Tag: Torah

Remember . . . (Addendum)

Every Wind of Doctrine p6.3 Remember the Sabbath Day

Here is my current conclusion on ‘Remember the Sabbath Day.’ i will begin my conclusion with two quotes one from John Wesley, and this one from a Mr. John William De La Flechere, this quote recorded in a memoir written by John Wesley from the late 1700. “Our national depravity turns greatly on these two hinges, the profanation of the Lord’s day, and the neglect of the education of children.” He later states, “. . . well be a warning to us, to consider a religious observation of the Lord’s day as the best preservative of virtue and religion, and the neglect and profanation of it as the greatest inlet to vice and wickedness.”

John Wesley himself says, regarding the Scripture, “Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy.” He writes, “Have you forgotten who spoke these words? Or do you set Him at defiance? Do you bid Him do His worst? Have a care. You are not stronger than He. ‘Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth; but woe unto the man that contendeth with his Maker. He sitteth on the circle of the heavens; and the inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers before Him!’” Later he writes, “Shall a man then rob God? And art thou the man? Consider, think what thou art doing! Is it not God who giveth thee all thou hast? Every day thou livest, is it not His gift? And wilt thou give Him none? Nay, wilt thou deny Him what is His own already? He will not, He cannot, quit His claim. This day is God’s. It was so from the beginning. It will be so to the end of the world. This He cannot give to another. O ‘render unto God the things that are God’s,’ now; ‘Today, while it is called today!’” Let me conclude Wesley’s portion of my post with this; “The Lord hallowed the Sabbath day, but he hath also blessed it. So that you are an enemy to yourself. You throw away your own blessing, if you neglect to ‘Keep this day holy.’ It is a day of special grace.” [From his sermon: A Word to a Sabbath-Breaker]

In all of my study and research on the Sabbath day it is safe to conclude these historic truths. The theological shift within the Christian churches observance from Saturday to Sunday began in the late first century to late second century. Historically it is linked to the first day of the week, Sunday, because the tomb of our blessed Messiah was discovered empty on the morning of. The Roman Catholic Church formalized this change at the Council of Laodicea (circa 363-364 AD) In the decree it is expressly written along with many other degrading statements toward the Jewish community, “Christians should work on Saturday but rest on Sundays.” Did they forget that the Messiah was an Israelite? That all of Scripture is written around the Hebrew people. That the promise of the coming Messiah would one day sit on the throne as King of Israel? These changes are based on assumed Papal authority of which there is non and the Protestants continued adherence only furthers this delusional belief.

The shift was gradual historically. And overtime we can see that we have drifted from Elohim. As did the people of Israel. In fact any honest reading of the Scriptures will reveal that much of Israels struggles were due to their drift from the Sabbath day. Which lead only to other areas of life becoming lukewarm, until eventually they were sent into exile. The shift away from YHWY was within a generation! Look what happen within a generation of Messiah Yahoshua’s resurrection, we began a slow slip from the Way by profaning the Sabbath. Now the Church has come to believe in a hyper grace movement that leaves out the very real nature of Elohim. His desire, His will, His governance. If the Sabbath day is to be observed in Heaven, doesn’t that mean that it should be observed here on earth? “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” These are the words of Yahoshua when asked by His disciples, “Teach us to pray?” But no we only say the words but for the majority of believers today they will claim their right to lawlessness based on hyper grace and misunderstanding Paul as Peter writes, “He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16)

It is therefore my understanding and now solid belief that we are to observe the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. It is for all people established at creation, set forth in the Ten Commandments, given to all people who would join to Israel. Yahoshua, is the Messiah of Israel and the nations, He will return as King of Israel in Jerusalem where we will make a pilgrimage three times a year throughout the millennium reign of Messiah here on earth. Any other day, any other belief, is, by the Word, the working of the lawless one who seeks to deceive humanity into worshiping him by worshipping themselves and placing the traditions of man above the very Word of Elohim.

Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy.

You are loved,
cj

Remember . . . (2/2)

Every Wind of Doctrine p6.2 Remember the Sabbath Day

Saint Augustine, Book VIII Chapter 12, 2/3 down the first paragraph begin: “Somehow I flung myself down beneath a fig tree and gave way to the tears which now streamed from my eyes, the sacrifice that is acceptable to you. I had much to say to you, my God, not in these very words but in this strain: ‘Lord, will you never be content?’ (Psalm 6:3) ‘Must we always taste your vengeance? Forget the long record of our sins.’ (Psalm 79:5, 8) For I felt that I was still the captive of my sins, and in my misery I kept crying ‘How long shall I go on saying “tomorrow, tomorrow”? Why not now? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment?’”

