of coloring the eggs got started is not completely understood, though some historians trace the practice back to ancient Greece and Persia. There are many legends as to how this practice may have begun, but regardless, we know that they are all related to any number of pagan cultures and their practices revolving around the spring equinox.

The egg has been a symbol of fertility and rebirth for thousands of years. Virtually every pagan culture around the world has employed the use of the egg in their fertility rituals.

The ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA;
"The Easter egg is associated with beliefs of particularly ancient origin. The egg was an important symbol in the mythologies of many early civilizations, including those of India and Egypt. It was commonly believed that the universe developed from a great egg and that the halves of its shell corresponded to Heaven and Earth. The egg was also connected with the springtime fertility rituals of many pre-Christian and Indo-European peoples, and both the Egyptians and the Persians made a practice of coloring eggs in the spring. In Christianity the egg is a symbol of resurrection, representing the emergence of Christ from his tomb to everlasting life."

The ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA p. 859, Art., "EASTER" says,
"The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival."

The ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, 1987, p. 37, "Egg":
"In traditional folk religion the egg is a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and rebirth. It is used in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore virility; to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage the growth of crops and protect both cattle and children against misfortune, especially the dreaded evil eye. All over the world it represents life and creation, fertility and resurrection ... Later [customs concerning eggs] were linked with Easter. The church did not oppose this, though many egg customs were pre-Christian in origin, because the egg provided a fresh and powerful symbol of the Resurrection and the transformation of death into life"

The giving of eggs during the spring equinox is also a very ancient custom.

The World Encyclopedia, 2005:
"The exchange of Easter eggs is a pre-Christian rite."

So how could a symbol of pagan fertility rites become entrenched in the church's celebration of Easter?

The Catholic Church enticed pagans to convert to Christianity by disguising the celebrations with Christian themes and allowing the people to keep some of their pagan traditions.

Read the quote from Pope Pius below.
Pope Pius V approved this blessing to be used for the eggs: "Bless, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this Thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to Thy faithful servants, eaten in thankfulness to Thee, on account of the Resurrection of Our Lord."

In ancient Babylon it was believed that the goddess Astarte hatched from a giant egg that had landed in the Euphrates River.

The idea of a mystic egg spread throughout the world originating in Babylon. James G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, Vol. 12, 3rd Edition (1907-15, reissued 1935-36 and 1955); Maria Leach, editor, Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, Vol. 1 (1949).

As previously stated, eggs have been used in various cultures and religions to represent the different aspects of fertility and new life. The philosophical or cosmic egg is another nearly universal symbol. Alchemically, the egg is a symbol of the cosmos, as it is in a multitude of folk legends. In Hindu cosmology, it is the source of the universe. The egg as a container of the universe is found in many ancient religions. The egg symbolizes birth and potential. It contains within a miniature sun, and it features prominently in solar mythology. The gods Vishnu, Phanes, and Mithras, are all "egg born" solar deities. Another solar entity, the rooster, is also born of an egg. - from an article found at: www.altreligion.about.com

Wiccans (witches) color eggs still to this day in honor of Ostara (Easter).
"Ostara is a time of fertility and rebirth, and few things symbolize this as well as the egg. By coloring them with bright pinks, blues and yellows, we're welcoming the colors of spring back into our lives, and saying farewell to winter."
- Pattie Wigington from 'Your Guide to Paganism/Wicca'.

Easter

2008-08-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

Easter

All over the world people celebrate Easter by coloring eggs, hiding baskets, and waiting for the Easter bunny. And of course the professing church remembers the Resurrection of Christ on this day.

But is there anything wrong with this holiday?

Let's begin by asking a simple question - What does the name “Easter” mean?

The name “Easter” is actually derived from the name of a pagan goddess of Teutonic (German or Northern European), or possibly Anglo-Saxon, origin.
She was known as Eostre, Eastre, Ostern, and many other names, and was believed to be the Great Mother goddess of fertility and sunrise.
Her festival was celebrated at the time of the spring equinox. While some may argue that no such goddess existed, their claims have no support. The Venerable Bede, a highly notable historian, as well as others, including Jacob Grimm (of the Brothers Grimm fame) attested to her certainty. People did worship this goddess and various cults and festivals sprung up in her name.

There have been many goddesses of spring throughout time. Here are just a few examples.

Ashtoreth of ancient Israel Ishtar of Assyria Isis from Egypt and beyond Astarte of ancient Greece Kali from India Ostara from the Norse Aphrodite from Cyprus as well as many others.

If you mention any of this to Christians, most will tell you that it’s not wrong if we use the name of a goddess or symbols of fertility in celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. Most will say something like this: “Well I don’t worship easter, I think about Jesus on that day.” While that may be true to many people, we have to realize that it’s not what‘s right in our eyes, but what’s right in the Lord‘s eyes. He does know our hearts, but He also has a standard that He wants us to walk in - His Word. I do believe that He is merciful to us when we don’t always realize the truth, but most of the time we are without excuse and simply want to follow our own flesh rather than the Spirit of the Lord. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can see how absurd it is to say that "God doesn’t care whether or not I use pagan things to worship Him because I love Him and that’s all that matters". If we truly love Him, then we will obey His commandments and abstain from traditions and practices that are contrary to the Scriptures.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." 1 John 5:3

Let’s see what the Lord says in His Word.

“And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.” Exodus 23:13

“And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.” Deuteronomy 12:3-4

“For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.” Hosea 2:17

“’It shall be in that day’, says the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.’” Zechariah 13:2

*Notice that the Lord identifies the names of idols with the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit.

