What A Blessing!!!!!!

A Video by Jared Sturgill

The Invitation

Anger is an interesting thing. It can motivate us to do very good things or it can imprison us and lead us into a deep pit of bitterness. There are two kinds of anger. There is an anger that is a righteous one. The Word speaks of this kind of anger. God gets angry, but His anger is always righteous and in response to the transgression of His Holy Word.

For example, when Moses came down from the mountain, having just received the ten commandments from  YHVH, the people, having just agreed earlier not to make any graven image (Exodus 20:4) had made a golden calf and there they were having a big party and bowing down to the thing. YHVH got angry!

Exodus 32:10 And now let me alone, that my Anger may burn against them, and I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation.

The Word is very clear and gives instruction to us in Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry, but don't sin - don't let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; otherwise you leave room for the adversary. So, yes, be angry, however do not sin in your anger. The only way to not sin in your anger is to be righteous, as is YHVH, and be angry about what angers Him. It isn't easy to be like Him, is it?! The second warning, in this set of scriptures, warns us to resolve such anger before the sun sets, otherwise we will open the door to the adversary, the enemy of all mankind, Ha'Satan. Even righteous anger can turn unrighteous in the human heart, because of our fleshly tendencies, if it is not resolved quickly. Righteous anger will move us at times to take action. Perhaps it is to step in to protect someone. Maybe it is to protect an entire group of individuals. Maybe it is to move us to lovingly confront another believer in his or her sin and hopefully motivate them to reconcile to the Father or another believer. We need to diligently seek the Ruach Ha'Kodesh, The Holy Spirit, to guide us during these times, so that our flesh does not chime in and we are able make decisions that honor Him and His Word. Righteous anger always seeks to restore the order of Yah's Word. Righteous anger never transgresses His Word in it's expression. Righteous anger comes from a very deep love for Ha'Shem and for others and it is not self seeking, it is selfless. It seeks to be resolved quickly.

There are things in this world that we should be angry about. Sin and it's resulting horrific consequences in our society should stir us. Especially when these things are committed against those who are helpless to defend themselves. I would have to check my pulse to see if my heart was still beating if some of the things happening in this world and in my life-time did not anger me. There are some that do not believe anger is appropriate in any circumstance. These individuals may unknowingly be adhering to a philosophy called stoicism. Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, is an incredibly unrealistic option that I personally do not practice and I don't know how any human being truly could....unless of course they are not breathing. It sounds great in theory. A bus drives into your house, oh well. Don't get excited. Stoicism, simply put, can be defined very well in Doris Day's rendition of "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)". It seems to me that far too many in our society have opted for such a philosophy and ignore that which is morally reprehensible as if it were a mere fly on the windshield of a car. There seems to be a serious confusion within circles of believers and in society, as well, that this philosophy comes from the Word of God, when in fact these ideas are rooted in the teachings of Zeno of Citium of Athens and propagated by others in Rome in the early 3rd century BC and not the Word of God. This kind of attitude has created serious, societal altering consequences that have torn at the fabric of our civilization. I don't believe that anxiety is necessary or correct but to feel nothing or worse yet, do nothing, in the face of injustice is just as bad as the injustice itself. Certainly we should become angry, but not at the people involved, because our battle is not against "flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of this dark world" (Ephesians 6:12). We should however be angry at the sin itself and the dark spirit or spirits behind it. Very simply put, be angry at the sin, not the sinner.

Now that we have covered the first kind of anger, lets take a look at the second and it's long range, wicked potential. This kind of anger leads to bitterness that can inflict an enormous amount of damage to the individual entertaining it and those closest to him or her. This second kind of anger is very self seeking. This kind of anger begins with an offense or a wound if you will. Most of the time the individual has been hurt by another in the past or perceives that they have. Sometimes they are even angry with God. It must be dealt with quickly, before the sun sets, or it will immediately begin to be very destructive. This unrighteous, unholy anger gives the adversary license to enter our lives. It is an engraved invitation to him. Because he is the liar of all liars he will take full advantage of this invitation that we have given him. This brand of anger has little to do with the Word of God. However, some folks will use the Word illegitimately, twisting it and using it out of context either to justify wrong actions or to be used as a weapon to injure others and maintain control as they entertain anger. The adversary capitalizes on the pain the individual has experienced and drives his talons deep into the existing wound. These people are in serious pain. If the anger continues, it becomes a deep pit of pain piercing through the very depths of one's soul. It becomes what is known as bitterness. It causes the individual to be given to confusion and rage. The world becomes a very distorted place to a person that remains in bitterness. This is a very sad state to live in. I have been there and I don't ever want to be there again.

