Thursday, May 31, 2012

What Is Money?

Many people think that our dollar bill is money.  But it is just paper.  It is not even backed by gold anymore.




But what does our Father say is money?   So I looked up gold and silver in the bible.  Gold, the word in Hebrew is

H2091
זהב
zâhâb
zaw-hawb'
From an unused root meaning to shimmer; gold; figuratively something gold colored (that is, yellow), as oil, a clear sky: - gold (-en), fair weather.

Nowhere does it say it is money. But the word silver is another story.


H3701

כסף keseph
keh'-sef
From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: - money, price, silver (-ling).



Hmmm.  I looked up the word money in E-Sword and guess what Hebrew word is it's definition?  Yep, H3701Keseph: Silver.  That is what our Father considers money.  Interesting! 


Shalom!!!

What Is A Watchman?

Watchman -- that is, the person or people charged with keeping watch over the community as the citizens sleep, and go about their daily lives.

Shalom!

Representative Rants! A Must See!

                Wow!  Even unbelievers see it!  

Enjoy!
                      
                          

Shalom!!!

Monday, May 28, 2012

The Real Roots of the Emergent Church *Full*

                      

The Church merging! Scary!  We pray that people truly seek His truth and what His heart is!  Not just what they want and think! 

Shalom! 

Mars Hill

The Areopagus or Mars Hill is a bare marble hill next to the Acropolis in Athens. It is especially popular with travelers for its connections with a speech made by Paul the Apostle.

Myth and Mystery

According to Greek mythology, Ares (the god of war, known to the Romans as Mars, the Romans referred to the rocky hill as "Mars Hill", after Mars, the Roman God of War) was tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon's son Alirrothios. It is this legend that gives the hill its various names. Another legend says that the hill was the site of the trial of Orestes for killing his stepmother and her lover, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.

History

In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, like the Roman Senate. Like the Senate, its membership derived from those who had held high public office, in this case that of Archon. In 462 BC, Ephialtes put through reforms which deprived the Areopagus of almost all its functions except that of a murder tribunal.
In classical times, the Areopagus functioned as the chief homicide court of Athens. At the foot of the Areopagus was a temple dedicated to the Erinyes, where murderers could find sanctuary.

In the Bible


The Areopagus, like most city-state institutions, continued to function in Roman times, and it was then that the Apostle Paul delivered his famous speech about the identity of "the Unknown God." According to the biblical account (Acts 17):
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean. (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."

...When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Do you really want to name your church after this?  Our Father is about agriculture.  Things that have roots.  This is what it is rooted in.  After a pagan god. 

Shalom!!! 

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Today's Reading for Shavuot

We will read:

Torah~       Exodus 19:1-20:23  Which tell of the giving of the Ten Commandments.
                   Numbers 28:26-31   Which tells of the special sacrificial offerings for Shavuot in biblical times.
                   Deut. 14:22-16:17   Which deals with the laws of tithing, release of debts in the seventh year, the release of slaves every seventh year, and a detailed description of the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

HafTorah~ Eze 1:1-28, 3:12  Which contains the prophet's most astounding vision of God. Ezekiel     describes a remarkable vision of God. He sees a Divine Throne-Chariot, whose main feature is a group of four-faced living creatures. His appearance of a manifestation of God connects the haftarah to the Torah reading, where God reveals His will at Mount Sinai.
                 
                   Ruth   Which tells of a Gentile being grafted into the Israelites. Your Elohim will be my Elohim. 
                   Hab 2:20-3:19  Habakkuk pleads with Elohim to intervene on behalf of his people.

Brit Hadasha~ John 1:32-34  John the Immerser baring record of Yeshua.
                        Matt. 3:11-17  Yeshua being immersed.
                        Acts 2:1-21, 37-41 The day of Shavuot when the disciples were filled with the Ruach Ha Qodesh.  Repentace and Immersing and three thousand souls added that day. 

Shalom!!!

Today is Shavuot!

It is the Feasts of Weeks.  Shavuot!  Wedding Day!  
 Today, we are as One New Man with One Heart saying, "We will hear and do"! 

Blessings!!!

Crash Course on Shavuos - Rabbi Goldhar

                      

                

Shalom!!!