It would seem that God doesn’t want the names of pagan idols to even be mentioned from our mouths in accordance with worship of Him. It's a very serious thing to God and He specifically does not want us to worship Him using those kinds of things!

False Doctrine - Religious Pluralism

2008-08-23T23:40:00.001-07:00

This interview was done over a decade ago, but the message is one that continues to grow and infest the professing church. These two men, Robert Schuller and Billy Graham, (and those like them) are nothing but false teachers! They are encompassing land and sea and making people twice the son of hell as they are!
To deny Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) as the ONLY way of salvation is not only blasphemous but also dangerous.

Other false teachers, such as Joel Osteen, John Hagee, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyers, and many more, permeate our radios and televisions, and share a gospel that is no gospel at all! Yeshua said repent and for us to follow Him! He is the gatekeeper and the door. No one else!
May they be judged by God who is the Judge.
There is a short, but powerful video on the heretical statements of Joel Osteen concerning Mormonism and the false unity that is the spirit of anti-Christ.
It can be found at www.torahperspective.com!

Unity

2008-08-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

Many in this world are preaching a message of unity with other religions and beliefs, not that this is anything new, but it is becoming more and more prevalent.
What is more frightening is the fact that professing Christendom is accepting, or even proclaiming in many cases, this same message.
It is the spirit of antichrist, plain and simple.
James says that friendship with the world makes yourself an enemy of God (James 4:4).
The giant blanket of Christianity is encompassing many "faiths" and leading people to destruction. The many teachers in the professing church are making people twice the son of hell as they are. Certainly not all christians are like this, but more than there should be.
And yet it doesn't stop there. Far too many Jewish people are progressing in this belief at any cost. It seems that not only are many Jews still denying Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah, but they are believing that there are many ways to God and the message of unity which the world is preaching. In fact, many of them (though not all) are not just believing it, they are the cause.

Even IF Yeshua is not the Messiah (though we know He is), God, in His Torah/Law still states that there is ONLY one way to Him and salvation - by walking in Him and His commandments through faith (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:12-16; 26:17). He clearly says not to worship any other gods (Exodus 20:3-6; 23:19). He says He hates false gods and religious practices (Leviticus 19:26-31; Deuteronomy 7:25-26) and the ways of the other nations (Deuteronomy 9:5; 12:30-31).
Yahweh (God) condemns other religions and false practices because He is the ONLY true God.
So now we come to the fact that Yeshua is God in the flesh (John 8:57-58; Colossians 1:15-16; 2:9-10; 1 John 4:2-3). So in accordance with that fact, He is also the ONLY way to the Father (John 14:6).
Yeshua did not come to destroy or do away with the Torah, but to fully teach it (Matthew 5:17-19; 7:16), thereby establishing the foundation of our faith.

He (Yahweh/Yeshua/Holy Spirit) is God and the only way of salvation. We as human beings in the flesh (sinful nature) do not like to hear when we're wrong about something. But if we are in a lie, shouldn't we let go of that lie and hold fast to the truth, no matter what the cost? The truth is the truth and we can't change that, nor should we want to. Yeshua IS salvation for us and His commandments (Torah) are our instruction in obedience to Him. It's by His grace, through our faith that we are saved so that we can then walk in obedience to Him - proving our faith is real.
There is no substitute for Yeshua, no other way to be saved, and anyone who believes otherwise will NOT be excepted into the kingdom of God (John 3:36; Hebrews 2:3; 10:29; Revelation 20:15). That's not my words, but His.

True Friendship

2008-08-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems as though the Lord has been bringing to my attention the idea of friendship. In particular, can believers in Yeshua/Jesus truly be friends with non-believers?
I think first we have to define the word "friend" according to the Scriptures.

"Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God." - James 2:22-23
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." - John 15:14-16

Moses was also called a friend of God, and as we just read what Yeshua/Jesus said to His disciples, a true friend of God is someone who is obedient to Him. A more specific definition, in accordance with Scripture, would be 'One who obeys the Lord's Torah/Law out of love for Him and by His grace through faith'.
I believe that the better we understand this concept of friendship as being defined by walking in God's commandments (His Torah), then we will better understand why Paul writes what he does to the Corinthian church.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate says the LORD. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.'" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Notice the temple of God and idols, light and dark, Christ and Belial... all things that are complete opposites and have no union what-so-ever. And Paul also includes a believer and an unbeliever. We have no business being in fellowship with unbelievers. But why?
It is because of where Paul quotes from first in Leviticus 26:12 and Jeremiah 32:28.
God will dwell in and among His people only when we are holy/separate from the uncleaness of the world. Does that mean we have to be perfect before He'll dwell with us? Well, yes. But not on our own accord. It is impossible for us to be perfect on our own, but through the blood of Messiah we are made spotless!
So then, if we are born again in Him we ought not to have a relationship with those who are lawless.
He quotes from Isaiah 52:11 which exhorts us to not touch anything unclean. Isaiah was writing to those who carried the vessels of the LORD, which were the priests. According to Scripture we are priests in God's kingdom (1 Peter 2:5,9) which means we are not to be a part of this world (that which is unclean).

