Tag: Feasts

A Mystery … Why Was The Priest In The Water?

… And What’s The 2000 year old connection to Abraham meeting a King?

The identity of this mysterious figure has been a puzzle to many since the writing of the Torah by (Mosheh) Moses)..(Torah, pronounced Towrah, comprises the first 5 books of the Bible.)

His name is “Melchizedek.” According to Genesis 14:18 was both the King of Salem and Priest of El Elyon.EL ELYON: The Most High God. This name emphasizes God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy. In Genesis 14:20, Melchizedek said to Abram, “blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” He understood that the Lord is extremely exalted.

The God who gives height and dignity to our low places.

 To those who have “eyes to see and ears to hear,” it may not be a complete mystery as to who this man ‘was’ and ‘is’. However providing proof of his identity is not the focus of this post, so only a basic background is presented to assist in the understanding of the connection and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions from the following scriptural evidence.

The scriptures reveal the plans of Elohay Ha Elohim God of All ‘gods’.

ELOHAI. MY GOD

The name of God most often used in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton ( YHWH יהוה ). …. Elohai or Elohei (“My God”) is a form of Elohim along with the first-person singular pronoun enclitic. It appears in the names “God of Abraham”

A plural of majesty, the term Elohim

Strong’s Hebrew: 430. אֱלֹהִים (elohim) — God, god – Bible Hub

biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm

elohim: God, god. Original Word: אֱלֹהִים.  Spelling: (el-o-heem’)

The name commonly used for God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word Elohim

 

the singular form El and Elah.

Strong’s Hebrew: 433. אֱל֫וֹהַּ, (eloah) — God

‘elohiym … ‘ĕlōwhay ‘ĕlōwhāy ‘ĕlōwhê eLoah eLoha eLoHai eloHei

Lord my God (Adonai Elohai)

Leviticus 16 gives us the instructions through Moses for all Yisra’el on how to keep the Appointed Times Of Adonai including that of the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (pronounced Yowm Kippur).

The biblical feast of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai over 3000 years ago. (It is also the birth and death day of King David.)The drama of the events at Mount Sinai is well known: It was the third day, in the morning, that there was thunder and lightning. A heavy cloud was on the mountain and there was a very loud sound of the shofar. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people toward God out of the camp. They stood at the foot of the mountain. The entire Mount Sinai was enveloped with smoke, for God had descended upon it in fire. Its smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace and the entire mountain trembled violently (Exodus 19:16-18)

The national response was ‘Na’aseh v Nishma‘ which means, “We will do, and we will hear.“

This declaration amounts to a commitment to carry out Hashem’s commandments –

even before hearing what the observance of those commandments actually involves. 

Only someone who is totally willing to shape their entire life around Torah observance, as the supreme act of love toward Hashem, would be willing to make such a commitment.

Click links for more on Shavuot & Yom Kippur and Appointed Times of Adonai

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

If you are familiar with the 7 Appointed times Adonai, then the following note concerning the scapegoat and lots will be arbitrary.

However a brief explanation will be helpful here to enhance a more complete picture.

The High Priest (Kohen ha’Gadowl) was to take two goats and present them before YaHuWaH at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.He was to cast lots for the goats, one for YaHuWaH and the other for “Azazel” which literally means: “the goat of removal” or “the scapegoat.” Two goats were to be brought before him. He would place his hands on their heads and confess the sins of the people. One would be slaughtered as a sacrifice to YaHuWaH.

  (YaHuWaH Is used Here its the Name of God YHWH with vowels added Yud Hey Vav Hey)

The scriptures tell us that the second goat is to be offered to “Azazel,” which is a Hebrew word that literally means the following in the Hebrew Strong’s Concordance:

#5799 ‘aza’zel az-aw-zale from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:–scapegoat.

The root-words for “Azazel,” are #5795 (ez) which means “she-goat,” and the other is #235 (azal) which means “to go away.”

The idea behind the scapegoat is that it is to be sent out into the desert, separated from the people “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12).

He escapes death,

but

he carries the sins of the people with him to his dying day!

They sinned, he suffers.

They were guilty, he pays the price.

That’s what the word “scapegoat” has come to mean: “an innocent person who takes the blame for the guilty party.”

From our viewpoint today looking back, we clearly see a real and specific picture of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua’s substitutionary life and subsequent death.

(As we are seeing, everything is connected and therefore we need to take a quick look at The High Priest before unfolding more of the mystery or it will not make sense.)

The High Priest (pronounced Kohen ha’Gadowl) ha’gadol, the high priest; Aramaic: kahana rabba) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Previously, in the Israelite religion including the time of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, other terms were used to designate the leading priests; however, as long as a king was in place, the supreme ecclesiastical authority lay with him.

The official introduction of the term “high priest” went hand in hand with a greatly enhanced ritual and political significance bestowed upon the chief priest in the post-Exilic period, certainly from 411 BCE onward, after the religious transformations brought about by the Babylonian captivity and due to the lack of a Jewish king and kingdom.

The high priests belonged to the Jewish priestly families that trace their paternal line back to Aaron, the first high priest of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and elder brother of Moses, through Zadok, a leading priest at the time of David and Solomon. This tradition came to an end in the 2nd century BCE during the rule of the Hasmoneans, when the position was occupied by other priestly families unrelated to Zadok.

Predecessors of Aaron:

Even though Aaron was the first high priest mentioned in Exodus, the legendary passage revealed the first man assumed the title of high priest of God is Enoch who was succeeded by Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, (some say this was Melchizedek), Abraham, Isaac and Levi. They are very intricate pieces of clothing.

Comprising a linen tunic, finally woven colored fabrics,

Click link for more on the special blue dye used for the robes https://www.minimannamoments.com/mysterious-secret-of-the-hilazon/

a breastplate

of precious stonesbells and pomegranates (said to have 613 seeds = to 613 laws of Torah

around the hemand a crown of gold.This was all part of the old covenant and he served as the mediator of that covenant between the people and God.In ancient Israel the ones ordained by God to offer up the sacrifices were the priesthood, the sons of Aaron who came from the tribe of Levi one of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel.

This is important to establish their lineage because of where we are going. God is a God of detail and precision and nothing was left to chance! Nor is anything a coincidence.Charts showing the line of Levites priestly calling

Holy, Kadosh in Hebrew, is that which is separate, set apart for the purposes of God and Israel was called to be a Holy nation.

To be a holy nation it had to be a separate nation. Within the 12 tribes of Israel were the Levites, as Gods ministers, this was a more holy calling than the rest of the tribes.

So they had to be separated from the rest of Israel. Then from the tribe of Levi God called the Cohanim, the Priests with a Holier calling.

From the priests, God called the High Priest with an even holier calling. So the Cohanim had to be separated from the Levites.

The high priest had to be separated even from the priests.

The ordinary garments of the priest Exodus. 28:39-43;39:27-29

The officiating priests wore 4 pieces of garments: Ex.28:42 (1) white breeches Ex. 28:40 (2)White Linen garment; (3)White linen sash; (4)White turban. (Only by birth can one be a priest.)

The other Levites were employed in more menial tasks, such as the housekeeping of the tabernacle, keeping oil in the lamps, transporting the Ark of the Covenant, taking down and setting up the tabernacle when moving, and related tasks in assisting the priests The priests could offer sacrifices for the people, burn incense on the altar, and teach the law. The Aaronic (or Levitical) Priesthood thus functioned only within the tribe of Levi, and the right to have it conferred upon one was determined by lineage and worthiness. The lineal restrictions of that Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood were lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled, and thereafter the offices of the priesthood were conferred upon worthy men without limitation to the tribe of Levi. Numbers 8. (10)

Every degree of holiness, was matched by an equal degree of separation. That which is Holy must be separated.

The priestly divisions or sacerdotal courses; (Hebrew: mishmar (מִשְׁמָר)); are ritual work groups in Judaism. According to 1 Chronicles 24, they were originally formed during the reign of King David.

