Moshe Schwab: Recent Episodes
Michael Schwab
It is God who keeps the universe going. Nehemiah 9:6 NKJV You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. People in their defiance towards God live by their own heart instead of the best way to live. Instead, many people feel as though they must make up a way to live. They do not consider that God designed this world so that we could provide for ourselves and gave us good commandments to help us in life.
Let's talk about Psalms 19 from the NKJV:
Psalms 19:1-4a NKJV says:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
The sky at night reveals to us the greatness of God. But how does it reveal knowledge? The names of the stars tell us a story that begins with the constellation Virgo and ends in the constellation Leo. Did you ever wonder how they could have formed pictures that are not so obvious to our eyes? It is because a story was told through the constellations. This is not about astronomy or astrology.
For example, in Virgo's right hand is a branch which refers to the righteous branch, namely the Messiah.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 NKJV says,
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Notice that a child is to be born from the line of David and is to be the LORD. The word LORD in all capital letters is the exclusive name for God. A descendent of David is to be born who is God.
The ancient name for the next constellation is Coma which means desired. It was a woman with a child on her lap (It was later changed to a head of hair). So, the ancient story begins with a woman bearing the righteous branch, the future messianic king. Josephus refers to this story and Bullinger wrote a book about it showing how the ancient constellations told a story. His book is called The Witness of the Stars. The reason we do not know the story is because it has stopped being told.
The next verses are an example of God's provision. This concept of God being our provider is seen throughout the Bible.
Psalms 19:4b-6 NKJV says,
In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
God set all in place including the Sun which gives us light to be able to take care of ourselves and light for plants to grow. The word tabernacle is the word tent which refers to a place, that is where the Sun was placed.
We should understand that there is a provider from how all of creation provides for every living creature. Also, God's Old Testament Law is intended to provide for us, to help us in life.
Psalms 19:7-11 NKJV says,
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
The Law is perfect and helps turn our lives back to the true God. Through God's Law we are made wise, we do what is right, it causes us to rejoice because we have God's good law. Respecting God for who He is helps us to be pure. God's commandments are forever and are true. It makes sense that since God's commandments are truths to live by that they are truths forever. Since they are eternal truths, God's commandments are more to be desired than gold or riches or those things we most value in life. God's law is to be desired, warns us about following false ideas or ideals, and helps us prosper in life.
It is God's Law that helps us to live a more abundant life. Joshua 1:8 NKJV says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. That is why Yeshua taught us to keep God's eternal Law. It helps us to have a more abundant life.
We are people of light. Live as people of light for our own good. I personally find this concept interesting. Years ago, before so many anti-God assertions became commonplace, scientists found that people who believed in the true God had developed better DNA than those who didn't believe in the true God. Perhaps we could say that living like we were designed to live (by the creator God), makes us a healthier people. This can be easily understood by the fact that sin often creates lifestyles that are detrimental to a person's life. For example murderers often have shorter lives because they often hang around with other murderers. The same can be said about other sins. The Bible says that God's commandments give us life and that fact can be proved medically and evidently also by examining people's DNA. Some people think there could be a fountain of life somewhere that would extend life. That fountain of life is through God's Old Testament commandments. Psalms 36:9 NKJV says, "For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light."
When the Bible uses the word light to describe what kind of people we are to be, it uses the term light to mean understanding. We get this this light, this understanding through God's commandments. Proverbs 6:23 NKJV says, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light." Therefore, God's light, God's commandments help us in life and give us understanding.
Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, "Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'"
God's ways are the best ways for life and are truth and have been the mainstay for society and goodness for thousands of years. Psalms 43:3 NKJV says, "Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me." We need this light, this understanding so that we do not stumble in life. Psalms 119:105 NKJV says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Some believers are genuine believers who desire to keep God's commandments and do what is right. There are some though who make up excuses to not follow God's commandments, and they will not make it into the future kingdom of God. So, it is important to know the difference between good and evil.
Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV says,
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Shaul is repeating himself. He already told them before and is warning them again. He must have considered this important. That is why we need to share this frequently. For the person who wants to be a true believer in God and do what is "right and good," they will do everything they can to follow what God tells us. True believers want the truths of the Bible to live by, they want to follow God's commandments, they are willing to continue to grow spiritually and change to live how God tells them to live, they are willing to take the time to pray, to be kind, to treat others with respect, and they love God and keep His commandments. To love God is to keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 11:1 NKJV says, "You shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always."
Shaul gives us representative lists of God's commandments. Jewish lists were not intended to be complete lists. There are more than the 10 Commandments so a short list of a few of God's commandments are given by Shaul. He probably gives these because he wanted to emphasize these commandments. He gives a different list in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Shaul gives us a different list there. Jewish lists are often not complete lists.
These above scriptures from Galatians and 1 Corinthians should help us to understand that Yeshua taught that we are to keep the law. Shaul is giving us commandments from the Old Testament and not just the 10 Commandments from the Old Testament portion. Yeshua taught us that we are to keep the law. Matthew 7:23 NKJV says, "Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" Yeshua will reject those who do not keep the Old Testament law. The word lawlessness is the negated Greek word that is used for Old Testament portion commandments. In other words, Yeshua is saying that He will reject those who do not keep the Old Testament commandments. This may come as a surprise to some of you. All the writers of the New Testament told us to keep the Old Testament commandments. Shaul said the law is not done away with but is established. Romans 3:31 NKJV says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."
Yochanan said that it is a sin not to keep the Old Testament law. 1 John 3:4 NKJV says, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." It says in the Hebrew James 2:12, "So, speak and so do like those prepared to be judged by the Torah of the Examiner!" From The Epistle of James (a translation from the Hebrew) by Doctor Miles Jones, page 28. The Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible. Liberty was added to the Greek text, and it is not in the Hebrew. That one word dramatically alters what it says in the Epistle. We know that the scriptures have been altered. Jerome said they were. That is why we have some scriptures that say the opposite of what Yeshua, Shaul, Yochanan in John, and Ya'akov in James said.
The Greek scriptures got changed by heretics and some even changed the Hebrew scriptures, so we see obvious deviations in them as well. Jerome translated the Greek New Testament into Latin and is called the Latin Vulgate. In Jerome's introduction to the Latin Vulgate written in about 382 AD Jerome said, "Why not go back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by inaccurate translators, and the blundering alterations of confident but ignorant critics, and, further, all that has been inserted or changed by copyists more asleep than awake?"
The most important thing to consider when reading the New Testament portion is the alteration of the scriptures that tell us not to keep the Old Testament commandments. When it seems to say in our Bibles that the Old Testament law or a particular Old Testament law has been done away with, we know that it was probably due to the alteration and insertions made by those who did not believe in God properly. Do not throw out your Bibles, just learn to be discerning about what you read in the Bible.
The Old Testament law is truth, it is God's mercy towards mankind to help us in life, His lovingkindness, is for our wellbeing, it is forever and for all generations, and God will judge us by His good law. So, be careful to learn them and keep His commandments. These are all important concepts to remember. I do not hear people sharing them, but they should be sharing them. The Old Testament Law is good doctrine. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law." Do not forsake God's goodness.
Since God's commandments are good doctrine and truths to live by, they are like a medicine for mankind and the world. It says they can be "health to your flesh, and strength to your bones." People often want what is best for them. Why not learn and keep God's good, merciful, words of truth so that things can go well for us? These often-quoted scriptures are about God's good Old Testament commandments.
Proverbs 3:1-8
My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.
Notice that these verses use some of the important concepts about the law we just talked about. God's commandments are God's "mercy and truth" for mankind. People want to have a good life. So, it would make sense for people to work at doing things God's way to have a better life.
Psalms 46:1-7 NKJV says,
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Our God is the same God that saved Noah and provided for Israel in the desert. Stay faithful to Him even if the waters swell or the mountains tremble. God is with us and for those who are righteous; they will be in the future kingdom of God.
Stay dedicated to God and bring God's goodness into our life and the lives of others. God's commandments are like a medicine that can give us a better life. Stay engaged with life and with God so you will have a peace filled life. Stay connected to our good God. God helps us in life. Respect and trust in God, His commandments, and the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. We do not live by bread alone, but also though God's good gifts, His commandments and the Holy Spirit to help us live right. Do not be lured into disobeying God and living in sin and evil. If you are trapped by sin, change and instead be committed to God. God is a merciful and good God who will forgive us if we are committed to change and to do what is "right and good."
There is joy, security, happiness, and satisfaction through living in the light. People often assume they will get satisfaction in life through the things of the world instead of living by spiritual truths. Many people rely on a faulty process which often contains lots of ideas from man-made sources that often removes God from the equation of our values and decisions. People can make their goals around the fleeting satisfaction of obtaining worldly things. Often, a godless centered lifestyle can lead to endlessly going from one worldly concept or goal to another.
The Bible is not a dead useless book but gives us deeply valuable insights that we need for life. It can lead to greater joy, satisfaction, and happiness in life. We need the truths of the Bible to get us moving in the right direction and to help us obtain true lasting satisfaction. Seek those things that above where we live above the issues of the world. Rest in God’s goodness and truth. God gave us His commandments to help us in life and another helper, the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. God is the giver of good things and wants us to accept His favor and help.
Stay in peace in life. We will face troubles in life, but do not let the troubles we face in life overcome us. Keep following God and the good truths He gave us to help us in life. Do not allow yourself to be moved from God's good truths. Guard your heart and stay faithful to God.
God knows if we are following Him half-heartedly. So, follow God with your whole heart. Do not follow any preconceived ideas that contradict the Bible. Patiently learn and grow spiritually. Do not give up. Seek God and do not let worldly ideas and ideals get you upset. Line up your life with truth. Learn what is true spiritual light and seek truth. Not all churches have your best interests at heart, but God does, and He wants to help us, and He cares about us. False religion has doctrines that oppose what the Bible teaches. Do not be tricked by the way some twist the scriptures. What really makes us okay spiritually is to follow God and keep His commandments. Do not take chances spiritually but stick to the truth.
Are you looking for truths to live by? God's commandments give us light, understanding on the best way to live life, and truths for life.
Psalms 43:3 NKJV says, Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me.
If only people realized that God wants what is best for them. This is a scripture I love to quote. It demonstrates the goodness and love that God has for mankind. Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV says, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
God appeals to us to accept His goodness. Why accept what brings extra difficulties and problems in life? God's commandments provide us with live giving ways to live. God's ways are like a fountain, an endless supply of water. Why come up with your own ideals that can fail us in life, that hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV says, For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.
To walk in God's truths is to keep His good commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:33 NKJV says,
You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you.
Deuteronomy 8:6 NKJV says,
Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways.
Deuteronomy 11:22 NKJV says,
Carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do – to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways.
So, walk in God's truths. This is a psalm that encourages us to keep God's good commandments.
Here are some important concepts. We talk about these biblical concepts frequently because there is a lack of understanding by many people concerning these biblical principles. We are also commanded to talk about them frequently. Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Also, those who say, "I have heard it all before" are shortchanging themselves spiritually.
God created this world so that we can provide for ourselves. Psalms 145:15-16 NKJV says, "The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."
God's Old Testament commandments are often referred to as good in the Bible. There are hundreds of verses that say in one way or another that God's commandments are good. God's commandments are truths for life. Psalms 119:142 NKJV says, "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth."
God's Old Testament commandments give us wisdom and understanding and make us wise. Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."
God's Old Testament commandments are God's mercy towards mankind and they endure forever. Psalms 119:160 NKJV says, "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." Also, Psalms 115:1 NKJV says, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth."
God's Old Testament commandments are the good judgement and knowledge we need for a good life. Psalms 119:66 NKJV says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments."
God's good Old Testament commandments are "right and good." Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV says, "Diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is "right and good." We have the opportunity to have the help of the creator God in life and to please God. 2 Chronicles 31:20 NKJV says, "Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the LORD his God."
It takes a little effort to understand the Bible the way it was originally intended to be understood, but it is well worth the effort so we can come to a true knowledge of the scriptures in the Bible. Take the time to grow spiritually so that we can come to know the goodness of God so that we can have peace and satisfaction in life through the truths for life that the Bible teaches us.
Do not be fooled by the false religions that teach murder. God works in us through His commandments and the Holy Spirit. Just like God’s commandments are intended to help us. The Holy Spirit helps us in powerful ways. Keep God's commandments and desire the working of the Holy Spirit.
God’s words in the Bible are not manufactured. They are not concepts that were made up by someone but were given to holy people to write down for our benefit. Stay true to God in the ups and downs of life. Challenges can be opportunities to stand and be strong spiritually. Look to God, make the effort to seek His blessings that He has given us. Connect to the Almighty Creator God. God wants to bless us and help us in life.
In our present era, we need to make some tangible evidence of our sorrow for disobeying God if possible, and we must be sincere and repentant. For example, after I made a big unintentional mistake by telling someone something that was not true, I told them that what I said was not true and corrected my mistake. People can often let these things go. First, they lied and then by not saying anything when they realized that what they said was not true, they are lying again and not truly sorry they did what they did. Self abasement is violence against ourselves and is wrong. When we find out that we have been sinning in some area, we need to completely repent. Going through the process of repentance should be enough to make us work hard at learning and applying God's commandments so we do not sin.
We know that most the Israelites were literate because we even have ancient letters written by women. This was no doubt due to each person's responsibility to learn and keep God's commandments.
When the Temple still existed, we were required to make a sacrifice for our unintentional sin. We do not always understand God's commandments. I think it had to be painful to have to sacrifice one of their animals because of sin. Perhaps our sin causes God pain because God knows we are doing something that is bad for us. God wants what is best for us. This is one of my favorite scriptures. Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV says, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever."
For intentional sins, God requires complete repentance and well as being sorry for our sin. Psalms 51:14-17 is an example of a prayer for intentional sin; it does not require a sacrifice but requires complete repentance. The reason God does not want a burnt offering for intentional sin is because God wants complete repentance.
Psalms 51:14-17 NKJV says,Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, You will not despise.
Unintentional sins are now forgiven by the sacrifice of our Messiah Yeshua, but of course, they also require being sorry for our sin and complete repentance, and like I said, some tangible response if possible. It is not always possible. We are to confess our sins to God. Confessing them to a person is not the same as confessing them to God.
We need to remove things from our life that are bad for us. Look good spiritually. I remember years ago that some of the young people I knew wanted to fit in with others, so they began smoking tobacco cigarettes because others were smoking. They did this even though there are warnings on packs of cigarettes that say that smoking tobacco can harm your health. You would think they are lacking some of their reasoning ability. This shows us that we can choose to do things that are not sensible. It is one thing to do something in ignorance, but it is another to do things that are contrary to our existence.
The same is obviously true for our spiritual life. Our spiritual life refers to how we act and behave, what gives us meaning or purpose, and our relationship with God. It is generally to be thought separate from the person, but our spiritual life reflects how we have decided to relate to life and to God, and it becomes part of us. God does not look at our spirituality as something separate from who we are. Proverbs 15:3 NKJV says, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good."
The true God wants us to be good people. This is an important verse. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV says, "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you." The creator God knows what is best for us and the commandments God has given us are, "right and good," and they are intended to help us in life.
We become a spiritual person with integrity and other virtues by our own free will that God has given us. It is the part of us that seeks truth. Without this ability, our ability to observe and come to conclusions would not become well developed. It is one of the reasons that we can form conclusions and also come to the conclusion that there must be a true creator and God.
To not follow God's good commandments works against having a good and satisfying life and can produce evil in life and society. Psalms 37:27 NKJV says, "Depart from evil, and do good;
and dwell forevermore." We are to stop doing evil and instead do what is good, namely, keep God's good commandments that are intended to help us in life. Just look at all the pain and troubles in this world. That is enough to demonstrate that we need the truths that God wants us to live by. Psalms 25:10-11 NKJV says, "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great." Do not be fooled by the word covenant. Strong's Dictionary says that covenant can also mean agreement. Each of us has the opportunity to come to an agreement to believe in God and follow His commandments that are truths for life. Some philosophers say the word covenant refers to Israel. In actuality, every person has the ability and chance to accept the true God or not. When we agree (make a covenant) to follow God, we also often keep His testimonies, His commandments. It would make sense that if we truly believe, we live how God tells us to live.
We need to remove things from our life that are bad for us. Look good spiritually. I remember years ago that some of the young people I knew wanted to fit in with others, so they began smoking tobacco cigarettes because others were smoking. They did this even though there are warnings on packs of cigarettes that say that smoking tobacco can harm your health. You would think they are lacking some of their reasoning ability. This shows us that we can choose to do things that are not sensible. It is one thing to do something in ignorance, but it is another to do things that are contrary to our existence.
The same is obviously true for our spiritual life. Our spiritual life refers to how we act and behave, what gives us meaning or purpose, and our relationship with God. It is generally to be thought separate from the person, but our spiritual life reflects how we have decided to relate to life and to God, and it becomes part of us. God does not look at our spirituality as something separate from who we are. Proverbs 15:3 NKJV says, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good."
The true God wants us to be good people. This is an important verse. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV says, "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you." The creator God knows what is best for us and the commandments God has given us are, "right and good," and they are intended to help us in life.
We become a spiritual person with integrity and other virtues by our own free will that God has given us. It is the part of us that seeks truth. Without this ability, our ability to observe and come to conclusions would not become well developed. It is one of the reasons that we can form conclusions and also come to the conclusion that there must be a true creator and God.
To not follow God's good commandments works against having a good and satisfying life and can produce evil in life and society. Psalms 37:27 NKJV says, "Depart from evil, and do good;
and dwell forevermore." We are to stop doing evil and instead do what is good, namely, keep God's good commandments that are intended to help us in life. Just look at all the pain and troubles in this world. That is enough to demonstrate that we need the truths that God wants us to live by. Psalms 25:10-11 NKJV says, "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great." Do not be fooled by the word covenant. Strong's Dictionary says that covenant can also mean agreement. Each of us has the opportunity to come to an agreement to believe in God and follow His commandments that are truths for life. Some philosophers say the word covenant refers to Israel. In actuality, every person has the ability and chance to accept the true God or not. When we agree (make a covenant) to follow God, we also often keep His testimonies, His commandments. It would make sense that if we truly believe, we live how God tells us to live.
God is especially displeased with idolatry; He is the one true God, and we should be careful not to give credit to any other god or power. Right after the sin of golden calf, God has Moshe tell them to keep Shabbat. That is the day that God rested after He created everything. Honoring Shabbat says that we believe that God is the creator. The commandment about keeping the 7th day is associated with God resting on the 7th day. Those that keep the day of rest on the pagan day of the sun god think they are honoring God. Deuteronomy 18:9,12 "You shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations." Verse 12 says, "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD." I am just quoting what the Bible says. Read your Bible.
There is another important issue to consider. Exodus 31:14 NKJV says about Shabbat, "Whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." This could be the reason that people were to be put to death for not keeping the Sabbath, or since being put to death is already mentioned, this scripture could refer to being "cut off" for eternity. Genesis 35:29 NKJV says, "So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people." A dead person cannot be gathered to their people if they are dead. So, this must be an idiom for joining those who would live again in God's eternal kingdom. Moshe, Aaron, Jacob, Ishmael, Isaac, and Abraham were gathered to their people when they died. So, they will be in the future eternal kingdom along with all true and faithful believers from all of time.
Those who are "cut off" from their people then would suggest that these people will not have eternal life in God's future kingdom. In the case of the person who works on Shabbat, they will not be in God's future kingdom. While God is an all-knowing and just God, this scripture should be a serious warning to consider. If this is the right way to interpret this scripture, those who are keeping the day of rest on the day of the pagan sun god will not be in God's future kingdom. I am committed to doing all that God commands us to do and this is not an issue for me because I keep God's weekly 7th day of rest, but it is an issue for the many people who continue to keep Sunday as a day of rest, the day of the pagan god Mithras. If you are being hard hearted towards which day is God's day of rest which commemorates creation, I hope you will reconsider and be more open to following what God says to do and to His commandments.
We live in a world with walls and barriers to truth. So, we need direction in this world for life.
Perhaps we wonder why it is so difficult to find truth. Life seems to be a maze of truths and part truths and in the case of God, outright lies that hide the truth. There is a whole system of lies that contradicts even the existence of God that hides the truth from our eyes. The devil is real and works behind the scenes but actually has no power to deceive us if we do not let him. We can resist the devil and even command him to leave. Stay in God’s good truths for life and do not allow the world to form you or the devil to deceive you. God is not some unnecessary frill that is added to life. God has given us His good truths for life that have spanned the ages of human history and help us in life. God sends out His abundant blessings and goodness to mankind. It is there for us if we will choose to accept His good truths for life.
There is a misunderstanding in many circles of Christianity concerning 1 Corinthians 11 where it is actually referring to men not wearing a veil on their heads. 1 Corinthians 11:4 NKJV says, "Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head."
The head covering and Greek words in that verse refers to a veil which is an article of woman’s clothing. Shaul is merely telling them to keep the Torah which says that we are not to wear clothing that is solely for the opposite sex. Deuteronomy 22:5 NKJV says, “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God." Also, it should be understood that since we are to love others (see Leviticus 19:18-19), men should be especially kind and loving toward his own family. Being loving does not mean we are to be permissive towards sin.
Shaul later says he is referring to customs and not God's commandments, but it always stands that if anything is explicitly an article of clothing for the opposite sex, it is forbidden. 1 Corinthians 11:16 NKJV says, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God." What is the contention? It is not about the Torah; it is about custom it says except where he is talking about obeying the Torah. They would have understood what he was talking about because most early believers were Jewish.
Always remember that the word church is the Greek word for assembly and doesn't refer to a denomination or building. Acts 20:20 NKJV says, "I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house." Why house to house? Because for the most part, people met in the home. 1 Corinthians 16:19-20 NKJV says, "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house." People who meet in buildings would have you believe that Shaul was teaching leadership from house to house. Their man-made theology aims to make people believe that they are legitimate because they have a building or denomination. Many denominations are still passing on the religion of the pagan Greco-Roman Empire. For example, Easter is the pagan goddess of fertility. Yeshua rose on resurrection weekend, and it is a disgrace to refer to His resurrection as a pagan god. Think about it.
Remember, we are still in a time of testing, and we need to resist temptation. There is a devil the Bible says, and we need to resist the temptations of the evil spiritual powers of this world.
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV says,
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Israel had made it out of Egypt and God provided food and water for them and was with them in the desert. There was fire over the Tabernacle in the desert at night and a cloud over it by day for some 39 years! They may have thought that they had it made and were okay with God. Just like Israel was in a time of testing, we are still in a time of testing. Will we follow God and keep His commandments and succeed spiritually or fail.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NKJV says,
And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
There is so much more than what meets the eye regarding the drive of accomplishment. Science will say that it is something that is in us because mankind developed this ourselves and it became part of what humans need to survive. So, why aren't we more like the animals? The animals seem to do well enough with their limited abilities.
People even have the ability to get involved with things in life that do not seem to have a function. Playing soccer for the most part isn't something that provides the necessities of life, yet people will have great zeal to be accomplished at things that do not seem to have much value. Let's take this a step further. Why does it seem that people will be drawn to develop unseen values or come to understand that there is a spiritual side to life? People can often come to the conclusion that the physical side of life is not all there is to life and consider what we call the spiritual side of life as an important part of our development as a person.
Is what we do a function of our willpower? If that was so, why is it so important for us to develop ourselves in life and our drive in life? It is not just a matter of ancient hard wiring (namely how nature developed us) so to speak because people can get off track and make decisions that are counterproductive to having a good life and do things that can end in tragedy. People need a set of values for life, and these must be developed, they do not just happen.
Those who do not believe in a God often think that everything is just by chance and those who succeed do that because they are more intelligent, advanced, or the fittest to succeed. Often, those who are successful in life have not only developed their abilities, but good values. Many of the best and most satisfying values for life have come from the Bible. Atheists will say they do not need to believe in God to have these values, but without the Bible, they would be aimlessly searching to find a best way to live. It is obvious that all of mankind needs the values the Bible teaches.
From the very beginning, God gave mankind direction in life, but mankind went after evil. Genesis 3:22 NKJV says, "Man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil." We know there is good and evil. Some will argue that everything depends on who wins in the end, but no one will survive if evil prevails because there won't be anyone around to win. When a society becomes a society of evil, no one wins. In the Genesis narrative, evil had taken such control of mankind that the thoughts of mankind had become evil continually. Genesis 6:5 NKJV says, "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." That included the children. We saw this happening in 20th century Religious Communism where the children informed on their parents for the sake of their Atheist Communist Religion and their parents were then murdered.
God created the world in such a way as to provide for us. Psalms 145:16 NKJV says, "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." God has also provided His good commandments. And, in this present Messianic age, God has provided the Holy Spirit to help us in life. The end will come, and things can change fast, but do not be fooled by those who preach dooms day doctrines. Use good sense, do not jump to conclusions quickly, and most of all, stay faithful to God and His good commandments.
Forgiveness.
I want to digress to the subject of forgiveness because God will forgive us our sins if we repent, are sorry for our sin, stop sinning, and confess that sin to God. Often, people do not understand what is means to repent of their sin. Also, the Bible says that we need to make a sacrifice for the things we did in ignorance at the Temple. So, how do we do that in this special Messianic age before the coming of the final Messianic kingdom? What are some of the details we need to understand? Historically, we know the Sanhedrin took over the Temple and threw Ya'akov (also known as James, the ½ brother of Yeshua) off the Temple and killed him. It was at this time that it is believed that the Messianic believers were prevented from making sacrifices for their sins done in ignorance. They were also prevented from giving thank offerings. We know that the Temple still wasn't destroyed yet when this all happened because the book of Hebrews was written before the Temple was destroyed. Sin done in ignorance is still sin and it required a sacrifice at the Temple before this present temporary Messianic age.
Leviticus 5:17-19 NKJV says, If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the LORD.
There was always a sacrificial system in place. We see Job making sacrifices for his children before the Temple was built. It is thought that the book of Job predated the Torah. As we have talked about many times, the ancient believers passed down God's commandments verbally. For example, Abraham kept all of God's commandments. They were written down for the first time at Mount Sinai. Both Christianity and Judaism hides this fact with their made-up theology. Genesis 26:5 NKJV says, "Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." The word laws is the word Torah which stands for all of God's commandments. We see this verse emphatically tells us that Abraham kept the Torah. The theology that Abraham did not keep the Torah is wrong.