John 10:10
The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

In the eyes of the world system, in my lifetime, I have had more than enough "just" cause to become bitter. Perhaps you have too? If I was a perfect person that excuse might fly. I am not and I don't know of any human being that is. I do know One who is perfect. He is Holy and He is perfect. Forgiveness by and reconciliation to a Holy Elohim was costly. Yahshua, our Messiah, paid that price for us on the tree by the shedding of His blood. We must seek to honor Him and what He did for us by not believing the enemy's lie that somehow we have a "right" to hold on to anger towards others. Let's seek to forgive quickly, let go of our anger and as far as it is up to us live in peace with all men (and women).

Romans 12:18
If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.

Anger is a like a dangerous tightrope. Hopefully we can walk it carefully, examining it and making sure that our walk is straight, most importantly using the light of the Word and the counsel of the Holy Spirit to navigate us through it. Once we have done that, lets get to the other side in a rapid fashion. Let's forgive quickly and seek to reconcile in a timely manner as if our very lives depended on it. Who knows, maybe our lives do depend on it? (Job 5:2). Otherwise we might cause an invitation to go out to a visitor we'd rather not entertain; and He comes to steal, kill, and destroy, make no mistake.

Blessings to you!

Love is Truth

When I was a little girl I read a lot! Just about anything I could get my hands on. I still have a real love for reading. One book that left a lasting impression on me was the book, The Emperor's New Clothes. Have you ever read it? Quick synopsis: These "tailors" come to town. They are really con men, thieves if you will. They sell the Emperor on the idea that they are going to make this spectacular new outfit for him! "You know", they say, "all Royalty wears our clothes, we are the best designers out there and we only work with the most important clientele". Well, the egotistic Emperor jumps at the chance and they design an outfit for him (it is really air, he is naked, there is no outfit). He thinks there is something wrong with his eyes that he can't see it, so he decides to believe it's there, as do all the citizens of his country (because they are afraid of him and what other people will think) as he parades around naked!!Everyone is participating in the charade,except one small child, who is brave enough to say, "Hey, the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes!!!!!!" Smart kid.

Can I tell you that there is something very, very wrong in our churches? OK, you know I usually don't go here. I am never quite sure about what kind of audience I might have or what they think, but I am going to be like that brave child and speak the truth. Did you know that it is loving to speak the truth? If anyone in the emperor's kingdom, described above, loved him, they would have told him the truth. Did you know that sometimes speaking the truth can bring division? The Truth, God's truth, sets people free.......but sometimes it makes people a little angry at first. I am willing to take that chance because Yahshua was willing to take that chance. There is a "gospel" being preached that is not of the Word. It is a gospel that focuses on a unqualified unity, rather that the Truth of the Word of God. It is a gospel that puts the word and doctrines of men over the Word of the God. It is a gospel that is calling evil good and good evil. It is politically correct and very tolerant of evil and it is NOT God's Word. There is no room for other gods in our worship of Him. There is no room for other philosophies in our worship of Him. Darkness does not have fellowship with light, period. Sound familiar, it should!

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Amos 5:7 You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground

Habakkuk 1:4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?"

Isaiah 30:10 They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.

OK, so perhaps you are saying at this point, "well that is all old testament". Well, check this out.

Matthew 6:22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Luke 11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.

Luke 11:35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.

Matthew 5:18 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.


Do you know Whose Words those are? They are the Words of YHVH, God. He changes not. He isn't into a "new thing". The Holy and the profane do not belong together. The church has been seduced and taken captive by smooth words.

Somehow, as a church, we have gotten the idea into our heads that we can pick and choose what scriptures we consider valid and what scriptures we do not. Let me ask you this, if we serve a God that never changes, how can we justify that? I am here to tell you we can not if in fact we want to call ourselves believers in the Messiah, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Mal.3:6 I the Lord do not change.

Numbers 23:19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.


I didn't become a believer so I could have my ears tickled. When I became a believer it was because the selfish way that I was living my life was not working for me. In the end it gave me nothing but pain. I was lost. Now I am found! I wanted and desparately needed to be changed. His Word, His Torah, if you will, brought me freedom, peace and blessing.......and change. Faith is all that saves a person, but who exactly do we believe in if we don't recognise or seek to follow His Word? Scary question, but one that deserves an answer. Is it a god that we have created in our minds? Perhaps, a god that tells us what we want to hear and makes us feel good? Or is it the God that changes lives with the washing of His Holy Word?

