Category: Journey Devotional

The default landing for all general posts.

The Dangers of Success: Lessons from Jeroboam and Aaron

The Dangers of Success: Lessons from Jeroboam and Aaron

What do Moses, Aaron, Gideon, Samson, Solomon, Elijah, David, the Hebrew Nation, cj, and countless others have in common? When successful, at peace in rest and comfort, a relaxed spirit allowed Satan an opening. Success can lead to a sense of self-righteousness and pride. This happens if one is not careful to remember the One Who brought the success. We can say all day long that: “Every good and perfect gift is from above. Coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. Who does not change like shifting shadows.” But if we allow our own feelings to interfere, and we say, “Look what I have done!” We crack the door open for the devouring lion. There is much to be proud of. We can say, “Look at what Elohim chose to do through me.”

Success has another ugly head, the one that defies Elohim to maintain its power. We can look at many stories in Scripture to find this to be true. Today, I want us to look at Jeroboam. He was the first King of Israel after the Kingdom was split in two. It was taken from Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. In fact modern Israel is only one of the tribes of Israel, Judah. Jeroboam, in a move to keep his new found Kingship made some terrible decisions. 1 Kings 12:25-33 Tells the story, we will look at parts of it here.

“Nevertheless Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingship will return to the house of David. For if these people continue going up to offer sacrifices in the house of Adonai in Jerusalem, their hearts will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. Then they will kill me.”

Jeroboam found that his success was in jeopardy. He feared an awakening of the heart to Yahweh which would bring about a reunification of the Kingdom. If the people sought Adonai Elohim they would desire His ways over mans. So to establish his rule he made some changes.

“After seeking advice, the king made two calves of gold. He then said to the people, “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough! Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ He placed one in Beit-El [Bethel] and the other in Dan. The affair became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one [in Beit-El and] all the way to Dan [to worship the other]. He also set up temples on the high places and made priests from among all the people, even though they were not descended from Levi.”

Does this at all ring a bell? Look at what Aaron did at Mt. Sinai while Moses was on the mountain. “When the people saw that Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get busy; and make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moses, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.” The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, “Israel! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” On seeing this, Aaron built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a feast for Adonai.” We are a fickle people.

Coincidentally, Jeroboam, like Aaron instituted his own feast days. “Jeroboam instituted a festival. In the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, similar to the festival held in Jerusalem. He went up to the altar in Beit-El to sacrifice to the calves he had made. He placed in Beit-El the priests he had appointed for the high places. He went up to the altar which he had set up in Beit-El on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had chosen on his own, and instituted a festival for the people of Israel; he went up to the altar to burn incense.”

Sadly mans tradition of creating his own feasts to celebrate and honor Elohim has continued. The church today ignores His appointed feast days. They essentially call Elohim a liar. “Yahweh said, ‘And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep [it] a feast to Yahweh throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.’” Apparently, forever means, just until I change My mind, except, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Or they will argue that the Feasts are for Israel. Yet again they ignore two things. First, that the gentiles are grafted into Israel. Second, that the feasts were to be celebrated by those who would join themselves to Israel. Instead, the church has said, “We will celebrate Christmas and Easter. We will call Sunday holy. God will like it because we said so.”

You know who else has this mindset? Yahoshua talks about this in Matthew 15:9 “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” Isaiah wrote something similar, “Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.” Ezekiel writes, “Her priests do violence to My Torah and profane My holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the common. They teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean. And they shut their eyes to the keeping of My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”

What would happen if the church today began to seek Yahweh as His word describes. Isaiah says in 58:13-14 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of Yahweh honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in Yahweh, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth, I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.” Imagine seeking after Elohim as He desires us to, it sounds pretty awesome to me. This is the way of the Rabbi.

Do you think Satan has a hand in the western church? In that he is influencing it to stray just enough off course that they dishonor Elohim. All the while thinking that they are worshiping Him. It’s been done before. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. Paul thought he was doing the will of Yahweh when he was persecuting the followers of Yahoshua. Then he came face to face with Him. He realized then he was fighting the very Elohim he was trying to protect. The Sabbath is important to Elohim. Throughout the Torah and the Prophets He declares it. To the point that Elohim exiled the nation. So why would we think any different today.

Jeremiah writes in chapter 7, 8 Look! You are relying on deceitful words that can’t do you any good. 9 First you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer to Ba‘al and go after other gods that you haven’t known. 10 Then you come and stand before Me in this house that bears My name and say, ‘We are saved’ — so that you can go on doing these abominations! 11 Do you regard this house, which bears My name, as a cave for bandits? I can see for Myself what’s going on,” says Adonai.

