Iyyar 6,5769 Fifth Day Yom Khah'mee'shee
Dear Ones, First I am thankful to our Elohim for giving us each new day...a day when we can praise His Holy Name. I am thankful that Israel just celebrated 61 years of Independence. A birthday that sparks terror in the hearts of her enemies but such joy in us who are called by the Name of the LORD to stand with her in ALL THINGS.
There are a lot of feelings going through me right now....a strong desire that all would receive the truth of the Gospel, not the version that has been peddeled for the past , oh 1700 years. Yes, I know that the whole 'christian' belief system is based on it but WAKE UP, it is not the truth. Oh, there are 'truths' within it but are you going to trust your salvation on half-truths? Yeshua said we must either be hot or cold...not lukewarm and too many are lukewarm, saying to themselves, "Oh I am ok, I am saved and I believe Jesus is the Son of God and He died for my sins and rose from the dead." Yes, this is truth...but what about Him being the Word..the same yesterday, today and forever? Does that have any bearing? When He, Who is the Word and was the Word from the beginning said that His Cammandments are forever and that His Sabbath is to be observed and kept holy forever...where does that put ALMOST ALL of the 'christian' religions? And doesn't His word say His festivals, His holy days are to be kept forever? What has happened to them?
Something DID happen. God's Way was usurped for the way of man. Man always thinks he has the better way and so he made up his own rules. Whether by misunderstanding the Scriptures or 'thinking' he is the 'Interpreter' of God's word. So man, elevated himself..most definately by the prodding of the enemy, because is it not the enemy who has always tried to make man 'think' he is a god and can do as he pleases? And so man began his own religion...far from the Way of Yeshua and His Teachings.
Man built a system of beliefs 'fashioned' after God but filled with the pagan. This religion tried to make itself a substitute for God's TRUE system. Because the Temple was gone, it felt it could just come in under the nose of God and do as it pleased. This new religion was a system that did not benefit its followers. It made up rules and regulations and greatly changed the way that God ministered to His people. God's Sabbath was changed because if this is a church built by man but claiming to be of God then it should have the right to change the day of worship, right? Then this manmade church did away with all of God's Feasts and Festivals...His Holy Days... and substituted its own days. So, the Believers could no longer worship God on His Sabbath but had to worship on the 'new sabbath..the day of the 'sun god' and they could no longer be in obedience to observe and celebrate God's special days but had to follow the pagan holidays of this usurper church...oh..easter, christmas, it's saint's days, its halloween AND it instituted all kinds of sacriments and even a new goddess to worship from the pagan goddess of old.
WAKE UP! God's Way is not the way of this church and even if you follow the Protestant way, you are still under the hand of this 'Great Pretender church' because in almost evey Prostestant church you go to church on sunday and you celebrate the days of the church of Constantine.. Christ's Mass, easter, halloween and now even more and more Protestant churches are observing the days of lent and advent and the list goes on and on. And remember, we were suckered into valentine's day and st. patrick's day. Come on! WAKE UP!
I WILL GIVE THIS TO THE PROTESTANT MOVEMENT, AT LEAST IT DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE WORSHIP OF GODDESS MARY. But you hear more about those who are being numbed or is it DUMBED into believeing some of it. WAKE UP! Do not allow any of it in your thinking!
I will not ever stop speaking out about the catholic system because it is wrong...it is pagan and too many are being driven right to hell by it. And what is satan doing? He is laughing at you all the way tO HELL!.
WAKE UP! COME OUT! COME OUT! COME OUT!
DO YOU WANT TO BE RIGHTEOUS? The WORD of God says His commandments are righteous. Follow His Commands. Get your mind in tune with His. Get your religious life in tune from His. Get away from the pagan and into the Way of God!
We are facing the LAST DAYS my friends and where do you want to be during these last days? In the arms of our Elohim or at the mercy of this church system that soon will be more deadly than ever. It will all be tied in together..the One World government and the One World Church. and what better church would it be than one that already teaches a faith far from God? One that cAN make its own rules and force its followeres to believe as it says or be excommunicated from it? WAKE UP!
IN THE END IT IS ONLY UP TO YOU. You and you alone will have to make the decision as to whether it is worth staying in the church system of the world(satan) or changing your life and coming into the faith of Yeshua. I will not say it is easy. The 'church' allows you to believe its way is easy..just call on His Name and zap...everything is ok and you don't even have to change, most go on living as if nothing happened. And since almost everyone has been brought up semi-'christian', they are already celebrating christmas and easter BUT when you come into the faith of Yeshua, you DO have to change. You change your whole way of thinking and you change the way you do things and you no longer celebrate the pagan holidays, you instead look to His Word and follow His Holy Days.
It is up to you. As the old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!"
I love YOU and want the best for YOU....His servant, gloria.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
FROM MY HEART AND SOUL
Nissan/Aviv 30, 5769 Day Six Yom Ha'Shee'shee
Hello my dear ones, it is another beautiful day in my little part of the world. We have a wonderful breeze blowing the curtains in my Angel room.
I cannot believe we are at the end of another week AND another month! Tonight is Shabbat and also the first day of Iyyer! AND also Rosh Kodesh.
The following is a long blog...long for me I think but as I titled it..it is from my heart and soul. This is not for debate and for any arguments. What I write is from me and also from the LORD.
I want to say something very important....we must all accept that things happen for a reason...for a purpose. As I have said before, our Elohim, Who IS Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sees the beginning and the end.(Think Quantum Physics here) Along the straight path He has set before us is our free will and many little paths shoot off of His pre-designed path. So, in ALL THINGS many different ways could have come to the same ending. He said His children would come back to claim their land...so He set up pathways for this to be fullfilled...not all being the best way but it did happen never the less. In ALL things there are probably the bad ways, the good ways and the best ways. We, having free will, determine which way we will go. But do not think He does not have a hand in it, He does try to steer us this way or that way...it is up to us to be listening to His Voice.
Why do things happen and it seems to take so long to get them straightened out? Because WE think WE know more than our Elohim! WE try and fix this and that and do it this way or that way because WE know best.
When Yeshua came He came for a reason and a purpose. But WE went off on different paths AWAY from what He brought to us. Thus WE were brought to our knees, and I am talking about human kind in general here, by a religion that sprang from His teachings but usurped it and began their own theology. And from this sprang all of the other 'Christian' religions. Elohim gave visions and words to some who were listening but they only took what they wanted to see and hear. So we have most of the Protestant religions mired in the false teachings that began with the Church of Constantine.
Down thru all of this, His chosen were ridiculed, persecuted, tortured and almost destroyed and this has included those who profess the Savior Yeshua but who 'Saw' with different eyes the true reality of what was really the Way of God. The Great Pretender church was going to have NO OTHER RELIGION BUT ITSELF so it had to destroy any other way but its way. Thankfully our Elohim had another plan.
So many have listened and have turned from this great rolling religion of false doctrines and sacrements, idol worship, the worship of a false god and goddess and belief that it is the only way to salvation and it is the final word because it is the word of God. WELL IT IS NOT!
Many paths.....many ways...but He sees the end. I read in an article a man questioning whether the Jews would have gotten Israel if the Holocaust had not happened. My belief is YES they would have but it would have taken a different 'way'. God said they would come back and He meant it. His covenant is forever and His promises never die. He said He would not forsake them and He has not.
The paths we take either make our journey easier or harder and it is up to us. Are we listening to Him? Are we studying His Word and getting instruction from His Torah because all instruction is there. Yeshua is Torah! He is the Word!
We are all wondering what tomorrow is going to bring....it sometimes does not look to be very good. But even with this knowlege of what these times are and who is running things, we must trust in our Elohim. Worry is not going to get us through all of the trials and tribulations that may come upon us.
My thoughts always go to those who were in the Holocaust, even the years before it. God's chosen suffered mightily. One man, heard the call of Satan and he listened intently. He was guided by the writings of Martin Luther, who is looked upon as such a great man, the Reformer. But Martin Luther had a dark side. He hated the Jews and did whatever he could to turn others against them, even to write that they should be destroyed. Hitler believed this too and because of the teachings of the Catholic church and many Protestant churches, Hitler found those who believed the same way he did.
Thus began one of the mose infamouse times in the history of mankind.
We ask ourselves, what makes humans so evil towards other humans? Well, it can be none other than HaSatan himself. The Catholic church was undoubtedly guided by him in its teachings and in the ways it treated those who did not believe as it did AND does.
(I am in no way saying Catholic people are evil, I have family who are Catholic and they are NOT evil just lost. But the church and its teachings ARE.)
So we have Hitler and his plan to exterminate the Jews and a few other types of humans along the way but lets be honest and say...it was mainly to get rid of the hope of the world for the LORD to return..the Jews. And we have the Lutheran church, which comes from Martin Luther.....AND we have the Catholic church which had already been persecuting the Jews and we now have BIG TROUBLE.
We also have the German people who were defeated in the First World War and needed someone to be their hope, their savior, their messiah. They became very bold in their belief that they were superior to all others from the teachings of Hitler.
The Jewish people became a very passsive people. They kept to themselves. Even in the days of old when they conquered the lands, they did not demand for those around them to become Jewish. They have never tried to proselytize religion. The more they were persecuted the more they turned to God.
I keep asking, how did they keep their faith? I look at the pictures and the movies and read the accounts.....mothers with babies in their arms, or with small children in tow...even grandmothers with their grandchildren...all being led to slaughter but they did it and I wonder, "What were they thinking?"
I saw a small clip of a movie, shot by a passing Nazi soldier, of Jews being led to their deaths...all lined up near a gully. The shots ringing out...the murdered falling into the abyss. He got close to the Jewish men, they looked to be young men, all careening to see what was happening. Hearing the shots and looking...what were they thinking as they saw people they knew, falling over the side, murdered before them and knowing in just a few small steps they would be next?
I think about those getting off the trains after such a horrible trip, not really knowing what is going to happen. Hoping that the stories of a new life are true but in their hearts are they really believing the other stories about slavery and death?
This is what goes thru my mind. This is what I think about when I see a train on tv or even some other image will bring to mind what they went thru.
I also think about the other Holocaust that has been going on since 1973..the murders of the unborn. They flinch and try to 'run away' from the object that is there to kill them. They let out silent screams. They are the innocent taken to slaughter. Whether we like it or not, their blood is on our hands just as the blood of those who were murdered in WWII is on the hands of all those who turned their heads and did nothing.....not even a prayer.
So, this is my rambling...this is from my heart and soul but I read something yesterday that did help some.....
In the Hands of Hatred
By Boaz Michael
April 21, 2009
"May God have mercy and say "enough!" to the affliction of the Jewish people and to my personal torment. May He return to me my dear, sweet, and modest daughter Rekhil Yehudit, long life to her, who was kidnapped from me on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, Friday in the week of Shoftim 5702 [August 14, 1942]." R'Kalonymus Kalman Shapira
Rabbi Kalonymus [tz"l] lost his life by the hands of hatred. Yet, his voice lives on. In the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto a fragmentary dairy was found that records the inner life of this martyred Rebbe. The book "To Heal the Soul" records his words. On this day of Yom Shoah (the day of remembering the Holocaust.) I thought it appropriate to allow his words to live on and encourage us. Here are some of his journal entries.
#12 "Leaving your mark on the world"
He who knows his place: Be creative and contribute to the world, give it the best you have. Make a niche for yourself that will always be felt in the world. Are not the "places" of our forefathers, the prophets, and other tzaddikim to this day not known in the world? What a void there would be in the world if, for instance, there had been no Baal Shem Tov?
So "he who knows his place"--who leaves a mark in this world with his life--his "place" will forever be known, even beyond his life.
#13 "The ultimate proof of God"
Certainly you have heard of or seen the books that deal with the existence of God. For those who find it hard to believe, they try to prove that there is a God. They bring their proofs from Creation itself, its inherent wisdom and almighty nature. But woe for you if you need their proofs.
Have you not felt, have you not seen, how your soul is so sure it sees God? You speak to Him in second person both in formal and informal prayer because the truth is that your soul does see Him present, right there before you.
And when your soul cries out in pain, "I shall not fear because You are with me" (Psalm 23:4), you feel as if you are clinging to God, who then will heal your soul. Or when you yearn or pour out your soul, you say, "God! Please bring me closer! Help me to surrender my very self to You, because I yearn greatly to come closer."
( Boaz Michael is the President and Founder of First Fruits of Zion.)
I shall not fear because You are with me.
I shall not fear because You are with me.
I shall not fear because You are with me.
Are we ready with faith like this? We talk the talk but can we walk the walk?
I believe we will find out sooner than later.
Hello my dear ones, it is another beautiful day in my little part of the world. We have a wonderful breeze blowing the curtains in my Angel room.
I cannot believe we are at the end of another week AND another month! Tonight is Shabbat and also the first day of Iyyer! AND also Rosh Kodesh.
The following is a long blog...long for me I think but as I titled it..it is from my heart and soul. This is not for debate and for any arguments. What I write is from me and also from the LORD.
I want to say something very important....we must all accept that things happen for a reason...for a purpose. As I have said before, our Elohim, Who IS Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sees the beginning and the end.(Think Quantum Physics here) Along the straight path He has set before us is our free will and many little paths shoot off of His pre-designed path. So, in ALL THINGS many different ways could have come to the same ending. He said His children would come back to claim their land...so He set up pathways for this to be fullfilled...not all being the best way but it did happen never the less. In ALL things there are probably the bad ways, the good ways and the best ways. We, having free will, determine which way we will go. But do not think He does not have a hand in it, He does try to steer us this way or that way...it is up to us to be listening to His Voice.
Why do things happen and it seems to take so long to get them straightened out? Because WE think WE know more than our Elohim! WE try and fix this and that and do it this way or that way because WE know best.
When Yeshua came He came for a reason and a purpose. But WE went off on different paths AWAY from what He brought to us. Thus WE were brought to our knees, and I am talking about human kind in general here, by a religion that sprang from His teachings but usurped it and began their own theology. And from this sprang all of the other 'Christian' religions. Elohim gave visions and words to some who were listening but they only took what they wanted to see and hear. So we have most of the Protestant religions mired in the false teachings that began with the Church of Constantine.
Down thru all of this, His chosen were ridiculed, persecuted, tortured and almost destroyed and this has included those who profess the Savior Yeshua but who 'Saw' with different eyes the true reality of what was really the Way of God. The Great Pretender church was going to have NO OTHER RELIGION BUT ITSELF so it had to destroy any other way but its way. Thankfully our Elohim had another plan.
So many have listened and have turned from this great rolling religion of false doctrines and sacrements, idol worship, the worship of a false god and goddess and belief that it is the only way to salvation and it is the final word because it is the word of God. WELL IT IS NOT!
Many paths.....many ways...but He sees the end. I read in an article a man questioning whether the Jews would have gotten Israel if the Holocaust had not happened. My belief is YES they would have but it would have taken a different 'way'. God said they would come back and He meant it. His covenant is forever and His promises never die. He said He would not forsake them and He has not.
The paths we take either make our journey easier or harder and it is up to us. Are we listening to Him? Are we studying His Word and getting instruction from His Torah because all instruction is there. Yeshua is Torah! He is the Word!
We are all wondering what tomorrow is going to bring....it sometimes does not look to be very good. But even with this knowlege of what these times are and who is running things, we must trust in our Elohim. Worry is not going to get us through all of the trials and tribulations that may come upon us.
My thoughts always go to those who were in the Holocaust, even the years before it. God's chosen suffered mightily. One man, heard the call of Satan and he listened intently. He was guided by the writings of Martin Luther, who is looked upon as such a great man, the Reformer. But Martin Luther had a dark side. He hated the Jews and did whatever he could to turn others against them, even to write that they should be destroyed. Hitler believed this too and because of the teachings of the Catholic church and many Protestant churches, Hitler found those who believed the same way he did.
Thus began one of the mose infamouse times in the history of mankind.
We ask ourselves, what makes humans so evil towards other humans? Well, it can be none other than HaSatan himself. The Catholic church was undoubtedly guided by him in its teachings and in the ways it treated those who did not believe as it did AND does.
(I am in no way saying Catholic people are evil, I have family who are Catholic and they are NOT evil just lost. But the church and its teachings ARE.)
So we have Hitler and his plan to exterminate the Jews and a few other types of humans along the way but lets be honest and say...it was mainly to get rid of the hope of the world for the LORD to return..the Jews. And we have the Lutheran church, which comes from Martin Luther.....AND we have the Catholic church which had already been persecuting the Jews and we now have BIG TROUBLE.
We also have the German people who were defeated in the First World War and needed someone to be their hope, their savior, their messiah. They became very bold in their belief that they were superior to all others from the teachings of Hitler.
The Jewish people became a very passsive people. They kept to themselves. Even in the days of old when they conquered the lands, they did not demand for those around them to become Jewish. They have never tried to proselytize religion. The more they were persecuted the more they turned to God.
I keep asking, how did they keep their faith? I look at the pictures and the movies and read the accounts.....mothers with babies in their arms, or with small children in tow...even grandmothers with their grandchildren...all being led to slaughter but they did it and I wonder, "What were they thinking?"
I saw a small clip of a movie, shot by a passing Nazi soldier, of Jews being led to their deaths...all lined up near a gully. The shots ringing out...the murdered falling into the abyss. He got close to the Jewish men, they looked to be young men, all careening to see what was happening. Hearing the shots and looking...what were they thinking as they saw people they knew, falling over the side, murdered before them and knowing in just a few small steps they would be next?
I think about those getting off the trains after such a horrible trip, not really knowing what is going to happen. Hoping that the stories of a new life are true but in their hearts are they really believing the other stories about slavery and death?
This is what goes thru my mind. This is what I think about when I see a train on tv or even some other image will bring to mind what they went thru.
I also think about the other Holocaust that has been going on since 1973..the murders of the unborn. They flinch and try to 'run away' from the object that is there to kill them. They let out silent screams. They are the innocent taken to slaughter. Whether we like it or not, their blood is on our hands just as the blood of those who were murdered in WWII is on the hands of all those who turned their heads and did nothing.....not even a prayer.
So, this is my rambling...this is from my heart and soul but I read something yesterday that did help some.....