Levicticus 26:4



Lev 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
He has given His Torah (compared to rain)  in due season (now to 10 tribes) and the land (the Earth) is yielding her increase and we ( we are compared to trees) of the field shall yield our Fruit. 

Scripture has so many levels of understanding.  


Blessings!!!

Temple Mount Proclamation!

                     

                       Keith Johnson proclaiming the name of Yehovah on the Temple Mount?


Shalom!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Garden of Eden and the Land of Israel




Just as Adam and Chava were banished from a place/land of blessing, so likewise, Am Yisrael will be banished from a place/land of blessing! Just as the cherubs prevented their return with the flaming sword, so likewise, Am Yisrael will have to suffer the sword in the land of their enemies. The connection between Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael and Adam and Chava in Gan Eden is strengthened even further when you consider the following. The Shemittah (seven-year rest cycle for the land) and the Yovel (year of Jubilee) were times when Am Yisrael was NOT supposed to plant or sow anything. Furthermore, if anyone (the rightful owner of a field, a stranger, a poor person, an animal, etc.) wanted to eat anything, all they had to do was go and pick something to eat just like Adam and Chava in Gan Eden. The Shemittah and Yovel are reflections of the garden of Eden of the past! The connection between how one obtained food during those times and how Adam and Chava obtained their food is the same. Leviticus 25:19-22 states that Adonai's blessing would be so great that they would be able to eat from the sixth year's produce for THREE years until the eighth year's harvest was available in the ninth year. That's LIFE just like in the garden if ever I've seen it! *

Wow!  How sad, YHWH was trying to give them a picture and a time when it was like the Garden of Eden and they didn't do it.  For 490 years they didn't keep the land sabbath and missed a great blessing. For that, they were dispersed among the heathen for 70 years (490/7=70) so the land could have her Sabbath. But they missed this great blessing.  They threw it away. It reminds of a post I just did on the Sabbath. The Sabbath and the Land Sabbath are connected. Sabbath is a sign between Him and His people. Sabbath is a testimony to who created and owns the earth/land. When we keep the Sabbath we pay respect to the owner/creater.  It is about Ownership.  Who benefits from keeping Sabbath and the land Sabbath?  People, servants and livestock.  It is about the Beneficiary.  We all benefit from His ownership. They are connected. If only they had kept them.  Then other nations would have seen that for three years Adonai provided for His people, like in the Garden of Eden.  But they would not.  Just like today with the Sabbath.    It is such a blessing and so many people throw it away. 

*taken from Restoration of Torah torah portion studies

Shalom

His Commandments Is His Covenant

His commandments, statutes, judgments, testimonies, all that make up Torah is His Covenant.  We have to remember He changes not, Mal. 3:6.  It is just written on our hearts now instead of stone.  Ever wonder why we don't have the ark with the ten commandments on them?  Hmmm.

Exo_34:28
And he was there with the YHWH forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Lev_26:15
And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 
Deu_4:13
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. 
Deu_7:9
Know therefore that the YHWH thy Elohim he is Elohim, the faithful Elohim, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
2Ki_23:3
And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the YHWH, to walk after the YHWH, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
2Ch_34:31
And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the YHWH, to walk after the YHWH, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.
Neh_1:5
And said, I beseech thee, O YHWH Elohim of heaven, the great and terrible Elohim, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 
Psa_103:18
To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Dan_9:4
And I prayed unto the YHWH my Elohim, and made my confession, and said, O Adonai the great and dreadful Elohim, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Which Is The Sabbath Day?

The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (Peter Geiermann, 1957) specifically states on page 50:

"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?

"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.

"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

"Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
Cle...arly, keeping holy God's seventh-day Sabbath (observed from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset) has been replaced by Sunday worship in mainstream Christianity. Indeed Catholic writings confirm the basis for this substitution being the belief that the Church had the authority to overrule the very words of God. But by what authority? To quote the same source:

"Answer: The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of divine power that Jesus Christ bestowed upon her" (ibid.).

Later, Protestant groups split away from the Catholic Church, but they mostly followed Rome's lead in accepting Sunday.
 
 
Shalom!!!