The western church has been so successful that pride has crept in. No one wants to admit that they are wrong. They have fallen in love with their traditions that they ignore Elohim’s Feast Days. This is a dangerous practice. And we should be asking the questions. What did Yahoshua mean when He said, “If you love Me, OBEY My commandments”? What are we doing? Who are we honoring? What is truth?

This is the way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

Are We Encouraging Weak-Willed Christianity?

Are We Encouraging Weak-Willed Christianity?

Warning: This post is going to sound very judgmental, cynical or snarky, it is not my intention. i don’t know how to ask the questions without them sounding so. Or perhaps it’s just me. i came across a post recently that touted 45,000 person attendance at a crusade. Impressively 5,500 came forward for the altar call. In a later post the idea of a fresh spiritual awakening may be occurring. They mentioned other points for why they believe this way. Notably, two of the current top ten secular songs in the nation are Christian. One of which is a collaborative effort between the current top Christian artist and a very popular secular artist. Which in my opinion takes some of the mystique away from its popularity. It’s not a terrible song, certainly not as heretical as some of the Christian songs out there have become. Heretical might be too strong a word, maybe lyrically challenged is better. Still are these signs of a true spiritual awakening?

Of the 5,500 who responded to the altar call at the crusade, the attendees were panned by the film crew. Many didn’t look like first-timers. Now, i admit this is a judgment call but as you look at them this was a familiar occurrence. Many wearing the attire of a nominal Christian, with religious symbolism adorning their bodies. Was this their yearly trek to Mecca or Jerusalem? Did they go there to pay their respects? Were they seeking forgiveness for the past years’ failings? Perhaps the altar call had feeders to initiate participation. This setup encouraged those hesitant participants. They might have been waiting for someone else in their area to ‘go first’? i am not suggesting here that altar calls are bad or unnecessary or even unproductive. i simply want to see genuinely passionate people. Who seek to truly repent of their way of life and seek to walk with Yahoshua.

Before i continue let me express this thought. i understand struggle. Sin isn’t foreign to me as Scripture says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim.” i even understand the idea Paul writes so passionately about in Romans 7:15-20. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. But the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it. But it is sin living in me that does it.”

The question i have is this, have we as a church fostered a pattern of weak willed Christianity? And have we done so based on poor interpretation of Scripture, and lazy reading. In Romans 6:12 Paul writes: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. Do not let it make you obey its passions.” Later in chapter 7:7 he writes: “What then shall we say? That the Torah is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the Torah, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet.‘” We have become too dependent on Chapter and Verse, and Sectional headlines. For example in Romans, in the ESV, Chapter 7 has a heading, “Released from the Law.” If you read that then read the passage where will your mind go? It is like those suggestive recordings where the line you read is what you hear the recording say. If you read it another way then you will hear what you read. I don’t understand how that works exactly but it is by the power of suggestion.

Remove chapter and verse, remove headlines and what will you read Paul saying? Sin is bad. The law (Torah) tells us what sin is. It should be avoided at all costs. The struggle is real. Thank Elohim through Messiah Yahoshua for revealing to us and granting us His grace and mercy. We should do our best at keeping the Torah. Perhaps if we were intellectually honest with ourselves and with Scripture, we wouldn’t be in such a state. The interpretation affects the Church, the Nation and the World.

How do we get to a real faith awakening. An awakening in which the Ekklesia, and those desiring to join themselves to it, want to be obedient. Desiring what the Word of Elohim says, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” How do we recognize genuine heart change? We know through Scripture that seed lands on many different types of ground. Let’s look at the Parable of the Sower from Luke 8:4-8. “A large crowd had gathered. They came from town after town. Yahoshua saw the crowd and told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up. Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture. Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”

In this parable what is the manageable aspects? First, we can’t know the ground of someone’s life so like the sower, we plant seed everywhere. We water everywhere. We seek the good everywhere. Second, if we are the seed that finds the rocky ground, we must adjust our surroundings. If we find weeds, it is crucial to change our environment. “If you love Me, obey Me.” Yahoshua said. We must express the importance of following the Way. Only then is importance placed on shielding oneself from the world. Am i thankful for an Elohim who forgives? Who looks at the heart of repentance and judges them based on the actions of Yahoshua? Yes, one million times YES! However, this does not excuse me to then continue in sin. Even Paul writes, “So then, are we to say, ‘Let’s keep on sinning, so that there can be more grace’? Heaven forbid! How can we, who have died to sin, still live in it?”