In the Hands of Hatred
By Boaz Michael
April 21, 2009
"May God have mercy and say "enough!" to the affliction of the Jewish people and to my personal torment. May He return to me my dear, sweet, and modest daughter Rekhil Yehudit, long life to her, who was kidnapped from me on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, Friday in the week of Shoftim 5702 [August 14, 1942]." R'Kalonymus Kalman Shapira
Rabbi Kalonymus [tz"l] lost his life by the hands of hatred. Yet, his voice lives on. In the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto a fragmentary dairy was found that records the inner life of this martyred Rebbe. The book "To Heal the Soul" records his words. On this day of Yom Shoah (the day of remembering the Holocaust.) I thought it appropriate to allow his words to live on and encourage us. Here are some of his journal entries.
#12 "Leaving your mark on the world"
He who knows his place: Be creative and contribute to the world, give it the best you have. Make a niche for yourself that will always be felt in the world. Are not the "places" of our forefathers, the prophets, and other tzaddikim to this day not known in the world? What a void there would be in the world if, for instance, there had been no Baal Shem Tov?
So "he who knows his place"--who leaves a mark in this world with his life--his "place" will forever be known, even beyond his life.
#13 "The ultimate proof of God"
Certainly you have heard of or seen the books that deal with the existence of God. For those who find it hard to believe, they try to prove that there is a God. They bring their proofs from Creation itself, its inherent wisdom and almighty nature. But woe for you if you need their proofs.
Have you not felt, have you not seen, how your soul is so sure it sees God? You speak to Him in second person both in formal and informal prayer because the truth is that your soul does see Him present, right there before you.
And when your soul cries out in pain, "I shall not fear because You are with me" (Psalm 23:4), you feel as if you are clinging to God, who then will heal your soul. Or when you yearn or pour out your soul, you say, "God! Please bring me closer! Help me to surrender my very self to You, because I yearn greatly to come closer."
( Boaz Michael is the President and Founder of First Fruits of Zion.)
I shall not fear because You are with me.
I shall not fear because You are with me.
I shall not fear because You are with me.
Are we ready with faith like this? We talk the talk but can we walk the walk?
I believe we will find out sooner than later.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Nissan/Aviv 28,5769 fourth Day Yom Revee'ee
Dear Ones, by now, anyone who has read this blog knows that I do not celebrate ANY of the pagan days of the 'Christian church'...no Christ's mass, Easter, halloween, any of their saints days....any of the superstitious days..lent, advent, valentine's day....NONE OF THEM!
BUT...I do not consider any of our national days as pagan so I do celebrate Independence Day, Flag day, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day and such. So, I am recognising Earth Day. Not in the crazy new age way that most see it but in a respectful way. Giving thanks to our Elohim Who created ALL Things. He is so good His love and mercy endures forever!
I can remember when Earth Day first started. I was in high school and in one of my classes..it was English class..the teacher was rather modern and I think he was trying to give us 'hicks' a little more learning than we would have gotten otherwise. Anyway, he had all of us in the class write about the first Earth Day and make posters. I DO NOT remember what I did but I DO remember what my friend, Lynn, did. She had drawn earth from space and heading towards it was a space ship. She did it like you would see in cartoons....with the conversation of the two aliens inside in those balloon looking things. I don't remember exactly what they said but it was something like..."Oh look at this one. Maybe we can go here?" "No, I don't think we want to go there...too much polution."
I think about this every year.
Am I doing anything special? No.....except dressing Arrin all in shades of green. I guess I greened her.
Dear Ones, by now, anyone who has read this blog knows that I do not celebrate ANY of the pagan days of the 'Christian church'...no Christ's mass, Easter, halloween, any of their saints days....any of the superstitious days..lent, advent, valentine's day....NONE OF THEM!
BUT...I do not consider any of our national days as pagan so I do celebrate Independence Day, Flag day, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day and such. So, I am recognising Earth Day. Not in the crazy new age way that most see it but in a respectful way. Giving thanks to our Elohim Who created ALL Things. He is so good His love and mercy endures forever!
I can remember when Earth Day first started. I was in high school and in one of my classes..it was English class..the teacher was rather modern and I think he was trying to give us 'hicks' a little more learning than we would have gotten otherwise. Anyway, he had all of us in the class write about the first Earth Day and make posters. I DO NOT remember what I did but I DO remember what my friend, Lynn, did. She had drawn earth from space and heading towards it was a space ship. She did it like you would see in cartoons....with the conversation of the two aliens inside in those balloon looking things. I don't remember exactly what they said but it was something like..."Oh look at this one. Maybe we can go here?" "No, I don't think we want to go there...too much polution."
I think about this every year.
Am I doing anything special? No.....except dressing Arrin all in shades of green. I guess I greened her.
Monday, April 20, 2009
WHAT BOX ARE YOU IN?
Nissan /Aviv 26,5769 Second Day Yom Shaynee
Today is a beautiful day in my little part of the world. I am exceedingly glad and I rejoice in it.
I must have woke up in a wonderful mood and feeling great, right?
Nope....I woke up feeling like a 56 year old woman...well, maybe I feel a lot older..lol...my sleep was not good and my body was aching.
I wrestled during the night with thoughts and dreams and some were undoubtedly from the LORD. Things from my past kept popping up and in one dream it was all about Twittering.
But I will not allow my sleep at night or my thoughts or how I am feeling make me see the world as anything else but wonderful because He is the Creator and it is most marvelous!
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING...I am His Creation...I am the workmanship of His Hands. BUT, I will never take it too far...I will never allow myself to look upon myself as more than I am and on the other hand, I will NEVER allow myself to be degraded and looked upon as something not worthy.
I am me, plain and simple...no more...no less. I am not a great beauty and I am not ugly. But, there it is again...WE ARE A PEOPLE...A WHOLE WORLD...THAT REVELS IN THE FLESH.
In todays 'Daily Lift' by Rabbi Zeleg Pliskin, says.......
In Western society, the body has been deified. Many judge themselves by their physical beauty and strength (or lack of it). The Torah attitude is that our bodies are tools for spiritual elevation.
The value of a tool is not in its appearance but in its function. A person who looks at his body as a tool for spiritual growth does not think less of himself if he has a physical handicap. Since his body is a tool, he is only expected to utilize the tool that he was given.
Is this not what has been going on with the body since the beginning of time? All of mankind puts a beautiful face and a lovely body in a special place of honor. We have ALL been programed to do this.
I feel the whole world had a wake up call when Susan Boyle walked out on stage on the show 'Britians Got Talent' Now, I have read some of the 'popular' peoples quotes about her....and to be quite honest, it disgusts me.
One famous person likened her to 'Shrek'. another calls her 'ugly'.....friends, this woman was not ugly and she sure is NOT a 'Shrek'! Frumpy?..yes....dowdy...yes! You could call her 'plain' I guess but ugly?...NO!
We all have boxes we are put in and we see others in their boxes. I am amazed when people I know to be very spiritual are interested in me. Why me, I think? But, it is not me...it is the LORD they see. I want nothing of myself in there, although I know that is an impossibility.
We are in these boxes and maybe it is not the box we see ourselves in but a box that others have placed us in. There is a man who lives near me and he is blind and in a wheelchair and cannot take care of himself. But I am humbled each time I am near him because he is an Apostle of the LORD. He is mighty in prayer. His wife says many nights he is in his room where he has a radio set and talks about the LORD to others and he will begin to wail and travail in the Spirit. I am sure those who come into his presence, who are of the world, do not realize in whose presence they are in because his box for them is of a blind crippled man..NOT A MAN OF GOD! They see no power in this man but if they had 'eyes' to 'see', they would know.
How many truly saw the great woman of God, Harriet Tubman? How do you see her? What kind of box is she in? Most would say "she was a slave, greatly mistreated who became a the Moses of her people by leading so many to the North into freedom." Yes, she was all of these but she was so much more. She had a 'call' from God upon her life that went far beyond her circumstances. She was so obedient that He spoke and she listened. She became accustomed to His Voice.
She was a great patriot..serving in the Cival War as a spy and as a nurse. She was greatly trusted in her knowledge by the 'supereor white man'. Her love for the LORD and her desire to free her people put her in a position to speak before groups of white folks in their nice 'white' dry churches. They had a desire to help and free the 'Negroes' but they had no 'spiritual' understanding of the relationship that Harriet had with the LORD.
So I see that Susan Boyle is in a 'box'..she is old, ugly, shouldn't have had such a wonderful voice...but why are so many pulling for her! Why are so many excited that this woman came from nowhere and now is known the world over? WHY?
Because, she is us....There a a few 'chosen' who elevate themselves or have been elevated to a standard that hardly anyone can reach. But she is in a 'box' that we can relate to. She has hit the world right where it needed to be hit.
God gave her a voice that is beautiful and she hasn't used it to gain power and money and fame. She was never what the world thought worthy of fame and fortune because she wasn't in their kind of box.
Yeshua came and was not in a box that was accepted. Friends, He is still in a box that few want to accept. Oh, many attend church, even went down to the altar call but truly...how many came out of their box and joined Him in His? They will accept the box of religion and all the trappings. But they will not accept His Way.
I pray that you will allow Him to show you His Way. Come out of the world box...come out of the worldly church box....come, get into Yeshua's box...you will never be the same.
Today is a beautiful day in my little part of the world. I am exceedingly glad and I rejoice in it.
I must have woke up in a wonderful mood and feeling great, right?
Nope....I woke up feeling like a 56 year old woman...well, maybe I feel a lot older..lol...my sleep was not good and my body was aching.
I wrestled during the night with thoughts and dreams and some were undoubtedly from the LORD. Things from my past kept popping up and in one dream it was all about Twittering.
But I will not allow my sleep at night or my thoughts or how I am feeling make me see the world as anything else but wonderful because He is the Creator and it is most marvelous!
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING...I am His Creation...I am the workmanship of His Hands. BUT, I will never take it too far...I will never allow myself to look upon myself as more than I am and on the other hand, I will NEVER allow myself to be degraded and looked upon as something not worthy.
I am me, plain and simple...no more...no less. I am not a great beauty and I am not ugly. But, there it is again...WE ARE A PEOPLE...A WHOLE WORLD...THAT REVELS IN THE FLESH.
In todays 'Daily Lift' by Rabbi Zeleg Pliskin, says.......
In Western society, the body has been deified. Many judge themselves by their physical beauty and strength (or lack of it). The Torah attitude is that our bodies are tools for spiritual elevation.
The value of a tool is not in its appearance but in its function. A person who looks at his body as a tool for spiritual growth does not think less of himself if he has a physical handicap. Since his body is a tool, he is only expected to utilize the tool that he was given.
Is this not what has been going on with the body since the beginning of time? All of mankind puts a beautiful face and a lovely body in a special place of honor. We have ALL been programed to do this.
I feel the whole world had a wake up call when Susan Boyle walked out on stage on the show 'Britians Got Talent' Now, I have read some of the 'popular' peoples quotes about her....and to be quite honest, it disgusts me.
One famous person likened her to 'Shrek'. another calls her 'ugly'.....friends, this woman was not ugly and she sure is NOT a 'Shrek'! Frumpy?..yes....dowdy...yes! You could call her 'plain' I guess but ugly?...NO!
We all have boxes we are put in and we see others in their boxes. I am amazed when people I know to be very spiritual are interested in me. Why me, I think? But, it is not me...it is the LORD they see. I want nothing of myself in there, although I know that is an impossibility.
We are in these boxes and maybe it is not the box we see ourselves in but a box that others have placed us in. There is a man who lives near me and he is blind and in a wheelchair and cannot take care of himself. But I am humbled each time I am near him because he is an Apostle of the LORD. He is mighty in prayer. His wife says many nights he is in his room where he has a radio set and talks about the LORD to others and he will begin to wail and travail in the Spirit. I am sure those who come into his presence, who are of the world, do not realize in whose presence they are in because his box for them is of a blind crippled man..NOT A MAN OF GOD! They see no power in this man but if they had 'eyes' to 'see', they would know.
How many truly saw the great woman of God, Harriet Tubman? How do you see her? What kind of box is she in? Most would say "she was a slave, greatly mistreated who became a the Moses of her people by leading so many to the North into freedom." Yes, she was all of these but she was so much more. She had a 'call' from God upon her life that went far beyond her circumstances. She was so obedient that He spoke and she listened. She became accustomed to His Voice.
She was a great patriot..serving in the Cival War as a spy and as a nurse. She was greatly trusted in her knowledge by the 'supereor white man'. Her love for the LORD and her desire to free her people put her in a position to speak before groups of white folks in their nice 'white' dry churches. They had a desire to help and free the 'Negroes' but they had no 'spiritual' understanding of the relationship that Harriet had with the LORD.
So I see that Susan Boyle is in a 'box'..she is old, ugly, shouldn't have had such a wonderful voice...but why are so many pulling for her! Why are so many excited that this woman came from nowhere and now is known the world over? WHY?
Because, she is us....There a a few 'chosen' who elevate themselves or have been elevated to a standard that hardly anyone can reach. But she is in a 'box' that we can relate to. She has hit the world right where it needed to be hit.
God gave her a voice that is beautiful and she hasn't used it to gain power and money and fame. She was never what the world thought worthy of fame and fortune because she wasn't in their kind of box.
Yeshua came and was not in a box that was accepted. Friends, He is still in a box that few want to accept. Oh, many attend church, even went down to the altar call but truly...how many came out of their box and joined Him in His? They will accept the box of religion and all the trappings. But they will not accept His Way.
I pray that you will allow Him to show you His Way. Come out of the world box...come out of the worldly church box....come, get into Yeshua's box...you will never be the same.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A CALL TO FASTING AND PRAYER
From a national Messianic body, and excellent call:
The UMJC Exec is calling for a day of prayer and fasting on Yom HaZikaron, the day of remembrance that precedes Israel's Independence Day. This will be the final day of Israel's 60th year, and it is fitting that we honor the sacrifice of those who died in defense of the country by seeking God for Israel's welfare. The fast will begin sundown, Monday, April 27, and last until sundown, Tuesday, April 28, the eve of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Yom HaZikaron coincides with Day 19 of the Omer.
Please include these focus points in your prayers on that day:
1) The Iranian threat and the high possibility of Israeli military action
2) The threat of more pressure against Messianic Jews under the new Netanyahu government
3) Wisdom and direction for the Obama administration's relationship with Israel
4) Most of all, for widespread spiritual awakening that will bring many Israelis to faith in Yeshua, preparing the way for the fulfillment of Matthew 23:37-39."
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Another text for our prayers is Psalm 147.
Hallelujah.
It is good to chant hymns to our God; it is pleasant to sing glorious praise.
The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel.
He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds.
He reckoned the number of the stars; to each He gave its name.
Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning.
The Lord gives courage to the lowly, and brings the wicked down to the dust. Psalm 147:1-6
And to Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion, and may You rest within it, as You have spoken. May You rebuild it soon in our days as an eternal structure, and may You speedily establish the throne of David within it. Blessed are You, Hashem, the Builder of Jerusalem. From the traditional daily Amidah (Artscroll Siddur)
Feel free to pass this prayer request on to others, and to print it as a guide. Thank you for joining this effort as we call on the Lord together on April 27-28.
Rabbi Russell Resnik
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
The UMJC Exec is calling for a day of prayer and fasting on Yom HaZikaron, the day of remembrance that precedes Israel's Independence Day. This will be the final day of Israel's 60th year, and it is fitting that we honor the sacrifice of those who died in defense of the country by seeking God for Israel's welfare. The fast will begin sundown, Monday, April 27, and last until sundown, Tuesday, April 28, the eve of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Yom HaZikaron coincides with Day 19 of the Omer.
Please include these focus points in your prayers on that day:
1) The Iranian threat and the high possibility of Israeli military action
2) The threat of more pressure against Messianic Jews under the new Netanyahu government
3) Wisdom and direction for the Obama administration's relationship with Israel
4) Most of all, for widespread spiritual awakening that will bring many Israelis to faith in Yeshua, preparing the way for the fulfillment of Matthew 23:37-39."
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Another text for our prayers is Psalm 147.
Hallelujah.
It is good to chant hymns to our God; it is pleasant to sing glorious praise.
The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel.
He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds.
He reckoned the number of the stars; to each He gave its name.
Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning.
The Lord gives courage to the lowly, and brings the wicked down to the dust. Psalm 147:1-6
And to Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion, and may You rest within it, as You have spoken. May You rebuild it soon in our days as an eternal structure, and may You speedily establish the throne of David within it. Blessed are You, Hashem, the Builder of Jerusalem. From the traditional daily Amidah (Artscroll Siddur)
Feel free to pass this prayer request on to others, and to print it as a guide. Thank you for joining this effort as we call on the Lord together on April 27-28.
Rabbi Russell Resnik
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
ELIZA
Nissan/Aviv 22, 5769 Fifth Day Yom Khah' mee shee
Dear Ones, The story below about Eliza is truly amazing but oh so true! Our God is alive! He will heal our bodies! We can trust in Him!
I told you about my broken leg but there have been other healings for me....I have suffered with a back problem for several years. I fell while staying with my daughter in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Her husband, now ex, was in Iraq and I wanted to be with her while she was pregnant and after the baby came...which by the way is wonderful five year old Arrin.
I truly did not know how badly I had hurt myself but in just a few weeks the pain was almost too much to bear. I DID NOT go to the hospital or even a doctor, though. I suffered it out. I did my best to aliviate the pain. It did get worse, I could barely walk and at times I felt I might not be able to go on. But then I would allow my faith to kick in and pray and I would feel better.
So I have dealt with it for five years. Sometimes feeling better and most times feeling worse. I was awakened one morning very early and turned on the tv to see an informercial about an amazing back machine. i felt I was to order one. The LORD said.."You won't go for help so it will come to you."
The back machine has helped but in the past few weeks I seemed to get even worse than before. I had to start using one of the carts at the stores to ride in just so I could do my shopping. Then on Shabbat, the 17th of Nisan or April 11...as I played my music I began listening to Keith Green's version of 'the easter song' which I choose to call 'The Resurrection Song'....I played it over and over again and Holy spirit ministered to me and my prayers went before our King and my dear ones, I was healed.
Now, I was also given instruction with my healing. Yes, I had injured my back but it was also a stress related back ailment and also because I have not been as active as I should be. The LORD worked on me..I lay on the floor and He gave me an overhaul. I was instructed that I would be sore..but not in pain and I must stretch and use my muscles. I must exercise this now.
Well, I have been sore but not in pain. I can walk and I am not walking lopsided and I can lift my legs. The Divine Physcian did a work on me and in me and I give Him praise.
Be filled with Holy Spirit...pray in your unknown language in which Holy Spirit prays thru you and knows just what to pray for. Use Holy spirit in the most marvelous way.
BELIEVE! BELIEVE! BELIEVE! AND RECEIVE!!!!!
