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Why Do People Believe the Bible?

A Brief Summary of Things to Ponder-

1. Thousands of ancient manuscripts and fragments exist demonstrating accuracy and consistency over 3.5 millennia. The Bible was written on 3 continents, by over 40 authors and over a 1500 year period of time yet is completely consistent in context, content and purpose. It is a book of books, 66 to be exact. It contains history, poetry, moral instruction, spiritual guidance, progression of civilization and prophecy, both fulfilled and yet-to-be-fulfilled. Together, the mosaic beautifully interweaves the tapestry of Man’s struggles, evil temptation, the progression of time and history of key events, God’s direction and timely interventions and God’s overall purpose and plan for His creation and Mankind. Though the Bible is far more than a good story, it is the actual “his-story” of Mankind. It also contains the essential elements of great literature with plot, minor plots, major and minor characters, conflict, setting, and theme. We find these major elements:

A) The setting is God’s beautiful creation which He spoke into existence; His perfection and the beauty of His original creation which may have existed eternally.

B) The conflict is the battle of good vs evil. Man falls into temptation, sin and subsequent rebellion. Due to this fallen nature Man has a continuous battle with temptation, sin and the consequences of sin. Because of this, Man is separated from our Holy, righteous God.

C) The theme of the Bible is God’s incredible immeasurable, sacrificial LOVE. God’s love for Mankind is revealed and He has provided a path for our redemption and future restoration.

D) God’s redemptive plan is underway and cannot be thwarted. The characters are the descendants of Abraham. Over time they become identified as Hebrews, Israelites, Jews and the nation of Israel.

God calls a representative man to lead the way. The man’s descendants become a nation. The nation is to provide a beacon of hope and light and to live in reverence and obedience to God. The nation is to be separate and distinct from other nations of the earth and to live as an example for other nations. They are instructed to become a priest nation giving sacrifices and offerings and worship to God alone as the only one, true, living God. The nation falls short because of continued sin of the fallen human condition. Later, God provides, in and through His Son, a Messiah who would come and be born in the very nature of Man to provide substitutionary atonement Savior for all Mankind.

The message of the Bible offers an invitation- It is each man’s opportunity to humble themselves and accept the plan and path of redemption.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

2. The manuscripts of the Bible have survived many efforts to destroy them. This is an evidence of supernatural protection of its content and its message to Mankind. The Bible remains the best-selling, most scrutinized, most printed book in history.

3. The Bible accurately describes historic people, places and events that have been corroborated and authenticated with extra-biblical writings and archaeological findings. The evidence of catastrophic flooding, geological fossilization and deformation of sediments and rock layers is clear for those willing to see it.

4. The narrative of the Bible is consistent with what can be observed in the world such as, moral absolutes of right and wrong, good vs evil, life and death, blessings and curses, the presence of evil temptation, distinction of nations, tribes and languages, the rise and fall of nations, the dilemmas of leadership, supernatural miracles, answers to prayer.

5. Most people recognize they are both a natural person and a spiritual being. The Bible clearly identifies the natural world and reveals the reality of the unseen spiritual realm. The natural realm is passing away. The spiritual world is eternal. Hence, greater value and emphasis is placed on the spiritual realm and eternity. Reading and studying and encountering its message leads to a supernatural, spiritual transformation of the human heart and soul, rendering them “new creations.” This has been evidenced worldwide, crossing every cultural line for 2000 years.

6. The internal context descriptions of spiritual entities such as angels and demons when encountered in real life situations is completely consistent. When the authority of the name of Jesus Christ is applied while encountering demon possessed people is consistent and powerfully effective.

7. The internal evidence of the Scriptures themselves bearing witness are convincing. Such as:

“Thus says the Lord” appears 415 times in the ESV Bible.

“God of Israel” appears 201 times…

“God of the Hebrews” appears 6 times…

“Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” appears 5 times…

“Son of God” appears 44 times…

“judgment” appears 235 times…

“condemnation” appears 15 times…

“salvation” appears 178 times…

“Jesus” appears 1058 times…

“shall be saved” appears 6 times…

“will be saved” appears 17 times…

“truth” appears 139 times…

“eternal life” appears 44 times…

“heaven” appears 465 times…

“hell” appears 14 times…

“lake of fire” appears 4 times.