These priests referred to as “descendants of Aaron.” In the biblical traditions upon which the writer of Chronicles drew, Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. However, Nadab and Abihu died before Aaron (incident of offering strange fire); and only Eleazar and Ithamar had sons. In Chronicles, one priest, Zadok, from Eleazar’s descendants and another priest, Ahimelech, from Ithamar’s descendants, were designated by King David to help create the various priestly work groups.

Sixteen of Eleazar’s descendants were selected to head priestly orders while only eight of Ithamar’s descendants were so chosen. The passage states that this was done because of the greater number of leaders among Eleazar’s descendants. Lots were drawn to designate the order of ministering for the heads of the priestly orders when they entered the temple in Jerusalem.

Each order was responsible for ministering during a different week and shabbat and were stationed as a watch at the Tabernacle. All of the orders were present during biblical festivals.

Their duties involved offering the daily and Jewish holy day sacrifices (korbanot in Hebrew), and blessing the people in a ceremony known as nesiat kapayim (“raising of the hands”), the ceremony of the Priestly Blessing.

Following the Temple’s destruction at the end of the First Jewish Revolt and the displacement to the Galilee of the bulk of the remaining Jewish population in Judea at the end of the Bar Kochva Revolt, Jewish tradition in the Talmud and poems from the period record that the descendants of each priestly watch established a separate residential seat in towns and villages of the Galilee. (The location of the Galilee is obviously significant)

They maintained this residential pattern for at least several centuries in anticipation of the reconstruction of the Temple and reinstitution of the cycle of priestly courses.

Specifically, this Kohanic settlement region stretched from the Beit Netofa Valley, through the Nazareth region to Arbel and the vicinity of Tiberias. 

In the synagogues in subsequent years, there was a custom every Sabbath, of publicly recalling the courses of the priests; a practice that reinforced the prestige of the priests’ lineage. Such mention evoked the hope of return to Jerusalem and reconstruction of the Temple.

This is all important because of who was ministering in his appointed cycle was non other than Zechariah, a priest of the course of Abia/Abijah,who was performing his priestly service and the Temple of Jerusalem.

Luke 1:5-2:20. Clearly explains this story it is carefully placed in geography and time. Luke relates this not as a timeless legend, but as an historical event.

Zechariah in his youth had married a woman named Elizabeth. They had never had any children and now That they were “well along in years” (Greek probaino, KJV “stricken”) may indicate that they were over sixty, since sixty years was considered “the commencement of agedness.”; They were “upright” (NIV) or “righteous” (KJV, Greek dikaios), not meaning perfectly sinless, but “pertaining to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, upright, just, fair.”

They were a kosher, respected, priestly couple who took seriously what it meant to obey God in every way that they knew. They lived in dark days, during the bloody reign of Herod the Great (37 to 4 BC). Yet life went on, and for most of the year, Zechariah and Elizabeth live in a small village “in the hill country of Judea,” south of Jerusalem (Luke 1:39), except when Zechariah’s priest-division is on duty in the Temple.

According to Mosaic law, priests weren’t required to marry a wife from the Tribe of Levi (Leviticus 21:7, 13-15), but for a priest to have a wife from Levi’s tribe was considered a twofold honor.

Zechariah belonged to the priestly division of Abijah/Abia

from the tribe of Levites.

Religious workers in Israel were divided into two groups, Priests and Levites. All were descended from the Tribe of Levi, but, additionally, the priests were descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron. Priests were set apart for a special ministry in the Temple with regard to the worship of God that took place there. 

“Once, when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.” (1:8-10)

The priests were divided into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles 10:7-18), of which Zechariah’s “division of Abijah” is eighth in the rotation. Priests and their families would live in Jerusalem or in various nearby villages, but when their division was called up for duty for a week, twice each year, the priests would come to Jerusalem to work in the Temple.

Each day about 50 priests would have been on duty, with perhaps 300 on duty during a given week.

Every priest had a specific amount of days each year to perform those tasks and it was done in rotation. 

Luke 1:9 This day, Zechariah is “chosen by lot” to go inside the temple and burn incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. It is considered a great honor. Since there were a large number of priests, no priest was allowed to serve as the officiating priest more than once in his lifetime. Sometimes the high priest himself officiated. Jeremias remarks:

“For the incense offering, two priests had to help the officiating priest who was chosen by lot for the office. One brought glowing coals on a silver firepan from the Altar of Burnt Offering to the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. The second took from the officiating priest the bowl in which the dish of incense had lain until the censing was finished.”

As the officiating priest, it was Zechariah’s job to place incense on the heated altar and then prostrate himself in prayer.

The incense represented the prayers of the people.

Outside, the people were reciting this prayer during the incense offering: “May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people.”

It was at that point that an angel of the Lord did indeed enter the Holy Place. (1:11-17)  The angel Gabriel comes to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth would in her old age give birth to a child. and announced the identity of his son.

God fulfilled the ancient hopes of Israel through the fulfilling of an old couples long lost hopes for a child. And this is highlighted because behind Zechariah’s name is a mystery.

Zechariah’s real name was Zicharyah.

Zicharyah means ‘God has remembered’.

Elizabeth’s real name was Elishevah.

Elishevah means ‘the oath of God’ or ‘God is my oath’ Ex.6:23

Zicharyah and Elishevah where joined in marriage so, “God has remembered’ was joined to ‘the oath of God”!

The marriage of the two lives created a prophetic message.

God has remembered the oath of God.

This was a sign to Israel that God had not forgotten his promise but in actual fact was about to fulfill it. When God remembers his oath/ promise then the oath/ promise bears/ brings forth life. So here Elishevah will have a baby who will be known as John the Baptist. However his real name in Hebrew is Yochanan, which means ‘the grace of God/”Yahweh is gracious”.

God’s remembrance of his oath/ promise causes the birth of the grace of God.’ The grace of salvation, the very thing that would come forth out of John, fulfilling His promise/oath.

When Zicharyah/ ‘God has remembered’, gave praise to the Lord, he was declaring that God had performed the miracle, to remember His Holy Covenant, the promise/oath which He swore to Abraham.

God never forgets His promises nor ever breaks his Word, for He is always watching over it to perform it and even out of the broken, the barren and the seemingly impossible, comes – the Yochanan, (the impossible/the miracle).

He was the only priest in the history of the levitical priesthood whose birth was announced by an angel in the sanctuary of the priests.

Leviticus 26:40 – 42; Luke 1:4 – 17, 72 – 73;

You are to call him John (1:13d), which means, the grace of God or”Yahweh is gracious” which, when we think about it, was John the Baptist’s chief message: baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Announcement of the Birth of John… When the baby is born:

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth (15c). Under the Old Covenant, to be filled with the Holy Spirit was rare — the privilege of a few prophets priests and kings only.

During this time, outside the Temple….“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.” (1:21-22). 

(Due to the subject of the post and the need for extra details in tying it all together, the conclusion follows in part 2! )

Shalom!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

Shavuot 2 x 3000 = A Marriage Made in Heaven – Conclusion

According to the scriptures, at the Beginning when God’s relationship with His creation was broken through disobedience/sin, He had to send them out of His presence. However He was already working on the plan of redemption and restoration, which was declared in Genesis, the book of Beginnings.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Berashit bara Elohim ET את Ha Shamayim V’ET ואת Ha Aretz.

When Jesus/Yeshua said “I am the Alpha and the Omega” Greek (Alef Tav את in Hebrew/Aramaic) (Rev.22:13), He was possibly meaning much more than just that.

Was He saying He was there in the beginning?

(This can be said to be true, if we believe that He said, If you have seen Me you have seen the Father and I and My Father are One.)

to see more on this click link below

NAIL I AM

Continued from Part 1:

Before The Lord/Adonai could fulfill the promise of a Redeemer, He made various covenants with people of faith including Noah, Abraham and Moses. Each time His people chose to worship/serve other gods and betrayed their relationship with Him.

Often described in scripture terms as equal to adultery committed in a marriage covenant relationship.

Each time it did not end well and their enemies conquered them, exile and captivity ensued. After the years of bondage and slavery in Egypt He answered their cry and prepared Moses to lead them to freedom where He wanted to bring them into a stronger covenant relationship; which was the equivalent, in mutual commitment, to a covenant of marriage.