2Tim.3:16 - 17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" -- Matthew 24:11

His Word has not changed. He has not changed. Don't fall for a gospel that preaches anything different. The truth delivered in love to you.

Float Baby

Psalms 27:1-3 1 YHVH is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? YHVH is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident.

I didn't learn to swim until I was 14 years old. I remember being at the YMCA over the summers gripping the sides of the pool and smiling and waving like I was just "hanging out". I was thinking at the time, "don't mind me, I am fine, look away, will you!!" I always had some sort of excuse for not going to the deep end with the rest of my friends. I'd watch from a distance seeing them splashing, swimming and diving into the pool with abandon and glee. There I was in the "kiddie" pool, just wading around with the moms and their 3 year olds. Oh the shame a 10 year old girl can feel! You wouldn't have known it by looking at me at the time, I did a good job hiding it, but it was pretty humiliating.

It probably didn't help that during that time we lived in the northern midwest and summer was really the only time there was to go swimming and our summers up there were really short! I remember one BBQ my family had, in July, where it actually snowed. The winters were very long, so swimming wasn't a very popular activity much of the year.

Finally, after 7 long years we moved back to the west coast where the sun is out all year around and the summers are nice and long. As a bonus, the apartment building we moved into had a pool! Well, I was excited and I wasn't. I had real mixed feelings. I loved the idea of being able to go swimming, a lot if I wanted to, but I still had those feelings of fear of the water.

That summer, having just moved to a new city and having no friends, there was little to do, but hang out at the pool or stay indoors. My bike's tires were stolen when we moved in so I couldn't really go far. So the pool it was. There was really no one swimming when I went to the pool. My parents were at work, as was most of the apartment complex and there never was a life guard on duty. I had the entire pool to myself. So I went in and just waded around. Pretty soon I started to relax and enjoy the cool water in the heat of the day. My mind went elsewhere, I leaned back, in that relaxed state and found myself floating!! I couldn't believe it. All those years of being afraid and all I had to do was relax and my body would float. As I practiced I realized I could trust that I'd stay afloat if I was calm and completely relaxed. When I became fearful, everything tensed up, I struggled and I sank! I felt like I had made some amazing discovery, all on my own!! I was 14 years old and I learned to swim. Fear of the water was defeated that day!

Over the years there have been many battles with fear that have come my into my life. I'd be lying if I said that learning to swim conquered all my fears. At times I have let those things paralyze me and prevent me from doing things I know my Abba has called me to do. Can you relate to this? I have watched in the distance as others haven't let fear stop them from doing what they are called to do and do it with abandon and glee in their lives and in their service to Adonai! All the while I gazed from the "kiddie pool" knowing I was meant for more. During those times my loving Abba has reminded me of my adventure in learning how to swim and how if I just trust Him and lean back and rest He will go with me and I will float with no effort of my own. Such a simple concept, but one that has escaped me on many occasions. He is enough for any circumstance we will ever face. All we need to do is let go and trust Him. Fear isn't necessary when we have a really BIG Elohim, the very Creator of the universe, in our corner! I have heard it said, you can only fear one thing at a time. The world and it's circumstances or a Holy Elohim. Let it be Him and nothing or no one else. Worldly fear is a snare and a shame, but the fear of Adonai is wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7) Very simply put, fear is not faith.

My very favorite female person in the Word is Abigail. Abigail was a woman that didn't crack under pressure and had the God given gift of understanding. So much so that her people didn't perish because she made good choices not born of fear, but of faith in Elohim. She was bold and decisive and moved forward trusting that whatever happened her Father had her back. If you get an opportunity read about Abigail in 1 Samuel 25, do so, her story will really bless you. I have learned a lot from her example.

I don't know what you face today. It could be anything, but baby just lay back and float! He's got you.

Oh, and one more thing, I learned to body surf the following year!

What is the Object of our Faith?

Matthew 6:19-24

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

For me personally, this post has very little to do with material possessions although the possibility of that application is certainly there. It has everything to do with what or whom we put our faith and hope in. I don't think I realized how much I put my faith, for example, in people, until I went through difficulties where I felt the need to cash in on that "faith" and it didn't meet my expectations. In fact, I was downright disappointed and terribly discouraged! It is really easy to believe in something or someone until it or they are tested. Maybe the object of faith could be a job, your income, your family, a marriage, an institution, a particular system, your health, your talents, your friends, our government or simply your religion. Perhaps you can, on some level, relate to what I am saying. It seems often times we don't realize how misguided we are until those moments or circumstances arrive in which we expect to "cash" the check we think is due us. Nothing and no one should bear that responsibility and privilege except for our Creator Himself. And He does, in a heartbeat, I can testify of this. We often do not realize how much and in how many ways we trust the temporal over the eternal. We have expectations of the temporal to behave in a manner that is eternal, permanent and or fixed. That is simply unreasonable and quite honestly a fantasy at best.

