At this point in the calendar, we are just a little over
40 days
since Passover/Pesach.
Luke 24:50 51 tells us
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Jesus/Yeshua appeared to them on many occasions in
different forms following His resurrection;
Revealing His Deity to them and
testing their faith in Who He was.
After these 40 days He ascended.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a]from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Luke 24:13-16
After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking along the way to the country. Mark 16:12 Amp.
After the Transfiguration happened to Yeshua/Jesus, we have no personal life experiences that are equal or similar to the events that Messiah went through from that time forward.
For 30 years He had appeared to be a normal man but He was living a perfect life as a Torah observant Hebrew/Jew/Israelite. The record of His life as written in the four Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describes only approximately the last three years of His public ministry apart from His conception, birth, notable events in His early years to age 12.
Luke 2:40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
We must remember all we read in these 4 accounts, did not occur in just a single 12 month period. Going forward from the time of His transfiguration everything is unfamiliar to us from what we already know of HIs life and ministry.
His transfiguration on the mountain was a marker in time.
Matt. 17:2 Mark 9:2
1Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, [a]let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” 8When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” Matt 17
Moses and Elijah were seen with Him and the glory He had laid aside was upon Him brighter than Moses whose face had shone with the Shekinah glory centuries before on another mountain.
and it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. Ex 34:29-35
The Voice of the Father spoke again
at the transfiguration
Matt 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
just as He had done at Messiahs immersion;
when His Spirit of Holiness was imparted.
Luke 3:21/22
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Moses and Elijah strengthened and encouraged Him prior to His fulfilling all He had come to do according to the Fathers will.
Matt.17:3
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.
He was to set His face toward Jerusalem, Gethsemane, the beating and the cross; the cruel stake of crucifixion, physical death, followed by the resurrection… and we have no experience of such an ordeal.
His execution stake/ tree/ cross is the dalet /door by which every person can enter into the life/chaim of God.
John 10:9
By His resurrection He has the right to give eternal life to anyone
By His ascension Messiah entered heaven/shamayim keeping that dalet/ door open for humanity, for whosoever will. Mark 8:34; Matt. 16:25; Matt. 20:27.
The Transfiguration was completed on the
mount of the Ascension
see the map below.
Luke 24:50-53 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
If Messiah had gone directly to heaven from the Mount of Transfiguration, He would have gone alone. He would have been nothing more to us than an unusual historical figure, but He turned His back on the glory once again and came down from the mountain to identify Himself with fallen humanity and become the sin bearer of the world.
Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ, God’s One and Only Son, laid aside His majesty to serve humanity. His death on the cross is the ultimate expression of servant leadership, when He obediently fulfilled the will of God.
Amplified Bible Phil.2:6-8 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.…
His ascension from the Mount of Olives was the complete fulfillment of the Transfiguration.
Messiah returned to His original glory but not simply as the Son of God. He returned to His Father as the Son of Man as well.
John 17:5 Amplified Bible Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed.
Now there is freedom of access for anyone, straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16.
We can come boldly because Messiah’s Blood satisfied the fullness of the Fathers covenant as payment for sin. As the Son of Man, Jesus/Yeshua deliberately limited His omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience. But now and forevermore they are His in absolute full power and authority. As the Son of Man, Jesus/Yeshua now has all the power at the throne of the Father. From His ascension forward He became and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Many will not understand the value of that until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
Mark 13:26; Matt. 16:28. assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not
taste death
till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
Many people fear and seek to avoid death at any cost, yet when we give our lives for the sake of Messiah Jesus, we see it as a sacrifice. This is because we don’t understand the value of death. Death is the doorway to something so much better and far, far greater.
He understood this…
For the joy set before him he endured the cross … fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith … at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb. 12:2.
In the verse above about tasting death…how do we explain what something tastes like to someone who has never tried or eaten it? For example to describe the taste of a pineapple or a jalapeno pepper is almost impossible, a person would actually have to taste it themselves.
He tasted death for all of us so we don’t have to.
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while [by taking on the limitations of humanity], crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering of death, so that by the grace of God [extended to sinners] He might experience death for [the sins of] everyone.
Hebrews 2:9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
There’s no way for us to see the value of death until we actually pass through the death of this physical body into the realm/world beyond time, leaving behind this natural one and see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom. His Kingdom which is not of this world/realm.
John 18:36. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
Only then will we have a full understanding and we will no doubt wonder why we feared death at all.
In Matthew 16:28
shall not TASTE death
until they see the son of man coming in his glory.
The word taste in Hebrew/Aramaic is taim – טָעִים
טָעַם verbtaste, perceive –
pronounced: taw-am’
The first century understanding of this word was that it was used: to express the VALUE of what is eaten
and also
perception as the ability to distinguish between thoughts.