This was completed at Sinai.

This legal agreement enabled Adonai to instruct the building of the Ark for His presence to dwell with them and fulfill His part of the covenant in many ways.

After generations of living in the promised land, Israel was again unfaithful to their commitment and again enemies conquered and led them captive. Adonai was waiting to fulfill the promise of a re-new-ed covenant; a better one that would not require continual animal sacrifices of blood to atone for sin. It could be said in other words that He wanted a fresh start and to re-marry Israel.

However from the original decrees, the only way for an individual to remarry was if a spouse died. So to betroth Himself once again to His people, the redemptive plan was that He came and died and then made the new covenant in His own blood, so that once and for all time it would pay the required price for sin. According to scripture, we are part of His espoused bride-to-be; we are in covenant with Him and engaged to Him, waiting on the return of our bridegroom, to complete His purpose and reunite us with Him.

Shavuot 2 x 3000 = A Marriage made in Heaven – Our God is a consuming fire. Conclusion and connections:

We too have been set free and received salvation to serve Him, to follow Him to embrace His Word, His Will, His Way and in our submission to His will, we become part of His purposes and plans. To receive His salvation and then continue to live our own lives, our way, is tantamount to a child receiving a gift in return for the promise of doing a task; who then takes the gift but never fulfills the promise of the commitment they made in agreeing to do their part.

The Hebrew understanding of Believe is that of change. Although repentance basically means to change your mind; it means to turn around and head the opposite direction. We are to be not only hearers but doers also.

The fire of God brings cleansing. Malachi tells us it’s a spirit of burning. Why do we need it? Because in Jeremiah 17:9 the word says

I the LORD search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

This fire of judgment in the re-new-ed covenant is to burn away all that will stand between us and His continuing Presence.

 

Those who have walked through the fire leave sparks of light everywhere they go.

The Holy Spirit creates the passion of God in our hearts. After the two traveling disciples talk with the resurrected Jesus, they describe their hearts as “burning within us” (Luke 24:32).

After the disciples receive the Ruach/Spirit at Shavuot/Pentecost, they have a passion that lasts a lifetime and compels them to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). Even unto death, as all except John were killed.

As we invite Him, to sit with us, (spiritually speaking), and open the scriptures to us. As we read His word, our hearts will burn within us. 

The prophet Malachi 3:1-6 wrote that the Lord would send His messenger of the covenant, and asks who will be able to stand, to endure in that day, … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

For He is like a refiner’s fire and … by the ministry of His Word and the convictions of His Spirit/Ruach..

For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. … It says in Malachi 4:5, … “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.”

Like a refiner’s fire, which separates the precious metal from the refuse.

So according to Malachi, God will begin refining us with fire, … the Spirit of God is in us, refining us, this is what the fire of Pentecost is and does for us. Many refer to it as baptism in the Holy Spirit.

There are several main parallels between the 2 events:

One parallel is fire. At both Shavuots, fire was present. At Mt. Sinai, we are told that God Himself descended as fire. He was the fire that engulfed the mountain. In the Upper Room, He was in ‘tongues of fire’ descending upon the disciples.

We can deduce from the texts that if He descended on the mountain as fire, it’s a safe conclusion that He was also the fire that descended on the disciples in the Upper Room.

A common misconception is that until that day, the Holy Spirit was not present in the world. Yet we read at various places in the Bible where it is clearly stated that the Spirit of God was present before the outpouring at Shavuot.

Some of these instances, include the creation of the world (and specifically the creation of man), the Psalms consistently declaring the praises and wonders of His Spirit, and references in Haggai, Nehemiah, Zechariah, and Isaiah that the Spirit of God taught and directed Israel.

In addition, the Spirit of the Lord filled the people with the knowledge of how to build the Temple and its furnishings. The Spirit instructed Moses how and whom to appoint as the 70 elders. Joseph, Joshua, Saul, David, the Judges of Israel, and the prophets of Adonai are all said to have had the Spirit of God upon them. These are just a few, of the many examples, to show how extensively the Holy Spirit of God was present in the world before the Upper Room.

Fire is also a commonality because it is typically related to cleansing and judgment.

Think of all the times we see fire used as a tool of God.

Is it possible these times were also instances of the Holy Spirit of God? What does it tell us about the connection between judgment, His Spirit, and cleansing/purification?

Another parallel is that, in both cases, after the Spirit of God appeared, He then presents His people with the Torah/Teaching/Instruction/Scripture. Holy Spirit was present at Sinai and Shavuot filling the people with knowledge.

At Mt. Sinai the Torah was given twice on stone tablets through Moses. In the Upper Room, the Torah was written on the hearts of believers directly through His Spirit.

Deuteronomy 31:16-21 

Here these verses indicate that God knew the covenant written on stone tablets would be broken. He knew before they ever sinned against Him that their necks would be stiff and their hearts would be hard.

However, God also foretold of a time when He would renew this covenant with His people and would write His Torah on their hearts.

“See, the days are coming,” declares The Lord, “when I shall make a renewed covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, … I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:31-34

Adonai says that He is going to make a new – or renewed – covenant with the House of Israel. Notice, however, that the Lord’s new covenant still involves Torah. The new covenant that we as believers are part of still requires us to guard and observe God’s Word/ Torah/Teaching/Instruction/Scripture.

It is common doctrine in today’s churches that Christians no longer have to keep ‘Torah’ as part of the new covenant under grace. But clearly, it seems The Lord never actually said that. He tells us that He intends to release His people from their captivity (of sin) and that He would then write His Torah in our inward parts and on our hearts. Why would He do that if it was no longer pertinent to salvation and relationship with Him?

He is essentially saying that He will make Torah a part of us; that it will be so precious to us and so inseparable from our lives that it actually becomes part of our makeup; and that we can never be separated from His Torah/Teaching/Instruction/Scripture.

Hence the Word was made flesh and lived among us. He is the Living Word the Bread from the Heavens, The Bread of Life. In the beginning was the Word….. John 1:1

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua told us to ‘Eat My Flesh’ meaning to take Him into ourselves. He is our daily Manna. We are to chew, ponder/think on and digest/absorb Him/His Words.

Tradition has it that when the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai, it was given in 70 different languages.

Perhaps this is also a foreshadowing of the division at Tower of Babel into 70 languages and of the captivity in many nations which Israel would find herself in generations later? Is it because of this captivity foretold by The Lord that it became necessary for the disciples to speak in many languages? Jesus/Yeshua had to send the disciples out to the nations because that is where the captives of Israel were! This is why it so important to believe that we are part of Israel…just as Ruth did.

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures… just as He did in Emmaus. Saying that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these matters. And see, I am sending the Promise of My Father upon you, but you are to remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high. Luke 24:44-49

See post https://www.minimannamoments.com/seeing-jesus-on-the-way/

Malachi called prophetically for the WAY to be Prepared

One more connection that now makes sense, is with John who in his call to repentance, makes us aware of our need for a Savior. Scripture refers to this again when it states that Mark says that “John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Mark goes on to say that “this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” (Mark 1:4,7,8)

Usually when we think of the call for us to repent, we think that it means that we are to be sorry for our sins. But this is not repentance. It is choosing to turn away from our sinful ways and head in a different direction. And this is precisely what John the Baptist called for the people of his day, and also calls for us, to do.

The Israelites passing through the Reed/Red sea was the prophetic shadow of being immersed by water baptism.

John is telling us of the need we have. He is reminding us that we like to head off in wicked, (out of harmony with God’s), directions and down other trails, like Emmaus roads and the one back to Egypt. He is sharing with us our need to repent. He is preparing us and our hearts for Messiah Jesus by reminding us of our spiritual situation.

John isn’t giving us the answer to the problem, he is just reminding us of the problem. He is reminding us that we are sinful beings, in need of a Savior. John’s message prepares us for Messiah Jesus’ message, then He enters the scene and meets the needs that John has reminded us we have.

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, through His incarnation, through His life and teaching, through His death and resurrection, offers us the path to true repentance. Messiah’s death and resurrection doesn’t make sense if you don’t understand our need for it as John shares it. John’s call to repentance is impossible to truly follow if we don’t have Messiah Jesus to live that out for us and sacrifice Himself for us.