Sins done in ignorance are still sins, so when we realize we have broken any of God's commandments we must repent, be sorry for our sin, stop sinning, and confess that sin to God and we will be forgiven through the Messiah Yeshua. I should note that confessing to another person is not confessing your sin to God. God made a way for us through the Messiah to be forgiven. The book of Hebrews was written and then translated into Greek by Luke to help the Messianic believers understand that Yeshua gave Himself for our sins done in ignorance. Because the Temple still stood, God prepared a way prophetically for us to be forgiven through the Messiah Yeshua. Hebrews 10:9-10 NKJV says, "He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Think on the portions of the weekly Torah portions so we can consider what it is teaching us. People have used the scriptures to help them have direction, purpose, success, enjoyment, satisfaction, good relationships, and so much more. Also, have the humility and desire to apply the Torah to real life. Do not let worldly desires or bad attitudes keep us from following God properly. Keep God's good commandments. Do what is sensible and do not make up commandments that do not apply. Just like most things in life require we properly prepare, use good sense in all we do. Do not make up commandments with all kinds of man-made ideals, concepts, or extra poorly thought-out commands. Instead, follow the commandments that God gave us through Moshe.
it is important to understand that the New Testament writers of the Bible including Yeshua said that the Old Testament law was not done away with.
Shaul (Paul) said in Romans 3:31 NKJV, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."
Yochanan (John) said, in 1 John 3:4 NKJV says, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And in 1 John 3:8 NKJV it says, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning."
Ya'akov (James) says in James 2:23-24 NKJV, "And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
Yeshua (Jesus) said in Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Shaul said that the Old Testament law was not done away with and that it was established, immutable and unvarying. Yochanan said the those who do not follow the law are sinning and that those who do not follow the law are doing the works of the devil. Remember, there was no New Testament portion when he wrote what he wrote so he must be referring to the Old Testament scriptures. Therefore, when Kefa (Peter) refers to the holy scriptures he is referring to the Old Testament scriptures. knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 2 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV says, "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
Ya'akov said that we must not only have faith to be justified, but the works that go with faith. Yeshua seemingly is talking about the New Testament era when he talks about those who prophesy and do wonders in His name. He tells them that he will tell them to go away from him, those who do not keep the law. Yeshua says in Matthew 7:13 NKJV, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." Those who are teaching that God knows my heart, just love, just follow the Holy Spirit, or they are saved by faith will have a difficult awakening when they have to stand before God and He turns them away for not following the law.
More can be said about God's 10 Commandments, and they need to be taught and explained and not just memorized. Start by memorizing them and then learn how to apply them. If the world just followed the 10 Commandments, the world would be a better place. We also need God's other commandments as well. The made-up commandments can make following God difficult. God's Old Testament portion commandments are not difficult the Bible says. Again, Deuteronomy 30:10-11 NIV says, "Obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." May God enrich your life and keep you, and help you in your endeavors to follow Him.
God gives us blessings in life through His commandments, the Holy Spirit through the Messiah Yeshua, and as the world's provider. We are a blessed people. Psalm 112:1 NKJV says, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments." We have good judgment and knowledge through God. Psalms 119:66 NKJV says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments." What God has given us is wonderful and God gives us understanding for life. Psalms 119:129-130 says, "Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." The creator God is our provider. Psalms 104:10-13 NKJV says, "He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
they sing among the branches. He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works." God brings blessings to the world, and we should want to be a people who are a blessing to others and bring blessings by how we live.
God's commandments teach us how to be good. Leviticus 19:18-19 NKJV says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. You shall keep My statutes." As we learn and keep God's commandments, we learn to love others as ourselves. Psalms 107:9 NKJV "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Most people long for goodness to triumph. That is why people are attracted to movies that have a hero in them. In a way, God is our hero who helps us to do what is right and good. So, as believers, we want other people to also have personal and spiritual success. God wants us to succeed. Isaiah 48:18 NKJV says, "Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea." There are probably thousands of scriptures that demonstrate the goodness of God. We should be willing to learn how to be a people who follow God and emulate the goodness of God.
Their Greek manuscripts were intended to change the scriptures in order to disassociate the scriptures from their Jewish context by changing the meaning of some scriptures and commanding the people not to keep God's feasts. There are still people today who wrongly oppose the Hebrew New Testament manuscripts. They are those who follow in the footsteps of those who killed the early believers and burned the Hebrew scriptures of the New Testament. Because of this, when you tell people about the Hebrew scriptures of the New Testament make sure you qualify that by including the murder and persecution of the early believers, the replacement of true doctrine by the Roman Empire, and the burning of the Hebrew New Testament scriptures that took place by anti-Jewish so called Christians. Those who commit murder in the name of their god do not follow what God says in the Bible and therefore they are not true Christians.
There are still people today who oppose the Hebrew origins of the Bible and persecute those who believe in the true God.
When Israel gets to their land, they were to set aside the firstborn men and animals and redeem the men; they could also redeem a donkey with a lamb. It would be a sign on their hand and frontlets between their eyes that God brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. This reference to a sign on their hands and frontlets between their eyes was never meant to be physically done as some say (by using a tefillin). That was something they were to do mentally. A phylactery or tefillin was not worn in Judaism until the first century AD.
In praying for people God will sometimes answer our prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes it is no. Sometimes the answer is not yet, but no matter what - God loves us. Ultimately, we will be completely whole in the new heaven and earth. In the meantime, God gave us the Holy Spirit as another helper in life along with the law. John 14:15-17 NKJV says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth."
Kefa tells us in the Book of Acts that we are supposed to receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in the Messiah. Acts 2:38-39 NKJV says, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." The Holy Spirit is good and is for all those who will believe in the Messiah Yeshua even to those who are far away in time. That includes us. The Bible is not just a bunch of words on a page but is about the real and true powerful God who cares about His creation. Rabbi Shaul writes in 1Corinthians 4:20 NKJV, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power."
Psalms 119:1-7 NKJV says,
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.
What does the psalmist say?
He keeps God's law with all His heart instead of following his own heart and ideas.
Walking in God's ways is to keep God's commandments (see Deuteronomy 5:33).
He is diligent to keep God's law, so he is not ashamed.
He has a right heart because he has God's commandments on his heart.
God's commandments are righteous precepts, they are the right way to live (see Deuteronomy 6:17-18).
So, be strong. You are on the right track if you are keeping God's commandments. Those who say they believe in God and the Bible will use their man-made philosophy on you and explain away everything you believe including God's feasts and God's commandments because they have been indoctrinated into an unbiblical system. Of course, this makes it difficult to get through to them and to those who have been indoctrinated into man-made doctrine. These so-called believers will even reject you and dislike you because you accept what God says over the man-made philosophy they have been taught. Yeshua said in Luke 21:17 NKJV, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake." Those who believe in their man-made religion lack humility and lack a desire to follow truth.
I did not understand when I was a young believer in the Messiah that I was learning a theology, a man-made doctrine and belief system. Why do you think there are so many denominations? It is because they are not grounded in the doctrine of God's law. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law."
It can be difficult to accept that we followed for the most part, doctrine that has been passed down to us from the pagan Roman Empire. Protestants say they are not Catholic but according to the Catholic Church, they are still Catholic because they keep the pagan sabbath. This was according to the Council of Constantinople in 360 AD.
The Roman Emperor Constantine was pagan, and he established the day of rest to the pagan sun god Mithras on Sunday. He worshipped the sun god Mithras probably along with all the pagan gods. He probably considered Yeshua to be just another pagan god. Sunday is the day of the pagan sun god.
From: https://sabbathfacts.org/constantine-sunday-law-321/
"The law stated that on 'the venerable day of the sun' all judges, city people, and craftsmen were to rest from their work. This meant that Christians who had previously observed the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as a holy day now had to switch to Sunday."
The protestants are still keeping forms of the pagan religion that was passed down to them. Pagan Christianity also worships idols. No idol worshipper will be allowed in the kingdom of heaven (see Galatians 5:19-21). They changed God's commandments so they could worship idols. One of the 10 Commandments is very specific about not worshipping idols.
The Bible says in Exodus 20:4-6 NKJV,
You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Here are the Catholic 10 Commandments:
I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
(From Learn Religions Online)
What happened to the commandment to not worship idols? Shaul said that idol worshippers will not be in God's future kingdom. They will say that through these idols we are really praying to God, but praying to these idols is idolatry. They believe a lie. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV says, "Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." According to the Bible, they are worshipping idols.
God does not always intervene in life.
Why did God allow the Israelites to suffer all those years? We do not understand why God does not always act. Perhaps it has something to do with free will. If God always changes history, then mankind would not have free will. Perhaps it has something to do with the sin of Adam and Eve. They decided to do things their own way instead of what God told them. Because Adam and Eve understood they were wrong when they disobeyed God, God made a provision for them and humanity based on limited involvement from Him. After their sin, their situation changed. Men would have to toil hard and women would suffer through childbirth.
Even though God does not always act when something goes wrong, God is just, and He will punish those who bring evil into the world through sin and reward those who follow His commandments. Daniel 12:2 NKJV says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." Rabbi Kefa had a lot to say about those who live in sin.
2 Peter 2:13-17 NKJV says,
They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Those who do not change and do not repent of their sin will be sent to the lake of fire and the blackness of darkness forever. Revelation 21:8 says, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone." We can take comfort in God being a just God who will punish the wicked who do evil. We do not want anyone to go to the lake of fire, and God does not want anyone to go there either. But God must be just.
Be an example to others.
The best way to become a good example to others is to learn and grow spiritually and keep God's good Old Testament commandments. The law is the foundation of a proper and good life. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine; do not forsake my law." I repeat this for those who are just starting out. Some of the commandments are for men, some for women, some for the priests, some for farmers, and there are some other categories.
For example, anyone who teaches the people to not keep God's Old Testament commandments is a false teacher or prophet and we are not supposed to listen to them. Deuteronomy 13:3-4 NKJV says, "You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments." This commandment applies to everyone. If someone aspires to be a teacher or prophet, they are to be careful to teach God's Old Testament commandments. How do we find out what the Bible says? We read the Bible. That's how I found out what is the true doctrine we are to follow. Of course, I have been studying awhile and have two Bible degrees and have worked towards my Doctorate in Religious Studies.
We also need to learn from each other. My mother would talk to me perhaps beginning at age 5 about how to keep God's Old Testament commandments. Learn how to do what is right through what the Bible teaches, from Bible teachers who teach to keep God's commandments, and from the example of those who keep God's commandments.
Also, the New Testament commandments are mostly applications of the Old Testament commandments. So, we can learn from them sometimes. For example, Leviticus 19:18-19 says we are to forgive others and treat them like we would like to be treated. Ephesians adds some application to this commandment. Ephesians 4:32 NKJV says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another." Being kind to others is one the ways to treat others the way we want to be treated.
When we learn how we are to behave, we need to decide to apply that. Then, we change and begin doing what the Bible says. Of course, we are also to ask God to forgive us for not keeping His good instructions. It is then we are forgiven, but we must firmly repent of our wrongdoing. Psalms 103:10-12 NKJV says, "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." How far is the east from the west? It would seem that they never meet because they go in the opposite direction. God is merciful towards those who change and stop sinning.
It should be an evident witness to us that there is a real and good God. All that God has given us, His creation to provide for us, His commandments to help us in life, and the power of the Holy Spirit proves that God is our good creator and God. But those who reject what God has given us, His provision, commandments, and His spiritual gifts, do not believe in who God is and also reject God. Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV says, "The LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." Just like God gave Israel His provision in the desert to all those there, God gives us these blessings, His provision in this Messianic time. God tests us to see if we will believe in who He is and all He has given us.
Those that do not pass the test will insult the spirit of grace and be judged for their lack of belief in the creator God who gave us good commandments and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Also, we should note that God will judge those who misuse the gift of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV says, "Let all things be done decently and in order." It is a commandment of God the Bible says.
Hebrews 10:29-30 NKJV says,
How much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Also, Hebrews 12:14-15 NKJV says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God." Be careful to not fall short of God's grace. Holiness is to keep God's commandments. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." God will make you a holy person, if, you keep God's Old Testament commandments. God's true holy people follow God and that includes believing in Yeshua Messiah in this Messianic era. Matthew 5:17 NKJV says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law." So, those who say the Old Testament law is done away with also do not believe in the Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua said that while the earth exists, the law will exist until everything that is supposed to happen will happen. Matthew 5:18 NKJV says, "Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Not all has been fulfilled yet. There is still a new heaven and earth to come. Revelation 21:1 NKJV says, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."
It should be an evident witness to us that there is a real and good God. All that God has given us, His creation to provide for us, His commandments to help us in life, and the power of the Holy Spirit proves that God is our good creator and God. But those who reject what God has given us, His provision, commandments, and His spiritual gifts, do not believe in who God is and also reject God. Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV says, "The LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." Just like God gave Israel His provision in the desert to all those there, God gives us these blessings, His provision in this Messianic time. God tests us to see if we will believe in who He is and all He has given us.
Those that do not pass the test will insult the spirit of grace and be judged for their lack of belief in the creator God who gave us good commandments and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Also, we should note that God will judge those who misuse the gift of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV says, "Let all things be done decently and in order." It is a commandment of God the Bible says.
Hebrews 10:29-30 NKJV says,
How much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Also, Hebrews 12:14-15 NKJV says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God." Be careful to not fall short of God's grace. Holiness is to keep God's commandments. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." God will make you a holy person, if, you keep God's Old Testament commandments. God's true holy people follow God and that includes believing in Yeshua Messiah in this Messianic era. Matthew 5:17 NKJV says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law." So, those who say the Old Testament law is done away with also do not believe in the Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua said that while the earth exists, the law will exist until everything that is supposed to happen will happen. Matthew 5:18 NKJV says, "Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Not all has been fulfilled yet. There is still a new heaven and earth to come. Revelation 21:1 NKJV says, "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."
Darkness wants to rule this world, instead, be a person of light. There is enough darkness in this world so why not be a person of God's light and understanding. People need the wisdom and understanding from God and his good commandments. God's light is available to all; God wants us to accept His blessings. Join God's good kingdom. It is up to us. God will forgive us if we change our hearts and do things God's way. Following your own heart may sometimes be okay, but at other times it can be evil. Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" God wants what is best for us both in the here and now and wants us to be in His wonderful future kingdom.
Revelation 21:4 NKJV says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." He can do that because He is God. God gives us truths for life and then eternal life if we accept Him. Listen to God and not worldly messages. God is real, wants what is good for us, and for our children, and promises those who follow His commandments life in His future kingdom.
We feel safe because we have set boundaries in life. Often, we understand there are certain things in life that will mess us up for good. So, through God's commandments we can have a better life when we do things how the creator designed us instead of following detrimental behaviors. Psalms 34:14 NKJV says, "Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. To do good is to keep God's good commandments. They are "right and good" it says in Deuteronomy 6:17-18. We started out by saying that we can a better life through God's commandments, therefore doing what is "right and good" brings us peace. Also, doing evil will separate us from God's good future kingdom for eternity. Psalms 37:27 NKJV says, "Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore." Keeping God's commandments brings God's goodness into our life, pleases God, and get us into God's future kingdom. God will judge every person for how they live. Psalms 9:7 NKJV says, "But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment." Psalms 37:18 NKJV says, "The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever."
Now is the time to obey God. Be patient with our teaching and listen to our encouragement so that you will be encouraged to follow God the way you should. Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Understand that when we encourage you to keep God's Old Testament commandments that we are doing that for your own good even though we share some things frequently. God gave us His commandments for our good, for our 'wellbeing' and that is what we want for you. There was a very good historical economics teacher at Harvard that I used to enjoy listening to. He would use several examples to make his points and that helped me to understand what he was saying. Repetition can be a good thing.
Encouragement to keep God's commandments, following God the way we should, and obeying God will help us in life. By the way, we are commanded to do that, so make it a point to let people know why you are encouraging them. Tell them you want what is best for them, that you care about them, or you want them to have a good life, etcetera. Think of ways to express how you care about them or others. Joshua 1:8 NKJV says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Keep God's good commandments that are able to help us in life and make us prosperous and successful. Yeshua came to encourage us to keep God's Old Testament commandments. That is why he said in Matthew 5:17-18 NKJV says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law." In John 10, Yeshua is then referring to what it says in Joshua 1:8, namely that the law will help you to be "prosperous" and have "good success." John 10:10 NKJV says, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Of course, Yeshua also gives us the Holy Spirit which is "another helper" (see John 14:15-17). The first helper is the law, God's good commandments.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our life is also necessary in this Messianic era. Begin learning and growing in all the spiritual fundamentals of what we are to believe in. We need to trust God; we need to have faith in God. Keeping God's commandments is a basic doctrine that we need to believe in. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law." Also, as we can see, receiving the Holy Spirit is another basic doctrine that we are to believe in which requires faith.
Hebrews also talks about some of the other basics which we will touch on. Hebrews 6:1-3 NKJV says, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits."
We already talked about "dead works" referring to sin and the issue of faith towards God some. Laying on of hands was used for anointing leaders, when praying for others, and at the Temple when giving sacrifices. Most people think there is only one type of baptism, but the ancient believers practices a number of ritual baptisms which could also be termed washings. These are commandments of God and not just made-up commandments. I would like to talk about a couple of the other basics at this time, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement because they are important to understand.
Many people do whatever they think is the right way to live instead of relying on what God the creator told us is best. Isaiah 40:8 NKJV says, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Every year, most of the vegetation turns brown and dormant in colder climates, but God's word and His commandments are good forever. There is no season of life or no era of mankind to which they do not apply. God's commandments were good in ancient times and will stand forever. They were words of truth given to us by a good God. Psalms 119:151-152 NKJV says, "You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever."
Since God commandments are truths to live by, they help us in many ways in life. God's commandments can be applied to many different situations. For example, just three commandments of the 10 commandments demonstrate that they are from God. If people practiced the 6th commandment, "You shall not murder," the 8th commandment, "You shall not steal," and the 10th commandment, "You shall not covet," there would be fewer wars.
Also, religions that teach murder like the Communist leftist religion are false religions since they break the 6th commandment. The Communist religion is not biblical. The Bible says that people are not to move landmarks (so we are to be allowed to own our land) and are due a proper wage for what they do. Since everything belongs to the collective people in Communism, the Communist religion steals from the people and does not pay the people properly. Any ideal can be termed a religion, especially those ideals that think the world needs their ideals and radically enforces them. The Communist religions of the 20th century murdered over 100 million of their own people to enforce their religions. Watch out for this religion! Let people know the Communist religion is not biblical and therefore a false religion.
Since God's Old Testament commandments were given by a good God who knows what is best for us, they enlighten us on how to live right, they are truths for life that are better than all the things that money can buy, and warn us so we will have success in life.
Psalms 19:8-11 NKJV says,
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
Why do we believe what we believe? Is it because we want the truth of what the Bible says, or do we believe in something because that is what we would rather hear and do? There is a big difference between God accepting me as I am, and that God is a loving God who knows what is best for us. Because we believe that God is a loving God, we will keep His commandments knowing that God has our best intentions at heart.
Those that believe God accepts them as they are often put a low value on living right. They want the blessing of God without putting in the effort to believe in what God says and do what is right. They often value acceptance over rules and being free to do what they want instead of what God says is right. It is like saying I want to be paid for the job I do, but I do not intend to actually work. Or another way of looking at it is to say, "I want good relationships, but I do not want to put in the effort to have a good and caring relationship."
Now, you may object to my assessment because you have been told that God does not expect anything of you. In fact, if we love God, we are to keep His commandments. We care about what God has to say and therefore show God we care about Him. Deuteronomy 11:1 NKJV says, "Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." Basically, we love God by keeping His commandments. Those who do not think that God expects anything of them are in serious trouble. They have not thought through the implications of their reasoning.
A couple of months after my friend Dave came back from doing ministry in India, he told me that he prayed for a blind man and all this stuff began oozing out of the man’s eyes and the blind man was healed instantly. My friend Larry prayed for a teenage boy in Russia whose one leg was shorter than the other. He put his hand on the boy’s leg and while he had his hand on the boy’s leg, the leg grew to the same length as the other leg. Larry is a medical professional! My friend Harold prayed for a young man with the same problem (one leg was shorter than the other) and God healed the young man instantly. Only God can do that.
The Bible says that God is the creator; can there be anything too difficult for Him? Adam talked with God, Noah talked with God, Abraham talked with God, and Moses talked with God. I’ve heard people say that God no longer speaks to us and no longer heals – don’t they respect God? Is God anything less now than He was in the Old Testament portion? Malachi 3:6 CJB says, "I, ADONAI, do not change." It says in James 1:17 CJB, "Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father who made the heavenly lights; with him there is neither variation nor darkness caused by turning." God was good, is good, and is still good, and He hasn’t changed. The things He did in the Old Testament portion He can still do now, and greater things Yeshua said. John 14:12 CJB says, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father." The Bible says that Yeshua will not change. Hebrews 13:8 CJB says, "Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today and forever."
How will people hear about the goodness of God if you do not tell others. I urge you to try to communicate to others the important principle about the goodness of God that we talk about frequently. How will people know about the goodness of God if we do not tell them? God's commandments, His law, are intended to help us in life. They can prosper us and help us to have success in life.
Joshua 1:7-8 NKJV says,
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Yeshua came to help us follow the law and have a good life. John 10:10 NKJV says, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." That is why He said in Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Do not go along with the crowd; keep God's commandments. Yeshua came to help mankind return to God's commandments so that we would have a good life, a more abundant life. Some use this scripture in John to mean God's wants us to be rich. While having the means to take good care of ourselves is a good thing, Yeshua came to help us follow God the way we are supposed to and not just made-up theology or made-up commandments. Matthew 15:9 NKJV says, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
Believe the whole Bible in its correct context.
What about when a person refuses to check what they are saying against the Bible when there is reason to believe the person is wrong? We talk about some of the problems with doctrine that occur. Here are a few of the major ones:
People will deny or contradict what the scriptures say.
Some take the scriptures out of their original context.
Some refuse to accept the truths from the Bible that contradict their doctrine.
Some pick and choose scriptures and do not reconcile properly scriptures that are.
different from what they already believe.
Some say that the Old Testament scriptures are harsh, but there are hundreds of scriptures that say otherwise. They are good judgement and knowledge, they are good, and the Psalmist is delighted with God's law, they are worth more than lots of money.
Psalms 119:66, 68, 70, 72 NKJV:
Verse 66 says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments."
Verse 68 says, "You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes."
Verse 70 says, "I delight in Your law."
Verse 72 says, "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
We need to be open to what is true because God will judge us not by our standards, but by His standards. People who are not doing their best to teach and live out truth are in danger of the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). People will say they are not lying, but if they are not teaching the truth the way they should, what will happen to them and their followers?
Jude 1:13-15 NKJV says about those who do not keep God's commandments,
Raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds.
God is the judge and people need to be a little more careful with their understanding of the scriptures. The Bible says that those who live sinful lives will not be in God's future kingdom (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-19, Galatians 5:19-21, and Revelation 21:8). It is worth the effort to seek truth.
People who have good intentions but lack the truths of God's word will not escape God's just judgment. God knows everyone’s deepest intentions, and nothing is hidden from God. 1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever." God knows the intentions of our heart whether we are committed to His commandments or not. Better to know the truth now than to continue to follow false doctrine. Psalms 19:14 NKJV says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." So, may our hearts be completely committed to God.
Yeshua says in Revelation 2:10 NKJV, "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This does not sound like God knows my heart and will accept me no matter what. Yeshua says in Revelation 3:5 NKJV, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." In ancient times to be blotted out was for the name to be scratched out and then the ink lifted off the page. So, it is possible to lose your salvation and those who live in sin take heed.
We must always remember that what God promises He is able to do and will accomplish even if we oppose God. Not following God the way we should can bring dire consequences to our lives. God wants to give us His blessings. God has plans for us, but if we reject them, God will give away our blessing to someone else just like God gave the blessing to Ya'akov instead of Esau. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
God has good plans for us!
We are all imperfect people; the kingdom has not yet been restored. We must remember to repent and try to rectify our sins and the problems we have caused. Yeshua taught that we not only are to ask God for forgiveness, but also work out our problems. Do not be an Esav who wanted to kill Ya'akov instead of working things out. Esav relied on himself instead of God; his life and progeny came to amount to very little compared to Ya'akov's life. All he cared about was himself and a plate of beans. Yeshua said in Matthew 5:23-24 NKJV, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." If we know that we have done something wrong, try to work it out and then also ask God for forgiveness. Be a spiritually minded person like Ya'akov.
We can have peace in life knowing we have truths for life. Psalms 119:160 "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." Psalms 85:10-11 says, "Righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth." Let us hope and pray that more people will begin living God's truths for life, do what is "right and good" (see Deuteronomy 6:17-18), and bring God's goodness into the world.
God sees us and cares about His people. He knows what we are doing and wants us to be in relationship with Him and walk with Him. God has revealed His love and goodness to us through His good commandments and the Holy Spirit. Believers for all of time have understood that God was good, is good, and will always be good. Learn and keep learning God's truths. Apply the truths of the scriptures well to life, make sure to keep God's commandments, and be thoughtful in life. We can have peace in life through God, His commandments, and the Holy Spirit. Also, make sure to speak peace to our minds through the scriptures and be determined to keep your mind at peace.
Shaul shares how Kefa (Peter), and others reacted and stopped eating with Gentiles when those adding laws to the Torah were present. Tension was created by a misapplication of the law. It says in Exodus 34:14-16 that they were not to eat with an idolater which at the time meant they were forming a bond with them. We are not to bond with idolators. But the Gentiles they stopped eating with in the letter to the Galatians were not idolators.
