Monthly Archives: July 2012

Feast of Trumpets ( Yom Teruah, or ‘Rosh HaShanah’ as it is called on the Jewish calendar ) will be Sept. 18 and begins the evening before. More accurately – Yom Teruah or the Day of the Blast – marks many things, not the least of which is the beginning of the season of the fall feasts of the LORD and also marks the beginning of the season of the return of Messiah. We will call an assembly on the evening of the 17th for the celebration of this holiday. ( Lev 23:23-25, Num 29:1-6)

September 26th ( also beginning the evening before ) is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. The Scriptures imply a fast on this day ( the 10th day of the 7th month . . .Lev 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11 ) and will run from sundown on the 25th through sundown on the 26th. We will, as has become our custom, break the fast together as a congregational family on the evening of the 26th for those that would like to attend. .  . . . more info later . . .

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.  1 Thess 4:13-18

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  1 Cor. 15:51-52

Isaiah 57:14 – 58:14                                                                                                                             
Matthew 24:25 – 35

 ‘Worry is like a rocking chair . . . it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere . . .’

Phil 4:6-8  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything – by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving – let your requests be made known to God.
 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ( Messiah Yeshua )
 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

I saw this today as I was leafing through a book  . . . don’t remember the name of the book ( sorry ) but this caught my eye . . . and my heart . . .

“The sign of a true Dad . . . there are now pictures & crayon-scribbled notes in his wallet where the money used to be . . .”

Does Abba have any notes from you in His wallet . . .?

There is a youtube video and transcript that is spreading like wildfire dealing with the ‘truth’ concerning homosexuality and the teachings of the Bible on the matter.

I have read the transcript and I must say it is intriguing and engaging, and for those that might not be well grounded in the Word, it will be either confusing or misleading.

IF  you didn’t know any better, you would believe the young man’s conclusion that the Bible does NOT teach against homosexuality. The problem is, he is mistaken.

One of the sad aspects of this whole story is this young man spent ( wasted ) two years of his life trying to justify through human logic what the Scriptures teach plainly and succinctly to be unjustifiable and a sin . . . perhaps no more or less than any other ‘sin’, but yet, still ‘sin’.

His misuse and misapplication of Scripture causes the foundational support of his premise to be flawed and thereby his premise to be incorrect. He employs what I call a ‘buffet approach’ to the Word . . . taking helpings of those things that he ‘likes’ and leaving behind those things that doesn’t appeal to the ‘taste buds’ . . . you can do that with broccoli and asparagus, but NOT with the Scriptures.

I find it sadly curious that this young man was attending a United Methodist college. I do not know for sure what ‘church’ allowed him to put forth his treatise, but if I understand Scripture correctly, the pastor of that congregation will have the ‘blood of the people’ on his head.  Pray for him and for this young man.  So why did I mention the Methodist college ?

You know, the Bible warns against taking a stance against Israel. Our Father God  stated that HE would bless those who bless Israel and that HE would bring a curse ( arar – to curse ) on those that curse         ( qalal – to slight, esteem lightly or treat with contempt ) the nation of Israel.

 Below are archived articles and statements from the United Methodist Church hierarchy dating back to 2000 concerning the nation of Israel.

1.) Resolution 6074, “United Nations Resolutions on the Israel-Palestine Conflict.”,  was adopted by General Conference ( the UMC denomination’s highest policy-making body )  in 2000, then revised and readopted in 2008. It states, “The United Methodist Church calls upon Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, and all States to abide by and uphold U.N. resolutions, International Court of Justice rulings, and international law as the basis for just and lasting peace in Palestine/Israel.”

. . . the position of the ( UMC ) church is “clear:”

The denomination affirms the will of the international community, expressed through U.N. Security Council resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international law instruments, in condemning the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory. The denomination opposes continued Israeli settlement building on occupied Palestinian territory. The church stands with the Palestinian Christian community, and supports Palestinian efforts towards economic and political self-determination.

2.) Rev. Sprecher, who led the social action agency petition at the 2004 UMC General Conference, recommended divestment from Caterpillar Inc. and charged that the company “profited from illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and contributes to the occupation by supplying the Israel Defense Forces with heavy equipment.”   Bloom’s article further cites Rev. Sprecher’s reminder of the Resolution 312 that the UMC passed in 2004 “opposing Israeli settlements in Palestinian land.”

3.) The UMC’s General Board on Global Mission Women produced a Mission Study for 2007-2008, endorsed by the national ( UMC ) church, which refers to Israel’s creation as “original sin,” and likens the birth of Israel to the Holocaust and Israeli practices to those of the Nazis.

And now the UMC is struggling ( whether they know it or not ) with homosexuality both in the pews and in the pulpit . . . gee, I wonder if there is a connection between standing against Israel and believing that which is false  . . . for he who touches Israel touches the apple of God’s eye . . . and HE will cause you great distress because of ‘sticking you finger in HIS eye’  . . . Zech 2:8

Of course, that’s if you actually believe what the Word says . . . do you ?

SUKKOT – The Feast of Tabernacles – is quickly approaching and it’s time to start getting ready. The dates are monday evening October 1 through tuesday evening October 9. Tentative plans are that we will gather once again at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Harrodsburg, KY.  We will announce planning sessions to facilitate a good smooth time together. 

You know, the Feast of Tabernacles is the first holiday that we will celebrate together in the Kingdom after the return of Messiah ( Zech 14 ) , and yet, most us have had little to no teaching and training for this the culmination and pinnacle of the pattern of the Gospel.  This will be the 10th year of Sukkot for Rhonda and I and our family and we seem to look foward to it more and more each year. Yes, sometimes it has been difficult and cold and wet and rainy . . . and cold and wet and rainy . . . ( yes, I know I repeated myself – ’cause it was cold and wet and rainy more than once )  . . . but when we get to the end of the week, we don’t want to leave . . . the time will come when we won’t have to . . . Praise the Lord . . . but until then may we be diligent to show our love for Abba in the ways He has asked ( 1 John 5:2 ) because of what He has done for us.

Sorry we haven’t posted in a while . . . we will strive to stay more in touch . . .

Blessings to you and yours  . . . especially as the ‘day’ approaches . . .

B’shem Yeshua – J & R