Light on the Rock Blogs

The gospel by Mark emphasizes Yeshua’s ministry and life as being that of a servant. He is our Servant King. We also must become servants of the Messiah and our Father – and of one another. We will serve – if He is living in us and active in our lives. If we seek Him, focus on him, learn about him and ask him to live, move and speak in us – he will serve.Because though our Yeshua is the coming King of kings, he is also the Servant of servants.

Check out the newest sermon on this site – Yeshua – The Servant King of kings.

There is so much more that could have been said about our calling to be a “servant of all” – of everyone. I found doing the study to be very instructive and corrective to me, the one who was getting ready to present it. I have a lot to learn about this and every subject. It was very humbling to realize how much more I have to still let Yeshua live in me. Maybe you’ll find the message helpful.

Here are some additional thoughts on serving that didn’t get into the sermon (ran out of time):

• The best service opportunities are often when it is most inconvenient for us. It’s 2 in the morning and someone needs to have you be with them. And they live a long ways away. Or you’re on your way to church services and an old woman looks distressed by the side of the road with a flat tire and seems lost. (Remember the priest and the Levite on the way to the temple who passed by the wounded man – in the story of the Good Samaritan?) So acts of service often don’t get set for convenient appointment times – but just crop up when it’s not convenient. Give up your favorite show – and serve anyway.

• The best service opportunities are those not seen or known by a lot of people, or even by ANYONE – but God sees, and He promises to reward us openly. You may not be recognized for the good you do, but do it anyway. If it’s worthy of recognition, Father promises He’ll do so openly in the world to come. A godly servant is constantly looking for ways to help others be more comfortable and to know they are loved.

• The best service opportunities leave people feeling wonderful, like they’ve been visited by an angel.People will soon enough forget what we did and what we said. But they won’t soon forget how we made them feel. (Yes, I preach to myself too.) So serve in a way that people realize you are esteeming them highly and worthy of your valuable service – and leave people feeling good. Yes, I’ve had some repenting to do on this one. But even if people don’t seem to appreciate our hard work or don’t leave US feeling wonderful after all our hard service, serve anyway.

• The best service opportunities are not often fun, often have no glory, and in fact sometimes downright awful, humanly speaking – until you realize you’ve let Yeshua live in you and you’ve done some good.

What is the fourth commandment – in it’s completely stated form in Exodus 20:8-11? Most of us know it as the one about resting on the 7^th day. It is a day we stop from all our work – everyone in our household is to stop. Even the work animals are to stop. There have been many discussions about HOW to keep the sabbath, what we can and cannot do on the sabbath, whether or not we can eat out in restaurants on the sabbath, and on and on. This blog is about what is said in the first part of the commandment that doesn’t seem to get much play.

“Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but on the seventh day …..”   (Exodus 20:9).

Get it? One half of the sabbath commandment is teaching us to be sure we are WORKING the other six days. It seems our society has gotten away from wanting to work. America was built on the idea that hard work and education could lead to a better life. A man was proud to “do it yourself” and not rely on others – and worst of all, rely on “the government”. But now we have 47 MILLION people on EBT or food stamps. Some are deserving of it. I have given sermons on our privilege to help the poor and needy. So that’s not my point. But many of those claiming food stamps or some who even claim disability – I’ve seen this loads of times – use our money to buy themselves beer, candy, junk food and take advantage of the system. On the news I heard that some strip bars were even allowing EBT cards to be used for nude lap dances! And I can’t believe that all 47 million can’t do be doing something to get OFF of the food stamp program!

God’s word tells us we are to be generous to the truly poor. But there’s the truly poor – and people who won’t work. God’s word also tells us that if someone won’t work, they should not eat.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

Now there are those who truly cannot work, cannot function, who are incapacitated. Those people we should help. Absolutely. I’m always so impressed by so many of the veterans who came back from Iraq or Afghanistan with their legs or arms blown off – and are back at work with prosthetics. They won’t let something like that keep them from being productive.

Paul also tells us the REASON for working: so we have funds to help others who truly need help!

Ephesians 4:28

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Even the rules on helping the poor involved the poor getting out and fending for themselves as much as they could. For example, the corners of the fields were not to be harvested but were to be left for the poor and strangers. But no one gave them hand-outs. They had to go the field and harvest what farmers were leaving for them. Ever read the book of Ruth? It’s largely based on that concept. But today we just give people handouts – often, people who could do something to help out. If they can’t find employment, they should at least volunteer to help at schools, libraries, help clean up sections of highway or help out in nursing homes. IF nothing else, use that free time you have now to get more education in fields that would make you more employable!

Click on at the bottom right where it says “READ MORE” to finish the rest of this blog and to learn what you can do as a parent, as a grandparent to help instill these values – plus there’s a lesson from the State Park system.

And a warning!

I hope this blog makes us all stop, think and take stock where we are in terms of our relationship with YHVH, the eternal God.

Uzziah was the 10^th king of Judah who – while younger – was helped and blessed by Yah. Why?

2 Chronicles 26:3-5

Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the sight of YHVH, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

5 He SOUGHT God (Elohim) in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought YHVH, God (Elohim) made him prosper.

Read that passage several times until it makes a deep impression on your soul. God plays no favorites. He is impartial. If we also SEEK Him – daily, as our first priority each day – our God will also make us prosper.

The old favorite verse – Matthew 6:33 – if we seek FIRST the kingdom of God and ITS righteousness (the righteousness which is by faith through Yeshua), ALL the things we need to have will be added unto us.

Uzziah means “My Strength is Yah” or “YHVH is Strength”.   I find it interesting that God helped him become a strong king as he lived out his name and sought the Eternal first and foremost.

So when you continue reading 2 Chronicles 26, you’ll see how YHVH actually HELPED Uzziah in his efforts to strengthen the land and its defenses.

            Verse 7 – “God helped him against the Philistines…”

            Verse 15b –“his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.”

But then we have a warning. Later in life, Uzziah let all the blessings of Yah go to his head and he decided he was good enough to offer incense in the sanctuary. That was reserved only for priests, sons of Aaron, and not for kings.

So the other part of Uzziah’s story is this: we must not start thinking we can do as we please because God is obviously blessing us. If we decide to stray from the Almighty and His ways, there will be penalties and consequences. We cannot remain strong while distancing ourselves from the Source of real power, strength and blessings.

2 Chronicles 26:16-21

But when he [Uzziah] was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against YHVH his God (Elohim) by entering the temple of YHVH to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of YHVH — valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to YHVH, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God."

19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of YHVH, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he YHVH had struck him.

21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of YHVH. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

By R. Herbert

Intro by P Shields/Light on the Rock: This blog by R. Herbert is thoughtful. Besides the excellent main point it makes, it also makes the implied point that we should be more careful in our reading of scripture. There is so much more going on in the scriptures than we often see at first glance. I’ve never heard or read anyone else make the point he makes in this blog.

**

All the Gospels tell the story of Jesus casting the money changers and animal sellers from the temple. It’s a powerful story. When He found people keeping animals in the temple and making profit in various ways He overturned the tables of those who changed the common Greek and Roman money for Jewish coins (which were acceptable for temple offerings) and used a whip to drive out the animals and birds being sold there (for sacrifices), saying: “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:16).

The picture painted in the Gospels is clearly one of Jesus displaying righteous anger at the way in which the temple was being polluted and commercially used, and at least one modern portrayal of the story depicts Jesus as seeing the selling and essentially flying into a sudden and furious rage. It may be easy to imagine it that way, but the Gospels actually show that nothing could be further from the truth.