Acts 2: 1-8, 12-21, 37-41

And when the Day of the Festival or Feast of Weeks, [Shavuot], Pentecost had come, they were all with one mind in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from the heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared to them divided*tongues, as of fire, and settled on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Set-apart Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them to speak.

Now in Jerusalem there were dwelling Jews, dedicated men from every nation under the heaven. And when this sound came to be, the crowd came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to each other, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how do we hear, each one in our own language in which we were born?”

*(Divided tongues was with reference to clean /unclean animals so more than likely this was a sign to confirm to them that it was a kosher spirit of holiness.)

And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each one of you be immersed in the Name of Yeshua Messiah for the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Set-apart Spirit. (The Ecclesia the called out ones the congregation of believers in Jesus, Messiah Yeshua.) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as The Lord God our Elohim shall call.” And with many other words he earnestly witnessed and urged them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation.” Then those, indeed, who gladly received his word, were immersed. And on that day about 3000 beings were added to them.

Back to Malachi 3 again.  It begins by talking about a messenger who will prepare the way but then it tells us that, “suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.” This is a different messenger.

This messenger of the covenant is Messiah Himself. And His coming isn’t necessarily going to be the wonderful thing that we all look forward to. Let us continue in Malachi, “who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

It doesn’t sound like the most comfortable process! And yet this is what we are told that Jesus is and does for us. Again, this only becomes the good thing that it is when we accept John the Baptist’s message that tells us of our need to repent. Moreover when we do repent, when we do turn ourselves over to Jesus, we discover that He is a launderer’s soap, that He is a refiner’s fire. And for a brief time this whole Discipleship life doesn’t seem like the most wonderful thing we imagine. However without our enduring some heat how could there be refining fires? Many do not make it…

Some people are lost in the flames of the fire and some are built from it.

This refiner’s fire: Not only is Jesus the refiner’s fire, He went through it Himself. The refiner’s fire that Jesus puts us through; He went through it and suffered and died for our sake so that we would not have to deal with the flames. In becoming the type of the sacrificial red heifer that was burned, Jesus took that fire upon Himself, though He did not have to, and Jesus offers us salvation from our sins because of what He did.

He then tells us that if we truly want to follow Him, we are going to have to go where He leads? Jesus doesn’t promise us complete prosperity and ease of life. What Jesus does promise, is a life that will have suffering in it, a life that will have difficulty, a life of pain and trouble, but a life that is good. He offers us a chance to follow Him, but He tells us that this will be like sending us through a refining fire, like brushing us with a hard soap.

We need to realize that the difficulty, the fire, the soap will not be there to destroy us or to hurt us. It will be there to make us stronger, to help us grow closer to Him. If we pay attention to the message of John the Baptist, we realize our need for Jesus. If we accept John’s words we acknowledge our need for refining. And when Jesus comes and offers us a life of following Him we discover that though this life may be hard, it is the most wonderful thing we can do to follow Him.

By the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.–The word for “spirit” Ruach, is better understood in its more literal meaning, as breath or blast, as in Isaiah 30:27-28; Isaiah 40:7.

The word for wind, breath or blast (same as, breath of life God breathed into Adam.)

(Psalm 18:15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the … by the breath of his nostrils. Exodus 15:8,10 And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together. Ex 14:21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

God opens the sea with a blast of His nostrils!

‘There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.’

2 Sam 22:14-16 The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. 15 He sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning confused and troubled them. 16 The channels of the sea were visible, the foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

Fire and Wind together.

Ruach has another meaning it also means the Spirit. In Hebrew Holy Spirit is the Holy Wind/Holy Breath. And just like trying to press against the wind, it gets harder, for it creates drag and we get tired when we walk against the spirit. He creates a drag on our lives.

Because the Spirit of God is Holy, it blows in the direction of the Holy and against the direction of the unholy. Consequently, when you turn around and walk back the same way you came, you are walking in the direction the wind is blowing, so the wind actually helped you walk. Similarly, if we turn around, change our course, if we repent, the drag will disappear. Then the spirit will empower us and we will move forward much easier, as the Holy Spirit of God will always be at our backs. The wind is always at our back. He is our rearguard.

A big measure of Holy fire comes in the baptism.

Matthew 3:11-12  …He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire … gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

 Matthew 3:11 also indicates that the baptism with the Spirit will have the effect of burning out the chaff. So again, this Holy Spirit fire also has a beneficial cleansing effect in our lives.

The more the wind of the spirit blows, the hotter the fire burns.

The Holy Ghost baptism is an impartation of Spirit-fire! When the 120 were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the tongues of fire that appeared upon them was further evidence of this being an impartation of Holy Ghost fire.

The purpose of this Holy fire, of this Godly passion, is expression.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

It must not, it “cannot”, be held in.

The prophet experienced an inner pressure to speak, to declare, to express the name of God and the word of God.  The bottled-up word of God was “like a fire”inside him, and he could not hold it in.

Jeremiah 20:8-9  …if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

If you bottle up fire, pretty soon it dies out, no oxygen, no breath of life. So open up!  Speak out His word from within you. Two things will happen: (1) the fire will touch others; and (2) God will feed and increase the fire within you.

Live a life of spiritual readiness.

Tend your inner fire, keep it burning.

Otherwise, it will fade out and end up being only faintly glowing embers.

Treasure the Holy Spirits anointing… stir it up.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Let Him talk to you and open His Word to you.

Share the fire, express it, give it out, speak up.

Do these things, and God will keep His holy fire burning within you. And you will find yourself continually bearing fruit for Him, both in your own life and in the lives of others.

In the waiting in Jerusalem their strength was to sit still they had to be patient. Patience undergirds faith, for it is the basic building block of faith, an absolute necessity in the foundation and life of every believer in order to really and fully know God.

Here is a reason for the days of the Omer. The disciples were not sitting around doing nothing, they were spending their days immersed in the Word of God/Torah.

Following God’s directions, according to the annual Appointed Times. To be at the right place at the right time at the conclusion of the Omer. The 50 days the time of preparation making ready to receive Holy spirit.

After meeting with Jesus, the two on the Road to Emmaus were turned back to where they had been told to wait. He had said, wait here in Jerusalem, they chose to leave and go another road.

Temptations of the flesh (‘carnal christianity’) Do we do it OUR WAY, when faced with:

Despair – do we just give up?

Precipitancy – Do we do something to stir ourselves – ‘we’ must be doing, ‘we’ must do it?

Presumption – Expect a miracle march into the sea asking God to bless ‘our’ going?

Or Cowardice – the world’s WAY – Retreat – go back to the worlds WAY of action and what we were familiar with.

Or THE WAY/HIS WAY – Wait on the Lord, which is the posture of an upright man/of righteousness. Ex 14:13 Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

The fire of God came to them in person and opened their eyes, when He opens your eyes, no man come close them. In which direction are we traveling on the Emmaus Road?

Are we on the Emmaus Road A-WAY from Jerusalem or on THE-WAY to meet with Him and be empowered?

Let’s make sure we are headed for the place He told us to be. The place where He will meet with us and impart to us all that we need, to be His disciple and to fulfill our call.

Another parallel is that, in both cases, after the Spirit of Adonai appeared, there was redemption and restoration; which we learned from the story of Ruth and Boaz. 

And in a final parallel:

it can be seen in both of these examples of Shavuot, that we are the first-fruits being offered to The Lord/Adonai. It is a time of the giving of the harvest. We are the harvest that is being offered. But we cannot bear fruit if we are not first connected to the Vine.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it bears more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Stay in Me, and I stay in you. As the branch is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it stays in the vine, so neither you, unless you stay in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who stays in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me you are able to do naught! If you guard My commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love.” John 15:1-5, 10

The Holy Spirit /Ruach haKodesh, has always played an important role in Shavuot and, as seen from these examples, Holy Spirit /Ruach haKodesh is an integral part of the covenant between Most High God/El Elyon and Israel.