To which i thought as i read Augustine’s words; The heart felt plea of a man broken and seeking truth, wanting truth, desiring a life lived that pleases Elohim, our Father, through Yahoshua, His Son, the ONLY PATH, The Way, The Truth, and The Life. This is the broken and contrite spirit that Adonai desires, for it is in our emptiness that we are able to be filled. Remember, on this journey of life as we seek The Way, He has said, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of Elohim rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) “‘Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’ He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” (Micah 6:7, 8)

Augustine continues: “I was asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the singsong voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any find of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing the before. I stemmed by flood of tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall. For I had heard the story of Antony, and I remembered how he had happened to go into a church while the Gospel was being read and had taken it as a counsel addressed to himself when he heard the words ‘Go home and sell all that belongs to you. Give it to the poor, and so the treasure you have shall be in heaven; then come back and follow me.’ (Matthew 19:21) By this divine pronouncement he had at once been converted to you.”

The more i read his words the more i resonate with them, with his heart, and emotion. i recall a time in a prayer chapel in which i had an encounter that cannot be easily explained yet is as simple to understand as ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. To which i did and in no less enthusiasm as Augustine pens, my life from that moment forward would have new meaning, new purpose, and new challenges. Yet all The Way my Savior leads me. So what did Augustine read that so impacted his life?

Augustine continues: “. . . continuing Paul’s Epistles. I seized it and opened it, and in silence I read the first passage on which my eyes fell: ‘Not in revealing and drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not it quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ [Adonai Yahoshua Messiah]; spend no more thought on nature and nature’s appetites.’ (Romans 13:13, 14) I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.”

Augustine held to an eighth day sabbath or first of the week. He writes however, on the importance of observing the Sabbath-Day by stating: “Well, then, is it owing to the one precept about the Sabbath-Day, which is included in it, that the Decalogue is called ‘the letter that killeth?’ Because, forsooth, every man that still observes that day in its literal appointment is carnally wise, but to be carnally wise is nothing else than death? And must the other nine commandments, which are rightly observed in their literal form, not be regarded as belonging to the law of works by which none is justified, but to the law of faith whereby the just man lives? Who can possibly entertain so abused an opinion as to suppose that ‘the ministration of death, written and engraved in stone,’ is not said equally of all the Ten Commandments, but only of the solitary one touching the Sabbath-Day? (Written in his reply to Faustus the Manichaean, Book VI-2)

So many throughout history have qualified the importance of ‘Remembering’ the Sabbath day as important as following any of the Ten Commandments. It really isn’t until more recently that the Sabbath day has become even a reproach to the Sunday morning followers of Jesus. The notion that any day is Sabbath now in Jesus is another cancer on the modern church. Although, many giants of the faith have made this statement they still adhered to a Sabbath day routine, which attempted to maintain the solemnity of the Sabbath itself. As i have ventured in my reading of Scripture the Sabbath day has jumped off the page because over and over again it was the most outward sign of being in covenant with Yahweh. You don’t wear your circumcision on the outside, no one see’s that but Elohim and your wife, but a Sabbath day is seen by all.

Calendar’s through time have changed but the people of Elohim (the Hebrew Nation known as Israel) have kept the seventh day. There are sects to this day that follow a new moon sabbath count for days, weeks, months and years. Yet the majority of the followers of The Way, have observed the present day calendar as a symbol, that although they live in the world, they are not part of the world. And as one must live within the society of exile they partake in a manner that gives Elohim the glory above local traditions of man. Hence my reason for observing a Saturday Sabbath over a Sunday one. For if it were so, it would be Sabbath for all children of Elohim.

A commandment so important that it is an eternal outward sign, like a wedding ring, of the covenant, and is highlighted out of the Ten with the word Remember, which means, ‘to mention, to record, to make a memorial, make remembrance, to be brought to remembrance, brought to mind;’ should make one pause as to how they are doing just that. How are you “Remember[ing] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy? Is it just a thought, a nice idea, a fulfilled sign?

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days Yahweh mad the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in the, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

How does one ensure even his servant isn’t working? After Sunday service, he runs to the store. He might stop at the diner for lunch and then tip poorly. How can you say one ought to be in Church to hear the Word and be Saved? Yet, you still require them to serve you after not hearing a Word that was said from the pulpit. For too long now, the modern church has had an anti-christ spirit regarding the Sabbath day. I think, given the times we are now in, it is time to repent. We should do our best to REMEMBER the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

You are loved,
cj

Remember . . . (2/2)

Every Wind of Doctrine p6.2 Remember the Sabbath Day

Saint Augustine, Book VIII Chapter 12, 2/3 down the first paragraph begin: “Somehow I flung myself down beneath a fig tree and gave way to the tears which now streamed from my eyes, the sacrifice that is acceptable to you. I had much to say to you, my God, not in these very words but in this strain: ‘Lord, will you never be content?’ (Psalm 6:3) ‘Must we always taste your vengeance? Forget the long record of our sins.’ (Psalm 79:5, 8) For I felt that I was still the captive of my sins, and in my misery I kept crying ‘How long shall I go on saying “tomorrow, tomorrow”? Why not now? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment?’”

