April 26, 2010

A word about Idols

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , , — Teresa @ 10:11 am

Idol : a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god

Well that is pretty clear and so is this….

Exo 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Lev 26:1 “You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.

Ok, So that pretty well covers it, right? So why then are there still people on this planet who call themselves Christian or followers of Jesus/Yeshua or that they believe in God who still do these horrible things? Setting up idols? Making shrines and beautiful gardens into which to put their idols? They visit these idols and pray to them,light candles and incense and lay flowers at their feet or even the unfathomable –they kiss the feet of the statue!! They travel with their statues and the statutes travel between homes of the devoted flowers. They have special feast days to celebrate their idols and days to beat themselves up in shame for not loving their idols more.

Are ya getting as picture here? Are ya telling yourself that you do not have any statues of dead people in your home, so you are not included in my chiding? Really now?

Did Yahweh just direct against statues? Or was there something else? Oh, yes!! Worship! Service!

So what is worship..

Reverent honor and homage paid to god or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. Formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: adoring reverence or regard.

Seriously folks, if you feel any of the above or do any of the above for anyone or anything other than the Creator of the Universe, the Holy One of Israel you are participating in idol worship. But if you do not claim to be a part of His family or to be His Bride, the above verses from Scripture do not apply to you.

Have a nice life!

Now unfortunately the justification and rationalizing gets really thick. But I have a really awesome tool to clear the air of the lies. Do you follow Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel? or do you follow men and their traditions? Pretty clear!

Anything, any person, any anything that gets more attention, more time, more money, more effort spent on than what time you spend with your Heavenly Bridegroom is an idol. Read that again!

Now if you come back with “I do not have the free time to be running around with my bible open all day. I have a full time job and children to raise and a house to keep and a ministry to maintain….” Did Jesus/Yeshua ever tell his disciples to exhaust themselves with running here and there? Did he tell everyone…”Follow me and get your own ministry to maintain”? We are called to baptize and make disciples. Disciples, mind you, not converts not members not missionaries. Disciples. But that is for another day…

So are your idols actual statues? Is it your marriage? Your job? Your ministry? Your church? Is it scrapbooking? or community service? or food? Maybe it is a sport or a TV show. Is your TV your altar of worship?

Now I am not advocating you shoot your TV, just cut off the cable, hehehe. But I am asking you to evaluate your spending of your precious time every day. Who/what gets your first and best? Your treadmill? Your computer? Shouldn’t your Savior get your best and your first hours of your day? Shouldn’t your heart long to spend your idle minutes talking with him and not gossiping with your neighbor? If we are sold out for Him and devoted followers living our lives as sacrifices of praise shouldn’t that be evident in our daily management of our time? or is that just for fellowship times of corporate worship?

What idols are in your life that need to be removed and burned down? If you are truly a child of the Living Elohim then you may have some house cleaning to do. Re read the verses I posted. I could have posted more but I wanted to you to examine your heart. A multitude of verses will not change a hardened heart. If you choose to keep your idols, that is your choice. But let me just give you one more verse..

Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

April 6, 2010

Strange Fire

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , — Teresa @ 10:53 am

Strange Fire.

Strange Fire?

Strange Fire???

What does that mean?

In this weeks parsha, Sh’mini, Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aahron were struck down by a flame from Heaven for offering “Strange Fire” This is pretty serious stuff. This is something we should stop and consider here for a moment.

In Leviticus ch 9 Aaron is going thru the consecration offerings of his priesthood. In a very spectacular show of HIS mighty presence, Yahweh sends a Flame of Fire from Heaven to consume the offering on the altar.

Our God is a Consuming Fire!!!

The whole of the congregation, the whole nation of Israel falls down to worship the Creator, The Holy One.

Then something very confusing and frightening happens. Two of Aaron’s sons take a censor of incense and fire and take it to the altar.

Lev 10:1-2 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

What did they do that was so bad? Did they really do something so bad that it warranted the taking of their lives? Let’s look at what has been happening. Moses has just given Aaron and his sons the very detailed instructions of how to approach the Holy One. The day has come and Aaron is making the offerings, His sons are supposedly helping in this service. They are expected to assist and to eventually to take their fathers place as High Priest. We can assume that they were fully educated in the protocols of the service to the Holy One.