Once we allow the fire of Adonai to cleanse, judge, and declare us purified, only then are we able to receive the Torah of Adonai that keeps us from sin and allows us to draw near to El Elyon. It is El Elyon’s desire that we love and guard His Torah to such a degree that it becomes inextricable from our very being. 

Torah becomes who we are; it becomes the very essence of our being.

 Once we hear and receive this message of Torah and redemption in our own language, then we become the ‘redeemed of Israel’ and are restored to our rightful place under the covering of the Most High God –El Elyon! It is only then that we can offer ourselves as first-fruits to Adonai to serve in His Kingdom and to declare the Good News: that the captives of Israel have been freed by the power and blood of Yeshua haMashiach – Yeshua the Messiah!

Offering ourselves to the Lord/Adonai is the ultimate gift of love we can offer Him. “No one has greater love than this: that he would lay down his life for his friends.” By giving Him our lives, our hopes, our fears, and everything that we will ever become, we are saying “I choose you. I choose all that You are and all that You have for me. You will never cease to be more than enough for me; You are all I will ever need or desire. I choose to love You and obey You. I choose to lay down my life for You.”

This “sacrifice” becomes our wedding vow to our King. And that is the real love story of Shavuot.

At the beginning of His ministry He met with John the Baptist and He was baptized even though He had nothing to repent for.

And at the end of His ministry He died the death of a criminal though He had done no criminal act.

This is the real message of Shavuot:

No one has greater love than this — that he should lay down his life for his friend.

It is the love story between The Lord/Adonai and Israel.

In examining the parallels between the first Shavuot that occurred at Mt. Sinai and the Shavuot that took place in Jerusalem in the Upper Room.

Both of these events have to do with a marriage.

The law has to do with Israel being married to the Lord (the Torah functions as a ketubah, a marriage contract between Jehovah and Israel, just as the New Covenant does for the Church, the bride of Christ). 

For this reason,  it is traditional for the book of Ruth to be read in the synagogue every year during this festival. Wouldn’t it be just like the Lord to call His bride home on such a special day as this? If not this year, maybe next…. One thing is certain.. He will fulfill His Word and Keep His Promises.

3000 died and 3000 lived… both were ‘marriage covenants’.

The fulfillment of ours with Him will be in the Heavens/Ha Shamayim.Revelation 19:7,  “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

For the spirit and the bride say come! Rev. 22:7

2 x 3000 = a marriage made in the Heavens!

Ruth, Boaz, Moses, Israelites in wilderness, Torah, Spring Feasts, Pentecost, Shavuot, Ketubah, 10 Commandments, Power, Fire, Wind, Reed Sea, Sinai, Malachi, John the Baptist, Cleansing & Purification, Baptisms, Yeshua, Emmaus Road, Disciples, Preaching the Gospel, Covenants, Ruach HaKodesh, Hearts, and Weddings…Genesis to Revelation.. Everything is connected!

Other references…

First Fruits

50 Days Later-An Earthly and Spiritual Harvest: Pentecost-Shavuot

See post https://www.minimannamoments.com/seeing-jesus-on-the-way/

Please don’t leave this page before making certain Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

2 X 3000 = A Marriage Made In Heaven?

2 X 3000 = A Marriage Made In Heaven?

In the Hebrew Spiritual Calendar, we have just come from 1st Spring Appointed Time of Passover/Pesach to the 4th Spring Appointed Time, Pentecost/Shavuot.

Pronounced sha-voo-ote.

We may have met Messiah along the Emmaus road and been compelled to return to Jerusalem and WAIT for the Promise while Counting the Omer.

These 50 days between the Feasts, are designated as a time of introspection, repentance and preparation; making ourselves ready for His coming, the outpouring of Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh.

The infilling of His power for us to become His witnesses. The Appointed Times/Feasts of the Lord, were part of the annual cycle of Adonai’s Plan of redemption and kept by the Israelites as part of their normal lifestyle.

So why are these Appointed Times important to us?

Here are some things to consider.

If we are the grafted in believers that we say we are; then, as part of the Olive Tree/ spiritual Israel, what affects Israel and what is important to them should also be important to us. We cannot be joined to them in one way and not in others and it’s not for us to pick and choose which bits we want or not.

An understanding of the meaning behind their observances gives a clear picture of Messiah and how it all fits together.

In Deut.16:10-11 and Leviticus 23:15-21, God commands the Israelites to count 50 days from Passover/Pesach to Pentecost/Shavuot. (Another name for Shavuot is Feast of Weeks). This 50 day count is known as “the counting of the Omer.”  An omer is a biblical measure of grain. 

On the second day of Passover, an omer of barley was offered in the temple signaling the start of the harvest and the beginning of the 50 day count to Shavuot. This is because it’s a commandment of the Lord/Adonai, to always remember the appointed times that He set into the calendar at the time He made His first covenant with the children of Israel.And because this was an annual rehearsal for them, which they would pass down through the generations until the time that it was fulfilled in the person of Messiah.

Exodus 32:20; Leviticus 23:15– 21. You shall count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.The Omer was parched in fire –

Fire represents Judgment – Gen 19:24; Ex 9:23 Jer 52:13, Rev 20:10

Fire represents Refinement and Purification Ps 12:6; Zech 13:9,M 3:3

Fire represents the Trials of our Faith – 1 Pet 1:7, James 1:2,3,12

The Omer was tossed in the wind – Omer tossed to the wind represents Every Kind of Doctrine – Eph 4:8-14;

A time of counting the days for (50) PENTE the COST of being His disciple. Luke 14:25. Prepares us to receive all He will release preparation through fire, repentance and cleansing leads to deliverance and freedom.

I set you free to serve Me.

(Actually meaning to return to the WAY that He had intended for humanity to walk before Him, was now given in Torah/Instructions)

This is in reference to the prophecy in Malachi and will be mentioned later.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/

This was the observance for the feast of Shavuot.It takes place seven weeks, or 50 days after the Passover/Pesach. The rabbis realized that this was the same time Moses had gone up on Mount Sinai to receive the guidelines for their new lifestyle having come out of the bondage of Egypt.(We know it as the 10 Commandments).

 So Shavuot became a day to remember the giving of the Torah directions.

It is one of and the 3 annual appointed times of the Lord when all men were required to go to Jerusalem.

then

and now. (Passover, Pentecost and Yom Kippur)So on the 50th day, the barley harvest ends and the wheat harvest begins, the change in harvest symbolized by the waving of two wheat loaves by the High Priest in the temple before the Lord.The waving of the two leavened loaves, also, representing those who would be harvested;

 both Jew and Gentile – which is why the Torah and the ‘Church’/Ecclesia/Congregation/Called out ones, share the same birthday.

On Shavuot, the holiday celebrating the harvest, the holiday of the first fruits.

Israel marks not just the giving of the Torah by God, (also known as ‘Zman Mattan Torah’, ‘the time of the giving of the Torah’.) but their acceptance of the Torah.

The integration between celebrating the giving of the Torah and our gratitude for the land, between a holiday that is solely connected to “heaven” and one connected to the earth, to the land of Israel. On the one hand, we aspire to reach the highest place, to receive the Torah, and on the other hand, we are connecting to what is under our feet, to the land and its crops to understand that building the Israelite homeland is a process that starts with the earth and continues on up to heaven. Nothing in scripture stands alone everything is interconnected and when we see how, it becomes clear and all begins to make sense.

One way the holiday is observed is through the reading of the Book of Ruth, the story of a woman who converts to Judaism and accepts the Torah.It is appropriate to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot for several reasons:

First, because it gives us a picture of how the poor were treated in the harvest season with sympathy and love.

Secondly, because in the Book of Ruth we are shown the origin of the House of David — King David was the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz. And it recounts the story of the Gentile woman (Ruth) who becomes the bride of the Hebrew Boaz, the kinsman redeemer.

Their union produced the most famous of all Israel’s kings, King David. Who incidentally, was born on this very same date (Shavuot) and amazingly Shavuot is also the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of King David.