To which i thought as i read Augustine’s words; The heart felt plea of a man broken and seeking truth, wanting truth, desiring a life lived that pleases Elohim, our Father, through Yahoshua, His Son, the ONLY PATH, The Way, The Truth, and The Life. This is the broken and contrite spirit that Adonai desires, for it is in our emptiness that we are able to be filled. Remember, on this journey of life as we seek The Way, He has said, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of Elohim rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) “‘Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’ He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” (Micah 6:7, 8)

Augustine continues: “I was asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the singsong voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any kind of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing them before. I stemmed by flood of tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall. For I had heard the story of Antony, and I remembered how he had happened to go into a church while the Gospel was being read and had taken it as a counsel addressed to himself when he heard the words ‘Go home and sell all that belongs to you. Give it to the poor, and so the treasure you have shall be in heaven; then come back and follow me.’ (Matthew 19:21) By this divine pronouncement he had at once been converted to you.”

The more i read his words the more i resonate with them, with his heart, and emotion. i recall a time in a prayer chapel in which i had an encounter that cannot be easily explained yet is as simple to understand as ‘Take it and read, take it and read’. To which i did and in no less enthusiasm as Augustine pens, my life from that moment forward would have new meaning, new purpose, and new challenges. Yet all The Way my Savior leads me. So what did Augustine read that so impacted his life?

Augustine continues: “. . . continuing Paul’s Epistles. I seized it and opened it, and in silence I read the first passage on which my eyes fell: ‘Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not it quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ [Adonai Yahoshua Messiah]; spend no more thought on nature and nature’s appetites.’ (Romans 13:13, 14) I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.”

Augustine held to an eighth day sabbath or first of the week. He writes however, on the importance of observing the Sabbath-Day by stating: “Well, then, is it owing to the one precept about the Sabbath-Day, which is included in it, that the Decalogue is called ‘the letter that killeth?’ Because, forsooth, every man that still observes that day in its literal appointment is carnally wise, but to be carnally wise is nothing else than death? And must the other nine commandments, which are rightly observed in their literal form, not be regarded as belonging to the law of works by which none is justified, but to the law of faith whereby the just man lives? Who can possibly entertain so abused an opinion as to suppose that ‘the ministration of death, written and engraved in stone,’ is not said equally of all the Ten Commandments, but only of the solitary one touching the Sabbath-Day? (Written in his reply to Faustus the Manichaean, Book VI-2)

So many throughout history have qualified the importance of ‘Remembering’ the Sabbath day as important as following any of the Ten Commandments. It really isn’t until more recently that the Sabbath day has become even a reproach to the Sunday morning followers of Jesus. The notion that any day is Sabbath now in Jesus is another cancer on the modern church. Although, many giants of the faith have made this statement they still adhered to a Sabbath day routine, which attempted to maintain the solemnity of the Sabbath itself. As i have ventured in my reading of Scripture the Sabbath day has jumped off the page because over and over again it was the most outward sign of being in covenant with Yahweh. You don’t wear your circumcision on the outside, no one see’s that but Elohim and your wife, but a Sabbath day is seen by all.

Calendar’s through time have changed but the people of Elohim (the Hebrew Nation known as Israel) have kept the seventh day. There are sects to this day that follow a new moon sabbath count for days, weeks, months and years. Yet the majority of the followers of The Way, have observed the present day calendar as a symbol that although they live in the world they are not part of the world. And as one must live within the society of exile they partake in a manner that gives Elohim the glory above local traditions of man. Hence my reason for observing a Saturday Sabbath over a Sunday one for if it were so, it would be Sabbath for all children of Elohim.

A commandment so important that it is an eternal outward sign, like a wedding ring, of the covenant, and is highlighted out of the Ten with the word Remember, which means, ‘to mention, to record, to make a memorial, make remembrance, to be brought to remembrance, brought to mind;’ should make one pause as to how they are doing just that. How are you “Remember[ing] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy? Is it just a thought, a nice idea, a fulfilled sign?

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

How does one make sure that even his servant isn’t working if after Sunday service he runs to the store, or stops at the diner for lunch and then tips poorly? How can you say, one ought to be in Church to hear the Word and be Saved and yet still require them to serve you after not hearing a Word that was said from the pulpit? For too long now the modern church has had an anti-christ spirit when it comes to the Sabbath day and i think given the times we are now in it is time to repent and do our best to REMEMBER the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

You are loved,
cj

Remember . . . (1/2)

Every Wind of Doctrine p6.1 Remember the Sabbath Day

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day Elohim finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it Elohim rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” Genesis 2:1-3

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your Elohim. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

The Catholic Mirror September 9, 1893– “We deem it necessary to be perfectly clear on this point — The Bible — the Old Testament — confirmed by the living tradition tradition of weekly practice for 3383 years by the chosen people of God, teaches, then, with absolute certainty, that God had, Himself, named the day ‘To be kept holy to Him’ – that the day was Saturday, and that any violation of that command was punishable with death.”

Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine Third Edition — Question: Which is the Sabbath day? Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day. Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.

Don’t you find it interesting that the one commandment that specifically states, “REMEMBER” is the very commandment that has been abandoned by the majority of professing believers in Jesus? Some will say every day is Sabbath in Jesus. Others still not of Catholic faith directly but indirectly as they follow many of its traditions hold to a Sunday Sabbath. John Wesley, although he observed Sunday, said, “But, the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken . . . Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.” There are various opinions on why Wesley spoke so highly of the Sabbath but yet observed Sunday. But by the boldness of his statement one would think we ought to honor the true Sabbath. What is the true Sabbath? Well, as quoted above for 3383 years (roughly 3514 years now) the chosen people of Elohim have observed Saturday or its equivalent as the Sabbath Day.

Throughout history there have been calendars with 10, 12, and 13 months. Some of the earliest were the Sumerian calendar, followed by the Egyptian, Assyrian and Elamite calendars and more recently switched from a the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. In these various calendars, months have different names, days are labeled differently as well, but with the exception of the Egyptian calendar (and a few localized regional calendars) they had one thing in common, they were based on 7 day periods. It’s almost as if all things had a common origin. Perhaps they did— “IN the Beginning Elohim created…and on the seventh day He rested.”

Clovis G. Chappell, another Methodist, in his —Ten Rules for Living— wrote, “The reason we observe the first day instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority for changing from the seventh day to the first.”
Dwight L. Moody in his writing, Weighed and Wanting, wrote— “The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tablets of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?”

i write this for your consideration, for you to begin to ask the question and to be a Berean and search the whole of Elohim’s Word for the answer. What does Elohim have to say about the Sabbath? Yahoshua, said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law [Torah = Instruction] until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19

So what is the spirit behind the change? There is an answer found in Scripture. Daniel writes, “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.” 9Daniel 7:25) This is the working of the Lawless one, the son of perdition, the anti-Messiah. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 warns, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore Elohim sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Josephus, a Jewish historian, Priest, and member of the Pharisees, born roughly four years after the death and resurrection of Yahoshua had a unique perspective of the early believers and the sect of Judaism known as the Nazarenes. In Josephus’s discourse concerning Hades, he writes, “And now, if you Gentiles will be persuaded by these motives, and leave your vain imaginations about your pedigrees, and gaining of riches and philosophy, and will not spend your time about subtleties of words, and hereby lead your minds into error, and if you will apply your ears to the hearing of the inspired prophets, [the prophets being referred to here is those of the Torah and the Tanakh] the interpreters, both of God and of His Word, and will believe in God, you shall both be partakers of these things, and obtain the good things that are to come, you shall see the ascent into the immense heaven plainly, and that kingdom which is there; for what God hath now concealed in silence (will be then made manifest) what neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

In my next post we will look at Saint Augustine and look at a passage from his journal, Saint Augustine Confessions. i would write it here but this post is already too long. Let me leave you with this, ask yourself this question, if you ask someone to remember something that requires an action, when you say “remember” what is your expectation?

You are loved,
cj

Levitical priesthood < Melchizedek (p2)

Every Wind of Doctrine Part 2

In understanding the hesitation of the Levitical priests, and the Sanhedrin we need to understand their recipe and ingredients. Over time, even though, “for from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the Synagogues.” —Acts 15:21— (The Torah along with the prophets these two make up the Tanakh.) Much had been added which is now collected in the writing of the Talmud and other Rabbinical writings. These added ingredients tainted the original recipe and cluttered the menu of YHWH’s banquet table. This in part, along with pride, made Yahoshua unrecognizable to the religious leaders of the day. i fear the same would be true today with the many denominations we have teaching for the most part the doctrines of man.

In part two of this series on “Every Wind of Doctrine” i want to take a step back, and yet still forward, as we look at what Yahoshua accomplished when He said, “It is finished.” i don’t know, but it seems to me that the argument that Yahoshua did away with the Law, or the Levitical Priesthood or that He just did away with the sacrificial system, all miss the mark. For it appears the Law is taught by the Apostles, we are all called priests and Kings, and sacrifice will return in the millennium. When we truly understand Torah, the Priesthood and the sacrificial system we also realize that they all point to giant banquets for the Most High on His feast days. Not only that but also a way for the Levitical priests in charge of the Temple to eat as they did their Temple duty rotations. However, now we see that there is no Temple, no Levitical priesthood, and no way or need to sacrifice. One of the misunderstandings of those who say the Torah is completely done away with is this idea of the sacrificial system. i don’t know but it seems misguided with the understanding of Yahoshua, and the High Priest duties in the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek is mentioned only a few times in Scripture.
Genesis 14:18 — “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a Priest of YHWH.” This is prior to the Torah or as described the Law of Moses.
Psalm 110:4 (a prophetic look at the coming Messiah) — “YHWH has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” This is after the giving of the Torah (the first five books of the Tanakh and the Bible on your coffee table, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Hebrews 7:1-3 (combining the understanding) — “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, Priest of YHWH, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is King of Peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of Elohim, he remains a priest perpetually.”
17-19 — “For it is attested of Him, ‘You are the Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to Elohim.”
28 — “For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” (Following the ministry, death, and resurrection of Messiah Yahoshua)