Isaiah 55: 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Jeremiah 1: 11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond[a] branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

Matthew 24: 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Luke 1: 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us…

John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1: 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

John 5: 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Revelation 3: 8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Try it. Read it. Study it. Apply it to your life. Treat it as if it is the most important message you will ever hear. Your eternity weighs in the balance of your response.

HalleluYah!

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Husband and Wife Conversation

A husband and wife are driving back home after a wonderful romantic evening.

The husband turns down the radio and asks, “Would you like to know my real name?

The wife suddenly sits up, “What do you mean, your real name? Alarmed, “Do I not know your real name? Have you been lying to me all these years? What is this? Are you some kind of person in witness protection? Are you a conman? Do you have wives and children somewhere else? What are you saying right now?

Husband, defending himself: “Woah! Now, now, hold on and don’t freak out on me. Settle down, now. No, no, I am none of those things. Please hear me out before you overreact. It’s just that I have my original family name, the name my father and mother used to call me. It’s my ethnic name. But then I have another name, the name you know that people started calling me.”

Wife, inquiring, “How did I not know this? Why would people do that? Why did they start calling you a different name? Is your original name weird or offensive? Did they give you a nickname?

Husband: “Truthfully, they didn’t like where I come from, you know, my family heritage. They didn’t like the association. They didn’t want the connection, so they gave me a name from their own language. They wanted separation. Then they commandeered My movement and adopted and imported everything into their culture to make it their own.

Wife: “That’s sad and that is wrong! Isn’t that stealing? Boy, people these days! So racially biased and bitter towards one another! How did they think they could just take over like that?
(pause) You know, you need to stand up for yourself more. You shouldn’t have let them push you around like that and relabel you to something else. You can’t just take over someone else’s movement like that, right?”

Husband: “Well, once I left, I wasn’t there to defend myself or force them to be corrected. That is what happens when people who see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe, takeover.”

Wife/Bride: So, Jesus, what do you want to do? I mean, whatever your name is… Tell me your real name. I can’t believe I didn’t know this. I’m your wife and I want to know and I want to call you by your real name. What name did your family call you?

Husband/Messiah: “They called me, Yeshua. My name is Yeshua. It means God is salvation.”

Wife/Bride: Stunned silent for a moment, she then responded, “That’s Jewish, right?”

Husband/Messiah: “Yes, of course I am Jewish. You knew this, right? My family was Jewish. I was born from the tribe of Judah. I lived in Israel. You didn’t know this?”

Wife/Bride: “Yes, I know what it says in the Bible. The Bible says, Jesus. I have always known you as Jesus. Jesus, I have always called you Jesus. It is all I have ever known. You always answer me when I call you Jesus.”

Husband/Messiah: “Yes, of course I do. I understand that. I know who you mean. People all over the world have their own name for me. Many people have more than one name.”

Wife/Bride: “So, what do you want me to do? Why did you bring this up? Can I still call you Jesus or do you want me to change?

Husband/Messiah: “What does your heart tell you to do?

Wife/Bride: “Jesus!” It is what I’ve always known!

Husband/Messiah: There is a big part of my family out there around the world who was severely persecuted by others who used the name ‘Jesus.’ They shudder when they hear that name and don’t want anything to do with it. It is like poison to them. It is a very sad thing this has happened.”

Wife/Bride: “Oh my, I never knew that. That is awful!! People can be so hateful and mean. (Pause, wife thinking and pondering) So, what happens when they hear your Jewish name?

Yeshua Messiah: “They hear the Hebrew words, “God is salvation.” They lift their curiosity and wonder why people are speaking Hebrew words. It begins to open their hearts because it is their heart language. My name gives them hope.”

Wife/Bride: “Wow, I see. That makes so much sense! I can see how that would open the door for conversation. It’s beautiful!” If it is ok, I would love to start calling You by Your real name. It will take me some time to adjust because I have always called you Jesus.”

Yeshua: “Yes, of course! That would be a step towards reconciliation of our peoples. Perhaps some will find salvation because it is My name!”

Acts 4 (ESV) 12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Revelation 19 (ESV) 6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God  the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Revelation 21 (ESV) 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—

HalleluYah!