Strong’s Definitions. ta`am, taw-am’; a primitive root; to taste; figuratively, to perceive:
Ps.34:8 taste and see that the Lord is good.
Here in this Psalm the word for taste is taamu
also meaning:
to taste, to perceive
encouraging us to:
put the matter to the test of experience ( 1 Peter 2:3).
There is no other way of really knowing how good our Heavenly Father is.
He gives us a little taste here and now, of what lies ahead, what is to come for those who will take up their cross daily and follow Him for the joy that is also, set before us.
The revealing of the 40 days came by way of Messiah who was recorded as appearing 12 times to His disciples in His resurrected body. John 21:14; Mark 16:14; 1Cor 15:7.
It came also by way of the testing of their faith in that, Who He was revealed in all His Glory. A risen, resurrected savior, their Messiah, Lord and King.
In scripture, specifically the Ten Commandments/sayings, there is very clear instruction that no Hebrew/Israelite or child of God is to worship and bow down to any idol, person or thing, other than our Heavenly Father.
Luke 24:52 And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, Acts 1:9;
Matt. 28:9 and as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
And some of them were unsure because of this commandment and so they hesitated..
Matt 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
And Emmaus Luke 24:52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
So when the disciples knelt down and said what they did, it was a very serious decision and confession as they were declaring that they believed He was none other than YHVH /Yaweh/ God Almighty. This is a point to remember when thinking of Jewish people who do not accept Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah; they see Christianity and Christians as bowing down and worshipping Jesus as equal to worshipping a forbidden idol putting Him before God and therefore violating the first of the commandments.
Only when the Father opens their eyes, as He did for Saul/Paul, will they see Him whom they pierced. John 19:37
One day our ascension will occur and only the Father knows when that day will be.
Ps 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written. The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
Meanwhile we are to work out our salvation soberly and faithfully, looking unto Jesus/Yeshua, the author and finisher of our faith and paying close attention to how we walk for the days are evil. Eph. 5:15 16.
Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people],
making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.
Violence is filling the earth once again, just as it was in Noahs’ day before the flood; and Lots’ day when the cities were destroyed by fire from heaven in the form of sulfurous meteorites.
and God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Gen. 6:13
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. Gen. 19:24.
We are to walk humbly and circumspectly before the Lord working the works of Him Who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light of (40) revealed knowledge.
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 Amplified Bible He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]
Having remembered His Ascension soon Shavuot/Pentecost will be here. A time to rejoice in the day in which prophecy was fulfilled; and Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness was released into the whole world, enabling Him to never leave nor forsake us and to empower those obedient disciples to fulfill His directive of Mark 16:15-18
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” And verse 19. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
There’s just a few days left of counting from the Omer. (Day 44 this shabbat). It is a good time for us to prepare and test our hearts, if we haven’t already, so that we can be effective vessels, ready to serve our King..
now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:28
Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Mark 16:15
Keep looking up family, for our redemption draweth nigh!
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
when all Israelites who were able, would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah.
This season is a very important time in personal preparation, because it is one of introspection, of self searching and examining our lives, and the motives of our hearts.
The disciples were told by Messiah to wait in Jerusalem during this period of time.Acts 1:12-26
They would have been counting from the Omer according to the instructions given in scripture.
During that time leading up to Shavuot/Pentecost, the disciples would have been praying reading Torah/ Old Testament and preparing themselves spiritually for the promise Messiah Jesus/Yeshua had given them.
Right on time, perfectly fulfilling the promise from the Father and Jesus/Yeshua, His Spirit of Holiness descended on these obedient, patient, faithful disciples.
These prepared vessels were not disappointed. Old Testament prophecies, (Joel), were fulfilled and the disciples who were ready, were totally submitted and committed to Him and they received the fullness of the equipping they would need, to do the will of the Father; and with it came the promise that He would be with them always. The spiritual seed they had planted and the obedient preparation time they had set aside was fully rewarded.
Messiah often used agricultural and farming references when teaching spiritual principles and in Hosea 10:12, 13, there is a similar agricultural reference.
Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” KJV
Amplified Bible
Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up youruncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the LORD [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.
In the days before sowing any seed, there is a very critical work to be done. When Messiah spoke of the types of ground in Mark 4, He said some of the seedfell on rocks, well worn paths and hard ground.
So what kind of Farmer plants in hard, untilled ground? or asHoseasays fallow ground. Is this farmer evil and wicked, is he sinful and corrupt in his ways? It is this why he sows in untilled soil, in fallow ground? Is he just lazy or not a very well educated farmer?
Or maybe a combination of the above?
Hoseatells us that a farmer who has failed to break up the fallow ground has in fact lost His way.
Fallow is not a word often used today, however it’s familiar to a farmer. It is land that is not doing what God designed land to do. Fallow land is just sitting there, doing nothing but produce weeds. Although it may have potential, until the farmer does something with the land, it is simply fallow; hard, dry, unused ground, useless and not helping anyone.