Now, Yahoshua after the order of Melchizedek the High Priest forever, is the way the truth and the life. Through His blood we have redemption of sin, no longer daily, weekly, yearly sacrifices for sin no more redemption through another or priestly order of man. When one would sin or transgress the law they brought a sacrifice to the temple. Now we have Yahoshua our High Priest, who is constantly making intercession for us, and we bring His sacrifice to our Temple, the body, and He through His sacrifice cleanses us from sin. Our transgressions of the law (Torah) not the ordinances of man. Why? Because the law is now written on our hearts!

There is salvation in no other than Yahoshua Messiah. Although, the world would have you believe otherwise, He is the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Him. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. The author of the Law written on our hearts. The seal of the NEW Covenant found in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:7-12. The new ingredient isn’t new at all but rather implanted in our hearts and minds through Yahoshua. Are we still fallen creatures in a fallen world, full of sin and dysfunction? Yes, of course. Yet the recipe for salvation is still faith, still reckoned by obedience, as it was counted righteousness toward Abraham for his obedience by faith, solidified by the work of Yahoshua our King and High Priest.

It seems to me we need to get back to the original recipe of faith as found in Hebrews 11 and throughout the Scriptures in line with the order of Melchizedek. i don’t know but i am gonna dig around and write a part 3. Until then here is a Hymn written by James Montgomery, circa 1800’s —

“Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry, ‘Behold he prays!’

“Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.”

You are loved,
cj

Every wind of doctrine . . . part 1

Have you noticed that those foods, whether from a fast food place or a box of your favorite cereal, just doesn’t taste the same anymore? Some say it is because our tastebuds have changed over time. That may be partly true. However, ingredients have changed so much i am sure that plays a larger role in why foods taste different, and not for the better in most cases. Neither are they any healthier, in fact with near certainty i can say foods have become less healthy over time. The food industry in an attempt to reduce waste, and increase profit have tweaked recipes endlessly with little regard to original taste as long as it is “close”.

i for one am not a fan of change. Let’s look at my favorite fast food restaurant as an example, Taco Bell. They had an encharito, which was beef and beans, rolled in a soft corn tortilla, smothered in red sauce and covered in cheese, onions, and black olives. It was amazing! Through the years it lost its corn tortilla and became flour, this to some was a subtle change, but to me it was huge and not for the better. Then they ditched the black olives, another cost cutting effort i am sure. Over the years they changed their sauce ever so slightly, a little at a time. Today, if you did a taste test of sauce from 1980 and today, i bet not only would you not think that they were from the same restaurant, you would definitely notice the major differences between them and how newer is definitely not better. All of this is a moot point as Taco Bell no longer offers the encharito on their menu, nor their tostada, Bell-Beefer, or the All Beef Burrito. Change is not always good regardless of the motive behind it.

When restaurants, or food companies, make changes they are counting on the consumer not noticing or if they do notice, it will be so subtle that they will accept it. And in most instances if the price is right, change will be accepted regardless or how much change takes place. The proof is in the fact that we have become fatter, and overall, more unhealthy over time and much of it can be attributed to the food industries changes in ingredients. i am no health expert, i don’t pretend to eat all healthy, i enjoy a donut and ice cream now and then, however, i do try to buy and eat foods that are healthier. i cook most of my meals, i read labels, i try to eat in moderation or in healthy proportions.

What is the original recipe of the Ecclesia (Ekklesia – the assembly of the sect of the Nazarene in and around Greece), the people of the Way? The word ἐκκλησία means, “called out ones” or “set apart ones”. Today we say church, a weaker ingredient if you ask me. If you are a Christian, regardless of your brand, wouldn’t you want to be most like the original recipe as you could? Don’t you want to read labels, check recipes, scour menus for imperfections and lesser ingredients? We are called to be Berean’s who in Acts are described as more noble because they received the Word with gladness and then searched the Scriptures to see whether what they were hearing was true. They were hearing the gospel message, and verifying it within the Torah and the Profits writings. Interesting.