But what about witnessing? How are we supposed to witness to unbelievers without being friends to them? The Lord tells us that the most effective way of witnessing is to simply be obedient to His Torah/Law and walk in love for other believers (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:16-19, 22:37-40; John 13:35; 1 John 5:2-3)
We have to remember that yes the Lord loved the world so much that He died to save it, and yes He wants us to be a light to those in darkness, but HE knows that if we 'hang out' with those who are immersed in sin, that lifestyle will eventually draw us into it because sin is always looking for a way to get in. In fact, the LORD tells Cain this:

"...sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should overcome it." - Genesis 4:7b

We are constantly told not to walk in the ways of the world nor to turn back to our old ways, but to keep our eyes on things above...things of the Lord.
If we truly care about the lost (and we should!) then we must do all we can to walk in obedience to the Lord's Torah/Law and show unbelievers the truth of His Word. As living epistles, we are His letter to those who are lost. If they 'read' us as we walk in accordance with His commandments and share His good news, then His Word will not return void and people will see our good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:16).
A final thought from the epistle of James on those who are friends with unbelievers and the world:
"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?'" - James 4:4-5

What is Faith?

2008-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

What is faith? This is probably the most important question that we can ask ourselves as we seek to trust the Lord with our salvation. Is faith simply saying you believe and nothing more? Or is it doing something with your faith?

In his epistle James writes,
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 2:26
Our bodies are nothing but empty shells without our spirits filling them up. Granted our bodies are amazing in their construction, but they are useless without the breath of God breathed into them.
Let's look a little closer at what James is saying in chapter 2.
"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.< You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:14-26

Some people seem to think that James is contradicting what Paul says in Galatians 2:16 "for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
However, look at what Paul says in his letter to the Romans -

(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; - Romans 2:13

Paul and James are not in opposition to each other since they were both inspired by the same Holy Spirit!
We are NOT saved by our works (Ezekiel 33:13), but rather, our works PROVE that our faith is REAL!
If we do good works in accordance with the Torah, out of love for God and His people then we have shown our faith is more than just an empty shell.
Though most people still choose to believe that faith is simply saying you believe and nothing more. "God knows my heart" they say, yet they overlook what the Lord says in His Word about walking in obedience to His commandments:
"I will put My Spirit within you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and DO them." - Ezekiel 36:27
"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches the, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19
He who has My commandments and KEEPS them, it is he who loves Me." - John 14:21
"You are my friends IF you DO whatever I command you." - John 15:14
"Through Him [Christ] we have received grace and apostleship for obdience to the faith..." - Romans 1:5
"Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?" - Romans 2:26
"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." - Romans 3:31
"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should SERVE in the newness of the Spirit [Jeremiah 31:31-34] and not in the oldness of the letter." - Romans 7:6
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself SERVE the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." - Romans 7:25
"that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:4
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
"work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." - Phillippians 2:12b-13
"who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." - Titus 2:14
"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandmentis the word which you heard from the beginning." - 1 John 2:3-7
"and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dad, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests [by implication to SERVE] to His God and Father ..." - Revelation 1:5-6

There are more Scriptures that show us that faith is more than just "saying" we belive. It is an action, something we DO. Proof of our faith.
Not proof for God, since He does see our hearts, but proof for ourselves and those around us. This is an essential part of God's design for our relationship with Him and those who are in Him.

Faith IS what saves us, but again, our works are proof of that faith which makes them very important. God wants us to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are saved by faith and that our faith is alive.

The Law and the Yoke

2008-06-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." - Matthew 11:29-30

Many use this portion of Scripture to support their idea that Jesus was doing away with the Law and bringing a new and easier way for people to follow. That "grace" was doing away with the Law. However, the very definition of grace shows us that that thought is the opposite of what the Lord was saying here.

Grace = Greek charis - a divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
Grace is God's influence upon our hearts and then reflecting outward in our lives. As we will see, that is the fulfillment of the New Covenant in which the Lord promised to write His law upon our hearts and minds in order for us to walk in His ways and be a light for all mankind.

Jesus never condemned the Law, in fact He said earlier in chapter 5 that He didn't come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. The Greek word for fulfill is pleroo which basically means to "fully preach". Jesus didn't come to do away with the Law, but to fully preach it. We can see that clearly from the context of what He said. However, here in chapter 11 we must ask the question, "What does Jesus mean by the term 'yoke'?"
The word for yoke in the Greek is zugos - which means 'to join' as in a coupling together.
A yoke was often put around the neck of an animal such as oxen in order to guide and direct that animal in the right direction. The yoke that Jesus was/is referring to is His interpretation of the Law, which of course is the right interpretation.
During this time, many of the religious leaders had inserted volumes of additional laws along with God's commandments. They did this with the intentions of helping them keep the commmandments, however in doing so they actually made the law burdensome to many because there were so many additions and subtractions made. It was a very heavy yoke.
When Jesus came He taught and showed the people how to correctly obey the Law the way He had said from the beginning. Remember, Jesus IS God and therefore He is the Lawgiver (James 4:12). His way is always the best way.
His yoke, or interpretation of HIS Law, is going to be the easiest path to follow, making it an easy yoke to bear.
That doesn't prove or show that He came to remove the Law from anyone. The Law was never burdensome, it was the additions and subtractions made by the Pharisees and other leaders that had put a huge weight on the people. God had always wanted His people to walk in His commandments freely, which of course is what can be attained under the New Covenant - the Law written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27).
If a yoke is for direction and guidance than that perfectly illustrates the role of God's Law in the life of a believer.

"and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" Notice Moses says the Law is for a person's good.
Romans 3:18 - Paul said "and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,"

Look at what Jesus says in John 7:16 - "Jesus answered them and said, 'My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.'" The word for doctrine in the Greek is didache which means 'teaching' or 'instruction'. Now Jesus said His doctrine/teaching/instruction was not His, but the Father's (Him who sent Me). What had been the Father's teaching or instruction? - the Law. Jesus also said in John 15:10 that we will abide in His love if we keep His commandments just as He keeps the Fathers commandments and abides in His love. The commandments haven't changed; there is no new law - it's the same commandments that were from the beginning.