These Gentile believers were no longer idolators and Kefa and others should not have stopped eating with them. This happened because of people back then who added laws to the Torah. Since these people were adding laws to the Torah, they were Torah breakers. Deuteronomy 4:2 NKJV says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God." Yeshua was against the adding and subtracting from God's commandments. In Matthew 15, they were subtracting from God's commandments. Isn't that what a lot of Christian churches are doing in our ear? Matthew 15:9 NKJV says, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
Shaul makes a point from Galatians 3:6-9 that the Gentiles can have faith and live justly, the scriptures prophesied this, and all those who believe in the true God both Jew and Gentile are blessed through Abraham. Then in Galatians 3:10, Shaul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 NKJV, "A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice." Again, those that don't keep the Torah are under a curse. The Gentiles were to learn and keep the Torah according to Acts 15:21 NKJV, "For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
It is not the law that is a curse. It says cursed is anyone who does not keep the Torah, the law. That has been the issue all along. The Torah breakers who added the extra man-made laws were not keeping the Torah right and even excluding the Messianic Gentiles. Shaul made two points in Galatians 2:14-21. He also goes on to say we have to have faith in God and not ritual without faith. He also says we do not want to build another system of man-made laws in Galatians 2:18.
Often, people who believe in God have seen an amazingly good transformation in their lives and in the lives of others who believe in God and keep His commandments. For thousands of years people have benefitted from God's commandments. The Bible testifies to this. Let's read some encouraging scriptures about the Old Testament portion commandments.
God is good and therefore His commandments are good. We do not have to second guess them. Psalms 119:68 NKJV says, "You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes."
God's faithfulness and goodness towards mankind has endured for all of time. God's law helps us in life. Psalms 119:90-92 NKJV says, "Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction."
God is good and wants us to follow His commandments for our own good. This is a key scripture. Deuteronomy 10:13 NKJV says, "Keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good."
God is the creator and therefore knows what is best for mankind. We need to learn and keep His commandments. Some are for men, some are for women, some were for farmers, and some commandments were for the priests. Apply what is for you. Psalms 119:73 NKJV says, "Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments."
People that keep God's commandments instead of good intentions often realize they have good judgment through God's commandments. Why make up what we think is right when we can have good judgment and knowledge? Psalms 119:66 NKJV says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments."
We need good values for life. They can light our way so that we know the right path to take in life. Psalms 119:105-106 NKJV says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments."
Some value material things or value ideals other than what God teaches us. God's commandments though are extremely valuable, more than what gold, our own ideas, or what anything else has to offer. Psalms 119:127-128 NKJV says, "I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right."
God's commandments are truth. If you need something to help you with life begin to learn and keep God's laws and commandments. Psalms 119:142 NKJV says, "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth."
Like I said, people who believe in God have seen their life transform for the better by keeping God's good commandments. So, they recognize the difference between what is good or evil. God's commandments were good thousands of years ago and they are still good. Psalms 119:151-152 NKJV says, "All Your commandments are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever."
The good news is that God does not change and has given mankind His good commandments and they are good forever. Malachi 3:6 NKJV says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change."
Abraham and Avimelekh made an agreement. When they start their talks, Avimelekh seems to accuse Abraham of being a liar. Abrahm refuses to be emotionally upset and works out an agreement but does tell Avimelekh that Avimelech's servants took Abrahams well. Abraham gives Avimelekh 7 lambs as a witness for the well Abraham dug at Be'er Sheva.
Abraham is an example to us in many ways. He refuses to have hurt feelings and works out an agreement with Avimelekh.
Control your feelings to bring about good.
We have control over our feelings and can turn things around for good by our response. For example, if someone takes issue with something I said, I often first apologize and then explain myself. Abraham ignored Avimelekh's accusations. We cannot always work things out because some people have evil intentions. Just as Abraham was a person of peace, we can be a people of peace. Shaul perhaps has Abraham in mind when he shares this scripture. Romans 12:17-18 NKJV says, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." Just like Abraham was a person of peace, we too should try to be at peace with others.
Do not be confused by worldly rules, the norms of society, idealism, or so-called logical arguments. Haven't we all fallen for some tricky logic only to find out it was not true? I remember that years ago people were buying pet rocks. I am not kidding. Someone thought it was a good idea to sell rocks as pets. I suppose you won't get any bad behaviors out of a rock. It just sits where you put it.
The ideas that people have are as many as there are people. Ecclesiastes 1:9 NKJV says, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." The same is true for YouTube. People come up with an idea and post it on YouTube. Some are legitimate ideas, but others are just to get people's attention. I know of someone who likes to post things on YouTube just to see if people will respond to his nonsense. Some ideologies like communism have caused terrible atrocities to occur. Communism is an evil system of religion that tries to form governments around their false ideology. Countries that are similar to it are often also engaged in various forms of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV says, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." According to Shaul, we are three-fold beings having a body, life, and spirit. The word "soul" can also be translated life and is translated as life almost half of the time. So, we have a body with life, and a spirit. Then the word spirit is essentially who we are as a person. Namely, our spirit is our thoughts, memories, and the way we act.
The spirit in 1 Thessalonians is not to be confused with the Holy Spirit. Believers in the Messiah Yeshua also believe in a gift from God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in our spirit (also called the inner man) as we engage with the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 1:27-28 NKJV says,
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect.
Ephesians 3:16 NKJV says,
Be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.
The Holy Spirit is the Messiah at work in us, in the believer. The Holy Spirit is at work in the inner man which is our spirit.
The Holy Spirit from God does not take us over but we use the Holy Spirit by our own free will. We are not possessed by the Holy Spirit. False spiritual gifts are often produced by possession. God does not possess us. For example, we ask God for wisdom regarding something, and God may or may not give us wisdom. James 1:5 NKJV says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally." For example, God may give us a vision and the understanding in our mind. Genesis 15:1 NKJV says, "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision."
Almost any believer in the Messiah can receive and use the gift of Speaking in Tongues, but we have to be willingly use this gift. We can stop or start Speaking in Tongues at will. Acts 2:4 NKJV says, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." The Holy Spirit enables the supernatural gift of Speaking in Tongues. It says that they began to speak. They could have chosen not to Speak in Tongues. Speaking in Tongues is most often supernatural prayer or thanks to God.
1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJV says, "Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves."
1 Corinthians 14:14 NKJV says, "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
1 Corinthians 14:17 NKJV says, "You are giving thanks well.
For more information on the gifts of Wisdom and Speaking in Tongues and the other gifts associated with the gift of the Holy Spirit, see our Divine Healing Prayer Class from our drop down menu online.
Worldly values are often the things that are taught in our schools in the United States instead of spiritual values. Parents often focus on worldly values in their home. For example, parents will talk about how well their children are doing at school or in some activity instead of how well they are following God. That is something that needs to change so that we convey the importance of our spiritual values and a spiritually centered life. Very little of the early teaching that I encountered when I was a new believer was about the differences between what the world believes and what it means to be a believer in the Messiah and God.
God planned that the Messiah would give Himself. Isaiah 53:6 NKJV says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Yeshua did not stay dead but rose from the dead. Psalms 16 talks about the Messiah not having to have bodily decomposition.
Psalms 16:8-10 NKJV
I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
This cannot be talking about an ordinary person because to this point everyone who died has had their body decompose. Yeshua did not kill Himself. He was put to death by the Romans. King Herod and the High Priest for Israel at the time were appointed by Rome and they put to death anyone who they thought could cause them trouble. Rome changed the narrative and blamed the Jews. The Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death under Roman law.
Yeshua is that Holy One who rose from the dead some 2,000 years ago. His body did not decompose. Some 500 people saw Him at the same time after He rose from the dead (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-6). Yeshua is now waiting in the heavens for the end of time when He will return and reign as King as it says in Jeremiah 23.
We are to repent, accept Yeshua as the Messiah and receive the helper, the Holy Spirit that the Messiah has provided for us. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." We are to repent of sin, namely, not keeping God's Old Testament commandments. There was no New Testament portion at the time. The New Testament portion is an inspired commentary on the commandments of the Old Testament portion. The Old Testament commandments, also called the Law, are doctrine to help us in life. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law."
Also, the Holy Spirit is a witness to us that Yeshua is who He said that He is. We actually can experience this gift which is partial picture of the "powers of the age to come." Hebrews 6:5 NKJV says, "And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come." John 14:12 NKJV says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." Yeshua proved who He was and healed many people supernaturally. Matthew 8:16-17 NKJV says, "When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'"
God gave us "good doctrine", and He pleads with us to accept His good law; it is good forever. Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV says, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!" The Hebrew word law means instruction. God created all that is and did not leave us to figure out life on our own. He gave us good instructions for living; they are for our good. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NKJV says, "Walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good."
I frequently point out that if nations just kept the commandments to not murder and not covet, we would have fewer wars. That is the amazing impact of just two of God’s commandments. The 10 Commandments are good commandments and so are the other commandments in the Old Testament. Also, there are many good applications of the Old Testament commandments in the New Testament portion.
God commandments are not difficult. Deuteronomy 30:11 NIV says, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." Rabbi Yochanan also says the same. 1 John 5:3 NKJV says, "His commandments are not burdensome." People can make God’s commandments difficult by adding extra man-made laws, but God never intended for us to add lots of extra laws so that we end up following what people say and not God. Isaiah 29:13 NKJV says, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men."
Let’s look at some of the scriptures about God’s commandments to refresh our memory. We all need encouragement to keep God’s commandments. Society, the Atheistic Religions, false religion, and those who hate us are pulling and pushing on our faith and commitment to God and truth at every opportunity.
The portion of Noach begins by telling us that Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and that Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:9 NKJV says, "Noah walked with God." Walking with God means that he kept God's commandments. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." Noah also listened to God's personal directions. God had Noah build an Ark. Genesis 6:22 NKJV says, "Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."
I would like to begin by talking about God's provision. God is our provider. He has done that through all that He has created, through His commandments, through the Holy Spirit given by the Messiah Yeshua, and so much more. All that God gives us is intended to provide for us in many ways and to make us a better people, a good people, and make us into a people that is optimal for life, a good and pure people.
God wants us to be a people of potential and the kind of people He intended us to be, a successful, good, and blessed people. There are some things in life that can distort truth and cause us not to be what God wants us to be, and we will address some of those things in our teaching for today, especially on the subject of what we call, "Spiritual Warfare."
In other writings like the books of Jasher, Josephus, and Jubilees, we see that Abraham becomes a believer probably because he lived with the family of Noah for a while. Nimrod is the king of the area around Ur in Chaldee, and he became a terrible and selfish person who did not follow God's commandments. He is building a tower to go into the heavens to fight with God according to other ancient writings. For that reason, Shem, the son of Noah, probably leaves the area and carries on teaching the people about the true God in Salem. Shem calls God, El Elyon which means God Most High. The city of Salem later became Jerusalem.
Shem is also known as Melchizedek in the Jewish writings which means the righteous king or my righteous king and he leads a school of prophets there in Salem. Perhaps Yeshua is compared to Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews because Melchizedek lived a long time both from before the flood and after the flood and is also known as a righteous man. Yeshua existed before creation (see John 8:58 and John 17:5) and came for the first time to help mankind. He will come again toward the end of time to reign as our good righteous king (see Acts 2:30, Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 17:16, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Shem is already in the area when Abraham arrives. Abraham leaves the area he is from because Nimrod becomes antagonistic towards him.
Hebrew as the original language.
Because Shem was one of the sons of Noah, he spoke the original language of the world before the language was confounded at the Tower of Babel. Shem brought the original language with him to the area of Salem, to what is now Jerusalem. Since Abraham lived with the family of Noah for a period of time, he also spoke the original language. Hebrew was then passed on to the Israelites through Abraham.
It should be noted that we now know that the Phoenicians got their alphabet from the ancient Hebrew alphabet. Archeologists have found ancient Hebrew in Egypt dating to around 1650 BC, it was found at the crossing site on pillars that were put up by Solomon to mark the spot of the crossing, and at the area of the real Mount Sinai in Midian. So, the English alphabet came from the Hebrew alphabet and not from the Phoenicians. They have also found ancient Hebrew from when Israel entered Canaan near Jericho. Therefore, the Phoenicians adapted their alphabet from the Hebrew alphabet.
Theology tends to take liberties with the scriptures whether they are Jewish or Christian theology. My JPS Bible (Jewish translation from the Hebrew) has even taken some liberties with their translation of the Bible and the JPS says we are not to say God's real name even though it does not say that in the Hebrew. Strong's Dictionary even disagrees with their wrong translation.
Why do they change the meaning of the scriptures? It is to support their false doctrine. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law." Deuteronomy 4:2 NKJV says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God." Notice that it says they are God's commandments and not Jewish commandments. I hear that remark at times because people have been misled to think God's commandments are not good and were only for the Jews. Isn't that ridiculous? They are good doctrine and God's good commandments.
Focus more on doing what is "right and good," and not on everything that is going wrong. Be who you are supposed to be spiritually and do not react to those who hate. Be a leader of your life and take charge of your life and do not be fooled by wrong ideas and ideals. Enjoy life and consider your spiritual path. Trust in God and walk in His ways. Walk with God both in works and faith. It is not all about following the law and it is not all about just having faith. Fill your spiritual shoes well, walk in power, know the truth, and learn and apply God's commandments. God wants what is best for us and for His people forever.
God will judge us for the good or bad we have done. What does that mean? Sometimes we need to read the context to find out what something is referring to in the Bible and sometimes a verse clearly explains itself. At other times, we need to understand what the words mean by its usage in the Bible. The Bible says that to do good is to keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV says, "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you."
So, when it says in 2 Corinthians we will be judged by the good or bad, it means we will be judged by God's commandments. To not keep God's commandments is to do wrong, what is bad or evil because God is the creator and knows what is best for us and wants what is best for us. We just read that we are to keep God's good commandments for our good, "that is may be well with you." 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 NKJV says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." The word seat in the Greek is the Greek word Bema which is used in Jewish synagogues as the place where the Torah is read (which contains the commandments of God in the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy). So, Yeshua will judge us by the commandments of the Old Testament portion of the Bible.
Those that reject God's good and loving Old Testament commandments will face, "The terror of the Lord, it says." I would not want that for anyone. God will forgive us if we change and are sorry for our sin.
Since God's ways are good and what is best in life, those who keep His commandments experience good things in life. Psalms 34:12-14 NKJV says, "Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Also, Psalms 37:3 NKJV says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." Often, people think that they can define what is right and good, but it is our all-knowing creator God who knows what is right and good. Again, an important scripture to remember is Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV which says, "Diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you." It says that God's commandments are "right and good," and God wants things to go well for mankind. God gave us His directions, His instructions to help us.
A person cannot be a true champion in life by doing evil and not following God's commandments. God must hold those accountable who do not keep His commandments. Daniel 12:2-3 NKJV says, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." Righteousness is to do what is "right and good" and keep God's commandments. Proverbs 11:5 NKJV says, "The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness."
It is a win-win situation for those who do what is "right and good." Keeping God's commandments help us in life and those who do what is right, the righteous, will be rewarded eternally. In the end, those who do not keep God's commandments will rise from the dead to face everlasting contempt. They will end up in the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8 NKJV says, "The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone." If they do not lose out in this life, they most assuredly will lose out for eternity, forever.
Be at peace in your home and in all you do.
We need to take control of our thoughts so that we trust in God and have peace in life. One of the ways we can do that is by also praying about what is bothering us. Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
We can also manufacture our own lack of peace. I am not saying we will not have difficult situations in life. Sometimes though we may obsess about something in life or situations that we have gone through and let these things steal our peace. John 16:33 NKJV says, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We need to trust in God and resist the thoughts that take away our peace. Yeshua did not give us the typical worldly peace, but a greater peace. John 14:26-27 NKJV says, "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 things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." One of the results (fruits) of the Holy Spirit is peace (see Galatians 5:22-23), but if we resist having peace, we are resisting the help of the Holy Spirit. As we engage with having peace in our life, God may also instill supernatural peace through the Holy Spirit.
Shaul often makes applications of the Old Testament commandments. Let's talk about loving your neighbor as yourself again because it applies to some verses I want to share with you from Colossians. It is applied often in the New Testament portion. Leviticus 19:18-19 NKJV says, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. You shall keep My statutes." We are not to hold onto grudges but forgive others and treat them with love. Similarly, Shaul says in Ephesians that we are to forgive others and be kind to them. Ephesians 4:32 NKJV says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another." This section in Colossians is another application of Leviticus 19:18-19.
Colossians 3:12-15 NKJV says,Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
Instead of holding onto hurt, Shaul says to let the peace of God rule your heart. We need to work on ways to develop our peace in life. Let peace rule your heart.
Doing things God's way will save you a lot of time and anguish. It will also free you up from engaging in hurtful behaviors. Having peace in our minds helps us to think through things better and in a godly way. Do not be thoughtless, but thoughtful.
We need to talk about biblical issues because people are easily swayed into believing all kinds of things instead of what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." I went to a seminar years ago and the person talking said that a study had been done where they asked children if their parents had shared certain important things with them. The children responded no. When they asked the parents whether they had shared these things with their children, the parents said yes. This demonstrates the wisdom of God's word and the need to hear the scriptures over and over. We all need to hear what the Bible says over and over.
If I repeat myself, it is our opportunity to work what I am teaching into our minds and hearts. Kefa also kept this commandments from Deuteronomy 6:7 to always remind them. He says in 2 Peter 1:12 NKJV, "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth." Shaul did the same. Galatians 5:21 NKJV says, "Which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Those who do not keep God's Old Testament commandments will not be in the future kingdom of God. In the New Testament portion we are commanded to receive the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit.
The psalmist of Psalms 119 (perhaps King David) desires to keep God's word which is often referred to as God's judgments or commandments. In verse 18, he calls them wonderous which could also be translated as great, marvelous, or extraordinary according to Strong's Dictionary.
Psalms 119:17-21 NKJV says,
Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times. You rebuke the proud – the cursed, who stray from Your commandments .
The reason the Psalmist talks about those who do not keep God's commandments as being cursed is because he is quoting Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 27:26 NKJV says, "Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them." They bring curses on themselves for not keeping God's good law. Also, not keeping God's good Old Testament commandments is to do evil. God's word contains His good judgements, His good commandments. Psalms 119:101-102 NKJV says, "I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word. I have not departed from Your judgments."
We are to follow God's instructions for life and not evil. Proverbs 4:13-14 NKJV says, "Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil." God's commandments are what is best for us, after He is God and knows how we should best live. Proverbs 3:7-8 NKJV says, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones."
They were to appoint judges and officers for the towns to make judgments. Deuteronomy 16:18 NKJV says, "You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment." The Bible talks about how to make these judgements. For example, the 10 Commandments talk about some of the things they were to make judgments on. Other places in the Torah include other types of judgements. For example, Leviticus 19:35-36 NKJV says, "You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights." So, when you sell something, you are to be forthright about what you are selling and not sell people short. As you can see, we might imply other things from this such as the need for a free market system with honest representation for what is sold. There is no need for price control because people expect to get what they are paying for. Those who cheat others are stealing from them.
Price control does not work. In New York City, they enforce price control on some rentals. This causes some owners to abandon their buildings because they cannot keep them up because they cannot charge enough to cover their costs. Only more expensive properties are immune to price control and therefore, the rich are able to find places to live, but the poor are not able to find places to live because low income rentals are scarce. I used to live in the New York City area and whole sections of the city had become abandoned.
There is a need to know all the specifics on how to do business properly and the Bible provides us with a model for that. Here is another example.
Leviticus 19:13-15 NKJV says, You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD. You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
Essentially, a worker is due the wages that was agreed upon in a timely manner. The places I worked for gave me my wages at a specified time that I agreed to at the end of the month in some cases or in others, every two weeks. I expected to get paid and if they did not pay me, I could take them to court.
Many of the laws in the United States are actually based on concepts from the Bible. Countries that do not set up free market systems are often poor and sometimes cause their people to starve. For example, if a country controls the price of something too low, that reduces the incentive for providing that item. This creates shortfalls for that item. Say if it is the price of meat that is controlled, then if there is a shortage, few people would be willing to provide meat because the people providing could lose money and not be able to provide food for themselves. Countries that are controlled by the Communist Religion experience this the most. I know of someone who went to Cuba and when he went into a store to buy meat, they had no meat. It turns out that the Bible has some very important values for us.
Sometimes there are concepts in the Bible like do not put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. It would seem to be a heartless thing to do, but that is not the only thing this could apply to. We should also not cause others to stumble. So, we could be kind and encouraging in some instances in order to help others succeed. Often, a person is trained to do a job. This allows them to have the opportunity to perform the job as expected and give the employer just work for our pay. Also, we should not cause another person to sin and therefore be a stumbling block to them. There are countless ways this can be properly applied. We should never give an al
Look to the real light. This very important scripture in Deuteronomy tells us that God's commandments give us wisdom and understanding.
Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Therefore, the proper way to understand life is at the root of our understanding for a proper and good life. People often think they are on the right track in life and are confident in their beliefs and practice. But is the basis for what they think and do a proper and good basis for their life?
Because some people have so minimized their spiritual side of life, they often do not have a biblically based life and a very minimal spiritual knowhow. The way the world works and our society can sometimes speak more loudly to us about life than the good ways of life given to us by our good God. As you can see from our scripture in Deuteronomy, God's commandments produce a blessed and good life because His commandments have the depth so to make us wise. A wise person should know the best way to approach all they do in life. A person of understanding knows the why they do things a certain way. We should do things God's good ways.
The systems of the world can be imposing. We are in the world, but we must live in the true reality, the reality that there is also an important spiritual side to life. We do not treat God's commandments as just suggestions, but they are given to us by a good and all-knowing God who has our best interests at heart. God pleads with us to accept His good commandments. Deuteronomy 5:29 NKJV says, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!"
Hold onto the light and resist darkness. Living right is a serious matter. Be careful to follow God's good wisdom and understanding. Enjoy life and what is good. Do not be shortsighted and make your life into an endless effort to seek satisfaction. Those who do are often never satisfied in life. Those who oppose God are often worldly and their life is often only a shell of what they should be. In contrast, it is important to always understand that God and His commandments are intended to bring the goodness of a caring God into the world and help mankind with life. God has no agenda other than to help us and He is a loving God who has our best interests at heart.
The usefulness of what mankind has made is only meant to get us by in life. In contrast, God lifts up our life. Mankind keeps making the same mistakes over and over instead of doing what is right. The Bible says the Old Testament commandments give us wisdom and understanding and are "right and good" (see Deuteronomy 4:6 and Deuteronomy 6:17-18). Don't we want what is "right and good?" Take the steps to live right in all we do. Make a good effort. The selfish ways of mankind do not produce what is "right and good." God's commandments make the world a so much better and fulfilling place because God knows what is best for mankind. Be at peace. You do not have to make life all about what you can get out of life. God's truths for life give us peace, so do not stumble spiritually. Psalms 119:165 NKJV says, "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble." Your spiritual life is an all-important key for a good life.
Last week we talked about the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. For more information on the Messianic gifts, go to our Divine Healing Prayer Class on our website. You can find the class on our drop-down menu. We repeated ourselves a little bit last week because we used part of one of the teachings from the class. Repetition is not a bad thing. Does a person that commits themselves to follow God one time remain in relationship with God, or does the person who commits themselves frequently to follow God remain in relationship with God? Obviously, the person who commits themselves to keeping God's commandments on a regular basis is in relationship with God. The Bible teaches us that we are to be diligent to teach God's commandments. It would seem that repetition is a necessary part of our spiritual walk, our pilgrimage so to speak.
The end of our spiritual walk ends with our acceptance into God's future kingdom.
Hebrews 11:13-16 NKJV says,
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
They died knowing that their faithfulness to God's commandments will lead to eternal life in God's future kingdom. Our spiritual walk is a daily part of life and not a one-time decision. We need to make a one-time decision to begin that walk and our walk ends at the end of our life in the future kingdom of God. These scriptures in Deuteronomy tell us that repetition and commitment are an important part of the believer's life. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NKJV says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."
Our walk involves many things, and the most important of those things is to believe in God and therefore walk as we are supposed to walk and be God's holy people. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." We do not reinvent life at our whim, but through commitment and repetition we develop our ability to keep God's Old Testament commandments. It clearly says we are God's holy people, "if," we keep His commandments. James 2:18-20 NKJV says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" So those who do not follow God's commandments are not living in faith. They do no better than the devil spirits who will end up in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10 NKJV says, "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone."
Some say that you have to be perfect before you speak in tongues, but that is not what the Bible says. The evidences of the Holy Spirit and gifts are to help us grow as a believer. Ephesians 4:12 CJB says, "Their task is to equip God's people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah." So, if God's gifts are to help us grow, then they must be available to us from the time we become believers and we don't have to wait to receive all of them. Some of them like the spiritual gift of teachers are for the more mature believer.
Years ago, I had just led a young man to believe in Yeshua just two weeks earlier and he spoke in tongues while I was talking to him about it. I was stunned; he was just a baby believer, but that's what I have seen. God appears to give speaking in tongues liberally.
I didn't learn any of the bad stigma about speaking in tongues and that probably helped me accept God's gift. People actually write negative teachings about speaking in tongues. Yeshua gave us a warning to not have a bad attitude toward the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31 CJB says, "Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven." Wikipedia says that, "Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence." In this case it is contempt for the Holy Spirit. How I understand this is if we dig in our heels and remain stubborn about the things of Holy Spirit, then God will not give us the Holy Spirit, and we will be judged for our bad attitude. I would be careful not to be critical of this gift. Yeshua was very stern about being critical about His spiritual gift.
I got my master's degree from a Baptist college. In this one class, our professor was talking about treating each other with love and how Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is in the middle of Shaul's message about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts and evidences of the Holy Spirit are to be used with love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 CJB says, "I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith- enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing." So, live an honorable life of love and holiness.
Speaking in Tongues is Intended for this Messianic Age.
It should be obvious that speaking in tongues is intended to be used in this Messianic age as it says in Isaiah. Wouldn't we want what God wants for us. We can pray in tongues when we get up, when we eat (speak in tongues in our mind), when we work, we can speak in tongues out loud or to ourselves. It seems we can pray in tongues almost all the time. Shaul said in 1 Thessalonians. 5:17 NKJV, "Pray without ceasing."