Let me be clear, i am not against Christian music, nor am i against evangelistic crusades. What I am questioning is, at what compromise are we doing these things? At what expense do we undertake these actions under the guise of Christianity and inclusion? If we are unwilling to preach the whole of the gospel. Of which Paul himself teaches in Romans. Yet it is hid under the faulty headlines like, “Released from the Law.” If we began to teach the importance of Torah. Along side the amazing gift of grace, would we see the hundredfold increase Yahoshua said of the good soil? If we called those who responded to the message out of worldly living. Would we see them flourish rather than whither? This is the Way of the Rabbi.

When Yahoshua ate with sinners he didn’t join in their sin, he called them to repentance. He said, what you are doing is wrong, here is a better way. A way that leads to life. On a popular national Christian radio show a DJ said, “Jesus partied with sinners.” This error wrapped in some truth, like pigs in a blanket. Yes, he was ridiculed by the religious leaders for socializing with sinners. However, He didn’t condone their sin. He pointed them to a more excellent way. We, as scripture says, are to mingle with sinners. We are all sinners. However, we do not condone or excuse sin. When we leave Scripture open ended, we don’t tell the whole truth of Elohim’s Word. We are helping no one, least of all, ourselves.

The world is going to hate us. Why? Because we condone their practices? We say nothing of their high places? We party with them? No, it is the opposite. They are going to hate us because we set ourselves apart. We do this morally, and for lack of a better word, religiously. Not to say we are better than them but to say, the Elohim we serve is a better WAY. We say if it isn’t of Elohim, we don’t want it. If Elohim condemns it, we don’t want it. Yahoshua said, “Your sins are forgiven, now go and sin no more.” He said, “Follow Me.” He said, “The things that you have seen Me do, even greater things you will do. When I go to the Father.” Don’t you desire a more excellent way? Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Messiah.” In other words we are to Imitate Messiah. This is the Way of the Rabbi.

What should one do then? Seek Yahoshua. Read Scripture from the beginning to the end as ONE body of work. Understand that as gentile believers we are grafted into the people of Elohim and with that perspective read the Word. Find a Torah friendly Ekklesia that teaches that our foundation and root is Torah even as followers of Yahoshua. Who was the WORD made flesh. Desire a better way, the Way. Yahoshua said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.”

Remember: Sin is bad. The law (Torah) tells us what sin is. It should be avoided at all costs. The struggle is real. Thank Elohim through Messiah Yahoshua for revealing to us and granting us His grace and mercy. We should do our best at keeping the Torah.

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

From Israel to the Ekklesia: Embracing Our Holy Identity

History is full. i often look back on my life. i wonder what it would have been like if i had taken a different path. It was my Jr. Year of High School and i wanted to be a history teacher. i have always liked history. i can watch biographies and historical accounts without getting board. I enjoy reading history too. recently I have been studying Antiochus IV, often referred to as Antiochus Epiphanies. Antiochus was the King of Syria and captured Jerusalem in 167 B.C. He set a monument to Zeus in the Temple and slaughtered a pig on it. He persecuted the Jews living in his Kingdom mercilessly. He banned any Torah observance in stead making laws that required the breaking of Torah. In other words, as the Torah taught to honor the Sabbath, Antiochus required everyone to work on the Sabbath. The Torah taught to not eat unclean animals, Antiochus required the eating of pig and other unclean animals. The Torah taught to honor the Feast Days, Antiochus outlawed them. Antiochus banned Torah study, circumcision, and Jewish life essentially. Forcing Hellenization, the assimilation of Greek culture within Judaism.

These events lead to the Maccabean revolt which allowed for the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. It also led to a period of Jewish self-rule. It is the foundation for modern day Hanukkah, known during the time of Yahoshua as the Feast of Dedication. Something mentioned in Scripture recorded by the Apostle John (10:22-23). “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yahoshua was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.”

The purpose of the Torah, is that it serves as the contract of the covenant made with Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6) “Now if you obey Me fully. Keeping My covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The purpose of Israel was to be a nation of Priests to the nations. A light in the world. A set-apart people of Elohim to point the nations to Elohim.