The Greek word for Treasure is thēsauros. This word means:

1) the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up

a) a casket, coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables are kept

b) a treasury

c) storehouse, repository, magazine

The thing that caught my eye about the Greek meaning of the word for treasure was the word "casket". It brought to mind death for obvious reasons. I suppose our bodies are treasures or should be treated as such, but YHVH is the El of the living and not the dead. (Luke 20:38) A casket hardly seems like a fitting place to store our treasures! Without getting too morbid, the things stored in a casket will eventually just be worm food. Grave robbers, in some areas of the world, might very well steal the rest. The elements, moisture, heat etc. will finish the job. So much of what we consider "valuable" and what we put our hope in will pass away, because everything except our Creator has an expiration date or a "fail" point. This is just the truth, like it or not. I have tended to not like it, but I see the wisdom in this fact as time goes by.

Ecclesiates 1:1-4 The words of Kohelet the son of David, king in Yerushalayim: 2 Pointless! Pointless! - says Kohelet -Utterly meaningless! Nothing matters! 3 What does a person gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? 4 Generations come, generations go, but the earth remains forever.

Quite honestly the words of Ecclesiates used to really bum me out. The book of Revelation did the same when I first became a believer. Although I attested to having faith in the Messiah and made the decision to follow Him, in certain areas of my life, I continued to attempt to maintain an iron grip on the things of the world. I had little understanding of how liberating it is to come to the realization that time and energy spent on "expecting" things in this world to work, function and satisfy is a "meaningless" pursuit of time and energy. We live in a world that is fallen and corrupt and you would have to be delusional to believe differently. That is a little hard I know, but it was said to me in love and I deliver it with the same heart. Those very same books of the Word now inspire me and give me hope. His Word, all of it, is a love letter from my Creator, meant to draw me closer to Him and help me to know Him in a deeper and more intimate way.

There is something, it seems, in all of us that desires to place our faith and hope in some of the oddest places, rather than where it belongs. Why is that? We seemed to be wired to "misfire" and by doing so set ourselves up for a fall. When you really begin to look at it, it's so very backwards. Brad Scott says "YHVH creates, man can only restore". There is so much truth in that statement. Believing anything else is simply pride and most of us know where that leads. There is nothing on this earth that mankind has created, only materials that he restores or maintains. So it was in the beginning, so it is now, nothing has changed. Mankind was created, yet has the privledge of eternal life with the Creator if he chooses to. Mankind was never created to be an object of our "faith", nor was anything else on the earth that has been created.

All of our needs, whatever they are, can only be met by our Father. He holds your next breath. He is already in your tomorrow. He wants to meet all of your needs. He waits to. He offers to. He isn't going anywhere. Where are we? What is the object or objects of our faith, really? This is a really good question to continually ask ourselves.

It is so easy to misplace......our treasure.

Two Kinds of Unity

Genesis 11
1 The whole earth used the same language, the same words. 2 It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar and lived there. 3 They said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them in the fire." So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth." 5 ADONAI came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 ADONAI said, "Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they're starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let's go down and confuse their language, so that they won't understand each other's speech." 8 So from there ADONAI scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 For this reason it is called Bavel [confusion] - because there ADONAI confused the language of the whole earth, and from there ADONAI scattered them all over the earth. (Complete Jewish Bible)


Years ago, as a new believer, the story of the Tower of Babel really confused me. I couldn't understand for the life of me what the problem was with building a big building. What was the big deal? Why did Elohim need to come down and confuse the languages of the people and scatter them? I was looking at that situation in a very simplistic way and in my newly converted heart I did not understand the true nature of the heart of man, but that would change.

At some point, I would awaken to the truth of our "nature", through life's circumstances and the tragic happenings that occur in our world. I would be confronted with the true nature of my own heart in how I "reacted" or didn't in the midst of the circumstances I would walk through and see others walk through. I would find out over time that our "nature" is not one of love, charity, kindness and patience towards all men. I discovered that we do not come into this world desiring to put other's needs before our own, but on the contrary with a deep desire to have our own needs met, do it our way and get what we want quite immediately! We are, in fact, incredibly self centered individuals. We are full of "self" and at times we will hurt one another to get what we want, not even necessarily what we "need". This is the true nature of man in his fallen state. All mankind is born into that "fallen state". Since the fall of Adam we have not been able to entirely escape this reality. None of us. Yahshua Ha'Mashiach (Jesus Christ)is the only one who did not sin, but He is YHVH having come in human form. Some of us do better than others, but none the less, my "fairy-tale" would be defeated in some very difficult and challenging ways. Maybe you have experienced this too? I would come out of the shock, discouragement and difficulties I faced a more humbled and broken person. I would grow and begin to understand the Father a little better, although at this point I feel as though I have barely scratched the surface of the depth of His ways and His wisdom.

