Out of Order

1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

I was really thinking about the last year in a half and how much has changed in my life and in the life of my family members. We are beginning to understand things we never did before and I think what we understand the very most is that we have a lot to learn and have barely scratched the surface! I am humbled and grateful to be on this journey. It is really exciting! Seeking Him, His ways, His presence and His Moedim is a pleasure and an incredible honor. Scripture has come alive to us. We have been made more alive in Him and this chaotic dying world is growing more and more insignificant. We haven't arrived and we are not perfect, but looking back, just one year ago, I can see His hand on my family and myself and my heart swells with joy and thankfulness. Life is certainly not without challenges, trials and at times difficulty but all in all I feel very blessed and grateful.

One of the biggest changes we have experienced is that more "order" has come into our home. Order, the order of YHVH, is important if you are going to have peace and blessing in life. I never realized how much until I started to "reap" the blessings of seeking to keep His order. I am not talking about cleanliness or organization. Cleanliness and organization are wonderful things and certainly virtues and things to be sought after, but that is not what I am referring to. What I am speaking about is spiritual order. I am referring to my Father's Word, His commandments and His appointed times and the peace and blessings that come as a result of seeking to keep them with your whole heart.

Psalm 20:7 Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Opinions are a dime a dozen and for most of my "christian" walk that is what I spent all my proverbial dimes on. For years I listened to every popular teacher and or preacher you can imagine and read innumerable christian best sellers and christian "self help" books. All promised a better way to reach God, improve your marriage, parent your children, get healthy, invest your time and money and be happy. All were the well meaning opinions and beliefs of others and not necessarily always rooted in the Word of Elohim. I attended countless Bible studies and many retreats. I think I pretty much looked under every rock I could find for the next "big thing" with substantial promises attached to it and came up fairly empty at every turn. I placed great expectation on a lot of people and things to give me all the right answers, and they, rightly so, came crashing down around me. The answers were not found in them. They were never there to begin with. They are only found in His Word, because He is His Word.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Matthew 5: 17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Have heaven and earth passed away or disappeared? Am I missing something?

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Commands, what commands could He be speaking of?

John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Obey?


John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

The Father's commands? Did Jesus obey the Torah? Why would He do that if He sought to "get rid" of it?

1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

Is obedience equated to knowing Him?

1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

Is love for Him really obeying His commandments?

2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Beginning of what?


One of the biggest fallacies, amoung others, that I allowed myself to be indoctrinated with was that I didn't need to be obedient, I just needed to believe and be expectant .  The Law was dead, nailed to the cross, done away with, gone. Forget about the instructions, especially the ones at the front of the Book, those were not for me.......well, maybe some of the ten commandments, but not all of them. Faith was reduced to a mental assent and a mere concept as opposed to the action it was intended to be. That "philosophy" never lined up with the Word of God especially when fully examined and that really perplexed me. I challenge you to fully examine what you have learned in light of the Word, the entire Word, if you never have. Not seeing the truth, or not wanting to see the truth, does not make the truth any less true. Others telling you that the truth is a lie, still does not make the truth any less true. Truth is true, period.

James 2:14-26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

So, slowly but surely, all our false pillars we had errected and leaned on came crashing down. I am so glad! What an incredible blessing in disguise that was! It was only then that we began to really seek Him, His Word, His Wisdom and His Understanding. We began to put away all that His Word would not legitimize and substantiate and seek to live by and understand the instructions that were already present, proven and given long ago. We stopped taking scripture out of context to justify a doctrine and started to let scripture stand on it's own, because it absolutely does! We began the process of looking at difficult scripture, that at times seemed contradictory to other scripture, in it's original language, applying cultural understandings and the Hebrew idioms that were well known at that time in history when the specific scripture was written. When we did that, guess what, it wasn't hard to understand anymore! We have begun the process of applying the Father's order in how we approach Him, love Him and love each other and others in our daily lives. That Order is called the Torah. The Torah is YHVH's instructions for life, not death. The word Torah has been mistakeningly called Law. Law is not an appropriate translation of the word Torah. Torah means "instructions". The Torah, the Word of Elohim is the Way, the Truth and the Life! Yahshua is the Torah, come in the flesh of a man! The Torah, The Word of YHVH was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai.  We are not to follow the commands of men such as the doctrine of the Talmud or the Mishna, (man's doctrine, called the Oral Torah) or the doctrine of  the newest christian book, trend, teacher or speaker (more man made doctrine) either! (See Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:7, Isaiah 29:13 and Colossians 2:22, no really, READ IT!!!) Sometimes there is good information, but we have to ask ourselves if it lines up with His Word and examine it very carefully and if it doesn't completely line up with the Word of YHVH we must dismiss it. It only takes a little leaven to corrupt the whole.

