This will be the third, and as far as we know the final installment in our response to the article ‘Christmas in the Crosshairs’. We want to begin by standing with Nathan and his family as we praise our Lord with them for the good report concerning Nathan’s health.  In Yeshua’s Name – Amen.

        We have come to understand that every born-again, blood-bought believer is a son or daughter of our Father, regardless of what pew, building or denomination in which they sit. We have also come to understand we need to be careful ‘throwing rocks’ at each other since Abba is not always happy about his children throwing rocks at each other. On the other side of the coin, we must balance this against the scriptural mandate to speak the truth to each other because we love one another in the Lord.     Proverbs 27:17   Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.     Ephesians 4:15 “ . . . speaking the Truth, in love, that we may all grow up into Him in all things, Him being Christ the head . . .”

          The following lines are  direct quotes from the original article.

            “Loving your neighbor means that you have to love them even if they celebrate Christmas.

Loving your neighbor does not mean that during Christmas time, the stoning should begin!”

We agree completely with these two statements.  We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. But we are not to leave our brother in a place that he should not be. Am I my brother’s keeper ? Most assuredly “YES” .  If  I am to pull my neighbor’s donkey out of hole, should I not be willing to do the same for my neighbor ?  It is not my place to stone my brother, but sometimes what is perceived by one as ‘throwing stones’ is actually ‘speaking the hard truth’ by the perceived ‘rock-thrower’. Truth is not in the eye of the beholder. But sometimes ‘venom’ can be. Jesus was never hateful or vengeful yet both He and John referred to the leadership of their day as vipers and serpents. Were they, Jesus & John, being hateful and ‘throwing stones’ or were they speaking the plain truth to those that needed to hear in the hopes that some might be brought back from the brink of a place they should not be ? You be the judge.

            Another quote from the article.

“My friends, our faith is not determined by the outer garment.”

No, but the ‘outer garment’ is the evidence of the faith professed and the inward ‘circumcision of the heart’.

And finally, this quote from the article.

“ How about Colossians 3:17?

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” “

With all due respect, this is being taken out of context. This passage must be taken in the context of what is considered proper, acceptable behavior and practice by Father God for His children as outlined in the foundational truth of Torah and the Prophets and reiterated and expounded upon in the Apostolic Writings.  Outside of that context, this passage, taken on it’s own, will do nothing but get us all into trouble. There are things that God and Yeshua do not want us doing, in their Name or anyone else’s.

            The ministry to which we have been called is to teach and speak the Truth of the full counsel of the Word of God, undiluted and unashamed. We are not here to transform a Baptist into a messianic or a Methodist into a ‘hebrew rooter’ ( ? ) or transform anyone into anything for that matter. Transformation is not our job, it is His.  The only axe we have to grind is the Word of the Living God in these last days . . . to teach His people the difference between the Holy and profane, the Clean and the unclean.  ( Ezekiel 22:26, 44:23 )

Blessings to you and yours  in Yeshua’s Name – J & R

Was it a Dream or a Vision? You be the Judge.

Hidden things . . .

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, and the glory of kings to search   

them out.”  Proverbs 25:2

He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.   Daniel 2:22

Things hidden belong to Yahweh our God, but things revealed are ours and our children’s forever, so that we can put all the words of this Law into practice.’   Deuteronomy 29:28

As we take a look at the passages in Exodus 13:17 – 17:16, let’s examine one aspect of the account of the crossing of the Yam Suph ( Red or Reed Sea ) and the destruction of the Egyptian military. Now try to envision this in your mind’s eye – the entire Israeli horde ( more than a million strong and all their livestock ) situated on Nuwevi Beach on the Egyptian side of the Sea, the sea in front of them, the Egyptian army behind them and straight-up rock faces on both sides. Talk about being between a ‘rock and a hard place’ . . . no place to go but up . . . or so they thought. And then God says to Moses ( this is our amplified version ),  “ what are you waiting for . . . go on.”  I wonder if Moses was thinking ‘go on where ?’ Then Abba instructs him to stretch out his hand and the waters part revealing a path through the waters. You think Father God knew that path was there? All HE had to do was dry it out for them ? Obviously the answer is ‘Yes’. But let’s take a look at the name of the place.