At this time of year many folks are out in the garden, imagining the beautiful harvest from the tender seedlings they are planting. We should remember that untilled/ fallow ground can be soft and moist at the surface and look like it is ready to receive the plants. Even though it may look good and seeds may be sown at a healthy depth from the surface; not too shallow, and not too deep, for a while it may look that the planting is successful. However the future of the crop becomes clear and proves devastating when, in the hard and unbroken ground below, the seedlings do not have anywhere to let their roots grow down.
The tender crop is then also in danger of being overrun by weeds that have been lying in wait to take advantage of them.
To make a parallel with our spiritual walk, when we leave our fields fallow and untilled, they quickly become overtaken by unwanted weeds that proliferate in the shallow soil. These weeds soon silently slither like serpents across the surface and choke the life out of our crops.
Without good healthy roots, these seedlings will burn up and be destroyed as they have no means to take in the cool life-giving moisture hidden deep in the soil. Hosea says in such ground we can only plow wickedness and will reap only perversity.
Why?
Because we did not break up the fallow ground,
till the soil
and remove the weeds.
Instead we trusted in our own way, in the abundance of our might and understanding, trusting in self.
Self-sufficiency, self righteousness and our own opinions; it is the carnal natural thinking of the life lived in the flesh. We think we are right and know how to do everything in our own strength and abilities; and doing everything without God, walking as if we don’t need him, this is pride.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man… Matthew 15:18-20.
In Matthew 13:3-8,the Word of God is referred to as seeds for sowing, and our hearts are as the soil in various conditions.
Some hearts are stony, hard to breach and have no root, others are thorny, with many barbs entwined with the lusts desires of this world. However some hearts are soft and good, having fertile soil, they have been cleansed of weeds, refuse and trash and are prepared to receive the Word of God.
InMatthew 13:24-30,Messiahteaches that it’s not only our Heavenly Father who sows His Word into our hearts – the adversary is always trying to sow evil seeds into our hearts when we’re not paying attention. These seeds can be in the form of doubt and un-forgiveness in relationships, they can be seeds of coveting, lustful, unclean thoughts, or seeds of hate, cruelty and spite.
In Matthew 12:34-35; 15:18-20. Messiah said that everything we do and say is rooted in our hearts.
Our hearts are vulnerable too if we do not guard them.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence with the utmost care; for out of it are the issues of life. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
We tend to pray, or even go into fasting, with a deep desire for our Heavenly Father’s intervention in our lives and situations, yet we often overlook this important aspect of our lives, and it is one that can either help or hinder our answered prayers, it can enhance or diminish our good works before our Father, and this is always before Him.
We do well in the areas of offering our praise, worship, time, tithes, and our sacrifices, however it’s time that we make certain we offer up our whole heart to the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we are newly born again, or are mature discipled believers, we cannot play with our salvation, nor can we afford to be near to God with our lips yet having our hearts far from Him.
We are in the end times and now more than ever, we cannot afford to lose our place in eternity because of hard, stony hearts. AsHosea 10:12 says, “break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord…”
Sometimes we can mistake our relationship with our Heavenly Father and the work we do for His kingdom as the same thing, when really, they are separate.
Taking our relationships with people as an example, we may be doing things for them without actually knowing, or wanting to know them on a deeper level. Sometimes we may not be doing these things from our hearts, but only as a means to get something in return or to further our own interests. On the other hand, when we have a close friendship/relationship with an individual, it goes beyond what you do for each other; a level of intimacy is established with that person, and we find we want to spend quality time with them. This is the same with our Heavenly Father, He wants us to know Him beyond us doing works and seeking/receiving the blessings, through Messiah. The key for us in developing a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father is only gained through a heart that has been regenerated by His Spirit and by the Truth of His Word.John 4:24.
This is why the scripture says to obey is better than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22!
It’s about our hearts.
Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26. tells us that the regeneration of the heart is a precise moment when the Holy Spirit of the Living God touches us, takes away our stony heart, and gives us a heart of flesh.This heart He gives us is tender, willing to hear and obey His voice, and is a productive ground for His Word to grow. Only when we have a heart of flesh can we truly forgive and forget.
Ezekiel 11:19shows that the heart is the seat of our relationship with our Father and it links the body, soul, and spirit together and it’s only through a regenerated heart that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth, and fulfill His commandmentsRomans 2:28-29. This clearly shows us why God is so interested in our hearts.
Again, this is why Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”
It takes a heart that is mature, to not forget Him along the way, as we handle the abundant blessings that our Father has prepared for us. Deuteronomy 8:16-18.