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

So I know what you are thinking, because I thought it too. Are you saying we are under law? Are you saying we are saved by works? So are you going to stone me if I develop a rebellious attitute? What you need to understand is that there are three possibilities when you see the word "law" in the New Testament. There is the Torah which is mistakenly referred to as "law". There is the "Law of Sin and Death" which is the penalty of disobeying the Torah. Lastly, there is the Oral Torah, which is the Rabbinical writings. If you say that we are not under the law and you mean that we are not under the law of sin and death, then you are correct if you have received Yahshua as Lord and Savior and walk by the spirit and not in the flesh. We have all trangressed the law and are deseving of death, the penalty of breaking the Torah. However, Yahshua paid the penalty for you, in the event that you have recieved Him, call Him Lord and Savior and repented or turned from your sin. If you say that we are not under the law and you mean that we are not under the Oral Torah and doctrines and traditions of men then you are also correct. But, if you say that we are not to obey YHVH's instructions, His Torah, then you are incorrect. Now, many of the 613 commands in the Torah cannot apply to us today. We do not have a sacrificial system (i.e.Yahshua was our Passover Lamb), a theocracy, a temple or Cohen priests. Not every one is male or female. Please also keep in mind that Yahshua raised the bar and added 1050 additional commands in the New Testament, expounding on what was already said. Those do apply. Are we saved by keeping any of them? NO!! The only thing that saves us is belief in Him and that has never changed.

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Saying that you believe, however, and not seeking to obedient to His Word is emptiness. It is very much like learning to ride a bike by watching it on Youtube and never actually getting on a bike or really even owning one. The practical "walking out" of the action is essential to actually learning how to do it! Scripture that asserted differently, that we still bear responsibility to keep His Torah, His Instructions, are conveniently overlooked in an attempt to support a theology lacking a sufficient foundation in christian culture. A house without a good foundation is an unstable structure. Order is necessary. If a cell had no cell wall, you haven't a cell. Everything falls apart without order. To say "anything goes" is to invite complete chaos. Our crumbling society is evidence of such a flawed belief system. I am seeking to learn how to keep His order. I am finding a great deal of joy and freedom in that pursuit, quite contrary to what I have always been taught.


Don't take my word for it, take His. Check out 100% of what I have written, if it doesn't line up with His Word, all of His Word, disregard it.

Many blessings to you!

Chag Same'ach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Passover 2011

Welcoming the Shabbat

The Truth Matters!!!

http://getridofeaster.com/

Aline & Howie - Yeshua

What is in a Word? The Origin of the Word Easter

Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed [difference] between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.


If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's a duck.

Somehow we never bother to question that which is most obvious and we have a real tendency to ignore what challenges our tradition and the traditions of our culture. We just get in line and march forward like everyone in front of us, never asking "why"? Most of us have been taught to disregard what is plainly there and what is obviously not there.

Easter is a pagan word, the name of a pagan goddess, and it is not in the Bible. So how did it get in "Christian" vocabulary and why is it celebrated?

I beg you to please check me out. Check out everything I am writing for yourself. You can find what I am going to share on the Internet, in books, in encyclopedias, in libraries....you name it. It is in plain site. So I am not going to footnote any of this. It is not hard to find and I want you to check this out for yourself. It will mean nothing to you if you just take my word for it. We have been "taking peoples word for it" in the church for a long time. Lets not do that, OK. Check out sources without agendas if you get my drift. Most importantly check out the Bible, your Bible. If I am wrong and what I am saying does not line up with the Word of God, correct me. The truth is of the utmost importance to me, God's truth, not man's, and that only comes from the Word. Ask questions! It's ok.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

I really believe that the words we use are really important. I began to study Etymology in college years ago,and fell in love with it. Even prior to becoming a believer or having any interest in religion I found it fascinating. However, after becoming a believer, for years, I stuffed down my curiosity and went with the flow. That was a mistake and one I intend to never make again. Etymology is the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language. When you understand the beginning or root of a word, you begin to understand everything thing else that proceeds from it. We ought to know what our words mean and where they come from before they proceed from out of our mouths. The Words of our Creator spoke the world into existence. Words can hurt and words can heal. The importance of the spoken word cannot be underestimated in every area of our lives.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.

We need to make sure that we do not "mix" that which is profane to Him, with that which is Holy to Him. If you are believer and a true follower of Jesus Christ or Yahshua Ha'Mashiach, then you know He calls us to be a set apart (holy) people as He is Holy, so I think it matters what we embrace and celebrate and whether or not it lines up with His Word. We may have to stand alone or in a very small crowd, but that's OK if we are standing with Him.