Will we listen? Isaiah 28:11-12 CJB says, "So with stammering lips, in a foreign accent, [ADONAI] will speak to this people. He once told this people, 'It's time to rest, the exhausted can rest, now you can relax'- but they wouldn't listen." Speaking tongues can give us rest and peace. God wants to help us and bless us and speaking in tongues is good, and the Holy Spirit is good. I speak in tongues everyday as much as I can because I know that it is God's will for His believers. Shaul said in 1 Corinthians14:5 CJB, "I wish you would all speak in tongues."
Some People think they are doing okay spiritually but sometimes that is not true. Deuteronomy 29:19-20 NKJV says, "He blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart – as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.' The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man." God wants us to follow His good commandments and not our own heart. God reaches out to the world over and over. God has reached out to mankind over the ages. God has given us His truths since the inception of time.
Some make God into a God who wants to indulge us. God wants what is best for us. That is not the same thing as indulging us. Parents often protect their children from harm by not indulging their every whim. Stay focused on the truths that you know because God has our best interests at heart. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." God must judge mankind, because He is a just God, He must not leave evil unpunished. But God will also reward those who do what is good, those who believe in Him and keep His good commandments.
Those who live in sin will be judged for their sin.
Hebrews 10:29-31 NKJV says,
How much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Those who are wise will keep God's Old Testament commandments.
Deuteronomy 4:6 tells us that God's commandments are His good wisdom for mankind. Be wise and do what is right (in other words be righteous) so that you will be in God's future wonderful kingdom. Daniel 12:3 NKJV says, "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." Those who do what God teaches us to do and do what is right (namely, those who are righteous) will rise from the dead and be in God's future kingdom.
New Testament doctrine teaches us to keep God's Old Testament commandments.
Romans 3:31 NKJV says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."
1 John 3:4 and verse 8 NKJV says, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." Verse 8 says, "He who sins is of the devil."
James 2:22 NKJV says, "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?"
Matthew 7:23 NKJV says, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
Matthew 5:17-18 NKJV says, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
The earth still exists so God's commandments still apply. Yeshua, as the Messianic prophet to come taught us to keep God's Old Testament commandments. The prophets also taught the people to keep God's commandments. 2 Kings 17:13 NKJV says, "Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, 'Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.'" We must appear before the Bema of the Messiah. The word seat in the following verse is the Greek word Bema. The Bema is where the Torah is read, namely God's Old Testament commandments. 2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Notice that it says we will be judged both for the good and the bad we have done.
Those who say that Yeshua does not expect us to keep the Old Testament commandments are in line with His detractors, those who say He is not the Messiah. In order to be a person like Moshe (see Deuteronomy 18:18-10), He must teach and expect His followers to keep God's Old Testament commandments. God's prophets always taught the people to keep God's commandments.
Why contend, struggle, to act in faith if there are no consequences for disregarding God's commandments. Those who do not keep God's commandments are marked out for condemnation it says in Jude. No one is immune to this. Even the angels who sinned will face eternal fire and so will those who do not keep God's commandments no matter who they are. Revelation 21:8 calls it "The lake which burns with fire and brimstone." Some say that Paul taught something different. Shaul (Paul) says that those who live in sin will not be in God's future, "kingdom of God." (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21). He tells them, "Which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past," in Galatians 5:21." He is okay with repeating himself. People need this warning so they will wake up spiritually and stay awake.
Shaul (Paul) did not put up with those who were not keeping God's Old Testament commandments. 1 Corinthians 5:1 NKJV says, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles – that a man has his father's wife!" In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Shaul says not to keep company with the sexually immoral. Leviticus 18:7 refers to not having sexual relations with either your father or mother.
People who reject God's authority act like mere animals, "brute beasts" according to Jude. They serve themselves and God will execute judgment on them for their evil. God is the creator and knows how we should best live, so not to live how God tells us to live is sin and is to do evil. Therefore, pretend believers who do not keep God's Old Testament commandments must be judged for the evil they do because they do not follow the good commandments of our good God.
The book of Jude sounds like we are under the law. Of course we are under the law, the law of God. No one is exempt from God's law, not even the angels. God is able to keep us from stumbling. God is able keep us from sinning, but we must make the decision to stop sinning and be committed to stop sinning. Be committed to keep God's commandments. The eternal wise and all-powerful God has given us His good commandments so that we can have a blessed life and be in His future kingdom.
We talk about how the scriptures have been changed so that in some places it seems to say we do not have to keep God's Old Testament commandments. We give examples, but people refuse to "see" correctly. Well did Yeshua say, that those who say they "see" are blind. Since all the early leaders of those who believe in Yeshua taught that we are to keep God's Old Testament commandments, don't you think it is strange that there are scriptures that seem to say differently? We have shown you how this happened. Jerome said they were altered. That is why we have some scriptures that say the opposite of what Yeshua (Jesus), Shaul (Paul), Yochanan in John, and Ya'akov in James said.
Yeshua said He will reject those who do not keep God's law. Matthew 7:23 NKJV says, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" Yochanan (John) said that not keeping the law is sin. 1 John 3:4, 8 NKJV says, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." Verse 8 says, "He who sins is of the devil." The first leader of the Messianic believers in Yeshua said that faith is not enough, we are to still keep God's law. James 2:18-20 NKJV says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" Shaul (Paul) said that the law is certainly not done away with. Romans 3:31 NKJV says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."
The Greek scriptures got changed by heretics and some even changed the Hebrew scriptures so we see obvious deviations in them as well. Jerome translated the Greek New Testament into Latin and it is called the Latin Vulgate. In Jerome's introduction to the Latin Vulgate written in about 382 AD Jerome said, "Why not go back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by inaccurate translators, and the blundering alterations of confident but ignorant critics, and, further, all that has been inserted or changed by copyists more asleep than awake?"
The most important thing to consider when reading the New Testament portion is the alteration of the scriptures that tell us not to keep the Old Testament commandments. When it seems to say in our Bibles that the Old Testament law or a particular Old Testament law has been done away with, we know that it was probably due to the alteration and insertions made by those who did not believe in God properly. Do not throw out your Bibles, just learn to be discerning about what you read in the Bible.
God cares about us and if we follow God with our whole heart, He is merciful towards us.
Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV says, "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." Following God's commandments helps us in life and gives us peace.
Psalms 29:11 NKJV says, "The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace." Even the earth rejoices at those who follow God. Isaiah 55:12 NKJV says, "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Perhaps we could say that because of our goodness, we bless the ground we stand on. With the works of the law comes peace. Isaiah 32:17 NKJV says, "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
Learn and keep God's commandments for your own good. Proverbs 3:1-4 NKJV says, "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man." Be ready to keep God's commandments by having them readily at hand in your heart. They are God's mercy and truth towards mankind. They can add to your days and give you peace in life.
We are people of light. Live as people of light for our own good. Be enlightened through God's best ways and truths for life. Be renewed and refreshed through God. He is the good creator God who wants to help mankind. The Bible says God gives us wisdom and understanding for life. Guard your thoughts for your own good. Stay in the sure ways of life. Watch your step and do not be sidetracked. God's commandments can help us in life. We truly have something to be thankful for. Look to what is right and good from God. Do not be focused on worldly things or just on our own ideas on life. May our thoughts and hearts contain the good thoughts and ideals of our patient and caring God. Although we have a lot to do in life and we can be very busy, do not forget God's good commandments. Make them the basis for your life. Our good God has stretched out His hand to help us through His commandments and also through the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit.
In our teachings, we use the Hebrew names for the people of the Bible. For example, Moses' real name was Moshe. Jesus' real name is Yeshua. Paul's real name was Shaul. Paul may have had a Greek name as well but most of his dealings were with other Jews who would have called him Shaul. Have you ever had trouble remembering someone's name because they had a different name than most people? Paul was probably an easier name for them to remember. Do not be confused. The Bible was written by people who spoke Hebrew and not in your language.
We know Yeshua's real name is Yeshua because that is how it is used in the scriptures of the Hebrew New Testament. Yeshua means salvation. There is a Hebrew word play involved with Yeshua's name. For example, Adam's name is associated with a word play. Adamah in Hebrew means ground. Adam came from the adamah, the ground.
Substituting the word play into Matthew 1:21 we get, “You are to name him Yeshua (salvation),” for He → (will save) yoshia, “his people from their sins.” We see the obvious Hebrew word play for Yeshua’s name.
So, the Hebrew word play (pun) is:
Salvation, will save.
Yeshua (salvation) for He → yoshia (will save)
You may prefer to use Jesus for His name, but I prefer to use His real name and why not? Don't we try to call people we know by their real name and not a made-up name?
God’s ways give us peace and protection. You cannot feel more protected than being healed and helped in life by an almighty God who cares about us. Rabbi Shaul said in Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I pray every day. It is important to cast your cares on God and seek His help. 1 Peter 5:7-8 NKJV says, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." The Bible says there is a devil, and we need to stand strong and do what is right. Do not give into wrong thinking whether it is from our own thinking, from society, or from the devil.
Remember, we are in a spiritual battle, and we need to stand up and fight spiritually so we do what is right and good. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." Stay true to God's commandments and to biblical truth and do not accept the false ideals and religions of the world.
Pray every day for all things. Rabbi Shaul also said in Ephesians 6:18 NKJV, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Live like God tells you to live and pray like you believe in and trust in God. We are also to pray for others and to ask for blessings and help from our good and merciful God.
Finally, Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV says,
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
We should also understand that God has given mankind grace since the inception of time. God gave grace to Adam and Eve through the promise of a Messiah (see Genesis 3:15). God gave Noah grace. Genesis 6:8 NKJV says, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Noah was a man who did what was right and kept God's commandments. That is what righteousness means. 2 Peter 2:5 says that God, "Saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness." Isaiah 51:7 NKJV says, "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law." Be committed to keep God's law. No one who does not act holy will be in the future kingdom of God. Hebrews 12:14 NKJV says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." To be holy is to keep God’s commandments. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways."
God’s spiritual people are more than shells of human beings. People are more than just a physical entity. Each person is a special thinking human being. Those who keep God's commandments are God's special holy people. In this era, God also has given the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit to the believer through the Messiah Yeshua. We seek a future that is not at all like the present. We have received God's good commandments so we have a better life and those who are faithful will be resurrected and be part of His future kingdom with streets of gold. Instead of being sincere about a set of ideas or ideals, be sincere about following God and His truths for life. People will do what they please and seek their own ways. They do not want God so they will not be with Him in His future kingdom. They have chosen their own path. We will follow God and His ways which lead to eternal life in His glorious kingdom.
Have joy and enjoy your spiritual walk. Always pursue following God the way we should. We walk with God by keeping His good commandments. They are God's lovingkindness and truths for life that He gave us to help us. Stay above the ways of this world. Have a proper spiritual focus so that we are always ready to do what is right even when we face pressures in life.
Listen to God and try to determine the best way to proceed. God gave us a brain so use it. Do not add or subtract inappropriately from God's commandments. Celebrate God’s feasts. Watch out for pagan elements in life and in the way we celebrate God’s feasts. Do not make things or people into a god. Be purposeful in the direction you take in what you do. We are in a spiritual battle. Stay strong and faithful to God.
Stay connected to our good God. God helps us in life. Respect and trust in God, His commandments, and the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. We do not live by bread alone, but also though God's good gifts, His commandments and the Holy Spirit to help us live right. Do not be lured into disobeying God and living in sin and evil. If you are trapped by sin, change and instead be committed to God. God is a merciful and good God who will forgive us if we are committed to change and to do what is "right and good."
There is joy, security, happiness, and satisfaction through living in the light. People often assume they will get satisfaction in life through the things of the world instead of living by spiritual truths. Many people rely on a faulty process which often contains lots of ideas from man-made sources that often removes God from the equation of our values and decisions. People can make their goals around the fleeting satisfaction of obtaining worldly things. Often, a godless centered lifestyle can lead to endlessly going from one worldly concept or goal to another.
The Bible is not a dead useless book but gives us deeply valuable insights that we need for life. It can lead to greater joy, satisfaction, and happiness in life. We need the truths of the Bible to get us moving in the right direction and to help us obtain true lasting satisfaction. Seek those things that above where we live above the issues of the world. Rest in God’s goodness and truth. God gave us His commandments to help us in life and another helper, the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. God is the giver of good things and wants us to accept His favor and help.
God knows if we are following Him half-heartedly. Follow God with your whole heart. Do not follow any preconceived ideas that contradict the Bible. Patiently learn and grow spiritually. Do not give up. Seek God and do not let worldly ideas and ideals get you upset. Line up your life with truth. Learn what is true spiritual light and seek truth. Not all churches have your best interests at heart, but God does, and He wants to help us, and He cares about us. False religion has doctrines that oppose what the Bible teaches. Do not be tricked by the way some twist the scriptures. What really makes us okay spiritually is to follow God and keep His commandments. Do not take chances spiritually but stick to the truth.
People often think of the law not to work on the Sabbath as a restriction. Consider this. People in ancient cultures often worked 7 days a week, so they got no guaranteed weekly rest. Slaves in particular worked 7 days a week. So, the Sabbath points to us being a free and privileged people. The commandment also says that everyone is to benefit from this day of rest, even the animals! So it is truly to be a day of blessed rest. It points to God being the creator because God made it holy at the time of creation, therefore those who do not keep the Sabbath, do not honor God as the creator.
God says those who keep the Sabbath are blessed. Isaiah 56:2 NKJV says, "Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil." So, God gave us the Sabbath to bless mankind. Isn't this great! Isaiah 58:13 NKJV says, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words." On the Sabbath, we stop work or doing just any work that we want to do ("your own pleasure). It is not talking about not enjoying the day. It is to be a day of delight, a true day of rest. We are to make it a holy day. The word holy means separate. We are to separate the Sabbath from doing just any work we desire ("your pleasure"). We are to not even talk about work or perhaps anything stressful, so making it a true day of rest that includes mental rest. We honor God by keeping the Sabbath.
Many Christian pastors have been indoctrinated to believe the Jews were against Yeshua and when I pose anything that contradicts their doctrine of hate, they flatly reject what I am saying and say things like, "No they did not follow God" or similar mistruths. It is true that not all Jews followed God the way they should have, but that does not mean that all Jews did not follow God the way they should have. For example, Christians will admit that they sin at times. Does that mean all Christians are bad?
In Matthew 12, we should probably think of Yeshua giving the Jews there a lesson on to how to keep the Sabbath properly or as Yeshua says, with mercy. It is not a blanket mercy as some believe in Christianity, but it is mercy towards those who are not breaking God's commandments. I often tell people that Yeshua was teaching them how to keep the Torah, but I often do not have the time to thoroughly explain myself. Yeshua refers to Hosea 6:6 NKJV which says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."
Of course we can stop sinning and repent, and God will forgive us. Psalms 103:12-13 NKJV says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him." It says that God will forgive those who have a deep respect for Him (fear Him). That is something all of us need to work on. That will help to keep us following God the way we should.
We need to have endurance and keep God's commandments. God's will is written in the Bible, namely it is what God wants us to do and what He wants for us. It is God's will that we keep His good commandments and also receive His good Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 10:36 NKJV says, "For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." You will not be in God's future kingdom if you are not committed to keeping God's commandments. Galatians 5:21 NKJV says, "Just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
It is important to observe God's feasts no matter what day we observe them. I believe we should try to keep them on the right day. Keeping God's feasts demonstrates that we believe that God is the creator. Genesis 1:14 NKJV says, "Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years." The word translated seasons in verse 14 is the Hebrew word for "meetings." The lights in the heavens were given to us so that we would know when to meet with God.
At the end of this teaching, I have included some Passover scriptures for your information. Today I would like to talk about some important issues for believers.
Look to God, make the effort to seek His blessings. We see the goodness of God through His commandments and also through the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. God did not give us the law to just make us keep a bunch of nonsense. When I talk about keeping God’s commandments, I am not talking about the manmade laws that some follow that seem ridiculous. The Bible says that we are not to kindle a fire on Shabbat. Trying to start a fire without matches is a lot of work. I know because I have tried to start a fire without matches. Some say that turning on a light switch is kindling a fire. That is nonsense.
God gave us truths for life. Numbers 23:19 NKJV says, "God is not a man, that He should lie." People are fallible, but God is perfect and has given us His perfect commandments for life. We need to make the effort to keep the truths of the Bible and connect with God and truth. Psalms 119:151 NKJV says, "You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth." God's commandments are forever because they are from our creator God. Psalms 119:160 NKJV says, "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."
The Almighty Creator God intervened in our world to help us and give us blessings through His commandments and also blessing through the Holy Spirit. Connect with God, keep His good commandments, and desire His spiritual gifting through the Messiah Yeshua.
God has a special way for us to excel in life. We are to be God's unique people. Exodus 19:5-6 NKJV says, "You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Isn't that wonderful. God wants us to be His treasured people. We do that by being a holy people. Deuteronomy 7:6 NKJV says, "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." Deuteronomy 14:2 NKJV says,
"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth."
What does the Bible say about how we can be God's holy people? Deuteronomiy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." We are holy if we keep God's commandments. That has not changed. 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." We are God's holy people by keeping His commandments. If we do not keep God's commandments we will fall short of the grace of God. Hebrews 12:14-15 NKJV says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God."
Kefa felt that he would be negligent if he did not warn the people. 2 Peter 1:12-13 NKJV says, "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you."
Shaul (Paul) said that the Old Testament scriptures were his standard for life. Acts 24:14 says, "I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets." He believed in the Law! This was an account from his later years as a believer in Yeshua, perhaps in the later 50s AD. He always believed in the law and he does not mean that the law is done away with in his teachings.
Shaul made certain that others knew that he kept and taught the law. Acts 21:23-24 NKJV says, "We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law."
We live in a world with walls and barriers to truth. So, we need direction in this world for life. Perhaps we wonder why it is so difficult to find truth. Life seems to be a maze of truths and part truths and in the case of God, outright lies that hide the truth. There is a whole system of lies that contradicts even the existence of God that hides the truth from our eyes. The devil is real and works behind the scenes but actually has no power to deceive us if we do not let him. We can resist the devil and even command him to leave. Stay in God’s good truths for life and do not allow the world to form you or the devil to deceive you. God is not some unnecessary frill that is added to life. God has given us His good truths for life that have spanned the ages of human history and help us in life. God sends out His abundant blessings and goodness to mankind. It is there for us if we will choose to accept it.
God rains down His goodness on mankind. It is not so easily apparent in this senses driven world. God gave us His wisdom for life through His commandments. So, apply yourself to God's wisdom well and be diligent to keep His commandments and do not forget to seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need to apply ourselves well spiritually. The daily details of life are important, but our spiritual life is even more important because our spiritual part of life helps us in so many ways and that also includes the important matter of what will happen to us in eternity. Take the effort and time to stay consistent and sharp spiritually. God's law can even help us to be healthier physically and mentally.
What do we see when we look into our hearts? Do we see a commitment to God? Our home life and all we do in life should reflect godly attitudes, behaviors, and actions. Our life should reflect the glory of God and that we are His people who follow Him. How can you say you are a follower of God is you do actually follow what He says? We are to be a special holy people and that means we are to follow God's commandments and also receive the power of the Holy Spirit in this present Messianic age. We are to follow God's doctrine and not made-up philosophies or man-made religion. There is one standard for life and that is to keep God's doctrine. Those who believe in God and act accordingly join the other believers who kept God's commandments over the history of mankind. Be strong and follow God's good commandments and also receive the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit.
God created the world in such a way as to provide for us. Psalms 145:16 NKJV says, "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." God has also provided His good commandments. And, in this present Messianic age, God has provided the Holy Spirit to help us in life. The end will come, and things can change fast, but do not be fooled by those who preach dooms day doctrines. Use good sense, do not jump to conclusions quickly, and most of all, stay faithful to God and His good commandments.
We need to think on the portions of the Torah so we can consider what it is teaching us. We often begin our teachings with what I think God wants me to teach on that week. After that, we talk about the Torah portion. It is good to be presented with God’s instructions for life so that we remember to keep all that God teaches us. The Hebrew word Torah means instruction. While we might be very much aware of what the Torah teaches, hearing it again and again can be helpful. Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV says, "Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."
It is difficult to get to that point if we do not patiently listen week by week to what is being taught. We need to consider what we have been taught so that it digs deeper into our minds and hearts because God's commandments are truths for life. Psalms 19:8 NKJV says, "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes."
The ideas of the world can be enticing and seem to make sense at times. If they did not, no one would consider them. We talk about how the scriptures have helped people for thousands of years. People have used the scriptures to help them have direction, purpose, success, enjoyment, satisfaction, good relationships, and so much more.
it has been speculated that to rightly divide the word of God is to understand the scriptures properly. That is probably the intention of Shaul.
That fits with what Yeshua taught about the Torah, the Old Testament law.
Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV says,
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Yeshua says that the law will not be done away with until earth passes away. The earth still exists. And that those who do not teach people to keep God's Old Testament commandments will be worthless compared to those who teach the law. Some of the leadership in Israel was making up man-made commandments (most notably, the Sanhedrin which is the governing body in Israel). They were making exceptions to God's commandments at that time and Matthew 15 is a record of that. At the conclusion of his argument in Matthew 15:9 NKJV Yeshua said, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
Yeshua could even be cryptically saying in Matthew 5 that The Hebrew decorations (the jot or tittle He refers to) on the letters are therefore worth more than those who do not teach people to keep the law. Also, therefore, those who do not teach the law will not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and will not enter the kingdom of heaven. The Sanhedrin was responsible to hear cases at both the local levels and at Jerusalem so they formed man-made laws to define things such as what could be done on the Sabbath and other issues. They made God's commandments difficult to follow and overreached their responsibility in doing do. Deuteronomy 4:2 NKJV says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." In Matthew 23:1, the Hebrew Matthew says to follow Moshe (namely, God's laws) and not all the extra religious laws of those that impose them.
We are not to contrive what we think is right but keep God's good commandments. Proverbs 12:15 NKJV says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise." The Bible tells us what is wise. This is a foundational scripture. Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, "Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' So, Proverbs is not talking about the wisdom of those seemingly worldly wise, but the wisdom of God's commandments. It is not talking about following your own wise thoughts or your heart. Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Sometimes our heart is right, but at other times it can be desperately wicked. We are to follow God's commandments and not what someone thinks is right unless it is what God says we are to do.
People can have all kinds of ideas on life. They may think they are above accepting God and God's good commandments. They may think they cannot change or simply refuse to change. Some people just do whatever they want to do as long as they do not get thrown in jail. Some think there are no truths for life. People can come up with all kinds of excuses to not accept truth or change their life for the better.
Be open to God's power and allow God to use you. God is the creator and has given us good commandments and the help of the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13 NKJV says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" Since God is the creator, is there anything too difficult for Him? So, when Rabbi Shaul talked to people about God, he also told them about the power of God. The same God who gave the ancient believers food and water in the desert is also able to help us. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV says, "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
We do not believe in God because we need a father figure or believe in God just to be at peace in an uncertain world. Since the inception of time, God has always wanted us to be in relationship with Him and receive His blessings. God placed man in the garden, but man went his own way. God reached out to man and made promises to mankind and to Israel. In this Messianic scripture we see God’s love for those who love Him. Zephaniah 3:17 CJB says, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” In Ex 15:26 NKJV God tells the people of Israel: “I am the Lord who heals you.” In the scriptures we see God healing and also Yeshua healing people miraculously. At times it says that Yeshua healed all the people there (see Matthew 15:29-31)! Yeshua cared about people. God cares about us.
Yeshua sent out 12 Rabbis and He was also training others to go out and pray. He trained and sent 70 others out too (see Luke 10:1). Rabbi Shaul was not one of the 12 or 70 and he prayed with power. We are also sent out to pray for others and we too can experience God's power. Mark 16:17-18 NKJV, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; … they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” A couple of months after my friend Dave came back from doing ministry in India, he told me that he prayed for a blind man and all this stuff began oozing out of the man’s eyes and the blind man was healed instantly. My friend Larry prayed for a teenage boy in Russia whose one leg was shorter than the other. He put his hand on the boy’s leg and while he had his hand on the boy’s leg, the leg grew to the same length as the other leg. Larry is a medical professional! My friend Harold prayed for a young man with the same problem and God healed the young man. Only God can do that.
In praying for people God will sometimes answer our prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes it is no. Sometimes the answer is not yet, but no matter what - God loves us. Ultimately, we will be completely whole in the new heaven and earth. In the meantime, God gave us the Holy Spirit as another helper in life along with the law. John 14:15-17 NKJV says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth."
All activities are not okay to do on the Sabbath.
Consider if what you are doing for fun is work. For example, it says in Isaiah that not all conversation is proper on the Sabbath.
Isaiah 58:13-14 NKJV says,
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD.
Let's talk about this scripture in more detail. The word pleasure can mean to do whatever you want to do according to Strong's Dictionary. So, we are not to do just anything we want on the Sabbath. Notice we are to delight in the Sabbath. In ancient times, the people could be consumed with work 7 days a week, especially those who served others. Notice that the Bible says those that serve us and even our animals are to rest on the Sabbath. Unlike the majority of the world, God gives us a day off once a week. Deuteronomy 5:14 NKJV says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you." The Sabbath is to be a delightful day for all.
Honoring God there in Isaiah refers to keeping the Sabbath. We are to rest on the Sabbath and keep the Sabbath holy. Holy means to make it separate and different than an ordinary day. By honoring the Sabbath, we acknowledge that God is the creator who rested on the Sabbath and made it holy. Genesis 2:2-3 NKJV says, "On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." To sanctify the Sabbath is to make it holy, it is to be different than the other days of the week. In ancient times, people often had long workdays. It then makes sense that not resting on the Sabbath and not keeping the Sabbath holy is to not honor the creator God. Some people will say that we do not have to keep the Sabbath because it is Jewish. The Sabbath was instituted by God at the time of creation. Remember, they are God's feasts and God's commandments. Do you want to honor God or not. I choose to honor God and keep His commandments and Sabbath.