So what happened? What did they do wrong? Why the swift judgment against them? Why not a little mercy and a chastisement maybe?

They just watched the power and might of Yahweh completely consume the offering right before their eyes. The whole congregation was moved to worship as they fell before this awesome display. My feeling is that they were so moved by this awesome act that they wanted to express their worship by offering incense to Yahweh. That doesn’t seem so bad, right?

Pro 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Let’s make this understandable to us today. In His WORD, Yahweh has given us very detailed instructions as to how to live and approach Him. We have further example in the life and death of Messiah, the Living Word.
He has set apart certain days out of the year and one day every week to meet with Him and to get to know our Heavenly Bridegroom. When we neglect these special times, date nights with our Bridegroom, or we show up on a different day, how can we expect Him to reveal Himself to us, or how can we expect to get to know Him? How can we call ourselves His Bride when we are disobedient and rebellious to His Ways and His Instructions for us?

Do we not bring “strange fire” when we celebrate pagan holy days and call on the Name of Yahweh? When we celebrate the Resurrection of Messiah from the dead on a day, and in a way that it is purely pagan and has very little to do with His Atoning work? Are not eggs and bunnies and lilies strange fire? Pine trees decorated with gold and silver, a red clothed elf and poisonous fungus are definitely strange fire?

Why do we ignore the explicit and detailed and very clear instructions of our Creator and heed the strange fire, the words and customs of men?

Jos 24:14 “Now therefore fear Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

My challenge to you is to examine yourself. Are you offering Strange Fire to The Almighty? Is your worship pure or is it tainted and commingled with idolatry and pagan feast days?

March 31, 2010

Confusion about the Feasts of Yahweh. Redux

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , , , — Teresa @ 11:34 am

Here we go again.

Which day does the Feast fall on this year? Has the barley been designated as “abib”? Have you spotted the new moon yet? These and many other questions come up every year at this time. And predictably we get into the same discussions with folks about why we keep the Feast according to the Hillel calendar along with our Jewish brethren. The comments on the other side of the issue range from “I keep it this way because it is what it says in the Bible to do.” “I follow what it says in the Bible and in so doing I honor my Messiah and Yahweh” “This is the way Yahweh wanted it done before Judaism came along and messed it all up.” The bottom line is that we are all doing what we think is right. But my question is “are we doing these things this way in the spirit of Yeshua’s commands to His followers?”

Lets get back to the specifics of the disagreement. Many like our family observe the Feasts according to the Hillel or Jewish standard calendar. Our reasoning is that since the destruction of the Temple our Jewish brethren have diligently guarded and protected Torah so that you and I would have an intact document of our Creators instructions for us. They came up with a standard calendar to aid in maintaining order in the keeping of the Appointed times for those who were dispersed among the nations. us!! Since there is no Temple and acting priesthood to be the authority we differ to keep the Feast with our Jewish brethren and be a witness to them of Messiah. We may not be doing it exactly correct but we have decided to side with moving toward unity to the house of Jacob and following the authority of our elder brother Judah.

Now the other side of the question. Those that follow the strict letter of the Bible. Which I am all for!! But what they disregard is that to follow the instructions correctly and exactly two things must be in place. One- we must be in the Land. Two- there must be a governing body ie priesthood or Sanhedrin to proclaim the New moon. Now many of us are in the Land, I understand that. But there is no authority to judge the barley and sight the new moon. Yes there is a group in Israel that has taken it upon themselves to designate when the barley is ripe and to proclaim the new moon. IF you wish to follow this man’s lead go ahead. But he is a man, appointed by himself. Be careful! He is not even a follower of Messiah. Then this leads to folks getting word that the barley has been deemed ripe and watching for the new moon. Which we do as a practice. But unfortunately you get someone in one part of the world sighting the moon one day and others elsewhere seeing it another. What you end up with is confusion. Some keeping the Feast this day and another the next and still some days later. This is a negative witness on so many levels. It shows the world that we are in confusion. That we are ignorant followers of men. How about our call to be a light to the Jew? to bring them to jealousy? to show them the way to Messiah? How can we do these things if they look on us as dangerous maligners of Torah?

Are we called to be Torah Keepers only? or are we called to be Light Bringers and Truth Spreaders? I do not have a problem with people keeping the Feast in their own way, not on their own day. I do have an issue with how it taints my testimony and witness to my Jewish brethren. It makes me look like a confused idiot because of my association with other Messianic/Hebraic Believers.