1 John 5:2-3 "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
If the Law is such a heavy burden then why does John write this? His commandments are not burdensome, he says. It's because the Law of God is only burdensome when we walk according to the flesh and not the Spirit (Romans 8:1-11). The flesh cannot be subjected to the Law of God. In fact, the way that we crucify our flesh is to walk in obedience to the commandments of the Lord by faith. Our flesh (sinful nature) will always lie to us and tell us that we're not able to be obedient but that's because it does not want to die. Read Romans 7 for a better look at this subject.

Now back to Matthew 11. Jesus also said that His burden was light. Remember, John wrote that the commandments of God are not burdensome. The word for burden in the Greek is phortion meaning a 'task' or 'service'. Jesus was saying that to walk in His tasks for us was easy and light. Why? Because His desire for us is to walk in obedience to Him, not our flesh, which is harder than obedience to Him. We become a slave to sin through our flesh, but a slave of righteousness through obedience to God.

Another question we should ask ourselves is this: If the Law was such a yoke of bondage and a heavey burden then why does the Lord say that He will break the yoke and the bonds of His people (Jeremiah 30:8; Hosea 11:4; Nahum 1:13) and yet He still required them to keep His commandments? If the commandments are that yoke of bondage why would He still expect them to keep them all the while promising to break them? It is because He was speaking of the bondage of sin, not the Law. The Law is holy, and just, and good (Romans 7:12) and points out our sin. It in-itself cannot be sin. In fact 1 John 3:4 says that sin IS LAWLESSNESS. Without Law.

Therefore Jesus' light yoke and easy burden are His Law/Torah for His people to walk in, not adding to or taking away from it. His commandments are not burdensome and they are for our good, making them a very light and easy yoke that He lovingly guides us with. Praise the Lord!

God of the Mountains

2008-04-15T02:46:00.000-07:00

Recently my wife and I took our girls on vacation. We visited the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Appalacian Mts., and yes - they are smoky. Well, actually misty would be a better word.

Anyway, as we travelled through these majestic mountains I tried to thoroughly point out all of the splendor of God's creation to our daughters. I kept reminding them of God's power and creativity as we hiked the Appalacian trail and other paths through the wilderness.

However, it wasn't until the morning that we were leaving that it finally hit me! Those beautiful mountains that we had been hiking and driving through were not a result of God's creativity, but His judgment and mercy!

His Judgment.

As Noah boarded the ark with his family, he must have been terrified, yet trusting the LORD he faithfully waited as the time of the great flood drew near. As a result of that world wide catastrophe, the earth as Noah knew it would be forever changed. The entire globe was covered in water, which ultimately changed the face of the landscape by shifting the fragments of land around as the flood waters receded.

As the continents broke apart and slammed together, forming new land masses, mountain ridges were formed. When Noah and his family exited the ark they must have been in horrified awe as they looked upon a planet that was vastly different than a year earlier. Now stripped of the lush vegetation due to the raging flood, the land was probably a vast wasteland which now had huge mountains protruding on the horizon. These gigantic "hills" had never existed before the flood, but now Noah was seeing the result of God's judgment.

As we look at mountains such as the Rockies, the Alps, and other ranges, we are reminded of the awesome power of God and His judgment upon sin. An awesome reminder that God does not tolerate the sins of the world.

But here's the amazing part: even in God's judgment, His mercy is still there.

Think about it. Mountains all over the earth are there because God judged the ancient world for their sin. Yet throughout Scripture, mountains are almost always used as a picture of God's mercy and protection.

It was a mountain, Mt. Ararat, that God settled the ark as the flood waters drained off into the oceans we see today. (Genesis 8:4)

It was a mountain, Mt. Sinai, that God spoke to Moses and the children of Isreal. He gave His commandments from that mountain. (Exodus 19:11, 20)

It was between two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, that the blessings and cursings were read (Deuteronomy 11:29)

It was on the Mount of Olives that Christ Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection (Acts 1:12)

Believers are compared to the mountain of Zion in Psalm 125:1 -

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

And from Mount Zion God will teach His ways/laws to all people.

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." Isaiah 2:3

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

These and other Scriptures give a powerful testimony to God's mercy toward His people by using mountains as a picture of that mercy.

We can either be crushed in His judgment or fall upon Him as the Rock of our salvation.

El Shaddai. One of the names of God which means God of the mountains.

The Tabernacle, The Temple, and Us...

2008-03-24T03:00:00.001-07:00

Yahweh gave His people a tabernacle, also called the Tent of Meeting, where they could meet with Him. Made from mostly animal skins, linen, and acacia wood it was not a grand temple of stone and seemed to be nothing special to look at from the outside (just like our Messiah). A few hundred years later, David desired to build the LORD a house, yet it was Solomon who did the building.

That Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in their invasion of Jerusalem. The Israelites were carried into captivity, but would return and build another Temple under the guidance of Nehemiah. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah chronicle this.
However, that second Temple was eventually destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE and it has not been rebuilt since...and for good reason.
The reason being that God never desired a temple of stone to be built for Him, but rather, a temple of flesh and blood - us.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19
"However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says, 'Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool What house will you build for Me? says the LORD Or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?'" Acts 7:48-50

God only 'dwelt' in the tabernacle as a picture of the true relationship that He desired with His people all along. The fulfillment of that is found in the gospel of John.