Unity in and of it's self is not an evil thing. It is in fact a fairly good concept. When people put their heads together they can accomplish a lot! YHVH knows this. He made us that way. I really believe that our Abba wants us to work together to accomplish good things. He wants to see us do things that benefit the Kingdom and accomplish things motivated by our love for Him and for one another. Hence the greatest commandment:

Matthew 22:36-40 "36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law ?" 37 And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' 40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

The book of Acts illustrates a time when unity was a really good thing. Pentecost or Shavuot was an incredible move of YHVH, when believers were gathered together to worship Him, and in the power of the Ruach Ha'Kodesh (The Holy Spirit) they accomplished much. They were of one mind and had all things in common. They shared all they had with one another. Needs were met. Issues were resolved in a godly way. The Word of YHVH spread and they accomplished much in the early years of church history. Unity born of a relationship with the Savior is a beautiful thing and avails much! This is Godly unity.(Read Acts!!)

It is when the unity we seek is for the wrong reasons, in other words, selfish purposes, that it all goes wrong. People get hurt, sometimes very badly. The Holocaust or Shoa is a really good example of that. The Crusades another. Then there was Jim Jones Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana that serves as another tragic example of the wrong kind of unity. The 9/11 terrorist tragedy is a recent example of misguided unity. This unity seeks to coerce a nation to buckle and accept the ideology of another using terror as a prime motivator. These are just a few examples. There are many. Billions of people have lost their lives throughout history as a result of unity simply for the sake of unity. Going along to get along. That brand of unity is born out of the need for power, control and prestige of a selfish individual or individuals. Do you think we will ever learn? Unity without the love and accountability that our Holy Elohim provides is a dangerous thing. We are simply not Him and we do not posses, as a people an ability to come together in a pure, unselfish way. We are kidding ourselves if we think for a minute that is a possibility without Him. As a side note, do we understand that the thirst for power, control and prestige is really born out of fear? If we did, would we operate in such a destructive spirit or would we surrender to a Holy Elohim and trust Him in our circumstances instead? Seeking a unity outside of the purposes of YHVH is a dangerous thing and YHVH knew that, which is why he interfered in the building of the Tower of Babel. I believer He did it because He loves us, knows all about our fallen nature and sinful tendencies and didn't want us to destroy ourselves or one another. History has proven, that is exactly what we do when we seek unity apart from Him. We need Him and we are not G-d! We are most likely not like Jim Jones, Hitler or the 9/11 terrorists but we must not trust our own hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than anything else and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?

Genesis 6:5 ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only.

The Holy kind of unity, the unity of our Elohim, is born of love, His love. It looks like this:

1 Corinthians 13: 1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

This is the only way to build something. Anything else is simply the Tower of Babel.

More than a Conqueror

A Bridge Builder

I was very honored and blessed to hear a wonderful teaching at Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) that I attended with my family, in the fall, about a particular Jewish tradition. I won't even come close to doing it justice, but in Jewish culture, a young man, chosen out of many candidates, to become an apprentice to a Rabbi, (Rabbi means "teacher") will follow His Rabbi so closely and imitate everything he does to the degree that he practically "eats" the dust of the sandals of his Rabbi! We are told in scripture to be imitators of Elohim. (Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 Corinthians 1:11) He is our Teacher. We are to do as He does, just like the apprentice eating their Rabbi's dust!

