Chanukah Sameach * Happy Chanukah Day Two

The second day of Chanukah, Kislev 26, starts with the lighting of the second candle of the Chanukiah, the special nine menorah seen below.



Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by your commandments which was fulfilled by the Messiach Y'shua, and commanded us to kindle the light of Chanukah in remembrance of the true light that shines within us. We dedicate our temples to you.

The Talmud tells that the Chanukiah was designed to recall the miracle of the eight days during which one day worth of oil burned eight days in the temple. Each candle increasingly creates an ever increasing light, symbolizing our godly resistance to both tyranny and evil.

Today, the light, that shines from within us, gives us an ever increasing resistance to the world and the evil within it. The same way our ancestors resisted assimilation, we are to use the supernatual gift of the Holy Spirit of G-d to resist becoming part of this world.

Traditional Reading: Number 7:18-23

On the second day, Nethanel son of Zuar, chieftain of Issachar, made his offering. He presented as his offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; one goat for a sin offering; and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

Messianic Reading: II Corinthians 6:14-17

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Beliala? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.

Shalom

Chanukah Sameach * Happy Chanukah Day One

Today at sundown, as we usher in the Chanukah festival, the Festival of Lights, please remember the historical and Messianic significance.

Historically, we are to celebrate the rededication of the 2nd temple during which the temple menorah burns miraculously for eight days when there was only enough oil for one day.

Messianic, we are to celebrate the yearly rededication the temple of God, which is the Body of Christ, the church. Seven of the candles represent the completeness of G-d's Spirit within us. The eighth light represents a new beginning through the work of the Messiah on the cross, the altar of G-d. We are told that the candles can only be lit with the ninth candle. No other source of ignition is allowed. This ninth candle represents the fact that the lighting of our souls can be lit only by the single light that is within us, that is G-d. The miraculous work that has been done in us was done by G-d alone, not by man, lest anyone should boast.

On this first night, we light the first candle with the middle candle.



Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by your commandments which was fulfilled by the Messiach Y'shua, and commanded us to kindle the light of Chanukah in remembrance of the true light that shines within us.

Recommended Readings Comes from Numbers 6:22-27, 7:1-17 and the book of John.

The Lord spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and protect you! The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

On the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, as well as the altar and its utensils. When he had anointed and consecrated them, the chieftains of Israel, the heads of ancestral houses, namely, the chieftains of the tribes, those who were in charge of enrollment, drew near and brought their offering before the Lord: six draught carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two chieftains and an ox for each one.
When they had brought them before the Tabernacle, the Lord said to Moses: 5 Accept these from them for use in the service of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the Levites according to their respective services.

Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two carts and four oxen he gave to the Gershonites, as required for their service, and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the Merarites, as required for their service—under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. But to the Kohathites he did not give any; since theirs was the service of the [most] sacred objects, their porterage was by shoulder.

The chieftains also brought the dedication offering for the altar upon its being anointed. As the chieftains were presenting their offerings before the altar, the Lord said to Moses: Let them present their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one chieftain each day.

The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah. His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; one goat for a sin offering; and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

John 9:1-7

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

John 10:22-29

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication,(Chanukah) and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand.

Shalom

Language of the Kingdom

I am often asked, "Is there going to be one tongue or language used in the Kingdom of Heaven?"

Answer: Absolutely.

It is the same language that G-d uses within the scriptures and that is Hebrew.

Why? Hebrews 13:8.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

We all know what John chapter one tells us....that Y'shua is the Word of G-d. You also know me by now that I take every word literally. With that said, Can I not say, "The Word of G-d never changes." and "The language of G-d never changes." and be correct?

What about the other translations? Yes, it is good that we have many translations of the Bible. However, the KJV, NIV, ASB... are all beginner books. To know and fully understand G-ds Word, we must learn his language and dig into the Word of G-d and be totally immersed. We must become "echad" one with the Word of G-d.

Let me ask you a few questions. To settle a disagreement within these translations, where do we go????? To the original Hebrew text!!!! What about the B'rit Chadashah, the New Testament? Isn't it in Greek? Yes. However, what do the New Testament writers and Jesus reference? The original Hebrew text!!!! Y'shua did not have the Greek B'rit Chadashah on the road to Emmaus. No...he referenced the Tanakh, the original Hebrew text.

Now, getting back to the original question. Is there going to be one language in the Kingdom of Heaven? Isn't G-d's Word the same today, yesterday and forever? If you answered yes to both of these question, then what do you think it will be?