Am I worried more about how I look to others than how well I keep the Feast?You bet! Think about it how many times in Scripture did they keep the Feasts on the wrong days because they had totally forgotten and neglected Torah? Should they have waited till the right day to honor Yahweh? Maybe but they didn’t.

My whole point is don’t get so bogged down in the details that may not even apply to us. Keep the Feast with joy and fellowship with Judah. Get used to it. We are grafted into Judah not Judah grafted into Gentiles.

When Messiah returns He will set it all to rights. Let’s do what we can to model Messiah and to draw Judah to their Messiah. The bottom line is this..What is more important….To keep the Feast in our own way and with confusion or to Keep the Feast in the spirit and love of Messiah for His Children, Israel?

I just needed to get that out there. We need to understand that time is short and we need to get together on these things. Divided we fall. Legalism is when we get so focused on the details of the Feast and forget the Author of the Feast!!

I know I have stepped on a few theological toes. I am not going to argue. I wrote this just to explain my position, that is it. I will not reply to comments that wish to engage in debate on this issue.

So with that said here is a comment that I will add to my post. It is very well written and adds much to my thoughts…..

Matthew 26:17 “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

Why did his disciples call the Passover the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

Mark 14:12 “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?

Why was it CUSTOMARY to sacrifice the Passover lamb on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Or were they again, the same day according to custom?

Luke 22:1 “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching …”

Why is the Feast of Unleavened Bread called Passover here when it wasn’t in Leviticus 23?

Luke 22:15 “And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

Yet, here, Yeshua makes NO mention of Unleavened Bread, but only the Passover!

John 13:1 “It was just before the Passover Feast. Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.”

Here, Yeshua understood there was a difference between Passover and Unleavened Bread.

John 18:39 “But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews?’”

John 19:14 “It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

Why does Pilate call the day of Passover, Preparation of Unleavened Bread, Preparation for Passover week?

1 Corinthians 5:7 “Get rid of the old yeast … Messiah our Passover Lamb has been slain.”

Why does Paul tell us to get rid of yeast because the Lamb has been slain?

As I mentioned before there were TWO Passovers – the Nazarene and the Sanhedrin (I’m not sure that’s the two names). I like to call them the Biblical Passover and the Traditional Passover. Yeshua kept the Nazarene Passover on the 14 of Nisan while the Sanhedrin (Rabbinical) was kept on the First Day of Unleavened Bread. At least this is how it was explained to me at **** ****** – actual Messianic Jews who would know the history. Even today Orthodox Jews/Hillel consider the first day of Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread the SAME DAY. Why? I don’t know. Scripture is VERY clear there are TWO different days for two different things. It is also CLEAR that you begin counting the Omer on ‘the first day of the week after the Sabbath’. Which Sabbath?

I personally believe there is only ONE SABBATH – the weekly Sabbath. When YHVH gave the Feasts in Leviticus 23, he listed the Sabbath, then Passover, the Unleavened Bread, then First Fruits …. It is man made tradition to call Passover and Unleavened Bread SABBATHS – though the Scripture says ‘do no regular work’. YHVH never calls them Sabbaths. When he refers to the Festivals in Scripture, he calls them His Feasts, Festivals, Appointed Time. When he refers to Sabbaths, I believe He’s referring to the weekly Sabbath. It is the weekly Sabbath that is mentioned in the 10 Commandments – not all of the festivals. The rendering of the Feast days as Sabbaths also causes problems for timing – which Sabbath is it? The HIGH one or the Weekly One. What makes the Weekly One less important? Or what makes the Passover MORE important???

I believe that we begin counting the omer after the Sabbath on the ‘first day of the week’ that the sheaf of grain was waved according to Leviticus.

I personally believe Yeshua celebrated THE Passover on the right day/time/evening. He died at the end of that day -Passover – at the afternoon sacrifice at 3 p.m. He was buried and put in a tomb before Unleavened Bread and was in the tomb 3 full days and nights as the Unleavened Bread from heaven – the Afikomen that was hidden in the burial cloth. On the Feast of Firstfruits He rose from the dead probably at the moment the sun set. According to Scripture, we are to eat unleavened bread until the day of the waving of the sheaf of grain which means “the Ressurection”. I believe that the command to eat Unleavened Bread for 7 days has to do with the differing time periods of celebration meaning Passover can fall on a Sunday or a Monday and we eat until Resurrection or Passover can fall on a Thursday or Friday and we eat Unleavened Bread until that first day of the week, Resurrection.

