Please Pray With Me

 

Today is the day officially set aside in the United States of America as The National Day of Prayer.  People all of the country will be praying for our country, our leaders, and for each one of us as citizens.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (below) is often quoted about saving America, but I believe it is mostly misunderstood.  Please read this scripture in context. The people had thrown Adonai's Torah behind their backs -- scorned it -- refused to obey His laws.  Our country, including many, many churches have done the same.

Beloved, this is the gospel of true repentance: Turn from your disobedience to His laws (Torah), accept that Yeshua is the only payment for those sins, and walk in obedience to Torah. This will save our land.

Prior to learning about God's Torah, I was taught that we don't have to obey Adonai's laws any longer.  That stumped me because Yeshua and His disciples obeyed them.  Even the apostle, Paul, obeyed them.  It's sad that people teach this lie. 

 Another thing I was taught is that there's no way we can't keep all of His laws.  This is true because some are for men, some are for women, and some can only be obeyed in the land of Israel.  Nevertheless, many teachers say we're not under the Law, and that it's no longer applicable.  This is a falsehood aka LIE.

I saw a graphic this week that I have to share with you:

 

 These things are only the beginning.  There are laws related to business, agriculture, treatment of animals, personal relations, marriage, children -- and much more.

 Remember, dear Gail-Friends, Yeshua said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 

He also said, "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  He obeyed Torah, kept Adonai's Sabbath, (not the one established by the Roman Catholic Church) observed the feasts and festivals, and told his disciples to teach this when He gave The Great Commission."   (Matthew 28:18-20) :

 ¹⁸ Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age. (Complete Jewish Bible)

If you believe that Yeshua is God in the flesh (the Great Three in One), then the commandments He spoke of are indeed His Torah -- His commandments -- the Law.  And, nothing He taught the disciples while on earth is in conflict with, or disobedient to, the Torah.  

Most people have never studied (or believed) the book of Leviticus, which details many of the laws of Adonai.  Therefore, we are seeing a great apostasy in the church today because people are not being obedient to many, many of God's laws.  Preachers teach their people to disobey God.  They probably are unaware of  the words of Yeshua in Revelation 22:

¹⁴ How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! ¹⁵ Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Complete Jewish Bible)

  The world will be a better place when revival comes, and this is what I'm praying for -- a revival of holiness.  That holiness is detailed in His Torah.  I pray you will read it and obey it.  

When Parents Get Old

 

WHEN PARENTS GET OLD ...

        let them grow old with the same love that they let you grow ... 

        let them speak and tell repeated stories with the same patience and interest that they heard yours as a child ...

         let them overcome, like so many times when they let you win

         let them enjoy their friends just as they let you … 

        let them enjoy the talks with their grandchildren, 

because they see you in them ...

         let them enjoy living among the objects that have accompanied them for a long time, because they suffer when 

they feel that you tear pieces of this life away ...

 let them be wrong, like so many times you have been wrong 

and they didn’t embarrass you by correcting you ... 

LET THEM LIVE 

and try to make them happy the last stretch of the path 

they have left to go;

 give them your hand, just like they gave you their hand 

when you started your path!

 

“Honor your mother and father and your days 

shall be long upon the earth”. - God

 

(copied: source and photo source unknown)

Why Do I Observe Passover?

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Father, I praise You for  Your Son, Yeshua the Messiah, who paid the price for our sins.  He was crucified, shed his blood, died, and rose again.  He was the embodiment of the perfect, spotless Passover Lamb.  Only His blood saves us, just as the lamb's blood on the doorposts saved the Israelites that night in Egypt.

Thank You for saving us when we turn from sin to obey You, and accept Yeshua as our redemption for that sin.  Each year as we do the Passover seder, we remember Yeshua's blood, and body, and the wonderful story of redemption portrayed in the seder.  Thank You, Father, for Your mercy.

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Dear Gail-Friends, If you have never attended a Passover seder, this is an explanation of what we do:

 The Hebrew word "seder" means "order".  Each person in attendance has a haggadah (booklet) which has the readings and scriptures for the seder.  Our haggadah is for a Messianic service and therefore includes readings from both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Scriptures.  Hopefully, you will one day have the privilege of attending a Passover seder, so I've decided not to spoil your fun by explaining every detail.  Suffice it to say that it involves music, dancing, singing, and of course, eating and drinking!

 In Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23, G-d commanded that Passover be observed forever.  Yeshua obeyed that commandment.  You may read about it in Luke 22, Matthew 26, and John 13.   He observed the seder just prior to going to the cross.  Knowing this, you will see what is called the last supper in a whole new light.  The entire seder is a picture of our salvation from sin through Yeshua.   His death, burial and resurrection are portrayed clearly and beautifully  in the Passover seder.  My prayer and hope is that you will be blessed to attend a Messianic seder, and that you, too, will honor G-d by observing the commandment to keep Passover.

The main focus of the seder is the seder plate, which has a variety of items which are symbolic and beautiful in their interpretation.  The photograph below shows a seder plate.  I will explain each element below:

The parsley (karpas in Hebrew), represents the hyssop which was used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts and lentils of each of the Israelites' homes.  The karpas is dipped in salt water and eaten.  The salt water represents the tears shed that night in Egypt, and also the Red Sea through which the Hebrews escaped. 

Matzah has been explained in my post here.

The horseradish (maror in Hebrew, for bitter herbs) are eaten on a piece of matzah.  This represents the sorrow, persecution and suffering of the people under Pharoah.  Just as the bitter herbs bring tears to our eyes, so did the suffering of our people bring tears to their eyes.  This also represents the sorrow of our lives before we accept Yeshua.

Next the bitter herbs are eaten along with charoset, which a Hebrew word also.  Charoset is a sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, and honey.  The charoset represents mortar used to make clay bricks by our people while slaves in Egypt.   Eating the bitter with the sweet represents the bitterness of Yeshua's death, and the sweetness of his sacrifice to set us free.    

The lamb shank bone represents the Passover lamb (Pesach sey), which is the symbol of our L-rd and Savior Yeshua.  The lamb had to be spotlessly perfect.  Yeshua was also sinless and  perfect in obedience to the Torah and the Father; therefore he could be the Passover lamb for the whole world.


Some seders include a boiled egg.  We do not because of its association with mystical religious rites of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Babylonians.  The egg is one of the symbols of  the fertility goddess Ishtar (aka Easter).  Father G-d told us not to participate in occult practice or worship any other gods before Him.  It must make him sad that people honor Ishtar (Easter) instead of Him on Passover.

There is more, so much more, involved in the Passover seder.  To tell it all would be to write a haggadah!  So, my desire here is just to whet your appetite for more.   You would be so blessed to attend a Messianic Passover seder and if you can't do it in person, you can see one online through Youtube.

In Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23, G-d commanded that Passover be observed forever.  Yeshua obeyed that commandment.  You may read about it in Luke 22, Matthew 26, and John 13.   He observed the seder just prior to going to the cross.  Knowing this, you will see what is called the last supper in a whole new light.  The entire seder is a picture of our salvation from sin through Yeshua.   His death, burial and resurrection are portrayed clearly and beautifully  in the Passover seder.  My prayer and hope is that you will be blessed to attend a Messianic seder, and that you, too, will honor G-d by observing the commandment to keep Passover.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach to you and yours.

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