I love YOU and want only the best for YOU!
With love to YOU in and through our Savior and KING Yeshua HaMashiach, His servant, gloria
ELIZA by Harold Smith
He Shall Arise With Healing In His Wings
Her complexion was pasty, almost white, and her eyes had become glazed, having lost the luster that I had come to know. Her walk was halting, and slow as she tried to maintain her balance from one step to the next. I had heard various accounts in my life of people on the verge of death before, but there are just no words, really, to describe the different things you notice when you are up close to someone who is in that condition.
Slowly, we made our way down the long corridor, stopping ever so often to allow her a few moments to gather herself for the next leg of the journey to the doctor's office. When we arrived in the sparsely furnished waiting room, she collapsed in a heap on one end of the chair-bench. I was amazed at the resilience she showed, in spite of her weak and noticeably haggard condition, as she proceeded to fill out some forms on a clipboard handed to her by a nurse when we entered.
I had only come to know Eliza for a few short months before she had asked a friend and I to accompany her to the hospital. In her mid-fifties, she was fighting leukemia, a cancer of the blood, after having been diagnosed with it 12 years earlier. This disease had already left her at death's door several times previously and that she had remained alive this long was a miracle in itself! She had been getting progressively weaker and weaker, to the point where she was beginning to be unable to manage even the mundane things of life by herself. A solitary woman to begin with, she stayed in her apartment most of the time, paying a taxi driver to retrieve her phoned-in grocery order from the store to her when needed. Just to walk down a flight of stairs to her mailbox and back had become so arduous that it was sometimes the only adventure outside her door for several days at a time. A simple cold would put her in bed for a week or more.
A woman of faith, she had determined that she was going to see God heal her - no matter what - and she was a very determined woman. She would sit in her apartment, day after day, reading scripture, praying and watching Christian television, believing that she was as good a candidate to receive healing as all the testimonies of those people being healed on the television screen. It was only at the mounting insistence of some of her closest confidantes that she finally agreed to go to the hospital. I believe her agreement was primarily motivated to shut them up so they would leave her alone. She was not going to be found lacking faith - even if it killed her.
The tests showed that there was no blood in Eliza's body - only water
We sat waiting for her blood work to arrive back from being processed by the lab when the doctor, a woman, approached us very apologetically. It seems that the lab had made some sort of mistake, she said, and that they would have to draw some more blood to re-run the test. The tests showed that there was no blood in Eliza's body - that it was only water. "We know that can't be true," she animatedly quipped, "because then you would be dead. Right?" So, they drew more blood and sent it off to the lab for a second testing.
When the doctor reappeared, her face was as white as the lab coat she was wearing as she informed us that the first test was not a mistake. The second test confirmed that there was no blood in her body, only water. To which Eliza was promptly escorted into a room where they proceeded to intravenously inject two units of blood into her. The following day, we brought her back where she was given two more units of blood and was advised to come back another day for yet two more. After the first injection, I saw the life begin to reappear in her eyes and her complexion return to its rosy hue.
Eliza told us on the way back from the hospital that the doctor had wanted her to begin chemotherapy immediately to combat the leukemia. Eliza was determined however, that even though this had been a setback for her, Jesus was going to heal her and she was not going to give in to the unbelief surrounding her. I sat in amazement at this woman's faith in the Lord in the face of overwhelming circumstances and, at the same time, wondered myself at why she wasn't finding that place of healing.
She had become very disillusioned with trying to "keep the faith" about being healed
A few days later, as we were talking about this whole incident, Eliza said that the doctor, in the face of her adamancy about treatment, had told her that there was a less intrusive, non-evasive chemotherapy treatment in much lower doses that she could administer orally that had shown much success in placing this disease under control. Eliza confessed to me that she didn't know what to do - that she had become very disillusioned with trying to "keep the faith" about being healed and was very tired of trying. She began to recount all of the discouraging trips she had made to this place or that event where she was prayed over; of the numerous people who, when she wasn't immediately healed, inferred that it was according to her faith (or more exactly, her lack thereof) and of the perplexing disappointment heaped upon her that she had carried for all those years of not being able to "measure up" to everybody's expectations - indeed, even to her own - of what it meant to not have enough faith to "be healed" in the Name of Jesus.
I told her I wanted to pray and stand with her and asked her what the Lord had specifically said to her about what position she needed to take in the midst of these new developments. She said, "I don't know." Now, it needs to be stated that Eliza is well read in scripture, able to quote verse after verse, and in the ways of the Lord found therein. She had vigorously sought after Him about her condition these past 12 years and why she wasn't being healed. She knows the book front to back and can hold her own in just about any theological discussion. Consequently, I was rather dumb-founded when, after asking her if she had asked Jesus about this situation and what she should do about it, she answered rather meekly with, "no." But she believed God could heal her.
Jesus said that He did not do anything unless He first saw the Father do it and He did not speak anything unless He first heard the Father speak it. (John 5:19 & 12:50)
"Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained…" Philippians 2:5-6 (Amplified)
"For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as fatted calves of the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 4:1-3)
Variables vs Absolutes
Derek Prince, a valiant warrior of the faith, wrote a book in which he said that in the spirit walk there are variables and absolutes. Too often as believers, he went on to say, we tend to place our focus on the variables rather than allowing the absolutes to be the guiding pillars in our lives. There are many variables in this story, but only one absolute - the source of healing rests in the wings of Jesus (Malachi 4:2 above) and unless God speaks the word of healing as He did to create the universe, there is none. It becomes an issue of supreme importance, then, that we first hear what it is the Lord has for our life before we embark on a course that might cause us to land in a place different from where He wants us to be.
We know absolutely that God wants us to be healed because we are told over and over in the scriptures "…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Acts 10:38. Where the religious folk of the day quarreled with Jesus was not in God's ability to heal, but the manner in which He was doing the healing. It didn't fit into their preconceived notions of how that should take place.
Since their traditional way of approaching healing rendered God powerless, they also didn't see much of it.
So, then, the question becomes HOW that healing is to occur and it is here that we run into all types of variables. The appropriation of healing is as different as there are individuals. There were some that He merely spoke to and they were immediately healed. There were others that some action was required on their part in order to obtain their healing. Since Jesus never healed anyone the same way twice, it becomes paramount that we should take our cue from His Way and first hear the voice of God in matters that involve our direct participation.
In Galatians 5:22, faith is listed as one of the Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT and, like repentance, is a gift not to be wielded at our discretion but at the direction of WHOSE IT IS. Our faith (different from the faith imparted by the Holy Spirit), while important, is but one element in the process of healing and, traditionally, has been amplified way out of proportion from what it is intended to do.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him' for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:1-6)
The Essential Message of Jesus
The rest of that chapter in Hebrews goes on to list example after example of men and women who, after having FIRST HEARD GOD SPEAK, then went on to see the performance of that word because their faith was IN THAT WORD THAT THEY HEARD GIVEN AT THAT MOMENT. Their obedience to that word was the evidence of their faith in it. However, before hearing Him speak, they first had to occupy that realm of being pleasing to Him. Pleasing God means what? The pre-requisite to hearing God speak is to believe that He is and that He will reward us for seeking Him. But being pleasing to Him does not constitute the reward. Becoming pleasing to Him creates an environment that enables Him to operate because He can only operate in a realm of faith. That is what is known as the measure of faith that is given to each of us that allows us to come across the threshold of the doorway to the kingdom. Once inside the door, we can then receive the reward. What is the reward for seeking Him? That we will find Him and WE GET TO HEAR HIS VOICE! That was the essential message of Jesus - that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, WE WILL BE FILLED (Matthew 5:6). That does not necessarily mean we immediately get what we are asking for. We too often mistake the place of merely believing that He is as that place of reward and fail to wait to hear His voice of instruction….and, unless He speaks the word FOR THAT MOMENT, all the believing in the world on our part won't make it happen. This is not to say that our prayers and petitions do not have an effect on the word that He speaks, for they do; but, ultimately, if the word does not come from His mouth there is no power released to cause anything to happen. Because we wish and hope and pray for it to happen does not make it so nor does it place any obligation on God to do anything.
Once we obtain a clear word from the Lord then the faith fruit of the Holy Spirit kicks in and becomes added to the measure of faith we were granted to enter the door. As we exercise our belief in the word by our obedience to that word, that is when the power of the Almighty is unleashed and we can then expect God to fulfill the Word He has spoken. This process takes all the emphasis off of us and, instead, places it onto the creator of the universe to do what He said He will do.
"You do not have, because you do not ask. (I John 3:15). [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and selfish motives." (James 4:3 - Amplified) One of the basic tenets of faith is listed in the Ten Commandments, "You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) The dictionary defines vanity as something that is used or done for selfish purposes. God was trying to say that when we attempt to force our will and desires into the realm of the spiritual, the atmosphere of faith he needs to operate in becomes nullified; hence, we can not be "pleasing" to Him because we have not sought after Him and His will first.
"Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases…" Psalm 103:3
Jesus touched Eliza. She has been healed and made whole. She is taking no medication and her last test results showed her blood count to be ABOVE normal. Hallelujah! So, what happened? What made the difference? As I said earlier, there are many variables in this story that are unique to her, but, ultimately, as she lay at death's door, she decided to wait on hearing His voice and His direction and then became obedient to it. When He spoke (He had been speaking all along - she just finally got to a place where she could lay down all her preconceived thoughts about how to hear Him and only Him) and she became obedient (the evidence of faith) to the action He had for her, the resurrection healing power resident in His Wings was released and engulfed her.
She simply quit running to this one and that one, this meeting and that rally, looking for someone else's touch; humbled herself before the Lord to wait only on Him and became obedient to those things He had given her specifically to do. If He does not speak the Word of Healing into our bodies, all the faith we try to work up won't do a thing. Since, as believers, God is more concerned in the eternal state of our spirit before He is interested in the temporal nature of our flesh, it is imperative that we "go to the source" to find out what He has to say about whatever condition we find ourselves in and leave all our preconceived ideas about how that is to happen behind. In scripture, He never healed the same way twice. We want formulas. "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God." (Romans 10:17) "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) The Word is not a book, it is the person of Jesus. The book only speaks of Him. "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39.40) When we lift our eyes off of ourselves and our problems and put them squarely on Him, it is then that we will gaze on the Source of Life. No one else can do that for us.
Today, there are many who want you to believe in this way or that way to obtain favor from God. There is only One Way, however, and that Way is the example set forth by the One who created the Way - Jesus - and that Way is to wait on God. That is why Jesus spent so much time alone with the Father, training His ear to hear God's voice. So should we. He is speaking to you now - are you hearing?
Dear Ones, The story below about Eliza is truly amazing but oh so true! Our God is alive! He will heal our bodies! We can trust in Him!
I told you about my broken leg but there have been other healings for me....I have suffered with a back problem for several years. I fell while staying with my daughter in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Her husband, now ex, was in Iraq and I wanted to be with her while she was pregnant and after the baby came...which by the way is wonderful five year old Arrin.
I truly did not know how badly I had hurt myself but in just a few weeks the pain was almost too much to bear. I DID NOT go to the hospital or even a doctor, though. I suffered it out. I did my best to aliviate the pain. It did get worse, I could barely walk and at times I felt I might not be able to go on. But then I would allow my faith to kick in and pray and I would feel better.
So I have dealt with it for five years. Sometimes feeling better and most times feeling worse. I was awakened one morning very early and turned on the tv to see an informercial about an amazing back machine. i felt I was to order one. The LORD said.."You won't go for help so it will come to you."
The back machine has helped but in the past few weeks I seemed to get even worse than before. I had to start using one of the carts at the stores to ride in just so I could do my shopping. Then on Shabbat, the 17th of Nisan or April 11...as I played my music I began listening to Keith Green's version of 'the easter song' which I choose to call 'The Resurrection Song'....I played it over and over again and Holy spirit ministered to me and my prayers went before our King and my dear ones, I was healed.
Now, I was also given instruction with my healing. Yes, I had injured my back but it was also a stress related back ailment and also because I have not been as active as I should be. The LORD worked on me..I lay on the floor and He gave me an overhaul. I was instructed that I would be sore..but not in pain and I must stretch and use my muscles. I must exercise this now.
Well, I have been sore but not in pain. I can walk and I am not walking lopsided and I can lift my legs. The Divine Physcian did a work on me and in me and I give Him praise.
Be filled with Holy Spirit...pray in your unknown language in which Holy Spirit prays thru you and knows just what to pray for. Use Holy spirit in the most marvelous way.
BELIEVE! BELIEVE! BELIEVE! AND RECEIVE!!!!!
I love YOU and want only the best for YOU!
With love to YOU in and through our Savior and KING Yeshua HaMashiach, His servant, gloria
ELIZA by Harold Smith
He Shall Arise With Healing In His Wings
Her complexion was pasty, almost white, and her eyes had become glazed, having lost the luster that I had come to know. Her walk was halting, and slow as she tried to maintain her balance from one step to the next. I had heard various accounts in my life of people on the verge of death before, but there are just no words, really, to describe the different things you notice when you are up close to someone who is in that condition.
Slowly, we made our way down the long corridor, stopping ever so often to allow her a few moments to gather herself for the next leg of the journey to the doctor's office. When we arrived in the sparsely furnished waiting room, she collapsed in a heap on one end of the chair-bench. I was amazed at the resilience she showed, in spite of her weak and noticeably haggard condition, as she proceeded to fill out some forms on a clipboard handed to her by a nurse when we entered.
I had only come to know Eliza for a few short months before she had asked a friend and I to accompany her to the hospital. In her mid-fifties, she was fighting leukemia, a cancer of the blood, after having been diagnosed with it 12 years earlier. This disease had already left her at death's door several times previously and that she had remained alive this long was a miracle in itself! She had been getting progressively weaker and weaker, to the point where she was beginning to be unable to manage even the mundane things of life by herself. A solitary woman to begin with, she stayed in her apartment most of the time, paying a taxi driver to retrieve her phoned-in grocery order from the store to her when needed. Just to walk down a flight of stairs to her mailbox and back had become so arduous that it was sometimes the only adventure outside her door for several days at a time. A simple cold would put her in bed for a week or more.
A woman of faith, she had determined that she was going to see God heal her - no matter what - and she was a very determined woman. She would sit in her apartment, day after day, reading scripture, praying and watching Christian television, believing that she was as good a candidate to receive healing as all the testimonies of those people being healed on the television screen. It was only at the mounting insistence of some of her closest confidantes that she finally agreed to go to the hospital. I believe her agreement was primarily motivated to shut them up so they would leave her alone. She was not going to be found lacking faith - even if it killed her.
The tests showed that there was no blood in Eliza's body - only water
We sat waiting for her blood work to arrive back from being processed by the lab when the doctor, a woman, approached us very apologetically. It seems that the lab had made some sort of mistake, she said, and that they would have to draw some more blood to re-run the test. The tests showed that there was no blood in Eliza's body - that it was only water. "We know that can't be true," she animatedly quipped, "because then you would be dead. Right?" So, they drew more blood and sent it off to the lab for a second testing.
When the doctor reappeared, her face was as white as the lab coat she was wearing as she informed us that the first test was not a mistake. The second test confirmed that there was no blood in her body, only water. To which Eliza was promptly escorted into a room where they proceeded to intravenously inject two units of blood into her. The following day, we brought her back where she was given two more units of blood and was advised to come back another day for yet two more. After the first injection, I saw the life begin to reappear in her eyes and her complexion return to its rosy hue.
Eliza told us on the way back from the hospital that the doctor had wanted her to begin chemotherapy immediately to combat the leukemia. Eliza was determined however, that even though this had been a setback for her, Jesus was going to heal her and she was not going to give in to the unbelief surrounding her. I sat in amazement at this woman's faith in the Lord in the face of overwhelming circumstances and, at the same time, wondered myself at why she wasn't finding that place of healing.
She had become very disillusioned with trying to "keep the faith" about being healed
A few days later, as we were talking about this whole incident, Eliza said that the doctor, in the face of her adamancy about treatment, had told her that there was a less intrusive, non-evasive chemotherapy treatment in much lower doses that she could administer orally that had shown much success in placing this disease under control. Eliza confessed to me that she didn't know what to do - that she had become very disillusioned with trying to "keep the faith" about being healed and was very tired of trying. She began to recount all of the discouraging trips she had made to this place or that event where she was prayed over; of the numerous people who, when she wasn't immediately healed, inferred that it was according to her faith (or more exactly, her lack thereof) and of the perplexing disappointment heaped upon her that she had carried for all those years of not being able to "measure up" to everybody's expectations - indeed, even to her own - of what it meant to not have enough faith to "be healed" in the Name of Jesus.
I told her I wanted to pray and stand with her and asked her what the Lord had specifically said to her about what position she needed to take in the midst of these new developments. She said, "I don't know." Now, it needs to be stated that Eliza is well read in scripture, able to quote verse after verse, and in the ways of the Lord found therein. She had vigorously sought after Him about her condition these past 12 years and why she wasn't being healed. She knows the book front to back and can hold her own in just about any theological discussion. Consequently, I was rather dumb-founded when, after asking her if she had asked Jesus about this situation and what she should do about it, she answered rather meekly with, "no." But she believed God could heal her.
Jesus said that He did not do anything unless He first saw the Father do it and He did not speak anything unless He first heard the Father speak it. (John 5:19 & 12:50)
"Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained…" Philippians 2:5-6 (Amplified)
"For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as fatted calves of the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 4:1-3)
Variables vs Absolutes
Derek Prince, a valiant warrior of the faith, wrote a book in which he said that in the spirit walk there are variables and absolutes. Too often as believers, he went on to say, we tend to place our focus on the variables rather than allowing the absolutes to be the guiding pillars in our lives. There are many variables in this story, but only one absolute - the source of healing rests in the wings of Jesus (Malachi 4:2 above) and unless God speaks the word of healing as He did to create the universe, there is none. It becomes an issue of supreme importance, then, that we first hear what it is the Lord has for our life before we embark on a course that might cause us to land in a place different from where He wants us to be.
We know absolutely that God wants us to be healed because we are told over and over in the scriptures "…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Acts 10:38. Where the religious folk of the day quarreled with Jesus was not in God's ability to heal, but the manner in which He was doing the healing. It didn't fit into their preconceived notions of how that should take place.
Since their traditional way of approaching healing rendered God powerless, they also didn't see much of it.