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'" John 14:23

Our God abides in us and we in Him if we keep His word/commandments and trust in Him for our salvation. By Him abiding in us, He dwells in His temple - His people!

"you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5

God is building His temple with His hands by building up His church. We who have put our faith and trust in Christ are being made into a spiritual temple for God to dwell in.

Think of it! The God of the universe who spoke everything into existence wants a deeply personal relationship with each and every one of those people who would accept Him. To think that the Holy Spirit lives within us is purely amazing.

It is the Holy Spirit that not only dwells in us, but makes us a truly holy temple for God to dwell in. How does He do that? you may ask. Well let's take a look at the Scriptures and see what they say.

"the house of the LORD was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God." 2 Chronicles 5:14

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4

"And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

Acts 4:31

Notice that in both instances the apostles were filled with the Spirit; a direct correlation to God filling the temple, in 2 Chronicles, so that the priests could not continue ministering, they could only give Him praise.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and live in us forever. Notice John 14,

"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, ..."

John 14:15-17a

As the Holy Spirit lives within us it is then that we see His ministry to believers.

The Spirit empowers (Acts 1:8), strengthens (Acts 4:31), encourages, comforts, and teaches (John 14:26; 16:13), and above all - makes us holy.

He (the Holy Spirit) makes us holy by abiding in us and filling us with His presence, because He is holy and He causes, and reminds us, of God's ways.

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." Ezekiel 36:27

By His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God writes His laws upon our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:33) and causes us to walk in His ways (Ezekiel 36:27 & Ephesians 2:10).

As Peter reminds us by quoting from Leviticus, "because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy" 1 Peter 1:16.

As God is holy, so He wants us to be holy (separate) and He helps us in that by filling us with His Spirit of holiness and truth.

"For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.' Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the LORD.'" 2 Corinthians 6:16-17

Oprah and the New Earth

2008-03-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

Okay. I thought I heard it all until I discovered that Oprah Winfrey has launched a weekly internet course with New Age guru Eckhart Tolle telling people how they can discover themselves amidst their surroundings. This is one of the most blatant schemes of the devil I've seen in a while! I mean come on! The New Earth and Oprah!?
The concept of the book is that we can all help create a new world by becoming more aware of our selves and our surroundings. These are New Age teachings to the core. And I know of only One Person who will create a New Earth and that would be Almighty Elohim - Yahweh. But most people treat Oprah like she's God so they'll just follow along with her to the end I guess.

Eckhart Tolle is gaining even more popularity now that the big O is endorsing him. Unfortunately he's just another knot in the long line of New Age teachers promoting humanism and self awarness rather than obedience to God.

Tolle's influences include other New Age authors such as Advaita Vedanta, Zen-Buddhism's Lin-chi, as well as Sufism and, get this - mystical Islam!!! O my goodness, could people be anymore duped!?

Another well known author working on this project is Elizabeth Lesser. She is a well known proponent in the New Age movement, though her and her peers would never call it "New Age". No matter what you call it it's still the same thing.
Miss Lesser "Draws on illuminating stories from her own experience, critiques of American spiritual history, and meditative exercises from an array of religious, psychological, and healing traditions to help readers develop their own individual spiritual practices to suit the needs of body, mind, and spirit.
It's the same ol' melting pot of religion that is simply a humanistic approach to belief.
It's the same thing Satan proposed in the Garden, carried on through Babel, and maintains in our world today.

These new age teachings of Tolle and others usually focus on enlightenment. Enlightenment is a concept in mysticism, philosophy, and psychology. Three things that are in strong opposition to the Word of God! I can't say this strongly enough - this book and the whole movement is dangerous to say the least.
Because of it's teachings (which have been around for millenia), AND because of it's major endorsement by such a well known, loved, and powerful figure like Ms. Winfrey!

Here is a quote from one of the "exercises" in the book:
"Pay attention to the gap between your thoughts—when one thought subsides and before another arises. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. When these gaps occur, you disidentify from your mind and feel a certain stillness and peace inside you. This is the essence of meditation and the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment.
Are you kidding me!? I thought Romans 12:1-2 told us to "renew our minds" not disidentify from it! That's what is so concerning about this movement, it teaches lesson after lesson that is directly in opposition to God's Scriptures!

This subject will be updated with more references to this work and most importantly - Scriptures that obviously refute what's being taught by Oprah and Mr. Tolle.

Isaiah 1

2008-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

1."The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken; "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me;
3. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider."

v.1. - Notice that verse 1 begins by saying "The vision of Isaiah...in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah" Isaiah received one (singular) vision throughout his entire ministry which spanned the reign of 4 kings.
It is obvious that Isaiah was shown many visions (plural) during his ministry, yet the point that God is making is that He is showing Isaiah only ONE, SINGULAR vision. God has one purpose, one goal, one MESSAGE that He wants Isaiah to proclaim - for His people to RETURN to HIM!

v.2. - When Isaiah writes "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!" he is proclaiming that the LORD is calling both heaven and earth as witnesses against Israel's adultery.
"Deuteronomy 19:15 - By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established."
He then goes on to describe the LORD's case that He, as their Father, has raised them as children, yet they turned away from Him.
Animals such as the ox and donkey know the care of their masters and they don't violate that relationship, yet Israel left their first love.
The professing church today has done much of the same - leaving behind the commandments of YAH for their own traditions.