This comment clears up a great deal for me. I hope it does for you also.

March 24, 2010

The Holiness Factor

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , , , — Teresa @ 4:14 pm

The guilt offering

The Holiness Factor

The first thing we need to note about what the Holy One tells us in today’s aliyah about the korban asham-Guilt Offering is that the Holy One considers the surrogate used in such approach k’dosh k’dosh’im – holy of holies. The Holy One declared it twice – in verse 1 and then again in verse 6.

Lev 7:1 This is the law of the guilt offering; it is a holy of holies.

Lev 7:6 Every male among the priests shall eat of it. In a holy place shall it be eaten; it is a holy of holies.

Did you catch that, Beloved?

The Holy One wants us to know that He considers the approach of a sinner who admits, and wishes to make reparation for his sin, and be restored in his relationship with His Creator and covenant partner, every bit as holy as the place atop the “mercy seat”, between the wings of the cherubim. The Holy One actually calls the korban asham by the same name as the cubicle behind the veil, which the high priest can only enter once a year.

You see, Beloved, the Holy One has always loved, and reached out to, and met with, those who come to Him in t’shuvah [heartfelt desire to return to covenant faithfulness]. This is not a “New Testament” doctrine.

If you realize what this means, you will be amazed. Think about it. No one would make korban asham unless he had broken the Holy One’s covenant – had failed to sh’ma-Hear and sh’mar-Do the Holy One’s instructions for living.

Consider also that the breach was well known to the Holy One, for nothing is hidden from Him.

What had the Holy One done when He saw the person break His covenant? Though He could have, He did not send a lightning bolt to “zap” the person. He did not write the person off. He gently and lovingly “woo’d” the man, drawing the man back to Him, and to His Torah lifestyle, by His Spirit [yes, the Ruach was already in the world – ask David!], calling Him to make t’shuvah. And He waited, patiently, until the man responded, and made korban asham. And when the man did make korban asham, the Holy One accepted him back into the fold as if he’d never left, and met with him, and communed with him – not only on the level of the earthly tabernacle, but in the eternal place in the Spiritual realm which the Holy One showed Moshe on the mountain, after the pattern of which the earthly tabernacle and altar were built.

Forgiveness of Sin and Clearing the Conscience of Guilt­ The ‘Good News’ from the Torah

I know this is not the image of the “Old Testament” God you may have heard or read about. But it is precisely the God Torah presents to us.

Perhaps because the world has seen fit to divorce itself from Torah, it simply cannot understand the God of Torah.

Y’shua of Natzret did not introduce the concept of forgiveness of sins to mankind in 29 C.E. He walked a path that the Holy One had established a long, long time before Pontius Pilate or Herod or the corrupt high priest Caiphas were ever born, much less placed in power.

Y’shua did not come to earth and walk out the korban asham principle embodied in Torah for all to see in order establish some new religion.

He came to bring the heavenly reality of forgiveness and reconciliation which a few had come to know through the torah of the korban asham, to the entire world.

He came because the priesthood of Aharon had become corrupted, was being sold by Rome to the highest bidder, was not being administered in a manner consistent with either the letter or the spirit of Torah, and was ready to be suspended.

As the prophet Yeshayahu had said of the priests who officiated at the altar in Jerusalem:

He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, [as he who offers] pig’s blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
[Isaiah 66:3]

And, as Malachi had spoken on behalf of the Holy One – as the Holy One’s last prophetic message before Messiah’s birth:

Now, you Kohanim, this mitzvah is for you.
If you will not sh’ma, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name,” says the Holy One of Hosts, “then will I send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your seed, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.* * *. . . the Kohen’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the torah at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Holy One of Hosts. But you have turned aside out of the way.You have caused many to stumble in the Torah.You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Holy One of Hosts. “Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according to the way you have not kept my ways, but have had respect for persons in the law. [Malachi 2:1-9]

A corrupt priesthood had to be cut-off, exiled, as a corrupt people had been cut-off and exiled in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. An incorruptible, faultless priesthood – the Heavenly priesthood of Messiah after which the earthly priesthood had been patterned in the first place — had to be established on earth, in order that the truth of Torah, and the pathways of intimacy the Holy One established in Torah, might be kept open for all who were broken and contrite of heart.