So, then, the question becomes HOW that healing is to occur and it is here that we run into all types of variables. The appropriation of healing is as different as there are individuals. There were some that He merely spoke to and they were immediately healed. There were others that some action was required on their part in order to obtain their healing. Since Jesus never healed anyone the same way twice, it becomes paramount that we should take our cue from His Way and first hear the voice of God in matters that involve our direct participation.
In Galatians 5:22, faith is listed as one of the Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT and, like repentance, is a gift not to be wielded at our discretion but at the direction of WHOSE IT IS. Our faith (different from the faith imparted by the Holy Spirit), while important, is but one element in the process of healing and, traditionally, has been amplified way out of proportion from what it is intended to do.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him' for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:1-6)
The Essential Message of Jesus
The rest of that chapter in Hebrews goes on to list example after example of men and women who, after having FIRST HEARD GOD SPEAK, then went on to see the performance of that word because their faith was IN THAT WORD THAT THEY HEARD GIVEN AT THAT MOMENT. Their obedience to that word was the evidence of their faith in it. However, before hearing Him speak, they first had to occupy that realm of being pleasing to Him. Pleasing God means what? The pre-requisite to hearing God speak is to believe that He is and that He will reward us for seeking Him. But being pleasing to Him does not constitute the reward. Becoming pleasing to Him creates an environment that enables Him to operate because He can only operate in a realm of faith. That is what is known as the measure of faith that is given to each of us that allows us to come across the threshold of the doorway to the kingdom. Once inside the door, we can then receive the reward. What is the reward for seeking Him? That we will find Him and WE GET TO HEAR HIS VOICE! That was the essential message of Jesus - that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, WE WILL BE FILLED (Matthew 5:6). That does not necessarily mean we immediately get what we are asking for. We too often mistake the place of merely believing that He is as that place of reward and fail to wait to hear His voice of instruction….and, unless He speaks the word FOR THAT MOMENT, all the believing in the world on our part won't make it happen. This is not to say that our prayers and petitions do not have an effect on the word that He speaks, for they do; but, ultimately, if the word does not come from His mouth there is no power released to cause anything to happen. Because we wish and hope and pray for it to happen does not make it so nor does it place any obligation on God to do anything.
Once we obtain a clear word from the Lord then the faith fruit of the Holy Spirit kicks in and becomes added to the measure of faith we were granted to enter the door. As we exercise our belief in the word by our obedience to that word, that is when the power of the Almighty is unleashed and we can then expect God to fulfill the Word He has spoken. This process takes all the emphasis off of us and, instead, places it onto the creator of the universe to do what He said He will do.
"You do not have, because you do not ask. (I John 3:15). [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and selfish motives." (James 4:3 - Amplified) One of the basic tenets of faith is listed in the Ten Commandments, "You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) The dictionary defines vanity as something that is used or done for selfish purposes. God was trying to say that when we attempt to force our will and desires into the realm of the spiritual, the atmosphere of faith he needs to operate in becomes nullified; hence, we can not be "pleasing" to Him because we have not sought after Him and His will first.
"Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases…" Psalm 103:3
Jesus touched Eliza. She has been healed and made whole. She is taking no medication and her last test results showed her blood count to be ABOVE normal. Hallelujah! So, what happened? What made the difference? As I said earlier, there are many variables in this story that are unique to her, but, ultimately, as she lay at death's door, she decided to wait on hearing His voice and His direction and then became obedient to it. When He spoke (He had been speaking all along - she just finally got to a place where she could lay down all her preconceived thoughts about how to hear Him and only Him) and she became obedient (the evidence of faith) to the action He had for her, the resurrection healing power resident in His Wings was released and engulfed her.
She simply quit running to this one and that one, this meeting and that rally, looking for someone else's touch; humbled herself before the Lord to wait only on Him and became obedient to those things He had given her specifically to do. If He does not speak the Word of Healing into our bodies, all the faith we try to work up won't do a thing. Since, as believers, God is more concerned in the eternal state of our spirit before He is interested in the temporal nature of our flesh, it is imperative that we "go to the source" to find out what He has to say about whatever condition we find ourselves in and leave all our preconceived ideas about how that is to happen behind. In scripture, He never healed the same way twice. We want formulas. "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God." (Romans 10:17) "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) The Word is not a book, it is the person of Jesus. The book only speaks of Him. "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39.40) When we lift our eyes off of ourselves and our problems and put them squarely on Him, it is then that we will gaze on the Source of Life. No one else can do that for us.
Today, there are many who want you to believe in this way or that way to obtain favor from God. There is only One Way, however, and that Way is the example set forth by the One who created the Way - Jesus - and that Way is to wait on God. That is why Jesus spent so much time alone with the Father, training His ear to hear God's voice. So should we. He is speaking to you now - are you hearing?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Never Again - No, Never Again! By Jan Markell
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Never Again - No, Never Again!
By Jan Markell
Yom HaShoah is the annual day to remember the slain six million Jews who perished under the crush of the Third Reich. This year the date falls on April 21. More than Jews perished. Hitler wanted to do away with his enemies and anyone who didn't have blue eyes and blond hair. During the Carter administration, America officially recognized this important day as well. Many non-Jews attend memorial services in their area.
Let me take you to Israel for just a moment and relate the scenario on Yom HaShoah. The land literally comes to a halt, at least for two minutes! At precisely 8 AM each year, a two-minute siren is sounded throughout the land. Everyone in Israel freezes in their tracks. Rowdy teens grind to a halt. Children climb off their toys and stand at attention next to teachers or parents. All vehicles stop, forming a line of paralyzed transportation. Many drivers stand by their cars and trucks in solemn silence.
Some say the two minutes seems like eternity. In their hearts, every Jew in Israel is saying, "Never again; no never again!" But now Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he plans on doing it again! He'd also like to perpetrate a Holocaust on Americans.
There is something unprecedented about the European Holocaust. For the first time in the bloodstained history of the human race, a decision was birthed in a modern state, in the midst of a civilized continent, to track down, register, mark, isolate, dispossess, humiliate, concentrate, transport, and murder every single person of an ethnic group as defined by the perpetrators --and for purely ideological reasons.
This was targeted at an ethnic group who so generously contributed to the culture of the world; to a people who have borne the brunt of enmity towards them basically because they dared to be different and dared to insist on their difference. To the Christian, another perspective enters, for our Messiah, Jesus, was a Jew.
Israel doesn't want the world to forget, nor do they want us to buy into the devilish lies of "historical revisionists" who insist it either didn't happen or that the number of six million is grossly exaggerated. They believe that what mankind forgets, he tends to repeat.
Israel has memorialized the Gentiles who helped them during WWII, and particularly at Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust in Israel. There were many Corrie ten Booms but not all the stories became public.
In 1979 I wrote a true story of Holocaust survivor Anita Dittman. It is ironic that back then both Bethany House and Tyndale House were vying for the manuscript. Today the major publishing houses have no interest in this kind of inspiration, truth, and history, and I am thankful that Lighthouse Trails polished up the book's image in 2005 and republished it. It is now titled Trapped in Hitler's Hell. It will change your life if you will read it, and I am not trying to make a sale. Anita's story has been read or heard by tens of thousands and all would say their life was impacted in some way. God's protective hand on Anita and her mother in Nazi Germany, in the concentration camps, in the escape, and many more scenarios, is gripping. Readers will never forget the story.
Anita lived in a Romans 8:28 world. No matter what atrocity she faced, she claimed that "all things worked together for good." That plays out in every chapter. She spread her supernatural faith amidst disorganized chaos almost daily. Anita and her mother were Jewish believers.
Show your love for the Jewish people by participating in local Yom HaShoah activity. Many who went along with Hitler were members of a church. Some were pastors who put Hitler's picture in place of a cross. The Nazis had a cross on the belts or one was worn around their neck. These images have kept deep wounds in the hearts of Jews for 70 years.
They would love to hear you say, "Never again!" as well.
Never Again - No, Never Again!
By Jan Markell
Yom HaShoah is the annual day to remember the slain six million Jews who perished under the crush of the Third Reich. This year the date falls on April 21. More than Jews perished. Hitler wanted to do away with his enemies and anyone who didn't have blue eyes and blond hair. During the Carter administration, America officially recognized this important day as well. Many non-Jews attend memorial services in their area.
Let me take you to Israel for just a moment and relate the scenario on Yom HaShoah. The land literally comes to a halt, at least for two minutes! At precisely 8 AM each year, a two-minute siren is sounded throughout the land. Everyone in Israel freezes in their tracks. Rowdy teens grind to a halt. Children climb off their toys and stand at attention next to teachers or parents. All vehicles stop, forming a line of paralyzed transportation. Many drivers stand by their cars and trucks in solemn silence.
Some say the two minutes seems like eternity. In their hearts, every Jew in Israel is saying, "Never again; no never again!" But now Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he plans on doing it again! He'd also like to perpetrate a Holocaust on Americans.
There is something unprecedented about the European Holocaust. For the first time in the bloodstained history of the human race, a decision was birthed in a modern state, in the midst of a civilized continent, to track down, register, mark, isolate, dispossess, humiliate, concentrate, transport, and murder every single person of an ethnic group as defined by the perpetrators --and for purely ideological reasons.
This was targeted at an ethnic group who so generously contributed to the culture of the world; to a people who have borne the brunt of enmity towards them basically because they dared to be different and dared to insist on their difference. To the Christian, another perspective enters, for our Messiah, Jesus, was a Jew.
Israel doesn't want the world to forget, nor do they want us to buy into the devilish lies of "historical revisionists" who insist it either didn't happen or that the number of six million is grossly exaggerated. They believe that what mankind forgets, he tends to repeat.
Israel has memorialized the Gentiles who helped them during WWII, and particularly at Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust in Israel. There were many Corrie ten Booms but not all the stories became public.
In 1979 I wrote a true story of Holocaust survivor Anita Dittman. It is ironic that back then both Bethany House and Tyndale House were vying for the manuscript. Today the major publishing houses have no interest in this kind of inspiration, truth, and history, and I am thankful that Lighthouse Trails polished up the book's image in 2005 and republished it. It is now titled Trapped in Hitler's Hell. It will change your life if you will read it, and I am not trying to make a sale. Anita's story has been read or heard by tens of thousands and all would say their life was impacted in some way. God's protective hand on Anita and her mother in Nazi Germany, in the concentration camps, in the escape, and many more scenarios, is gripping. Readers will never forget the story.
Anita lived in a Romans 8:28 world. No matter what atrocity she faced, she claimed that "all things worked together for good." That plays out in every chapter. She spread her supernatural faith amidst disorganized chaos almost daily. Anita and her mother were Jewish believers.
Show your love for the Jewish people by participating in local Yom HaShoah activity. Many who went along with Hitler were members of a church. Some were pastors who put Hitler's picture in place of a cross. The Nazis had a cross on the belts or one was worn around their neck. These images have kept deep wounds in the hearts of Jews for 70 years.
They would love to hear you say, "Never again!" as well.
Nissan 20, 5769 Third Day Yom Shlee'shee
Glorious Elohim..my Father, My Yeshua, my Ruach HaKodesh, I praise Your Holy Name! You are so good...Your love and mercy endures forever!
My Dear Ones, I want to say to you that the LORD is alive....I know you just celebrated His Resurrection but you don't have to celebrate it one day a year...He is alive 365 days a year! AND He left us the power of Holy Spirit!
Be filled with the Holy Spirit! Talk in tongues...pray in tongues! Use Holy Spirit!
So many of you are suffering....and maybe you keep tuning into the religious shows hoping to receive a healing...maybe you desire to go to a service and receive a healing from one of God's chosen. STOP! You can receive this way but if you are filled with Holy Spirit...USE HIM!
You may have to pray loudly...you may have to travail..you may have to cry out to the LORD! Do not be ashamed or embarrassed....close yourself off with Him and receive what He wants to give you!
When I fell down my back steps and broke my leg last year...yes, I was in pain and I knew it was bad...I cried out to My God! I prayed loudly in Holy Spirit! My leg looked bad but I did not want a broken leg. The ambulance people said "Lady you have to go to the hospital because your leg is broken!" I went.....but I did not accept it. (I had to add this, we did not call an ambulance, they 'just' happened to be in my neighborhood and heard me!)
My leg looked bad...horribly mis-shapened and a huge gash running from my knee to my ankle....and the pain! But I prayed loudly in Holy Spirit. I prayed loudly in the emergency room. And as I prayed we watched the swelling and the huge bumps go down and away and the gash in my leg began to heal. My husband exclaimed..."Look you leg is scabbing over!" They took the customary xrays but I didn't have any broken bones. The doctor said, "I have never seen anyone with such an impressive injury not have any broken bones!"
And of course the nurse was amazed to just have to dab my leg with some antiseptic!
I walked out of the hospital!
Now, I was not totally pain free and the gash had to continue to heal. I now have a scar that lookes like I was stitched up. Amazing? YES...BUT HE IS SO GOOD!
HE IS ALIVE! HE IS ALIVE! HE IS ALIVE!
Father, I ask you touch these friends with Your power and allow them to see Your wonderous works! Let them truly understand the depth of your love for them who truly seek You and obey Your commands.
Obedience brings Favor.
Favor brings Blessing.
I give You praise...I give you praise!
Your servant, gloria
Glorious Elohim..my Father, My Yeshua, my Ruach HaKodesh, I praise Your Holy Name! You are so good...Your love and mercy endures forever!
My Dear Ones, I want to say to you that the LORD is alive....I know you just celebrated His Resurrection but you don't have to celebrate it one day a year...He is alive 365 days a year! AND He left us the power of Holy Spirit!
Be filled with the Holy Spirit! Talk in tongues...pray in tongues! Use Holy Spirit!
So many of you are suffering....and maybe you keep tuning into the religious shows hoping to receive a healing...maybe you desire to go to a service and receive a healing from one of God's chosen. STOP! You can receive this way but if you are filled with Holy Spirit...USE HIM!
You may have to pray loudly...you may have to travail..you may have to cry out to the LORD! Do not be ashamed or embarrassed....close yourself off with Him and receive what He wants to give you!
When I fell down my back steps and broke my leg last year...yes, I was in pain and I knew it was bad...I cried out to My God! I prayed loudly in Holy Spirit! My leg looked bad but I did not want a broken leg. The ambulance people said "Lady you have to go to the hospital because your leg is broken!" I went.....but I did not accept it. (I had to add this, we did not call an ambulance, they 'just' happened to be in my neighborhood and heard me!)
My leg looked bad...horribly mis-shapened and a huge gash running from my knee to my ankle....and the pain! But I prayed loudly in Holy Spirit. I prayed loudly in the emergency room. And as I prayed we watched the swelling and the huge bumps go down and away and the gash in my leg began to heal. My husband exclaimed..."Look you leg is scabbing over!" They took the customary xrays but I didn't have any broken bones. The doctor said, "I have never seen anyone with such an impressive injury not have any broken bones!"
And of course the nurse was amazed to just have to dab my leg with some antiseptic!
I walked out of the hospital!
Now, I was not totally pain free and the gash had to continue to heal. I now have a scar that lookes like I was stitched up. Amazing? YES...BUT HE IS SO GOOD!
HE IS ALIVE! HE IS ALIVE! HE IS ALIVE!
Father, I ask you touch these friends with Your power and allow them to see Your wonderous works! Let them truly understand the depth of your love for them who truly seek You and obey Your commands.
Obedience brings Favor.
Favor brings Blessing.
I give You praise...I give you praise!
Your servant, gloria
Monday, April 13, 2009
Powerful Word from the LORD.....Lillis Boyer
This is not the first Word or will it be the last Word with the LORD calling us to come away from the world.....but He also wants us away from the worldly church. You know what I am talking about.....these churches that butter you up, always make you feel good...always say the sun is going to shine. Wake up...we are all in for some hard times...trials and tribulations. But if we who are called by His name are trusting in Him we know that He shelters us in the shadow of His wings....He is our high tower! Come out! Come out and follow the LORD and not the man made church and its doctrines and holidays and all the fluff and the pomp and circumstance. Come out!
Vision/Prophecy: The ‘fork’ in the River…Warning against compromise in the Church
Lillis Boyer
Ever since the new year I have been visited with this vision: a mighty flowing river, suddenly developing a slow but distinct ‘fork’ of division. This ‘division’, this ‘fork’ is happening so gradually that the river is not aware of it a first. On one side of the fork the people were being swept away deeper into Life and Him, the other side the people were being swept away into destruction.
I inquired of the Lord about this vision. He said, ‘this is what is happening in my church NOW! The process has already begun. The river has already begun to split, to divide. It has happened and is happening so slowly that My people who are in the river do not see it, do not notice it, but it is very real.
‘What is causing this fork, this division in this mighty river Lord?” I asked.
He answered with just one word that shook me to the core.
COMPROMISE.
As I looked closer with my spiritual eyes at this river, I saw many people swimming in this river. They were His children, and they were eating, drinking, making merry. Yet as they were, a slow ‘split’ was developing in the river. Suddenly some of the people were on one side of the river, and the others on the other side. At first, the people on both sides of the fork ‘appeared’ the same, both were rejoicing both were following Him, But as the split in the river became larger and the chasm wider and deeper between them, some in the side being swept away into destruction began crying out to the others on the other side to save them. However, but it became increasingly difficult because the river was now clearly divided into two ‘forks’, like a ‘Y’ shape. There was no longer any way for people on one side of the fork to reach the others.
My heart was grieved. It didn’t seem fair. How could this happen?
‘My people have been opening the door to the enemy for too long by their compromise with the world and the things of the world. This includes their attitudes, their speech, their conduct, even their political views, and by not standing up for Me, and My principles in My Word they have opened a door to the enemy. Their spirits have become dull of hearing, seeing and discerning what is of Me and what is not of Me. So this river of compromise, which they mistakenly think is ‘right and acceptable’ and even of Me, is slowly sweeping them away from Truth itself.’ And unless they repent and turn, this fork of ‘compromise’ will sweep them into the river with all who are perishing in the world. Tell My people it is time to CHOOSE: Who will you serve? Me, or the things of the world?
“For just as one side of this ‘fork’ in the river represents ‘compromise’ the other represents Life and Truth. For I am separating those to Myself who are truly zealous for Me, and Me alone, and who refuse to compromise any iota with what is easy, or what ‘feels’ right, but instead hunger and thirst for true righteousness. These are those who worship me with their whole heart and life, and refuse to have their white robes even slightly blemished by the things of the world.”