            The Scriptures tell us the name of the place before them was ‘Baal-Zephon’, ‘baal’ ( which is NOT a bad word )  meaning ‘lord or master’ and ‘zephon’  being translated ‘north’ or having to do with ‘winter’. Curiously, if you study out the word ‘zephon’ it comes from a root, according to the Strong’s,  carrying the concept of ‘that which is hidden’. What was hidden ? According to archealogists today, there is a land bridge at the very spot of the crossing. At either side of that land bridge the depth of the water extends to over a mile, while at the place of the crossing the depth is 400 feet or less. I wonder Who put it there ?  Who is the Lord of that which is hidden ?  Hopefully we all know the answer to that question. According to the passages at the beginning of this little ditty, it is El Shaddai, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

You notice He did not take His people through the land of the Philistines   ( Gaza, Asdod, Ashkelon and Ekron – which is still the land of the philistines today ) because He knew there would be a fight, so He took them to a place where HE had everything  prepared, ‘hidden in plain sight’ if you will, where HE would fight for them.

God fights for His people still today. Yet we have our part to play. Had the people not obeyed and walked not according to His directions, they would have wound up in the wrong place at the appointed time . . . not good . . .

Obedience has always been key. Even more so in the last days. 

Malachi 4:4  “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

 ⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

 ⁶ “And he will restore the hearts of the fathers ( Abraham, Isaac & Jacob )  to their children ( us ) , and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”

Yesterday, during our worship time, at our gathering for Shabbat I heard the Lord speak these words to me…..

   “My righteous judgements are blowing across the land”.                       

I find it interesting that out of all the songs we sang that day He chose to speak these words while we were worshiping to Kadosh (Holy) by Paul Wilbur. For He IS Holy and His judgements ARE executed in all righteousness.   

We pray that a spirit of repentance will fall upon this nation and as His judgements come they will be tempered with His mercy….. Blessings, Rhonda

 Christmas . . . or Truth . . . in the Crosshairs  Part 3

 Paganism Is Everywhere

Although the choice of terminology might not be the most accurate, that which is contrary to the nature of God IS everywhere !  We agree most wholeheartedly with that statement. It’s everywhere. In the schools, at work, at play, in the economy, even in the church. Nathan is correct concerning the modern-day accepted terms for names of the days of the week and some of the months on our Gregorian calendar and even a name on the jewish calendar. By the way, for some unknown reason we seem to hold the jewish people to some arbitrary ‘higher standard’. But yes, even they have a pagan name on their calendar. Our entire society, world wide, is up to it’s proverbial eyeballs in this mess. And why ? Because it was prophecied. Our forefathers ( Eph, 2: 11-13 ) because of their sin and idolatry ( which can include ‘pagan’ ) were exiled into the nations and forced to deal with ‘gods’, practices and customs contrary to the ways of Abba until such a time when He would bring their spiritual and physical progeny home. (If I belong to Christ, then I am Abraham’s offspring and therefore an heir to the covenants of promise. Galatians 3:29) Remember, our Father is not above making an example to prove His point. If you don’t think so, ask Uzziel, Nadab and Abihu or Korah, or how about Ananias & Sapphira.

The following is a quote from Nathan’s article. “Folks, we are living in very perilous times right now. The coming future is not going to be easy for the Christian who desires to be a part of the remnant. But what is the remnant? The answer could also be a long sermon, but in summary, the remnant is made up of people who keep the commandments of God.”

We could not agree more with this statement. Allow us to provide some clarification.Every born-again blood-bought believer keeps the Commandments of God to some degree, whether they realize it or not or intend to or not (because it is written on their hearts if they have truly been born again). The problem is we are taught to not keep them by our denominational dogma (we are no longer under the law) which is a direct violation of the words of Jesus.