Concerning the area of spiritual warfare in prayer, the need for our hearts to be right before the Lord, cannot be stressed enough. We need to ask for His mercy every day, and for Him to cleanse our hearts from every emotional burden before we begin to intercede. This is because according to2 Timothy 2:3-4,we are not to intercede in prayer based on our emotions, anger, hatred, anxiety or fear. All negative emotions are based in the natural carnal part of us, but the fight we are fighting is not a natural carnal one, it is spiritual in nature.2Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:12. In the same way that soldiers fighting in the natural become exhausted mentally and emotionally and are prone to make mistakes, when we fight based on our emotions, it can leave us exposed to demonic attacks.
When we are not breaking up the fallow, hard areas of our hearts by spending time with God, reading His Word and in prayer, it becomes dry, cold, hard, and unproductive. When we are aware of these dry, cold, hard, unproductive places, we are to make some changes. If we don’t, and we leave those fallow parts of our lives untouched, they become hard to our Heavenly Father, His Word and hard towards other people.
It would be easier if God said,
“Let me break up the fallow ground of your life”
but he didn’t. He told us to do it.
So if we care at all about personal growth, being of value to His Kingdom, and making a difference both in the world and in eternity it means we have to start digging!
We have to get out the plow by applying His Word to our lives, we must look for and identify those hard, dry places in our lives and then break up that soil with His Word and by spending time with our Heavenly Father in prayer. We have to break up that dry ground, and by seeding His Word in those places we find then digging out the spiritual weeds that have no doubt grown up while we were ignoring those areas.
If we ask Him to reveal the state and content of our hearts searching deep within ourselves, we will maybe have a shock when we see what is in there. Our Heavenly Father desires that we “rend our hearts, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord our God” Joel 2:12-13.
This is the time more now than ever, for us to be sincere, open and honest with our Father. It doesn’t matter if we are mature or babes in the Lord, we still need to ask Him for an ongoing heart transformation.
Matthew 5:8, assures us that with a pure heart will we eventually see God and with a heart that is clean we may according to
1 John 3:20-21; 4:17.
have confidence before the judgment seat of Christ.
We always have a choice because our Heavenly Father has given us free will to choose. He sayschoose this day and choose life.
Deuteronomy 30:11 – 20 19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!We can make this choice by loving the Lord our God, obeying Him, and committing ourselves firmly to Him.
Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.
3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [[b]subdued, overcame, [c]deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].
5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and [d]pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and [e]seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.
6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that [f]comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].
7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.
8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
10 But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].
11 And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh.
A farmer takes a plow to that ground, turns it over, breaks it up and plants his seed. Then a month or so later he returns to see what has grown.
If we choose to not allow our hearts to remain cold, hard, dry and fallow then even hard hearts and fallow ground can become places of great blessing.
Two passages of Scripture challenge us to grow, mature and change and both are from prophets in the Old Testament warning the people of Israel, because in their service of the Lord they had become lazy and disobedient.
“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem..
Jeremiah 4:3-4a
Jeremiah 4:3 HEB: יְהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר NAS: and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, KJV: and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12)
Hosea 10:12 HEB: נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר וְעֵת֙ לִדְר֣וֹשׁ NAS: Break up your fallow ground, For it is time KJV: break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time INT: kindness Break your fallow is time to seek
Just what does it mean for me and you to do that?
The phrase unplowed ground or fallow ground
is the Hebrew noun:
nîr,
the tillable, untilled, or fallow ground.
Strongs 5213b nir: to break up, freshly till
Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nir
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: to break up, freshly till
Strong’s Concordance 5215
niyr: ground
Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: niyr
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: a lamp
נִיר noun [masculine] the tillable, untilled or fallow ground;
Hosea 10:12; Jeremiah 4:3 till you the untilled ground (figurative of unaccustomed moral action)
It’s land that could be productive, but has not been broken up, tilled, plowed, and prepared for planting. The prophets speaking from the Lord are commanding the people to break up that land and (spiritually) to plow the land that they have.
The two things the prophets spoke about fallow ground were:
one, the Fallow ground is unusable, and two, Fallow ground is unused.
A crop cannot grow in unplowed ground because it’s rock hard, and it prevents seeds from pushing into the earth, germinating, putting down roots and growing to maturity. Every gardener knows that when it’s time to put in the plants the soil must be broken up to enable the seeds to grow into it and let their roots go down deep where moisture can be found.
They were sowing seed, but because they didn’t bother to prepare the soil and pull out the thorns and weeds, the seeds planted did not produce.
By applying this farming comparison to spiritual things, the question is: What must be done so the soil is ready to receive the seed of God’s word?
For us, as we stand before the planting fields of our lives, there is a choice we have to make. Are we going to plant in the hard, unbroken, unyielding, fallow soil with a pointless and ineffective future without any promise of a harvest? Or are we now prepared and ready to break up that fallow ground in our hearts and lives? Are we ready to dig it, to lift it up, turn it over and do it again, and do it deep, really deep?