“Do not be surprised when these things begin to happen, beloved, for My purifying river even now has begun to sweep into My church, and separate those who are truly following hard after me, and are not compromising with the world. THERE IS NO NATION, NO STATE, NO CITY, NO CONGREGATION, NO HOME WHERE MY PURIFYING RIVER WILL NOT VISIT, BE PREPARED, FOR IT WILL COME UPON YOU SUDDENLY! And when it comes there will be division, there will be ill-speaking, there will be contentions, even quarrels and divisions, but STAND FIRM FOR ME AND MY TRUTH. DO NOT COMPROMISE!
“Even now, ask Me to shine my light on those areas in your lives where you have compromised with the world, and the things of the world, and repent. For Light can only have fellowship with light, and dark only fellowship with dark. Light is attracted to light, and dark to dark’
“Contend earnestly for your nation, your family, your friends for the time is short, and My coming is at hand”
Lillis Boyer
www.lillisboyer.com
http://treasuresfromthedeep.yuku.com
http://lillisboyer.com/treasuresfromthedeep.htm
Vision/Prophecy: The ‘fork’ in the River…Warning against compromise in the Church
Lillis Boyer
Ever since the new year I have been visited with this vision: a mighty flowing river, suddenly developing a slow but distinct ‘fork’ of division. This ‘division’, this ‘fork’ is happening so gradually that the river is not aware of it a first. On one side of the fork the people were being swept away deeper into Life and Him, the other side the people were being swept away into destruction.
I inquired of the Lord about this vision. He said, ‘this is what is happening in my church NOW! The process has already begun. The river has already begun to split, to divide. It has happened and is happening so slowly that My people who are in the river do not see it, do not notice it, but it is very real.
‘What is causing this fork, this division in this mighty river Lord?” I asked.
He answered with just one word that shook me to the core.
COMPROMISE.
As I looked closer with my spiritual eyes at this river, I saw many people swimming in this river. They were His children, and they were eating, drinking, making merry. Yet as they were, a slow ‘split’ was developing in the river. Suddenly some of the people were on one side of the river, and the others on the other side. At first, the people on both sides of the fork ‘appeared’ the same, both were rejoicing both were following Him, But as the split in the river became larger and the chasm wider and deeper between them, some in the side being swept away into destruction began crying out to the others on the other side to save them. However, but it became increasingly difficult because the river was now clearly divided into two ‘forks’, like a ‘Y’ shape. There was no longer any way for people on one side of the fork to reach the others.
My heart was grieved. It didn’t seem fair. How could this happen?
‘My people have been opening the door to the enemy for too long by their compromise with the world and the things of the world. This includes their attitudes, their speech, their conduct, even their political views, and by not standing up for Me, and My principles in My Word they have opened a door to the enemy. Their spirits have become dull of hearing, seeing and discerning what is of Me and what is not of Me. So this river of compromise, which they mistakenly think is ‘right and acceptable’ and even of Me, is slowly sweeping them away from Truth itself.’ And unless they repent and turn, this fork of ‘compromise’ will sweep them into the river with all who are perishing in the world. Tell My people it is time to CHOOSE: Who will you serve? Me, or the things of the world?
“For just as one side of this ‘fork’ in the river represents ‘compromise’ the other represents Life and Truth. For I am separating those to Myself who are truly zealous for Me, and Me alone, and who refuse to compromise any iota with what is easy, or what ‘feels’ right, but instead hunger and thirst for true righteousness. These are those who worship me with their whole heart and life, and refuse to have their white robes even slightly blemished by the things of the world.”
“Do not be surprised when these things begin to happen, beloved, for My purifying river even now has begun to sweep into My church, and separate those who are truly following hard after me, and are not compromising with the world. THERE IS NO NATION, NO STATE, NO CITY, NO CONGREGATION, NO HOME WHERE MY PURIFYING RIVER WILL NOT VISIT, BE PREPARED, FOR IT WILL COME UPON YOU SUDDENLY! And when it comes there will be division, there will be ill-speaking, there will be contentions, even quarrels and divisions, but STAND FIRM FOR ME AND MY TRUTH. DO NOT COMPROMISE!
“Even now, ask Me to shine my light on those areas in your lives where you have compromised with the world, and the things of the world, and repent. For Light can only have fellowship with light, and dark only fellowship with dark. Light is attracted to light, and dark to dark’
“Contend earnestly for your nation, your family, your friends for the time is short, and My coming is at hand”
Lillis Boyer
www.lillisboyer.com
http://treasuresfromthedeep.yuku.com
http://lillisboyer.com/treasuresfromthedeep.htm
Counting the Omer....Catching Up With Ourselves
Nissan/Aviv 19,5769 Second Day Yom Shaynee
The following is from Chabad from which I read a lot of articles and do a lot of studying from. The article is very wonderful although I don't agree with one part...we count the Omer starting on the day after the seventh day Sabbath which is First day or Sunday...or the Day of First Fruits or the Wave Offering when we believe our LORD and Savior Yeshua arose from the dead...Hallelu Yah!
According to Kevin Geoffrey, of Perfect Word Ministries in his book 'Messianic Mo'adiym Devotional', there are three interpretations of Leviticus 23:15, which says that the counting is to begin "from the day after the shabbat." So, we have three understandings of this scripture. Sounds like the same thing in the Christian Denominations over Bible beliefs.
So, he says the counting of the Omer could be the day after the first day of the Feast of Matzah, the day after the seventh-day Shabbat during the Feast of Matzah or on the day after the last day of the Feast of Matzah. WHEW!
The second one, the day after the seventh-day Shabbat counts fifty days to Shavuot and we have a first day celebration...or as most of us have always celebrated..a Sunday Day of Pentecost.
How ever you choose to count, the teaching below is good and I think will further you on your journey to the Old Path...the Way With Yeshua.
Catching Up With Ourselves
By Tali Loewenthal
When the Jewish people left Egypt they experienced a great leap forward. In a short space of time they progressed from abject slavery to freedom. The Sages tell us they were then faced with a new and important task: to catch up with themselves.
This is one of the explanations of the "counting of the omer" which is observed in the period between Pesach and Shavuot. From the second night of Passover we begin counting, day by day. After seven weeks, forty-nine days, we arrive at Shavuot on the fiftieth day, when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai.
This process of counting the days, one by one, is explained as signifying the attempt to improve oneself in a steady, step-by-step mode. Leaving Egypt was a leap of progress, a breakthrough from the lowest depths. But then there is the need to catch up with oneself, to achieve genuine and permanent qualities as individuals and as a nation.
Otherwise the freedom gained by leaving Egypt might easily be lost: instead of being a slave to the Egyptians, one would become a slave to something else.
Chabad teachings, based on the writings of the Kabbalists, explain that the seven weeks represent seven different aspects of character, the emotional forces which constitute the basic structure of the individual (Love, Severity, Mercy, the desire for Victory, Submission, Dedication, and Fulfillment).
The seven weeks provide the opportunity to improve this structure and make it more stable. Only after this period of self-improvement were the Jewish people ready to meet with G-d at Sinai and to receive His Torah.
This quest applies also to the individual through the ages. After the uplifting experience of Passover, the counting of the omer expresses an attempt to internalize this experience: to change oneself in a genuine and permanent way so as to live up to one's new level of spiritual freedom.
We can also apply this idea to society as a whole in our modern age. Over the past century we have experienced a great leap forward of technological progress which has provided us with many kinds of comfort and freedom. But this freedom and power bear with them a dangerous instability. We see this in the vast horrors of fifty years ago, and also in the social problems of today.
Our modern world, too, needs to "count the omer," to try and move step by step, improving our inner lives, our personal morality, the interplay of our emotions. Do people have freedom, or are they becoming ever more deeply enslaved to their appetites?
Torah teachings give guidance not only on how to run a Jewish home, but also on how to build a healthy and just society. The seven Noahide laws describe how all human beings should seek to live.
(The seven Noahide laws commanded by G-d to all of mankind are: to believe in G-d [and not to serve idols]; not to blaspheme against G-d; not to murder [including euthanasia and abortion, unless it is to save the mother's life]; not to steal; not to commit adultery, incest and other forms of personal immorality; not to eat a limb from a living animal; and to set up a judicial [and educational] system to apply these laws in society.]
Through applying the boundaries, restraints and positive duties imposed by these laws in the context of modern life we can seek to catch up with our own progress. By attending to our internal structure as human beings, we can prepare ourselves, globally, to meet with G-d and to discover the truly perfect world promised by the Prophets.
The following is from Chabad from which I read a lot of articles and do a lot of studying from. The article is very wonderful although I don't agree with one part...we count the Omer starting on the day after the seventh day Sabbath which is First day or Sunday...or the Day of First Fruits or the Wave Offering when we believe our LORD and Savior Yeshua arose from the dead...Hallelu Yah!
According to Kevin Geoffrey, of Perfect Word Ministries in his book 'Messianic Mo'adiym Devotional', there are three interpretations of Leviticus 23:15, which says that the counting is to begin "from the day after the shabbat." So, we have three understandings of this scripture. Sounds like the same thing in the Christian Denominations over Bible beliefs.
So, he says the counting of the Omer could be the day after the first day of the Feast of Matzah, the day after the seventh-day Shabbat during the Feast of Matzah or on the day after the last day of the Feast of Matzah. WHEW!
The second one, the day after the seventh-day Shabbat counts fifty days to Shavuot and we have a first day celebration...or as most of us have always celebrated..a Sunday Day of Pentecost.
How ever you choose to count, the teaching below is good and I think will further you on your journey to the Old Path...the Way With Yeshua.
Catching Up With Ourselves
By Tali Loewenthal
When the Jewish people left Egypt they experienced a great leap forward. In a short space of time they progressed from abject slavery to freedom. The Sages tell us they were then faced with a new and important task: to catch up with themselves.
This is one of the explanations of the "counting of the omer" which is observed in the period between Pesach and Shavuot. From the second night of Passover we begin counting, day by day. After seven weeks, forty-nine days, we arrive at Shavuot on the fiftieth day, when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai.
This process of counting the days, one by one, is explained as signifying the attempt to improve oneself in a steady, step-by-step mode. Leaving Egypt was a leap of progress, a breakthrough from the lowest depths. But then there is the need to catch up with oneself, to achieve genuine and permanent qualities as individuals and as a nation.
Otherwise the freedom gained by leaving Egypt might easily be lost: instead of being a slave to the Egyptians, one would become a slave to something else.
Chabad teachings, based on the writings of the Kabbalists, explain that the seven weeks represent seven different aspects of character, the emotional forces which constitute the basic structure of the individual (Love, Severity, Mercy, the desire for Victory, Submission, Dedication, and Fulfillment).
The seven weeks provide the opportunity to improve this structure and make it more stable. Only after this period of self-improvement were the Jewish people ready to meet with G-d at Sinai and to receive His Torah.
This quest applies also to the individual through the ages. After the uplifting experience of Passover, the counting of the omer expresses an attempt to internalize this experience: to change oneself in a genuine and permanent way so as to live up to one's new level of spiritual freedom.
We can also apply this idea to society as a whole in our modern age. Over the past century we have experienced a great leap forward of technological progress which has provided us with many kinds of comfort and freedom. But this freedom and power bear with them a dangerous instability. We see this in the vast horrors of fifty years ago, and also in the social problems of today.
Our modern world, too, needs to "count the omer," to try and move step by step, improving our inner lives, our personal morality, the interplay of our emotions. Do people have freedom, or are they becoming ever more deeply enslaved to their appetites?
Torah teachings give guidance not only on how to run a Jewish home, but also on how to build a healthy and just society. The seven Noahide laws describe how all human beings should seek to live.
(The seven Noahide laws commanded by G-d to all of mankind are: to believe in G-d [and not to serve idols]; not to blaspheme against G-d; not to murder [including euthanasia and abortion, unless it is to save the mother's life]; not to steal; not to commit adultery, incest and other forms of personal immorality; not to eat a limb from a living animal; and to set up a judicial [and educational] system to apply these laws in society.]
Through applying the boundaries, restraints and positive duties imposed by these laws in the context of modern life we can seek to catch up with our own progress. By attending to our internal structure as human beings, we can prepare ourselves, globally, to meet with G-d and to discover the truly perfect world promised by the Prophets.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The Annual 'Stella Awards'
This is not a Biblical post. But understand our Elohim wants us to be wise. He does not want us to take advantage of situations.....so here goes stupidity......or craftiness.....
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'!
For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right?
That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish laws and it's verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stella's for the past year:
7th PLACE:
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.
6th PLACE:
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.
5t h PLACE:
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, 8, days on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...
4th PLACE :
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas , garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.
Grrrrr. Scratch, scratch.
3rd PLACE:
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...
2nd PLACE:
Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.
1st PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos, please?)
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was
Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.
Are we, as a society, getting more stupid??
It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'!
For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right?
That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish laws and it's verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stella's for the past year:
7th PLACE:
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.
6th PLACE:
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.
5t h PLACE:
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, 8, days on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...
4th PLACE :
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas , garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.
Grrrrr. Scratch, scratch.
3rd PLACE:
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...
2nd PLACE:
Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.
1st PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos, please?)
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was
Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.
Are we, as a society, getting more stupid??
Passover Pralines
A quick blog. I thought if anyone reads this they might want a really delicious recipe for the Feast of Unleavened bread.
This is from my friend Jen.
Passover Pralines
An outstanding, unique, and easy confection. If you make only one thing at Passover, make it this one.
4-6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup dark brown sugar
12 oz. Bag milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible.
Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh.
Place in oven. Bake 8 minutes.
Then Turn Oven OFF.
Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand in oven for 7-8 minutes
Spread out your chocolate with a spoon till it covers the matzohs. Sprinkle with chopped almonds if you choose.
Friends, this is soooo good. I only have a small amount of what I made last night. I wanted to tell you, I didn't have parchment paper so I butterd the foil really well and I put the whole thing in the fridge to get good and cold so I could peel the foil of more easily.
Grand daughter, Aletha, doesn't like chocolate as much as most of us do so we are going to make another batch without the chocolate.
I bought some Kosher marshmallows with toasted coconut and I thought we'd make some matzo smores one evening. I'll let you know how they turn out.
This is from my friend Jen.
Passover Pralines
An outstanding, unique, and easy confection. If you make only one thing at Passover, make it this one.
4-6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup dark brown sugar
12 oz. Bag milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible.
Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh.
Place in oven. Bake 8 minutes.
Then Turn Oven OFF.
Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand in oven for 7-8 minutes
Spread out your chocolate with a spoon till it covers the matzohs. Sprinkle with chopped almonds if you choose.
Friends, this is soooo good. I only have a small amount of what I made last night. I wanted to tell you, I didn't have parchment paper so I butterd the foil really well and I put the whole thing in the fridge to get good and cold so I could peel the foil of more easily.
Grand daughter, Aletha, doesn't like chocolate as much as most of us do so we are going to make another batch without the chocolate.
I bought some Kosher marshmallows with toasted coconut and I thought we'd make some matzo smores one evening. I'll let you know how they turn out.
The Offering of a Wave Sheaf
For many this is very confusing but if you read the following very carefully, you will understand it.
Today is the day of the first fruit wave Offering.....it is because of this day that Yeshua is called the first fruit. He arose sometime during the early hours of the first day, which is from sundown saturday evening to sundown sunday evening.
This day that we celebrate as First Fruits was called to be the day after the Shabbat after Pesach.
The following is from Norman B. Willis
www.nazareneisrael.org
Read it carefully and ask for the understanding and it will be given to you.....
The Pentecost is one of YHWH's festival days, and the term 'Pentecost' means, "Count (to) fifty." Therefore, to know when YHWH wants the Pentecost held, all we need to do is just count fifty days, and then hold the Feast of the Pentecost on the fiftieth day of the count. Almost all parties agree on this.
Where some parties disagree, however, is when the count should begin. While there is some difference of opinion, if we will but take YHWH at face value, we shall see that He clearly tells us when we should start the count. This start-of-the-count to Pentecost is marked by the offering of a Wave Sheaf (Omer), and which is here called the "sheaf of first fruits of your harvest."
Leviticus 23:10-11
10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
11 He shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."
(10) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ | וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן:
(11) וְהֵנִיף אֶת הָעֹמֶר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לִרְצֹנְכֶם | מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת יְנִיפֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן:
Verse 11 tells us that we are to wave the Omer and begin the count "on the day after the Sabbath" (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת). Rabbis of all types claim that this means "on the day after the Passover (מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח). They make this argument on the basis that the Passover is also one of YHWH's Sabbaths and Festival Days. However, this argument is clearly in contradiction to the face value of the text, which tells us to wave the Omer on the day after the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת) that either falls on, or follows the Passover.
In order to understand why the rabbinical argument is wrong, first we have to take a look at verse 14, which tells us we are not allowed to eat any of the produce of the land until after we have brought this Wave Sheaf/Omer to YHWH.
Leviticus 23:14
14 "'You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your Elohim; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(14) וְלֶחֶם וְקָלִי וְכַרְמֶל לֹא תֹאכְלוּ עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה עַד הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת קָרְבַּן אֱלֹהֵיכֶם | חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם בְּכֹל מֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם
Then in Leviticus 23:15-16, YHWH reiterates the commandment to count fifty days from the Wave Sheaf offering, which was made the day after the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת).
Leviticus 23:15-16
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH.'"
(15) וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה | שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה:
(16) עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם | וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַיהוָה
What the rabbis fail to address here is that had YHWH intended to specify the Passover (הַפֶּסַח), He was more than capable of saying "the Passover" (הַפֶּסַח) instead of saying "the Sabbath" (הַשַּׁבָּת). However, YHWH used the term for the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת). Therefore, unless we are willing to throw out the face value of the text, what we are left with is that both the Wave Sheaf and the Pentecost must always fall on the first day of the week, because:
1. By definition, the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת) is always the seventh day of the week.
2. By definition, the day after the weekly Sabbath is always the first day of the week.
3. Therefore, by extension, since YHWH tells us to offer the Wave Sheaf on the day after the weekly Sabbath (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת), we should always offer the Wave Sheaf on the first day of the week.
4. By further extension, verse 16 tells us to hold the Pentecost fifty days later, on the day after the seventh weekly Sabbath, which is also the first day of the week.
5. Therefore, both the Wave Sheaf and Pentecost always fall on the first day of the week.
However, as with many other things, the rabbis have a clever argument to justify their tradition of getting around the face value of the text. This argument is based on Joshua 5:10-12.
Joshua 5:10-12
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening on the plains of Jericho.