One of the Messiah’s purposes in living out a human life was to provide a role model for us. How Jesus dealt with this difficult situation shows us how we should act under the same circumstances - a situation in which it would be all too natural to become instantly angry and to begin to lash out to act on that anger.   So how did the Son of God deal with this provocation to “righteous anger”? We find the answer in the Gospel of Mark. Mark’s account of the cleansing of the temple is particularly interesting in that it gives us extra information which shows that Jesus certainly did not just act with natural, impulsive anger, but with a controlled anger based on calm prior thought.  

*Read more to see how Jesus really dealt with this anger arousing situation ….

Alone of the Gospels, Mark adds a fascinating detail to the temple cleansing narrative. After his humble but triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Mark tells us that “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve” (Mark 11:11). Then Mark continues, “The next day … On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there” (Mark 11:12-15). It is clear from Mark’s addition that Jesus must have already seen the sellers and money changers in the temple courts, but He chose to return to Bethany for the night – doubtless thinking about what he had seen – before returning the following day to cleanse the temple.

I almost titled this “the power even of the short prayer” – but then realized I was falling into the very point I was trying to AVOID: that it doesn’t take long prayers to be effective!

I used to be taught that we had to pray at least 30 minutes a day, bare minimum, or our prayers would simply be ineffective. Now don’t get me wrong: I understand that there are many examples of men of God praying for long periods of time before their answer came.

• I’m very aware of that. Jesus (Yeshua) prayed all night before finalizing on his 12 disciples (Luke 6:12-13).
• Matthew 14:23-25- another example of our Messiah praying at least 4 hours into the night
• We know before his crucifixion he spent a long time in prayer in Gethsemane
• Daniel was praying and fasting for weeks (see Daniel 8 and 9)
• Jacob wrestled all night with the Man we know later as Yeshua (Genesis 32:24-25).
• In fact I wrote a blog recently also about what it means to “pray always”.
• Another example: when Peter was jailed and to be executed, the local church prayed long into the night – and they were heard (Acts 12:5,12). There’s no record, by the way, that they prayed that way earlier for James, the brother of John, who was in fact, executed.

So I understand the need for fervent and long prayer at times in our lives. But sometimes we start feeling like “if I don’t have at least 30 minutes to pray on my knees, there’s no point in praying at all!”.

Wrong.

My personal conviction is this: we do need times of committed vigils of prayer that build the base, the foundation of our relationship with our loving Father and Savior. But with that base, we then make contact – short prayers – many, many times each day, as we “pray always” and stay in touch.

When we do that, when we need to pray about something, it doesn’t have to be long. In fact, Christ says it’s the hypocrites who like to make long prayers (see Matthew 23:14). Your long prayers should be in secret – just you and God – and not in public, not in opening/closing prayers, not at the dinner table, etc.

With this as our foundation, remember that the priests of Baal prayed all day long – and received no answer from their non-existent “god”. Elijah on the other hand? The English version of his prayer, even if spoken slowly, takes only 22 seconds! And YHVH answered mightily! (1 Kings 18:36-38).

By R. Herbert

As believers in Christ, we know we have to fight the good fight spiritually. In Deuteronomy 20, we find special instructions which God gave to ancient Israel as it was about to enter the Promised Land. These instructions were the “tactical briefs” given to Israel’s fighting forces. They may seem deceptively simple, yet they were the vital information needed for successful conquest.

Today, those same tactical instructions can be applied in our lives and offer us timeless guidelines for the spiritual battles we must fight – as we can see in each instruction and the lesson it carries.

COMMAND 1: “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because YHVH (the LORD) your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you” (Deuteronomy 20:1)

LESSON: God reminds Israel – and us – not to walk by sight. If we focus on the physical circumstances that surround us, we will often fail before the battle begins when the problems just look too big. God tells us that He has brought us this far and that we must remember the forces we do not see are greater than those we do see (read 2 Kings 6:17 for an example). DON’T WALK BY SIGHT ALONE – OUR BATTLES ARE WON BY WHAT IS NOT SEEN.

*Read more to see the other commands – and fighting lessons – God gave to Israel and to us …

COMMAND 2: “When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For YHVH your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory’” (Deuteronomy 20:2-4).

LESSON: God had his servants deliver this message in person. This order helps us remember that victory is not found just in believing in the unseen God, but in trusting Him for the strength and victory we need in any battle He tells us to fight. No problem is bigger than His power. DON’T FEAR; LOOK TO GOD FOR HIS STRENGTH.

COMMAND 3: “The officers shall say to the army: ‘Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? … Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it?... Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home’…” (Deuteronomy 20:5-7).

LESSON: Next, the officers speak. God has given us his true ministers and elders to exhort and feed us (Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-4) . On top of that, since God is our “Commander in Chief,” our free moral agency also means we relay to ourselves the orders we read in God’s word as to what we should do.Although there is a humane aspect to this particular command, excusing those who might not want to fight, the clear tactical reason is that we must not fight with distractions or our minds will be on them. It’s extremely dangerous to be distracted once the fighting starts! DON’T ALLOW PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS TO GET IN THE WAY OF THE SPIRITUAL FIGHT.

COMMAND 4:“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to labor and shall work for you” (Deuteronomy 20:10-11).

LESSON: God shows that in our life battles we should be willing to work with people if they are willing to work with us and it does not interfere with our obeying God. For example, someone who has only recently come to the faith should try to work with co-workers as much as possible to facilitate changes he or she may need to affect rather than suddenly throwing the workplace into what might seem like destructive chaos to everyone else. This principle applies in many other areas - we need to be firm in our beliefs, but not to turn people off from our beliefs inasmuch as that is possible. WORK WITH PEOPLE AS THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU SO THAT POTENTIAL ENEMIES BECOME ALLIES.

COMMAND 5: “However, in the cities of the nations YHVH your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as YHVH (the Lord) your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against YHVH your God” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18).

LESSON: God shows clearly that we will never win our battles if we compromise with sin in any way. The nations around Israel not only enticed the Israelites to sin, but they also became a type of sin which must be destroyed. MAKE NO COMPROMISE WITH SIN - THE ENEMY THAT IS BENT ON DESTROYING YOU MUST BE DESTOYED.

COMMAND 6:“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20).

This is a sequel to the last blog. Read the last blog first please.

 In my last blog, I talked about how God wants us to be truly beautiful people. I spoke of the inspired words of Peter speaking of the beauty of the inward parts, of the heart (1 Peter 5:1-4). We saw how God sees not as a man sees, looking on outward appearances, but on the heart. Jesus said the Pharisees were like beautiful, freshly painted tombs outwardly – but inside, were full of dead men’s bones (Matthew 23:27). Ouch! That’s not where we want to be, so why do we strive so hard to put a fresh coat of paint on the outward tomb? Or perhaps we can compare it to the makeup being put on to a corpse. We died spiritually. We have a new life in Christ. That is where the true beauty is.

But as I re-read my own blog, I realized I didn’t explain enough about HOW one becomes spiritually beautiful, as God regards true beauty? Are there things WE have to do? WHO makes us beautiful? I hate it when I’m told to be or do something, but no one says HOW.

I think some may have misunderstood this part from my last blog. I hope you will dig out your Bible and study in your own Bible all the verses I point to in this blog.  

Can you make yourself spiritually beautiful? Can you?

In Isaiah 61:10, we are clothed with the garments of yeshua (salvation) by Yah! By the great God. Those garments are compared to the adornments that a bride and groom put on before their wedding, but it’s clear WHO puts them on us or at least who provides the clothing.

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in YHVH, My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For HE has clothed me with the garments of salvation (yesa in Hebrew – same root to yeshua),

HE has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

In ancient weddings, the one putting on the wedding provided exquisite garments for the guests. If they did not put on what was provided for them, it was considered the highest insult, as we read in Matthew 22:1-14, especially verses 11-13. The one without a wedding garment in that parable was the one who simply refused to change his soiled, cheap garments and put on what the King had provided.