We need to ask ourselves,
What type of heart do I really have?
What has been growing in my heart up to today?
Hatred, bitterness, lust, greed, worldliness? These must be removed by their roots so a new crop can be planted. Grain crops do not flourish under the shade of trees. They must be removed so the new crop can grow in the light.
Hardness must be broken up. A plow does the hard work of opening up the ground. It is true we can dig it one shovelful at a time, but that is too slow a process. Farmers can harness some cattle or horses or use other equipment, however there are farmers without animals who have harnessed themselves and pulled their own plow while his wife or son guided the plow. It takes energy to pull the plow and guide the plow, keeping the furrows straight so the field can be plowed to it best advantage.
Is there hardness in our hearts?
Is there unbelief that is hiding in our souls?
Those who have been hurt in relationships or by a parent or guardian, they may have sealed off an area of their lives because it’s just too painful to return to it. We need to let our loving Heavenly Father break up those old simmering resentments and heal all those past hurts. He will take the strain and pull the plow, but we must point it toward those hard places in our hearts that we know we must deal with.
Sometimes our hearts have been hardened by unbelief which must be faced head on and broken up, then our Father can plant something new and fruitful in there. One way of plowing deep is by confession and heartfelt repentance.
How many of us remember the last time we were broken and humbly knelt before the Lord?
Larger rocks must be dislodged and completely removed and sometimes during the plowing process we find large, immovable rocks. If we are serious about making this field produce a harvest, it will require extensive digging along with power to lift them and move them from the field.
These can be rocks of un-forgiveness, stones of stubbornness, deep twisted roots of bitterness and jealousy that need to be severed and pulled out. Rotting remnants and dormant seeds of rejection, pride and rebellion from previous years that wait, patiently, for the perfect climate and the environment to sprout and rear their ugly heads when favorable conditions, circumstances and situations present themselves. The list is endless, yet these are the hidden things that prevent our spiritual growth into maturity and stunt the harvest that would otherwise be seen in a fruitful life.
If we have been plowing our heart, have we found some big rocks that need to be removed, but we are not able to move them by ourselves? Maybe it’s time to talk with our pastors about the rocks and stones? They will have had some experience moving rocks out of their own life because every field has rocks and stones in them.
When a field goes unplanted for several years it often become covered with thorns or other weeds the thorns must be gathered up and burned; let the purifying fire of His Holy Spirit cleanse away all that is not of the Father.
As this is also a season when we are planting for a future harvest, we are reminded again of Messiah Jesus’s parables of the sower and his seed.
In the parable of the sower, Messiah uses thorns in a field to describe obstacles in the human heart; but what kinds of thorns make the fields of our hearts unproductive?
“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22
“The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19
“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14
Depending on the type of land, the thorns may represent temptations and lust toward other people, self-indulgence, pride, anger, selfishness, a love of entertainment and recreation, addictions, greed, and many other thorns. It is important to know that any and each of these thorns can choke the Word of God; and each one has a devastating effect on the crop and subsequent harvest that God wants to produce in His children, so we must show them no mercy just get them out!
Fallow ground, unplowed, unprepared soil is unusable for any serious crop, we must “break up” our fallow ground so that it is usable.
We may have much of our lives surrendered to the Lord and they may be being nurtured and refined to produce a crop of righteousness and the fruit of His Spirit, which is great! But just maybe there’s a piece of ground, an area of our life that we’ve never quite got around to dealing with, no digging, no planting, and no harvesting, there, but it is going to waste. Just maybe we’ve put off plowing this area of ground because it’s too painful or difficult to deal with.
If we’ll break up the additional fallow ground in our lives, He will extend and enlarge our fruitfulness.
For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
The axe is laid to the root of the trees
Luke 3:9 and
Matt 3:10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Deliverance, freedom from oppressing evil spirits is not as popular a message as prosperity teaching. Yet true biblical prosperity is of the spiritual life and it cannot be lived in fullness without being set free from the bondage of sin, death and the consequences of a life lived without God.
Prov. 5:22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
These cords are the same as the rocks and stones and if we have been at the same place in our walk with the Lord for some years and are not moving forward, or desiring to go higher and dig deeper with Him, there maybe some rocks,roots and cords holding us back. These prevent our growth to maturity and it’s time to allow His spirit to not only identify them but remove them once and for all and do it deep. Only then will we become a field ready to receive the implantation of His righteousness and yield an abundance of the fruits of His grace through/by delivering freedom and healing.
While there is still time today, which is the day of salvation, let us break up the fallow ground for ourselves by yielding to Him and seeking His face. Don’t hold back any longer but let’s submit our lives completely to His Will, plan and purpose for us.