11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
(10) וַיַּחֲנוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגִּלְגָּל | וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת הַפֶּסַח בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּעֶרֶב בְּעַרְבוֹת יְרִיחוֹ:
(11) וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח מַצּוֹת וְקָלוּי | בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
(12) וַיִּשְׁבֹּת הַמָּן מִמָּחֳרָת בְּאָכְלָם מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא הָיָה עוֹד לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מָן | וַיֹּאכְלוּ מִתְּבוּאַת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא:
All parties agree that the Passover (הַפֶּסַח) can fall on any day of the week. Therefore, due to the law of averages, the Passover (הַפֶּסַח) will coincide with the weekly Shabbat (הַשַּׁבָּת) only once in every seven years. When this happens, then the First Day of Unleavened Bread also coincides with the Omer/Wave Sheaf Offering, so that both the Omer and the First Day of Unleavened Bread fall on the first day of the week.
Historically, we know that this one-in-seven coincidence took place when our forefathers entered the Land of Canaan under Joshua, because our forefathers ate the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. According to Verse 14 (above), they could not have eaten of the produce of the land until after they had waved the Omer, and begun the Omer count. However, the only way they could have waved the Omer on the day after the Pesach is if the Passover fell on the weekly Shabbat itself.
Here is how the festival days fell out in Joshua 5:10-12. Notice that in this special one-in-seven case, the First Day of Unleavened Bread coincides with the Wave Sheaf/Omer count:
Pass.
Omer 2ULB 3ULB 4ULB 5ULB 6ULB 7ULB
8 Om. 9 Om. 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 40 41 42
43 44 45 46 47 48 49
Pent.
Pass. = Passover (Pesach)
Omer = The Wave Sheaf and the start of the 50 Count.
2ULB = Second Day of Unleavened Bread
Om. = Abbreviation for the day of the Omer Count.
Pent. = Pentecost (fiftieth day)
Some reject the idea that the Wave Sheaf and the Pentecost fall on the first day of the week, perhaps because the Christian Church has long designated the first day of the week as its primary day of rest. Perhaps for this reason, and perhaps for others, some believers prefer the rabbinical version of the Omer Count, which has the Omer waved on the First Day of Unleavened Bread. However, let us consider that if YHWH had wanted us to wave the Omer on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, then He would have given us instructions for waving the Omer within the instructions for the First Day of Unleavened Bread. However, He did not do that.
Moreover, by the principle of equal weights and measures, if we do as the rabbis say, and substitute the word 'Passover' for the word 'Sabbath' uniformly throughout Leviticus 23, then what we have is YHWH commanding us to wait seven completed Passovers (i.e., seven completed years) before offering the Pentecost. This makes no sense.
Nonsensical Uniform Substitution:
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Passover, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Passovers shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Passover; then you shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH.'"
YHWH gives us a set date for every other festival in Scripture (e.g., Passover is on the 14th day of the first month, Tabernacles is on the 15th day of the seventh month, etcetera). However, the reason YHWH never gives us a set date for the Wave Sheaf or for the Pentecost is that even though these festivals always fall on the first day of the week, the calendar dates differ year by year.
So if we will just take YHWH at His face value, then 'counting to fifty' is easy. We just count the number "One!" on the first day of the week that comes after the weekly Sabbath which either coincides with, or follows the Passover. Then when we reach the fiftieth day of the count (which is always, by definition, on the first day of the week), we bring an offering of new grain to YHWH.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:26
26 'Also on the day of the First Fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to YHWH at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a set-apart gathering. You shall do no customary work.'
More information is available in The Torah Calendar, in the chapter titled, "The Wave Sheaf Offering and the Pentecost."
When YHWH our Elohim brings us back to His land, then we will celebrate the Feast of the Pentecost in the place where YHWH chooses to put His name, which is Jerusalem. May it be soon, and in our day!
In Yeshua's name,
Amein.
יברכך יהוה וישמרך
יאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחנך
ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום
Norman B. Willis
Overseer, The Israelite sect of the Nazarenes
Re-establishing the original faith of the apostles
www.nazareneisrael.org
Today is the day of the first fruit wave Offering.....it is because of this day that Yeshua is called the first fruit. He arose sometime during the early hours of the first day, which is from sundown saturday evening to sundown sunday evening.
This day that we celebrate as First Fruits was called to be the day after the Shabbat after Pesach.
The following is from Norman B. Willis
www.nazareneisrael.org
Read it carefully and ask for the understanding and it will be given to you.....
The Pentecost is one of YHWH's festival days, and the term 'Pentecost' means, "Count (to) fifty." Therefore, to know when YHWH wants the Pentecost held, all we need to do is just count fifty days, and then hold the Feast of the Pentecost on the fiftieth day of the count. Almost all parties agree on this.
Where some parties disagree, however, is when the count should begin. While there is some difference of opinion, if we will but take YHWH at face value, we shall see that He clearly tells us when we should start the count. This start-of-the-count to Pentecost is marked by the offering of a Wave Sheaf (Omer), and which is here called the "sheaf of first fruits of your harvest."
Leviticus 23:10-11
10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
11 He shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."
(10) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ | וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן:
(11) וְהֵנִיף אֶת הָעֹמֶר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לִרְצֹנְכֶם | מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת יְנִיפֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן:
Verse 11 tells us that we are to wave the Omer and begin the count "on the day after the Sabbath" (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת). Rabbis of all types claim that this means "on the day after the Passover (מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח). They make this argument on the basis that the Passover is also one of YHWH's Sabbaths and Festival Days. However, this argument is clearly in contradiction to the face value of the text, which tells us to wave the Omer on the day after the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת) that either falls on, or follows the Passover.
In order to understand why the rabbinical argument is wrong, first we have to take a look at verse 14, which tells us we are not allowed to eat any of the produce of the land until after we have brought this Wave Sheaf/Omer to YHWH.
Leviticus 23:14
14 "'You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your Elohim; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(14) וְלֶחֶם וְקָלִי וְכַרְמֶל לֹא תֹאכְלוּ עַד עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה עַד הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת קָרְבַּן אֱלֹהֵיכֶם | חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם בְּכֹל מֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם
Then in Leviticus 23:15-16, YHWH reiterates the commandment to count fifty days from the Wave Sheaf offering, which was made the day after the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת).
Leviticus 23:15-16
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH.'"
(15) וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה | שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה:
(16) עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם | וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַיהוָה
What the rabbis fail to address here is that had YHWH intended to specify the Passover (הַפֶּסַח), He was more than capable of saying "the Passover" (הַפֶּסַח) instead of saying "the Sabbath" (הַשַּׁבָּת). However, YHWH used the term for the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת). Therefore, unless we are willing to throw out the face value of the text, what we are left with is that both the Wave Sheaf and the Pentecost must always fall on the first day of the week, because:
1. By definition, the weekly Sabbath (הַשַּׁבָּת) is always the seventh day of the week.
2. By definition, the day after the weekly Sabbath is always the first day of the week.
3. Therefore, by extension, since YHWH tells us to offer the Wave Sheaf on the day after the weekly Sabbath (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת), we should always offer the Wave Sheaf on the first day of the week.
4. By further extension, verse 16 tells us to hold the Pentecost fifty days later, on the day after the seventh weekly Sabbath, which is also the first day of the week.
5. Therefore, both the Wave Sheaf and Pentecost always fall on the first day of the week.
However, as with many other things, the rabbis have a clever argument to justify their tradition of getting around the face value of the text. This argument is based on Joshua 5:10-12.
Joshua 5:10-12
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening on the plains of Jericho.
11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
(10) וַיַּחֲנוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגִּלְגָּל | וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת הַפֶּסַח בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּעֶרֶב בְּעַרְבוֹת יְרִיחוֹ:
(11) וַיֹּאכְלוּ מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח מַצּוֹת וְקָלוּי | בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
(12) וַיִּשְׁבֹּת הַמָּן מִמָּחֳרָת בְּאָכְלָם מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא הָיָה עוֹד לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מָן | וַיֹּאכְלוּ מִתְּבוּאַת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא:
All parties agree that the Passover (הַפֶּסַח) can fall on any day of the week. Therefore, due to the law of averages, the Passover (הַפֶּסַח) will coincide with the weekly Shabbat (הַשַּׁבָּת) only once in every seven years. When this happens, then the First Day of Unleavened Bread also coincides with the Omer/Wave Sheaf Offering, so that both the Omer and the First Day of Unleavened Bread fall on the first day of the week.
Historically, we know that this one-in-seven coincidence took place when our forefathers entered the Land of Canaan under Joshua, because our forefathers ate the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. According to Verse 14 (above), they could not have eaten of the produce of the land until after they had waved the Omer, and begun the Omer count. However, the only way they could have waved the Omer on the day after the Pesach is if the Passover fell on the weekly Shabbat itself.
Here is how the festival days fell out in Joshua 5:10-12. Notice that in this special one-in-seven case, the First Day of Unleavened Bread coincides with the Wave Sheaf/Omer count:
Pass.
Omer 2ULB 3ULB 4ULB 5ULB 6ULB 7ULB
8 Om. 9 Om. 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 32 33 34 35
36 37 38 39 40 41 42
43 44 45 46 47 48 49
Pent.
Pass. = Passover (Pesach)
Omer = The Wave Sheaf and the start of the 50 Count.
2ULB = Second Day of Unleavened Bread
Om. = Abbreviation for the day of the Omer Count.
Pent. = Pentecost (fiftieth day)
Some reject the idea that the Wave Sheaf and the Pentecost fall on the first day of the week, perhaps because the Christian Church has long designated the first day of the week as its primary day of rest. Perhaps for this reason, and perhaps for others, some believers prefer the rabbinical version of the Omer Count, which has the Omer waved on the First Day of Unleavened Bread. However, let us consider that if YHWH had wanted us to wave the Omer on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, then He would have given us instructions for waving the Omer within the instructions for the First Day of Unleavened Bread. However, He did not do that.
Moreover, by the principle of equal weights and measures, if we do as the rabbis say, and substitute the word 'Passover' for the word 'Sabbath' uniformly throughout Leviticus 23, then what we have is YHWH commanding us to wait seven completed Passovers (i.e., seven completed years) before offering the Pentecost. This makes no sense.
Nonsensical Uniform Substitution:
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Passover, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Passovers shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Passover; then you shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH.'"
YHWH gives us a set date for every other festival in Scripture (e.g., Passover is on the 14th day of the first month, Tabernacles is on the 15th day of the seventh month, etcetera). However, the reason YHWH never gives us a set date for the Wave Sheaf or for the Pentecost is that even though these festivals always fall on the first day of the week, the calendar dates differ year by year.
So if we will just take YHWH at His face value, then 'counting to fifty' is easy. We just count the number "One!" on the first day of the week that comes after the weekly Sabbath which either coincides with, or follows the Passover. Then when we reach the fiftieth day of the count (which is always, by definition, on the first day of the week), we bring an offering of new grain to YHWH.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:26
26 'Also on the day of the First Fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to YHWH at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a set-apart gathering. You shall do no customary work.'
More information is available in The Torah Calendar, in the chapter titled, "The Wave Sheaf Offering and the Pentecost."
When YHWH our Elohim brings us back to His land, then we will celebrate the Feast of the Pentecost in the place where YHWH chooses to put His name, which is Jerusalem. May it be soon, and in our day!
In Yeshua's name,
Amein.
יברכך יהוה וישמרך
יאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחנך
ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום
Norman B. Willis
Overseer, The Israelite sect of the Nazarenes
Re-establishing the original faith of the apostles
www.nazareneisrael.org
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Nissan/Aviv 17,5769
SHABBAT
This is not my usual way of blogging but thought that you might enjoy 'seeing' me as my friends on my email list 'see' me. This email is fun but has meat and a 'bite' to it as you will 'see'.
My Dear Ones, Shabbat Shalom! It is a beautiful day here in my little part of the world....or at least it looks beautiful from my window here in the Angel room where my computer is.
Our Pesach (Passover) was wonderful! I was very tired from all the shopping and the cooking but as always...it was worth it. We had our seder on thursday evening....we did, however, light the Passover candles on wednesday evening and say the blessings.
I tried a new recipe...well...it was a twist on an old one. I was serving baked chicken and of course mashed potatoes and gravy so I kept thinking about dressing(stuffing). Well, the wonder of the internet is..you can find just about anything you are looking for and I found lots of recipes for matzo dressing. I ended up just making mine with my own recipe only using the matzo. It was very good!
I also had a craving for something my Mom used to make. I knew I had her recipe so I searched for it and made it and even though the family was a little skeptical after they tasted it they were sold! It is a pineapple, marshmallow and Velveeta cheese salad. Amazing taste!
During the seder there is a part where we take the matzo in the special bag...there are three compartments....the Rabbis have always called this the unity...we know them to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From this bag, we take the middle matzo called the Afikoman. Afikoman (pronounce it like this....ahhhfeee KOH mun) is the only Greek word in the whole seder and no one knows for sure why it is in there but I think we know.......we take the middle matzo, break it in two and place the one half back in the bag and the other we wrap in a white linen cloth.......anything sound familier? We then 'hide' this wrapped matzo.
Because Aletha and Arrin were going to be the only children here I knew that they would look for the Afikoman. There is usually a prize given for finding it. Arrin has wanted a Barbie doll for some time now so I bought her one. Let me tell you, I have not shopped for a Barbie for years......I thought, well she'd need an outfit, so I got one of those packages with three outfits and shoes. OK..it gets better!
Arrin and Aletha find the Afikoman, of course, and I give Aletha some money and give Arrin her doll and clothes.....and shoes! Oh those shoes! Friends, I had no idea that some Barbies have different feet! She was struggling to get the shoe on the foot....kept telling me..."Her foot's too big!" I just thought she didn't know how to put the shoe on. I finally told her to bring it to me.....I could not get it on either. Her Barbie is a Beach Barbie and has flat feet....BIG flat feet! I Laughed and said..."This Barbie is like the step-sisters in Cinderella...her feet are too BIG!"
Now, being the Grandma I am, of course I tried to 'fix' things. I went to WalMart and looked at the Barbies. I found one that as far as I could tell, had small feet. I also found some clothes ...bed clothes that had flat shoes..well sandle/slippers like shoes...thinking "these will fit those BIG FEET!" Oh, let me say I was very excited when I got home but......BUT! The slippers WOULD NOT FIT THOSE BIG FEET! I offered to cut the sides of the feet off but Arrin didn't think that was a good idea..LOL! AND the new Barbie? She has small feet but THEY ARE BALLERINA FEET...they do not fit into the Barbie shoes either! I really could not believe it!
Thank goodness for Daughter Jessica! She is like our own personal LONE RANGER! She comes to the rescue everytime. (Athough at times, she seems a little..shall we say...smug.) She came in and after a few minutes of listening to me gripe about BARBIE FEET and Arrin whining about BARBIE FEET...she said......"didn't Arrin get Barbie's for Hanukkah?" LIGHTBULB! Arrin went and got her 'Cinderella' and 'Sleeping Beauty' Barbies and lo and behold! THEY HAVE REAL BARBIE FEET!
So, to say the least, we ALL have had fun dressing Barbies and putting their shoes and 'boots made for walkin' on them.
(Maria and the girls went shopping...Arrin came home with a Ken doll.....Oh my!)
Now for some meat........remember, I love you!
You know that I only send out what is good for your growth in the LORD or in some cases political to keep you informed and aware of what is going on.
We all know what this time of the year is all about. I must say this....Easter is a pagan holiday! It HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RESURRECTION OF YESHUA! Easter was here long before He was crucified and rose from the dead. The Romans celebrated this day and continued on after Constantine became the leader of their church. It has been handed down thru the ages as an acceptable holiday even though children are being used in the pagan ways of this religion. If you know the LORD, you are saved....but can you hear Him saying 'seek Me...come deeper?" He is saying "come out from under the pagan ways of the worldly church." Easter bunnies and easter eggs have NO PLACE IN THE BODY OF THE LORD! WORSHIP OF ANYONE ELSE BESIDES OUR ELOHIM...FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT HAS NO PLACE IN THE BODY OF THE LORD.
The time of foolish kid games is near the end...we can no longer say..'oh it doesn't hurt anything'.....it hurts you! He is going to ask..."Why have you partaken of the unholy? Why did you forsake me for the pagan and profane?" I can only say and do what I am given to do. It is up to you to either receive or reject.
I love you and want the best for you. He was crucified on a wednesday and arose probably sometime right after sundown after Shabbat. You don't need a 'good friday' to remember Him......you need Passover. You don't need an easter sunday to remember His Resurrection.....you need God's day of First Fruits which is on the day after the Sabbath following Passover. Our Elohim has it all under control....the days and times have already been set...come out from under the pagan days of the 'christian' church.
As always, God Bless YOU!
With love to YOU in and thru our LIVING SAVIOR AND SOON COMING KING, YESHUA HA MASHIACH.....HIS servant, gloria
SHABBAT
This is not my usual way of blogging but thought that you might enjoy 'seeing' me as my friends on my email list 'see' me. This email is fun but has meat and a 'bite' to it as you will 'see'.
My Dear Ones, Shabbat Shalom! It is a beautiful day here in my little part of the world....or at least it looks beautiful from my window here in the Angel room where my computer is.
Our Pesach (Passover) was wonderful! I was very tired from all the shopping and the cooking but as always...it was worth it. We had our seder on thursday evening....we did, however, light the Passover candles on wednesday evening and say the blessings.
I tried a new recipe...well...it was a twist on an old one. I was serving baked chicken and of course mashed potatoes and gravy so I kept thinking about dressing(stuffing). Well, the wonder of the internet is..you can find just about anything you are looking for and I found lots of recipes for matzo dressing. I ended up just making mine with my own recipe only using the matzo. It was very good!
I also had a craving for something my Mom used to make. I knew I had her recipe so I searched for it and made it and even though the family was a little skeptical after they tasted it they were sold! It is a pineapple, marshmallow and Velveeta cheese salad. Amazing taste!
During the seder there is a part where we take the matzo in the special bag...there are three compartments....the Rabbis have always called this the unity...we know them to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From this bag, we take the middle matzo called the Afikoman. Afikoman (pronounce it like this....ahhhfeee KOH mun) is the only Greek word in the whole seder and no one knows for sure why it is in there but I think we know.......we take the middle matzo, break it in two and place the one half back in the bag and the other we wrap in a white linen cloth.......anything sound familier? We then 'hide' this wrapped matzo.