You see, we might think we are OK as we are. We are not. We need to let Him give us garments of His righteousness to change into. Many scriptures tell us HE gives us the garments of His covering, His righteousness, but we put them on. We need to take off the filthy rags of our own righteousness (Isaiah 64:6), which simply do not measure up to the requirements of the righteousness of God which He offers to us, by faith. So we take our spiritual clothes off – but spiritual nakedness is not acceptable either. That was the Laodicean problem. God is not into public nakedness. They were naked. Laodiceans had gone only part-way. They had removed their own clothing but had not accepted HIS righteousness, HIS garments of salvation -- and so they were still spiritually naked (please study Revelation 3:17-22).

My point in this blog is this: to be beautiful, we look to God who is the one who knows how to make all things beautiful. He is the One who gives us, who shares with us His beauty, HIS salvation, His glory – and our job is to believe, accept it, and put it on with utmost gratitude.

There’s so much more. Please read the rest of this blog to find out what our part is and what God’s part is. What about “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”? You’ll be surprised, but all to the glory of God.

I can’t – by myself—make my heart or “inward man” – beautiful. I can’t. And you can’t either. But we can, and we MUST, accept whatever HE wants to do in us, for us and with us. We have to accept His invitation – but HE provides the beautiful wedding garments and the wonderful food at the wedding banquet. But we do have to respond. We do have to be open to what He is doing. He wants to make you beautiful – and our job is to say “thank you, Master” and submit to His work in us and then display the fruit of HIS righteousness (Philippians 1:11; John 15:4-5), like a good branch attached to the Vine does. The Vine produces the fruit. The branch holds it up and displays it – and puts it out there for others to eat of it, and benefit from the work of the vine or tree. We are saved by HIS grace, not by our own works, so that no one can boast. See Ephesians 2:8-10. But don’t’ miss verse 10 either.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR good works, which God prepared beforehand that WE should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10 gives us the whole story in a nutshell. HE saves us. Our conversion and obedience by HIS power and HIS might is proof of His saving work. Our life’s works change now. The changing going on is “HIS workmanship” (v. 10), so we can walk a new walk, in good works, that HE prepared for us. And it says “that we should walk in them”. We do have to have a new, changed walk - - meaning our way of life does change. Our life now proves our love for Messiah by letting Him live again in us, this time obediently.

“If you love me, keep my commandments”, the Messiah himself said in John 14:15 and John 15:10, 1 John 3:3-6. But it has to be Christ in us doing it, by faith, or it’s our own works and that won’t cut it!

So Paul clarifies later that our old self dies in baptism and the life we now live we live by the faith of Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20), for if righteousness were possible just by us striving to keep the law, “then Christ died in vain” (Verse 21). Paul calls our life – “Christ who is our life…” – see Colossians 3:2-4. Are we getting it? It’s the resurrected Christ in us who is now perfecting and completing us “until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). I ask you to re-read slowly – Philippians 3:9-11. Read it several times. It is now HIS work, HIS righteousness we receive by believing, by faith. We can’t strive to become perfect or strive to qualify for the kingdom. We are in Christ, and he is perfection. He has qualified and therefore He has qualified us in him (slowly read Colossians 1:12-14). And He in us continues to live obediently.

Are we getting it? It’s HIS work. It’s Him living again in you and me. It’s us now living by the power of HIS resurrection, as Paul spoke of in Philippians 3:9-11. HE needs to be living in us now. And Jesus will live in you now the way He lived the first time: joyfully, humbly and obediently.   But it is HIS life, HIS beauty, HIS spirit, HIS heart – now in us.

Now THAT is beautiful. Now when Abba our dear heavenly Father sees you – He sees you in Messiah – He sees us as ONE body, the Messiah’s perfect, holy and beautiful life. THEREIN is also your eternal beauty – in HIM.

Even the often quoted verse that says we are to work out our own salvation goes ON to say who does it and HOW it is done. But verse 13 is rarely quoted. This time, let’s read all of it.

Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU both to WILL [the desire] and TO DO for HIS good pleasure”.

I’m suspicious of people who won’t read verse 13 in Philippians 2. Or they won’t ever quote Gal. 2:21, though they love Gal. 2:20. We have to be honest with God’s word and preach ALL of it.

Are you beautiful? I hope it won’t be a depressing shock for any of our readers to find out that if you Google “World’s Most Beautiful people” – surprise -- you and I won’t be found on that list anywhere! I looked and looked, and somehow they missed me…and you. (LOL). That doesn’t seem fair somehow. (Laughing). No one ever mistakes me for Brad Pitt, George Clooney or Tom Cruise. I don’t even recognize the names of the top 30 most beautiful women except for Angelina Jolie, Beyonce and a couple other names. That’s how far out of the loop I am. I didn’t see any of the poor of the world on that list either.

Most of the people of God I’ve seen wouldn’t be picked as models strutting down a fashion runway or win any beauty contests or be picked to model the latest men’s underwear. No loss there. My children, though I think they are wonderful and even beautiful, didn’t grow up looking like Ken and Barbie dolls. Aren’t they “divorced” now? Hmmm… have to check that out.

Now here’s the point of this blog: you have been born and created to be beautiful! Did you know that? I am not talking being “beautiful” as the world sees beauty, but what your Maker says HE considers to be beautiful. I know that you and I can be beautiful and are beautiful right now to the One who counts—EVEN IF you have had diseases, even if you’re growing old, have sagging skin, are overweight, have had amputations, have survived a fire and are permanently scarred—or whatever your situation is!

You may even be, in God’s eyes, one of the most beautiful people in your country.

Looking beautiful and youthful forever has been a long-sought after goal – for millennia. Now in this age of high-def TV, where every hair, every pimple and every line is seen in high definition, I’m reading how even beautiful actors and actresses are stressed out! So they put high value and spend lots of money to look even more beautiful and youthful. So they have Botox shots, liposuction, hair coloring to get rid of the grey and white hair; have face-lifts, nose jobs, breast implants, cosmetic surgery, teeth-whitening, “new” teeth with perfect smiles, hair implants or plastic surgery. Some women panic if they have any cellulite on their thighs. All of that is highly esteemed – by man at least. But I wonder how much of those bodies are even real? Or is it mostly expensive plastic and surgery? So the poor people of the world will rarely be esteemed as “the beautiful people” of the world. They can’t afford Botox shots, face lifts and fake breasts. But those poor people at least are REAL.

What does GOD say? I hope we can grow more and more to see ourselves and one another as GOD sees us, not as man sees.

The Bible is clear that many of its heroes were in fact beautiful in their prime – Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Joseph, Moses, David, Bathsheba and others were very attractive. (See Gen 12:11,14; 24:16; 29:17; 39:6; Exodus 2:2; 2 Samuel 11:2).So God is not against being beautiful outwardly! If you are naturally beautiful, this is not a diatribe against people who look good, OK? I still admire beauty too – whether in a woman or a man or even a beautiful animal. Beauty is fine if it doesn’t become an all-consuming goal and priority.

But oddly enough, when Jesus came as a man…was HE good looking by man’s standards?

Isaiah 53:2

“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him,

There is NO BEAUTY that we should desire Him”.

Please read the rest of this blog so you have the Bible perspective of Beauty and can teach this to your children and grandchildren.

THE FIRST recorded questions in the first books of Scripture – whether in the “old” or “new” testaments, are very telling and instructive about our relationship with our Maker.