Thanks be to the Holy One, the pathways of intimacy of the Holy One are indeed open to us today. The priesthood of Y’shua after the order of Melchi-Tzedek, applying the same Hebraic concepts as we have been studying in Sefer Vayikra-Leviticus, is in place.

Blessed be the name of the Holy One!

Courtesy of Bill Bullock – the Rabbis Son Parsha Tzav

Wordless Wednesday….

Filed under: Torah Life — Teresa @ 10:24 am

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:16

March 7, 2010

….In the Cleft of the ROCK

Filed under: Torah Life — Teresa @ 12:15 pm

Son 2:14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covering of the cliff, Let me see your appearance, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your appearance is lovely.”

Exo 33:21-23 Then Yahweh said: Behold! There is a place by Me, and you will station yourself on the rock. So it will come to be when My glory passes by that I will place you in a fissure of the rock. And I will overshadow you with My palm until I pass by. Then I will take away My palm, and you will see My back, yet My face shall not appear.

Adam walked in the Garden with Yahweh. Abraham talked with Yahweh and Moses spent 40 days being shown around Heaven by Yahweh. These people saw HIS face and lived. Yet after the Golden Calf incident, the adultery perpetuated by the young bride right under her Chuppah, Our Bridegroom will not show His face. But He does reveal something very extraordinary. He reveals Messiah yet again to us. How? You ask. Where is Messiah in these verses?

Yahweh puts Moses in the “cleft of the ROCK” Let’s look at that first. What is so special about this ROCK? what do we know about the ROCK? What is our first encounter with the ROCK since we have left Egypt?

Exo 17:6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

So the ROCK is struck and water flows from it. Sound familiar?

Joh 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

Hmmmm Let’s look deeper.

Yahweh puts Moses in a cleft in the ROCK. What is a cleft?

Cleft= A crack, crevice, or split. a fissure A wound of sorts in the ROCK??

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Psa 22:16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet–

Zec 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Are ya getting the picture? Messiah is the ROCK!! The ROCK that followed the Israelites in the Wilderness giving them life sustaining water. Messiah is the ROCK that was pierced and wounded from the foundation of the Earth. Yahweh put Moses into that cut in the ROCK so that HE could show Moses HIS glory, or at least part of it. Moses was hidden in the ROCK, he became righteous and acceptable wile hidden in it so that he could see that part of Yahweh’s glory that comes after.

So what is my point is all of this? i am hoping to give you clues to help you find Messiah in the writings of Torah, the Old Testament. But why is it important to see Messiah in Torah? Let’s see what Paul says…

Rom 10:19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

Rom 11:11-15 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

We who follow Messiah and know Him to be the Son of the Living Elohim are commissioned to spread this truth. Not to the heathen nations but to the Jews, our brothers.

Mat 10:6-7 “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

You may say..”Hey is not Messiah contradicting himself?” No He is not. Remember the lost of the house of Israel are dispersed among the nations. So what does this all have to do with Moses being put in the ROCK? It has everything to do with it. When we can see Messiah in Torah then we can show Messiah to our brethren Judah and fulfill our commission and restore the whole house of Jacob.

Let us boldly proclaim the Kingdom of Yahweh and His Messiah to the Lost of the Hose of Israel. Let us be about our Father’s business and have our oil jugs full as we await Messiah’s return!!

Bo Moschiach!! Come Messiah!!

February 27, 2010

A Two Altar System?

Filed under: Torah Life — Teresa @ 12:53 pm

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A Two-Altar System?  (Exodus 30:1-10)

Why two kodesh kodashim altars, one of bronze and one of gold?  Why one in the court of the mish’kan and another in the holy place, between the m’norah and the shulchan lechem p’nei [Table of Shewbread].

Why one only for k’toret, and the other for the flesh of surrogate animals, for grain, and for wine and oil?[1]

Why one altar visible to all the world, and the other completely hidden from view of ordinary men — for the eyes of k’hanim only?

Perhaps, Beloved, it is because the Holy One wants us to know that for every action in which we participate in the physical world, there is a corresponding action which takes place, completely unseen, in the spiritual world.