In the Book of Ruth, it is written that when Ruth wanted to stay with Naomi she said, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.Your people will be my people and your God my God.”  Ruth first committed herself to another human being, to Naomi, and afterwards to her people and then to her God.It is well accepted that Ruth, the foreigner represents the largely gentile church redeemed by Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, as represented by Boaz, who functioned as her kinsman redeemer. It’s interesting that Boaz instructs her to stay through out the barley and the wheat harvest.  For as we have noted in Jewish tradition, the counting of the Omer is said to be a time of preparation for receiving the Torah.The Exodus was looked on as a gift, while the giving of the Torah required some spiritual preparation or readiness. This presents an interesting picture.  Do the fifty days between the First fruits resurrection of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus and the receiving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost constitute a period of ‘readiness’ for the congregation of believers, Body of Yesuhua, (church), as well? The book of Ruth is replete with symbolism regarding the gentile bride and her kinsmen redeemer.

“So Boaz, said to Ruth, “My daughter listen to me.  Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here …So, Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and the wheat harvest were finished.” Ruth 2:8,23

 If Messiah Yeshua/Jesus returns for His bride before the 50th day, she would qualify as a first fruits bride (barley); a bride who has made her self ready.  While those who are not ready would still be here after the 50th day and become part of the wheat harvest – foreshadowed, possibly by Ruth who gleaned throughout the barley and the wheat harvests? A connection to the parable of the 10 virgins and the condition of their spiritual preparedness?

Also indicated in the instructions Messiah Yeshua/Jesus gave His disciples before He ascended into heaven –

 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father has promised ” Acts 1:4

Is this why He met them on the Emmaus Road? To make sure they were where they were supposed to be?And meeting with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “But you shall receive power when the Set-apart Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judah and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4,8Messiah Yeshua/Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the promise of receiving the power of the Set-apart Spirit came upon them; because, ONLY when this happened could they begin to spread the message of the Good News!

Why did they have to wait in Jerusalem?First, we are instructed by YHVH that Shavuot is a feast celebrated in Jerusalem – Messiah Yeshua/Jesus was instructing His disciples to keep Torah.Second, judgment – and blessing – are first for the house of Israel and then for the surrounding nations. Likewise, the Good News began in Jerusalem and was sent out from there.This is also one of the reasons that Messiah’s disciples and so many other crowds of people, were still together in Jerusalem.For most the trip back home, only to return it again 50 days later, would have been too arduous, (most walked), so they stayed their through the counting of the Omer.  Briefly noted above,

the love story between Boaz and Ruth

that took place during Shavuot.But there is another love story

that takes place during the

season of Shavuot.

A love story 5,000 years in the making.

The story of a King who is scorned by His beloved bride and vows to redeem her to Himself. The story of a King’s waiting that transcends time…a price He willingly pays in order to reclaim His precious bride.

Over a thousand years after the giving of the law, when the first covenant was given on Mount Sinai,

the renewed covenantobtained through Messiah Yeshua’s /Jesus’ death and resurrection…was energized and quickened by the Spirit of God on the Hebrew feast of Shavuot.It became known as the feast of the 50th day or pentecoste because the rabbis of the Greek world had to give a Greek name to the Hebrew holy day. One of the major elements of the Good News is redemption and restoration, another parallel.

We learned from the story of Ruth and Boaz that the season of Shavuot is a season of redemption and restoration. To further this point, we learn that in Jerusalem 3,000 people were added to the assembly of believers.

Why is this 3,000 number important?

At Mt. Sinai, there were 3,000 missing from the House of Israel who should have received the Torah and didn’t because of the sin of the golden calf.And Moses saw that the people were let loose, for Aaron had let them loose, to their shame among their enemies. And Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said,

“Who is for YHVH? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him. And he said to them, “Thus said YHVH Elohim of Israel: ‘Each one put his sword on his side, pass over to and fro from gate to gate in the camp, and each one slay his brother, and each one his friend, and each one his relative.’ ” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.” Exodus 32:25-

Once the people of Israel were redeemed, they could then offer their first-fruits to YHVH. At Mt. Sinai we see this redemption take place by the marriage covenant that was established.

In comparing the exchange to a marriage or other sacred covenant. Hebrew scholars have shown that it’s Not simply the giving of Torah and giving of the Holy Spirit,but a covenant of marriage between Adonai and His beloved Israel.

The form of marriage covenant agreement is called a Ketubah;the Torah (10 commandments) were part of the ketubah/written agreement,hence the scripture

In Jerusalem thousands of years later, we see this by the ingathering of the lost sheep of Israel; the ingathering of exiled Israel from the nations.

The Spirit of God was given to the believers on the same day that the law of God was given to Israel. The old or first covenant and the re-newed covenant are joined together both being initiated on the same day.

The correlation here is that when the Law was given to Moses, judgment followed, people perished and according to the Scriptures it was about 3000.

However the amazing thing is that on the second sealing of the covenant with His people, when His spirit was given, there was salvation and eternal life for the number of those who came to new life was about 3000. Acts 2:41;

(Israel, His Beloved became His ‘wife’ אִשָּׁה Ishah, pronounced Ee-sha)

Then there’s the more complimentary, dignified word – רַעְיָה Rayayah.

3000 died

and centuries later

3000 came to life

on the exact same Holy Appointed Day of the Lord.

In 2 Corinthians 3:4 -6. Paul wrote, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. The spirit was given on the same day as the commandments were given.

This was because the Law (\commandments\ directions for living Life before the Lord;) can tell us the will of God.

However only the Spirit can give us the power to live it.

If we live by the Spirit of God we will fulfill the will of God for our lives in the same precise way that the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost fulfilled the Law of the Covenant. The outpouring of the fire of the Holy Spirit was to empower and enable His disciples then and now. Effectively, to fulfill the plan and purpose of His will in the Earth.

The manifestation of the fire was in direct correlation to the pillar of fire that was with them in the wilderness.It was His manifest presence with them along with the pillar of cloud during the day.

Elohay Ha Elohim Our God is a consuming fire.

Conclusion to follow soon = marriage made in heaven…

Haverim/Chaverim, Mishpachah

Kha-ve-ri, mish-paw-khaw’

To all Friends and Family!

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

Please don’t leave this page before making certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Exactly Was Cleopas?

First Things First:

Ephesians 6:2

Mothers are mothers 24/7, 365 days a year, every year. Mothers and single Dads, should be remembered every day! Thank you Adonai/Lord, for Mothers who know and love you and teach their children that Jesus/Yeshua IS THE WAY. (This includes all spiritual Mothers too!)

And also…

‘Who has seen such things? 

Can a land be born in one day?

Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?’ Isaiah 66:8 was fulfilled on 5 Iyyar 5708; 14 May 1948. 

Mazel Tov YISRAEL!! 

Congratulations Israel!

It’s your 70th Birthday!! 

  Iyyar 29, 5778 is 14th May 2018 and 44th day of the Omer.

It is 70 years since the independent State of Israel was established.

70 Years is a Biblical generation and has a significant connection to the words of Messiah Yeshua in Matthew 24:32-34: concerning the generation that would see the budding of the fig tree, (the blossoming/establishing of Israel). “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (70 years from 1948 is 2018). This could indicate that anyone who clearly remembers the establishing of Israel in 1948 will have to be 70+ years of age in 2018 and could be the generation that will ‘not pass away’, until all these things in scripture are fulfilled.

He is near, even at the door! Maybe closer than we think!

“The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (Hebrew: הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל‎). It was proclaimed on 14 May 1948; (5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. It declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, which would come into effect on termination of the British Mandate at midnight that day. The event is celebrated annually in Israel with a national holiday Independence Day on 5 Iyar of every year according to the Hebrew calendar”

Also noteworthy, is the Embassy of USA is slated to be moved to Jerusalem and will officially open on May 14, just days after Israel celebrates the 51st anniversary of the Six Day War and the reunification of Israel’s capital.

……………….

Seeing Jesus/Yeshua 

ALL along

THE WAY... The Emmaus WAY!

On the  Hebrew calendar we are in the 50 days between Passover/Pesach and Pentecost/Shavuot. This is the time when the disciples were acutely feeling the loss and had questions and doubts. This is just one of the times that Jesus/Yeshua appeared to the disciples after His resurrection.