What were the first recorded QUESTIONS in Genesis? And what’s the first recorded question in the first book of the New Testament -- Matthew? Let’s start with the 2 first questions in Genesis.

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God (YHVH Elohim) had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

So the very first question was putting doubt into mankind (Adam was there with Eve – v. 6) about God’s desire to be our Leader and to give us eternal life. Satan posed God’s way as a bunch of negatives; just a series of what we can’t do, a bunch of “shall nots”.

Genesis 3:6-7

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings”.

The result of the first question is that mankind recognized they were naked, lost and separated from the loving relationship and confidence they had in their Maker.

The next question is even more telling. Now it’s God himself who is doing the asking.

Genesis 3:8-9

And they heard the sound of YHVH Elohim (the Lord God) walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHVH Elohim among the trees of the garden.

Then Yehoweh Elohim (the Lord God) called to Adam and said to him, "Where are YOU?"

Our Creator knew where our ancestors were. They were LOST. God called to the head of that household (1 Cor. 11:3) – the man, the husband, though Eve was the first to eat of the fruit. It was to the man that God gave the instructions about the tree and is considered the first sinner.

Anyway, they were on the wrong path. They were in disobedience and were now in trouble, and most of mankind has been out of union with our Maker ever since -- -unless we come up with the correct answer to the first question in the book of Matthew! That’s the next question we will read.

Matthew 2:1-2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where IS HE who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

So the first question GOD asks in the book of Genesis is revealing the problem: “Where are YOU?”. The first question in the New Testament reveals the answer, and is the question WE need to be asking, “Where is HE, who was born KING…”. We need to focus on where HE is even more than where WE are, knowing He is our Savior and can take care of all our issues and then be a SEEKER after God, searching for Him – even as He comes looking for us.

Read the rest of this blog for more exciting points on being united with our Maker and Savior.

Mankind is spiritually lost and doesn’t often recognize it. If a lost person in the woods doesn’t know he is lost, he usually goes ever deeper into trouble. God knows where we are, and in his love, God still asks – “Where are you?” God comes looking for US. That’s what happened with Adam and Eve. God came looking for them first, didn’t He? Mankind – represented by our ancient grandparents Adam and Eve – doesn’t know enough about their lost state to even start to come looking for their Deliverer. God has to first come looking for us. Often, a lost person doesn’t even know there are loved ones out looking for him. But God first loved us, and that is why and how we can love – because HE first loved us. And there’s great joy in the reunion!

The father of the prodigal son describes his joy when being reconciled to his lost son: Read the full story yourself in Luke 15:11-32 please, but here’s what the FATHER said when his son “woke up” from cutting himself off from his dad and reunited with dad:   “….let us eat and be merry, for this my son was DEAD and is alive again, was LOST and now is found.” (Luke 15:23-24). This verse applies to us all – whether we are sons or daughters of God.

Wise men from the east tell us all that the answer to God’s question asking where we are, is found in their question: “where is HE who has been born king of the Jews?”

We are hoping to have some new features soon on our website, including a search feature. But in the meantime, I thought I’d mention some blogs we’ve had in the past that may be interesting to you if you missed them before. You’ll notice that at the bottom of the blog page, when you scroll all the way down, that there are 10-11 “PAGES” of blogs going back several years. So I’ll list some titles you may find intriguing and decide to check out. So I’ll do it by page number and date. The “page number” will change of course, if you are reading THIS blog some months or years after Dec 2013.

I find many of the requested titles go back to page 10 – to 2011 and 2012. But the main point of this blog: scroll down and see what’s here. You’ll discover a lot of timeless topics you’ll find interesting. 

Page 1            John 15:2 – the branch that is “taken away” – or is it “lifted up”.

“Seeing Yeshua Throughout scripture” -- where you might not have seen him before. Oct 26, 2013 - WHY Study – the biggest reason, was a big favorite for many.

Page 2:           Oct 17, 2013- “It is well with my Soul”  The inspiring story behind the hymn.

                      Oct 12, 2013 – Our ability to bless GOD!

Page 3:           July 20, 2013- Do you want to be Well?

A very intriguing blog by guest writer R. Herbert.    

July 13 – Are you a Gatherer or a scatterer?

June 15, 2013-- How to “pray without ceasing”

Page 4:           March 20, 2013-   JOHN 21:11 – Why are 153 Fish specifically mentioned?

Page 5:           March 27, 2013 – Who REALLY killed Christ? (The answer will surprise you. It goes beyond the Romans, the Jews, and even YOU, as the answers. Way beyond.)

Page 6:           Nov 17, 2012- Is “Hamas” mentioned in scripture?

Page 7:           June 24, 2012—According to Scripture, when does human life actually begin?

Page 8:           6/12/2012   How the 9 month Birth Cycle ties perfectly with the holydays of God.

Page 9:           Feb 22, 2012- explaining “You’re the Apple of His Eye” (one of most requested)

 July 19, 2011- “I’m so glad they lost my luggage” -- or “baggage” (spiritually)

Page 10:          June 27, 2011—A new look at the verse about “Gates of Hell”

                       June 21, 2011 – The Islamic Anti-Christ, a review.

                       June 3, 2011—A New look at Amos 3:3 and walking together

                       April 17, 2011—I don’t call my brother “Mr Shields” (church titles)

                       April 15, 2011—We don’t get to choose our brothers and sisters.

One of most frightening verses in the entire Bible, as translated into most English translations, is John 15:2.  But when you look at the original Greek, one has to wonder why it has been translated the way we normally read it.  
John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Christ is the Vine, and we are the BRANCHES on that vine (verse 5).  Well, even the fruitful branches get pruned back, but if you’re an unfruitful branch, you’re “taken away”. KJV says “he taketh away”.  CJB says “he cuts off”.  Apologetics/Holman – “he removes.” Sounds very scary. Taken away, removed, cut off – how? Where to? Then what? In any case, it’s scary.

If you’re like me at all, you realize there are unfruitful “down” times in your life when you’re not bearing fruit and don’t even feel like bearing fruit is possible. Or am I the only one who feels that way at times? So am I to be cut off, removed, thrown away, and discarded to the trash heap?  It certainly sounds that way.  In Luke 13 there’s the story of the unfruitful fig tree – and that tree at least got an extra year reprieve where the gardener was going to work with it, feed it, dung it and do all he could do to help that poor fig tree produce fruit. But here, that poor unproductive branch seems like it is to be whacked off without mercy.  

Or so it would seem. But not so fast.  

When you look at the actual Greek word – it is “airo”, Strong’s #142. What I’m about to say is not original to me. I read something about this verse in a book some years ago ago, as well as having heard others speak on it. Plus I’ve talked to arborists who care for vineyards.  

The Greek word is airo – and it primarily means “to take up, raise up, lift up” according to the Complete Word Study of the New Testament.  When you search everywhere Strong’s word #142, Airo, is used, that is verified.

Apparently “airo” is also translated as “taken away” in several other verses. That is true. So it’s possible for it to be translated either as “taken away” or “lifted up”.  For example, Col 2:14 speaks of the ordinances that were against us were “taken away”.  John 20:1 speaks of the women coming to the tomb and finding the stone had been “taken away”.  So apparently the word can be translated the way it is usually translated in John 15:2.  But there’s more.  

BUT, in most other instances that same word is used, it is translated “lift up, pick up, or raise up”.  For example, in these following verses, the underlined words are the same Greek word “airo” – and look how it’s translated in these instances:

John 8:59 – the angry crowds lifted up, picked up, stones to throw at Jesus.
Mark 16:18 – they shall pick up deadly snakes and not be hurt
Mark 2:9; Matthew 9:6 – Arise, TAKE UP your bed and walk…

Matthew 15:37; Mark 6:43 – the disciples “picked up” the left-over food after the miracle of the loaves and fish

Matthew 16:24—let him TAKE UP his cross and follow me.