The Berean’s did this because they didn’t want a counterfeit religion they wanted the original recipe. Over time things were added to the faith of YHWH. There was an oral tradition which was later written known as the Talmud full of extra laws and regulations and ordinances, that the religious leaders elevated above the Torah, above the Prophets, above the Word of YHWH. It was subtle, over time, a little here and a little there until faith in YHWH was unrecognizable. i look at the many buildings in my town serving an unhealthy version of the original and because it has been done subtly over time most don’t even know it. It’s sad because it would only take someone doing a little digging to see that what they are doing, hearing, and being taught doesn’t look anything like that of the Way. (Where are the Pastors?)

i feel like we have lost the Berean spirit. We have substituted a curious mind for a mindset that says, “tell me what to think, tell me what to believe.” Not everyone, everywhere, but definitely a majority. Ask yourself this question with all the flavors available on Sunday, who has been swept away, blown about by the winds of change? Taking Ephesians 4:14-15 for a spin around your neighborhood. “That we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him, who is the heard, Messiah.” While you consider this remember these passages of Scripture as well, and on this theme do some digging.

Numbers 23:19
“Elohim is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

James 1:17
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Hebrews 13:8
“Yahoshua Messah is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

John 1:1, 14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.”
“The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw His glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

What inspired this post? Well, on my planner, yes i still use a paper binder planner, over the past several weeks i have written the following;

Yahoshua said that He is
The Way, The Truth, The Life

The Torah is described as
The Path/Way/Instruction
The Truth, what is truth? Your Word is Truth
The Life, man shall not live by bread alone BUT
By every Word of Elohim

Yahoshua is The Word made flesh

With this in mind i began reading from Wesley’s works again. It is one of the collection of books i have kept. To be honest, mainly for the binding and how cool they look on my bookshelf. However, i do enjoy the information written within them . . . Not over Scripture of course and as many will concur, i don’t agree with everything he said either. Now with that disclaimer, it did stir the Berean heart within me to really think about the idea found in Ephesians 4:14

“. . . tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”

i don’t know about that, but i am gonna dig around and write a part two.

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

Journey Update 3 Love

i have always said that love is a choice it is not an emotion or feeling. However, there are blocks to love which are emotions, and feelings based on experience unforgiveness, anger, and hurt. The opposite is also true, good experiences and positive emotions and feelings like joy, happiness, and forgiveness. These are gateways that make choosing love easy. The devil does his best to accuse Elohim in our hearts. To get you to be angry at Him and others. Satan knows this well. If he can make you angry and dwell in hurt, your heart will harden. Then, choosing love will be nearly impossible. Because love blossoms out of forgiveness.

Humanity is a willing, unwilling, and unaware participant in Satan’s plan. So it’s easy to be angry even cynical of all of this . . . the world, politics, family, friends, life. Yet, even with such an advisory we are told to love. When Yahoshua was asked what the greatest commandment was He said, “30 Love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) He was referencing Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

The definition of love found in a dictionary is unbelievably mangled. As it will define it from loving one’s family, pet, or food, to intercourse, and a love affair. This definition is why society is so lost. We have taken the very thing Elohim rates at the top of His list for humanity and we have diluted it in a cesspool. There are different words for love within the recorded texts of Scripture, Storge, Phileo, Eros, and Agape. (The following definitions are from the website Biblestudytools.com)

  1. Storge: Storge love is the care that exists between family members, friends, or companions. Longer-lasting, it goes beyond an initial infatuation or attraction. Built on a familiarity between people, the emphasis of storge is on devotion and intimacy that develops over time.
  2. Phileo: Phileo most often describes a relationship between people, one of generous warmth for another. But in a broader sense, it can also apply to churches and even cities. The basis of this common bond is shared beliefs, values or interests.
  3. Eros: Eros love is a the kind of affection meant to describe a healthy, sensual love between husband and wife. Romance and physical attraction play a part in it. God [Elohim] gave us this kind of desire with the clear instruction to express it only within the bonds of marriage.
  4. Agape: Agape love is probably the most talked about of the four kinds of love. It is the highest, most complete form of affection. God’s [Elohim’s] love for us is the foundation of this love. And Jesus [Yahoshua] gave us many lessons about and examples of agape – a strong, selfless and sacrificial love – during His earthly ministry.

Based on the greatest commandment to Love [Agape] Elohim with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second love [Storge/Phileo] your neighbor you can see how this becomes more of a choice than an emotion. One must choose to love and in order to choose love, one must remove the obstacles that would hinder the ability to love as commanded.

If human love flows from forgiveness then perhaps this is why Yahoshua prayed, “forgive us our sins as we forgive . . .” those who trespass or are in debt to us so that we can love. Divine love flows from gratitude. Therefore it requires counting our blessings. However, if Satan can make you miserable, unforgiving, and fearful, it becomes nearly impossible to love your neighbor. He creates doubt and grievances, making it hard to love your enemy. Not to mention it makes it challenging to love Elohim with every fiber of your being.

i am not dismissing the difficulty in forgiveness, especially when one has been hurt, emotionally, physically, or both. i am not dismissing the difficulty in forgiving one’s self for failure. It is challenging to forgive oneself for hurting someone emotionally or physically. Experiencing loss tragically or unexpectedly adds to the difficulty. For all the barriers of choosing love, choosing forgiveness is the hardest. It isn’t just forgiving others, one must also forgive themselves. Satan works extremely hard to get one to believe they are not deserving of forgiveness. This belief makes one feel as if they are unlovable. This internal struggle stems from ones heart whether anger, fear, hurt, or trauma. And if one is unloved or unlovable, it is nearly impossible for them to love others.