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Bethlehem Seal

Story from Foxnews.com


The stamp, also known as "fiscal bulla," was likely used to seal an administrative tax document, sent from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, the seat of Jewish power at the time.


Enjoy!

Jerusalem: The Media Myth of Two Cities

                

Shalom!!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

New Moon Sighted!

Sighted New Moon in Jerusalem at 7:54pm per Nehemia Gordon.




Blessings!!!

Building or People?

This is just a building.  Wood and Stone.  That is it.  But, funny thing when I looked up/googled the word church for a picture this is what popped up.   It is not the church/ecclesia/qahal that is making up the body of Yeshua.  That is down below. 

This is His people that make up the body of our Messiah.  It was the twelve tribes and anyone who attaches/grafts themselves to the tribes.  It is the same today as it was then. 

Blessings!!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Why I Dislike Living in Spiritual Egypt #'s 4,5 & 6

1.   Lowes' Hardware new slogan "Never Stop Improving".  In other words, "don't stop spending", or "never get out of debt".  Ugh!!!


2 . Monster Energy Drink! 


3. Sheetz Advertising!






The triangle stomach may be in regards to this also:
Brahma was, along with Vishnu and Shiva, one of the three main gods of Hinduism. Vishnu came first, according to Hindu stories, and then Brahma was born out of Vishnu's belly-button. In Hindu thought, Brahma was the creator god, while Vishnu preserved the universe and Shiva was the destroyer.

Images:  Courtesy of  Mr. Dallas Woody!

Well Said!


Yeshua And The Sabbath

Why did Yeshua heal so many on the Sabbath?  Because He wanted to show that Sabbath is connected to wholeness, to life, abundant life.  Sabbath is such a joy to this family.  We have been given a day like no other day.  A day that has been set aside for us to acknowledge who our Creator is and His authority. A day that we meet with Him, to rest, study Torah, and spend time with our kids.   A day that we get to rest from all our works.  Both physically and spiritually.  We rest in Him.  He provides, we gather up two days worth of manna(food), prepare it all on preparation day and on Sabbath we rest.  Rest in the fact that all will be taken care of by Him.  We don't have to worry "oh, this isn't getting done".  Nothing calls on us to "do this".  We know that we can rest and we pick up whatever has to be done the next day.  No worries!  He takes care of everything. And we get to do this every seven days.   Now, that is abundant life.

 "For there remaineth a rest to the people of Elohim" Hebrews 4:9

Blessings!!!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Cycles

YHWH works in cycles.  That is why sometimes we feel like we have been doing something over and over and over.  Well, he is trying to teach us something.  The scripture says, "he leadeth me in paths of righteousness." The famous Psalms 23:3b.  The word paths is magal with a root word agol which means circular.  His cycles are in sevens.  Creation week is seven days.  It is where we get our week from.  Our week is seven days and it repeats over and over and over, forever.   We work six days and then have Sabbath and then it starts over again, continual, forever.   When we keep Sabbath we are showing our Father that we understand that nothing but Him is our Creator.  Nothing else put that into motion but Him, just like creation week. It stands out alone and is the hub of all.  His next cycle is His seven Feasts.  Some are put into motion by the New Moon after we have seen the Abib of the barley in Israel.  This where we understand when Passover/Pesach starts and we go on from there to the other Feasts.  Each year this happens over and over.  Then we have seven years.  Six years you labored then a Sabbath year.  Then you did this seven times to come to 49 years and then the 50 year was a Jubilee Year.  Just like counting for Shavuot.  You count seven Sabbaths (49 days) then the next day is 50 days meaning Pentecost/Shavuot.  It is a picture of Jubilee year.  It is the harvest of wheat and wheat represents His people. Then it started all over again.  YHWH says man has 120 years.  Well, you times that times 50 jubilee years and you get 6000 years.  We are in the sixth day of Creation.  The next day is the Sabbath which is the 1,000 year reign of Yeshua.  What happens on the sixth day of the week?  We gather double, it is preparation day before the Sabbath.  Just like Joseph received the double portion inheritance.  The double portion is being gathered.  Why do we follow these cycles?  Because we acknowledge His ownership and His authority.  Are you following His cycles? 


Blessings!!!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Naked and Ashamed!