In what we call the New Testament, gentiles are grafted into Israel and as a whole we are called priests. The Apostle Peter writes, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Elohim’s special possession. That you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of Elohim. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” The idea that believers in Yahoshua are now a royal priesthood, a holy nation, should call us to action. Yahoshua said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” What commandments? Yahoshua, is the Word, that is the Torah, made flesh. He is the fullness of the commandments. We are to be like Him. This is the Way of the Rabbi.

Early followers of Yahoshua weren’t called Christians, but Followers of the Way. Although, there is reference to the Ekklesia being called Christians in the book of Acts, it was a derogatory term. A word however used often by the Ekklesia to refer to Followers of the Way is saint. Unfortunately the term has been hijacked and turned into an honor only achievable by the most pious of people. The word derives from the Hebrew word Qodeshim. This is from Qadosh and Qadash. Remember from a couple weeks ago: Qadash means clean, consecrated, dedicated, pure, and sanctified. It also means set apart. For I am (Qadosh) Elohim, Holy-One, Sanctuary. So what does Qodeshim mean? It means ‘The Set-Apart Ones’. This isn’t a pious term this is a sign, a mark, a title.

We are the Qodeshim of Elohim, The Set-Apart Ones. We are called to be set-apart. We are a chosen people, a holy (Qadash) nation. A royal priesthood, Elohim’s special possession. If this is true, why would we want to assimilate into the culture around us. To mimic Greek culture in our worship practices? We are called to workout our own salvation with fear and trembling, take the narrow way. We are to be Qodeshim, set-apart from mans tradition, the Apostle Matthew records in his Gospel. “They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules, man made traditions.” Why do we want to follow the ways of Antiochus? To follow his decrees and his laws for the Jews of his time. Why do we want to follow the ways of Constantine, who wrote letters following the Nicene council. In which he attempted to separate from Torah. Something the early Ekklesia never did. Peter writes of Paul, “He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand. Which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.“

Paul himself writes, “What shall we say, then? Is the Torah sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the Torah.” He goes on to say, “So then, the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” It is in fact the Torah that marks us as being Set Apart, Qodeshim. We are the Ekklesia, the gathering of the saints. The Qadash people of a Qadosh Elohim. We are to be a light to the world around us. “Come out of her My people!” That is to come out of the ways of the world and the mystery religions of the pagan nations. To be holy. To be Set-Apart. To be royal priests. To be a chosen people. To no longer live by the ways of the nations around us but by the way of the Kingdom. “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Be Qodeshim, be apart of “The Set-Apart Ones,” of Elohim.

This is the Way of the Rabbi,

You are loved,
cj

Understanding ‘Holy’ Through Scripture: A Deep Dive

Understanding ‘Holy’ Through Scripture: A Deep Dive

2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is from the breath of Elohim. Making it a profitable instrument for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness. So that the man of Elohim may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”

Paul writes to a young pastor in Ephesus. He writes to encourage him. He writes to instruct him. He writes to warn him. The root of this letter for me is found in the passage above. Where Paul writes about the importance of Scripture as the foundation for ministry and life. We in the west are spoiled with the written Word. Most homes have a Bible whether it is read or collecting dust on their coffee table. Still many others have one in a box that they forgot is even there. In Timothy’s time the Word was not as available, not even close. For now we are spoiled. We are so accustomed to having the Word even at our fingertips. In fact, everywhere we go whether, on a computer or a smartphone, or the beautiful crinkle of a turning page. Absolutely, no one can use the excuse that they don’t have a Bible. Everyone has access to the Word.

Paul writes to Timothy and to you this instruction. “But as for you, continue in the things you have learned. In which you firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures. Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Messiah Yahoshua.” Paul writes this just before the passage above. The Scripture is paramount to instruction, conviction, correction and for training in righteousness. It is for our equipping to carryout the work of Elohim set before us.

Peter writes these words in his letter to the remnant of Jewish believers in Messiah. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as He who called you is Holy, you also be Holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, ‘You shall be Holy, for I am Holy.‘” (1 Peter 1:16) Where does Paul and Peter get such wild ideas? Well from the Torah! Of course. “And Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, ‘Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel. Tell them, You shall be holy. For I Yahweh your Elohim am Holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father. You shall keep the Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your Elohim. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal. I am Yahweh your Elohim.‘” This from Leviticus 19:1-4 which isn’t even the more common reference to this quote. Rather Leviticus 11:44-45 is often sited. “For I am Yahweh your Elohim. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy. For I am Holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your Elohim. You shall therefore be holy for I am holy.”