We need to get back to the truths of the Bible and not made-up doctrine. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law." God is good and His commandments are good. These people who teach that God's commandments are done away with are keeping people away from what is best for them and good. Psalms 119:66-68 NKJV says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. You are good, and do good; teach me Your statutes. Keeping God's commandments over thousands of years has helped people to have a better life. There have been many Bible ministries that were developed to help people have a better life through God's commandments and they succeed because they are teaching truths for life. Psalms 26:3 NKJV says, "For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth." God's commandments are His lovingkindness towards mankind. To walk in God's truth is to keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 5:33 NKJV says, "You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.?
We get good judgment and knowledge from God's commandments. The Psalmist said that his life changed for the better when he began keeping God's commandments in His word. He now understands that God is good, and he willingly seeks to learn God's commandments. That is the attitude that we need to have. We need to hold ourselves to a high standard, a high calling. We need to watch out for the arguments that lead us the wrong way and be determined to keep God's commandments. It is then that we will see that God is good and that He has given us good commandments to keep.
We are not to let to turn away from God's good commandments, Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, "Be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" We are to be careful to observe God's commandments. Then it says in Deuteronomy 4:9 NKJV, “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren."
We are to diligently keep ourselves, so we do not turn away from keeping God's commandments. The word for keep in verse 9 could also be translated as guard. We are to diligently guard our life, so we keep God's good commandments. Look at the language in this verse. We are to "take heed," and 'diligently guard' our life.
Seek a more authentic faith and keep God's commandments and feasts. Have a proper focus in life and make God a priority in life. We can focus on any number of things in life and forget about our spirituality. Why be consumed with being anxious? Seek most of all what will give you true peace and help you to be content by putting God in His proper place. Stay strong spiritually and keep working at being a godly person in all you do.
Darkness wants to rule this world, instead, be a person of light. There is enough darkness in this world so why not be a person of God's light and understanding. People need the wisdom and understanding from God and his good commandments. God's light is available to all; God wants us to accept His blessings. Join God's good kingdom. It is up to us. God will forgive us if we change our hearts and do things God's way. Following your own heart may sometimes be okay, but at other times it can be evil. Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" God wants what is best for us both in the here and now and wants us to be in His wonderful future kingdom.
Revelation 21:4 NKJV says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." He can do that because He is God. God gives us truths for life and then eternal life if we accept Him. Listen to God and not worldly messages. God is real, wants what is good for us, and for our children, and promises those who follow His commandments life in His future kingdom.
Being at peace helps insulate us from the harshness of life and forms a barrier to worldly thinking. The best way to be at peace is to trust in God and keep His commandments. Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever." Learn to correct your values so they line up with God's light. We need to correct our values so they line up with God's commandments which are a light for life. Psalms 119:105-106 NKJV says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
We need to direct our life and hold onto what is good. God's commandments are "A tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her;" Proverbs 3:18 NKJV. Learn to hold fast to truth. Put boundaries around your life in order to keep God's commandments. Do not follow ridiculous man-made commands, be sensible. People end up following man-made ideals instead of what God teaches. Use sensible extra precautions to avoid sin.
What does Christianity believe about faith? A lot of Christians believe that all we need to do to be saved is to have faith. In this short teaching on faith, I will talk about some of the main principles of our faith that should shape our faith. We have at times shared briefly on this topic, but this teaching is intended to go a little more in depth.
We are to be God's set apart holy people who keep the law. Deuteronomy 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways." The Bible says that to be God's holy people, we must keep God's commandments.
We are to keep God's commandments and should continue to learn and grow spiritually in life. Theology tends to replace the truth of the Bible by substituting holiness with man-made ideas such as righteousness without being a holy person. The book of Hebrews says something to the contrary. Hebrews 12:14 NKJV says, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Those who do not pursue holiness will not be in God's future kingdom. Think before you jump on the bandwagon of nonsense. Pursue truth and work at being a holy person who does things God's way.
The believers of the Bible heard from God. We should talk about this more. It should be apparent that the Messiah came to connect us more deeply with God by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit and some associated gifts or evidences of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a powerful work in our lives it says in Acts 1:8 NKJV, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." Shaul tells us to desire spiritual gifts and this a commandment of God. 1 Corinthians 14:1, 37 NKJV says, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts; and in verse 37 it says, "The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord." The context is the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Shaul in the context therefore tells us that desiring spiritual gifts is a commandment of God. Have you received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38-39)? Are you desiring God's spiritual gifts and evidences? We have a Devine Healing Prayer Class that can help you to develop your spiritual gifts.
Select "More" on the top of our home page and scroll down
to the link for the class.
The Holy Spirit is our helper to keep God's commandments and also helps us in many other ways. We still must do what is "right and good." Remember, Yeshua will reject those who do not keep the law (see Matthew 7:19-23). The Holy Spirit is an important and powerful part of the life of the believer.
I will attach Part 1 of the Devine Healing Prayer Class to this Study.
Learn to grow more in your walk with God.
How does knowing that God is good help you to follow His commandments and the Holy Spirit?
Therefore, I can trust in God's commandments to help me live the way I am supposed to instead of making up my own rules. Some people say we should follow our own heart, but the heart can be deceitful and even evil. Good intentions do not always end up being good. I might have good intentions for you by feeding you only sweets for your meals. Medicine says that we need a well-balanced diet and that eating a lot of sweets and starchy foods all the time can lead to a person getting sick with diabetes. I know of at least two people who have died from this horrible disease. Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Like I have said many times before, sometimes the heart is right and sometimes the heart is wrong and even evil.
Because God is good, I have truths for life instead of just observable facts. Facts do not give people the ethical tools for a good life. We need math and science to make things, but they are limited in usefulness. How does knowing how far the Sun is from the Earth help us to treat others right? Often, people are being taught to value facts over how to live life in our culture. Psalms 119:93 NKJV says, "I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life." Real life comes through God.
Because God is good, I do not need to be entertainment driven. Some people revolve their lives around thrills, doing things that excite them, seeking happiness through the things they own, or valuing what they can achieve. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NKJV says, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, 'See, this is new'? It has already been in ancient times before us." If we want a more fulfilling life, put God and His commandments before our frivolous activities. Colossians 3:2 NKJV says, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." I once asked a person if they would be willing to learn more about God and they said they were too busy watching TV. I am not kidding. While some entertainment can be fun, making that a main function of life means that person will have no meaningful accomplishments in life. When I asked a person I know who went to Harvard what TV show he liked to watch, he said he did not have a TV. Instead, he spent his time actually living life and accomplishing things in life.
Some think that being an important, rich, or famous person would lead to a fulfilling life. Psalms 89:47-48 NKJV says, "Remember how short my time is; for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?" Psalms 49:16-17 "Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him." All the things of this world will come to nothing. Those that keep and teach God's commandments will be honored in the future kingdom. Daniel 12:2-3 NKJV says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
God knows everyone’s deepest intentions, and nothing is hidden from God. 1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJV says, "The LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever." God knows the intentions of our heart whether we are committed to His commandments or not. Better to know the truth now than to continue to follow false doctrine. Psalms 19:14 NKJV says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." So, may our hearts be completely committed to God.
Yeshua says in Revelation 2:10 NKJV, "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This does not sound like God knows my heart and will accept me no matter what. Yeshua says in Revelation 3:5 NKJV, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." In ancient times to be blotted out was for the name to be scratched out and then the ink lifted off the page. So, it is possible to lose your salvation and those who live in sin take heed. You will not make it into God's future kingdom if you do not change.
Like I said, people who believe in God have seen their life transform for the better by keeping God's good commandments. For thousands of years people have benefitted from God's commandments. God's commandments were good thousands of years ago and they are still good. Psalms 119:151-152 NKJV says, "All Your commandments are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever." The good news is that God does not change and has given mankind His good commandments and they are good forever. Malachi 3:6 NKJV says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change."
Doing what is "right and good" helps others to do the same. Be a good example for others. Do not let wrong behaviors, false ideals, and wrong doctrine work their way into your life. Stick to God's truths which will keep us from making false assumptions. Some people make false logical arguments by believing in wrong ideals or wrong behaviors that can cause great harm. Do not join up with them. Stay focused on living right in a world that often teaches evil as though it is good. It is always better to do things God’s way. God is the creator and knows what is best for us, and God tells us how to live for our own good (see Deuteronomy 10:13).
I frequently point out that if nations just kept the commandments to not murder and not covet, we would have fewer wars. That is the amazing impact of just two of God’s commandments. The 10 Commandments are good commandments and so are the other commandments in the Old Testament. Also, there are many good applications of the Old Testament commandments in the New Testament portion.
God commandments are not difficult. Deuteronomy 30:11 NIV says, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." Rabbi Yochanan also says the same. 1 John 5:3 NKJV says, "His commandments are not burdensome." People can make God’s commandments difficult by adding extra man-made laws, but God never intended for us to add lots of extra laws so that we end up following what people say and not God. Isaiah 29:13 NKJV says, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men."
Without God, nothing would exist. God tells Noah in Genesis 9:3 NKJV, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs." God is our provider.
Unbelievers think this concept is a fairy tale because they do not believe in God. We do not need a father figure as some deceptively say. They are not right, they are deluded. As we have talked about at times, there is a spiritual side to life that they are unaware of because of their unbelief. second corinthians 4:3-4 NKJV says, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe." Rabbi Shah-ool is talking about demonic spiritual powers that are at work behind the scenes and blinding the minds of people so they will not believe. These people have the ability to believe but instead they listen to demonic spiritual powers that keep them away from truth and God.
In Isaiah 14:12 it says that these spiritual demonic powers work to weaken the nations and the lives of mankind. The devil spirit world rebelled against God, and it wants to destroy mankind. So, we are in a spiritual battle. Rabbi Shah-ool says Ephesians 6:10-12 NKJV, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
I am challenged over and over by people who do not believe in God's commandments. They will twist the scriptures to mean that we do not have to keep God's commandments in the Old Testament portion. 2 Peter 3:15-16 NKJV says, "Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." There was no New Testament at the time this was written, so the scriptures that are being talked about are the Old Testament portion scriptures. They were twisting the Old Testament scriptures to their own destruction.
I believe the destruction it is talking about is more than the consequences of sin but of eternity in the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). We need the whole message and not just a positive message. God in His wisdom warns us of impending doom so that we do not fail at life. He would not be a good God if He did not warn us. Consider these scriptures in the Old Testament portion about the goodness of God.
God’s word gives us understanding for life. Psalms 119:130 NKJV says, "Your words gives light; it gives understanding."
God’s words and His commandments will direct our life so that we do better in life. Psalms 119:105-106 NKJV says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments."
God does what is right and that will not change. Therefore, His laws give us truth for life. Psalms 119:142 NKJV says, "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth."
God did not leave us to our own devices but gave us His commandments, they are truth. They were good in ancient times, and they will always be true. Psalms 119:151-152 NKJV says, "You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth. Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever."
All of God’s commandments are true, they are the right way to live, and they will always be right. Psalms 119:160 NKJV says, "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."
Desire God’s commandments and learn to walk them out in life. Psalms 86:11 NKJV says, "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth."
Want how God wants you to live life. God’s truths will help you. God is a loving God who will forgive those who want to follow His commandments. Psalms 25:5-6 NKJV says, "Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old." Also, Psalms 25:10 NKJV says, "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies."
God’s word was good, is good, and will always be good. Numbers 23:19 NKJV says, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
Start this season right. Seek those things which are above, do not focus on the worldly. Sometimes people think that worldly things are what is most meaningful. Guarding or keeping our relationship with God is what is most important. Some congregations have what we call a low bar for a relationship with God. In other words, they believe little is required of the believer in God. The Bible says over and over we are to keep God's commandments and there are eternal consequences for not keeping them. The Bible holds us to a high standard, a high bar. God forgives us for our sin when we change and confess our sins to God, but God requires a sincere repentance.
I once heard a story of someone who felt lied to after going to a church for that held to a belief in a low bar. They never heard the truth at their seeker friendly congregation. After reading the Bible, she realized she was being lied to and decided to no longer be a believer. Perhaps she felt that churches could not be trusted. These seeker friendly congregations seem to only appeal to obtaining numbers and donations. While they may not hold to this concept, they certainly are not leading people to follow God the way they should. They will say people are growing spiritually, but how can that be true if their congregants are not being taught what they should be taught.
In Jewish synagogues, the trumpets are sounded 100 times with the last trump being blown until all air is used up. This perhaps is a picture of the end times. Shaul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NKJV, "But we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
At the last trump, suggests that Yeshua will return on the Day of Blasting, Yom Teruah. The last trump is significant for the celebration of Yom Teruah. It is then that believers will put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53 NKJV says, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
God and Yeshua will raise us from the dead. Yeshua is the Son of God as attested many times in the John, and He said in John 5:25 NKJV, "The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." In John 5:28-29 Yeshua is referring to Himself, "For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
We are victorious in life by following God and His good commandments. In the end, those who are faithful will receive eternal life in an amazing and wonderful future kingdom of God.
As believers in the true God, we are to keep God's commandments because He is a good and all-knowing God who knows what is best and has His best intentions for mankind. Therefore, to reject God's commandments is to reject God and what is best for us. God is good; therefore, His commandments are good. Psalms 34:8 NKJV says, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Since God's ways are good and what is best in life, those who keep His commandments experience good things in life. Psalms 34:12-14 NKJV says, "Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Also, Psalms 37:3 NKJV says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." Often, people think that they can define what is right and good, but it is our all-knowing creator God who knows what is right and good. Again, an important scripture to remember is Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV which says, "Diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you." God wants things to go well for mankind and that is why He gives us instructions to follow.
When we follow God's commandments we are following God's directions for life. Following God will give us satisfaction in life. Isaiah 58:11 NKJV says, "The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." God satisfies in life physically and spiritually. Psalms 107:9 NKJV says, "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Those who have hope in Yehovah will be strengthened. Isaiah 40:31 NKJV says, "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Following God will help us to rise up in life, is renewing so we do not weary in life. We not only experience goodness because we follow truth, it is renewing and satisfying to know that God's commandments are such a blessing and a help in life. Deuteronomy 6:24 NKJV says, "And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us."
We literally experience the goodness of God when we trust in God's commandments. God always has good intentions for mankind. We just need to begin trusting in Him. Psalms 34:8 NKJV says, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Shalom,
Moshe
Seek spiritual things that have spiritual significance. Be honest with where you are spiritually, and be dedicated to learn and grow spiritually. Be profitable in your spiritual approach and apply yourself well to living in truth, keeping God's commandments, and do not forget about the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit. Doing things God’s way affects your life and is profitable and God can even give you supernatural blessings for your faithfulness.
He said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
When you are in training in sports or in any area you wish to succeed, you are thinking about what you need to do to be successful. I sometimes talk about this one college basketball player practicing for 6 hours a day; plus, he had to go to classes and study. We can be dedicated to all sorts of things, but do not forget to be dedicated to God. Shaul says that he fights to bring his body into subjection. Do not live in sin. Keep God’s commandments. Stay in the fight; push yourself.
The true God has given mankind so much, yet it seems that mankind is stubborn and will never learn that God's ways will bring peace, blessing, and prosperity. Peace and satisfaction in life are often the most valued things in life. Psalms 119:165-167 NKJV says, "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments. My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly." God has given mankind provision and blessings over the ages, and He wants to give us eternal life in an amazing future kingdom, but you have to want what He wants to give us and that includes wanting His help through His word. Those that reject God's good ways have rejected God and live in sin. Isaiah 59:2 NKJV says, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you."
Those who reject God will end up in the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). Those who change and do what is "right and good," accept the Messiah, and walk humbly with God will be in the future kingdom. Isaiah 1:18-19 NKJV says, "'Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the LORD, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient.'" God will have mercy on those who repent, change, and follow His words. Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV says, "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" God is faithful and good. We can trust in Him, and we have hope in our good God.
The true God has given mankind so much, yet it seems that mankind is stubborn and will never learn that God's ways will bring peace, blessing, and prosperity. Peace and satisfaction in life are often the most valued things in life. Psalms 119:165-167 NKJV says, "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments. My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly." God has given mankind provision and blessings over the ages, and He wants to give us eternal life in an amazing future kingdom, but you have to want what He wants to give us and that includes wanting His help through His word. Those that reject God's good ways have rejected God and live in sin. Isaiah 59:2 NKJV says, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you."
Those who reject God will end up in the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). Those who change and do what is "right and good," accept the Messiah, and walk humbly with God will be in the future kingdom. Isaiah 1:18-19 NKJV says, "'Come now, and let us reason together,'
Says the LORD, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient.'" God will have mercy on those who repent, change, and follow His words. Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV says, "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" God is faithful and good. We can trust in Him, and we have hope in our good God.
So, mankind keeps making the same mistakes over and over instead of doing what is right. The Bible says the Old Testament commandments give us wisdom and understanding (see Deuteronomy 4:6). Don't we want what is "right and good?" Why wouldn't people want what a good, caring, and loving God wants for us through His word and His commandments? People make themselves into a god and reject the true God. They are deluded.
God's ways help us in life and are better than the ways of this world. Those who oppose God are often doing so for selfish means. They could have a much better life through God and His truths for life. The selfish ways of mankind do not produce what is 'right and good.' God's commandments would make the world a so much better and fulfilling place. God has given us the Holy Spirit in this Messianic age and the Holy Spirit can do so much for us. The Holy Spirit is powerful and can be exciting.
we must try to apply proper applications of the Torah. For example, the Old Testament portion tells us to return an ox to its owner, namely what belongs to others (see Deuteronomy 22:1). An ox can be very costly to replace. My mom explained this commandment to me and told me that we should try to find the owner of something that was lost, but if it was just a small amount of money and we did not know who lost it, we could keep it. That is a proper application of the Torah. So, if someone loses a quarter and I see it happen, I give it to them, but a quarter just laying on the ground is okay to keep. One time I found a huge sum of money and found the owner of the money and gave it back. Sometimes people will report losses to the police, and we can let the police know what we found. If they cannot find the owner, the police should give the money back to us.
It is generally agreed that God's commandments often need explanation and need to be applied to life. In what ways can we make sure we do not put other gods before the true God? How do we apply the law not to steal or the law not to covet? Let's cover some of the 10 Commandments. Remember, we are looking for proper applications. Some applications make keeping God's commandments difficult and God's commandments are not supposed to be difficult to apply. We do not have the time to talk about all the possible applications, but we can talk about some of them. Again, Deuteronomy 30:10-11 NIV says, "Obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." God's Old Testament commandments are not too difficult. Also, some people or denominations number the commandments differently than they appear in the Bible and even change the ones they do not want to keep! Read the Bible.
Yeshua tells us to keep praying. Luke 18:1 NKJV says, "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." God is willing and able to do special things for us at times. Ephesians 3:20 NKJV says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Be strong and trust in God. Psalms 28:7 NKJV says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. Psalms 112:6-7 NKJV says, "The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."
Yeshua's ministry is an example of God's love for mankind. Luke 6:17-18 NKJV says, "And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed." Isaiah talks about the Messiah Yeshua in Isaiah 53:5 NKJV, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Believe in Yeshua and God and in His ability to heal and help us.
We need to control our thoughts so that we think right and do what is right. Maintain correct ideals, motivations, thoughts, and behaviors. Live a kingdom life. Allow God to rule your life. Our God is the good creator and king of all that exists. He sustains all that is and has given us good commandments to live by. God has also given us His good Holy Spirit in this Messianic age (see Luke 11:11-13). If you falter, get up, do not stay down. Do what is “right and good” in life. Do not allow things in life that may change our thinking and head us in the wrong direction. There are a lot of things that can distract us and cause us to falter, but do not stay down. Take hold of God's instructions, God's commandments, and walk strong spiritually. Enjoy what is true, right, and good. We have a lot to be thankful for. Be happy for our relationship with God. Have a glad heart because we have hope in this life and in the eternal future kingdom of God.
Our God is there, and He wants us to be in fellowship with Him. We fellowship with a person by listening to each other. We need to decide to listen to God and not faulty ideas made-up by people. Listen to God's words which are able to help us and keep us. People think they can be savvy and know what is best instead of doing what God says to do. There are lots of ways to live, but only the true God knows what is truly best for us. Do not just hear God's words; do them or you will be living in deception. It is God that sustains the world and not us.
Some of the Old Testament portion scriptures are pictures of spiritual things. The ritual sacrifices of the Israelites were to be pure, which is a picture for us to be pure. Yeshua the Messiah was pure. Moshe strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. He was not able to enter the promised land because of what he did. We should remember that God expects us to do exactly what He says. If we want truth, we need to be able to accept truth and do what the Bible says. People often produce their own ideas of life instead of the truths from the Bible. God wants what is best for us instead of the failure of mankind’s ways. He can reach us even in the darkness and deception of this world.
God values each and every believer. And each person is a valuable part of God's spiritual family. God is over all believers and His people are to follow Him. The identity of a believer has more to do with joining a spiritual family or being a believer in the true God. We are a special people that God values because we value God and what He says. Our thoughts and actions reflect what God taught mankind instead of just doing what we please or what we think is right. Our life is controlled by times and seasons. Just like our day-to-day activities are influenced by the time of day and the different seasons of the year, life reflects our age, abilities, and choices. No matter if you are old or young, or rich or poor you can become a son or daughter of God. So, as you live life, do not choose to live by your own heart but by how God tells us to live. Decide in your heart that you will serve the Lord God.
Psalms 29:11 NKJV says, "The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace." Even the earth rejoices at those who follow God. Isaiah 55:12 NKJV says, "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." With the works of the law comes peace. Isaiah 32:17 NKJV says, "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
Learn and keep God's commandments for your own good. Proverbs 3:1-4 NKJV says, "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man."
We are people of light. Live as people of light for our own good. Be enlightened through God's best ways and truths for life. Be renewed and refreshed through God. He is the good creator God who wants to help mankind. Guard your thoughts for your own good. Stay in the sure ways of life. Watch your step and do not be sidetracked. God's commandments can help us in life. We truly have something to be thankful for. Look to what is right and good from God. Do not be focused on worldly things. May our thoughts and hearts contain the good thoughts and ideals of our patient and caring God. Although we have a lot to do in life do not forget God's good commandments and make them the basis for your life. Our good God has stretched out His hand to help us through His commandments and the Messianic gift of the Holy Spirit.
God is the creator and provider. He cares about us and wants what is best for mankind. My experience has been that God is incredibly good to us. We do not find God by doing things our own way but by seeking God with our whole heart. We exhibit God’s truths for life and can bring His goodness with us. We learn to do what is true and good from a good God. Some people say that keeping God's commandments is difficult but that is not true. The Bible says that God's commandments are not too difficult. Stay focused on doing things God’s ways. We are to grow spiritually and learn and develop godly patterns in life. Stay faithful and be strong.
Remember, we are in a spiritual battle, and we need to stand up and fight spiritually so we do what is right and good. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." Stay true to God's commandments and to biblical truth and do not accept the false ideals and religions of the world.
Pray every day for all things. Rabbi Shaul also said in Ephesians 6:18 NKJV, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Live like God tells you to live and pray like you believe in and trust in God. We are also to pray for others and to ask for blessings and help from our good and merciful God.
Think on what is true and good and be energized. Consider how the Bible teaches us to live, and do not make worldly ideas and concepts into doctrine. Consider what you think. Are they truths, are you sincere about doing what God says, or are you just looking for thrills? The truths from God in the Bible are truths to live life by. If you want to be sincere about something, sincerely seek God's commandments and the Holy Spirit. Most of all, be thrilled to know and live out truth. What are you involved with spiritually? What matters the most? Are we drawn to a large congregation or a small one? Is a brick building important to know God. It is just brick. We know God and His truths through His word and His commandments and not made-up beliefs. Be part of a people of light who live in the light of God's commandments and not in darkness and sin. Whether you are one person who stands for truth or part of a group of believers, stand strong in God's light.
Do not allow sin to run your life. Instead, be strong, follow God, and keep His commandments. Joshua 1:8-9 NKJV says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage." So be strong and courageous spiritually.
Glorify God, honor God, seek refreshing and peace in the truth. There is blessing and fruit in God’s light. Be purposeful in what you do. We can be easily drawn by being inundated with the things of life we are drawn to. Be discrete about what you are drawn to. There are things in life that can make life easier. Use resources got help you with the tasks of life and especially use God’s word for life.
One person’s truth is sometimes different than someone else’s truth. What is the truth? There must be a right way and a wrong way to do something. For thousands of years, people have applied God's commandments to life and have been grateful to God for His good commandments. Be a light bearer in life. Philippians 2:15 NKJV says, "Become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." God is the creator and provider of all that is and that includes a place in the future kingdom of God for those who keep His commandments. Philippians 2:12 NKJV says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." People will learn from our behavior. 1 Timothy 4:12 NKJV says, "Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Our life needs to speak loudest about keeping God's commandments. Be committed to keeping God's commandments.
Do not allow your children to be taught Communism.
We talked about the murderous societies of communism last week. The following is an excerpt from last week. Communism is based on good intentions instead of on good values.
Some people think that all there is to life is to have good intentions. Good intentions can be misleading if they are not based on what the Bible teaches. For example, people sometimes think that it would be great if everyone had all they needed. While that would be nice, not everyone has the same motivation and not everyone has the good character that comes from the Bible and being committed to keeping God's commandments.
Not everyone is inclined to use their time well. Some are selfish and uncaring, some only want what comes easy, and some are inclined towards self-gratification. Some people will often maintain their life through whatever their government provides. So, say for instance that no one has the inclination to provide food, the people then will be on the verge of starvation. Those that think that everyone should all have they need while a very noble concept is not based on reality.
Good intentions does not work in reality. I read a story years ago about life in communist Cuba. The person writing the article walked into a meat market but there was no meat there. Someone was sitting there and working, but there was no meat. Communism is driven by ideas of good intentions. That is why so many people think that communism is good, but their utopian ideals are just a lie. Proverbs 12:11 NIV says, "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense."
The made-up ideals of communism have brought murder to their own people and created wars. Over 90 million people were murdered by the communist societies of just Russia and China alone. It is still going on today everywhere Communism is practiced as a form of government. Even to this day, China puts people in concentration camps and uses these people for forced labor and body parts. They call their concentration camps reeducation camps.