Finally, is it hard to learn a new language? Yes. However, isn't your relationship with G-d worth it?

Shalom Aleichem

Who Are The Children Of G-d?

In continuation of the last post, Who are the Children of G-d? Quite simply they are believers that:

-Believe in the one and only G-d, creator of Heaven, Earth and all that is within, whose name is Y'hoshua(Jesus), Yahhahveh, Yahweh
-Believe that our G-d provided himself as the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins.
-Attempt to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and repent when they fall short of G-ds expectations.
-Follow G-d's Law, not for salvation, but for relational purposes.

Most people have no problem with the first three, but balk at the last. However, what did Y'shua say in Matthew 5:17-18.

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

and Paul in Romans 13:8.

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another fulfills the law."

You and I fulfill the Law through the Messiah. Otherwise, let us obey the unfulfilled parts of the Law, including the Feasts.

Even Paul tells us to celebrate the feasts in II Corinthians 5:7-8.

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

We attempt to obey the unfulfilled parts of the Law in order to draw closer to G-d. We don't follow the ways of the world but the ways of G-d.

As asked in the last blog entry, Children of G-d....Are you out there?

Shalom!

Where Are All The Children of G-d?

Recently, due to changes to the "hierarchy"[sic] of our church, Karrin and I had began a search for another group of believers, with which to worship on the sabbath. As we search, one thing continually came to the forefront. Where are the true believers, the B'nai Elohim, the Chidren of G-d, the Bridegroom of the Messiah.

As you read this, please understand that I do not put myself into an elite group. No, I am just a child of G-d desparately looking for true believers with which to commune. It is harder and harder to find them. Not to say that all that is within our small little congregation are not true believers, but it amazes me how many continue to follow traditional and false teachings because of a charasmatic individual or individuals.

At this point, most people will say, "Is really possible to understand the whole Word of G-d?". The answer is yes. The real questions are, "Are we willing to submit ourselves to the leading of the Spirit?" or "Are we lazy and let others tell us what G-ds Word says?". The latter is 2nd hand knowledge of your savior, not the true relationship our G-d wants with us.

This leads me back to the original question, "Where are the children of G-d?". Are we in the midst of what the Bible calls the "Great Falling Away" in II Thessalonians 2:3?

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..."

So then, who are the true B'nai Elohim. Are you out there? I would love to talk to you.

Love,

A brother in the Messiah.

Shana Tova

Shana Tova,

I hope the new year has found everyone in good physical and spiritual health. We are in the ten days of awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Remember, Rosh Hashanah coincides with the Feast of Trumpets. Since the spring feasts and Shavu'ot were prophetic, the hope is that the fall feasts are prophetic also. That is my hope and understanding.

If they are prophetic, will the rapture of the true body of the Meshiach be, as Paul says, at the last trump. If so, then this surely points to Rosh Hashanah and the Feast of Trumpets as the best possible future date of the rapture. My hope is that it can be any day, as we don't know the true day of his coming. However, we are told to recognize the signs of the times.

The purpose of Yom Kippur is to bring about reconciliation between us and other individuals and G-d. According to Jewish tradition, it is also the day when God decides the fate of each human being. Could this coincide with the future throne judgement. That is why I often say to my friends and family upon saying goodbye, "I'll meet you at the southern gate". Why the southern gate? Because the judgment throne of God will sit at the western gate. Those that belong to G-d will be at his right side, the southern gate.

Prophetic or not, we should use these days to recognize and become familiar with the plan of G-d and how we fit into it. Shun the ways of man and cling to the one and only G-d.

Shalom and I will see you, the b'nai Elohim, at the southern gate.

Talk With Me not To Me

Have you been with people who ramble on and on in their prayer?

Have you notice that some fill in any pauses with Father, God, Lord, Father_God. etc.?

Their ramblings are full of nice standard phrases and accepted varying tones like Robert Schuller or monotone without any nuances whatsoever. Let me stop and say that I'm not saying that these people are not saved or believers. They are just stuck in a rut.

G-d does not want you to talk at him but he wants you to talk with him. He loves to hear his Word used in your prayer but he doesn't want you preaching at him. Record yourselves sometimes, you'll be surprised.

I know. I have wrote about this before, about a year ago.

But it is a big pet peeve of G-ds. Sometimes, you can hear him say "Shut Up Already...Aren't going to let me get a word in?"

Let me finish by saying that G-d loves to listen. But he wants you to take a chill pill, relax and listen to what he has to say sometimes. You never know....you may learn something or at least hear him say, "I Love You" and "I'll be back soon."

Shalom