I have come to understand that those that sleep are the ones not keeping Torah. They are not doing what they have been given to do.   I got to thinking about what it says in the following verses:

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Luk 12:43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
2Co 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

The understanding of Rev. 16:15 is that the priest was left for the night to do his duties of keeping the fire going.  The High Priest would sneek in sometime early morining like a thief to see if the Priest was doing his duty taking care of the fire.  Just like we are to keep our fire going.  If the priest was found sleeping the High Priest would take a censor full of coals and put them under his garments and they would catch on fire and the priest would strip them off, then being naked and running home for everyone to see his shame.  This reminds me of back in the garden when Adam and Chavah sinned and what does Genesis say? That their disobedience showed that they were naked and ashamed. They were caught not taking care of the Garden.  Adam was told to guard and keep it.  Just like we are told to guard and keep His Torah.  Because of their sin they were divorced out of the garden.  But out of His love for them He sacrificed an innocent animal to cover them with the plan to bring them back home, John 14:2 and Luke 15:4. Just like Yeshua, an innocent man, died in our place.  Obedience is better than sacrifice, if we obey His Torah then there is no need for a sacrifice. We get restored back to the garden as it was in Genesis, a new heaven and new earth.  Let's not be found naked and ashamed. 

Blesssings!!!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

How Will He Find You?



Today nearly 2000 years ago 40th day of the Omer (time between Passover week and Shavuot/Pentecost) YESHUA (Jesus) stood atop the mount of olives and ascended in His resurrection body to the right hand of the Father......Ten days after that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) came and brought the fulfillment or fullness of Shavuot/Pentecost......During the first Shavuot/Pentecost when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments on stone, the children of Israel were worshiping the golden calf they had fashioned. About three thousand Israelites died that day. Fast forward to the Upper room nearly 1500 years later and the disciples are hit with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and they begin preaching in power from on high and about 3000 Israelites are saved that day. The transition of the words of YAHWEH from stone tablets to our hearts took place that day. The people thought Moses wasn't coming back because he had been gone for so many days (40 days) and turned back to idol worship.......YESHUA  promised that He would return to the very same place He went up from....The Mount of Olives....and He has been gone for many days and many today would say "He isn't coming back!" My question to you is when He (YESHUA) does come back to that mountain, how will He find you??? Will you be abiding with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) or the golden calf?
 
Written by a friend of an acquaintance.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

BABIES FOLLOW THE PATTERN OF THE FEASTS

From the pen of Zola Levitt.

I thought this was fascinating, ...and of particular interest as we count the Omer.  From the time a child is conceived to the time he is born parallels the Biblical Feasts of YHWH that He revealed to Israel when they came out of Egypt. The gestation period parallels the Feasts of YHWH.


1.      Passover
Exodus 12 we find Passover instituted.
It begins the 14th day of the first month.

Gestation:
On the 14th day of the first month the mothers egg appears.
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2. Unleavened Bread
Must occur the very next night, on the 15th of the month,
or the feast process will fail.

Gestation:
Fertilization of the egg must occur within 24 hours or the
fertilization process will fail.
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3. First Fruits
The Feast of First Fruits occurs next, on the Sunday during the
week of Unleavened Bread. It can be from 2-6 days after the Feast of
Unleavened Bread and is called the Spring Planting of Seed.

Gestation:
The fertilized egg travels down the tube at its own pace taking anywhere
from 2-6 days before it implants. This is the Planting of the Egg.
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4. Shavuot (Pentecost)
Pentecost comes 50 days later.

Gestation:
On the 50th day the embryo begins to form into a person.
       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hoshana)

The 1st Day of the Seventh Month when the Trumpets are blown to announce Yeshua’s Return. The Day no man knows the day or hour. 


            Gestation:

                     This is at precisely the time when the baby develops the ability to hear.

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6. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
The Day of Atonement is celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month.
Blood is taken into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle.

Gestation:
On the tenth day of the seventh month the production of red blood cells is
taken over by the bone marrow --- the inner sanctum of the babies tabernacle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Tabernacles
The Feast of Tabernacles follow on the 15th day of the seventh month.
This is traditional celebration of God breathing the breath of life into Adam.
But, Tabernacles is so much more.