Yahshua Ha'Mashiach (a.k.a. Jesus the Christ) was a bridge builder, but that being said Yahshua was not one to compromise His Word. He extended a hand to the whole world but communicated truth at the same time. How did He manage that?! It is our tendency to either cave to pressure, compromising what we know to be the truth (i.e. go along to get along) or stand our ground to such a degree that we alienate and offend others and eventually become offended ourselves. Somehow Yahshua managed to keep connection with people yet not become offended when they did not agree with His message. His peace was never contingent on whether people liked Him or what he had to say and He NEVER changed His message. He changes not!(Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19) He never opposed the Father as they are one, Echad. (John 10:30) The only time connection was lost was when the person involved walked away from Him....and even when that happened He would have happily welcomed such a one back (Luke 15:11-32) as that is His character. One could say, "Well, He is G-d, it's easy for Him." That is a bit of a cop out. Somehow we think that gets us all off the hook for not extending a hand when someone doesn't agree with us or comes against us. It doesn't. And, dying on a tree was no easy thing. It was the ultimate painful, torturous and very costly bridge built for all of mankind should they choose it. Yahshua looked down from the tree, bleeding and bruised and asked Abba (Father) to forgive those whom pierced Him (Luke 23:34). He had compassion on those that had been torturing Him and were killing Him! Yet, somehow there is a part of us that feels that we have a "right" to become offended, hold a grudge or possibly get even. If Yahshua is the example to those of us that profess we are believers in Him, we do not posses such a "right". May I be so bold to say, that if we call Yahshua (Jesus) our Teacher, His character should be our character!

Yahshua, in my humble opinion, is probably returning soon. I could be wrong. However, if that be the case, scripture states He is coming back for a pure bride without spot. (Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 5:27) If the church, if fellowships, if congregations, if friends, if spouses, if siblings, if children are continually wrestling with offense, how spotless is that? Who exactly will that Bride be then? To simply state that we, as Torah observant believers, are qualified, if we hate and despise our neighbor, is unacceptable and is very questionable to say the least. To say that if we are born again and covered by the blood and therefore fit to be that bride, but yet we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts towards another, is again a stretch. (Mathew 6:14-15) The Father is not blind and He sees our hearts. If our Savior and our Groom was willing to die, so that mankind would have the opportunity to obtain forgiveness and reconcile with the living Elohim then why in the world would we even entertain the idea that petty offenses are pleasing to Him? Why would we think that ANY offense is pleasing to Him? Don't get me wrong, I am not judging or qualifying or disqualifying any individual by any means, but hopefully, if anything, stimulating all of us to continually examine our hearts and to maintain a broken spirit and contrite heart which is pleasing to Elohim. (Psalm 51:17)

Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) We need to check ourselves. How can we be effective, like Yahshua was, in revealing YHVH's love to the world, if we are behaving nothing like Him? We need to "eat" His dust. We need to walk as He walked. As far as it is up to us, division should never be an option, because it never was for Him. Division occurred because of mankind's inability to have humility and recognise his own sin and the Truth of the Word of YHVH, but Yahshua himself was never divisive. Did He bring division? You bet your life He did! However, that division was the natural consequence and result of the fallen, sinful, stubborn, wicked state of the hearts of mankind and NOT the character of our Savior.

Romans 12:18 reads, "If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people." It is OK to stand up and be firm about what is right and true, but we must extend a hand at the same time. We must operate in respect and love towards others (1 Peter 3:15). This is what our Rabbi did and this is what we must do if we are to walk in His shoes. Love, patience and kindness must prevail. Even in the midst of persecution and suffering, love, His love, must be our daily decision towards others. I do not state this lightly or in any confidence that we can do this on our own. Much is impossible with man, but nothing is impossible with Elohim. (Luke 1:37) You may also have noticed that He didn't waste time trying to get a point across to those that do not hear. (Matthew 11:15, Revelation 2:7, Proverbs 20:12) If they don't hear what you have to say, the Truth, just love them, pray for them and give them to the Father, but don't spend time trying to give something valuable to those that won't receive. Maybe, in time, they will.

We cannot control what others do or the choices they make and sometimes quite frankly we may need to create a period of time or a little space so as to not be tempted to become offended by those whom we know push our buttons and those who refuse to live in peace with us. Those situations do occur and they are not at all easy. We should only do this when specifically led by Him and His Word, not out of a desire to inflict pain upon another. We should never close the door to a repentant and broken heart that seeks reconciliation, nor should we stop desiring and being open to reconciliation with others. To do such a thing would be out of character for our Rabbi and should be out of character for us.

Lets seek to be a "bridge builder", just as He was and is and EAT THE DUST OF OUR RABBI!!!!!























LOVE AND SHALOM, MORE THAN A CONQUEROR.

Lets Be "For" One Another

Ephesians 6:12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.

Flipping the channels around from news program to news program could easily drive a person nuts. I strongly dislike being sick in bed. I guess most people do. As a wife and mom I can look around and see the piles of this and the stacks of that all of which need attending to. It is quite frustrating to me. I am really trying to learn how to rest when I need to, but I really don't care for being unproductive or the helplessness that is the result being sick. I had just cared for my two younger children who were ill for a few days and now their cooties had transferred to me. Not my idea of a good time. In an effort to let my body rest I lay in bed channel surfing. I am not into soap operas and Fox News, MS NBC, CBS and CNN and the like are about the only things current on the TV in the middle of the day. There is only so much House on the Prairie, Full House and Seinfeld repeats a human being can handle, so the news it was.