Here is the good news, in Yahoshua Messiah, there is forgiveness for He loves you! One only needs to recognize that in Yahoshua there is the fullness of Agape love. It is complete with forgiveness, and then accept it. If you can understand this then you are on the road to wholeness. i have found that when one truly seeks to Agape Elohim with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength it becomes necessary to evaluate life from HIS perspective.

If all of the law and the prophets (what we call the Old Testament). Hangs on these two, love Elohim and love your neighbor. Knowing what that means from the beginning is vital. Micah 6:8 says, “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the YHWH requires of you: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” If Elohim is the same yesterday, today, and forever, learning His ways as one grafted into Israel is a sign of affection. it is Agape. As a member of Israel by way of graft i am part of the new covenant which is spelled out in Jeremiah and Hebrews.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 —
31 Look, the days are coming” — this is YHWH’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 “This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their husband”— YHWH’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — YHWH’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their Elohim, and they will be my people. 34 “No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” — this is YHWH’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.”

Hebrews 8:7-13 —
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. 8 But finding fault with his people, he says: “See, the days are coming, says YHWH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —9 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. I showed no concern for them, says YHWH, because they did not continue in my covenant. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHWH: I will put my Torah into their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their Elohim, and they will be my people. 11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know YHWH,” because they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. 12 For I will forgive their wrongdoing, and I will never again remember their sins.13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.”

The old covenant written on tablets and parchment. It has been rewritten on the hearts and the minds of the people of Elohim. The prophets taught the people to obey the very Torah. Yahoshua, the WORD made flesh, also taught His disciples to obey it. This Torah is written on the heart and mind of the people of Elohim. If we love Him we will obey Him, we are not a people of lawlessness but a people of Elohim. Set apart and marked by His covenant and sealed with the signs of His commandments, His feasts, His Torah.

i am forgiven, learning to forgive myself, learning to forgive others . . . Choosing to love Elohim and my neighbor. Learning to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my Elohim. Agreeing with the accuser, satan, as he accuses me before the Father. Yet, holding fast to my Advocate, my High Priest, my Savior, Yahoshua Ha’Mashiah.

You are loved,
cj

Journey Update (part 2)

What i have come to understand about shadows and prophecy, fullness and fulfillment. In part 2 of my Journey update i want to explore these things and encourage you to be a Berean and explore them for yourself as well…

There was a time that i worked at DIA (Denver International Airport) as a ramp agent, affectionately known among peers as ramp rats. We made a song, don’t ask me to sing it, not that it was vulgar, they all knew of and respected my faith. First, i don’t remember most of it and two i was once asked if i was tone deaf after singing. Anyway, it was a pretty cool gig. Besides all the cool benefits it was just fun work, physically tiring, but fun. One of the cool parts of working there was all the sights of various planes taking off and landing. The shadow of a plane on the ground as it came in getting larger and larger until it merged with the wheels on the runway as if Tinker Bell had sown them together. Revealing the fullness of the shadow in the presence of the plane.

The shadow of the plane on the ground looks like a plane. You can hear the plane, and see its shadow, an image of what is to come. As the object gets closer, the shadow grows in size until the fullness of the image casting the shadow arrives. The shadow doesn’t change it becomes more full when the substance of the shadow, the plane arrives. The planes shadow is an image of what is to come and when the substance arrives it reveals the fullness of the casted shadow. The shadow becomes something that you can enter into in its complete form.

John 1:1-3

“In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with Elohim,
and the Word was Elohim.

He existed in the beginning with Elohim.

Elohim created everything through Him,
Fore nothing was created except through Him.”

Yahoshua is the fullness, He is the substance of the shadow of what was to come. The Word casted its shadow on humanity, through Israel. Yahoshua, the Word made flesh, was the arrival of the Torah. The instruction (Torah) known as the Word, a shadow of things to come, arrived as the Word became flesh, Yahoshua Messiah. As Paul writes to the Colossians: “which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Messiah’s.” (Colossians 2:17)

Yahoshua is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s Prophecy in 31:31-34– “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. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares YHWH: I will put My law (Torah) within them, 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.” In Hebrews this is brought up as fulfilled in Messiah. (See Hebrews 8)

The Word didn’t change. The Torah didn’t change. Elohim didn’t change. His instruction didn’t change. The method of delivery changed. The Holy Spirit is the written Torah, the written WORD, on the hearts of those within the Nation of Israel, whether by birth or by adoption, grafted into . . . There is one Torah for the native and for those who adjoin themselves to the people of Elohim. When we enter into the fullness of Messiah we are no longer Gentiles or Jews but we are one people, the people of Elohim, we are the bride. As gentiles (any nation of people not of the 12 tribes of Israel) can not live outside the foundation and root of the Hebrew Nation which is founded on the Word of Elohim, who was made flesh and dwelt among us, and now resides in the heart of the believer through the Holy Spirit. The written Word on our Hearts does not free us from Torah but empowers us to live it!