Do you know what the word holy means? If you look it up in a dictionary you will get definitions like, sacred, revered, purity. These are not wrong definitions but they are not whole either. The word Holy in all of these instances comes from the words Qadash and Qadosh. Qadash and Qadosh are Hebrew and they have similar meanings. However, when used together they present a very powerful message. “Be Qadash, for I am Qadosh.” It means this, Be (Qadash) clean, consecrated, dedicated, pure, sanctified, set apart; for I am (Qadosh) Elohim, Holy-One, Sanctuary.

We set ourselves apart when we follow the Way of the Rabbi. Yahoshua, followed Torah, He was after all sinless. He observed the Sabbath. He ate clean. He honored His earthly parents. This intrigue’s me. Here we have our Messiah following the ways of the Father. Later, Paul writes, “imitate me as I also imitate Messiah.” Yet, so many find ways not to. Loophole after loophole because they have found comfort in their way. Yet very clearly we are taught to look to all of Scripture. We are told to live to a standard of Qadash because we serve Yahweh who is Qadosh! Is there grace? Of course there is. Is there forgiveness? Absolutely! Is there still a standard by which we are called to live? Without a doubt.

Hebrews 8 and Jeremiah 11 tell us of the coming renewed covenant. In which Elohim will write the law on our hearts and minds. So many will say that this is for Israel. They would be right. However, Romans 11 puts this in perspective when we read that we are grafted into Israel. This is not replacement theology it is adoption theology. We are adopted into the people of Elohim as Galatians 3 tells us. “You are all sons of Elohim through faith in Messiah Yahoshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Messiah Yahoshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”

What was Israel’s sin? Ezekiel writes, “Her priest have done violence to my Torah. They have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common. Neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean. They have disregarded My Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them.” This is on Paul’s heart when he writes to the Romans. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of Elohim. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy (Qadash) and acceptable to Elohim. Which is your spiritual act of Worship. Do not be conformed to this WORLD, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing you may discern what is the will of Elohim. What it is that is good and acceptable and perfect.” Later in the same 12th chapter he writes, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”

In Isaiah and Ezekiel we read about a time to come and what will be expected. Not just of Israel by blood but also by those grafted into Israel by adoption. Isaiah writes, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath. From doing your pleasure on My holy day. Calling the Sabbath a delight and the Holy day of Yahweh honorable. If you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure talking idly. Then you shall take delight in Yahweh and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.” (Isaiah 58:13-14) Ezekiel writes in the 44th chapter this (23-24). “They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common. Showing them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. In a dispute they shall act as Judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep My Torah and My statutes and all My appointed feasts, and they shall keep My Sabbaths Holy.”

We are to take on the full counsel of Scripture. The Berean’s were of more noble character. They eagerly received the words of the Apostles. Then, they searched the Scriptures to verify the teachings. This is what we are called to do! What Scriptures are we to search? The same ones that Paul tells Timothy to study. It is the Torah, and the Tanakh. We call it today the Old Testament. It is what Yahoshua quoted from and taught from and lived from. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What will you do with the words of Yahweh, “Be Holy (Qadash), for I am Holy (Qadosh)?” May you search the Scriptures for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness. So that you, a child of Elohim, may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

This is the Way of the Rabbi,
You are loved,
cj

Bible Study Notes

On Wednesday August twenty-first year of our Adon twenty-twenty-four, i wrote the following down in my study notes.

Question: How do you approach life or what is your approach to life?
Answer: Micah 6:8 “He has shown you Oh man what is good and what does Adonai require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.”

Yahoshua = Torah (the Word made flesh) = Instruction (this is the basic meaning of Torah, not law as it has been translated, although not entirely wrong certainly misleading)

Act justly = live the instruction (If you follow My statutes and commands)
Love mercy = Show mercy, as we are shown mercy (If we forgive others we are forgiven, the opposite is also true, if we DO NOT forgive, we will not be forgiven)
Walk Humbly = i don’t know everything (shocker) but Yahoshua is my instruction (Yahoshua = the Word made flesh, Paul said, “imitate me as I imitate Messiah.” Yahoshua = the Word = Torah = Instruction)

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Sabbaths, feast days, Torah, Yahoshua . . .
my daily prayer for all on my prayer list, “Grant us wisdom to know You, discernment to choose You, continued grace and mercy; and teach us to LOVE as YOU LOVE and not as the world loves.”