Communists will cite evil done in the past and ignore the evil that Communism has brought into the world and still does on a daily basis. For example, they will talk about the Crusades that occurred some 500 years ago or that at one time, slavery was practiced in the United States. That got changed. There is no more slavery. There are no crusades anymore except by some murderous nations. What would you call the murder of some 70 million people in communist China in the not-so-distant past? They will say that the Indians were massacred in the United States. While some Indians were massacred and that is terrible, wars against the Indians amounted to only 10% of the Indian population. They were not all massacred. It is a lie. Some textbooks in the United States contain outright slander against the United States and the people who are passing on these lies are the communists who live by the fantasies of utopia and good intentions instead of having good values. Save your children from these intention-based ideals that will only bring pain, destruction, and evil into society.
There are plenty of people around who use enticing words to spread evil. You can stand strong and do what is right. Psalms 27:1 NKJV says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Do not be afraid to be courageous and follow God. Joshua 1:8-9 NKJV says, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Decide you will stay strong and ask for God's help. Isaiah 41:10 NKJV says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." You can do it, stay strong.
Learn God's commandments and keep them. God gives us right and good ways to live. God's commandments are intended to help us in life. They are able to deliver us from evil so delight in them and thank God for them.
Learn what is true spiritual light and seek truth. Not all churches have your best interests at heart, but God does, and He wants to help us, and He cares about us. False religion has doctrines that oppose what the Bible teaches. Do not be tricked by the way some twist the scriptures. What really makes us okay spiritually is to follow God and keep His commandments. Do not take chances spiritually but stick to the truth.
Stay true to God and be committed to Him. Endure so that you will inherit God's future kingdom. Order your life and successfully navigate all you do in life. What kind of picture does your life paint? Do they see a rebellious person or someone who wants to do what is right and good? Be committed to living how God says to live and think what is right so that you will not do evil and do what is right. God is for you and cares about you, so be strong.
The Holy Spirit is supposed to help us and lead us mostly to follow God. God’s gifts are for everyone Acts 2:38-39 NKJV says, "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'" As many a God will call; that includes us. God wants us to have a blessed life through His commandments and has given us another helper through the Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua said in John 14:15-17, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth." God gave us His commandments to help us and also the Holy Spirit through the Messiah Yeshua.
For more information on applying the Holy Spirit in your life, see our teaching and handouts in our Divine Healing Prayer Class online (https://www.teshuvahsa.org/prayer-class).
Nothing is hidden to God. Do not think that your evil will not catch up to you. Remember the darkness for eternity scripture in 2 Peter 2:17. God knows what is going on. Numbers 32:23 NKJV says, "But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out." Not keeping the commandments of a good and caring God is evil and separates people from God because God wants us to do good and not evil. Isaiah 59:2 NKJV, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you."
Sometimes we think that the world is backwards, and no one wants what is right and good. Stay true to God's good commandments. Learn them and grow spiritually. Keep your heart and mind where it belongs. Stay strong and do what is right. Proverbs 4:23 NKJV says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." God is good and His commandments bring goodness into the world instead of the pain and consequences that come with evil. You reap what you sow, so sow what is right and good. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 NKJV says, "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you."
Believers can experience God through His commandments and the works of the Holy Spirit. God has always been at work since the inception of time and has been trying to help mankind. Remember what God did for the Israelites – God delivered them from oppression, fed them, and supernaturally revealed Himself every day while they were in the desert. God can and will also do amazing things for us.
He is a good and caring God who can work powerfully for us. God does not need a vacation. He is always available to work on our behalf. Because God knows what is best for us, His commandments are intended to help us and so is the Holy Spirit. They are life giving and for every area of life. We must work at keeping God's commandments and desire the work of the Holy Spirit. By pursuing God's ways and His help we can give honor to God. Our spiritual life does not automatically happen, but we must pursue it and not reject the things of God. Never forget God's goodness and stay positively focused on following God.
God's commandments have been good for thousands of years, they are still good, and they will always be good. Isaiah 25:1 NKJV says, "O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." God's word gives us truths for life. Why seek anything else when we already have something that is so wonderful?
Do not be trapped by feel good watered down man-made religion. Today, there are many who do not realize that they believe in a building or a mission statement instead of the Bible. Yeshua did not say that the path to God's future kingdom was wide and easy. Through God we can have peace in life. Be connected to God and His good ways. Doing what is right and peace are connected. God's commandments are a better way of life and God will also act on our behalf so trust in God. Seek the truths of the Bible. God's ways are wonderful because they come from an all-knowing and good God.
There is no other true God, so we must acknowledge who He is and keep His commandments because they are what is best for us. Nehemiah 9:6 NKJV says, "You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all." Mankind can often have an exalted view of the things of this world, but without what God has created we would have nothing. People can be more drawn to man-made things instead of God and value their ways and ideals instead of God's ways. Do not trust in the false ideals that separate you from God. Isaiah 59:2 NKJV says, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God." Not listening to the creator God's commandments separates people from God. What are your motivations in life? Are you treating God as who He is? He is the creator of the universe and all that is and because He is the creator God, He can do what He says He will do, and will do what He said He will do.
So, stand strong and you will be in God's good future kingdom. Righteousness means to do what is right and keep God's good commandments (see Deuteronomy 6:17-18). Daniel 12:2-3 NKJV says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever."
Speaking in Tongues is mostly for prayer, but when we come together, it should be interpreted supernaturally. Shaul says in 1 Corinthians 14:39 CJB, "Do not forbid speaking in tongues." Those who receive the Holy Spirit should seek gifts of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 14:1).
1 Thessalonians 5:21 CJB says, "Test everything - hold onto what is good." Again, what God gives us is good. The Ruach HaKodesh means the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:11-13 CJB says, "Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake? or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!"
We can come up with lots of ideas on how to live life, but God's ways are the commandments of a good God that help us in life. He knows what is best and will even empower His commandments at times and do works on our behalf. In spite of the unknowns in life, God's commandments bring order and goodness to our life. Endure and stick with it and keep moving forward in life no matter what. Be diligent to know and keep God's commandments. Also, be available to help others believe truth. Try opening conversations about God with others.
God's commandments are needed for life and are from a good God who has good intentions for us. Know them so that you are ready to apply them. God's commandments are doctrine for life. Proverbs 4:2 NKJV says, "For I give you good doctrine: do not forsake my law." Do not be lazy spiritually, act and work on your spiritual life. Put in the effort to make your spiritual life successful. We need what the creator has given us for life. Proverbs 4:26-27 NKJV says, "Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil." Think and do what is "right and good."
We have a choice. We can either bring goodness or evil into the world and our life. God gave us His good commandments to help mankind. Don't we want what is good? I think most people want what is good. They just need to understand what is good. But people often think that they know what is right without knowing the goodness of God towards mankind. Therefore, they often bring evil into the world instead of what is "right and good." God wants what is best for us, but we must first be willing to accept Him and His commandments so that we can do what is right. Just like anything in life, we need to be willing to work on our spiritual life as well as the physical and emotional things of life. Hold Fast to God's ways and walk in His ways. Pursue God and a future eternal life with our good God.
God has provided so much for us physically and He has also given us His good commandments. We need to be thankful for all God has done for us. Do what is right and good so the worldly dust does not blind us from the truth of God's light. Make God to be in every part of your life so that His commandments can work in you effectively. Our life should naturally show others that we have a good, peaceful, and caring God. Keeping our life in line with God's commandments helps us to maintain the direction we need to take in life and have a purposeful life. We look forward to a future kingdom of the good things God will provide. Talking about the future kingdom, Revelation 21:21 NKJV says, "And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass." It is going to be an amazing time in the future kingdom.
Be strong spiritually, keep God's commandments, be committed to God no matter what. God's commandments will help you and even prolong your days. God is a good God so love Him and do what He says. Do not forget His goodness. Seek the help of the Holy Spirit and the associated gifts of the Holy Spirit. God has given the Messianic believers powerful and wonderful gifts.
God has given us truths in the Bible that will bless those who follow them. Receive God's words and treasure His commandments. His commandments give us wisdom and understanding. Diligently seek God's truths in the Bible. God has good intentions for us.
Do not be confused by people who have a made-up theology for understanding the Bible. Be committed to doing things God's way and make your spiritual life a priority. Learn biblical truth and do not listen to those who contradict Yeshua. We need to know the truths of the Bible and not mistaken versions of so-called truth. Stand strong spiritually against a dark world that does not know God and hold fast to the words of life through God and the Bible.
Most of all, we need to keep moving forward spiritually. Do not give up. Shaul says in Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Make your spirituality a priority in life and seek God and His ways. Apply yourself well spiritually. Be committed to God and to keeping His commandments. Be committed to changing what you need to change in life. Stay focused on living the life that God has called you to and be faithful.
Have joy for all God has provided and for His feasts. Remember, Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV says, "The joy of the LORD is your strength." Understand the scriptures how they were originally intended to be understood and stop keeping pagan doctrine. Do what God tells us in the Bible and learn and grow in the truths of God's word. Pray to our good God and seek Him. Put "right and good" thoughts in our minds, do what is right, and be strong. God wants to lead us with His commandments and with the help of the Holy Spirit. Be strong and courageous believers in the true God.
Be strong, be resilient, in every part of life.
Be diligent and strong spiritually. Exodus 15:26 NKJV says, “Diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes." The Bible makes quite an emphasis on following what God says. God knows what is best for us.
We are not to let to turn away from God's good commandments, Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV says, "Be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" Then it says in Deuteronomy 4:9 NKJV says, “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren."
We are to diligently keep ourselves, so we do not turn away from keeping God's commandments. The word for keep in verse 9 could also be translated as guard. We are to diligently guard our life, so we keep God's good commandments. Look at the language in this verse. We are to "take heed," and 'diligently guard' our life.
Have a proper focus in life and make God a priority in life. We can focus on any number of things in life and forget about our spirituality. Why be consumed with being anxious? Seek most of all what will give you true peace and be content with putting God in His proper place. Stay strong spiritually and keep working at being a godly person in all you do.
Revere God and please our good God. Stay true to God and His commandments. God can give us a better life through His commandments and the Holy Spirit. Be satisfied with the truths that the Creator gave us. God wants us to accept the favor that He has given us both from the Old Testament and the New Testament. God does not change, His commandments are still good, and the Holy Spirit through the Messiah is powerful and good. Get past the false concepts of man-made religion and be connected to God the way you are supposed to be. Be determined to stay faithful to God and keep moving forward spiritually in life.
We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. We are to make every effort possible to love God and how do we love God? Deuteronomy 11:1 NKJV says, "Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." This is a good scripture to memorize. We love God when we keep His commandments because He knows what is best for us and wants what is best for us. We are to also diligently teach our children. We are to teach our children to do what is right at every opportunity. We should even set up physical reminders to help us keep God's commandments. Pursue God in your life and in all you do.
Most of all, do we work at doing what is right and good? Are we accomplished at walking in God's ways? Deuteronomy 8:6 NKJV says, "Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." We are to commit our lives to do what God says, to do that in all we do, and we walk in His ways. It says we are to fear God. There are a lot of people who do not fear the consequences of their actions. They do not care how they affect others. The reason we need police is so people will not cause others harm. The people who do not want police around are often those who will cause others harm if no one is around to stop them. But God is not the police. He asks us to do what is right and good for our own well-being and the well-being of others. He must be just though, and those who cause pain to others through sin will have to stand before Him and be judged someday. 2 Peter 2:9 NKJV says, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." God does not want people to fail and live in sin. He will help you overcome, but you need to be committed to be led by God's commandments.
Our God is a faithful and good God. Won't you be faithful to Him? Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV says, "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." God is merciful, so always repent and commit your ways to God. We are to love God with all our heart. Deuteronomy 11:1 NKJV says, "Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always."
In this portion we see the enduring promise of God to Ya’akov. God (Yĕ-hō-váh, יהוה) meets him as Ya’akov begins his journey. God watches over him and leads him to Lavan and provides work for him and his family. God keeps him safe as he returns to Canaan and God warns the liar and manipulator Lavan to leave Ya’akov alone. At the end of the portion Ya’akov meets some angels. Ya'akov sees angels a couple of times in this portion. The book of Hebrews tells us that God sends His angels to help those who are called by God. Hebrews 1:14 NKJV says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" God sends His angels to help us too.
We are all imperfect people; the kingdom has not yet been restored. We must remember to repent and try to rectify our sins and the problems we have caused. Yeshua taught that we not only are to ask God for forgiveness, but also work out our problems. Do not be an Esav who wanted to kill Ya'akov instead of working things out. Esav relied on himself instead of God; his life and progeny came to amount to very little compared to Ya'akov's life. All he cared about was himself and a plate of beans. Yeshua said in Matthew 5:23-24 NKJV, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." If we know that we have done something wrong, try to work it out and then also ask God for forgiveness. Be a spiritually minded person like Ya'akov.
Those who look to our God will be strengthened. Isaiah 40:31 NKJV says, "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." There are blessings for keeping God's commandments. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV says, "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God." God's commandments are a blessing and God gave us His commandments for our own good. Deuteronomy 10:13NKJV says, "Keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good."
God’s ways can prosper us because they are good ways. God has given us light, understanding, through His commandments. Psalms 118:24-27 NKJV says, “This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, and He has given us light.”
This next scripture takes place on Rosh Hashanah which is a feast day and a day of rest. Nehemiah 8:9-10 NKJV says, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.’” God’s ways bring joy and doing things His way instead of the made-up ways of mankind can give us both joy and strength in life.
Do you want to bring God’s goodness into the world, or the pain sin brings into the world. We need to decide that we will do what is “right and good” and keep God’s commandments. God’s ways are, “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law,” see Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV. God has good intentions for mankind. Give yourself the chance to be set free and do what is right. Give the God of the Bible a chance, seek the goodness of God in this life, and seek God’s good and wonderful future kingdom by continuing in His good commandments.
Take care of the matters of life and our spiritual lives. Stay on track spiritually; God should be an important part of our lives. Hang on to spiritual truth and live for God. Noah’s Ark has been discovered, but more important than that, is for each of us to discover the mighty God of the universe and our Messiah Yeshua.
Also, we should note, many believers in the Messiah are blind too and don't understand the scriptures in their proper biblical Jewish or Israelite context. That is the original context of the Bible and that is where we should be getting our understanding. Bible teachers teach their own doctrine or just good advice instead of the truth. Theology has taken over Christianity and they explain away the scriptures and act as gods to those who seek God. They don't want to offend anyone, so they won't lose money.
They end up being businesspeople who are running a business. They say they believe, but do they really believe? If you believe in God, you also must believe He exists and do what God says. Revelation 21:8 NKJV says, "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone." This sounds awful, but if no one ever tells you that you are not learning the truth of God's word, you may end up in the lake of fire with those who are holding back the truth. It is not true there is no hell. If someone told you there is no hell, they are lying. That is where these liars are going; do not go there with them.
God is a God who provides the Holy Spirit to help us (see John 15:26) so we can have fellowship with God. 1 John 1:3-4 CJB says, "What we have seen and heard, we are proclaiming to you; so that you too may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." Isn't that amazing; we should be full of joy.
The are many ways we can celebrate Sukkot; just remember to follow the ritual God commands and have fun with your personal traditions. Do not turn traditions into commandments, that is wrong. We need to set up barriers to worldly things so we can manage them. God is amazing; God is so good to us. Let us have joy during this holiday and for the blessings of life, for God's commandments, and for the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 118:1
Give thanks to Yĕhōváh for He is good. His mercy is forever.
As believers, we need to keep seeking God and never give up. Stay connected to God and His word. In order to grow spiritually, we may need to change some things in our lives. Money is often a driving force for us, but God and doing what is right should be especially important. We will have to give an account to God for how we live. Stay faithful to our good and just God.
This time of year is important as are all of God’s feasts. I am not talking about the Gentile made-up feasts, but the real biblical feasts. In my life, I replaced the Gentile feasts with God's feasts. Those who keep God’s commandment to keep the Sabbath, which is observed every week, should always remember to make a big deal about the special feasts of God like Passover, Shavuot, Yom Teruah (also called Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. They are God’s feasts! Leviticus 23:2 NKJV says, “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”
We should remember that God gave us His commandments to help us. If we keep His commandments God says we will be His treasured people. I want to be one of God's treasured people. The Bible teaches us that we are to be a humble people. We can incur curses by not keeping God's commandments; often these are in the form of consequences. We will receive blessings if we keep God's commandments and even supernatural blessings! We need biblical truths and not an incomplete or muddled version of truth. God's ways are true, they help us live right, and are intended to be part of all our life; it should include the working of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to keep His commands, to have all of His good blessings, and have joy in life.
This portion contains a lot of important miscellaneous laws. Some of the laws are used in our own culture. God is the creator and knows what is best for us. Work at directing your life towards God. It will give you peace and even make your life longer; perhaps by even changing and protecting your DNA. Be consistent in developing a godly life. Work at areas in your life that need attention. Be humble and willing to accept correction and grow spiritually. Hold on firmly to God and trust in Him.
The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39) is given to believers in Messiah in this Messianic era to help us live better and lead us and encourage us in life's situations. You can do no better than to follow God’s commandments and how the Holy Spirit is leading you (The Holy Spirit will not contradict God’s commandments – why would God’s good commandments change; God says in Malachi 3:6 NKJV, “For I am the LORD, I do not change.”). Through God’s commandments and the Holy Spirit we can hit the middle of the target in life.
Do not get caught up in worldly disputes about how to live right because the worldly redefine truth and makes it into a lie. They call what is good evil and what is evil good. They will have to pay for their evil it said in Ezekiel so don’t follow their false system of lies. We live among perverse people, but we are not to live like they live. Hold fast to the words of life. Don’t pretend to be God of your life; we are not God.
We have seen a number of verses from the Old Testament portion quoted in the New Testament portion in our studies. This portion also has verses from the Old Testament portion of the Haftarah that are quoted in the New Testament portion. The New Testament believers reference for life is the Old Testament portion – that’s why they quoted the Old Testament portion. If they Old Testament portion was of no consequence, they would not have used it to substantiate what they believed.
Over and over in this portion, we see Moshe reminding them to keep God’s commandments. The writer of Hebrews says the same thing (in Hebrews 3:5 to 4:2). As Moshe says there are dire consequences for not following God, the writer of Hebrews says the same. Hebrews 3:12 NKJV says, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." Contrary to what some say, we can depart from our relationship with God. It is important to maintain our relationship with God. Watch out for people who may give exciting or interesting teachings, but don't bring you in relationship with God. Shaul also talked about those with itching ears; watch out that you are not one of them (see 2 Timothy 4:3). Have a deep faith, not a superficial one.
Work things through in life. Sometimes this comes easily and at other times we need to take time to process what to do. Sometimes we need to look at our lives, our motivations, our plans, our desires, and get them in line with God’s truths in the Bible.
Provers 3:5-8NKJV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.
Do not rely in your own thoughts and understanding but rely on the ‘wisdom and understanding’ that comes from God. Stay on the right path. In that way, you will be led by God instead of following evil. Following God will give you health and strength. Taking regular inventory of our thoughts and intentions will help keep us on the right path.
God was real and present with Israel while they were in the desert before they entered Canaan. He is a real and present powerful God who sustains all of His creation and works on behalf of His people every day. God reaches out to mankind to help us find Him and rescue us so we can demonstrate the goodness of God. We are to be a people of light and understanding through an all-knowing and good God. The blind man who Yeshua healed not only saw physically but understood that Yeshua was the Messiah. Those that think they have it all together are often spiritually blind even though they can see physically. God will help those who believe in the Messiah through the work of the Holy Spirit. God is a good God and wants to give us good things.
God expects us to keep His commandments. Those who teach and keep God's commandments will be rewarded by God. It says in Hebrews 6:10-12 NKJV: "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Teaching people to keep God's commandments is one of the ways we love others. We are to be ‘diligent’ to keep God's commands until the end (see Deuteronomy 6:17-18); we are not to become lazy or get tired of doing what is “right.” We are to live like we believe and keep God's commandments so that we inherit God's promises.
Some of the Old Testament portion scriptures are pictures of spiritual things. The sacrifices of the Israelites were to be pure which is a picture for us to be pure. Yeshua the Messiah was pure. Mo-shay strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. He was not able to enter the promised land because of what he did. We should remember that God expects us to do exactly what He says. If we want truth, we need to be able to accept truth and do what the Bible says. People often produce their own ideas of life instead of the truths from the Bible. God wants what is best for us instead of the failure of mankind’s ways. He can reach us even in the darkness and deception of this world.
God gave us His commands to help us; God cares about us. God wants a people who do what is right and spiritual leaders who are dedicated to keep God’s commandments and to teach all of God’s truths including God’s Old Testament commandments, the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s judgment, and the lake of fire. Our spiritual life is important, and we don’t want to get off track. God is more important than money and all the workings of mankind. We can experience God’s amazing works, but most of all, God’s peace and contentment can give us a rich and rewarding life.
What can we learn from the sin of the spies?
*The lack of faith in this era has resulted in several things. Some are afraid of the Holy Spirit even though Yeshua commands us not to be afraid of the Holy Spirit in Luke 11:13 NKJV, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him;" Luke 11:13 NKJV. People think negative things about people who speak in tongues; there is nothing wrong with God's gifts; sometimes people can act a little weird; that's not God's fault. Shaul tells us to desire God's gifts. "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts;" 1 Corinthians 14:1 NKJV.
*Speaking in tongues and desiring God's spiritual gifts are God's commandments, so not pursuing those are sin. Shaul said, "The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord;" 1 Corinthians 14:37 NKJV. Wasn't Canaan a gift from God to Israel? God removed the perverted people and child murderers and gave the land to Israel. It is a picture of the future kingdom of God, perverted people will be in the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8 NKJV says, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone." We all have a choice how we will live and where we will go for eternity.
*Unbelief can affect many areas of our life. We work to provide for our family; our work represents who we are; we provide services for others; our job also provides for those who work with us. A negative attitude about work can be a detriment to our life and the lives of others.
*A negative attitude about people can affect how we treat them. Being negative can cause us to make others stumble. Lashon harah (do not commit evil speaking) is a properly applied command from the Old Testament portion. Stay positive, it's the best defense against the devil. God values people: we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26); we are valuable; others are valuable. Treat others with respect and dignity. Shaul said, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all;" Galatians 6:10 NKJV. That's what we teach; not the hate that these God haters teach. If people became conscientious understanding believers, this world would be a better place.
*Doing some things without God’s permission can result in calamity. Some of those who went back to fight after God said not to ended up dying.
*We should always think about doing what is right. This portion ends by telling the people to wear fringes to remind them to keep God’s commands. The Hebrew word “to look” at the fringes is the word “to see” (ra-ah). It then says we are not to use our eyes for lust. It is a Hebrew word play in two ways. First, we are to see the fringes to remind us to keep God’s commandments and also, so our eyes won’t cause us to sin. Also, the sin of the 10 spies is in this portion. Perhaps we could say that we are to spy on keeping God’s commandments and do not to spy on sinful ways. Be careful how you “spy” things. In the present it is appropriate to wear tzitzit at times to keep the command to wear tzitzit.
We also now have the Holy Spirit to remind us to keep God’s commands. We are commanded to receive the Holy Spirit through the Messiah Yeshua (Acts 2:38-39), and we are to be clothed with the Holy Spirit the Bible says. Luke 24:49 NKJV, “I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." The word endued is the word to be clothed. Just as we are to wear tzitzit, we are to be clothed with the Holy Spirit.
In this portion, Moshe says that he wished all God’s people were prophets. It has always been God’s intention that we fellowship with God personally. That close connection was lost when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, but that connection has been restored to some extent now through the gift of the Holy Spirit; believers in Yeshua are commanded to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). It is not true that God did not speak to His people in the Tanakh (Old Testament portion). The entire Tanakh is filled with people encountering God and God speaking to them. Some say that God does not speak any more; has he lost His voice? Remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah mocked the pagans because their pagan gods were powerless (1 Kings 18:20-40). The true God is not powerless; your denomination may be powerless, but why should He speak to a people who will not listen to Him anyway and those who just make up their own doctrine?
God is there and at work powerfully. A friend of mine prayed for someone who was blind, and stuff started oozing out of the eyes of the man he was praying for, and he was healed of his blindness. I prayed for a woman in the jungle in the middle of nowhere near the Amazon River who had just heard about God. She had a bad back and her pain was completely gone. She cried for half an hour after her healing.
Another friend of mine who was an RN prayed for a teenage boy and while he had his hand on the boy's leg, the boy's leg grew instantly to the same length as the other. It must have been amazing. I personally have seen many miracles and healings. I have a two-volume book on miracles called, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts by Craig Keener. He talks about Hume saying God did not do any miracles. When some people told Hume that is not true, Hume said we know that God does not do any miracles. He was quoting himself! Do not underestimate God! Do not be afraid to pray. God may not answer every prayer, but God will answer some of our prayers. Through God we can be real life spiritual superheroes.
Our lives are not perfect but keep moving forward and do not give up. Yeshua said in Revelation 3:5 NKJV, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." Yochanan (John) says we have victory and can overcome sin through Yeshua. 1 John 4:4-6 NKJV says, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God." We are of God, and we can overcome the world. Shaul said in Philippians 4:13 NKJV, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We can do all through the Messiah. You can do it. If you sin, talk to God, and ask for forgiveness; tell God you will not do it again and be sincere. He will "cleanse" us from all sin Yochanan said.
Perhaps God doing a census in this portion shows us that God values us. Samson was a real-life superhero because God empowered him. We too are empowered by God for growing spiritually through the work of the Holy Spirit and can be real life superheroes by the power of God. Have faith in God and live right. Understand the context of the Bible; want truth and not made-up doctrine. The New Testament gets its understanding from the Old Testament. Both Yeshua (Jesus) and Shaul (Paul) quote the Old Testament portion. God wants us to do what is right and will forgive us when we repent and turn back to Him. He wants us to succeed, and He will help us.
Thread count is the number of threads woven together per inch. So, 100 x 100 threads is a 200-thread count. A 200-thread count is considered high quality thread. Think about this in spiritual terms. The more of God that is inter-woven into our lives, the better quality of spiritual life we will have. I want a good spiritual life, who wouldn't want that. God, Jeremiah 10:12 NKJV says about God, "He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion." With almighty God in our lives, we will have a better life. He is the creator God and living His way is always best, and it can be amazing at times because God is an active and good God.