Yahoshua didn’t come and die for our sin so that we could live a life of sin. Sin as defined by 1 John 2:3-6 —
“This is how we know that we know Him: if we keep his commands. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His Word (Torah), truly in him the love of Elohim is made complete. This is how we know we are in Him: The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.” He came to reconcile us to the Father, take the punishment of our disobedience, and show us how to live. Paul, says, “imitate me as I imitate Messiah.” We also need to understand what John was referring to when he says, the word, and His commandments. As Paul instructs Timothy in his 2nd letter to him: “All Scripture is breathed out by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Neither Paul or John were in anyway referring to their own letters or the Gospels, but the written Word of Elohim of the day, the Tanakh, which includes the Torah, or instruction, which has been translated, Law.

The shadow of things to come, has come in fullness through Yahoshua. And in the millennium, we will continue to live these instructions of Elohim. We will observe the Sabbath, the Feast Days, and the commandments of Elohim. As we have been taught to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May we through the power of the Holy Spirit begin to live our lives in the pattern of Yahoshua Messiah, imitating Him as Paul demonstrates.

You are loved,
cj

Contend for the Faith (Torah)

“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 complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

If Paul was writing to Timothy that all Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness . . . Surely he was also referring to Ezekiel and Ezekiel records this:

“Her priests have done violence to My Torah and 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, and they have disregarded My sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.” Ezekiel 22:26

The thing i am finding more and more frustrating with modern translations is their separation from Israel, and by this separation the changing of and diluting of Elohim’s word. If you open your modern translation for Ezekiel 22:26 it will read, “Her priests have done violence to my law.” In our westernized, hyper grace way of thinking it is easy to disregard the word ‘law’ as outdated and done away with. However, the word is Torah and it refers to HIS WORD. His written word and if Yahoshua is the WORD made flesh it even sets Him aside.

“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. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” . . . “And the WORD become 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 1:1-5,14

Yahoshua, declared, “I and My Father, are one.” “If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.” “I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” What is the will of the Father? Well, according to Ezekiel YHWH, the Father, was calling out Israel for what they had allowed to happen among them. Violence towards the Torah, profaning the Holy things of Elohim, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded the sabbaths.

Micah records YHWH saying, “I have told you o’man what is good and what does YHWH require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” It isn’t so much a set of rules as it is acting justly by following the decrees of Elohim, it is loving mercy, and walking humbly. Not by our own will or understanding but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Elohim. Yahoshua is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He and the Father are one what is the writer of Hebrews saying? Malachi writes, “For I YHWH do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the WORD of our Elohim will stand forever.” Matthew writes, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My WORDS will not pass away.” John in the book of Revelation records Yahoshua saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega (Aleph—Tav), the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Has the WORD been done away with? Are we now outside of Torah? Are we allowed to live lawlessly? By all means NOT! But Yahoshua, writes the Torah on our hearts and through the Holy Spirit we are empowered to live for Him, not under the punishment of the law but by faith we must be obedient to the WORD made flesh. “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:18-19 — His coming, was the fulfillment of the Torah and the prophets not the dissolving of them. He states that Moses wrote about Him, He reads Isaiah in the Temple and declares, “Today this verse is fulfilled in your eyes.” He is the promised Messiah. In Him is healing and forgiveness, “Behold the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world.”

There is coming a separation of the sheep and the goats. The sheep will enter through the narrow gate. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 The idea of being a sheep is a reoccurring theme, in John, Yahoshua is recorded as saying, “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.” Messiah is not divided, nor are we two different nations, but we are one people, with one Shepard.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Adonai, Adonai,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 —If profaning the sabbath, and treating the holy things of Elohim as common, and putting that which is unclean in place of that which is clean was detestable in the days of Ezekiel, then they are detestable today. Oh yes, thank Adonai for favor, for grace, for forgiveness, but grace does not excuse our lawlessness or better our Tora’lessness. Obedience is righteousness, FAITH drives our obedience.

In a world hell bent on excluding Elohim, we the PEOPLE of Elohim, need to stand up, stand apart, and live our lives in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Yahoshua said, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him.” . . . “If anyone loves Me, he will KEEP MY WORD, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does NOT love me does NOT keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” . . . “But the HELPER, the HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:20-21, 23-24, 26

Many will hear Yahoshua say, “Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” The Greek “Anomos,” means, “Destitute of Mosaic Law” or Tora’lessness, being without or outside of Torah. Yahoshua is the doorway by which we enter into relationship with Elohim. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the very WORD of Elohim, in the flesh.

Time is short—

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve YHWH, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.” Joshua 24:15

You are loved,
cj