Love — Passion — Compassion
Yahoshua wept over Jerusalem.
1. Because of their soon rejection
2. Because of its coming destruction
3. Because of His great love and passion for them
As Yahoshua hung on the tree, He said, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Can i love others (and myself), the way Yahoshua loves me? Can i forgive others (and myself), the way Yahoshua forgives me?
“…You cast all [my] sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19

Matthew 9:13 — “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Here Yahoshua is quoting Hosea 6:6, “For I desire mercy [steadfast love] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of Elohim rather than burnt offerings.”
Micah records this similarly 6:8, “He has shown you Oh man what is good and what does Adonai require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.”

Yahoshua, instruct me today on how to live for You in this way!

i hope my notes help you in some way today. If you have questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me at cjwillblogit@outlook.com

You are loved,
cj

Know His Voice

“When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” John 10:4

You know what i find interesting, this verse in John is 10:4 and 10-4 is radio speak for “understood” basically, “Okay, I hear you and understand.” i don’t know where the radio call signs come from or what influenced them but i wouldn’t be surprised if somehow it was related to John 10:4. Knowing and recognizing the voice of Yahoshua is key and becoming increasingly critical as we step into the last days. Yes, i do believe we are entering the last of the last days. It is my goal to be as responsive to the voice of Yahoshua as my dog Shiloh is to mine. i want to recognize His voice as so familiar it is like that of my boys recognizing the voice of their dad, me.

We need to be so in tuned with Yahoshua that we hear, recognize, and obey. We may hear a similar voice, but if it goes against Elohim’s Word it is a counterfeit. Now we may hear and we may recognize, but if we do not obey we are only fooling ourselves. We need all three to truly walk with Adonai Yahoshua. Perilous times are upon us as described in 2 Timothy 3 and 4.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Elohim, having an idea of divinity, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

This instruction to Timothy is a warning much like that of Yahoshua’s teaching in John 10 — “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. . . He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:10, 12-13)

People who truly don’t know the voice of Yahoshua will follow that of the thief, and the stranger, who brings teachings that tickle the ears but harden the heart. Yahoshua continues in John 10 —

“I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:14-16)

Who are the other sheep not of this fold? The fold He is talking about is Israel, the other sheep are those out of the gentile nations. We must learn to recognize His voice. Also, notice that we become one! There are not two separate people, but one people of Elohim through Yahoshua. We did not replace Israel, and we are not on a different level or end time path, we are one! Paul instructs Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of El may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The “All Scripture,” Paul is referring to here is what we know today as the Old Testament. Yahoshua never quoted the New Testament, obviously, as it hadn’t been written. All the Apostles, taught as Yahoshua taught, from the “Old.” Yahoshua, is the Word made flesh, as John describes— “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” A few verses down John adds, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory , glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In essence, Yahoshua is the Torah. More than just the five Books of Moses, He is the major and minor prophets, He is the books of wisdom, He is the Word made flesh. He cannot contradict Himself.

Would it not make sense if we are to truly understand the Word made flesh that we look at the whole of the Word. “My sheep know My voice and come to Me.” Do you know His voice? Will you be able to recognize it over the noise, distractions, and falsehoods, that are coming in these last days? Are you willing to follow the Good Shepherd when — “Indeed, all who desire to live a divinely inspired life in Messiah Yahoshua will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

We need to to begin to understand Him by reading the very Word He represents. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Do you know His voice?

You are loved,
cj

Great American Prophet

“YHWH your Elohim will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of YHWH your Elohim in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let us not hear again the voice of YHWH our Elohim, nor let us see this great fire anymore, lest we die.’ And YHWH said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which he speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which YHWH has not spoken?’ — When a prophet speaks in the name of YHWH, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which YHWH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:15-22

It’s election season again in America and the prophets are out in full force with their, “Thus says the Lord,” prophetic word. i am not calling out any by name but instead giving insight as to what the Word says and how to interpret or see who is a false prophet or one who speaks presumptuously, after eating his ham sandwich he purchased from the deli on the Sabbath. Deuteronomy 18:22 says, “When a prophet speaks in the name of YHWH, if that thing does NOT happen or come to pass, that is the thing which YHWH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” There are a lot folks who are still following and promoting some of the ‘Great American Prophets’ which pretty much got every aspect of the 2020 election wrong. Yet, folks still cling to every word and are hopeful still about more ‘prophetic words’ that again have yet to come to pass.