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Something People Don’t Know …

Something people don’t understand about God’s ways-

In the present age of God’s grace through Yeshua there is such an aversion and de-emphasis of holiness, righteousness and obedience to the Torah Law. Most Christians today, when asked believe that Jesus “fulfilled” the law so they don’t have to. Paul makes the case very clearly in Romans 7 that the Law is good, right and holy. The Law is God’s righteous standard. The Law exposes sin and our need for redemption. Sin is actually defined as “missing the mark” or breaking the laws of God. We also discover in Bible that obeying God’s laws are for our protection. We find the law of blessing and curses in Deuteronomy 28. We will be blessed if we obey and cursed if we disobey. It is not just the 10 Commandments. There are many laws of God that pertain to the believer in Yeshua. Yeshua said He did not come to abolish a single part of the Law until everything is fulfilled. Living in obedience to God’s laws what it means to live in the shadow of His wings.

Psalm 17 (ESV)

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.

When we follow His ways, He is our refuge and fortress, our God in whom we trust.

So then, what happens when we don’t follow His laws? We essentially are stepping out from His protective covering and open the door of opportunity for the enemy to afflict, attack us and steal, kill and destroy us.

1 Peter 5 (ESV) 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The same thing is true regarding the laws of the land. Obey them and you enjoy their protection. Disobey them and suffer injury. A lawless nation cannot endure and thrive. This is why Yehovah hates lawlessness. He desires for us to be blessed, protected and prosperous in this fallen world. Lawlessness, on the other hand, eventually leads to self-destruction and the injury of other people.

1 John 3 (ESV) 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

So again, laws are for our protection. They are there because Yehovah loves us and wants us protected. When God banished man and woman from the garden He gave them protective animal coverings. This is a pre type of the law to come. The Lord covers and protects His people.

Genesis 3 (ESV) 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Thank You Lord so much for your laws and Your protection!

Psalm 119 (ESV)

164 Seven times a day I praise you
    for your righteous rules.
165 Great peace have those who love your law;
    nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
    and I do your commandments.

HalleluYah!

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How Many Sauls Are There Today?

1 Chronicles 10 13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. 14 He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Do you interpret omens?

Have you read tea leaves?

Have you visited a psychic?

Have you used Tarot cards?

Have you used a seer stone?

Have you used a Ouija board?

Have you had your palm read?

Do you identify with your sign?

Have you used a magic 8 ball?

Have you practiced divination?

Do you look at your horoscope?

Have you tried to talk to the dead?

Do you look at your astrology chart?

Do you consult the farmers almanac?

Do you seek power through crystals?

Do you consult someone or something other than the Lord Yeshua?

Let’s shut em down friends! Stop playing the harlot. Repent and slam shut ever window and portal to any other source of guidance. You have but one Lord, Yeshua who is exalted over the highest place is all creation! He is the Preeminent One!

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Swine in the Father’s House

Bacon Sandwich

What Western Christian church doesn’t understand is that the Torah is a set of rules and guidelines to live by that make you “different” than the peoples and nations around you. Its a code of conduct. Follow it and you will be blessed. Don’t follow it and you will be cursed (Deut 28). It is about living different, which makes you distinguished, which makes it more obvious that you are a child of Yehovah, the one true God of the universe. This is NOT legalism. This is about your identity- who are you? Are you a child of the devil and the world or are you a child of the Kingdom Yehovah and of another world?

So, eating that bacon swine flesh sandwich may not send you to hell, but it sure identifies you with the kingdom of this world. It separates you from God and the people of God. If you eat it, you miss out on the blessings of obedience. It’s your call. Blessing or curse? Obedience or disobedience. Satisfy the cravings of your flesh and eat the same flesh of a pig that was used to desecrate the Lord’s temple or walk in the Spirit?

It’s Hanukkah, so this becomes even more relevant as I am writing this. Antiochus Ephiphanes slaughtered a hog on the altar in the Lord’s temple and erected a statue to Zeus to desecrate it. The Bible says our bodies are now the temple of Holy Spirit. Hummm. That should make us think.

So also picture this-

In Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the Prodigal Son. The people of the day, no doubt, knew exactly what Yeshua was saying. Its a picture of a father and two sons. The father is, of course, Father God. The two sons are the two nations of Israel- Israel and Judah. Israel are the northern tribes that were scattered in 722 BC and never came home. They are the “lost house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).