4. "Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward."

v.4. - Elohim calls them a "sinful nation" and not His people. The nation of Israel laid claim to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but many of them did not place their faith and trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. They chased after other gods and committed adultery against the LORD, therefore many were merely a nation before Him and not His children.
He establishes His place as the Maker and Sanctifier of Israel (the Holy One of Israel) and still His children have turned their back on Him. If you are a father (or mother) imagine your children turning away from you and walking into sin! Your heart would be broken;
Jesus, in John chapter 8, touches on this very same issue. It says that those Jews who believed Him came to Him and claimed their heritage came from them being descendants of Abraham and because of that they were free.
But the Lord corrects them in saying that "whoever commits sin is a slave to sin" and that if they were Abraham's children they would not seek to kill Him. In the same thought He points out that if they were God's children they would love Him (Jesus).
As John the baptist said in Luke 3:8 - "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." Being a child of Abraham means being a child of faith who obeys the commandments of Yahweh/Yeshua/Holy Spirit and not our own commandments.

5. "Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints.
6. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundess in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment."

v.5. - He says the whole head is sick because they have replaced the true Head for their own.
"I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." - 1 Corinthians 11:3
v.6. - When an entire body is sick it cannot function well, if at all. With putrefying (fresh, dripping, recently made) sores, Israel is made disgustingly sick by their grotesque adultery.
God is the One who soothes our wounds with ointment ("by His stripes we are healed" Isaiah 53:5b; "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God." 2 Corinthians 2:21)

Verses 7 & 8 speak of the utter destruction of Israel for rejecting the LORD. As they abandoned Him, so He promises to abandon them for their unfaithfulness.

9. "Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.
10. "Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:
11. "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.
12. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?
13. Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them."

Isn't Elohim the One who commanded Israel to offer sacrifices, burn incense to Him and celebrate the New Moons, the Sabbath, and the feasts? The answer is Yes, He is. So why would He say that His soul hates them?
Many use these and other similar verses to make the case that God is done with the Sabbath and feasts. They are called the Jew's feasts and the Jewish Sabbath and so on. However, in Leviticus 23 Yahweh calles them HIS feasts! and in Isaiah 56 & 58 He calles the Sabbath, "My Sabbath" and "My holy day; the holy day of the LORD". Doesn't sound like He's not claiming them, does it?
If those who argue their case would simply open their hearts and choose to see the context for what it is, they would understand.
Yahweh is saying that Israel has made His feasts, His Sabbath, and the New Moon abominable because of their SIN! He validates this point in the next verse.
15. "When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood."

The LORD proclaims His position that He will not respond to them, even in their prayers because they have committed great sin, including murder! How can He except their offerings and praise when they have done such things without remorse and repentance. He will continue to build this case in the remainder of this chapter.
Notice though, what He says to them in these next verses.
16. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of our doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17. Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor;
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
18. Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

The LORD is always reaching out to us when we sin. For those who choose to walk in constant disobedience, there is still hope with the LORD: if they listen to His instruction, turn away from their sin, and walk in obedience, just as Ezekiel 36:27 and Ephesians 2:10 points out.
Notice that the LORD gives them some very specific things to begin doing as we read in verse 17.
And then in verse 18 we see the compassion and patience of the LORD when He says, "Come now, and let us reason together". He is always willing to dialogue with us. Unlike most people's vision of God, He is not some supreme being who cares little for His creation, rather, He is a loving, merciful Father who cares for His children and all of His creation.

19. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Promises from the LORD that will come true, if we obey or if we rebel.

In verses 19 - 23 we see what Israel is doing that upsets the LORD and it is exactly what He counsels them to do in verse 16 and 17.

21. "How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it. But now murderers. (v.16,17 - Cease to do evil; Learn to do good)

22. Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. (v.17 - Seek justice)

23. Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; (v.17 - Rebuke the oppressor;)

Everyone loves bribes. and follows after rewards (related to seeking after justice)

They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

(v.17 - Defend the fatherless. Plead for the widow)

Verses 24 - 31 end the chapter with the LORD's promise to restore save His people and destroy the wicked. It can really be summed up in verse 28b - "and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed." The LORD is a consuming fire and a righteous Judge who will defend the innocent and rebuke the guilty. Praise YAH!

Paul and the Law pt.1

2008-02-29T03:27:00.000-08:00

So many christians today have what could almost be called a hatred for God's law. Most likely it comes from not understanding the Scriptures in the right context. Unfortunately we've been taught that the Law is bondage for such a long time that we have a difficult road to travel just to get back to a correct understanding of God's loving instructions for us. It's intrigued me for several years now that so many people go to Paul's letter to the church in Galatia and make it out as an anti-Torah/Law book - that couldn't be further from the truth. One of Paul's main points is that a person can't be saved by keeping God's law, but that doesn't negate the fact that without the Lord's commandments we'd be unable to understand true holiness. Since God tells us to be holy, just as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16), then I'd say it's a pretty big deal to follow His instructions. One of the verses that's always used is Galatians 3:25 which says, "But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor" (speaking of the law). So many have taken this and ran with it saying that it means the law is dead to us now that we are in Christ. In reality Paul is pointing out that the law no longer has dominion over us if we are in Christ. Like a child when they have grown, leaves the authority of a tutor, so we who are in Messiah have left the "supervision" of the law once we've come to faith in Him and can now delight in His Torah as we walk in the Spirit. We realize that we are no longer condemned by the law and are free to learn from the Lord's loving instructions which teach us about the things He desires for our lives (Romans 2:18). Looking at the overall context helps: one can understand what Paul was saying in Galatians if we look at some of his other statements about the Law. In Romans 7:22 he says, "for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." If this was Paul's attitude towards God's law, then why would he 'condemn' it in his letter to the Galatians. Also he says, "that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."(Romans 8:4). And, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." (Romans 3:31). Establishing the law? Through faith?! Who'd have thought?! Obviously God did not throw away His laws for us once His Son died for our sins. The opposite is true, since He writes His laws on the hearts and minds of every follower of Messiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34/Hebrews 8:7-13). That's the part of the New Covenant that most Christians today don't even acknowledge. However, He is always giving us the opportunity to meet with Him in the truth of His Word. It is our choice whether or not we accept His invitation.

