This Tisha b’Av, Kick the Enemy Out of Your Promised Land
On the Hebrew calendar, the 9th day of Av (Tisha b’Av in Hebrew) is a notorious date of tragedy for the Jewish people. Many major tragedies are recorded in the Bible and continue up to modern history.
The Bible tells us that Aaron died on the first day of Av. Although he was a faithful servant for 40 years, he was part of that first generation that did not get to go into the Promised Land because of unbelief. Later, both temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av, as well as many, many other calamities down through the centuries.
Month 3 – Sivan: Return, Revelation & Blessing
The month of Sivan is the third month of the year on the Hebrew calendar. The rabbis have called this season the “Season of Revelation,” primarily referring to the revelation of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, which most believe was the day of Shavuot/Pentecost. Shavuot always falls during the month of Sivan. As Messianic believers we also know the revelation of the Holy Spirit was poured out 1,500 years later on the same day. (more…)
Deuteronomy, The Book Of Love
What do you see in this image? What you see depends on your point of view, your perspective.
There’s both a white vase and two black profiles, but one of them stands out depending on the way you see things.
This same principle applies when we read the Bible. We read it from a certain perspective. It may be a preconceived notion we have. It may be through a filter of how we’ve come to understand a certain passage. It may be a perspective we were taught. If we’d never read the Bible and pick it up one day, we’ll see things through our own experiences, sensitivities, fears, orientation to life and our notions of God.
Yeshua’s Teaching on Deuteronomy 6-8
Have you noticed that the enemy often increases his efforts just as we’re about to approach a victory? We don’t always perceive what’s happening in the moment, but we notice that things get very difficult. Then all of the sudden, there’s a breakthrough in an area where we’ve been struggling or praying for.
Resting in God’s Faithfulness: My Shimetah Year
In my last post on this topic, I shared how Yehovah demonstrated his faithfulness to me very specifically over one year’s time. He replaced my fears with faith and changed my perspective to one that allows me to stay in his peace and rest every day.
A couple of years later I was working on new projects and new goals. I still had my new perspective and was still trusting God for all of my provisions, but I was still striving. (more…)
The Blessing of the 10 Commandments: A Case in Point
In an earlier post, we reviewed the lifestyle of following the 10 Commandments and the blessings it produces based on Deuteronomy 26:16-19. But God’s blessings go beyond human logic. It’s not only that if you do this, then that will happen. While that is certainly true in the natural realm, when we pursue God’s commands, the spiritual results are compounded beyond what we can imagine. (more…)
The 10 Commandments – A List or a Lifestyle? (1-4)
“He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.” (Deut. 26:19)
Those are blessings I’d like to receive! But before we “name it and claim it”, let’s look at the context. (more…)
The 10 Commandments: A List or a Lifestyle? (5-10)
At the end of Deuteronomy there’s a blessing for those who keep the commandments described throughout the book. The summary of them is in Deuteronomy 5, known as the 10 Commandments. But these commands are more than what we typically think of when we hear that reference–more than a list of do’s and don’ts, more than a checklist of how we’ve done in being a good person. These commandments describe a lifestyle in alignment with God’s character and heart and His will for us. In this 2-part blog, we’re looking at the lifestyle behind each command to see just how this blessing comes about as we align with Him. (more…)
Resting in God’s Faithfulness: Faith for Fear
In an earlier post, I shared how God had helped me identify six idols in my life – those things I put my trust in either in addition to Him or instead of Him. After a 40-day examination of my attitudes toward them, I realized they were borne out of fear—fear of losing those things I depended on for security. During that time God provided me a new perspective more closely aligned with His desire for my abundant life and which helped me to stay in his place of peace and rest.
A year later, I still kept God’s word to me on my desk: (more…)
God’s Blessing and Provision, Part 2: We’re in the Family of The Provider
In my last blog post I discussed the balance between stewarding our resources while remaining completely dependent on God during the increase in economic instability or political turbulence, civil unrest and especially natural disasters.
A wonderful example of this principle is Joseph. His leadership during the great famine of his time not only demonstrates his response to and preparation for hard times, but has additional significance for us today because of the fact that he is a foreshadow of Yeshua Himself. I believe Joseph’s story provides us a glimpse of what’s ahead for Yeshua’s followers as end-time events escalate. (more…)
God’s Blessing and Provision, Part 1: There’s More Where That Came From
With today’s fears over Covid 19, economic instability, civil unrest, random violence, political mayhem and natural disasters, it seems the Bible’s prophecies are now daily headlines.
Fear of the possibilities, or even fear born from first-hand experience, can creep in and begin to change our mindset and our focus. It’s easy to start making a plan for our security: saving more money, storing up food and supplies, buying additional insurance, making plans for various disaster scenarios, and the list goes on — all good considerations and wise counsel.
But there’s a danger even in our planning: pursuing our own plan for security can take us away from God’s. The very things we amass to keep us secure can begin to replace the true source of not only our security, but the source of all those things we’re gathering. When we take our eye off the Source, the result is more fear of the unknown and more worry about protecting it all. Before we know it, the provisions become our security instead of the One who provided them.
The key is balancing stewardship of our resources while remaining completely dependent on God for our security and provision. (more…)
The Dangers of Discontent, Part 3: The Missed Revelation
In our review of Numbers 11, we’ve seen how rejection of God’s provision (Part 1) and replacement with their own desires (Part 2) forces God’s presence out of the Israelites’ wilderness camp. But that’s not all. The story includes details that provide clues about something more God had planned.
In His mercy, I believe God hid a blessing in the midst of the incident for those who would pursue the path He laid out. While, there’s no account of any of the Israelites doing so, it serves as a lesson to us today of how God provides us a way to correct our path when we’ve gone astray. It’s a testament to God’s patience and tenacity in His pursuit of us and shows us how to stay in His will and presence. It’s a revelation the Israelites missed. (more…)
Our Spiritual Journey Inside the Tabernacle – Part 1: Yehovah’s Invitation to Intimacy
Inside the Tabernacle
I find that the more I study Yehovah’s character, the better He gets. He is awesome, holy and righteous, yet loving and patient with us at the same time. He never stops pursuing us; He desires for us to be in His presence continuously, so that He can reveal more and more of Himself to us. The tabernacle in the wilderness described in Exodus is a place where we see this character in Yehovah.
Alignment with God’s Promises Brings God’s Blessings
God has promised us so many blessings in His word. Many of these are conditional – that is, they require something of us in order for God’s full blessing to be released. Some of the most familiar are the “be-attitudes”: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:7-9)
There are three promises I’ve decided to make a pursuit of mine in recent years — promises of blessings that require my action. These are probably some of the most explicit promises of blessing in the Bible, yet possibly some of the most overlooked. I began pursuing these three within a few months of each other. Not too long afterward I felt showered in unexpected blessings. (more…)
God’s Road Map to a Life of Blessing
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8a
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” Matthew 7:12a
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33
I have come to think of these verses as my road map. (more…)
The Blessing of the Sabbath
The Sabbath – we think of the Jewish day of rest, or maybe any day when we’re not working, or the day we attend church. Yeshua says of the Sabbath, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath is one of the blessings God made for mankind to enjoy. He practiced it Himself on the seventh day of creation. Was God tired? Had all the work He’d done on the first six days worn Him out? I can imagine it could, but no — God created it along with the world and its inhabitants as a gift to man, animals and the land.
A day, 24 hours, of no work — to most people that is a luxury. When I first got a hold of the concept that the Sabbath was to be a blessing for man, and decided to try it, it was difficult. (more…)
Messianic Sabbath 