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”
Rejoice in the LORD; Think of Others
Yeshua’s Inheritance Congregation is meeting again through YouTube. We thank God for this possibility, and will continue to adjust to the situation as the government and health ministries update their requirements. If it is a recommendation, we will weigh it and make what seems the right decision at the time. If it is an order, we will obey it, being part of the general Israeli population.
Earlier this week I participated in a Zoom meeting of people from around the Middle East, and we had the privilege to “sit in” with Andrew and Norine Brunson. He has become well known because he was arrested in Turkey in October, 2016 for being a supporter of terrorists, and sentenced to life in prison in October, 2018, but released that same day, with help from the U.S. President. He was a pastor in Turkey for 20 years before this. He was not ever a genuine threat to the Turkish government or people, but he was falsely accused for political reasons as an active Christian leader. Continue reading “Rejoice in the LORD; Think of Others”
John 14:23-29: Yeshua’s Peace in Troublous Times
Spring has begun! A new season, bringing warmth. We have a new situation in the world now with the break-out of the Corona Virus. We need to come up with a new way of gathering together when the government is telling us that we are not able to. Praise God for the possibilities of virtual congregational services in such an unusual time, looking forward to the time that we can again physically come together. Continue reading “John 14:23-29: Yeshua’s Peace in Troublous Times”
Daniel Chapter 2 — Overview
The book of Daniel was sealed until the time of the end (Dan 12:4); therefore it could not be properly understood until now; and interpretations given while the book was sealed have sometimes remained as mainstream teaching and understanding, which works to close our own minds from considering the current light in which we live in history and prophecy. I believe that Yeshua the Messiah gave us a key sign to mark this last generation with the return of the Jewish people to reestablish national Israel in its own land (the fig tree blossoming). (Mt 24:32-35) Continue reading “Daniel Chapter 2 — Overview”
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”
First the Natural, Then the Spiritual
All who are born generally have a birthday celebration: mostly by parents and their friends and relatives around the birth; later by the person him/herself with his friends and relatives each year on the date.
One who has become born-again from Above as a believer in Yeshua/Jesus celebrates his/her new birth as a child of God, and remembers this yearly, even daily.
Israel/the Jewish people celebrates her birth as a nation at the Passover each year, when YHVH God redeemed and delivered them as a people from Egypt and hard bondage.
The Fall “Feasts of the LORD” — beginning with the Memorial of [Trumpet] Blasts, through the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles — look ahead to the new birth of the nation as the Israel of God, when their sins are forgiven under the New Covenant.
Double birthdays; double New Years. Save your people, O LORD, God of Israel! May many more Jewish people come to know Yeshua/Jesus as their Savior and Lord during this coming year. It is better to know Him “today” and be found in Christ/Messiah, than to wait uncertainly if any might be shown mercy and included in His salvation of “all Israel” in that Day.
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”