Law of God

2008-02-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Remember two things:
1. Do not add to nor take away from the Word of God. When we do this we begin to make the bible say whatever we want it to say, and that's definately not a good thing.
God's word as a WHOLE (Genesis to Revelation) is ALL relevant for us today to learn from.
However, if we add to/take away from it we are choosing to say that we decide what is important and what is not in the Word of God.,
Eve did this in the Garden and look at the mess we ended up with. She added to God's word.
"How did she do that?". God told Adam that he could eat of any tree in the Garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day he ate of it would be the day that he would die.
When the serpent told Eve to eat some of the fruit of that tree, she said that they could neither eat it nor touch it.
. Did you catch that? Eve added to the word of God, because He never said they couldn't touch the fruit, only that they would die if they were to eat it.
Either Eve thought it was a good measure not to touch the fruit, or Adam didn't relay the instructions correctly, but he was standing there beside her and never spoke a word, so it really doesn't matter....they were both disobedient.
When Eve added to God's word, Satan saw an open door and walked right in. He said, "Surely you will not die" and when Eve touched the fruit and saw that she didn't die, she then believed that she could eat the fruit and live. However, we know what happened.
We cannot add to nor take away from God's word without receiving judgment for it, and He has a standard which His judgment is based on. That standard is His Law.

We have to look at the foundation of God's Word which is Genesis through Deuteronomy, also known as the Torah (Hebrew for Law). This is what God established as the foundation for His entire word, and the Prophets, the Writings (Psalms, etc...), and the whole New Testament confirm what God said in His Torah while bringing further revelation.

If we understand this, then things really start to make sense. No more trying to fill in the blanks like we've done before. God intended His word to be read and understood by anybody and everybody, and for His people to obey it.

2. The bible can't contradict itself if it's the inspired Word of God. In fact it will always explain itself if we read not just a verse or two, but the whole context of what is being said in any given chapter or book. We have to look throughout God's word and keep our mind focused on what He is trying to say to us.

We also have to try and set aside much of the commentaries, books, devotionals, and anything else where men try and comment on the bible and just look at what God Himself is saying in His word, remembering that His Torah(Law) is the foundation for everything He says.

It's not that those men and women aren't educated or don't have a heart for God, but when we look to their writings and commentaries for our answers instead of the One who has all the answers we'll get confused and misdirected by the enemy.

The heart of every man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked! (Jeremiah 17:9). When we look to the teachings of man and hold them at or even above the word of God then we are standing in great peril.
We don't need a scholarly professor to tell us the truth of the bible. Remember, the Holy Spirit is here to teach us which means we really CAN understand what God is saying through His word.
If we are saved then we have the Holy Spirit and He will teach us the truth. And as Jesus said, "..Your [the Father] Word IS truth" - John 17:17

"Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Law is truth" - Psalm 119:142

The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." - Psalm 119:160

Just keep reading the Scriptures everyday, keeping in mind that as New Covenant believers God's WHOLE word, Genesis to Revelation, is relevant and applicable for us even today! Nowhere in the bible does God say that the Old Testament in now done away with or useless or just "for the Jews". In fact, every New Testament author and even Jesus Himself proclaimed the relevance and importance of the Old Testament and proved that point by constantly quoting from it. And they did so, not just to point to fulfilled passages about Jesus, but to also show how important and applicable the Old Testament is in the life of a New Covenant believer!