As a true disciple, willing and obedient, we must lay down our lives becauseit’s time to seek the Lord until he comes and rains righteousness upon you.
and He promises that
Is 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
NOW
is the time
to break up
these unplowed fields in our lives
and
yield them to Him and allow His growth in us.
Let our Heavenly Father expose every evil seed that the enemy may have planted in our hearts, then He can touch, cleanse, and regenerate them.
Why?
So that we may truly know Him and the power of His resurrection, obey Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Clean, stable, properly prepared vessels, are those which the Father can fill with His power.
Thank you Father for your loving kindness and goodness today; show me the fallow ground in my life. Teach me by your spirit how to break up the fallow ground of my stubborn and prideful ways and to continually seek you until you come on rain your righteousness on me. Take the seed of your words of truth and plant Your ways deep inside me so that the fruit I bear is worthy of your Name.
Break up the dry lumps in my life Father, lift me up, turn me over and then do it again and do it deep, pulling out all those hidden roots by Your Spirit of Holy Fire and cleanse me from the inside out; burn away all that is not of You. I know Your Word says that judgment begins in the house of the Lord, therefore let the shaking and sifting begin with me so that the Bride you are returning for is without spot and wrinkle; and we will be accounted and found worthy to stand before you, cleansed by your blood, separated from everything that would keep us from your presence.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
Isaiah 45:8 Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Proverbs 11:18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Galatians 6:7,8 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
This season always seems to bring conflicting choices in how families decide to celebrate. There are both positives and drawbacks in how we respond; however, it’s a great opportunity to tell others of the real reason for the christians Christmas observance. So many say holidays instead of Christmas and rather than be offended by it, we can use the term to expound on the word holidays which has its roots from the word HolyDays!
מועדים
Moedim
This word moed has often been translated as festival or feast, which is not quite accurate. Moedim is plural and they signify covenant relationship with the LORD as His Appointed Times.
We can then take the focus back to our Heavenly Fathers Appointed Holy Days, the times when He desires for us to spend time with Him in thanksgiving, praise and worship in remembrance of Who He Is and What He has done for us.
Specifically we remember the birth of His promised Messiah and Immanuel – He is with us and as Believers, born again from above, His Spirit dwells within us.
This is an opportune time to reflect on a personal level;
first, what we actually believe; and
second, can we clearly articulate it to others?
2Tim. 2:15 encourages us to be diligent and to present ourselves approved unto God a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth.
We should try to state to ourselves what we believe to be the absolute truth of God and then, we will be allowing Him the opportunity to pass it on through us to someone else. If we cannot express ourselves well on each of our beliefs then we must work and study until we can. If we don’t other people will miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth. We could start by making a goal to re express a truth of God to ourselves, clearly and understandably; and God will use that same explanation when we need to share it.
However we must be willing to go through Gods’ winepress, where the grapes are crushed and the oil press where the olives are crushed.
It pleased Him to crush Him and it pleases our Heavenly Father to prepare us thoroughly. We too will struggle because He didn’t take our spiritual education and training away so we still have to go through it. He didn’t remove it for His disciples and emissaries… they too drank the cup.
Who are we that we think we get a free ride?
He asks us the same question today…
We must study His teaching, His words, His Torah, His Tanach and Brit Chadashah; and rehearse our words to express clearly to others, the truth of His gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
His words are spirit and life and these are the words that should come from our lips; and which make up the reality of the sword of the spirit, the active part of Eph 6 spiritual armor. His words coming from our mouths not ours…His words cut through darkness and everything that has snared people in a world of sin and negativity.
If we can be ready and prepared, then when the opportunity presents itself, the same expressions of His truth will come easily and smoothly from a prepared heart. We will not shrink back or stutter or recuse ourselves from sharing what we know and believe. It’s not just the pastors and leaders of a local congregation who are to share the gospel, it’s for everyone who declares they are a believer. Don’t take another’s words but rather, state what you believe to be the absolute truth of God and it will make others and ourselves free.
We are to daily practice to study to stir our own minds thoroughly and to think through what we have easily believed. To check out for ourselves if what we have been taught in years past is even accurate.
Our position in Christ is not really ours or established, rooted and well founded, until we make it ours – it’s a choice and it will take commitment just like any relationship /marriage takes time dedication and selfless commitment.
It takes time to study and we need to be brutally honest with ourselves because when we say we don’t have time, then in reality we are saying that we are too busy for the things of God and it’s not 1st place in our lives, where it needs to be.
The one from whom we learn the most is not the one who teaches us something we didn’t know previously though that is always helpful. It is rather the one who helps us take a truth that we have struggled with and they help us give it expression enabling us to speak it clearly and boldly.
It’s only the truth you know and apply that will make you free. Just sitting listening every week and not memorizing what is said, not writing it down and not applying it, is not a productive use of our time; because we are not to be hearers only but doers of His Word.