Gestation:
By the 15th day of the seventh month the child is capable of breathing air.
He or she is a developed "tabernacle" and can be born. However, to achieve
maximum strength the child should continue to grow inside its mother for
another 80 days. It can thereafter be born and dedicated to the Lord.
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8. Dedication
The Feast of Dedication is 80 days later.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

63 Biblical Reasons To Keep The Seventh Day Sabbath by Rob Roy

63 Biblical Reasons to Keep the 7th Day SabbathBy Robert Roy
Last updated May 11, 2012
I remember kicking against the Saturday Sabbath. I remember spending hours combing through the scriptures, looking for passages that would justify its not being binding on me today. Sure it was established at creation. Sure, it was one of the 10 commandments. Sure, God said it would be a “perpetual” commandment, to be observed “forever.” But I remember finding an ambiguous passage here, or a theological rationalization there that would satisfy me for the moment — but that would then leave me thirsty, and unsatisfied, looking for more answers. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that I was just rationalizing my own disobedience — rather than objectively weighing the full weight of biblical testimony and witness.
If this has been your experience too, I invite you to put down your theological weapons, loosen your grip on your counter-arguments, and open up your heart to the possibility that the 4th commandment might be for today — that God may be holding out unknown pleasure, and blessings, and riches to you — and all you have to do is reach out and take hold.


Reason #1:
God finished His work of creation and rested on the 7th day (Gen. 2:2-3, Ex. 31:17)
Reason #2: God uniquely blessed the 7th day (Gen. 2:3)
Reason #3: God made the 7th day “holy” — that is, “set apart” from all other days (Gen. 2:3, Ex. 31:14)
Reason #4:
God rested from all his labors on the 7th day Sabbath (Gen. 2:2-3)

Reason #5: Man is made in God’s image, and since God rested on the 7th day, part of bearing God’s image means keeping the 7th day Sabbath (Gen. 1:26-27).
Reason #6: The Saturday Sabbath is one of the 10 commandments (Ex. 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15).
Reason #7: God says “above all” believers are to keep his Sabbaths (Ex 31:13)
Reason #8: God tells his people to keep the Saturday Sabbath so that they know that God is the one who sanctifies them — that is, sets them apart from all other people (Ex 31:13)
Reason #9:
God tells his people to keep the Sabbath “throughout your generations.” (Ex. 31:13, 16)

Reason #10: The Saturday Sabbath is a sign or a mark of God’s authority over his people (Ex. 31:13, 17)
Reason #11:
God tells his people to keep the Sabbath “forever.” (Ex. 31:16)
Reason #12:
The 7th day, Saturday Sabbath is an eternal covenant (Ex. 31:16-17)
Reason #13:
God’s people are told to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations (Ex. 31:16-17)
Reason #14:
The Saturday Sabbath commandment was written with the finger of God (Ex. 31:18, Deut. 9:10).
Reason #15:
God does not change his mind (Numbers 23:19)

Reason #16: God says that his commandments (including the Sabbath) are not too hard for us to do (Deut. 30:11)
Reason #17:
God sent Israel into captivity for breaking the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:17)

Reason #18: Those who observe the Saturday Sabbath will be given “a monument and a name better than sons and daughters” (Isa. 56:5)
Reason #19: God promises to specially bless those who keep the Saturday Sabbath (Isa. 56:2)
Reason #20: God promises to not cut off those who keep the Saturday Sabbath (Isa. 56:3-6)
Reason #21: God promises that he will bring those who keep the Saturday Sabbath to his Holy Mountain (Isa. 56:7)
Reason #22: God promises to make joyful those who keep the Saturday Sabbath (Isa. 56:7)
Reason #23: The Sabbath is intended to be a delight (Isaiah 58:13)
Reason #24: God promises that we will “find our joy in the LORD” when we keep the Saturday Sabbath (Isa. 58:13)
Reason #25: God promises that those who keep the Saturday Sabbath will “ride on the heights of the land” (Isa. 58:13)
Reason #26: God promises that those who keep the Saturday Sabbath will “feast on the inheritance of our father Jacob” (Isa. 58:13)
Reason #27: In the future, after the Final Judgment, the Sabbath will still be in effect (Isa. 66:22-23)
Reason #28: God uses the Sabbath as a time marker when referring to the New Heavens and New Earth, showing that the Sabbath will still be in effect in the world to come (Isaiah 66:23)
Reason #29:
Forgetting the Saturday Sabbath is a punishment (Lamentations 2:6)