Because Aletha and Arrin were going to be the only children here I knew that they would look for the Afikoman. There is usually a prize given for finding it. Arrin has wanted a Barbie doll for some time now so I bought her one. Let me tell you, I have not shopped for a Barbie for years......I thought, well she'd need an outfit, so I got one of those packages with three outfits and shoes. OK..it gets better!
Arrin and Aletha find the Afikoman, of course, and I give Aletha some money and give Arrin her doll and clothes.....and shoes! Oh those shoes! Friends, I had no idea that some Barbies have different feet! She was struggling to get the shoe on the foot....kept telling me..."Her foot's too big!" I just thought she didn't know how to put the shoe on. I finally told her to bring it to me.....I could not get it on either. Her Barbie is a Beach Barbie and has flat feet....BIG flat feet! I Laughed and said..."This Barbie is like the step-sisters in Cinderella...her feet are too BIG!"
Now, being the Grandma I am, of course I tried to 'fix' things. I went to WalMart and looked at the Barbies. I found one that as far as I could tell, had small feet. I also found some clothes ...bed clothes that had flat shoes..well sandle/slippers like shoes...thinking "these will fit those BIG FEET!" Oh, let me say I was very excited when I got home but......BUT! The slippers WOULD NOT FIT THOSE BIG FEET! I offered to cut the sides of the feet off but Arrin didn't think that was a good idea..LOL! AND the new Barbie? She has small feet but THEY ARE BALLERINA FEET...they do not fit into the Barbie shoes either! I really could not believe it!
Thank goodness for Daughter Jessica! She is like our own personal LONE RANGER! She comes to the rescue everytime. (Athough at times, she seems a little..shall we say...smug.) She came in and after a few minutes of listening to me gripe about BARBIE FEET and Arrin whining about BARBIE FEET...she said......"didn't Arrin get Barbie's for Hanukkah?" LIGHTBULB! Arrin went and got her 'Cinderella' and 'Sleeping Beauty' Barbies and lo and behold! THEY HAVE REAL BARBIE FEET!
So, to say the least, we ALL have had fun dressing Barbies and putting their shoes and 'boots made for walkin' on them.
(Maria and the girls went shopping...Arrin came home with a Ken doll.....Oh my!)
Now for some meat........remember, I love you!
You know that I only send out what is good for your growth in the LORD or in some cases political to keep you informed and aware of what is going on.
We all know what this time of the year is all about. I must say this....Easter is a pagan holiday! It HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RESURRECTION OF YESHUA! Easter was here long before He was crucified and rose from the dead. The Romans celebrated this day and continued on after Constantine became the leader of their church. It has been handed down thru the ages as an acceptable holiday even though children are being used in the pagan ways of this religion. If you know the LORD, you are saved....but can you hear Him saying 'seek Me...come deeper?" He is saying "come out from under the pagan ways of the worldly church." Easter bunnies and easter eggs have NO PLACE IN THE BODY OF THE LORD! WORSHIP OF ANYONE ELSE BESIDES OUR ELOHIM...FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT HAS NO PLACE IN THE BODY OF THE LORD.
The time of foolish kid games is near the end...we can no longer say..'oh it doesn't hurt anything'.....it hurts you! He is going to ask..."Why have you partaken of the unholy? Why did you forsake me for the pagan and profane?" I can only say and do what I am given to do. It is up to you to either receive or reject.
I love you and want the best for you. He was crucified on a wednesday and arose probably sometime right after sundown after Shabbat. You don't need a 'good friday' to remember Him......you need Passover. You don't need an easter sunday to remember His Resurrection.....you need God's day of First Fruits which is on the day after the Sabbath following Passover. Our Elohim has it all under control....the days and times have already been set...come out from under the pagan days of the 'christian' church.
As always, God Bless YOU!
With love to YOU in and thru our LIVING SAVIOR AND SOON COMING KING, YESHUA HA MASHIACH.....HIS servant, gloria
Friday, April 10, 2009
Passover 5769 The Reisheet offering
Nissan/Aviv 16, 5769 Sixth Day Yom Ha'shee shee
If you are like me, you have a desire to know about the Word...understand it better and a desire to utilize its wisdom. This is from Hope for Israel and I find it full of truth and wisdom...it is up to us to ask our Abba for understanding.
May you be blessed abundantly!
Passover 5769
Passover is a very significant season. There are many aspects to understand and instructions to follow. In a technical sense, the word Passover refers to the lamb which was sacrificed on the 14th day of the month of Nissan (or Aviv). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven day festival with the first day (the 15th of Nissan) and the seventh day (the 21st of Nissan) being holy days. What does this mean—a holy day? The bible calls these days Shabbats and they must be treated as a Sabbath day no matter on which day of the week they actually fall. If one studies Leviticus chapter 23 he will find a list of these festival days.
One of the things that HaShem instructs the Children of Israel to do during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is mentioned in Lev. 23:9-14. This involves the offering of the Reisheet offering. This word, Reisheet, means “first”. This offering begins a seven week period of harvesting the barley and wheat fields. It is significant that although no date is given for when to observe this offering, there is clear instruction on when to do it. The reader is told to make it on the day after the Sabbath. This is a cause for confusion among some. Today rabbinical Judaism says the Sabbath which is being referred to is the holy day Sabbath which occurs on the 15th of Nissan. Hence the observance of the Reisheet offering would also take place on the 16th of Nissan. If this is the proper interpretation, then why are we not told in the Torah to make it on the 16th?
There are those who correctly point out that in Lev. 23:15, one is instructed to count seven Shabbats from the day of the Reisheet offering and the next day (the fiftieth day) would be the festival of Shavuot or Pentecost. If the intent of the word Shabbat in verse 11 was the holy day (the first day of the festival of Unleavened Bread) there is a problem. There are not seven holy days in the fifty day period to which the Torah is speaking. Therefore the Torah is referring to the seventh day Shabbat in this passage. Although the actual calendar date can vary, the Reisheet offering and Shavuot / Pentecost must always occur on the first day of the week (Sunday).
One is told that when the Reisheet is brought to the Cohen (priest) he must wave it as a wave offering. What is actually waved is a loaf of unleavened bread. This wave offering signifies victory. The hope is that the rest of the harvest would be like the Reisheet.
The Apostle Paul, knowing these things, calls Yeshua our Reisheet in I Corinthians 15:20,
“But Messiah has risen from the dead, the first fruit (Reisheet) of all those who have fallen asleep in the dust, i.e. died.”
In the same way that the priest and the people prayed that the rest of the harvest would be like the first fruit, so does Paul teach that in the same way Yeshua rose from the dead in Victory so shall those who belong to Him,
“That just like that in Adam all died, thus also in Messiah all shall live. But everyone in his order: the first (Reisheet) is the Messiah, afterwards, when He comes, those who belong to Messiah.” I Cor. 15:22-23
Now let’s talk about how these dates and instructions concerning Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread relate to Yeshua. In discussing the dates for the death and resurrection of Yeshua there is something important to remember. This is the two types of Shabbats that we have already discussed. In regard to the Biblical account of Messiah’s death and resurrection and learning on what day of the week these two things occurred and what were the dates, the key clue is the spices that the women bought and prepared for the purpose of anointing the body of Yeshua; even though Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea (biblical Ramah) had done so earlier. It is like when a man washes the dishes and his wife thinks she has to rewash them.
In regard to the spices one needs to study Luke 23:50-56. Note that in verse 56 that the women prepared the spices but then rested on Shabbat according to the commandment. When did they prepare the spices—before Shabbat? But in Mark 16:1-2, the reader is told that they buy the spices after the Sabbath. How can this be? The answer is simple; Mark is speaking about the Sabbath of the Holy day itself, the 15th of Nissan; while Luke is speaking of the normal 7th day Sabbath, i.e. Saturday. We are told both by Luke and John that Yeshua died on preparation day—the 14th of Nissan. This is the day that the lambs were sacrificed. Hence Yeshua died on the cross at approximately 3:00 pm. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the other two because of the concern that bodies would be on the crosses for the Holy Day.
Joseph then came before Pilate and requested Yeshua’s body so that he could bury Him. We are told it is almost sundown on the 14th when Yeshua is placed in the tomb. Since with sundown on the 14th begins the new day, the 15th of Nissan, the holy day of the first day of Unleavened Bread would begin—a holy day Shabbat. Hence it was after the 15th, i.e., on the 16th that the women bought and prepared the spices, but did not have enough time to get to the tomb before the 7th Day Shabbat began, i.e. Friday night. Hence they rested on the Shabbat (Friday evening to Sundown on Saturday). They had agreed to meet at the town on the first day of the week very early.
Therefore we now know the date for Yeshua’s crucifixion, the 14th day of Nissan. This had to be that year on a Wednesday. Therefore He was placed in the tomb at almost sundown on Wednesday. Thursday was a holy Day, i.e., high Sabbath (the 15th of Nissan). Friday, the 16th of Nissan, the ladies bought and prepared spices. Shabbat the 17th of Nissan they rested and Sunday (Saturday night), the 18th of Nissan Yeshua resurrected from the dead. In the morning of the 18th the women came to the tomb and it was empty announcing His resurrection. This coincides with the 3 days and 3 nights and the scripture says that Yeshua had to be in the tomb,
“Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so too will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Matthew 12:40
If one has any doubt that Yeshua was crucified on the 14th of Nissan and this was the afternoon before the Holy day (first day of Unleavened Bread) please see John 19:31, which clearly states the Shabbat that they were concerned with was not a 7th day Shabbat, but a High Sabbath or Festival Sabbath.
Happy Passover and Shabbat Shalom
If you are like me, you have a desire to know about the Word...understand it better and a desire to utilize its wisdom. This is from Hope for Israel and I find it full of truth and wisdom...it is up to us to ask our Abba for understanding.
May you be blessed abundantly!
Passover 5769
Passover is a very significant season. There are many aspects to understand and instructions to follow. In a technical sense, the word Passover refers to the lamb which was sacrificed on the 14th day of the month of Nissan (or Aviv). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven day festival with the first day (the 15th of Nissan) and the seventh day (the 21st of Nissan) being holy days. What does this mean—a holy day? The bible calls these days Shabbats and they must be treated as a Sabbath day no matter on which day of the week they actually fall. If one studies Leviticus chapter 23 he will find a list of these festival days.
One of the things that HaShem instructs the Children of Israel to do during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is mentioned in Lev. 23:9-14. This involves the offering of the Reisheet offering. This word, Reisheet, means “first”. This offering begins a seven week period of harvesting the barley and wheat fields. It is significant that although no date is given for when to observe this offering, there is clear instruction on when to do it. The reader is told to make it on the day after the Sabbath. This is a cause for confusion among some. Today rabbinical Judaism says the Sabbath which is being referred to is the holy day Sabbath which occurs on the 15th of Nissan. Hence the observance of the Reisheet offering would also take place on the 16th of Nissan. If this is the proper interpretation, then why are we not told in the Torah to make it on the 16th?
There are those who correctly point out that in Lev. 23:15, one is instructed to count seven Shabbats from the day of the Reisheet offering and the next day (the fiftieth day) would be the festival of Shavuot or Pentecost. If the intent of the word Shabbat in verse 11 was the holy day (the first day of the festival of Unleavened Bread) there is a problem. There are not seven holy days in the fifty day period to which the Torah is speaking. Therefore the Torah is referring to the seventh day Shabbat in this passage. Although the actual calendar date can vary, the Reisheet offering and Shavuot / Pentecost must always occur on the first day of the week (Sunday).
One is told that when the Reisheet is brought to the Cohen (priest) he must wave it as a wave offering. What is actually waved is a loaf of unleavened bread. This wave offering signifies victory. The hope is that the rest of the harvest would be like the Reisheet.
The Apostle Paul, knowing these things, calls Yeshua our Reisheet in I Corinthians 15:20,
“But Messiah has risen from the dead, the first fruit (Reisheet) of all those who have fallen asleep in the dust, i.e. died.”
In the same way that the priest and the people prayed that the rest of the harvest would be like the first fruit, so does Paul teach that in the same way Yeshua rose from the dead in Victory so shall those who belong to Him,
“That just like that in Adam all died, thus also in Messiah all shall live. But everyone in his order: the first (Reisheet) is the Messiah, afterwards, when He comes, those who belong to Messiah.” I Cor. 15:22-23
Now let’s talk about how these dates and instructions concerning Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread relate to Yeshua. In discussing the dates for the death and resurrection of Yeshua there is something important to remember. This is the two types of Shabbats that we have already discussed. In regard to the Biblical account of Messiah’s death and resurrection and learning on what day of the week these two things occurred and what were the dates, the key clue is the spices that the women bought and prepared for the purpose of anointing the body of Yeshua; even though Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea (biblical Ramah) had done so earlier. It is like when a man washes the dishes and his wife thinks she has to rewash them.
In regard to the spices one needs to study Luke 23:50-56. Note that in verse 56 that the women prepared the spices but then rested on Shabbat according to the commandment. When did they prepare the spices—before Shabbat? But in Mark 16:1-2, the reader is told that they buy the spices after the Sabbath. How can this be? The answer is simple; Mark is speaking about the Sabbath of the Holy day itself, the 15th of Nissan; while Luke is speaking of the normal 7th day Sabbath, i.e. Saturday. We are told both by Luke and John that Yeshua died on preparation day—the 14th of Nissan. This is the day that the lambs were sacrificed. Hence Yeshua died on the cross at approximately 3:00 pm. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the other two because of the concern that bodies would be on the crosses for the Holy Day.
Joseph then came before Pilate and requested Yeshua’s body so that he could bury Him. We are told it is almost sundown on the 14th when Yeshua is placed in the tomb. Since with sundown on the 14th begins the new day, the 15th of Nissan, the holy day of the first day of Unleavened Bread would begin—a holy day Shabbat. Hence it was after the 15th, i.e., on the 16th that the women bought and prepared the spices, but did not have enough time to get to the tomb before the 7th Day Shabbat began, i.e. Friday night. Hence they rested on the Shabbat (Friday evening to Sundown on Saturday). They had agreed to meet at the town on the first day of the week very early.
Therefore we now know the date for Yeshua’s crucifixion, the 14th day of Nissan. This had to be that year on a Wednesday. Therefore He was placed in the tomb at almost sundown on Wednesday. Thursday was a holy Day, i.e., high Sabbath (the 15th of Nissan). Friday, the 16th of Nissan, the ladies bought and prepared spices. Shabbat the 17th of Nissan they rested and Sunday (Saturday night), the 18th of Nissan Yeshua resurrected from the dead. In the morning of the 18th the women came to the tomb and it was empty announcing His resurrection. This coincides with the 3 days and 3 nights and the scripture says that Yeshua had to be in the tomb,
“Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so too will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Matthew 12:40
If one has any doubt that Yeshua was crucified on the 14th of Nissan and this was the afternoon before the Holy day (first day of Unleavened Bread) please see John 19:31, which clearly states the Shabbat that they were concerned with was not a 7th day Shabbat, but a High Sabbath or Festival Sabbath.
Happy Passover and Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Prophetic Lessons From Passover
Prophetic Lessons From Passover
by Joel Chernoff
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
Shalom and Happy Passover,
There are many wonderful and practical lessons to be learned from the Biblical feast of Passover. The Passover is one of the three national feasts of Israel that were commanded by God that Israel as a nation commemorate annually, and they are; Passover, Shavuot (the feast of weeks also know in the Christian world as Pentecost) and Succot (the feast of tabernacles). Each of these feasts also have a powerful prophetic Messianic fulfillment.
Over the next seven days of Passover I will share with you some of the lessons and insights about Passover that I feel might be helpful to you.
Lesson #1:The Passover, which was the national commemoration of God’s great and supernatural deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 7-13), foreshadowed the Messiah’s first coming, His death and resurrection.
In traditional rabbinic writings…
…what Messianic Jews would refer to as the Messiah’s first coming and suffering for the sin of man is called the Messiah Ben Joseph or the Suffering Messiah. Rabbis throughout the centuries refer to what we believe is the Messiah’s second coming to reign as ruler of the world and king of the Jews as the Messiah Ben David, i.e. the Messiah Son of David. Despite the fact that most modern rabbis in traditional Judaism would deny or avoid admitting that the rabbis recognized two distinct messianic advents…it is a fact of history and can be easily established from rabbinic writings.
Prophetic Foreshadow
Pharaoh & Moses
What makes the Passover a prophetic foreshadow of the Messiah Yeshua’s coming and sacrifice for sins is contained in the account of the final plague God sent on Egypt. Because Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let Israel leave Egypt as God called for, God visited the plague of death to all of the firstborn of both animal and man in Egypt. In order for Israel to avoid the angel of death’s visit to their households God told the Israelites to sacrifice and eat a lamb. More importantly He commanded them to take some of the lamb’s blood and put it on the doorpost of each household. As the angel of death passed over their houses and noted the blood on their lintels they would be spared…and they were.
Messianic Fulfillment
In the same way, we avoid the eternal death for our sins that we richly deserve when God sees the blood of the Suffering Messiah, Yeshua, on the doorposts of our hearts. This is exactly what happens when each of us obeys God and accepts what God so sacrificially provided through His Son the Messiah’s death and eternal atonement. God’s eternal judgment is averted and for those who have accepted His atonement the debt of their sins is covered for eternity.
Mercy was extended to all of those households under the blood of the sacrificed lamb of old and mercy is extended to all of those who dwell under the eternal blood of the Messiah Ben Joseph, Yeshua (Jesus).
Joel Chernoff
by Joel Chernoff
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
Shalom and Happy Passover,
There are many wonderful and practical lessons to be learned from the Biblical feast of Passover. The Passover is one of the three national feasts of Israel that were commanded by God that Israel as a nation commemorate annually, and they are; Passover, Shavuot (the feast of weeks also know in the Christian world as Pentecost) and Succot (the feast of tabernacles). Each of these feasts also have a powerful prophetic Messianic fulfillment.
Over the next seven days of Passover I will share with you some of the lessons and insights about Passover that I feel might be helpful to you.
Lesson #1:The Passover, which was the national commemoration of God’s great and supernatural deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 7-13), foreshadowed the Messiah’s first coming, His death and resurrection.
In traditional rabbinic writings…
…what Messianic Jews would refer to as the Messiah’s first coming and suffering for the sin of man is called the Messiah Ben Joseph or the Suffering Messiah. Rabbis throughout the centuries refer to what we believe is the Messiah’s second coming to reign as ruler of the world and king of the Jews as the Messiah Ben David, i.e. the Messiah Son of David. Despite the fact that most modern rabbis in traditional Judaism would deny or avoid admitting that the rabbis recognized two distinct messianic advents…it is a fact of history and can be easily established from rabbinic writings.