Our society teaches us that we can only rely on man. They have made up an alternate reality without God. We also have inherited lies through theology. Jeremiah 17:5 NKJV, "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD;" God is God and mankind is not. What makes people think that their man-made theology is okay with God? They obviously do not respect God because if they did, they would drop their man-made lies and actually begin to do what God tells us to do.
God wants to bless us and give us wisdom and understanding that is better than all we can imagine it says in Deuteronomy 4:5-6. God knows what is best for us. God is real and can also bring us supernatural blessings as we follow Him. We need to seek Yĕ-hō-váh so we will have godly direction in our lives and His supernatural blessings. Why live by man-made ideas when we have a good God who wants to help us? Enjoy your good and godly life and stay focused. Adjust how you think and actively work at keeping your life in line with God and His commands. Stay on God's path. Watch where you are going; do not do evil; do not turn away from God.
There are many sound applicable commandments that come from the Old Testament. Yeshua (Jesus) and Shaul (Paul) taught from the Old Testament and used it as doctrine. We have a good God who wants us to have peace and joy. We have so much to be thankful for as believers in the true God. God can give us peace and keep our hearts and minds in Him. Do not let your mind be overcome with worldly thoughts. Those in darkness are far from God and do not care about doing what is right and good. Instead, stay close to God and seek Him and be blessed. 1 John 1:5-7 says, "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all; … walk in the light."
The Torah repeats itself a lot. Repetition is often used for emphasis in the Bible. We should always want more of God and be willing listeners and doers. There is a difference between Greek education and Jewish studies. The Greeks learn to improve themselves, but the ancient believers in God learned so they could be dedicated to God. It is not a division of focus as some say; our focus should be on living right and following God, on being dedicated to God.
We are to “put to death” sin it says in Colossians 3:5 NKJV. These are some strong words. Why not make the effort to do what is right and bring blessing to others instead of sin and the pain and destruction that can accompany sinful behavior? Be stable in all you do and no matter what, keep trusting in God and be at peace. Worry often just brings extra tension to our situation. There are a lot of good things we can do, but don’t forget to include spiritual things as part of how you use your time. You don’t have to go to extreme risks, but we are commanded to use some of our abilities for the kingdom of God and to also use our spiritual gifts. Live a blessed life and be a blessing to others.
Since we want to be God’s people, we should behave like God’s people. Sin has a negative impact on us and others. For example, taking bribes subverts justice; those bribing others may get away with crimes against others. All sin is destructive and is wrong. Even small sins can cause harm.
Also, this portion talks about the many traps of sin that keep us from a relationship with God. For example, sexual sins often keep a person distant from God. We belong to God, and we are to be a holy separate people (and not sin). Also, this portion talks about loving our neighbor as ourselves. Sin not only keeps us from God, but also keeps us from loving others and treating others right.
God gave us the laws in the Old Testament portion to protect us. The quarantine practices in the Old Testament help us to stay safe; it is biblical. When we do what God tells us, we can be blessed by God. When we serve others, God can use us for His purposes. God even used lepers in the Old Testament to discover the invading army had left without taking their supplies with them.
False doctrines are of no consequence to God. Just because someone wears weird clothes, it does not qualify them to teach about the true God. Timothy was taught the Holy Scriptures from the Old Testament and God will judge us by His truths. He wants us to live by them because He is an all-knowing God, and they are good for us. We will find true light and peace in God's holy words in the Bible.
Wrong doctrine will lead to our eternal demise. Some people think they can do whatever they want. Shaul said in Galatians 5:21 NKJV, "Just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." And in Galatians 6:7 NKJV, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked."
Don’t live a fake worldly life; only seeking baubles and thrills. Many people live only for worldly things. I would not be alive to enjoy anything if I had died in that fire. Unknown to many people is a satisfying relationship with God. God can help us like nothing else or no one else can. We can have a supernatural relationship with God. How amazing is that! Work on keeping God’s commandments and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. Shaul said, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us;" Ephesians 3:20 NKJV. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are powerful; do not ignore them.
In the portion Shemini, fire came out of the sky and consumed the burnt offering; we should remember to do what God says; He is God, and we are not. We should do what is right, so we bring blessing into the world and not sin and destruction. Think about what you are doing and be reasonable. Keep doing the good you learned from the scriptures. Use your time and money well; do not throw caution to the wind. Be wise and stay wise. God gave us a brain so use it. Teach and do what is right, and give your anxieties to God.
The worldly keep on working to spread their false belief systems. They have devised a machine like plan to spread their false beliefs. Believers in the true God wonder what is going on sometimes as their faith continues to be assaulted by the false beliefs systems of the world. This week, I woke up to hear that the Palestinians attacked Israel again and the President of the United States mandated that all public schools in the United States are to now accept sinful dress codes and sinful sexual behaviors in their schools. If they do not, they will lose their government funding.
God wanted Israel to do things a specific way; we need to do things God's way and not our way. God's people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge about God and the scriptures. We need to have joy, even in difficult times. Our thoughts can get clogged up with the issues of life and the troubles we face. Take comfort in God and decide to follow Him and do what is right no matter what. We have a lot to be thankful for as believers. Nothing can take us away from God unless we let our own thoughts overcome us. Yeshua said in Revelation 2:7 NKJV, "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." God, "is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV.
People in our era have lots of knowledge about everything except for God. 3,000 believed in the Messiah Yeshua on Shavuot (Pentecost) it says in Acts 2. God gave the Holy Spirit on a Jewish feast day; that's why all those Jewish people were at the Temple in Jerusalem. The 3,000 who believed knew their Bible and they were instantly capable home group leaders who had learned the Bible as they grew up. They fellowshipped from house to house and ate together (Acts 2:46). Eating together is something Jews do on Shabbat! Believers observe Shabbat; early believers in Yeshua observed Shabbat because it is one of God's feasts, and they kept God's good commandments. We want what is good; God wants what is good!
Why would you consider lies when you can have truth? Is that how you want to live? Years ago, there were people who sold fake cures just to make money. They were called "snake oil" salesmen. People actually bought these worthless elixirs from them. Do not listen to people who are telling you lies instead of truth. Do not listen to the "snake oil" salespeople who oppose God. God will hold them accountable. Do not end up in the lake of fire with them. Revelation 21:8 NKJV says, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone."
I tell you this for your own good. I want you to make it into the future eternal kingdom of God. Have you ever had missed opportunities to let people know these things? I had a very good friend who had a family and two children and was prone to drinking too much. Perhaps if I had understood the things I am sharing with you now, I could have saved his life and talked to him about what I am sharing with you now. I asked God to forgive me, and I know God has forgiven me, but that does not bring my friend back. We need to get the word out to the world. If we could save one person, it would be worth it.
We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us His commandments and the right way to live, and it is a good way to live. Why not have joy! Why be anxious? Keep praying and allow God's peace to fill you up. Allow God to guard your mind through the Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). God tells us to be thankful for what we have been given. Hebrews 13:15-16 NKJV says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
God requires a sacrifice for our shortcomings (our sin); Leviticus 17:11 NKJV says, "It is the blood that makes atonement." God made a way for all to come to Him through the Messiah Yeshua. People are prone to sin and doing things their own way instead of doing what is right. Have a God centered life. Do not be shammed or fooled by mankind's ideas. Instead, put godly (good) thoughts in your mind. Control your thoughts with the help of the scriptures. Have a proper understanding of things and act reasonably. We are part of a wonderful body of believers in the Messiah so be filled with joy and be thankful.
God wants to comfort us and give us peace in every situation. Yeshua told us that He would not leave us as orphans, and He gave us the Holy Spirit. God is able to help us supernaturally, so we are to pray and cast our anxieties on God. Be sensible and do not tempt God. You do your part in a sensible manner and let God take care of the rest. Pray for protection and for all things; prayer works!
God is with us so do not be deluded into thinking He is not there. It says about our God Yĕhōváh in Psalm 147:4-5 NKJV, "He determines how many stars there are and calls them all by name. Our Lord is great, his power is vast, his wisdom beyond all telling." Be strong and courageous even as Israel was in the desert years ago as they moved forward toward the land God promised them. They were not without doubts and trials but continued to move forward in faith. So, we also should move forward in faith.
God wants to comfort us and give us peace in every situation. Yeshua told us that He would not leave us as orphans, and He gave us the Holy Spirit. God is able to help us supernaturally, so we are to pray and cast our anxieties on God. Be sensible and do not tempt God. You do your part in a sensible manner and let God take care of the rest. Pray for protection and for all things; prayer works! God is with us so do not be deluded into thinking He is not there. It says about our God Yĕhōváh in Psalm 147:4-5 NKJV, "He determines how many stars there are and calls them all by name. Our Lord is great, his power is vast, his wisdom beyond all telling." Be strong and courageous even as Israel was in the desert years ago as they moved forward toward the land God promised them. They were not without doubts and trials but continued to move forward in faith. So, we also should move forward in faith.
In this Torah portion, we see God demanding the respect He deserves and that He is a merciful and good God. In the Haftarah God evens burns up the stones at the sacrifice. The stones that burned up perhaps remind us of the commandments that God inscribed in stone with His finger. We should know that our God is the true God and there is no other God, but Him. Israel was to be faithful and trust in Him and we should be faithful to Him and trust in Him too.
The sin of idolatry caused the death of 3,000 for Israel in this Torah portion. Sin in our world has caused untold sickness, pain, and death. God gave us His commandments because we need His help; that is an understatement. God is not trying to take away our fun but protect us. Someday the world will be a great place to live when God is in charge and not mankind. Seek God and His goodness and blessings. Mankind is all the time trying to figure out life, but God has already given us the map to having a good life and that life is through Him. If only we would listen to God and understand the keys to a good life. God's ways work better than mankind's ways. God knows what is best for us. If only mankind would come to understand the keys to life and be people of light.
All the ancient believers, the believers of Israel (Exodus 19:6), and all believers in Messiah (1 Peter 2:9) are to be priests and serve each other. Exodus 19:6 NKJV says, "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people."
We often think that we as individuals only have the responsibility to care for ourselves, but no one is an island, and we all rely on others to survive. Without the farmer, there would be no food at the grocery store. We should not take people for granted but be a humble servant of God. Micah 6:8 NKJV says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Be humble towards God, live right, and be considerate and merciful.
God had specific instructions on how the Mishkan was to be built and how the service of the Mishkan was to be done. Just like Israel was to do what God told them to do in building the Mishkan, we are to also do what God says and build up our faith and be strong believers in the Messiah Yeshua and our God Yĕ-hō-váh. God draws us together as a people to help one another. Just like Israel worked together to do what God wanted them to do, we need the help and encouragement of other believers working together and helping one another to be strong. Have peace and joy. Seek God; Yeshua has given Himself for us so we can live a holy life.
Just as the presence of God was at the Mishkan, the presence of God is in us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We should also understand that we are to treat our bodies as holy vessels for the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV says, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." We glorify God by doing what He tells us to do. We are to behave like we are members of the family of our Father God. It makes sense; we are His people if we do what He says and keep His commandments. When we do that, we make God king of our lives as He should be. When we do not keep God's commandments, we state by our actions that we do not respect God for who He is and we have turned our backs on God.
Shaul says we are to be living sacrifices who demonstrate who God is (see Romans12:1-2). Our God is a good God who wants to help us and will watch out for us. He knows us and He knows everything we do. So, stay away from doing evil and do what is right. He is never far from us but is there for us and can give us the desires of our heart. He works on behalf of those who are loyal to Him so be diligent to be a holy person so when we stand before Him at the time of judgment, He will say to us, "Well done good and faithful servant." Yeshua said in a parable about reaching the goal and being part of God's future kingdom in Matthew 25:23 NKJV "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; … Enter into the joy of your lord;'". It will be a time of great joy, so be faithful!
In this portion, the people agree to their relationship with God, and Moshe goes up the mountain to receive more commandments. How wonderful and amazing is it to be in relationship with the creator God, and what a wonderful privilege it is to live as believers in our God Yĕhōváh and Messiah Yeshua. God has given each of us a path to forge ahead on, so serve God the way we should. God gives life. He gives blessings and life through His commandments to the people of Israel as they left Egypt. He also gives us blessings and life through His commandments and the Messiah Yeshua. Choose to follow God, do what is right, and find purpose spiritually. Do not be moored on the rocks doing nothing with our lives but be effective. God's light shines on a world that lacks substance and understanding. The world needs people who desire to live as people of light. Be a light and live the life our good God wants for us.
It says in Deuteronomy 4:6 NKJV about God's Old Testament laws, "Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" Perhaps some of these laws do not apply in our culture. We should take some time to think about how these laws might be applied in our modern times and how they could apply to us. I was taught some of these laws as a child and learned how to apply them. Many of these laws are important for a peaceful society. Keeping the law is the proper way to treat and love others. God says He will judge those who break His laws because they are bringing pain and trouble into this world.
We need to be unflinching in our observance of God's commandments. Isaiah 50:7 NKJV says, "For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed." Flint is a hard stone that can be used for cutting. It retains its shape. We are to retain our beliefs in God and His commandments no matter what others say. We need to hold onto the truth. Titus 1:9 NKJV says, "Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." In our time there seems to be a lot of people who contradict God's word and they are like a flint against God and His commandments. 2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV tells us, "The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." Pass on the teachings of truth to others who will be faithful.
Be faithful in God’s ways. That is the best way to live.
What an amazing God we have. He has told us how to live; He is a loving God who cares about us. He gave us the Holy Spirit in this Messianic age to help us live right. God continues to reach down to mankind through the ages to help us. Sometimes we think of God calling us to do something or an encounter with God as important spiritual moments, but that is not what life is all about. Keep God's commandments, but also be connected to God's power through the Holy Spirit every day. Do not be trapped into thinking that this life is all there is. This world is passing away. Believers can look forward to a wonderful eternal life someday. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;" Hebrews 10:23 NKJV.
Just as God defeated the Egyptians at the Gulf of Aqaba, God continues to help Israel to defeat its enemies after they enter Canaan. Also, we should consider that although we seem to be at risk in the present, God is at work on our behalf. In the end, God will be victorious even though the people of this world can be so against the things of God. Judges 4:23 CJB says: "Thus God on that day defeated Yavin" (Jabin) "the king of Kena'an" (Canaanites) "in the presence of the people of Isra'el."
God is for His people and helps His people both in the Old Testament portion and our present era. God is the same today as He was years ago; a caring and good God. Some 2 million people left Egypt in faith and God provided for them. What an amazing act of faith for so many people. Those who trust in God will be blessed; "Blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalms 84:12 NKJV.
Just as Israel was changed as they went through the sea, we need to be a changed people with the help of the Torah, the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit that we receive through the Messiah Yeshua. Israel left Egypt behind and we should leave our old natures behind and put on good and godly ways. The Israelites ate food and drink given them by God (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). In the same way, but in a spiritual sense, Yĕhōváh gives us spiritual food to live by so that we can live a kingdom life. A life that is different than the worldly point of view; a much better way to live.
We see a God in this portion who wants us to do what is right and He wants to restore His people. We see in the New Testament portion that God provides a way through the Messiah to also restore us to Him. In addition to God's commandments, we need the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us. Yeshua gave us the Torah and He gave us another helper, the Holy Spirit. John 14:15-17 NKJV, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth."
Pharaoh thought He was in control and nothing else mattered, but he found out who was really in control. Living life without a proper spiritual focus is a big mistake. I think there is a saying that says you will end up paying for what you do. God is the almighty king and judge. Don’t diminish who He is. Have a balanced life that puts God in His proper place. Stay fresh spiritually. Live the truth and share about your life in God. Stay at peace and keep your head clear, and in the right place.
We see a God in this portion who wants us to do what is right and He wants to restore His people. We see in the New Testament portion that God provides a way through the Messiah to also restore us to Him. In addition to God's commandments, we need the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us. Yeshua gave us the Torah and He gave us another helper, the Holy Spirit. John 14:15-17 NKJV, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth."
God is there for anyone who will come to Him, and He wants us to accept His commandments which give life and His Holy Spirit through the Messiah Yeshua. Psalms 121:2 NKJV, "My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." God says in Proverbs 7:2 NKJV, "Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye."
Pharaoh brought pain and anguish on the people of Egypt because of his unbelief. God creates things that are useful. The pyramids were just filled with bones. God designed us to convey His goodness and love and have good fruit in our lives. God gives us blessings; the worldly are takers. God is limitless in His ability; Yěhōváh is king of the universe. Instead of being a taker, our good God and king wants to help us and give us blessings.
God returned Israel to their land of promise as predicted by Ezekiel. We should take the land promises to Israel seriously. The Bible says that God has given them the land and it is a testimony to the nations that He is God. No matter what happens, Israel will eventually have the land in perpetuity (forever).
Moshe came back to Egypt ready to go to work for God, but Pharaoh resisted him, and the people became discouraged because Pharaoh persecuted them even more. God told Moshe to keep at it and Moshe persisted. It is unimaginable what the indignant Pharaoh did to His people because he resisted God. That is the ways of the world though; thoughtless, uncaring, and unbelieving. God is just the opposite. The Bible says that God is love.
Although we see lack of trust in God at times as in today’s portion, it was through trust in God that Israel was set free. We also need to have trust in God and live with faith. Faith requires we actually do what is right and not just think we are right. Hebrews 11:23-26 CJB says, "By trusting, the parents of Moshe hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they weren't afraid of the king's decree. By trusting, Moshe, after he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose being mistreated along with God's people rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin. He had come to regard abuse suffered on behalf of the Messiah as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes fixed on the reward. By trusting, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered as one who sees the unseen."
There is blessing in doing things God’s way. There is a steep fall off for those who replace God with worldly ways. Proverbs 19:23 NKJV says, "The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil." In Proverbs 22:4-5 NKJV it says, "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will be far from them." It tells us to listen to God and to fear God. There is nothing wrong with fearing God. He is God and we are not, so we should have a deep respect for God.
People that don't trust in God and break God's commandments are most often rewarded with trouble and problems. Why wouldn't we want to trust in the creator of the universe? Start living in faith and trust in God. Israel had lived in Egypt with all its ungodly influence and somehow, they got things together enough to trust in God. I have heard Bible teachers say Israel didn't trust in God. About 2 million people left their homes in Egypt trusting in God; that is some amazing trust. God came through for them. Why don't we get with it like Israel did and trust in God and do things His way?
Information on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
When praying for others we need to ask God for information, rely on the working of the Holy Spirit, and rely on the power of God. So, this is a good time to talk about the gifts or mani-festations of the Holy Spirit and how we receive information from God.
All the gifts are important, but prophesy is especially important. Shaul (Paul) says it is for edification. 1 Corinthians 14:1,3 NKJV says, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but es-pecially that you may prophesy. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhorta-tion and comfort to men.” Often people think that the prophetic is all about foretelling, but that is not what the Bible says.
We see God saving mankind because of those who live in faith towards God, who follow God's commands, and who are led by Him. Let us also be people of faith who bring God's blessings to the world. Let us be a people who listen to God’s voice and follow Him just as our patriarchs did. True believers make the world a better place. The world needs us. The people who say they don't need God are mistaken. Without God, there would be no life left on earth.
As believers in the true God, we have lots to celebrate. We can be thankful for the past saints of the Old Testament portion who brought us to this time. No wonder God's feasts are times of celebration. Mankind may celebrate their own works, their own accomplishments, their lives, and their special times, but without God, mankind would not exist. Celebrating God's feasts keeps us in touch with reality. We would have nothing without God so don't be deluded (tricked or brainwashed) into thinking otherwise; all things exist because of the creator God.
Let us be people of faith who bring God's blessings to the world. Let us be a people who listen to God’s voice and follow Him just as our patriarchs did. We can make the world a better place.
When we don't follow Him, we are telling God we don't want those blessings and help. Yosef brought blessing on an entire region because He stood with God and used his prophetic gift from God. Unfortunately, those who turned away from God were not warned of the coming famine and suffered because of it. God though blessed an entire region through Yosef!
Don’t be trapped by worldly thinking. For some reason, mankind thinks it has one up on God. They are mistaken. Don’t resist God. Follow His commandments so that the Holy Spirit can better help you in life. God wants to use us for His purposes; be open to how you can serve God. Get control of our lives. God is the ultimate reality in life. God will bless us for our service. Trust in God.
There are a lot of people who teach others not to respect God. We need to work out our lives with deep respect for the creator Yĕhōváh. Proverbs 1:7 NKJV says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Respecting God is the beginning of our spiritual life. Only then will we begin to listen to God. Proverbs 8:13 NKJV says, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way." This is not talking about hating other people. This is talking about being committed to doing what is righteous (right). It says in Job 28:28 NKJV, "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
The new future kingdom is going to be more complex than anything in the present. God's word will be at hand and there will be no more curse from sin. The new kingdom is going to be absolutely amazing! There is nothing that we can compare to it; we look forward to it with conviction and patience. 1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard
and no one's heart has imagined all the things that God has prepared for those who love him." Those who love God keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 11:1). Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 sums it up well, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment,
including every secret thing, whether good or evil."
Say that you are an auto mechanic and on all the cars you worked on, you tightened the fan belts too tight so that it broke the components connected to the belts (the generator and the water pump). You did it wrong so that every car you did this to ended up breaking down. Instead of helping people, you were messing up their cars.
That is like living your life wrong in sin. Instead of leading people to live right, our example is teaching others the hurt and pain of sin. We should want to do what is right; that's what makes sense. Shaul said in Romans 6:17-18 NKJV, "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." We are a people who are rescued so that we can do what is right.
We used to be slaves to doing things the wrong way, but now we have formed good patterns in life where we do what is right. Righteousness means to live right. We change our patterns of life where we did wrong and now live right. In whatever we do, we become slaves to those behaviors; why not become a slave of doing what is right and bring goodness and blessing to this world?
In this portion we see the destructive nature of worldly thinking and the end result of pushing away of God's words through the prophetic. Ya'akov and his family suffered because they did not trust Yosef's words from God. Israel did worse and was completely destroyed because they did not listen to the prophets. God will work out His will. We have to decide if we will be part of it and stand strong for our faith. God may have to find someone else to do His work if we will not do it. In this portion, through the prophetic, God saved a whole region from disaster; God was able to do that because Yosef was willing to stand for God, do what is right, and be bold enough to trust in what God told him.
What some people do not understand is that doing the work of God is primarily how we keep God's commandments. We are to live our lives around the commandments and values that God has given us in the Bible. Most specifically, we are to keep God's commandments in the Old Testament portion. Yeshua told us that He will reject those who do not keep the law. There was no New Testament at the time He said this.
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Yeshua is obviously talking about believers who are not keeping the Old Testament laws. Yeshua said that if we keep His words, we will be set free. Yeshua said in John 8:31-32 NKJV, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." One of the things we can be set free from are the lies of pagan Christianity.
Our faith was taken over by the Roman Empire and they created their own text of the Bible. The Roman Empire changed the day of rest to the day of the Sun god.
On March 7, 321, however, Roman Emperor Constantine I issued a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor, stating: All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish.
They made Sunday the pagan day of the sun god a day of rest. They then made it illegal to keep God's feasts. That is right, they are God's feasts. Leviticus 23:2 NKJV says, "The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts."
We now know the Greek manuscripts were tampered with by heretics so we need to be careful how we understand them. If you interpret the New Testament wrong and to mean the law has been done away with, then you are believing in the lies that have been passed down to us from the Roman Empire.
The Messiah Yeshua came to help us do what is right, namely to be righteous. Man-made doctrine twists this to their own destruction. 2 Peter 3:15-16 says, "Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." What are they twisting? There was no New Testament at the time. They are twisting the meaning of the scriptures and God's commandments.
Last week we talked about holiness some. We are to separate our lives from doing evil by doing what is "right and good." When we do not keep God's commandments, we separate ourselves from God. Isaiah 59:2 NKJV, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God." Holiness carries with it the idea that we separate ourselves from sin. Leviticus 20:26 NKJV says, "And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." People that say they are holy without acting holy are worshipping themselves instead of God. They have made themselves a god of their lives.
In this portion, God healed Rivkah and she was able to conceive two children. Yitzchak did not listen to his wife about Ya’akov being the child of promise so Rivkah took matters in her own hands and fooled Yitzchak so he would give the blessing to Ya’akov. Ya’akov chooses to leave rather than confront Esav. Esav is a worldly person and wants to kill Ya’akov. We will see that God worked everything out despite Yitz'chak’s shortcomings.
Esav is an example of someone who is worldly minded and Ya’akov is an example of someone who is spiritually minded and wants what God wants. Ya’akov continued to be faithful to God and God blessed Ya’akov tremendously for his faithfulness to God. God has also blessed the world through Ya'akov even to this day.
The worldly like Esav bring a curse on their families and the world and they will end up in the lake of fire (see Revelation 21:8). Join the forces of good and continue the legacy of blessing through Ya'akov and our Messiah Yeshua and be part of God's future glorious eternal kingdom.
In the Torah portion we see Abraham sticking to what God told him to do about Yitz’chak being the heir of promise. Although men may think that they are the ones who are in power and they are the ones that know how to procure power, it was God who ultimately chose the line of people who would bless the earth and who would be the Messiah, namely Yeshua our Messiah.
Abraham gave his life to serve the true God and God gave him a blessed life; his life was not without trials, but he stood strong and through Abraham, the entire world has been blessed tremendously. We also can be a people who give our lives to God and bless this world. Never minimize your contribution as a follower of the creator God and our Messiah Yeshua.
Abraham is a prophet and he prays for Avimelech and he is healed. Yitzchak is born and Abraham was going to sacrifice him, but an angel stopped him. The rabbis teach that Isaac was grown up and was willing to give himself. God providing a sacrifice is a prophetic picture of the Messiah Yeshua in the future, who willingly gave Himself for our sin. We see that God did miracles and healings in the Old Testament portion, He continues to do the same in our era. Malachi 3:6 NKJV says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change."
Always keep growing no matter what.