How does our heavenly Father – who gave a large swath of land to Israel – view efforts by world leaders, including those from the USA, who seem to be siding with those who want Israel to give up “the West Bank” and the Golan Heights?  Israel already has given up the Sinai Peninsula, which they conquered. They’ve already given up the Gaza strip as well.  But in those “land for peace” deals, did they receive peace? Terrorists from Gaza, in particular, have rained down thousands of missiles into Israel since that time. So there was no peace that resulted from giving up land. America certainly would not put up with that if our neighbors were raining down thousands of missiles into our land.

What’s next?  Israel is a tiny country, smaller than New Hampshire!  Let that sink in! There’s not much land to “give up” and still have any buffer zones for security.  Their tiny country is surrounded by much, much larger and much more populous Islamic countries. When rockets are fired from Gaza or Lebanon, Israeli citizens have 15 seconds from the time they hear the alarms, to when the rockets explode around them.  By contrast, when Israel strikes a civilian hiding terrorist leaders, Israel gives that area 15 minutes of notice that a strike is coming. Of course their intended target gets the message as well.  

I’m not a prophet, so with that caveat, let me suggest:

•    Watch for efforts to grow to declare Jerusalem an international city owned by no one but “belonging to the world”, as a compromise move to “create peace”. Jerusalem does NOT belong to the world but to God, as you shall see.  International “peace” soldiers from the UN or Europe could then surround the city, providing the security. But read Luke 21:20.  The surrounding armies MAY initially come as peacekeepers. Imagine that!

•    There will be strong efforts to force Israel to halt any further construction in lands anciently given by God to Ephraim and Manasseh, around the area of ancient Samaria, now called The West Bank.  This area includes the Palestinian hotspots of Ramallah and Nablus.  

•    Then strong coercion will be placed against Israel to give up the West Bank altogether. Please don’t forget that the Hamas, Hezbollah and PLO have also sworn to fight until every Jew has been driven out or killed. That’s who Israel is dealing with!  And those terrorist groups are supported, trained and financed by Persia (Iran) and others. Secretary Kerry of the USA has publicly stated recently that his government under Obama does not agree with Israel’s right to build on the West Bank.  Well, Mr. Kerry, you’re wrong. God gave Israel that land, and God says they have a right to build there, live there, and own that land.

What man says means nothing if it goes against the stated wishes of Almighty God. Read the rest of this blog for what Almighty GOD says about dividing up the land He gave Israel.  

Joel 3:2
“…..On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also DIVIDED UP MY LAND.”  

My point is this:  YHVH sees the Land of Israel not just as Israel’s land, but HIS land. He refers to it as “MY land.” And He’s NOT happy about that! If the Almighty calls some real estate “my land” – then any attempt by mere mortals to divide it up surely will incur his wrath. The West Bank was ancient Samaria, ancient Ephraim in particular.  

I’ve spent almost four months in Israel.  This is the land God gave to Israel. The point of this blog is to urge serious caution in dividing up God’s land.  American and European leaders need to back off, as there are dire warnings spoken against all who would do so.

YHVH will bless those who bless the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Israel (Genesis12:3) and He curses those who curse Abraham’s children.  Remember God himself referred to Isaac as Abraham’s “son, your only son…” (Gen. 22:1-2). Isaac was the son of God’s promise. So we’re talking about blessing or cursing the children who came through Isaac, and then through Jacob, who was renamed “Israel”.  Read Genesis 27:29, pertaining to Jacob/Israel.

There have been repeated statements for decades, where Israel’s neighbors and enemies have sworn to drive every Jew into the sea.  Israel, do not fear – but only IF you seek the God of Israel, Yehowah most High. He is your Banner and he promises to be an adversary to your adversaries and fight for you – IF you seek Him and obey Him  (Exodus 23:22-23). If you do not seek Him, you’re on your own for a time, and you’re greatly outnumbered.  In the end, however, YHVH will come to your rescue.  
Now let’s read more of what YHVH says.

A few years back I heard a most insightful country song with that same title and I’ve often thought about it. I think Garth Brooks composed it, but someone will set me straight if I’m wrong on that. But the point is – it makes some great points in the song.

What do I mean – thank God for unanswered prayers?  It could be a lot of things. Maybe like in the song, years ago, maybe it was a certain person you wished and hoped – and prayed – you would be able to marry, but it never worked out that way. Now years later, you realize how blessed you are to NOT have had that prayer answered the way you sure wanted it at the time.

Have you ever found yourself asking God to please see things your way and that you hope something you want will also be his will to let you have that something?  We so often pray to try to get God to see things OUR way.  We even ask others to pray that the will of God shall be what we want.  Maybe it’s a prayer why we need a certain person to be our spouse, or a certain job we think he should give us.  And then we get exasperated when his will apparently is not what we hoped for -- and so we exclaim ‘I just don’t understand him! If I had all that power, I sure would have granted this simple request.”  

But that’s all backward.  

We should not be praying that’s God will would line up with OUR heart’s desires. Father sees things so much clearer and better than you or I ever could.  Our prayers should be more like, “please show me what YOU want to do in my life and help me get in line with YOUR will, cheerfully and thankfully, knowing you are Being of such great love”.  

I’m writing this because now that I’m 60, maybe I’m starting to begin to slightly understand this. At least until the next time I have a bright idea that I haven’t first run by HIS will.  It’s a tough lesson to learn, but learn it we must.

So many times, in fact, our Father’s answer is not “no” – but “wait a minute. I have something better for you.”  And sometimes his answer is “not now, not yet”.  And sometimes, like with Abraham, the wait can be a long time.  Sometimes the promises will be clearly seen in the resurrection and we just aren’t geared to waiting that long.  Reminds me of the verse that basically tells us “these ALL died, NOT having received the promises…” (Hebrews 11:13, 39). Not yet. But they will. Abraham never got to see his children be as numerous as the visible stars of heaven, but he will!

Look what problems Abraham, the father of the faithful, caused when he decided, for example, to help God along with his promise that Abraham and Sarah would have a son. It was taking too long, so what did Abraham do?  He and Sarah conspired to produce an heir by his works with another woman – Hagar-- rather than by faith.  Remember Hagar and Ishmael?  How well did that work out? And the problems continue to this very day.

But like Abraham, we start thinking “time is running out for anything else to work. I guess God wants ME to work this out.”  And away we go, no longer walking hand in hand with our Maker.  

We’ve all done the same thing, over and over.  MY works - - and their results – have not had good results. But when I rest in God’s promises and live by faith, I’m astounded at what HE works out when I rest in his promises and keep an awareness of how much he loves you and me beyond our wildest dreams.

So let’s start thanking Abba above, our God Most High, and our Savior Jesus Christ – for all the UNANSWERED prayers as well as the ones where He let us have what we were asking for.  Let’s even thank Him for the times that appear like rough times, bad times, or even hellish times of our life – as these may be the very times he is getting our attention. These are times when he is most actively working with us -- refining us, changing us and purifying us.  

In fact, we truly can even be joyful in these difficult times if we look up and tell him we trust him, we love him and we know he’s working his plan . . . even when we have no idea HOW he’s going to work it all out.  

We don’t NEED to know HOW everything will work out.  We need only to know with WHOM we walk. And that is enough.

Midway through the song, the words go something like this:
“…just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

So praise Him and his holy name even for unanswered prayers.