Picture the mish’kan in your mind’s eye, as you would see it from a hill just outside the camp, at the time of the morning or evening tamid.  You can see the smoke rising from the brazen altar in the outer court, and the flurry of activity around that altar is obvious. But you cannot see inside the chambers of the tent itself.  You cannot tell what is going on there – if anything.  Your tendency will be to focus your attention on what you can see, will it not?  So it is with man, Beloved. We focus on the finite, the temporal, the visible, the manifest.  We consider that which we can see to be what makes up reality, and what is important to us.

But Do You Have ‘Inner Sanctum Eyes’?

Now, close your natural eyes a moment, and focus your spiritual eyes of faith on the mish’kan.  Try to look past the outer courts, through the closed doors and curtains of the inner sanctum.

Can you see, with those spiritual eyes of faith, that there is activity in the unseen realms as well?

Can you see that the activity in the unseen realm of the holy place corresponds to the activity in the outer court?

Precisely as the tamid is being presented in the visible realm, can you see the High Priest trimming the m’norah and presenting k’toret on the altar of golden incense?

Can you see the k’ruvim interwoven in the veil begin to glow with the brightened light of the trimmed m’norah?

Can you see the incense-cloud passing through the veil into the k’dosh k’doshim [holy of holies] and presenting a pleasing fragrance to the Holy One?

And now for the real test, Beloved.

Can you see, as you look at the mish’kan through your spiritual eyes of faith, that what is happening in the unseen realm is more real, and more important, than what is happening in the visible realm which, just a moment ago, you thought was reality?

If you can see this, Beloved, then you can understand the ministry of our Great High Priest, Messiah, Who, we are told, is ‘ever interceding’ for us in the heavenlies.

If you understand this spiritual principle, you can see, in every mitzvah of Torah in which you participate on earth, a much greater heavenly significance and effect.

If you have ‘inner sanctum eyes’, you can see what Y’shua was talking about when He said ‘inasmuch as you have done these things to the least of these my brethren, you have done them to Me”.

You can see these things because you have begun to realize what brilliant theologians, who rely only upon their intellect and powers of reasoning, have never understood — that every mitzvah of Torah is a portal between the visible world and the unseen spiritual world.

What seems insignificant to the human mind, you see, has eternal significance – not because of what we do, Beloved – but because of what He does — in the unseen, spiritual world that corresponds to what we do.

Do you now grasp it?  In doing the mitzvot of Torah, we become co-creators, co-laborers with Messiah and His angels.  We may see no physical results on earth – that is quite understandable, because by themselves, the mitzvot we do have no power at all.

But rest assured, Beloved – He Who has begun a good mitzvah in you [in your physical world] will be faithful to complete it [in the spiritual world which really matters].

Shiur L’Yom Sheshi Parsha Tetzaveh – The Rabbis Son

[1] From a practical standpoint, the placement of the altar of golden incense inside the mish’kan necessarily militated against burning anything on it which would create a high flame.  A high flame, such as is produced by oil or animal fat, might burn a hole in the tent above it – not to mention smoke the priests out of the holy place.

February 23, 2010

Psalm 27

Filed under: Torah Life — Teresa @ 8:58 pm

יהוה is my light and my deliverance; Whom should I fear? יהוה is the refuge of my life; Whom should I dread?
When evil-doers come against me To eat up my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, They shall stumble and fall.
Though an army encamps against me, My heart does not fear; Though battle comes up against me, Even then I would be trusting.
One matter I asked of יהוה – this I seek: To dwell in the House of יהוה All the days of my life, To see the pleasantness of יהוה, And to inquire in His Sanctuary.
For in the day of evil He hides me in His booth; In the covering of His Tent He hides me; On a rock He raises me up.
And now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me; And I offer in His Tent with shouts of joy; I sing, yea, I sing praises to יהוה.
Hear, O יהוה, when I cry with my voice! And show me favour, and answer me.
To my heart You have said, “Seek My face.” Your face, יהוה, I seek.
Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in displeasure; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O Elohim of my deliverance.
When my father and my mother have forsaken me, Then יהוה does take me in.
Teach me Your way, O יהוה, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not give me over To the desire of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And they breathe out cruelty to me.
What if I had not believed To see the goodness of יהוה In the land of the living!
Wait on יהוה, be strong, And let Him strengthen your heart! Wait, I say, on יהוה!