The Word says to test: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from Elohim, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

We are called to be like Bereans: “These were more fair-minded than the Thessalonians, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11

i don’t know for sure but it seems to me that if YHWH were going to speak to a prophet today, He would do so using His name and not a translated title. He says He is not the Elohim of confusion. He isn’t going to contradict Himself, He isn’t going to mislead His prophets, He isn’t a liar. Yahoshua came in the name of YHWH and was rejected. He warned that others would come in their own name and be received. There is power in the Name of YHWH Elohim (For more on what’s in a name click here).

What causes so many to remain loyal to modern day ‘prophets’? The word is clear about the way to recognize a false prophet. It is also clear of the warnings. For further study here are some verses you can look up on how to spot, and the warnings about listening to, false prophets.

Jeremiah 14:14
Jeremiah 29:8-9
Deuteronomy 13:1-4
2 Peter 2:1-3
2 Timothy 4:3-4
Add more in the comments:

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way MORE AND MORE like MESSIAH, who is the head of His body, the church.” Ephesians 4:14-15

Be watchful, be like those in Berea, study to show yourself approved.

You are loved,
cj

Burdensome

“And now, Israel, what does YHWH your Elohim require of you? He requires only that you fear YHWH your Elohim, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of YHWH, which I am commanding you today for your good.” Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Imagine if YHWH in a desire to reconcile humanity to Himself, were to come to earth as a human. To empty Himself, take on the form of humanity in the person of Yahoshua the only begotten of the Father. How wonderful would it be if the Word of Elohim, was made flesh, to reveal and to write the Law on the hearts of man? To teach us not only to keep the letter of the law but also to reveal that it is a heart issue, this also would be wonderful, would it not? To reveal that circumcision of the heart is the fullness of the command and not only that of the flesh.

Oh wait, not only did this happen but it wasn’t even a new revelation it was simply the WORD made flesh to reveal unto creation the Way, is through the heart. It has always been a heart issue. Where is your heart? Stuck so deep in hyper grace that you are missing the keep My commandments part, or is it so stuck, in the keep My commandments part that you missed the Grace through Faith part? The whole of the story is both and, not either or.

“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For YHWH your Elohim is Elohim of mighty ones and the Adon of masters, the great El, mighty and Awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.” Deuteronomy 10:16-17

“Behold, the days are coming, declares YHWH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares YHWH. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares YHWH, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH,” for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest declares YHWH. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

Just like every month Elohim creates a new moon, oh wait, the moon isn’t new every month it is the same moon. It is the cycle that is new, a renewing of the moon. The Word made flesh, didn’t come to contradict itself, He came to bring a newness of the cycle. A renewing of the heart and mind. A revelation of what it means to walk with YHWH our Elohim, in the newness of Yahoshua, the Living Word. Yahoshua didn’t bring a new commandment when He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:” The newness was in the example, “Just as I have loved you” (Read more on that here). Yahoshua didn’t come to contradict the Word, He is the Word! We are to be like Him.

Paul writes, “I urge you, be imitators of me, as I am of Messiah.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 — Paul also instructs Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of Elohim may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 — When Paul wrote this to Timothy he was talking about the Torah and the Prophets, he was referring to the ‘Old’ Testament specifically. In fact if we only had Deuteronomy we would still have the gospel message just without the fullness of Messiah revealing it and writing it on our hearts.

“You shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5 — “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YHWH.” Leviticus 19:18

Peter writes, “And count the patience of our Adonai as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Adonai and Savior Yahoshua Messiah. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 15-18

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1,14 Elohim is not a contradiction. The Word is not a contradiction. Yahoshua is not a contradiction.

The Word reveals that there is:
Blessing in Obedience
Victory in Obedience
Eternal life in Obedience
Obedience of:
Heart, mind, body, will, finances, future.

Let us imitate Paul, who kept the Sabbath, kept the feasts, and observed the Torah, for he himself said, “Imitate me as I imitate Messiah.” For Messiah Yahoshua is the very WORD we keep when we walk with Him in fellowship, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

“By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and obey His commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:2-3

You are loved,
cj

Work in Progress

He’s still working on me
to make me what i ought to be
it took Him just a week to make
the moon and stars, the sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars
how loving and patient he must be
cause He’s still working on me

This song by Joel Hemphill, is one i know very well, or did know very well; As i sang it probably over a hundred times on our family concert tour and various concerts, when i was a kid. We are all a work in progress and if you think otherwise you might need to reexamine yourself. Often we get to a point where we don’t want to admit that we have faults out of fear of what others might say or think. Worse, that fear steams from those inside the Church! This should not be so. We should be able to communicate with one another openly and honestly.