We are so quick to justify our actions, to compromise our chosen way of spending our time. We become defensive when our choices are challenged and call the challenge being judgmental! We protect our lifestyle at all costs and the scripture says there is a way that seems right
but the end is death.
What we choose to believe – will never change the truth.
As the western calendar draws to a close and many will make resolutions for the coming year; maybe one should be… less social media time and more Word time. Less reading what others write on facebook and instead take those hours we spend seeing what others are doing and replace it with real spiritual facetime with our Heavenly Father and read what He has written for us in His Word.
Instead of the time we spend checking our email and phone text messages, let’s check our hearts and read our Fathers messages to us
for a life of godliness.
For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?
It is amazing that we have found time to spend on all the aspects of social media, yet still don’t have time for study. The one thing that will change us from glory to glory, that will strengthen us in the inner man, that will fortify us against the enemies onslaught. That which will cause us to be strong in Him and in the power of His might. Because faith only comes by hearing and hearing by the word. Romans 10:17
Not by any other means and
without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6
Maybe it’s time to lay some of these distractions aside and make a resolution to apply that time to the things of the spirit of the living God. The time to get ready for the battle ahead, is NOT when we find ourselves in the thick of the fight, but to be ready NOW and then we will not only be able to stand..2Chron. 20:20
but also able to assist others and as a good soldier not being
entangled with the world;
entangled with the world;
but also and most importantly
to endure to the end.Jesus Messiah is no longer a baby in the manger
and neither is He still hanging on a tree,
He is resurrected,
seated at the right hand of His
and our Heavenly Father in majesty and glory
and Has made the Way for us back to having a relationship with Him.
He came and died in our place taking our sins and removing them forever by the shedding of His blood. We are forgiven and made holy – set apart…
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” ..
and that we should share the good news of His gospel and GO and make disciples of all nations….
This is the real reason for the season
and it’s not just for Christmas
it’s for life – chaim!
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
13 ‘The feast of booths thou dost make for thee seven days, in thine in-gathering of thy threshing-floor, and of thy wine-vat;
14 and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, וְהַלֵּוִ֗י levivy and the sojourner hag ger וְהַגֵּ֛ר
and the fatherless, and the widow, who ‘are’ within thy gates.
15 Seven days thou dost feast before Jehovah thy God, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, for Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all thine increase, and in every work of thy hands, and thou hast been only rejoicing.
16 ‘Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose — in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;
17 each according to the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God, which He hath given to thee.
A sukkah
is also called
סֻּכֹּֽת
a booth – a tabernacle – temporary dwelling,
depending on who you ask.
(There are several alternate spellings of the Hebrew word.)
It is only for 7 days and when it is described as a
temporary dwelling,
it’s because the
sukah/sukkah
construction itself is
temporary,
it is not a permanent structure.
For 7 days each year all who are native born in Israel
are to live in these sukkah
made of tree boughs branches and leaves.
The flimsy sukkah
is not really able to give much shelter from
the heat of the sun or the wind rain and dust;
nor does it provide privacy.
There’s no protection from criminal activities and by itself it’s totally ineffective for a long term dwelling place.
The point is that, for 40 years this is how the children of Israel lived as they travelled through the wilderness...
and it serves as a reminder to all subsequent generations, and the grafted-in-believers, how our Heavenly Father
protects and shelters His children
as we continue on our wilderness journey to His promised land..
We would opt for a more sturdy building of wood, brick and concrete with locks on our doors, if we were given a choice; yet is this any more permanent and reliable than a sukat/sukkah when the forces of nature are unleashed against it?
It only takes a moment, to look at the aftermath of deadly hurricanes and floods, for us to see the devastating results.
All who are native born ……sons of Israel.
Leviticus 23
40 and ye have taken to yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palms, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of a brook, and have rejoiced before Jehovah your God seven days.
41 ‘And ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah, seven days in a year — a statute age-during to your generations; in the seventh month ye keep it a feast.
42 ‘In booths בַּסֻּכֹּֽת ye dwell seven days; all who are natives in Israel / Yisrael יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל
dwell in booths,
43 so that your generations do know that in booths בַּסֻּכֹּֽת
I caused the sons of Yisrael / Israel יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל
to dwell; in my bringing them out of the land of Egypt; I, Jehovah, ‘am’ your God.’
44 And Moses speaketh ‘concerning’ the appointed seasons of Jehovah unto the sons of Israel.
The sukkah reminds us
that our faith/trust should
NOT
be in
so called permanent structures
that have been built by human hands;
but instead
our faith/trust should be in the
One Who
has the power to protect us
in every situation and circumstance
and all adverse conditions.
We are to
abide and remain
in the
shade of shaddai….
the
shadow of the Almighty.