That is the son who found himself in the pig pen. The other brother who stayed home is the southern tribes of Judah, Judah and Benjamin. Judah came back home from Babylon and rebuilt the temple with Ezra and Nehemiah. These are the “Jews.” (Judah = Jews) They have been given charge to hold the scepter of the law for all these centuries (Gen 49:10). Its been their duty. Without them, we would have no Bible. Without them there would have been no Hanukkah. Without them there would be no nation of Israel today. Remember, Yeshua IS a Jew.

So now, with that big picture context lets ask the question, When the prodigal son (who basically represents us) comes home and embraces his father who is Yehovah God and eats the fatted calf, then reconciles with his brother who stayed home and tended the farm, will he also want to slaughter a hog on his father’s kitchen table? That is what the pagan Christian who comes back home is demanding saying, Father we love our bacon sandwich and want to bring it into Your house.”

What Peter’s vision was about in Acts 10 was “receiving” the people who had been eating unclean foods and opening the door of salvation to them. The blood of Yeshua was making the people clean. This matter does not mean that the food laws changed. It means Father will receive you no matter what you ate because of the blood of Yeshua. Remember, Yeshua said He did not come to strike a single letter from the Law (Matthew 5:18). And we must realize Yeshua would never contradict Himself. So…

The big question is, (check your heart) Do you still want to bring your bacon lover’s sandwich into the Father’s house? Do you think shrimp cocktail and lobster will be served at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb?

The Gentile church who is “Israel” needs to reconcile these big picture truths that are much deeper than just our salvation and adoption and “get out of Dodge” for free.

This may be the first time you have recognized that bacon or lobster or that shrimp cocktail or catfish dinner might be an idol in your life and you never realized it. Selah.

Please take a few moments and pray about this before you immediately dismiss it.

Grace and love.

HalleluYah!

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When Government and its People Reject God

Ever since our government determined to put a large wedge between church and state, they have continually become more demonic and depraved. Always remember that the word “secular” is a nice word (euphemism) for “atheist.”

Friends, every time you push God out, something else will come rushing in. It won’t be something good or lasting. It will be deceptive, cunning, wicked and destructive.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12; 16:25.

In 1962 our federal government decided to take prayer out of schools. In 1968 our federal government decided that teaching creationism in public schools was advancing religion. In 1970 our federal government decided it would support abortion. This is just 3 factors. I am sure we can name many other ways our government has chosen the slippery slope. The statistics tell the rest of the story.

Psalm 33 (ESV)

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Let’s be more specific these days. We can see very clearly that when a nation rejects God the people suffer. The people choose carnal pleasure and abandon the principles of family and marriage. The foundation of civilization is the family. When the family, as God defined it is destroyed, the nation will eventually be destroyed.

Listen to the prophetic word of Hosea regarding the destruction of a nation who forgets and turns away from God.

Hosea 4 (ESV)

Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and no knowledge of God in the land;
2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens,
    and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

4 Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.
5 You shall stumble by day;  the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.

7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me;
    I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.
9 And it shall be like people, like priest;  I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.
10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which take away the understanding.
12 My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.
13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

Let’s humble ourselves and turn back to the God of the Bible.

Forgive us Lord. We have learned what happens when we forsake You. We repent of our foolish ways and turn back to you. We invite the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, Yehovah, the Great I AM to be present and powerful and exalted in our nation and over our nation in Yeshua’s mighty name!

HalleluYah!!

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We Are Manasseh

Some believers have the deep insight to see that the blessing of Jacob on the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh did not evaporate in the diaspora of the northern tribes of Israel. These blessings actually went out and manifested in the future nations of the earth. We shouldn’t be so short sighted to think that Yehovah forgot about these blessings or that they were canceled because of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Remember,

2 Timothy 2 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

Genesis 41: 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Ephraim, meaning doubly fruitful, will become-

Genesis 48: 9 … “Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

This blessing manifested as Great Britain. For we know that Great Britain had become the largest empire in history, being “the empire of which the sun never sets.”

Then, for Manasseh, which means “you have made me forget my father’s house.” We have become the nation who has forgotten who we are has manifested in the United States of America. We indeed have become a great nation. We, indeed, have also forgotten who we are in the spiritual prophetic sense of our identity.

So, we like to pride ourselves for becoming a great nation, yet we need to humble ourselves and realize it was not by our own ingenuity but by the sovereign blessing and purposes of Yehovah through Jacob for this time in history.