The English term "Easter" developed from the Old English word Ēastre or Ēostre. The name refers to Eostur-monath, a month of the Germanic calendar. The month is named after the goddess Ēostre of Anglo-Saxon paganism. Ēostur-monath was the equivalent to the month of April. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the great mother goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Similar fertility goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus, Ashtoreth from ancient Israel, Astarte from ancient Greece, Demeter from Mycenae, Hathor from ancient Egypt , Ishtar from Assyria, and Kali, from India.

Today, Ostara is one of the eight major holidays, or festivals of Wicca. It is celebrated on the Spring Equinox. There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament. A comment made by St. Chrysostom on I Cor. V. 7 has been supposed to refer to an apostolic observance of Easter, but was shown to be erroneous.

So how did she make her way into the Christian Church? Or, at least her NAME?? We will get to that.

Yahshua and the early believers did celebrate feasts, the feasts of YHVH, as detailed in the book of Leviticus 23. First it is important to understand that the Greek word pascha in scripture does not refer to Easter it is derived from the Hebrew word Pesach there is no original Greek word for Passover. For example, in the New Testament you can find evidence of the Passover being observed by Yahshua in Luke 2:41, Matt. 26, Mark 14, Luke 22 and early believers observing it and making reference to it in Acts 12:1-4, Acts 18:21, Acts 20:6, 1 Cor. 5:6-8 and others.Other feasts are mentioned as well. See John 7:2 Act 2:1-4; 20:16;1 Cor 16:8, Mat. 24:35; 2 Peter 3:7, 10 &13; Rev 21:1 which refer to Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. Mention of the Feast of Trumpets is in 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4-16. The Day of Atonement is referred to in Romans 3:24-26; Hebews 9:7; 10:3, 30-31; 10:19-22; Acts 27:9; 2Peter 3:7; Rev. 17:4 and 20:12.

Yahshua was the perfect Passover Lamb (John 1:29) and the Passover is a perfect picture and a foreshadowing of His death, burial and resurrection. Check this out in Exodus 12:1-28, Leviticus 23:4-8, Numbers 9:1-14, Deuteronomy 16:1-8. Eusebius, historian of the early centuries of the Church, speaks of the true Christians observing Passover on the 14th of Nisan, first month of the sacred calendar. The historian Gieseler wrote that "the Gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath and the Passover," during the latter half of the first century. Unfortunately decrees were passed by Constantine in A.D. 363,forbidding believers from keeping God's Sabbath and God's festivals. From that point on a general "removal" took place of anything resembling Judaism and the way in which the early believers in the Jewish Messiah, Yahshua Ha'Mashiach, both Jews and non Jews, worshipped Him and observed His feasts. Removal is kind of a polite word. This extraction of everything Jewish took place in deceptive and sometimes horribly violent ways and this antisemitic tsunami still impacts the church today. We have been lied to. We have been robbed. We have been looted of the blessings that are the Feasts of YHVH.

So how did she, or atleast her name get in the church? It happened long ago. The decision was made by Constantine and the Council of Nicaea to observe Easter as the day of Yahshua's ressurection. This decision was made to appease those who were still worshipping the pagan goddess and season and out of great disdane for the Jews. Those that did not agree were exiled and persecuted. You need to remember that at this point, Constantine, was actively a polytheist, someone who worshipped more that one god. He declared himself a Christian but at the same time maintained his ties to the Mithra cult. He retained the title "Pontifus Maximus" the high priest. On his coins were inscribed: "Sol Invicto comiti" which means, committed to the invincible sun. This new blend of the two faiths, he officially proclaimed as Christianity. We will let Constantine speak for himself.

"From the letter of the Emperor (Constantine) to all those not present at the council. (Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib III 18-20)

When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more desirable than to see this festival, through which we receive the hope of immortality, celebrated by all with one accord and in the same manner? It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of festivals, to follow the customs (the calculation) of the Jews who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter; which we have observed from the time of the Saviour’s passion (according to the day of the week).

We ought not therefore to have anything in common with the Jew, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship following a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week: And consequently in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jew. For it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter question, for in their blindness and repugnance to all improvements they frequently celebrate two Passovers in the same year. We could not imitate those who are openly in error.

How, then, could we follow these Jews who are most certainly blinded by error? For to celebrate a Passover twice in one year, is totally inadmissible.

But even if this were not so it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communication with such wicked people (the Jews). You should consider not only that the number of churches in these provinces make a majority, but also that it is right to demand what our reason approves, and that we should have nothing in common with the Jews."