Just before World War II took off in earnest, Europe was very nervous about this new charismatic leader in Germany called Adolf Hitler.  Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Britain did some high level negotiating in Munich with Hitler and came back triumphantly proclaiming “Peace for our time.”  That was September 30, 1938.  Well, we know how well that ended up, don’t we? In less than a year, Hitler’s armies were invading Poland and World War II was well under way.   

Secretary of State Kerry basically said something similar recently.  I’m comparing his statement to that of Neville Chamberlain, yes – though World War II started soon after Chamberlain’s statement.  I’m not saying a world war is about to start, but I am saying the words sounded eerily similar to me.

Secretary Kerry also said this was but a prelude to a far greater treaty after six months. Chamberlain said just about the same thing! He said upon his return from Munich, “…in my view, this is only a prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace.”  If you heard Kerry live, as I did, this is eerily similar language.  God forbid the results be eerily similar as well!    

Secretary Kerry said this most recent Nuclear treaty with Iran will “provide peace in the region and for the world”, or something close to that.  We’ve opened the door for some sanctions to be eased.  They will be terribly hard to put back into place once we remove them, in spite of what you may hear. This treaty allows Iran to keep their heavy water reactor – a center producing plutonium -- in Arak.  They are not required to dismantle that facility!  There’s only one thing you can use plutonium for:  nuclear bombs. There’s NO peaceful use for plutonium!  So though Iran is supposed to hit the “pause” button on that reactor, we have not required them to hit the “delete” button, as Charles Krauthammer described it recently.  And we dare believe Iran’s regime which promises their nuclear dreams are for domestic and peaceful purposes?  That regime in Iran has not been our friend! Wake up, America and Israel! We’ve been dealing with thugs and the world’s #1 sponsor of worldwide terrorism.  (I speak of the regime, not the Iranian people.)

Read the rest of this short blog for hints of where Iran is mentioned in Bible prophecy, what could be some of the likely consequences of this terrible treaty and what this says about our regard for the nation of Israel.  It’s not pretty.

From beginning to end, our Saviour is pointed to, throughout scripture. Are you seeing Him in scripture as you read verse by verse? And if you’re not reading verse by verse regularly, you’re missing a lot. If all you do is listen to sermons or read what others say, you’re missing a lot. Always start with your own study of the Word – and be looking for Yeshua, our Messiah, all through the pages of scripture.

This blog is a starting point, a “teaser”, to get us all to open our eyes ever wider to the fact that everything points to Yeshua – who in turn points us to God Most High, Yeshua’s superior, Yeshua’s father. The more we see Yeshua in all of scripture, from the first letter of the first verse to the last verse, the more of his light and grace will shine in our lives.

Let’s start in the beginning. Genesis 1:1 says “in the beginning Elohim (God) created the heavens and earth.” How did He create all things? By speaking them into existence. Read Psalm 33:6,9.  John 1:1-3 tells us very clearly that the Word was with God and was God, and all things were created by the Word. It goes on to say The Word became flesh (John 1:14), and we know Him as Yeshua. So Yeshua said (Genesis 1:3), “LIGHT – BE!” (That’s the tone of the Hebrew.) Isn’t it interesting that Yeshua is called “the LIGHT of the world” (John 8:12) and when we walk with Him, we have HIS light, making us also “the lights of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We’re not reflections as much as we are vessels of HIS light in us. But my point is, within three verses of Genesis 1, we learn we can see Yeshua.

    The God who created all things was Yeshua.
    HE is the light that gave light to a dark world in Gen 1:3.

I have a whole sermon titled “Yeshua hiding in plain sight” that goes into a lot of detail on this topic. I recorded it in December 2011 and I recommend you hear/read it.

But I’ll use the remaining space in this blog to give a few tidbits of where Scripture is pointing to Yeshua and yet we can tend to read right over those. So be sure to read the rest of this blog for those tidbits you’ll find fascinating.

Yeshua is the 2nd Adam. But this time he lives perfectly, obediently and righteously.

            Adam was but a type of Yeshua. Interestingly, all other things created – the stars, galaxies, mountains, fish, mammals, trees and grasses, clouds and rain – everything but man, were created by the mouth of YHVH. Except man. There is no verse that says “And God said, ‘Let there be man, and behold, there was man.” No, man was fashioned by hand, personally, by God-Yeshua (Genesis 2).

“The Word of the LORD came to” – that’s Yeshua you’re reading about! Read again John 1:1-3, that Word is Yeshua, is Jesus Christ. For example:

            I used to think that the prophets either were receiving a strong thought or maybe they heard a voice – and that was “the word of YHVH”. Sometimes it clearly is something like that, as in Genesis 15:1, where the Word appeared in a vision. But even that turns into interactive participation (read Gen 15:3-10). I’ve since come to believe that in many cases they actually saw the One who became flesh and lived and died and was resurrected for you and me.

The case of Samuel at first hearing the voice of God in 1 Samuel 3 is a case in point. Please read it carefully. At first it was just a Voice he heard. I will correctly change “the LORD” to the original YHVH here. But now notice that the Word actually stood by, came to, Samuel – visibly as well as audibly.

1 Samuel 3:7,10-11, 21

7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of YHVH yet revealed to him.)

10 Now YHVH came and STOOD and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"

And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."

11 Then YHVH said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

21 Then YHVH APPEARED AGAIN in Shiloh. For YHVH revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of YHVH.

So MANY times we read how Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah and Zechariah and so many others heard or saw – or both – the Yeshua we have come to know and love. There are over 250 verses where “the word of the LORD came to” is used! For example Jer. 1:1-2, 4, 11-13; 2:1. Ezek 1:3; 3:16; 12:1. Jonah 1:1; 3:1;   Haggai 1:1-2; Zechariah 1:1 and dozens and dozens of other examples.

Some of you might be finding this hard to accept if you don’t realize that YHVH can apply BOTH to the Father and to the Son of God. NO one has seen God the Father except the Son (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). No one has heard HIS voice (John 5:37), and yet for example Exodus 20:1, in giving the 10 Commandments, it says “And God—Elohim—spoke and said, ‘I AM YHVH your Elohim…” Millions heard that voice. That was the voice of the One who came later as Jesus of Nazareth! Yes, Yeshua is also YHVH. God the Father is Elohim MOST HIGH, God in the Highest.

Yeshua is “the right hand of YHVH”. Yeshua was told to sit at God Most High’s right hand.

Psalms 118:15-16
The voice of rejoicing and salvation (yeshua)
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
The right hand of Yahweh is exalted;
The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.

When you read of God’s right hand, think – Yeshua! Moses sang of God’s glorious right hand that gave them victory (Exodus 15:6). In Isaiah 48:12-13, God says he laid out the heavens by his right hand. And on and on and on. Start seeing Yeshua more.

Yeshua is our “salvation”. The Hebrew word for ‘salvation’ IS yeshua. SO many times as they read or sang the scriptures, they were calling out our Saviour’s name! Psalms 118-122 are full of examples. Particularly take the time to read Psalm 118:21-28. Salvation, yeshua, is mentioned there a lot.   Here’s just another example of many.

Isaiah 12:2-3

Behold, God (Elohim) is my salvation (yeshua),
I will trust and not be afraid;
'For Yah, the LORD (YHVH), is my strength and song;
He also has become my yeshua (salvation).'"
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of yeshua (salvation).
Yeshua is what every item in the tabernacle and temple pointed to!

I will give a full length sermon on this one point. Be looking for it. The door that allowed you to enter into the courts – was Yeshua. The Altar of sacrifice – was Yeshua. The Laver where they washed – was Yeshua. The Tabernacle itself, the menorah, the table of shewbread, the altar of incense, the coverings on the tabernacle – all that pointed to Yeshua. The mercy seat on the ark, and on and on and on, all pointed to Yeshua. Be watching for my sermon on it.