Its time to remember WHO we are and WHOSE we are.

The United States of America is the Manasseh Blessing. That is who we are.

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Why Do I Say, “Shabbat Shalom” on Friday Evenings?

Answer: First of all, the Sabbath begins on sundown and goes 24 hours to the next sundown, Friday night to Saturday night. This comes from Genesis 1:5 and Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 16:29-30 and Exodus 20:10-11. When you stream all of these verses together into a consistent thought, it comes to light.

I used to “ignore” the 4th commandment like most other Christians. Then, later in life my heart began to change regarding this issue as well as other things I formerly believed. I “wanted/desired” to recognize the weekly Sabbath and make that day special and different from the rest. It has been a challenge but also a blessing. It requires some discipline and self control for sure. I also have started following the clean foods of Torah. There are health benefits, but there are also obedience benefits.

As I have matured in my faith over the years I have come to believe Acts 15:29 is an entry level list of suggestions for gentile believers to abstain from but in no way is intended to be the end of the discussion. What about the 10 Commandments? Most Christians believe they are in force yet not all of them are not listed in Acts 15. Where does this reasoning come from that we can pick and choose? Also, we reflect on Yeshua’s words in Matthew 5 that He did not come to abolish the law. So, as followers of Yeshua we should not limit or restrict ourselves in any way from enjoying the benefits and blessings of observing more of Torah. Oh, did I say “benefits and blessings?” Yes I did.

I believe “every generation” means every generation whether you are a natural branch or a grafted in branch (Romans 11:17).

Exodus 31:13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.

Also, according to John 17:22-23, Ephesians 2:11-22 and 1 Peter 2:9 we are supposed to be one people in the Lord whether Jew or Gentile. The more we all begin to follow Torah, the more we will begin to be one people, a holy nation to the Lord.

We have learned that the Torah provides a guideline for God’s chosen to live noticeably separate and different from the other people of the world. We are supposed to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God, right? It is intended to be a blessing, not a curse (Deuteronomy 28). It is not a list of hoops to jump through in order to be saved. It is intended to keep us from demonic corruption, affliction and seduction. It also is intended to make us distinct and separate from the world system.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

Blessings and Shalom!

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Food and Health Reform is Essential

Let’s see if I have this partially right-

We have a food industry that is catering to cravings and food addictions and gluttony. Then, we have people who are not taking responsibility for their own health in the way they eat and consume whatever their flesh is craving. “All I care about is that it tastes good.”

So, over a few decades we have a population of gluttonous people who are sitting in front of the television with their convenience comfort foods and automated lifestyles instead of physical exercise. We’re also becoming entertainment junkies to boot. That is another subject all together. This has created a very lazy, sick, debilitated population who are expecting the big government to take care of them when they get sick. Then, they wonder why the medical care system is overwhelmed. Then, they wonder why the insurance system is overwhelmed and unaffordable.

Then, for the doctors, they see 150 obese whiner cry babies every week begging for their problems to go away with a pill or a potion and pretty soon you have burned out doctors that become AMA protocol robots. How many doctor visits have you been to where the wait time is an hour or two past your appointment time and your exam room experience is answering questions to a tap and a click on the computer screen and the doctor does a 5 minute drop in?

(Wes Stafford, Wednesday, May 28, 2008) The waiting room fills long before patients are seen Wednesdays at the Helen M. Nickless Health Clinic, 1458 W. Center Road, Hampton Township.

The system will never fix itself. In fact, it will eventually implode unless “we, the people” do something about it, or it evolves into complete socialized medicine and we will have lost all our individual freedom. Satan wants this to happen. He wants you to be sick, sluggish, low energy- he wants you to die young. He wants you dependent on “the system.” It will make you easy to control and manipulate. Eventually, like the other mandate that is going around these days, there will eventually be a mandate for other new technology efforts to identify you, monitor you and control you with some sort of implantable device.

It’s time to preach about gluttony and the lack of self control in the church. It’s time to teach about individual responsibilities regarding our health and well-being. That will go over like a lead balloon to a “if it doesn’t taste good, I’m not going to eat it” generation.

It’s time for the food industry to be overhauled from the farm to the market. It’s time for junk food manufacturers to have a major wake up call and pay fines for selling poison to a stressed out, dependent, hungry, consumer generation.