Do a little research on Constantine. While you are at it check out the writings of Justin Martyr, Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, Origen of Alexandria. You will be surprised. When you do, if you do, keep this scripture in mind, Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Without the Jewish people, we would not have a Savior. He was a Jew! He was of the line of David. Hate and unforgiveness is not an option. Our forgiveness, because we have all sinned, was costly to the One who paid for it. We will never be an effective example of the love of God with a spirit of contempt towards the Jewish people, or anyone for that matter. It is time to clean house and get rid of the leaven as a church.

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.



The Truth is important. So important, that He says this in John 14:6 :

Yahshua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


Shouldn't Truth be important to us too?

Don't believe me, find out for yourself.

Many blessings to you!

Landing

Deuteronomy 20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.


I have traveled by air a fair bit in my life. I have had some real interesting experiences on airplanes. I have met some fascinating characters, sometimes really friendly people and sometimes not. It is a strange thing to be confined in such a small place, way up in the air,  with hundreds of strangers for hours on end. Sometimes our conversations have gone to the most interesting places. I have met a lot of fellow believers on airplanes and we have discussed our faith and the various times we have seen God's hand move in our lives. Those were some of the most pleasant flights I have ever had. Some of those folks were from places I have never been, like Sweden for example. I once met a former pinup model, now in her 50's, full of regrets, her perspective on life now dramatically changed now in her golden years. A doctor, now practicing natural medicine after seeing breakthroughs in natural chelation therapy and facing complete rejection by the medical community as a result. The list of interesting people I have met could go on and on. Universally, however, our conversations were always full of meaning and discussion that revolved around the important things in life. Something about flying with strangers can cause you to be fairly candid with people, surprisingly.

I was thinking a lot about this this morning. About take off, flying and landing airplanes. I was thinking about the take off seeming rather simple to the passenger, uncomplicated and routine most of the time. Sometimes flying can bring about turbulence, bumps and thumps here and there. But landing, well that is a whole other story. Landing feels like it is quite an undertaking. I perceive it as probably the most risky part of the business of flying. It might be routine to the pilot, but to the passenger many thoughts and concerns enter your mind when touching down. To me, as a passenger, it is the hardest part of a flight. Sometimes it can feel pretty rough.

I remember a trip I took from Atlanta, GA to Houston, TX. On the way to Houston I was on a regular Boeing 747. Nice big plane! However, returning to Atlanta we were on a very small plane. I can't for the life of me remember what kind of plane it was, but it was SMALL and the weather was BAD. That flight made me nauseous. We were up, we were down, we were shaking, everything was shifting and creaking. What a landing! We all applauded when the pilot landed the plane like our favorite team had won the Superbowl or something! What an adventure that was! One I hope to never repeat.

John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Life kind of reminds me of flying. When you are taking off it can be a little scary, but you can handle it. When you are in the air most of the time the flight is pretty smooth. However, when you are landing, coming down, that can be pretty overwhelming, if we let it be.

We all have times of "landing". Being brought down for a season. A period of time we are to spend in the valley. We are not sure how it is all going to turn out, we just know that we are going down for a bit. It can feel like an eternity and like time is frozen as we wait on our "landing". It is really tempting to think about what could happen in that process or what you could have done to prevent it or should have done. The mountain tops of life are really much more enjoyable places to be, but the valleys are the necessary places we must visit from time to time. The valleys are places where we learn to rely on Him, find out where our weaknesses are and where we grow and mature.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

I wish that I could say that I have fully relied on Him with every "landing" in the valleys that I have experienced. I have at times "rested" in Him when I have seen it coming, but it seems to be a knee jerk reaction to brace for impact. The reptilian section of our brain automatically starts to kick in sending us to a state of fight or flight, when our spirit man is telling us to remain calm and rest in Our Father's arms. It is a battle between the flesh and the spirit. The outcome largely dependent on who wins the battle. Resting can be hard work. Seeing the forest through the trees a struggle. The big picture of what God is doing tends to elude us.

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

All of these landings, I think, are just preparation for the work that is ahead of us. Small potatoes, if you will. Although, I know, believe me, it doesn't "feel" like it. I think it is important to learn to distinguish between reality and what we feel. What we feel is often of the flesh, especially concerning fear. As believers we are told to not live by our flesh, but by the Spirit. How do we do that?

Psalm 27:1  Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?

We learn to trust our "Pilot". He knows what He is doing. It isn't up to us. He does see the runway, the big picture if you will and He has a plan. He is the one in control. He is the one on the throne. We choose to believe that He will get us safely on the ground and He will even meet us there and be with us in our valley never leaving us nor forsaking us. We release our grip on the idea that we have any control what so ever. We remain in the safety of His Torah and in His presence. It is so simple, but we overcomplicate it so much. We just...let.....go.

Many blessings to you!