Hag Pesach sameach! Glory to God for all those innocent lambs slaughtered that night in Egypt for the redemption of His people — and for any Egyptians who also feared YHVH and obeyed Him that night — and even moreso for that Lamb slaughtered on that one-of-a-kind Passover almost 2000 years ago! Had the Israelis not slaughtered their lambs and sprinkled the shed blood around their door frames, they would have suffered just as the Egyptians did. Whosoever does not apply with faith the shed blood of the crucified Lamb of God — Yeshua the Nazarene, King of the Jews — as his/her only means of deliverance and salvation from the wrath of God will likewise suffer with all others who do not. Continue reading “Passover and First Fruits”
Evolution
We all hear and know that those younger than many of us reading this post are struggling with identity as believers in Yeshua, some of that struggle being caused by an unwillingness to accept being called by certain names; other causes because of not understanding the new birth as a new creation, and that we are in Messiah/Christ, putting to death the old man in Adam. Continue reading “Evolution”
The Mighty Act of Yeshua’s Birth
Ps 145:1-13 David’s praise.
I will extol thee, my God, O King; and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you; and I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is YHVH, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
I will speak of the glorious honor of your majesty, and of your wondrous works.
And they shall speak of the might of your terrible acts: and I will declare your greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness.
YHVH is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great lovingkindness.
YHVH is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works.
All your works shall praise You, O YHVH; and your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk of your power;
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion throughout all generations.
Yom Kippur and Communion
We are celebrating communion today as a congregation, remembering the Lord’s death until He comes [again]. Yeshua’s death on the cross on Passover in 30 AD was more than the Passover of the many lambs in Egypt around 1446 BC. The Passover was an [unleavened] sacrifice to deliver God’s covenanted chosen people by His sovereign authority and wisdom, long before they were ever born. All they needed to do was to believe what He told them to do, and to obey Him: each family must slay a male lamb of the first year that was without blemish, and sprinkle its blood on the sides and top of the doors at the threshold into their homes. This would protect them from the death of the first-born son in each family, which God was going to do to the Egyptians as the final judgment against Pharaoh and his nation in order for Pharaoh to let Israel go. Continue reading “Yom Kippur and Communion”
On The Other Side
(Rev from April 2007)
Lk 16: 19-31 the rich man and Lazarus; Abraham’s bosom
Phlp 1: 21-23 with Messiah
Mt 8: 11-12 outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth
Recently I have gone to five funerals of believers in Yeshua/Jesus. Three had lived to ‘full age’; two were young parents, with their infant son. For us whose sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for our sins, and in His resurrection from the grave, we pass from death to life, awaiting the last trumpet blast for the resurrection of the dead in Christ. (1Cor 15:50-57) Then shall be the victory shout and song of the righteous! For those without that personal relationship with God the Father through saving faith in His Son, they also await a separate resurrection of the unrighteous. Both groups are waiting for the resurrection on the appropriate last day. Continue reading “On The Other Side”
Gen 12: YHVH’s Call To Abram, Son of Eber, Son of Shem
From the genealogy in Gen 11, we learn that Abraham (Abram) was born 352 years after the Flood. Noah died only two years before the birth of Abraham! Shem and Eber were still alive (even during Jacob’s life)! Truly, Shem is the father of all the sons of Eber, father of the Hebrews. We do not know for certain whether they ever met and spoke with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob (or even with Ishmael and Esau), but it is likely, and they would have had eye-witness accounts of pre-Flood and post-Flood people and events, as God maintained His witness and passed it on to His chosen persons and family. Noah was the tenth from Adam, and was protected through the judgment of the Flood; Abraham was tenth from Shem, who also was saved out from the Flood. Ch 12 carries on with God’s redemptive plan, choosing Abram – son of Eber, son of Shem, son of Noah — from among all the Gentiles, through whom He would bless the world through covenant and promise – and lots of controversy. Continue reading “Gen 12: YHVH’s Call To Abram, Son of Eber, Son of Shem”
Gen 4: Crime and Punishment, With Redemptive Hope
We may not realize that sin is a crime against God. Sin is lawlessness (1Jn 3:4); that is, it does not accept or live by any law that governs society, or that establishes what is good and what is evil. It is disobedience and rebellion against God and His Word. (Is 1:18-20) It began with Lucifer, now the Devil, and he brought it into Eve and Adam. Sin separates us from God our Father. (Is 59:2) Yeshua came to destroy the works of the devil, and to restore us to a relationship with God, knowing His holiness and righteousness, His goodness, His love. (1Jn 3:8) Continue reading “Gen 4: Crime and Punishment, With Redemptive Hope”
Towards Unity of the Spirit in The Bond of Peace
I returned home on Friday night from one week in Kenya. I was invited to be part of a small team for a diplomatic mission, speaking with senior church leaders about reconciliation of Gentile Christians — and church “positions” — with Jewish believers in Jesus/Yeshua, with a conference being planned in two years. For my part, my Jewish identity is not conflicted with my faith in Jesus and being also identified as a Christian, along with other believers and followers of the Messiah. But this is also something that might not necessarily have been so just a couple of hundred years ago, and even lingering until today in many quarters. Continue reading “Towards Unity of the Spirit in The Bond of Peace”
2Pt 2 — False Teachers and Heresies
2Pt 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2Pt 2:1-3 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with deceptive words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.
New Moon of 7th Month: God Remembers His Covenant With Israel
(Collage by Connor Madison)Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Num 29:1-6
The New Moon celebrations were given by YHVH to Israel to commemorate, both under the Law of Moses and also in the future Millennial Kingdom (Lev 23:24; Num 10:10; 28:11-15; Ezek 46:1-8). The New Testament tells those who are now believers in Yeshua/Jesus not to make too much of days, months, seasons, years, festivals, New Moons, Sabbaths – all of these things being shadows of things to come, but the substance is Messiah. (Gal 4:9-11; Col 2:16-17)
The Lord has told us that all of the Scriptures are written about Him, and we know that all of the sacrifices and holidays/appointed times are also fulfilled by Jesus in the entirety of His first coming, and in the anticipation of His coming again to fulfill all that is written in the whole of the Bible, which still waits for the Kingdom of God to come. God has given His set holy-day times to remember who He Is, what He has done, and what He will do. Even the Lord’s Supper/Communion serves those purposes. (1 Cor 11:26; Mt 26:26-29) Continue reading “New Moon of 7th Month: God Remembers His Covenant With Israel”