By guest writer Robert Bates, CA. 

(Robert is a dear friend who has a heart for Yeshua and our dear Father – whether in good times or hard times. With America’s “Thanksgiving Day” coming upon us soon, I am pleased to share what he sent me. Certainly we should never limit to just one day a year our expressions of profound gratitude to Abba above and to our Redeemer. Every day should be a profoundly thankful day. Now let me introduce my brother in the Messiah -- Robert. I look forward to more of his contributions. -- Philip Shields)

Is it possible to have a thankful heart, or have thanksgiving flow from our lips even as tears may flow from our eyes? There’s an anonymous saying: “the deeper sorrow carves into one’s soul, the greater amount of joy it can hold”.

Most of us connect the American Thanksgiving Day to the pilgrims and their gratitude to God for allowing them to survive the winter and begin to be established in the new land. Of course that is true. But many may not realize that the proclamation to make Thanksgiving Day an official day to remember as a national holiday was instituted during our nation’s greatest time of strife and pain. I hope this short essay will elevate the way we look at and appreciate Thanksgiving Day.

If we rewind to this time, we’ll find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of America’s civil war, 1863, just after the battle at Gettysburg where over 51,000 brothers, cousins, and fathers died. Can you imagine the national anguish and pain right after that battle? Nearly as many Americans died in this one battle as in the entire Vietnam conflict, helping to make the American Civil War our bloodiest and highest death-toll war in U.S. history at about 625,000 American family members. Yes, many relatives fought against each other. And yes, the most painful and devastating fights are the times it happens within family. Read the rest of this blog to learn some inspiring history about how the American Thanksgiving Day came to be.

This was the setting in which America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed:

“The last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. . . . No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

Perhaps the following two scripture passages can help us understand or at least find the strength to make our way through our troubles…and even be able to offer thanksgiving in and for our troubles. Our loving Father doesn’t go on vacation in our hard times. Quite the contrary. There are actually many Psalms and verses that teach us that it is in our most difficult times when YHVH can be very close to us – and for which we offer thanksgiving.

Romans 5:3-5

“But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”. (CJB)

By R. Herbert

The Ten Commandments often get bad press from those who reject them as being a list of negative “thou shalt not” laws. The truth is, of course, that some commandments are just easier to state succinctly in a negative form. Which is easier to say: “You shall not steal” or “You shall always be sure that you work hard at your job, that you pay your taxes, that you return things you borrow, that you leave other people’s things untouched when they are not around, that you …, etc., etc.” ?

But beyond the simple fact that many commandments are easier to state and to remember in a “negative” format, it is interesting that two of the ten are in fact expressed positively – the commandment to remember the Sabbath (the fourth) and that to honor our parents (the fifth). The fourth commandment gives extra information to show us how not to break the Sabbath, but the essential core of both these commandments is positively framed, and the two laws actually connect in a number of ways.

Read the rest of this blog post to see the connections between the two positive commandments and what they teach us about keeping them …

• The fourth and fifth commandments are the only ones expressed from a positive perspective, telling us what we must do.
• The fourth commandment is the last of those regarding our relationship with God and the fifth is the first regarding our relationship with our neighbor.   The two commandments form a pivot, as it were, in transitioning between things we need to do to ensure good relationships with God and man.
• The Book of Leviticus specifically ties these two commandments together: “Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths….” (Leviticus 19:3).
• Because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation (Genesis 2:3), it reminds us of the fact that God is, in the most basic sense, a parent to us – a relationship frequently expressed in the Scriptures (Luke 3:38, Acts 17:28-29 and many others). This fact links the Sabbath commandment with that to honor parents.
• While the other commandments aim to prevent the breaking down of our relationship with God and man, the fourth and fifth provide the opportunity to grow our relationship with our divine and human parents.
• Although, as Paul states in Ephesians 6:2, the fifth commandment is the “first commandment with promise” (based on the statement in Deuteronomy 5:16: “… so that you may live long and that it may go well with you…”), he may have meant the first of the commandments regarding our fellow men and women. The fourth commandment also has implicit within its wording the reward of rest: “so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do” (Deuteronomy 5:14), and note that the wording “so that…”(Hebrew: lmon) is identical in both commandments. Although the second commandment makes the general statement that God loves those who keep his commandments, the fourth and fifth commandments are the only two of the ten that mention specific rewards.
• Because they are kept in an ongoing manner, through time, the fourth and fifth commandments allow us to utilize planning and forethought in order to keep them well.  

This last point leads us to a practical application of the similarities between the Sabbath and parental commands. The Bible gives the principle of taking time within a “preparation day” in order to prepare to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 16:5, Matthew 27:62) – time to prepare for the day and perhaps also to “get in gear” for keeping it positively. No specific amount of time is stipulated for doing this advance work within what became known as the “day of preparation”, but the principle of doing some things ahead of time to better keep each upcoming Sabbath is clear. It’s a great principle that helps us to maximize what we can give to, and receive from, each Sabbath.

Please read the previous blog before this one. I want to continue the theme with more reasons to study the Word of God. The BIGGEST reason—and what our ULTIMATE GOAL should be in Bible Study - - is in the previous blog.  That biggest reason is to come to know not just the Book, but the Author of the Book. We search the scriptures daily to find life – by coming to our Savior Yeshua, whose very name means Salvation. We diligently study the Word so we see Christ revealed more and more. When you read of physical things, see if they might be pointing to Yeshua. So many things do. ALL the items in the tabernacle for example, pointed to Christ. So the first reason is to come to know Him intimately, to see Him revealed, to build a closer walk with Messiah. But one can’t give all the possible answers in one short blog. So here are more good reasons on why we should be digging into God’s word every single day. (I fear too many of my brothers and sisters aren’t digging in the word of God every day. Are YOU?)

Read the rest of this short essay to help motivate you to dig into the treasure trove that is God’s word – every single day.

The reasons we study God’s word go beyond the obvious reason to get more information, to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. And remember from the last blog: let’s use the information to help achieve the transformation, as Christ is being formed in us. Remember, our primary focus is on TRANSFORMATION, not just information.

Now let’s look at more reasons to study the Word every single day.

When we pray, we’re speaking to God. When we study His Word, that’s GOD SPEAKING TO US.

I like to pray for inspiration and correction before I begin. Then listen. Take notes on thoughts that come to you as you read and study. Don’t study just to find some new interesting tidbit or new Greek or Hebrew word. That’s always interesting, but study from the point of view of wanting to hear Father speak to you directly – His son or daughter. You. Ask Father to open your mind to see and hear HIM as you read.

Daily BIBLE STUDY is like picking up the DAILY MANNA, first thing in the day, before it got hot and melted in the sun.

I have a whole sermon that develops this topic – Your Daily Manna, given May 2004.

We are to seek FIRST the kingdom of God and its righteousness. God won’t just slide into first place. We have to put Him as first in our life. If you don’t have time, rearrange your life priorities. Get to bed earlier so you can get up earlier. Cut out a lot of that Facebook time, and email and TV. Spend more time with your Abba in heaven instead, and go to bed, get up – and put him first. And hear the May 2004 sermon. You’ll learn a lot about manna and how it pictured Yeshua and the Word of God. Remember Yeshua was born in “House of Bread” (that’s what Bethlehem means) and HE said he was the bread from heaven, and put that in context of the manna (John 6:30-40, 57-58).

We study to have the RIGHT DOCTRINE, CORRECTION AND INSTRUCTION.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for reproof, for CORRECTION, for INSTRUCTION in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”.

So if we’re not going to scripture daily, how and when would we be receiving all the above? “Bible study” is not the same as listening to one cd or video after another. I am speaking of you opening the word of God yourself and reading and pondering the words of God, spoken for YOU.