לְצֵל־ lezel – shade/shadow
שַׁדַּי shaddai/shadday –
strongs #5996
צל של שדדאי
shade of shaddai
צל – shade
אל שדי el shaddai the almighty
Strongs# 7706. Shadday: Almighty
Original Word:שַׁדַּי Part of Speech:Noun Masculine Transliteration:Shadday Phonetic Spelling:shad-dah’-ee or sha’da eye
Almighty: Shaddai.
Masculine noun.
Strong’s 7706.
Root: שַׁדַּי
Pronounced: sha’dah-ee.
Meaning: My Destroyer, My Protective Spirit, My Rainmaker.
Self-Sufficient, Who Is Abundantly.
From the verb שדד ( shadad ), to destroy,
or the noun שד ( shed ), protective spirit,
or the verb שדה (shadah), to moisten.
God Almighty
El Shaddai – ale shad-dah’-ee. אל שׁדי
Genesis 17:1 HEB: אֲנִי־ אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔יהִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י NAS: to him, I am God Almighty; Walk KJV: and said unto him, I [am] the AlmightyGod;
And when Abram was ninety nine years old and the LORD appeared to Abram, and he said to him, I am El Shaddai, walk before me, and be perfect Genesis 17:1
God Almighty
El Shaddai – ale shad-dah’-ee
letters: YDSLA – al shdy
Hebrew Letters:
alef, lamed, shin or sheen, dalet, yud or yod.
אל שׁדי
The Aleph is the picture of an ox head
and illustrates: the strength of an animal.
It can mean: strong, power, or leader.
The Lamed is a picture of a shepherd’s staff.
The shepherd used the staff to
exercise authority over the sheep to direct or lead them.
It can mean: teach, lead, yoke, move forward, or authority.
The Shin represents two front teeth
and can mean: sharp, eat, consume, separate, or destroy.
The Dalet represents a tent flap or door.
It can also mean:
back and forth movement as in going in and out of a door.
The Yud represents an arm and a hand.
The picture can mean: work, throw, worship
or it can simply mean: arm or hand.
The Aleph and Lamed form the root word
El which means: God or strong controller.
The Shin, Dalet, and Yud
form another root
Shad meaning breast.
Together they reveal:
The One mighty to nourish and
supply all our needs!
We live safely NOT because we have a well built house,
but because our Heavenly Father is
protecting us
and is also
providing for us
and caring for us each and every day.
Even the most reliable building is really just a
sukkah
because one day it will no longer exist.. BUT…
we will have a permanent dwelling place forever with Him.
Let’s allow Him to teach us to put our trust
only in Him
and to know that He shields us from harm because
He is our provider and protector.
This time of reflection towards our dwelling place and where we live and rest, reminds us ofPsalm 91:1-4because it’s related to the fact of not being reliant on a physical place in a natural sense….. It has the elements of a protective sinnah – shield,
and the shelter and shadow/shade/lezel
of the Almighty/Shaddai
…because is the secret place of
עֶלְי֑וֹן
El’yon
pronounced:el yown
which is
the shield and surrounding wall of His truth.
This is not a metaphorical description, it’s a real place;
as real as we allow it to be to us.
How so?
Because if we don’t believe it’s there or that it exists, how can we go there?
And if we don’t ever go there, how can we rest there habitually as the Psalmist says?
He who dwells in the shelter of Elyon,
will abide in
the shadow of Shaddai.
It’s very real, yet sometimes hard to find…
Is it because we’re looking for the wrong kind of structure?
When we read the word secret, do we think it’s hidden by some kind of camouflage?
The verse says it’s a stronghold so do we think its made of some indestructible material?
Does the shield part make us think we can’t see through it and that the surrounding wall may be so high and wide that we can’t get around or over it?
So we are looking for something our minds can relate to and in looking from the
Shade of Shaddai
we make our relationship with Him so complicated that we miss His provision, especially when it’s right where we are?
How can that be right?
Because His truth IS a shield
and the surrounding wall for us,
without the need for any additional support or fortifying;
and all we need to do is recognize that truth and
rest in the shadow of His Word – Jesus/Yeshua.
This is where we will find all the comfort and shelter we need.
With Isaiah and David the Psalmist, let’s state clearly….and not just for this week.. but going forward each and every day….
Father, YOU are our strength, our stronghold, our God and we trust in You. We are not looking for a natural fortress that’s impenetrable but we are resting habitually in Your protection, in the
shade of shadai/shaddai
because You are our
everlasting sukah/sukkah
and will one day tabernacle with us for ever.
If you haven’t already please take the time to read earlier posts focusing on the week of Sukkot/Tabernacles/Booths.
Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation because
one of these days we will leave behind this personal, physical
body/tent/temporary shelter/sukkah….
and dwell for eternity in one of two places..
either with, or without, the presence of our Heavenly Father.
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,
Savior, Lord, and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
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