Everything in life is an opportunity to do what is right and bring goodness. If we are working, we can do a great job. If we are working with others, we can be the best worker and kind encourager. We can be the best father, mother, son, or daughter. Each of our efforts requires thoughtful attention and we need to practice life and form good habits.
Psalms 92:12-15 NKJV
"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."
Those who do what is right will flourish, bring good, and grow strong. Be rooted in God and even in old age, you will have joy. Yĕhōváh our God does what is right and He is our Rock who can be trusted; He does nothing that is wrong. We can trust in Him and His word.
Noah did what was right and saved the world. We too can bring blessings to the world by living right. Like Noah, we need to be faithful to keep God’s commandments. We should stand strong and work hard at doing what is right. Last week we read in the portion Bereshit about the trickery of the devil and how the devil negated God's word so that Adam and Eve sinned. In order to do what is right, we need to resist wrongdoing and the trickery of the devil. We are to resist the devil and draw near to God. The first leader of the church says in James
4:7-8 NKJV, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
Take care of the matters of life and our spiritual lives. Stay on track spiritually; God should be an important part of our lives. Hang on to spiritual truth and live for God. Noah’s Ark has been discovered, but more important than that, is for each of us to discover the mighty God of the universe and our Messiah Yeshua.
Do not live life backwards but move forward. Have you ever tried walking backwards. It isn't easy to keep doing, but that is what some people do in life. They live life the hard way because of their sinful behavior and that hurts themselves and others. We need to keep moving forward with our spiritual lives so that our lives are meaningful and good. Shaul says in Philippians 3:13-15 NKJV says, "Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God's upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua. Therefore, as many of us as are mature, let us keep paying attention to this." So, make every effort to keep moving forward spiritually to pursue our good goals. Follow God's commandments so we will receive blessing and pass on blessings to others and then receive eternal life. What we do is important.
God gave Israel a song so they would be reminded to be faithful to God. It is important that we remember to do what is right. God gave us His words in the Bible and the Holy Spirit to lead us and help us. Ritual is often not a commandment of God; misapplied commandments are not God’s commands. Not all ritual is wrong. The portion tells us there has never been a man like Moshe; at least not until Yeshua the Messiah. Yeshua even healed everyone in some cities.
As believers, we need to keep seeking God and never give up. Stay connected to God and His word. In order to grow spiritually, we may need to change some things in our lives. Money is often a driving force for us, but God should also be especially important. We will have to give an account to God for how we live. Stay faithful to our good and just God.
Now is a good time to set your life straight. We are coming up on Yom Kippur when we make a general confession of sins. Ya'akov said in James 1:12 NKJV, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Psalms 1:1-2 NKJV says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." Let us serve Yĕhōváh and be His blessed people.
Some things God has hidden the Bible says, but we have His word to follow and we should do what we know and keep His commandments. We need to take care to continue to follow God; what God has given His believers is by no means a small matter. What God created is beautiful, His commandments are a blessing for us, and the work of the Holy Spirit is also good. God has given us gifts associated with the Holy Spirit and the early believers used them. We need to recognize that God knows us and sees us; we should stay close to Him. No one can fool God; we should not identify ourselves with those who are defiant or deviant. We should set our lives straight and serve God and be faithful.
There are more commandments in this portion. We should remember that God gave us His commandments to help us. If we keep His commandments God says we will be His treasured people. I want to be one of God's treasured people. The Bible teaches us that we are to be a humble people. We can incur curses by not keeping God's commandments; often these are in the form of consequences. We will receive blessings if we keep God's commandments and even supernatural blessings! We need biblical truths and not an incomplete or muddled version of truth. God's ways are true, they help us live right, and are intended to be part of all our life; it should include the working of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to keep His commands, to have all of His good blessings, and have joy in life.
Being satisfied in life is perhaps half the battle of life, it's important. God has helped me; He has healed me at times; He is truly a kind and good God; I am satisfied following God.
This portion contains a lot of important miscellaneous laws. Some of the laws are used in our own culture. God is the creator and knows what is best for us. Work at directing your life towards God. It will give you peace and even make your life longer; perhaps by even changing and protecting your DNA. Be consistent in developing a godly life. Work at areas in your life that need attention. Be humble and willing to accept correction and grow spiritually. Hold on firmly to God and trust in Him.
This Torah portion begins by talking about appointing judges. Judges were not to subvert justice. We also should do what is right and therefore make this world a better place to live. Stay in faith and keep God’s commandments. Accept what God teaches us and trust in Him. Find ways that help you to keep God's commandments. Do not live in sin. Set your course spiritually. What we do matters. Do not get sidetracked. Stay engaged and fight spiritually so you will receive the prize of eternal life.
God gave us His word and His commandments so that we will be blessed and see His goodness. We need to learn how to live right and that comes from following what it says in the Bible. Do we deal with anger how the Bible tells us to? Learn and be ready to follow what the Bible says. We need to study the scriptures and be encouraged in them. Have a proper perspective of life and put God first. Do things God's way; don't follow the methods of the worldly. Love God and be a person of light, and do what is right and good.
Bamidbar Torah teaching and teaching, "Give Glory to God." There are mostly commandments for the Levites in the portion. Some of the commandments in the Old Testament are not for everyone. The commandments that are for us give us wisdom and understanding. God is wonderful and amazing. God chose their leaders by name. It shows us that the creator God knows each of us. Yeshua said God knows all the hairs on our head (about 100,000). The Haftarah says that in the future, we will call Yĕhōváh by His real name. We should get stirred up for God instead of just worldly things. We seek the promise of a blessed life and the future kingdom, just as Israel sought the promised land while they were in the desert. We need to learn God’s commandments so we can do what is right. Be strong and do things God’s way. God wants us to do what is right and to glorify Him. He will not forget the good we do. He cares about us. He is a good God and our Yĕhōváh – Yĕhōváh means, He was, He is, and He will be. That is His name forever according to Exodus 3:15.
32 Behar - 33 Bechukotai 2021 and teaching "Making Adjustments to Life." God wants to bless us and give us wisdom and understanding that is better than all we can imagine it says in Deuteronomy 4:5-6. God knows what is best for us. God is real and can also bring us supernatural blessings as we follow Him. We need to seek Yĕ-hō-váh so we will have godly direction in our lives and His supernatural blessings. Why live by man-made ideas when we have a good God who wants to help us? Enjoy your good and godly life and stay focused. Readjust how you think and actively work at keeping your life in line with God and His commands. Stay on God's path. Watch where you are going; do not do evil; do not turn away from God.
Torah teaching Emor 2021 and teaching, "Live in the Light." There are many sound applicable commandments that come from the Old Testament. Yeshua (Jesus) and Shaul (Paul) taught from the Old Testament and used it as doctrine. We have a good God who wants us to have peace and joy. We have so much to be thankful for as believers in the true God. God can give us peace and keep our hearts and minds in Him. Do not let your mind be overcome with worldly thoughts. Those in darkness are far from God and do not care about doing what is right and good. Instead, stay close to God and seek Him and be blessed. 1 John 1:5-7 says, "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all; … walk in the light."
Torah teaching for Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, "Be a Blessing. We are to “put to death” sin it says in Colossians 3:5 NKJV. These are some strong words. Why not make the effort to do what is right and bring blessing to others instead of sin, and the pain and destruction that can accompany sinful behavior? Be stable in all you do and no matter what, keep trusting in God and be at peace. Worry often just brings extra tension to our situation. There are a lot of good things we can do, but don’t forget to include spiritual things as part of how you use your time. You don’t have to go to extreme risks, but we are commanded to use some of our abilities for the kingdom of God and to also use our spiritual gifts. Live a blessed life and be a blessing to others.
The teaching for Tazria and Metzora for 2021 and teaching, "Follow God." God gave us the laws in the Old Testament portion to protect us. The quarantine practices in the Old Testament still apply today. When we do what God tells us, we can be blessed by God. When we serve others, God can use us for His purposes. God even used lepers who discovered the invading army had left without taking their supplies with them. False doctrines are of no consequence to God. Just because someone wears weird clothes, it does not qualify them to teach about the true God. Timothy was taught the Holy Scriptures from the Old Testament and God will just us by His truths. He wants us to live by them because He is an all-knowing God and are good for us. We will find true light and peace in God's holy words in the Bible.
This is the Torah teaching for Shemini 2021 and accompanying teaching, "Be Wise." In this portion, fire came out of the sky and consumed the burnt offering; we should remember to do what God says; He is God and we are not. We should do what is right, so we bring blessing into the world and not sin and destruction. Think about what you are doing and be reasonable. Keep doing the good you learned from the scriptures. Use your time and money well; do not throw caution to the wind. Be wise and stay wise. God gave us a brain so use it. Teach and do what is right, and give your anxieties to God.
This is the Torah teaching for Vayikra and accompanying teaching, "Yeshua is the Way." God requires a sacrifice for our shortcomings (sin); Leviticus 17:11 NKJV says, "It is the blood that makes atonement." God made a way for all to come to Him through the Messiah Yeshua. People are prone to sin and doing things their own way instead of doing what is right. Have a God centered life. Do not be shammed or fooled by mankind's ideas. Instead, put godly (good) thoughts in your mind. Control your thoughts with the help of the scriptures. Have a proper understanding of things and act reasonably. We are part of a wonderful body of believers in the Messiah so be filled with joy and be thankful.
Torah teaching for Vayakhel-Pekudei 2021 and accompanying teaching, "God is Amazing and Wonderful." God wants to comfort us and give us peace in every situation. Yeshua told us that He would not leave us as orphans, and He gave us the Holy Spirit. God is able to help us supernaturally, so we are to pray and cast our anxieties on God. Be sensible and do not tempt God. You do your part in a sensible manner and let God take care of the rest. Pray for protection and for all things; prayer works! God is with us so do not be deluded into thinking He is not there. It says about our God Yĕhōváh in Psalm 147:4-5 NKJV, "He determines how many stars there are and calls them all by name. Our Lord is great, his power is vast, his wisdom beyond all telling." Be strong and courageous even as Israel was in the desert years ago as they moved forward toward the land God promised them. They were not without doubts and trials but continued to move forward in faith. So, we also should move forward in faith.
Torah Teaching Ki Tissa and "Keys to a Good Life." The sin of idolatry caused the death of 3,000 for Israel in this Torah portion. Sin in our world has caused untold sickness, pain, and death. God gave us His commandments because we need His help; that is an understatement. God is not trying to take away our fun but protect us. Someday the world will be a great place to live when God is in charge and not mankind. Seek God and His goodness and blessings. Mankind is all the time trying to figure out life, but God has already given us the map to having a good life and that life is through Him. If only we would listen to God, we would understand the keys to a good life. God's ways work better than mankind's' ways. God knows what is best for us. If only mankind would come to understand this.
This is the Torah teaching for Tetzaveh 2021 and accompanying teaching, "Be an Encourager." God had specific instructions on how the Mishkan was to be built. Just like Israel was to do what God told them to do in building the Mishkan, we are to also do what God says and build up our faith and be strong believers in the Messiah Yeshua and our God Yĕ-hō-váh. God draws us together as a people to help one another. Just like Israel worked together to do what God wanted them to do, we need the help and encouragement of other believers working together and helping one another to be strong. Have peace and joy. Seek God; Yeshua has given Himself for us so we can have a changed life.
Terumah Torah teaching for 2021 and teaching, "God Gives Us Good Instructions." Shaul says we are to be living sacrifices who demonstrate who God is (Romans12:1-2). Our God is a good God who wants to help us and will watch out for us. He knows us and He knows everything we do. So, stay away from doing evil and do what is right. He is never far from us but is there for us and can give us the desires of our heart. He works on behalf of those who are loyal to Him so be diligent to be a holy person so when we stand before Him at the time of judgment, He will say to us, "Well done good and faithful servant." Yeshua said in a parable about reaching the goal and being part of God's future kingdom: "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; … Enter into the joy of your lord;'" Matthew 25:23 NKJV. It will be a time of great joy!
This is the Torah teaching for Mishpatim for 2021 and the teaching, "Live a New Life." In this portion, the people seal their covenant with God, and Moshe goes up the mountain to receive more commandments. How wonderful and amazing is it to be in covenant with the creator God, and what a wonderful privilege it is to live as believers in our God Yĕhōváh and Messiah Yeshua. God has given each of us a path to forge ahead on, so serve God the way we should. God gives life. He gave a new life to the people of Israel as they left Egypt and they received God's good commandments. He also gives us new life through His commandments and the Messiah. We can now live as part of a Messianic covenant. Choose to follow God, do what is right, and find purpose spiritually. Do not be moored on the rocks doing nothing with our lives but be effective. God's light shines on a world that lacks substance and understanding. The world needs people who desire to live as people of light. Be a light and live the life our good God wants for us.
This is the Torah teaching for Yitro and accompanying teaching. What an amazing God we have. He has told us how to live; He is a loving God who cares about us. He gave us the Holy Spirit in this Messianic age to help us live right. God continues to reach down to mankind through the ages to help us. Sometimes we think of God calling us to do something or an experience of God as important spiritual moments, but that is not all of life with God is about. Keep God's commandments, but also be connected to God's power through the Holy Spirit every day. Do not be trapped into thinking that this life is all there is. This world is passing away. Believers can look forward to a wonderful eternal life someday. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;" Hebrews 10:23 NKJV.
This is the Torah teaching for Beshalach and the accompanying teaching. God is for His people and helps His people both in the Old Testament portion and our present era. God is the same today as He was years ago; a caring and good God. Some 2 million people left Egypt in faith and God provided for them. What an amazing act of faith of so many people. Those who trust in God will be blessed; "Blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalms 84:12 NKJV. Just as Israel was changed as they went through the sea, we need to be a changed people with the help of the Torah, the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit that we receive through the Messiah Yeshua. Israel left Egypt behind and we should leave our old natures behind and put on good and godly ways. The Israelites ate food and drink given them by God (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). In the same way, but in a spiritual sense, Yehovah gives us spiritual food to live by so that we can live a kingdom life. A life that is different than the worldly point of view; a much better way to live.
This the accompanying teaching for the Torah portion Bo. Pharaoh thought He was in control and nothing else mattered, but he found out who was really in control. Living life without a proper spiritual focus is a big mistake. I think there is a saying that says you will end up paying for what you do. God is the almighty king and judge. Don’t diminish who He is. Have a balanced life that puts God in His proper place. Stay fresh spiritually. Live the truth and share about your life in God. Stay at peace and keep your head clear, and in the right place.
This is the Torah portion teaching for Bo. There is also an accompanying teaching for this portion. We see the a God in this portion who wants us to do what is right and He wants to restore His people. We see in the New Testament portion that God provides a way through the Messiah to also restore us to Him. In addition to God's commandments, we need the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us. Yeshua gave us the Torah and He gave us another helper, the Holy Spirit. John 14:15-17 NKJV, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth."
This is the Torah portion of our teaching for Va'era. There is also an accompanying teaching. Moshe came back to Egypt ready to go to work for God, but Pharaoh resisted him and the people became discouraged because Pharaoh persecuted them even more. God told Moshe to keep at it and Moshe persisted. It is unimaginable what the indignant Pharaoh did to His people because he resisted God. That is the ways of the world though; thoughtless, uncaring, and unbelieving. God is just the opposite. The Bible says that God is love.
This is the accompanying teaching for Va'era. Pharaoh brought pain and anguish on the people of Egypt because of his unbelief. God creates things that are useful. The pyramids were just filled with bones. God designed us to convey His goodness and love and have good fruit in our lives. God gives us blessings; the worldly are takers. God is limitless in His ability; Yěhōváh is king of the universe. Instead of taking, God wants to help us and give us blessings.
This is the Torah teaching for Shemot for 2020. Although we see lack of trust in God at times as in today’s portion, it was through trust in God that Israel was set free. We also need to have trust in God and live with faith. Hebrews 11:23-26 CJB says, "By trusting, the parents of Moshe hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they weren't afraid of the king's decree. By trusting, Moshe, after he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose being mistreated along with God's people rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin. He had come to regard abuse suffered on behalf of the Messiah as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes fixed on the reward. By trusting, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered as one who sees the unseen.
This is an accompanying teaching for the Torah portion Shemot for 2020. People that don't trust in God and break God's commandments are most often rewarded with trouble and problems. Why wouldn't we want to trust in the creator of the universe? Start living in faith and trust in God. Israel had lived in Egypt with all its ungodly influence and somehow, they got things together enough to trust in God. I have heard Bible teachers say Israel didn't trust in God. About 2 million people left their homes in Egypt trusting in God; that is some amazing trust. God came through for them. Why don't we get with it like Israel and trust in God and do things His way?
This is the accompanying teaching to the Torah study for Vayechi for 2020. When we don't follow Him, we are telling God we don't want those blessings and help. Yosef brought blessing on an entire region because He stood with God and used his prophetic gift from God. Unfortunately, those who turned away from God were not warned of the coming famine and suffered because of it. God though blessed an entire region through Yosef!
Don’t be trapped by worldly thinking. For some reason, mankind thinks it has one up on God. They are mistaken. Don’t resist God. Follow His commandments so that the Holy Spirit can better help you in life. God wants to use us for His purposes; be open to how you can serve God. Get control of our lives. God is the ultimate reality in life. God will bless us for our service. Trust in God.
The Torah teaching for Vayechi for 2020. We see Ya’akov giving farewell words to his children. Both Ya’akov and Yosef die in the portion and Yosef asks for his bones to be taken back to Canaan when they return. Yosef firmly believes in what God is able to do and so should we. Remember to be faithful to God.
This is the Torah teaching for Vayigash for 2020. There is also an accompanying teaching available. Yosef’s brothers find out that Yosef is now a leader in Egypt. The prophetic gifting of Yosef has saved the whole region and Yosef’s family. Ezekiel prophesies that God will raise the dead some day. In the New Testament portion, Rabbi Shaul also says God will raise the dead. God cares about His people in the present and helps us. Those who keep His commandments will have eternal life with a caring and good God.
This is the the accompanying teaching for the Torah portion Vayigash for 2020. Will we only be self-centered and distant from God? Will we follow God and keep His commandments. Will we allow God to be in our life the way He should be? We should have eternal purpose to our life. He can give us true purpose and eternal purpose and we are to live that out. He can satisfy us like nothing else can. Through Him we have something worthwhile to stand our ground for; we can give up ourselves for the greater and better good by putting God in His proper place in our lives; why not seek the things of God and His blessings? Where will we stand?
Torah teaching for Miketz 2020. Yosef interprets Pharaoh's dreams and then is tasked by the Pharaoh of saving Egypt from the upcoming famine. Yosef saves the entire region including his family through God's power and the prophetic gifting. Believers in the Messiah are also given this powerful gifting and encouraged to use God's powerful gifts that we receive through the Holy Spirit that is given to believers in Yeshua HaMashiach in this Messianic age.
Accompanying teaching for Miketz 2020. We used to be slaves to doing things the wrong way, but now we have formed good patterns in life where we do what is right. Righteousness means to live right. We change our patterns of life where we did wrong and now live right. In whatever we do, we become slaves to those behaviors; why not become a slave of doing what is right and bring goodness and blessing to this world?
Accompanying teaching for the Torah portion Vayeshev 2020. In our last portion, Ya’akov returns home and we see the hand of God on his life blessing him. In this portion there is a common theme. Even though Yosef is going through tough times, God is helping him and giving his favor. We need to become skilled in the teachings of the Bible and learn to interpret the Bible how early believers did. We are supposed to understand the Bible the way it was originally intended to be understood and not make up our own meanings. It cannot be plainly read; we must understand it in its original context. Don’t be deceived Shaul says in Ephesians. Also, enjoy life, be at peace, and practice biblical virtue with the help of the Holy Spirit. Allow the work of the Holy Spirit and the hand of God to work in your life. We have been called to glory and virtue. Enjoy what God has given you and enjoy life. L'chaim, to life!
Torah Teaching for Vayeshev 2020. In this portion we see the destructive nature of worldly thinking and the end result of pushing away of God's words through the prophetic. Ya'akov and his family suffered because they did not trust Yosef's words from God. Israel did worse and was completely destroyed because they didn't listen to the prophets. God will work out His will. We have to decide if we will be part of it and stand strong for our faith. God may have to find someone else to do His work if we won't do it. Through the prophetic, God saved a whole region from disaster; God was able to do that because Yosef was willing to stand for God, do what is right, and be bold enough to trust in what God told him.
Torah Teaching for Vayishlach 2020. God works out everything for Ya’akov. It is really amazing. It seems like Ya’akov is in trouble at times, but everything just keeps working out for him. Shaul tells us in Romans that God is able to work out everything; perhaps He was thinking of Ya’akov, but most certainly, God is in control and even if things don’t seem to work out at times, our good God can restore us even as He has done so for believers in the past. God is good and His commandments are good. God has good intentions for us, so stay faithful and don’t be tricked by people who don’t understand the Bible properly. God is for us just like God was for Ya’akov. Shaul says in Romans 8:31 NKJV, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” If we do our part, God will do His part.
Vayishlach accompanying teaching for 2020. We need people who are willing to take a stand and show the world a better way. We each can personally experience the goodness of God. Just think though; what if we could help just one other person know the truth about God and life. Can we – at least try – to get others to start understanding some of the truth? What if a million people just tried to help one person each. We could end up with two million who are trying to live holy lives, do what is right, be lights to the world, and make the world a better place to live. It all starts with us; are we willing to trust God and be blessed by God? I've been blessed and you can too. We also then can have the exciting opportunity to try to help someone else understand a better way of life.
Accompanying Teaching to the Torah Teaching Vayetzei 2020. Ya'akov makes an agreement with God and asks for His protection. How many of us have made agreements with God and need to keep what we've said. God indeed protects Ya'akov and God does bring him back safely to the land of Canaan that God promised him. Perhaps as God had Ya'akov return to the land of promise, God has always desired that we turn toward Him and His light and truth, and be His people of promise. Some though make worldly things more of an issue than spiritual things. Set your heart on God. Ya'akov trusted in God and God blessed him exceedingly. God is big enough to keep His promises to us and to bring us into His future kingdom if we will be obedient to Him. Seek God; nothing matters more than a relationship with God.
07 Vayetzei Torah Teaching. Ya'akov sees Yĕ-hō-váh and angels going up and down a ladder in a dream. All the patriarchs saw God. This was a special encounter for Ya'akov and he works out an agreement with God. God is with Ya'akov and favors him even though Lavan tries to steal his wealth. Lavan deludes himself into thinking everything was his. God tells Ya'akov to go back to Canaan and he returns with all his belongings and family. God worked out everything for Ya'akov and God can work out things for us because He is God. Trust in God. King David sings a song of praise about trusting in God. Psalm 28:7 NKJV says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."
Toldot 2020 - Seek God's Blessing and Be at Peace; an teaching to accompany the Torah teaching. Having a worldly view keeps us from living in the blessings that God wants for us. Yitz’chak prayed for Rivkah’s healing and they had Ya’akov and Esav. Walk in the power of God and live above what is earthly. God blessed Ya'akov exceedingly for his faithfulness.1 Have a spiritually minded presence. Keep your heart and mind and keep your peace. God can and will finish His work for this world and for you; be content and continue to live the way you should.
1Note that Ya'akov was led by God. He is an example for those who have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Use what God has given us.
Toldot 2020 Torah Teachings for this parashah. In this portion, God healed Rivkah and she was able to conceive two children. Yitzchak didn’t listen to his wife about Ya’akov being the child of promise so Rivkah took matters in her own hands and fooled Yitzchak so he would give the blessing to Ya’akov. Ya’akov chooses to leave rather than confront Esav. Esav is a worldly person and wants to kill Ya’akov. We will see that God worked everything out in spite of Yitzchak’s shortcomings. Esav is an example of someone who is worldly minded and Ya’akov is an example of someone who is spiritually minded. Ya’akov continued to be faithful to God and God blessed Ya’akov tremendously for his faithfulness to God.
Torah study for Chayei Sarah for 2020. In the Torah portion we see Abraham sticking to what God told him to do about Yitz’chak being the heir of promise. Although men may think that they are the ones who are in power and they are the ones that know how to procure power, it was God who ultimately chose the line of people who would bless the earth and who would be the Messiah, namely Yeshua our Messiah. Abraham gave his life to serve the true God and God gave him a blessed life; his life was not without trials, but he stood strong and through Abraham, the entire world has been blessed tremendously. We also can be a people who give our lives to God and bless this world. Never minimize your contribution as a follower of the creator God and our Messiah Yeshua.
Teaching to accompany the Torah portion Chayei Sara for 2020. God is there in all of life’s situations and we can have the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our every day life. Mankind does things their way, but we have a big God and we can trust in Him; so do things His way. We are to desire God’s good work of the Holy Spirit which leads us and helps us; the Holy Spirit helps us live in peace, kindness and gentleness; and the Holy Spirit can and will do so much more than we imagine. Through the Holy Spirit, God can orchestrate His intentions and fulfill what He wills to accomplish. Just as He accomplished what He desired for Abraham who trusted in God, He will also accomplish and orchestrate His intentions through us; so be strong and trust in God.
Teaching to accompany the Torah teaching Vayera 2020. God is the almighty and powerful God who can do all. Mankind must develop themselves in order to accomplish their tasks. We can have joy in knowing we have a good God who is for us. Are we serious about God? Do we respect Him and want to do what He says? Yochanan said that those who don’t keep the Torah are of the devil. The life God intended for us comes only through God; that is the true reality for life.
Vayera 2020 Torah Study. Abraham is a prophet and he prays for Avimelech and he is healed. Yitzchak is born and Abraham was going to sacrifice him, but an angel stopped him. The rabbis teach that Isaac was grown up and was willing to give himself. God providing a sacrifice is a prophetic picture of the Messiah Yeshua in the future; willingly giving Himself for our sin. We see that God did miracles and healings in the Old Testament portion, He continues to do the same in our era. Malachi 3:6 NKJV says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change."
Encouraging Teaching to accompany the main Torah teaching Lech Lecha for 2020; "Becoming a New Person"
02 Noach 2020 - Be On Track Spiritually; accompanying teaching for the Noach Torah Study 2020.
01 Bereshit 2020 Study to accompany the Torah study. "God is the Creator, Have Joy and Be Satisfied in Him"