Reason #30: The Lord gave the Sabbath as a sign or a mark between Him and His people (Ezekiel- 20:12-24)
Reason #31: God mentioned Sabbath breaking in a list of indictments against his people, along with other “moral” issues (Ezek. 22:8, 26, 23:38)
Reason #32: The prophet Ezekiel describes a future temple in which the Sabbath will still be in effect (Ezekiel 46:1-12)
Reason #33:
The Bible warns that the devil will seek to change times, laws, Sabbaths, etc. (Daniel 7:25)

Reason #34: God takes away the Sabbaths and the Feasts as a punishment (Hosea 2:11)
Reason #35:
God wouldn’t change the day of the Sabbath, or nullify it, without speaking this through the mouth of the prophets first (Amos 3:7)
Reason #36:
God does not change (Malachi 3:6)

Reason #37: Jesus did not come to abolish even the least of God’s commandments (Matt. 5:17-19)
Reason #38: Nothing will pass from the Torah until ALL is accomplished (Matt. 5:18)
Reason #39: Those who break the Saturday Sabbath will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:19)
Reason #40: Those who teach others to break the Sabbath will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:19)
Reason #41: Those who keep the Saturday Sabbath (along with God’s other commandments) will be called “great” in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:19)
Reason #42: Those who teach others to keep the Saturday sabbath will be called “great” in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:19)
Reason #43: Jesus will say he does not know those who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:23)
Reason #44:
Jesus taught his disciples how to properly keep the 7th day Sabbath, with the expectation that his followers would keep it as he did (Matt. 12:10-12, Mark 2:27-28, 3:2-4, Luke 6:1-11)

Reason #45: Jesus told his disciples to pray that they wouldn’t have to flee on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20)
Reason #46:
Jesus taught that the Sabbath would be in effect after his death and before the great tribulation (Matt. 24:20-21)
Reason #47:
Jesus set our example by observing the Saturday Sabbath (Mark 1:21, 6:2, Luke 4:16, 13:10, ).

Reason #48: Even after his crucifixion, some women “rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56)
Reason #49:
Jesus told his followers that the Saturday Sabbath was made for mankind (Mark 2:27-28).

Reason #50: Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15), and Jesus told his followers to keep the 7th day Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28, Matt. 5:17-19)
Reason #51: The disciples (including Paul) continued to observe the Sabbath after Yeshua’s death (Acts 13:14, 16:13)
Reason #52: The Jerusalem council gave gentiles four basic commandments because they knew they would learn the rest of God’s commandments in the Synagogues on the 7th day Sabbath (Acts 15:21)
Reason #53: It was Paul’s habit to keep the 7th day Sabbath (Acts 17:2)
Reason #54: Paul kept the Saturday Sabbath every week (Acts 18:4)
Reason #55: Paul taught his churches to uphold the Law/Torah of God (Romans 3:31)
Reason #56: Jesus kept the Saturday Sabbath, and Paul was an imitator of Jesus, teaching others to imitate both himself and Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1)
Reason #57: Paul taught others to imitate himself (1 Cor. 11:1), and Paul kept the 7th day Sabbath (Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:2)
Reason #58: All scripture is profitable for reproof, correction, and training in righteousness — and “all scripture” would include the 7th day Sabbath (2 Tim. 3:16)
Reason #59:
The Author of Hebrews says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God” (Heb.4:9).

Reason #60: We are to “walk as [Jesus] walked,” and Yeshua kept the Saturday Sabbath (1 John 2:6)
Reason #61: We are told that love for God = obeying his commandments (1 John 5:3).
Reason #62: God’s commandments are not supposed to be burdensome (1 John5:3).
Reason #63: The Book of Revelation praises those living in the end-times who keep God’s commandments — which would include the 7th day Sabbath (Rev. 12:17)



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Fifth Sabbath

Today is the Fifth Sabbath of Seven Sabbaths! 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Our Obligation To The Poor Always

This is a great article written by Alana Alpert. It is to remind us that what our Father has placed in our hands is not all for us.  But we are to take care of the needy, poor, widow, and orphan out of what He has blessed us with.  In good times and bad.  Enjoy! 