Now there are some news programs and commentators that I strongly agree with most of what they have to say. Then there are some that might be reporting on the happenings on some distant planet but are pretty disconnected with what is happening here, in our country.....yes and on earth. OK, I am not going to go there, I gave up the political writing thing. One thing I have noticed, and that seems to be a common theme in regards to all of them.....they sure don't like each other much. Honestly, after a while, all the bickering and back biting began to increase the painful pressure in my already congested head. Pretty much everything I needed to be informed of was scrolling at the bottom of the screen while the talking heads expressed their disdane for this person or that person. It all was a pretty big turn off to be honest and I found myself getting disgusted, discouraged, tuning out and eventually just turning the TV off altogether. Don't get me wrong, it is a good thing to be informed and understand what is happening in the world, but all the hatred and nastiness, sometimes it is all too much.

The next day I tuned into a program on a Christian channel out of Texas that I watch on the Internet from time to time. They have a lot of excellent teachers that I enjoy that go into the deeper matters of the Torah and the Word in it's entirety. Their guest that day was a man from an African country where Islam is the legal and accepted religion. Christians are hated and persecuted there. He told the story of all he had suffered in defense of his faith. Some of his family were killed and some disappeared and were never heard from again. He also told how some of his believing brothers and sisters were murdered in front of him for not denying our Savior. These were his spiritual babes, just kids that he had led to the Lord. He explained how he was imprisoned and tortured day after day. He told of his escape from the prison and how a Muslim man had helped him and how he had led him to faith in Messiah. Then he shared something that was one of the most discouraging things to him. It really bothered him. You could see it in his eyes. No it wasn't the torture he had endured at the hands of men with most evil intentions. It had nothing to do with the fact that he couldn't bathe for 6 months. It wasn't even the maggots that were living in his flesh while imprisoned that upset him so. It was that when he finally came to America, to share and inform people of what had happened to him and IS happening to these brave believers, so that they might pray and even be of help, that one of the churches he was to visit had split over the color of the carpet. The color of the carpet!

On one hand I witnessed the world and their unwavering dedication to cut one another down and tear at one another verbally. I really wasn't surprised at that behavior, after all these are not individuals necessarily led by anything or Anyone greater than themselves......in their minds. The Bible doesn't even come into consideration as they sling mud about with gleeful abandon. They are of the world, so they behave like the rest of the world. I used to know a pastor that coined a phrase, "ducks quack, why do you expect them to behave any differently?", when referring to the unbelieving world. This phrase, applied perfectly to to the behavior of the media that day. They were not being anything or anyone that they were not. They were behaving exactly as expected, albeit an incredible irritation to me.

The shocking thing about this martyr's story was not all he had suffered. Although quite frankly his story brought me to tears. The most shocking thing to me was how incredibly divided we are and how very "UN-set apart" or "unholy" that truly is. Here in this country we do not have a concept of what it is to truly "suffer" for what we believe. I fear that one day, very soon, we might. Then how angry we might have been over the "color of the carpet" will be a shameful memory. What I wonder is do we have what it takes to go through all this man went through and still be unwavering in our faith when so many, dare I say "stupid" things divide us? If we are going to stand, when the "real" trials come, we had better grow up and behave in a way that differentiates us from the "world". I just don't see that enough in America. In the 18 years of my life as a believer I have seen, and I am really sorry to utter this, more of what looks like the world than looks like the Word. I am not leaving myself out of that equation so please understand that.

There are things we must stand up for. The truth is one of them. There is a way, however, to maintain peace as far as it is up to us and stand up clearly for what we believe. It is primarily through love and respect for our fellow believers and even unbelievers that this is accomplished even some of the time. Why must others agree with us for us to love them? Why do we feel we have that right to have that as a condition? Why do we think we even have the right to be offended? Was the cost of our Savior impaled on a tree too little that we are afforded such an option? My guess is that the martyr on the TV would have the correct answers to such very basic questions.

There are some things on the horizon for America. Believers here are going to have to come together in a way we never have. We need to understand that the battles we fight are primarily not against flesh and blood. We have an adversary that understands that division among us will most certainly defeat us. We had better learn to be "for" one another even if we can't agree on some things. None of us know how to do this perfectly. I mess up daily. Only by consuming His Word and His presence can we accomplish His will and truly understand what it means to love one another. If we don't we will be no different than the talking heads or the "world".