Come on folks, what else are we going to do besides sit there, get fat and sick, pop pills and die?

It’s up to us to do something about this.

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Serious Things Satan Does Not Want You to Know

For Jesus Christ Has Set Us Free! – Serious things satan does not want you to know.

First written on my Facebook page in 2014.

Satan does not want you to know this – expect to be distracted or disrupted from reading this. Expect a stirring in your soul.

Our ignorance (lack of being informed and properly instructed) of the spiritual battles we are in places us in a position of tolerating them and suffering with them unnecessarily. We cannot operate in what we don’t know!! If we are born in bondage and everyone around us is in bondage, what else are we to expect to know until someone breaks through the wall of unbelief.
So, until then, we often turn to medications, psychology, self-help and other “bandaids” to try to lessen the symptoms of our bondage.  We try to accomplish freedom or mitigate lingering bondage with our own gadgets, medications and our own strength. They only have a limited effect on your symptoms, but it is the best thing the world can offer. Then we have to deal with dependency on them and all the gamut of side effects. It becomes a rigged “patch job” that gets us by. Though we may have been told that Yeshua can set us free, for some reason we choose to wallow in the mud of misery and struggles. We must be rationalizing it by thinking, Well, its been 2000 years so Yeshua must be diminishing in power like a battery that is running out of power.

Then, we have been conditioned and patterned by our past life experience to reach for a pill every time we have an ache or a pain. When we are tired we reach for a cup of coffee or a Red Bull. When sick, we call the doctor and go to the hospital. When we are broke and out of money we look for another job. When we need a break from stress we crack open a beer or pour ourselves a glass of wine. While some of this is not necessarily a bad thing, and may have logical and practical solution, it establishes a pattern of priority. Praying to Yeshua, becomes a last resort when we have exhausted everything else. We need to change our patterns and habits so that we go to Yeshua first, for everything and every need in our lives. He is rich, powerful and able to grant us everything we need and His heart jumps and a smile comes to His face when we come to Him first. Some of us have lost our “first love” or maybe never had it in the first place.

What satan and his demons don’t want you to know is that when we receive salvation through Yeshua Jesus Christ and His blood atonement, EVERY curse and spiritual bondage are legally broken in the spiritual realm. That is the KEY to all the freedom of healing and deliverance from ALL the lingering effects of spiritual bondage.  

For example, the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus head was symbolic of the fact that each of us has a thorny band around our head. It was the result of the fall of man, that we would work and toil with thorns and thistles and the sweat of our brow (Gen. 3:18-19). We see that Yeshua took this to the cross and broke the curse with His blood. It also tells us that if we trust fully in Him, we no longer have to strive in our own strength under the curse. 

Galatians 3 (ESV)  

12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Let us also see that the thorny band was around the head, that because of the curse, our minds have become worldly and dim. We can see that we are often tormented in our thoughts and psyche. Resulting from this we think depraved thoughts, have psychological disfunction and disorders, are filled with negativity, depression and despair. Sometimes we cannot see the light of day or have a rational positive thought. Various forms of mental illness are epidemic in our day, explained away with suggestions of chemical imbalances and genetic traits.  While there are some practical things we need to take responsibility for like changing our thoughts, guarding our minds, eating healthy diets, renewing our minds by reading the Bible daily, there is the case of demonic bondage taking residence in our minds. Jesus took all of this to the cross. The bondage is legally broken. Our own thorny crown can be taken off and thrown to the wind. It becomes our responsibility to command our authority and freedom in Christ, shake it off and walk in newness of life.

Romans 12 (ESV) 

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Jesus effectively broke the curse. It becomes our faith filled responsibility to believe it, claim it, stand in it and walk it out. Suppose you bought a house on an auction block sight unseen. You went to the house and there were people living there. You showed them the deed that you are the legal owner and gave them an eviction notice.

Nobody, especially demons want to be evicted from their comfortable habitat

 Later, you went back after the time and the people were still there. They are illegal tenants that refuse to leave. They don’t want to leave as they have been there for years and it has been their home. So you have to call the sheriff to have them forcefully evicted. This is what we are talking about in spiritual terms. Jesus purchased us with His blood, but the former demonic tenants do not want to leave. You have to force them out and keep them out.