The Word is full of instruction on building one another up, and allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct us. So that we grow in Messiah. i have several favorite passages of Scripture, Micah 6:8, is not only a favorite it is my life verse: “He has shown you oh man what Elohim requires of you, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.” i strive daily to act justly, to side on in the way of mercy, and to walk humbly with Adonai Yahoshua who is one with the Father. Part of being humble is acknowledging that we are not perfect. It is this humility that allows for growth. Another one of the passages that really give me great hope as it should you is Philippians 1:6 — “And I am certain that Elohim, who began the good work within you, WILL continue His work until it is finished on the day when Messiah Yahoshua returns.”

We need to stay connected to the source of our growth, Yahoshua, through the work of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t easy. Especially when the world is full of challenges and obstacles to our faith. Just look at the world right now, it is a sad place, war, deadly disasters, and just today another School shooting tragedy. These things can and have shaken the faith of many. It brings out the carnal nature in us, to hate, to curse, to seek comfort from worldly things. We might stumble or fall but the question is will you get up? Philippians 3:13-14 — “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Elohim in Messiah Yahoshua.”

The keys to growth although simply stated are not simply kept — but to press on in . . . Repentance is mandatory. It requires recognition of sin, and a willful turning away from sin. Another key to growth is understanding, not just the human nature but understanding that Elohim desires us to walk with Him in holiness through Messiah Yahoshua and the power of the Holy Spirit which enables us to do so. Growth requires focus, “Seek first the Kingdom of Elohim and His righteousness,” and “. . . Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence, if there is anything praise worthy, think about theses things.”

Growth requires surrender, we must surrender our will to the WILL of Elohim, “not My will but Yours be done,” Yahoshua prayed. Growth requires willingness, just like an alcoholic or drug addict must be willing to seek treatment if they are to get true help, so we must be willing participants in our growth.

In Paul’s prayer for the Colossians he said, “. . . Be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of Adonai, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim.” We are a work in progress, i am a work in progress.

He’s still working on me . . .

You are loved,
cj

Kingdom, Power, and Glory

We have come to the final lines of what modern Christianity credits to Adonai’s Prayer; “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” This line however isn’t found in the oldest and most authoritative manuscripts of Matthew’s Gospel. It is found first in the margins of some manuscripts which later crept into the text. Known in theological circles as a Doxology. Defined by Webster: “a usually liturgical expression of praise to God.” So, what do we do with it?

First, lets focus on the words, “For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.” we have come full circle really. This expression of praise points back to the opening, “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” It certainly does not take away from or change the meaning of the prayer itself. It simply bookends the prayer. But is it wrong?

The idea that we should not add to or take away from Scripture is a real dilemma here. We first have to look at history, try to understand all the facts, and look deep into the intention. Ask the question, does it mean to change what Yahoshua was teaching? The simple answer is, no, it does not. Also, many if not all Bibles today have in the footnotes some mention of this not being in the majority text. So facts, as they are found, are not being hidden.

Here is my takeaway from this: In the grand scheme of things, whether one uses it or not isn’t right or wrong. If one wishes to be a purist in that they believe this was intended as a model or form for prayer, than it should not be used. However, if one takes the understanding that this teaching on prayer was intended as a pattern, than adding to without changing its meaning or substance, is certainly within acceptable limits. i look at this two ways personally, overtime my idea of Yahoshua’s teaching here has evolved from a simple pattern for prayer, to a leveled understanding that it is both, and. Therefore, i use it and i don’t depending on how i am using it. If reciting it from Scripture i have come to leave it out, perhaps making mention depending on the setting. And if in personal prayer, i tend to use it to bring my focus and attention from what i desire to surrendering to the Will of Elohim the Father.

The point of this prayer and the reason Yahoshua taught it in such away i think is revealed in His Prayer found in John 17. Specifically, the ending verses 24-26; “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent Me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” It was Yahoshua’s mission to reveal the heart of the Father, YHWH, to all of creation. In so doing, He separated Himself, a model of complete submission.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Mashiah Yahoshua, who, though He was in the form of Elohim, did not count equality with Elohim a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore Elohim has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Yahoshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yahoshua ha’Mashiah is Adon, to the glory of Elohim the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)

Ultimately, my hope is that you will take Adonai’s Prayer and make it a regular part of your prayer life. Whether you pray it word for word, or you paraphrase it in a way that doesn’t change it’s context or meaning, allow Yahoshua’s teaching to direct your thoughts and prayers in a way that reflects the heart of the Father.

You are loved,
cj