February 22, 2010

I live how I live because He is who He is and what He has done for me.

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , , , — Teresa @ 10:14 am

Matt and I met and married in a very charismatic evangelical non-denom church. Coming to faith in Messiah as an adult, my faith grew very quickly, I was 100% committed to knowing and following my Saviour. When we moved to Colorado we attended a church in Boulder pastored by a completed Jew, Gene Binder. Here we learned and grew. Matt and I both were heading up ministry and very involved members. Here with Gene we learned about Passover and learned many Hebraic flavored songs. We also got very involved in the small group/house church movement. Pastor Gene was very big on teaching the Acts2 model of Christian community and fellowship. This spoke to us very strongly. If we were to be followers of Messiah we should live and serve as His first followers did. We were apart of home fellowships and small groups within our church. We saw that this was where real community was born and nurtured. When we left Pastor Gene and the church in Boulder it was not because we had any major theological rift or doctrinal concern. It was because the church was getting too big and the leadership of the church saw that Gene was unwilling to divide responsibility and thus many ministries suffered. We were gone for over a month and no one noticed. We went back for a special event one Sunday and one person asked if we had been on vacation. Even Gene did not have the time or interest to find out why we left.

We continued searching Scripture to understand how we should live and worship. We studied Church history. How did the organic church/Acts2 fellowships become over the centuries to be what it is today? We learned about all the changes the Catholic Church made and how the Reformation stopped short on too many issues.  We continued to search for a church home and a pastor that could guide us on our search for how to live in Messiah. We knew how great a gift was our salvation. We are called to follow Messiah. We are called to follow His steps and learn His ways. We searched for a place where we could truly love and serve one another as Messiah commanded us. We looked for small groups and house fellowships within the churches we attended. It was in this setting that we could really love and serve. You have to know someone to love them and have a positive impact in their lives in a meaningful way. We were not getting to now anyone on Sunday at church.  It was during the bible studies and home groups that real intimacy was encouraged.

As we continued to search for a more authentic expression of our faith in Messiah we continued to meet folks who worshiped and lived  out their faith in a little bit different way. They had been where we were,looking for that Acts2 fellowship. They had gone even farther in their examination. Not just that the first followers met intimately in homes and had genuine relationships with each other, but how did they live beyond Sunday? How did they conduct business, how did they express their personal relationship with YHVH. It was here that we realized that these followers of Messiah were Jewish, They retained their Jewishness, they never became Sunday keeping, pork eating Christians. Jesus/Yeshua was/is the Jewish Messiah. He was form the tribe of Judah, house of David.  It was not any mistake or chance that Messiah was Jewish.  He could not have been a Moslem or a Hindu or a Celtic pagan.  He had to be Jewish, tribe of Judah.  YHVH chose the Children of Jacob/Israel to be His special people, His treasure in all the Earth. No one else!!

When the Children of Israel were redeemed/saved from their slavery to Pharaoh there were a great number of other slaves who left with them.  They saw the power of the Hebrew God and how He had humbled the Egyptian gods. They left with the Hebrews because they believed and had faith in the God of the Hebrews. These folks were not Israelite, they were Gentile. They were redeemed right along with the Hebrews.  “Whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be saved”. They became a part of Israel thru faith and obedience to the Hebrew God.  At the Red sea crossing the people went into the water slaves and came out free men.  This was their baptism, their mikvah. Then  a few days later as they camped at Mt. Sinai, did YHVH give them His instruction on how to be free men and women, children of YHVH. It was here that YHVH said I will be your Elohim and you will be my people. They responded ” All YHVH says we will do”

Another way to look at it was that YHVH was courting the Israelites during the plagues. He was showing His power and His sincerity to her, Israel. She was in a bad place and He came to rescue her and make her His own, His Bride. He led her away and washed her and betrothed her at the foot of the mountain. He said I will love and protect you.  She responded with I will do all that you wish of me. ( obviously my paraphrase) Then He gave her His marriage instructions. If you are to be my Bride you must behave as a free and holy people not as slaves. His covenant with us is our marriage contract. We are the lesser partners, He has the greater responsibility and brings more to us than we to Him.