At that time, it must have felt to them like that door to life, to any kind of future, had closed forever. All of their hopes and dreams of a Kingdom of God had been drowned in death and terror. Jesus/Yeshua of Nazareth – who brought healing in body, mind and spirit to so many; then inexplicably, He had been crucified and buried.

Simon and Cleopas were facing the emptiness of a world without Jesus/Yeshua and the future they once envisioned had, it seemed, been buried with Him. The same injustice and oppression of the past and present looked as if  it was all that the future now held. Anyone daring to say otherwise would most certainly end up like Jesus/Yeshua; betrayed by His fellow countrymen, tortured and then executed by the Romans.

To set a scene: It would have been very late in the afternoon on the first day of the week when Cleopas and his friend left Jerusalem to go home to Emmaus.They’d heard the morning’s disquieting talk among Jesus’/Yeshua’s disciples: the Master’s body has disappeared from the tomb and it made no sense at all. Did the Romans desecrate the tomb and remove Jesus’/ Yeshua’s body because it was their idea to prevent the tomb from becoming a martyr’s shrine and the body from becoming a religious relic?Jesus/Yeshua seemed to isolate and focus on those who are in the greatest need and He appeared to them first.

These men were in deep grief and confusion, as was Mary.

Sometimes in life, Jesus’/ Yeshua’s first effort is to help us focus on what His word says, so our faith will be established.Sometimes He hides Himself while He points us to the Bible and its scriptures, because God’s Word is the only true foundation for faith.Along the road, an hour or so into their walk, a stranger overtook Cleopas and his companion. Jesus/ Yeshua entered the men’s conversation by asking what they were discussing as they walked along. It was very odd that, coming from Jerusalem, this stranger seemed to know nothing of the bloody end of Jesus/ Yeshua of Nazareth; yet he talked like he’s a disciple of Jesus/Yeshua but they didn’t recall seeing him among Jesus’/ Yeshua’s disciples.

As the three walked toward Emmaus, Luke says, “They stood still, their faces downcast.”Then Cleopas asked, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened here in these days?” How is it possible you don’t know what has happened?
“What things,” Jesus asked?“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied, “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and the rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place” (vs. 18-21).These disciples express the deep longing and belief all Jesus’ disciples’ had cherished, that He was the long looked-for Messiah. But, they said, all their hopes are dashed.
The two go on to report incredulously, that some of the women had described seeing angels and other disciples had seen the empty tomb, but they didn’t know what it all meant.Here are some of the most powerful words in the New Testament: “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scripture concerning Himself” (vs. 25-27).The stranger shares an interpretation of scripture that the two disciples, in their grief, have been unable to understand. Luke doesn’t tell us which scripture passages the stranger refers to, however, it’s not hard to guess which ones they were.

Beginning with the writings of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy), and continuing through the writings of the Hebrew prophets, Jesus/Yeshua points out the Scriptures that foretold His ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection.

Maybe He started in Genesis 3, with the messianic interpretation of what God said to the serpent: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.’ (v. 15)Next the stranger may have turned to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 18: 17a, 18-19. ‘Then the Lord replied to me…I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.’Almost certainly the stranger would have quoted from Psalm after Psalm, including Psalm 68 and 22, the opening line of the verse was prophesying that the Messiah would cry out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” After that maybe He opened the treasure trove of prophecies about the Messiah and His suffering, for Cleopas and his companion, especially Isaiah 9:6-9, 53 and 61 and Zechariah 12 and 13?He told them that, Messiah/Jesus’/Yeshua’s, death and resurrection, had been clearly foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures. He had tried often to explain this to them, but the disciples’ minds were clouded with popular beliefs that contradicted the messianic prophecies; beliefs that turned the Messiah into a powerful earthly ruler, who would conquer kingdoms and lead Israel to national glory.There must have been a deeper earnestness in Jesus’ voice as He opened the scriptures to them. Quoting Isaiah 53 which not only predicted the manner of Jesus’ death, but clearly described His resurrection too: “After the sufferings of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied” (v. 11). “Though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand” (v. 10).
 

Daniel said the Messiah, “the Anointed One,” (v. 26) would be “cut off ” (killed) in the middle of the final week (7 years) of the 70 Week Prophecy, but after His death, He would confirm the covenant with many” (9:27). In other words, He would die, then be resurrected to continue His covenant establishing work with His people.Cleopas and his friend had been mournfully nursing their dashed hopes, but as this stranger helped them understand that what had just happened, was exactly what God predicted, and planned for since before the foundation of the earth; they begin to feel an amazing hope. By the time the stranger had connected the dots, the two disciples’ hearts were on fire. In (v. 32), the men said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They have a new understanding of what God has done in Jesus/Yeshua of Nazareth.

There is no record of how long He walked and talked with them so we don’t know, but as they neared Emmaus, it was late in the evening, and concerned for their friend’s safety, they urged Him to stay with them for the night. Luke says, “Jesus acted as if He were going farther. However they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. So he went in to stay with them” (vs. 28-29).They brought out food for dinner, and when Jesus/Yeshua took the bread BLESSED AND BROKE IT with them at dinner in Emmaus,the two disciples understand not only what the stranger has said, but who the stranger is.“Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and He disappeared from their sight” (v. 31).Imagine their shock and amazement. They have just been walking and talking with the resurrected Messiah! The two men jump up from the table. They can’t contain their excitement and joy, They’re on fire;  and in the gathering darkness, they must return to tell the other disciples what has happened and they rush back the seven miles to Jerusalem .It would have taken them several hours to return the 7 miles –not a safe and sensible trip to be making in the dark. Nor is their destination a safe and sensible one if you’ve been a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.But nothing can restrain them any longer.

The transformation of their lives that has occurred this evening is one destined to be replayed in group after group of Jesus’ followers.

When Jesus/Yeshua opens our eyes we SEE clearly for the first time in our lives.There is an amazing change that comes over Cleopas, his traveling companion, Peter and the other disciples, as they go from fleeing and hiding to boldly proclaiming that the one who was Crucified lives again. It’s not a safe thing to say and it will cost many of them their lives. But they cannot remain silent.

Somehow, Jesus of Nazareth – who is supposed to be dead, now has an existence outside of time and space and it lies beyond scientific observation or human understanding.Yet it affects thought and action, time and space. A new future, one filled by the risen Messiah, springs out of the ruins of a future, that seemed empty of all life and hope. The future belongs to God and God is there, calling us forward into a new existence.

There are many lessons in this beautiful story for us today.

Luke wrote his gospel, so that we may know the certainty of the things that we have been taught. Luke 1:4

Below the charts indicate, who was there, and how their questions were answered by the certainty of the things they’d been taught.

Jesus/Yeshua cares for all His followers. There are no “insignificant” disciples to Him. We must never feel we are unimportant to God or Heaven Plan. He gives equal care to all His children, and special care to those who are in greatest need.

So Who Was Cleopas??

Not everyone agrees!… so here are some options:

One tradition has it (and it is possible) that Cleopas was the brother of Joseph, husband of Jesus’ mother, Mary.Another claims Cleopas’ companion on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35 may have been his own wife? Cleopas wife may have been Mary, (John 19:25) ‘the wife of Cleopas who stood at the foot of the cros’.And she was the same Mary that was the mother of James the Lesser and Jude.Luke 24:34 identifies Peter as one of the two on the road. Luke 24:34 1611 KJV: Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

1 Corinthians 15:5. And that he was seen of Cephas — As mentioned Luke 24:34 , who saw him before any of the other apostles. He appeared, indeed, after his resurrection, first of all to Mary Magdalene: and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same.1 Corinthians 15:5. And that he was seen of Cephas Or Simon Peter; for Cephas was a name given him by Christ, ( John 1:42 ) .

However rabbi Paul states that Yeshua was seen of Cephas before He was seen of all twelve, which agrees with the fact that Luke mentions that it was the “them” that were with the “apostles” (verse 33) that mentioned Simon’s sighting, not the Emmaus “they” of verse 35. (1 Corinthians 15:5). This was not another Cephas, one of the seventy disciples, as Clemens suggests {g}, but the Apostle Peter himself, to whom it is certain the Lord appeared.Or was Cleopas a woman, the wife of the second person returning to Emmaus? The reference to appearing to Peter in Luke 13:35 was Simon Peter and was he the companion traveller? verse 18 names Cleopas as the other disciple.While most people assume Cleopas is a man, the Greek spelling has a feminine genitive (possessive) ending so that some scholars speculate that this could have been Peter’s wife on the road to Emmaus with him. It appears that they were going back to where they lived as indicated in the verse ‘The man came in unto their home’.