The Bereans searched the scriptures daily, to assure themselves that what they were being taught squared with the scriptures (Acts 17:10-11). How will you know what the truth is, unless you’re in His Word daily? “Thy WORD is truth”, remember. Don’t let up your guard just because a speaker is charismatic, motivational, inspiring, or funny and personable. Satan will speak through anyone God allows him to. Don’t forget Satan inspired David to number Israel, against God’s will (1 Chronicles 21:1). When Peter, a close friend and leading disciple of Messiah, told Jesus he would not have to die – who did Yeshua feel that message was coming from? Peter? No—from Satan. He said to PETER, but spoke to Satan, “Get behind me Satan!” (Matthew 16:22-23). So wrong ideas can come from anyone, even me, so always prove what a person is saying by comparing it to what scripture actually says.

Washing by the word. God’s word is a mirror that shows us where we need to let Christ live more effectively in our lives. When the priests went to the Tabernacle in the wilderness, they would wash in a brazen/bronze bowl or laver, which also doubled as a mirror, before they went to work in their daily ministry. God’s word shows us where we need to repent and where Yeshua needs to still transform us to look and be more and more like He is. Remember it’s for instruction in righteousness.

Ephesians 5:25-27

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD,

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

John 15:3

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

If we study the word of God, it’s like looking into a mirror and seeing where there’s dirt on our face. We find out there’s some cleaning up to do, and do it. If we don’t, what’s the point of studying or hearing the sermons? Also read Matthew 7:24-27 – building on the Rock – when we DO what we read and study.

James 1:23-25

For if anyone is a hearer of THE WORD and not a DOER, he is like a man observing his natural face in a MIRROR; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a DOER OF THE WORK, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

Many listen to charismatic speakers who make them feel good. “The Way is easy”, they coo. But Christ said the Way was difficult and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

Many of you study the Bible every day. If we’re not, we should be. But WHY do we study the Word of God? 
Many of us frankly enjoy learning more “things” about scripture: more data, a fascinating Hebrew word picture, the meaning in the original Greek or Hebrew, some historical tie-in to what we’re reading, and so on. I do too. But here’s where I caution us as well. 
Many of you love the scripture, as I do, that prompts us to “grow in grace and knowledge…” (2 Peter 3:18). Some use the verse that says “Study to show yourself approved unto God…” (2 Timothy 2:15). Actually the word “study” in 2 Tim 2:15 is an old English word meaning “be diligent”. The Greek word there actually has nothing to do with Bible Study directly. But as you’ll see, we MUST study and we must know WHY we study. It’s far more than just gaining more knowledge. 
Our modern learning system comes from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - - the Academy, where students are expected to just have new information funneled into their brains while one speaks and everyone else listens.

But the learning system in Yeshua’s day was far different. Disciples didn’t just learn the words their rabbi was teaching – they watched their actions and copied their reactions to everyday situations. They learned by doing and watching a life. It wasn’t enough to pore over the scrolls by themselves. Their teachers were like a parent running alongside a young child learning to ride his bike for the first time without training wheels. They were in the thick of learning by doing and watching – not just studying documents. The goal was to create a bond between teacher and student. The goal was a deep relationship. 
I am helping my 2nd grandson learn to swim without “swimmies” on his arm. For that to happen, he has to trust me. I was watching my daughter teach him too and she was great at being the Mom while also encouraging him to “stretch” his goals, to face his fears. He has to believe she or I won’t let him drown. So there’s a balance of having our assurance and presence – and letting him experience some risk on his own. But in this scary time, my grandson is also building a trusting relationship with his  mom and grandpa – or the swimming without swimmies won’t happen any time soon. 

What am I getting at? 
The goal of Bible study goes far beyond knowing what’s in the Book. It’s about coming to know the Author of the book. Not just coming to know about Him, but to know HIM, directly and personally. Holy Scripture is Yeshua in writing. When we read it, we should be hearing his voice. Everything you read, study or hear should be helping us have a closer walk with our Beloved Savior. The light is focused on HIM. That’s why my website is called Light on the Rock. HE is the light. We want HIS light to shine through us (2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 5:8; John 1:4-5, 9) . HE is the Rock. All the focus is on him -- not me, not you, not anyone else. My mission is to help everyone love Him more today than yesterday. To know him, and help as many as possible to come to really know Him, is my singular overriding mission in life, as Paul teaches us in Philippians 3.

Philippians 3:8-11
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST Jesus MY LORD, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, 
that I may gain Christ AND BE FOUND IN HIM, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 
THAT I MAY KNOW HIM and the power of HIS resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

John 5:37-40
And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 
38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. [then He tells us the POINT of searching scriptures]
40 But you are not willing to COME TO ME that you may have life.

R. Herbert

The last Saturday in October (October 26 this year) is National Forgiveness Day in the United States, a day which all people of faith can honor, if they chose, and one to which even many people without religious beliefs can relate. For those of us who take seriously the words “Forgive us our sins as we forgive them that sin against us” (Matthew 6:12), the day is an opportunity to reflect on the need for forgiveness and how to make it a part of our everyday lives. This blog post gives some thoughts to start you on your own reflection on what it means to forgive. 

•Cheerful Forgiveness 
Sometimes it’s possible to forgive and not really forgive.  Just saying the words “I forgive you” or telling ourselves we have forgiven someone, or even forcing ourselves to forget the problem,  isn’t really the same as actual deep down forgiveness.  Saying “I forgive you” with a frown, or telling yourself you have forgiven someone, but still remembering and dwelling on the problem, is not forgiving.  We need to forgive cheerfully.  It’s said that “God loves a cheerful giver”. How much more could we say, “God loves a cheerful forgiver”. 
We invariably know when we have truly forgiven because forgiveness brings peace and even happiness to the one who forgives.  The pain caused by the word or deed that offended us  may still be there, at least for a while, but it invariably diminishes once forgiveness is in place. 
Refusing to be hurt or angry anymore and accepting another person despite what they have done to us should be a positive thing. Forgiveness may not be easy sometimes, but it’s right, and it is ultimately something to be happy about whether we are the one forgiving or being forgiven!

•Help to Forgive
The fact that forgiving others is seldom easy underscores a truth.  Only you can forgive someone who has hurt you, but you may need help to do it.    A fascinating survey conducted by the Gallup Organization found that 94% of those questioned said it was important to forgive, but 85% said they needed some outside help to be able to forgive.   For those of us who choose to ask for it, help is available.  Notice what Paul writes on this: “… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14). The important thing to realize here is that all the things Paul lists in these verses are fruits and gifts of the Spirit (see also I Corinthians 12, 13).  If we are finding it hard to forgive something, we need to ask for the help that God clearly desires to give.

Sometimes it’s not others that need the forgiveness – and we may not realize it.  Read the rest of this blog for more pointers on forgiving …

•Forgiveness and What We Don’t See
It’s relatively easy to ask God’s forgiveness for the sins and mistakes of which we are all too aware. But what about those errors of which we are actually unaware – either unaware of their significance or simply unaware of their existence?  National Forgiveness Day is not just an opportunity to ask forgiveness for what we know we have done wrong, but also for those things we may be unaware of.
We are all blind to some of our own problems. That’s why David wrote, “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12). Every Christian who has known the truth for many years knows that, just like weeds, old hidden errors and new unseen ones continue to crop up throughout life. Usually we have to ask God’s help and to think deeply about this in order to see these things, but if we are willing to do it we can come to see what we need to see – as David also acknowledged: “Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shalt make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6).  
“Forgive my hidden faults” is a prayer we can all pray. Asking help to see and overcome those faults is another.