Remember….with either way you look at this we/the Hebrews were “saved” then “baptized” then they were given/obeyed YHVH’s instruction on how to live, how to be His peculiar people. Never has anyone been able to earn his salvation. It was not why the Hebrews followed YHVH commands, it is not why we do either.

2Co 9:15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!gif

We are the lesser partners in this covenant. All we are asked to do is receive His blessing of salvation thru Messiah Yeshua and live how He has instructed us. It is within these instructions that we learn “how” to love one another and “how” to love YHVH. YHVH has given us instructions on how to be holy and live in a way that is pleasing to Him. I am not sure why so many Christians are so strongly opposed to living their lives according to YHVH’s will.  Many are already doing most of what is instructed. He has told us how to approach Him, of He is a Holy God. He has not changed only our attitude toward Him.  He is Abba/Father, yes. He is also the All Consuming Fire, The Creator of the Universe, I AM.  He is the King of Heaven and Earth and there are protocols of behavior when in the presence of the King.

I live how I live because He is who He is and what He has done for me.

In Messiah,

Teresa/Navah

Be the Bride!!

Filed under: Torah Life — Tags: , , , , , — Teresa @ 9:57 am

Here are a few of my thoughts on the Torah parsha from a couple weeks ago….
Notes from T’rumah
If we merely eat the physical bread which He (Yahweh) provides for us [if we merely seek Him for His miracles], we will die in the desert — as did our fathers. But if we sh’ma [listen with open minds to, hear, pay attention to, heed, and receive with gratitude] His words of life, and sh’mar [cherish, treasure, highly value, and carefully watch over, guard, and protect] His instructions for living, and asah [interact and build with, as a potter interacts and builds with clay] the mitzvot and mishpatim He designs for us, do you see what awaits us:  we will dwell in His presence, we will eat at His table, and we will walk in His Light.
Bill Bullock–The Rabbi’s Son

How many of us are barely hanging on, literally starving to death-spiritually (and we don’t even know it), because we have never really entered into HIS banqueting hall? We are still hanging out in the coat room drinking from a water fountain and eating mints by the door. We can hear the lively conversation from inside and see the tables of food and maybe see the faces of those enjoying the true bread of His Word and the true wine of His Spirit. But like the Israelites at the foot of the mountain we are afraid to meet with our Bridegroom face to face and stand in His presence. His ways are perfect and He is gentle and just. But if we remain out in the coat room ( we are technically at the banqueting hall ) we will never fully know our Bridegroom face to face, we may never even hear His voice. But we try to satisfy ourselves with the lie that we are His Bride, we are in His banqueting hall, are we not? We go there but we leave unsatisfied. We go but we return home thirsting. OR maybe we do feel fed and our thirst sated but our lives are hollow and our bodies weak and diseased. YOU can not thrive and bear fruit by “feasting” on water and after dinner mints.

Step boldly into the banqueting hall of your Bridegroom. See His face, hear His voice and drink and eat fully of His WORD and His SPIRIT. How do I do that? I thought I was already? First , stop lying to yourself that you are living a life surrendered to HIM. Stop telling people “Oh, I wish I had more time to read and study, I am just so busy.” Read Yahweh’s words…….ALL of them!!! Then actually do what it says to do. Stop listening to men. Men who you pay to tell you lies. These men are not your god, or in some cases they may well be, but they should not be your gods. Who will decide who is damned and who goes on to eternal life? …your priest?….your Sunday school teacher?….your Rabbi?   NO!!  Your Creator alone does. So who do you think you should get to know better and learn to trust and know what HE expects of you, really???   When you stand before HIM, and you will, do you really think He will take “But my pastor/priest/Rabbi never told me that or taught me this” as an excuse for neglecting His instructions to you on how to be His Bride?

It is time to stop playing “bride” and to hang up your coat (false teachings of men) and come in and truly feast on His WORD and drink deeply of His SPIRIT!! Read your Bible as if every word was written directly to you and for you…which it was.  Come to Him as a child, open and trusting. Accept His instructions and learn them well. Train yourself to hear and recognize His voice and to respond to it as a lover responds to the touch or her beloved.  Grow up!!! Become mature and responsible in the duties/yoke we received when we said “Yes” to our Heavenly Bridegroom. Trust Him when He said that  His yoke is easy an His burden is light.

Sh’ma His voice and WORD.   Sh’mar His Torah    and Asah His instructions

Be the Bride!!!!



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