The Greek spelling of Cleopas Luke 24:19 is Kleopas while the spelling of Clopas in John 19:25 is Klopa. The letter o in klopa is omega, while the letter O in KleOpas is an Omicrom. Both words are in the genitive case with Klopa = masculine and Kleopas = feminine.Some say “Cleopas” name in high Greek (HaLane`Katara) means: “Glorious Father,” but Cleopas’ name is an abbreviated form of “Cleopatros,” a more common Hellenistic name at the time of Yeshua meaning: “son of a renowned father.”

 ?????

The fact remains there were 2 travelling back to Emmaus, which is 7 Miles from Jerusalem. Luke 1:26-38; 2Peter 2:4-11

The journey – walking and not recognizing!

Jesus/Yeshua wants to ground our faith in His word, the Scriptures, even more than giving us the emotions of joy, Jesus/Yeshua may reveal Himself to you in seemingly special ways, but never contrary to what His word teaches.The fact they did not recognize Him may have been due to His new Resurrected body being perfect, not looking anything like He was the last time they saw Him. Or maybe He could adjust His outward appearance, now He was not constrained by space and time and had supernatural qualities?
     Lastly, one can wonder what would have happened if the two disciples from Emmaus had not urged Jesus/Yeshua to stay with them.

Would they have missed the opportunity to know it was Messiah who had been talking to them?

Messiah agreed to stay only when they urged Him to do so.

Do we need to urge Jesus/Yeshua to be with us more than we do?

Not because He is unwilling, but because He never forces Himself on anyone?

How many blessings have we missed because we haven’t been more serious about seeking God, or because we haven’t urged Him to stay with us on our Emmaus journey of discovery and relationship?

What blinded them, is the same thing that sometimes blinds us, which is ??  

The Appearance to the 10 Disciples ‘While they, [Emmaus travelers], were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace/Shalom be to you.”’

Revelation – eyes open…Joy on return..

Can people SEE that we have been with Messiah?Gospel readings have given us accounts of people who looked at Jesus, walked with Jesus, and talked with Jesus but did not recognize Him.  

What is it that kept them from recognizing Him? What blinded their eyes?  What stopped their ears?

Could it be that they, had an idea, of who Jesus/Yeshua was supposed to be. They had formed Him in their minds in their own image and likeness. Yet their image and ours puts limits on the man who is essentially, God.

 So, when this man appeared to them in the garden and on the road they did not recognize Him.He didn’t fit the image they had formed.  He far exceeded it and it makes them, in a way, blind and deaf, if only for a time.In some ways seeing is deceiving.

Matthew 9:27 ‘As Jesus went on from the two blind men followed him calling and saying, take pity on us son of David.’

These two blind men began following Jesus. How could they follow Him if they were blind? Blind from birth they no doubt knew their way around the local area and were able to follow along with the crowds. And really, why would they follow him? They have not seen any miracles or witnessed any great wonders. Yet in the Scripture above they seem to be the first to recognize that He WAS the son of David, THE Promised long awaited Messiah. They heard what was happening as people were being healed and they surely heard the words that He spoke.These two blind men following Jesus could not rely on their eyesight for anything yet all their senses testified that they were in the midst of the one they have been waiting for, the great deliverer of Israel.

How often do we ignore what our senses are plainly telling us. Sometimes our faith can be so one-dimensional that we are unable to see the truth even when it’s standing right before us.

Seeing as how blind men can follow the Messiah, perhaps we too would do well to occasionally close our eyes.. And see what we can see.

The two disciples don’t recognize Him until the breaking of the bread.  Many commentators say that they saw the wounds in His hands at that time and they knew it was the Lord.  It may have been the wounds, however it was more likely what He said.  Perhaps what He said were once again, those life changing, universe shaking words, unparalleled in the history of creation: “This is my body which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”

Whether it was the words of Our Lord, the action of His Breaking Bread or His physical appearance, we do not know for sure.  What we do have is a record of the reaction of the two men, “…they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem…”  The seven mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus became a seven mile jog from Emmaus to Jerusalem – on that same day!The reaction was to run and tell others.  Mary ran too, at the Lord’s command, to tell others. Miriam of Magdala, we know her as Mary Magdelene, was by the empty tomb weeping over the death of her teacher/ rabbi. As She turned around and saw him standing there she did not realize it was Him and apparently thinking that He was the Gardener she said, tell me where you put Him and I’ll get Him. He replied by speaking her name, Miriam. She answered, Rabboni, meaning teacher/rabbi. All she could think about was that her beloved rabbi/ teacher was gone and yet He was standing right there beside her.In our day to day walk, it is easy for us to get bogged down by problems, or by what we think is missing in our lives, what we don’t have, or what we long for. We can easily end up like Miriam, so filled with sorrow, focusing on what we don’t have in our lives, blind to seeing the treasure that is right in front of us each and every day.

So, do you and I walk around kicking stones like the men/women on the road to Emmaus, or are we like the men/women on the road back to Jerusalem?  He has risen indeed!Let us run to everyone crying out, “I have seen the Lord!”

Each of us at some time in our life will find ourselves on the road to Emmaus. We each have been told fanciful stories of grace and mercy that are often more than we can believe. We have been told of stories of power beyond comprehension.Many have heard personal witnesses from others who have claimed to have seen the Savior or who have felt the presence of His love and power. The question will be that while we journey upon our own road of mortal life, how will we respond?

Will we believe those who have testified of the Savior and accept his redeeming blood, or will we lack the faith required to believe? When the Lord comes to us through the service of others will we invite them in to sup with us and to partake of those things of which we have been blessed?

Though these two disciples at first did not believe, it seems that because they were so willing to serve, that the Lord allowed their eyes to be opened and their hearts to be softened, so that the presence of the Lord would abide with them.In that moment of faltering faith and fear, that must have filled their hearts that day as they walked to Emmaus; they had not forgotten the words of their Master, to serve others. In their attempt to follow the Lord, He blessed them beyond description.Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. 

And they realized that they had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13

The Apostles Peter and John were men who were like Jesus.  One day when they went to the temple to pray, they healed a man who had been lame since birth.  Then they preached with such boldness that 5,000 people believed that same day (Acts 3–4).It was unmistakable.  Even their enemies could see that Jesus/Yeshua had profoundly impacted these men.  Could a statement like that be said of us? Could it be said of us, that we have been with Messiah Jesus?

Seeing and being with Jesus/Yeshua on THE WAY.

The greatest blessings we could ever know or have in our life, we already have.

 

Jesus/Yeshua is the answer, He IS

the way the truth and life

and He’s standing right beside us –

we just have to open the eyes of our hearts, to see the blessings and treasures that already fill the Emmaus WAY of our lives. 

The WAY begins at the Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 1 and continues through to Revelation 22:21; for the WAY, is the whole of scripture and the WAY we should go.

Complete restoration and new direction –

Forward and upward.

It is THE Truth and THE Road that leads to LIFE EVERLASTING PS.139:24.

It’s the Emmaus WAY – His Way of Being, Living and Doing, not ours and

letting Him walk with us when He chooses to come alongside and joins Himself to our journey. Then He opens the scriptures to us and in so doing, He opens the eyes of our understanding. Eph 1:17-19 that we might SEE and KNOW Him.

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE – THE BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN.

Shalom Haverim/Chaverim –

Friends,  חברים  

Phonetic Spelling: Kha-ve-ri

and Family – Mishpachah מִשְׁפָּחָה

Phonetic Spelling: mish-paw-khaw’

Shalom Friends and Family!

Shalom Haverim/Chaverim, Mishpachah

               ומשפחה חברים שלום

SHäˈlōm Kha-ve-ri, mish-paw-khaw’

Please don’t leave this page before making certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.