So lets be "for" one another and not against each other. Lets love those who persecute us and pray for those who set themselves against us, without the condition of them agreeing with us or understanding us. Lets seek to be "ministers of reconciliation" first with G-d and then with one another. It is only then that we truly have a chance of winning them to the faith and walking in the example of Yahshua our Messiah.

Have a blessed day and pray for the martyrs!

http://www.persecution.com/

More than a conqueror

Fun Song from Matisyahu

Observations from the Window

Observations from the Window

I spend a lot of time at my kitchen window. I don’t have a very big kitchen. It is adequate, and pretty much everything centers around or near the window. I wash dishes there. I chop, slice and dice from there. I make coffee for my husband there. My cookbooks set on the counter there. My children’s tokens of “love for mommy” art set in the windowsill so I can look upon them. Most importantly I have had many conversations with my Abba there. The kitchen window is a pretty special and very busy place.

Behind our home we have a good amount of wooded property. On any given day you can see all kinds of critters great and small living in and sometimes coming out of the woods behind our home. Feral cats, squirrels, chipmunks, aardvarks, raccoons, fox and of course many, many deer. We have a big population of them as the area our subdivision is built on used to be a gaming range. The deer, for the most part, do not wonder out of the woods unless it is dark or they hear no human activity around them. The forest provides good cover and protection for them. My neighbor puts out corn for them and sometimes that will draw them into her yard. However, most of the time they are deep in the cover of the woods and can’t be seen.

Last week I was working hard to conquer another huge pile of dishes from a meal we had just had and I was gazing out the window into the woods. It is about winter now and most of the trees have dropped their leaves. The trees rather than thick, green and lush are now bare, dry and gray. I noticed white tails and graceful, slow movements far into the distance and realized that I could see the deer quite deeply in the woods. There is no place for them to hide anymore. With the lack of foliage they are almost completely exposed and vulnerable. It is hunting season right now. I had never thought about it much, because I am not a hunter, but it makes sense that it is this time of year. They are very easy to spot.

There are “winters” in our lives. No one is completely immune to those moments. There are times when things seem bare, dry and gray. Like the deer we can be very vulnerable during those times. We can be vulnerable to attack, suggestion and lies from the adversary. The enemy infrequently takes aim when we are covered and protected by abiding in Him and His Word, but has a very sure shot during the times that we have wondered into the barren woods apart from Him and are alone and exposed. Unlike the deer, however, we have a choice to be vulnerable and exposed or to remain in the cover of His Word and in Him. We also have a choice to be alone or not because He is available to us. Sometimes it does not feel as if the choice is ours. Life can hand us circumstances that can convince us that He is a million miles away, but again that is a lie, planted by the evil one at a time that we are exposed and vulnerable. His Word is clear that if we remain in Him, He will remain in us! This is great news.

John 15:4-5 reads as follows:
4 Stay united with me, as I will with you -- for just as the branch can't put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can't bear fruit apart from me. 5 "I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can't do a thing. (CJB)

It is encouraging to me and I hope to you too, that the Word gives us great examples of men and women that faced the same human emotion and struggles that we do in our own lives and were able to overcome through His strength. One such example is that of the Prophet Elijah.

1Kings 19:1 Ach'av told Izevel everything Eliyahu had done and how he had put all the prophets to the sword. 2 Then Izevel sent a messenger to say to Eliyahu, "May the gods do terrible things to me and worse ones besides if by this time tomorrow I haven't taken your life, just as you took theirs!" 3 On seeing that, he got up and fled for his life. When he arrived in Be'er-Sheva, in Y'hudah, he left his servant there; 4 but he himself went a day farther into the desert, until he came to a broom tree. He sat down under it and prayed for his own death. "Enough!" he said. "Now, ADONAI, take my life. I'm no better than my ancestors."


Here was a man that was a mighty man of G-d, yet even he stumbled into a dry, barren place. Elijah was pretty down and beat from dealing with the murderous Jezebel and her husband Ahab. She had set her sights on killing him! We see later on in the text that the Father meets him and lifts him out of that state and that he overcomes in the power of the Lord! Like I said, no one is immune to those moments……not even superstars of the Word like the Prophet Elijah. We all have a tendency to try to do it on our own and go it alone.

So, if you have found yourself in a place where you are vulnerable and exposed don’t lose heart and do not grow weary. He is right there and He will not leave you. Remain in Him and in His Word. Or if you have wondered away a bit, go back. Go to the shelter that he provides for you and remain in Him.


Much love and shalom,
More than a Conqueror