 

The Instinct to Hoard

Even when times are tough, we still must give.

By Alana Alpert


Provided by American Jewish World Service, pursuing global justice through grassroots change.

Tzedakah
can seem unnatural: we never want to give up what we have. When we have a lot, we say, “It’s mine--I worked hard for it and I want to keep it.” When we don’t have a lot or are worried that we won’t, we say, “It’s mine--I need it, so I can’t give it away.” The instinct to hoard is common, and the Torah goes out of its way to urge against it.

In the middle of a discussion about the festivals, Parashat Emor repeats the mitzvah we learned last week in Parashat Kedoshim: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 23:22).

Why would these verses, repeated almost verbatim, reappear in the midst of laws about the festivals? Scholar Nehama Leibowitz explains that the festivals--marking the completion of the harvest season--are a particularly joyous time, and in joy we might forget the poor. Indeed, the jubilation and pride we feel at a successful planting season may lend itself to a strong sense of entitlement akin to our response to tzedakah in a time of plenty: I worked hard for this harvest and I want to keep it.

The Land is Not Yours

Rabbi Moshe Alshech, a 16th century commentator from Safed, offers a radical reading of the verse, “and when you reap the harvest of your land,” that dispels the myth of ownership that underlies this instinct to hoard. He points out that “your land” is plural, explaining that “the Torah uses the plural to designate the common ownership of the field by the owner, the poor, and the stranger, for in truth, they share in it.” He says:

“Do not think that you are giving to the poor from your own possession, or that I despised the poor person by not giving him as I gave you. For he is my son, as you are, and his share is in your grain; it is to your benefit to give him his share from your property.”

Ultimately then, we are simply giving the poor their share. I may have a deed to the land. I may have sown the seeds. I may have plowed the field. But the harvest does not belong to me. And so the verses in Parashat Emor remind us to curb our proprietary reaction to acquiring wealth and to be cognizant of the poor in times of plenty.

When Times Are Tough

hoardersYet the inverse question--how do we remember our obligations to the poor during times of limited resources?--is perhaps even more important. How can we respond when the needs of the poor are great but the resources of the owner of the field are few? This question is especially poignant for us today, in the midst of our financial crisis. Estimates for decline in philanthropy this year demonstrate that when times are hard, most people are less sensitive, rather than more, to those who have it harder. We are all instinctually feeling, I need it, so I can’t give it away.

But during times of economic crisis, the poor--especially people living in the Global South--are among the hardest hit. The cost of food and fuel are rising and job loss is rampant. Estimates say “the global economic crisis will cause an additional 22 children to die per hour, throughout all of 2009.” When the Global South needs financial support more than ever, people all over the world are holding back, rather than giving.

The Torah’s instructions for harvesting are there to subvert this instinct to hoard during a recession. The law states, “You shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field.” It does not clarify whether the farmer had a good or a bad crop yield. Thus, whether I have earned a lot or a little this year, I am still required to give enough for those who have less than I do. We are reminded of this in the laws of the Mishneh Torah which state that even a poor person is expected to give tzedakah (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 7:5).

Our challenge is to remember our obligation to the poor always: in times of plenty and times of need. The corners of our field do not belong to us; they never did. We cannot glean all the way to the edges of the field even if the produce yield is low. Let us struggle to rise above the natural reaction to hoard out of pride or fear, and rather, sanctify our harvests through generosity.
Alana AlpertAlana Alpert earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Studies from the University of California in Santa Cruz. She is currently studying at the Conservative Yeshiva and volunteering with organizations working toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Why I Dislike Living In Spiritual Egypt #3

                 

Really???  Now shopping is being called a sport that you can get a high from when you get a great deal.  Ugh.  I have nothing against Mia Hamm and I have always liked shopping at Kohls.  But really? 

The Rabbis Knew the Messiah



                  

Jews coming to the Messiah and Christians coming to Torah.  Two Sticks becoming One Stick in His hand. 

Blessings!!!