Yes, you will have demonic opposition trying to keep you down and hold you back! Yes, it requires effort on our part! To refuse this amazing gift of freedom would be like your father saying, “I just bought you a new car. Will you to drive down to the dealership and pick it up.” Would you hesitate or refuse to go pick up the new car? Hardly not!  Not to shame anyone for not knowing what to do, but it is sad that we don’t take full advantage of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Jesus bought it and we so got it! Now that we know these things, lets jump into action! 

2 Corinthians 10 (ESV) 

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Wow! We have to truly realize that though we cannot see Him, Jesus is ever present and with us. He is actually in a greater place to help us in our time of need because He is operating, not from a body of flesh on the earth, but from heaven.

Luke 9 (ESV) And He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

Luke 10 (ESV) 

18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

John 14 (ESV) 

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do

; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

13 Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Do we actually, REALLY believe this? Granted, there are some things we may ask for that Jesus does not give us. There are reasons for this that we must explore more deeply. One of them, of course, is to draw our faith to action. If He gave us everything we asked for we would become a bunch of spoiled rotten, couch potato do nothings! Sometimes we “have not because we ask not” or because we “wait not” and go do it ourselves in our timing and strength. No wonder there is so much failure. Despite what may seem like unanswered prayer, we stand in our full weight of faith that Jesus hears us and is acting on our prayer requests and will be in our BEST INTEREST, from His point of view. We learn to trust that He knows what is best for us at any point in our lives. He does expect us to keep our eyes and focus on Him as our Source for all things, just as sunlight is the physical source for all life on earth, yet we engage in faith partnership with action and responsibility for most practical things in life. Just as the Israelites had to gather manna every day, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.”

Matthew 11 (ESV) 

4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:

5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”So again, I emphasize, satan does not want you to know that his legal hold on you is broken. He wants to keep you down so that it seems like the blood of Jesus is powerless and of no effect. He wants the world to see Christians still in chains of bondage so they will look elsewhere and turn to something else for relief. Satan wants to render you powerless and of no effect in the greater spiritual battle in the world. If he can keep you in ignorance of this fact, he will keep you down, then he can try to take your spouse and children. He can take your job. He can ravage your heath. He can keep you addicted to drugs and alcohol. He can keep you in poverty. He can steal you blind.

John 8 (ESV) 

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever.

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you.

38 I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

The next thing Christians are not taught, is that satan does not just tuck tail and walk away when you get saved. Though he has lost, he will fight you and struggle with you to hold on to his former claim on your soul. He hopes that because you thought it would be easy, you will just give up the battle. Because of this fact, generational curses may also have to be specifically renounced, brought under the blood and shaken off. Bondages of addiction and sin need to be specifically confessed and released to Jesus. The more specific you are, the more focused and strategic you are, the bolder you are, the less demons will be able to maintain their stronghold over you.

You must be “activated” and “stimulated” with the truth from the Word of God, employing specific scripture passages just like Jesus did in the wilderness temptation. You will continue to use legal terms, “it is written,” and promises of God to “resist the devil.” Eventually you will begin to get the taste of freedom and want it all the more! As you continue to stand in faith, and command the authority of Christ in your life with all of the promises of God, the demons that have tormented you all your life will be forced to flee. You can and will be free, in Jesus name!!  Mohammed’s name won’t work. Confucius can’t do it! Buddha is powerless to help you. Only Jesus Christ can set you free!

Finally, but very importantly, satan does not want you to know that you don’t have to do all of this in your own strength. Satan does not want you to know about the supernatural power that will manifest in your life when you press in on the Lord seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a greater, secondary impartation that takes place after you have been saved. This is another reason many believers stay in bondage and sin. This is why so many churches are dry and dead; there is no life in them. They are void of POWER. They don’t seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Actually, there are church leaders and denominations that don’t want you to know this either. They see you as easier to control and manage if you are not set free through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Things can get messy in their little tidy controlled world. Its time to break out of the shackles of oppression and man’s religion! Oh, that’s going to upset some folks!

Psalm 68 (ESV) 34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 

35 Awesome is God from His sanctuary; the God of Israel—He is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Acts 1 (ESV) 

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, “you heard from me;

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 19 (ESV) 

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland

 country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”

4 And Paul said,“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

Ephesians 1 (ESV) 

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,

18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might

20 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and 

seated Him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above 

every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

22 And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

You now know the truth that can make you free!

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world and fills us with His power!