Prophetic Foreshadow
Pharaoh & Moses
What makes the Passover a prophetic foreshadow of the Messiah Yeshua’s coming and sacrifice for sins is contained in the account of the final plague God sent on Egypt. Because Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let Israel leave Egypt as God called for, God visited the plague of death to all of the firstborn of both animal and man in Egypt. In order for Israel to avoid the angel of death’s visit to their households God told the Israelites to sacrifice and eat a lamb. More importantly He commanded them to take some of the lamb’s blood and put it on the doorpost of each household. As the angel of death passed over their houses and noted the blood on their lintels they would be spared…and they were.
Messianic Fulfillment
In the same way, we avoid the eternal death for our sins that we richly deserve when God sees the blood of the Suffering Messiah, Yeshua, on the doorposts of our hearts. This is exactly what happens when each of us obeys God and accepts what God so sacrificially provided through His Son the Messiah’s death and eternal atonement. God’s eternal judgment is averted and for those who have accepted His atonement the debt of their sins is covered for eternity.
Mercy was extended to all of those households under the blood of the sacrificed lamb of old and mercy is extended to all of those who dwell under the eternal blood of the Messiah Ben Joseph, Yeshua (Jesus).
Joel Chernoff
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
PASSOVER:CORONATION DAY FOR JEWISH KINGS
I am blogging this article because I find the subject wonderful and as always, God is amazing. But I must say I prefer the Jewish name, Yeshua, and I prefer Messiah or Mashiach over Christ. AND I do NOT celebrate easter...it is pagan and is not a true holy day of God. But there is good meat here just overlook the bad.
PASSOVER:CORONATION DAY FOR JEWISH KINGS
by Gary Stearman
Although the fall festival of Rosh HaShanah marks the first day of the new Jewish calendar year, Nisan in the spring is actually considered the beginning of the annual festival cycle. The Jewish commentaries in the Mishnah tell us that the year of the reign of Jewish kings was counted from Nisan in biblical times.
In fact, in the traditional Jewish calendar, there are four legal New Year’s days:
First comes Nisan, the New Year for Kings. Next, is the 1st of Elul, the New Year for animal tithes. Then the 1st of Tishri (Rosh Hashanah) is the New Year for the civil calendar and for vegetable tithes.
Finally, the 15th of Shevat (Tu Bishvat) is the New Year for Trees and fruit tithes.
As we shall see, recognition of the first New Year celebration in the Jewish calendar becomes extremely important in understanding the finished work of Christ. When He came to His people two thousand years ago, He completed every tiny detail of prophecy. In particular, His coronation as King was no mere metaphor; it was perfect and complete.
This year, Passover and Easter come within three days of each other, with Passover arriving on April 9th and Easter on Sunday, April 12th. To Jews, it is a time to celebrate the freeing of their ancestors from Egyptian bondage by Moses, the deliverer.
Christians remember how our Deliverer, Christ, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for us. We recall His public humiliation, His death and His resurrection. He was given a thorny crown on that day. It was painful and demeaning, but it was a real and legitimate crown, representing an actual coronation. Equally important was the blessing this crown bestowed upon the entire earth.
New Year for Kings
Before we revisit the events of His last Passover, we should review a little-known but interesting fact about this day, traditionally remembered by the Jews as the day when the kings of ancient Israel were crowned.
In fact, Nisan – the month of the Passover – marked what was known as the "New Year for Kings."
One essay on the subject says,
"For reasons as yet unclear, the beginning of the year, reckoned from the spring by the early postexilic community, came to be celebrated in the autumn in Judaism. The sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar) figured prominently in the ritual of the festival, held on Tishri 1-2, while the liturgy emphasized the themes of judgment, God’s kingship, and creation.
"Nisan 1 continued to be recognized as New Year’s day for the reckoning of the reigns of Jewish kings and for festivals. Thus, although the calendar year began with Tishri 1, Passover was regarded as the first festival of the year. Of minor significance were the New Year’s days on Elul 1 and Shevat 1, for the tithing of cattle and for trees respectively." [Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Vol. 1, Sheffield Academic Press, 1998]
Israel’s two diasporas – in 722 and 586 B.C. – and the collapse of the Jewish Monarchy led to the recognition of Tishri and Rosh HaShanah, rather than Nisan and Passover, as the head of the year. Put another way, Jews came to honor the Civil New Year in the fall, rather than the Spiritual New Year in the spring.
The following quote from The Jewish Voice further clarifies this view:
"How do we know that Passover is Rosh HaShanah for the Kings? It is in the Tanach [Old Testament], though somewhat hidden. How do we know that the Kings of Israel are crowned at Passover? In I Kings, it says this: ‘… in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the House of Adonai.’ (I Kings 6:1) It is repeated in II Chronicles 3:2 as well. The second month of the reign of King Solomon – which means Solomon was crowned the month before! The month of Zif is now known as the month of Iyar, which comes after the month of Nisan, when Passover is. From this understanding, we can check it with the other kings of Israel as well. There was a debate between the House of Hillel and the House of Shamai, whether it was on the 15th or the 1st of the month, but the 15th is Passover night, and this became the common understanding."
In the ancient world, then, Israelites regarded the 1st of Nisan as the New Year for Kings, and the festival of Passover as the actual coronation day.
Little known to Gentiles, this amazing truth throws new light on that most historic of all Passovers. The day that Jesus was crucified was also the traditional Jewish day for the Coronation of Kings!
The Coronation
On the morning of that day – Passover, the 15th of Nisan – Jesus was given a public coronation, recognized by both Roman and Jewish leaders. As we shall see, this fact is carefully documented in Scripture.
The night before, He was arrested and taken to a Jewish trial, first before Annas, then in the presence of the high priest Caiphas and the assembled Sanhedrin.
Early in the morning, He was bound and taken to Pilate, who found no fault in Him. The cynical Roman Procurator sent him to Herod Antipas, who scoffed at any claim that He might be of royal blood.
Then, clothing him in regal apparel, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. This time, Jesus was tried in public, before a screaming mob, who shouted, "Crucify Him!" Pilate and Herod found no guilt in Him worthy of death, but in the end, the crowd ruled, urging Pilate to free the insurrectionist Barabbas and crucify Jesus in his place.
In the Gospel of John, we find the dramatic recitation of the Roman mockery that preceded His crucifixion. Pilate and the priests intertwine in a strange conspiracy that leave no doubt about the nature of Christ’s coronation:
"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
"And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
"And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
"Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
"Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
"When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
"The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God"
"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid" (John 19:1-8).
Here, Jesus is crowned, clothed in a royal garment and presented by the Gentile Pilate, as "the man." Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, "the one." It is as though Pilate is saying to the Jews, "Here is the one you’ve been looking for, your King, the one you call Messiah." No doubt, he knew about the Jewish national dream that a political and spiritual Savior would come to bring in their promised Kingdom.
Having already condemned Jesus in their hastily-convened night court, the Jews responded with horror at this thought. They made no effort to hide their real charge against Him: He had proclaimed His own deity, making himself equal with God.
When Pilate heard their charge, he was filled with fear that Jesus was the "real thing," and that this was the reason a corrupt priesthood wished Him dead. He went back inside and spoke with Jesus once more:
"And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
"Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
"Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
"And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
"And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! (John 9:9-14).
After this exchange, Pilate elevated the level of his announcement to the Jews and their leaders. Before, he had simply said, "Look, here’s the man." Now, however, he declared, "Look, here’s your King!" Did he really recognize Jesus as King and Messiah? As a pagan and a worshipper of Caesar as god, he could do no such thing.
But without a doubt, he recognized Jesus as the man the Jews had been waiting for, and he publicly counseled the Jews to receive their king.
And thus, in Nisan, the month of the New Year for Kings, and on Passover the Day of Coronation, Jesus was recognized by both Jewish and Gentile leaders as the King. Furthermore, He had been enrobed, crowned and formally presented. Everything required for a legitimate coronation had been accomplished. And ever since that eminent day, Scripture has stood as its witness.
To emphasize the truth of this matter, the Bible tells us that as Jesus was sent forth to His crucifixion, a title was placed over his head. Traditionally, such a title was affixed above the head of a victim, stating his crime … the reason for the crucifixion. But this time, something was different. Scripture clearly states that Pilate wrote the title himself, stating what he had, by this time, come to accept as some form of the truth:
"And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Jn. 19:19).
The Jews begged him to change the wording of the sign:
"Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
"Pilate answered, What I have written I have written" (Jn. 19:21,22).
The wording makes it clear, not only that Pilate had personally written the sign, but that he recognized Jesus as King of the Jews. Through the hand of a pagan Roman Procurator, the Spirit of the Lord spoke with complete and final authority. Jesus was King!
The Curse Upon the Ground
At the judgment of the sin in the Garden of Eden, God pronounced His curse upon the Serpent and the woman. Then He turned to Adam, who had originally been given dominion over the soil, its plants and livestock and turned that blessing to a curse:
"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen. 3:17-19).
Because of Adam’s sin, the ground was cursed with all manner of noxious weeds, here called, "thorns … and thistles." The result was a continual battle between man and his environment, with toil and sweat to mark his progress. Job stated it well:
"Let thistles [thorns] grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended" (Job 31:40).
The Crown of Fulfillment
At His crucifixion, Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world. He did so in the most literal fashion. As we have seen, the mocking crowds crowned Him King upon the very day reserved in the Jewish calender for the Coronation of Kings.
Upon His head was a crown. Its thorns represent the result of Adam’s sin – the curse of the ground – documented in Genesis 3:18. The thorns for the crown were gathered by Roman soldiers who wove it into a suitable shape, then forced it onto His head, doubtless producing a series of bleeding wounds.
Thus, as His blood poured over the thorns, Jesus took upon Himself not only the sin of mankind, but the curse upon the earth! In that historical moment, we were washed in the blood of the Lamb, and so was the earth. In His coronation, and the events that followed on that Passover day, the curse of sin upon humanity was forever broken … and the curse upon the earth removed!
May the King be praised forever!
PASSOVER:CORONATION DAY FOR JEWISH KINGS
by Gary Stearman
Although the fall festival of Rosh HaShanah marks the first day of the new Jewish calendar year, Nisan in the spring is actually considered the beginning of the annual festival cycle. The Jewish commentaries in the Mishnah tell us that the year of the reign of Jewish kings was counted from Nisan in biblical times.
In fact, in the traditional Jewish calendar, there are four legal New Year’s days:
First comes Nisan, the New Year for Kings. Next, is the 1st of Elul, the New Year for animal tithes. Then the 1st of Tishri (Rosh Hashanah) is the New Year for the civil calendar and for vegetable tithes.
Finally, the 15th of Shevat (Tu Bishvat) is the New Year for Trees and fruit tithes.
As we shall see, recognition of the first New Year celebration in the Jewish calendar becomes extremely important in understanding the finished work of Christ. When He came to His people two thousand years ago, He completed every tiny detail of prophecy. In particular, His coronation as King was no mere metaphor; it was perfect and complete.
This year, Passover and Easter come within three days of each other, with Passover arriving on April 9th and Easter on Sunday, April 12th. To Jews, it is a time to celebrate the freeing of their ancestors from Egyptian bondage by Moses, the deliverer.
Christians remember how our Deliverer, Christ, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for us. We recall His public humiliation, His death and His resurrection. He was given a thorny crown on that day. It was painful and demeaning, but it was a real and legitimate crown, representing an actual coronation. Equally important was the blessing this crown bestowed upon the entire earth.
New Year for Kings
Before we revisit the events of His last Passover, we should review a little-known but interesting fact about this day, traditionally remembered by the Jews as the day when the kings of ancient Israel were crowned.
In fact, Nisan – the month of the Passover – marked what was known as the "New Year for Kings."
One essay on the subject says,
"For reasons as yet unclear, the beginning of the year, reckoned from the spring by the early postexilic community, came to be celebrated in the autumn in Judaism. The sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar) figured prominently in the ritual of the festival, held on Tishri 1-2, while the liturgy emphasized the themes of judgment, God’s kingship, and creation.
"Nisan 1 continued to be recognized as New Year’s day for the reckoning of the reigns of Jewish kings and for festivals. Thus, although the calendar year began with Tishri 1, Passover was regarded as the first festival of the year. Of minor significance were the New Year’s days on Elul 1 and Shevat 1, for the tithing of cattle and for trees respectively." [Old Testament Essays 1967-1998, Vol. 1, Sheffield Academic Press, 1998]
Israel’s two diasporas – in 722 and 586 B.C. – and the collapse of the Jewish Monarchy led to the recognition of Tishri and Rosh HaShanah, rather than Nisan and Passover, as the head of the year. Put another way, Jews came to honor the Civil New Year in the fall, rather than the Spiritual New Year in the spring.
The following quote from The Jewish Voice further clarifies this view:
"How do we know that Passover is Rosh HaShanah for the Kings? It is in the Tanach [Old Testament], though somewhat hidden. How do we know that the Kings of Israel are crowned at Passover? In I Kings, it says this: ‘… in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the House of Adonai.’ (I Kings 6:1) It is repeated in II Chronicles 3:2 as well. The second month of the reign of King Solomon – which means Solomon was crowned the month before! The month of Zif is now known as the month of Iyar, which comes after the month of Nisan, when Passover is. From this understanding, we can check it with the other kings of Israel as well. There was a debate between the House of Hillel and the House of Shamai, whether it was on the 15th or the 1st of the month, but the 15th is Passover night, and this became the common understanding."
In the ancient world, then, Israelites regarded the 1st of Nisan as the New Year for Kings, and the festival of Passover as the actual coronation day.
Little known to Gentiles, this amazing truth throws new light on that most historic of all Passovers. The day that Jesus was crucified was also the traditional Jewish day for the Coronation of Kings!
The Coronation
On the morning of that day – Passover, the 15th of Nisan – Jesus was given a public coronation, recognized by both Roman and Jewish leaders. As we shall see, this fact is carefully documented in Scripture.
The night before, He was arrested and taken to a Jewish trial, first before Annas, then in the presence of the high priest Caiphas and the assembled Sanhedrin.
Early in the morning, He was bound and taken to Pilate, who found no fault in Him. The cynical Roman Procurator sent him to Herod Antipas, who scoffed at any claim that He might be of royal blood.
Then, clothing him in regal apparel, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. This time, Jesus was tried in public, before a screaming mob, who shouted, "Crucify Him!" Pilate and Herod found no guilt in Him worthy of death, but in the end, the crowd ruled, urging Pilate to free the insurrectionist Barabbas and crucify Jesus in his place.
In the Gospel of John, we find the dramatic recitation of the Roman mockery that preceded His crucifixion. Pilate and the priests intertwine in a strange conspiracy that leave no doubt about the nature of Christ’s coronation:
"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
"And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
"And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
"Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
"Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
"When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
"The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God"
"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid" (John 19:1-8).
Here, Jesus is crowned, clothed in a royal garment and presented by the Gentile Pilate, as "the man." Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, "the one." It is as though Pilate is saying to the Jews, "Here is the one you’ve been looking for, your King, the one you call Messiah." No doubt, he knew about the Jewish national dream that a political and spiritual Savior would come to bring in their promised Kingdom.
Having already condemned Jesus in their hastily-convened night court, the Jews responded with horror at this thought. They made no effort to hide their real charge against Him: He had proclaimed His own deity, making himself equal with God.
When Pilate heard their charge, he was filled with fear that Jesus was the "real thing," and that this was the reason a corrupt priesthood wished Him dead. He went back inside and spoke with Jesus once more:
"And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
"Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
"Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
"And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
"When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
"And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! (John 9:9-14).
After this exchange, Pilate elevated the level of his announcement to the Jews and their leaders. Before, he had simply said, "Look, here’s the man." Now, however, he declared, "Look, here’s your King!" Did he really recognize Jesus as King and Messiah? As a pagan and a worshipper of Caesar as god, he could do no such thing.
But without a doubt, he recognized Jesus as the man the Jews had been waiting for, and he publicly counseled the Jews to receive their king.
And thus, in Nisan, the month of the New Year for Kings, and on Passover the Day of Coronation, Jesus was recognized by both Jewish and Gentile leaders as the King. Furthermore, He had been enrobed, crowned and formally presented. Everything required for a legitimate coronation had been accomplished. And ever since that eminent day, Scripture has stood as its witness.
To emphasize the truth of this matter, the Bible tells us that as Jesus was sent forth to His crucifixion, a title was placed over his head. Traditionally, such a title was affixed above the head of a victim, stating his crime … the reason for the crucifixion. But this time, something was different. Scripture clearly states that Pilate wrote the title himself, stating what he had, by this time, come to accept as some form of the truth:
"And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Jn. 19:19).
The Jews begged him to change the wording of the sign:
"Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
"Pilate answered, What I have written I have written" (Jn. 19:21,22).
The wording makes it clear, not only that Pilate had personally written the sign, but that he recognized Jesus as King of the Jews. Through the hand of a pagan Roman Procurator, the Spirit of the Lord spoke with complete and final authority. Jesus was King!
The Curse Upon the Ground
At the judgment of the sin in the Garden of Eden, God pronounced His curse upon the Serpent and the woman. Then He turned to Adam, who had originally been given dominion over the soil, its plants and livestock and turned that blessing to a curse:
"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen. 3:17-19).
Because of Adam’s sin, the ground was cursed with all manner of noxious weeds, here called, "thorns … and thistles." The result was a continual battle between man and his environment, with toil and sweat to mark his progress. Job stated it well:
"Let thistles [thorns] grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended" (Job 31:40).
The Crown of Fulfillment
At His crucifixion, Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world. He did so in the most literal fashion. As we have seen, the mocking crowds crowned Him King upon the very day reserved in the Jewish calender for the Coronation of Kings.
Upon His head was a crown. Its thorns represent the result of Adam’s sin – the curse of the ground – documented in Genesis 3:18. The thorns for the crown were gathered by Roman soldiers who wove it into a suitable shape, then forced it onto His head, doubtless producing a series of bleeding wounds.
Thus, as His blood poured over the thorns, Jesus took upon Himself not only the sin of mankind, but the curse upon the earth! In that historical moment, we were washed in the blood of the Lamb, and so was the earth. In His coronation, and the events that followed on that Passover day, the curse of sin upon humanity was forever broken … and the curse upon the earth removed!
May the King be praised forever!
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