The Trouble with Vaccines

2008-02-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

This article was taken from a newsletter on the From Fields and Gardens website written by Jennifer Ferris. Dear Friends, Many of you may have noticed the coverage lately in the media about the importance of the flu vaccine. A "panel" has made the reccomendation that all children between 6 months and 18 years be vaccinated for the influenza virus. They also suggest that everbody over 50 be vaccinated. They share some pretty scary statistics with the public, such as the 68 children who died last year from complications caused by the flu. So far this year 22 children have died. Let us put this into perspective, please. What is the percentage we are talking about here? 68 out of 59 million? I hate math, so I won't take a swing at figuring it out. But, I can tell you that it is very small! The fact that they are even using this empty scare tactic is absurd! How many children die each year from falling down the stairs? Choking? Other common childhood illnesses? In fact, we still see the very childhood illnesses that are mandatory immunizations strike all over the USA each year in isolated incidences. My oldest son was vaccinated for Pertussis (Whooping Cough) and was still infected by the disease as a one year old. It was nasty, but he survived it! The truth is that more children will die this year from complications to vaccinations than from influenza. That is the truth. Another fact to consider is that the flu vaccine is a shot in the dark. Each year the flu strikes, whether the public is vaccinated or not. That is because they have no way of knowing which strain of the flu is the one that will attack. It has also been suggested that the flu vaccine is creating stronger strains of the virus. What does the medical community have to gain from forcing vaccines? Well, the answer is simple. Money. The pharmaceutical companies that formulate these vaccines are set to make billions of dollars if they can convince the public that they need these shots. And the doctors gain monetary benefits, as well. They are, in fact, the primary salespeople for "Big Pharm". In case you have not picked up on it yet, this kind of thing really bugs me! I was once the mother who did everything that the doctors told me to do. I had my oldest children vaccinated on schedule like a good little soldier. I never questioned it. It wasn't until my youngest daugter became very ill from her "shots" that my eyes were opened. She was a beautiful, healthy baby who had never had so much as a sniffle. And yet here she was...cheeks bright red, eyes glassy, no appetite, lethargic...for nearly one week. What had I done to her? I was frightened! Praise the LORD that He protected her from my ignorance and she recovered just fine. But, how many babies don't recover "just fine". Sadly, too many. We never hear about them though, do we? My daughter was only sick for one week. Compared to the babies who don't make it at all, that seems petty. As I thought back, I realized that none of my children had ever been ill, except for the period directly following a set of vaccinations. That was when ear infections developed, fevers, fussiness. Why? In fact, often it was as if they had the very same illnesses that they were innoculated for. Now, don't get me wrong. Most of the time, they came through the shots no worse for wear...but, sometimes they were bothered by them. Maybe mildly, but still...why? That was it for me. I began to research. I urge you to do the same. What you will find might shock you. Since we made the decision to treat illnesses naturally and depend on doctors for emergency situations only, we have only had one of our children to the doctor in over six years! The one incident was when Gabriella fell and fractured her skull. No vaccine exists for bumped heads. I am sure they are working on one. So, what should you do to prevent the flu from striking? It has been hitting people in our area pretty hard. The best way to treat the flu is to prevent it by building up your immune system. If you have a strong immune system, even if you do get sick, you will be better able to fight it off and your system will be strengthened even more by forcing your natural, God-given, immune fighting abilites to step up to the plate. Some tips: #1- Wash hands often! #2- Drink extra fluids, especially pure water with fresh squeezed lemon juice or grapefruit juice. #3- Drink kefir! Smoothies made with kefir and raw fruits are excellent! #4- Take your immune boosting herbs, such as Flu Fighter! If you made yourself a bottle of syrup, now is the time to take regular doses. #5- Eat healthy meals and avoid sugars and processed foods. Vegetarian meals are encouraged, but chicken soup with lots of garlic is good. #6- Keep things clean. Spray the air with essential oil spritzers (tea tree, lavender, peppermint). #7- Get some fresh air. #8- Get extra rest. #9- Use a natural hand sanitizer when you are out in public. #10-This should always be first on the list, but we often forget and make it an after thought...Pray that God protects your family from illness and plagues. I will put recipes for hand sanitizer and air spritzers on the message board. I have a link at the website to a fantastic vaccine information site. Check it out! Also, www.mercola.com also has lots of important information about vaccine dangers. Educate yourself! Shalom, Jennifer Ferris www.fromfieldsandgardens.com Jennifer@fromfieldsandgardens.com

No Rules?

2007-07-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

If you wear a seatbelt, pay your taxes, and drive the speed limit then you're following the rules. Most of us don't have a problem with that, because we know that there's consequences to breaking the law. And if we're followers of Jesus then we also want to be good citizens like Paul says in Romans 13. Why is it, then, that so many Christians today have a problem with following, or submitting to, God's laws? Why have we stood by and watched His Commandments be pulled from so many government institutions? And even more, why do we constantly disagree as to which laws are still applicable to us today? The simple answer is right there in the pages of God's Word. God's laws (rules) are first and foremost to show what sin is and bring judgment (1 Timothy 1:8-11; John 12:48-49). I think we'd all agree on that. No flesh shall be justified by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16), so there's nothing we can do to be saved. So here's where things get a little tricky for some. When we are saved, do we no longer need God's laws? Here's what the bible says to believers about God's law: Deuteronomy 10:13 - "and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" Psalm 1:1-2 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." Psalm 119:97-98 - "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me." Proverbs 6:23 - For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life." John 14:15 - Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Jesus said earlier, in John, that His doctrine (teaching) was not His own, but the Father's. The Father's teaching was, and is, His laws. Romans 2:18 - "and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law," Romans 3:31 - "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." Romans 7:22 - "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." Romans 8:4 - "that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 7:19 - "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters." 1 John 5:3 - "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." Revelation 12:17 - "and the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." These and other passages show an attitude of Godly reverance from the biblical writers. In both the Old and New Testaments we see a healthy understanding as to the relationship we have with God's law once we're saved. Just because we become His children by adoption (Galatians 4:5) doesn't mean we're free to do whatever we want and not pay any penalties (Romans 2:1-5, 13). We are to become slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:18). Being a slave means doing things against our will (the will of our flesh, our sinful nature). Our flesh wants to sin, so being a slave of righteousness means we are to do things that are against the will of the flesh. God is giving us a choice, whether or not to follow Him or our own rules. There are always consequences for breaking the commandments of God, even if they are earthly ones. God wants us to learn from His Son Jesus, the Living Word, and understand His perfect will for our lives. Jesus said in John 15:10, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." Were the commandments Jesus was talking about brand new ones that He had just made up? No, they were the same commandments that He kept - His Father's commandments (God's Law). God tells us to be holy, for He is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7; 1 Peter 1:15-16). We can't do that if we don't know what His standard of holiness is. We also must remember that Jesus is the only Lawgiver and Judge (James 4:12)! He gave us His commandments for our benefit. Why wouldn't we follow His word and His ways instead of our own, fallible rules? God bless