All over the country, the following verse will be quoted :
If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
I will join in agreement with that prayer. I have prayed it for many years. Over the past few years, I have come to see it differently from many people.
The verse tells us to repent and turn back to G-d. We know that; but I believe we are being asked to return to G-d's ways and commandments according to the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). I believe we are to observe and obey Him as completely as possible. Read the whole chapter, and you will see my point.
This includes observing His Sabbath, not the Sunday observance taught by the Christian church. I observed Sunday until I began to seek wisdom. I could not find any place in the New Testament that said to observe Sunday as the Sabbath.
I believe G-d wants us to observe and obey His other Feasts and Festivals outlined in Leviticus 23.
If you will read the four gospels, you will see that Yeshua was a Torah-observant Jew. He observed the Sabbath, and the Feasts and Festivals. He was angry with the religious leaders who had replaced the Torah with their own ways and laws. He said, "I have not come to do away with the Law (Torah), but to fulfill it." Please keep in mind that Yeshua (Jesus) Himself said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Also, keep in mind that Yeshua is the same G-d who gave the commandments to Moses in the Torah.
This will be hard to read for some of you. You will say, "We aren't under the Law. We are under Grace." I grew up under this philosophy, too.
Think about this: we are under both. He gave us His Law and His Grace in both the Old and New Testaments.
In the Old Testament, He outlined His commandments, which we call Law. He set up a system of sacrifice (blood) to cover and pay for sins committed. That was Grace.
In the New Testament, He (Yeshua) said, "Keep my commandments" and set the example by obeying them while on the earth. That is His Law.
He shed His blood for sin, once for all, so that no more animals would have to be sacrificed. That was and is Grace.
This message is heavy on my heart. I believe ADONAI wants us to return to His ways outlined in His Torah. If you will study them, you will see that they were observed in the New Testament passages.
I challenge anyone reading this post to do your own study. Seek G-d's face and His wisdom. Repent and turn to His ways. Return to Torah.
I hope you will listen to this video about repentance:
You give us something to ponder deeply on this National Day of Prayer...
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