Matt 5:18 “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means pass from the Law until everything is accomplished.

¹⁹ Anyone who breaks one of the least of the commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches the commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

The above are Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount. By the way, obedience is not a matter of salvation, but it is a matter of ‘standing in the kingdom’ according to Messiah.  The ‘commands’ are the ‘Good Works’ spoken of by Jesus in Matt 5:16 and by Paul in Eph. 2:10,  the keeping of which is the evidence of our love for our Heavenly Father and one another. 1 John 5:2² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.³ This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

 Faith which is evidenced by the things we do – the willful obedient submission to our loving Father because of His mercy and grace.

I think I remember James – Jesus’ brother – saying something about ‘faith and works’ . . . hummm, maybe he understood something we’ve missed ? Abraham’s faith was evidenced by his works according to James 2:21-ff . . .  “ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. ²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?  ²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Please understand that ‘salvation is by grace through faith’, period. The word ‘justified’  in the James passage also carries the concept of ‘that which evidences’  . . . the justification is evidenced by the ‘good works’, walked-out by the grateful believer. Faith is not just something we have, it is something we do, that which we ‘show’ on the outside because of what is on the inside, that ‘outward garment’ if you will . . . the original ‘outward sign of the inward change’ ( to quote my baptist upbringin’).

There is also another term used quite frequently in these discussions –  ‘idolatry’. In simple terms, ‘idolatry’ is anything that comes between us and God; anything that breaks that ‘line of sight’ between us and Him and keeps us from coming ‘face to face’. An ‘idol’ can even come straight from the mouth of God; it all depends on what we do with what He gives. Example ? Take a look at the ‘snake on the pole’. It was a mandate straight from the mouth of God for the deliverance of the people. What did they do with it? They turned it into a shrine and started worshiping it. They took a word from the Mouth of God and turned it into an idolatrous practice. Are we capable of doing the same today ? Sure we are .

The article quotes the following passage and makes the statement ‘the celebration of christmas’ is not on the list.

“1 Corinthians 6:9,10
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

In reality, christmas is on the list, we just don’t recognize it for what it is.

       Now, with all that said, where does it leave us ?  We are saved by grace through faith. Are the ‘commandments a matter of salvation ? No, but they are a matter of obedience which is what we are called to after we are called to repentance.  I am not born-again by works. I am born again by the Blood of the Lamb and faith in the Word of God.

Once I become a ‘child of the Father’, he has the right to expect a certain level of behavior just as I have the right to expect a certain level of behavior out of my children and also have the responsibility, as a Godly parent,  to ensure they obey .  He, God Almighty, has the right to set the guidelines for His children. I have a choice, either to be an obedient child or a disobedient one. Either way, I am still His child. But if I truly love Him, should I not desire to walk according to His guidelines ? Should I not be willing to love Him in the way He has asked me to evidence my love for Him ?  It has taken a long time, and Abba has exhausted much patience, for us to come to the understanding that He is not interested in what we think or desire or believe unless it lines up with what HE has said and what He expects of us as His children.

One responsibility of this ministry is to expound the Truth of  the Word, for in these last days, understanding and walking-out that Truth will make a difference for believers. . . possibly a life-or-death difference for some. And it must be coupled with a fullness of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. ( the balance of the worship in Spirit & Truth )

 ^Malachi 4:4Remember the law given by my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers ( Abraham, Isaac & Jacob ) , lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” ( parentheses & italics added for emphasis )

 Isaiah 24:1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants–  ² it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.³ The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.⁴ The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish.⁵ The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.⁶ Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.

      We love God’s people wherever we find them, even if we don’t always agree with one another. But we love God more, and must share the Truth, even if it’s hard to swallow, as we fight hard for the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

      Blessings to you and yours as we sail head-on into the storm to come, for we know the Captain of the ship, and more importantly, He knows and cares for us. 

Shalom U’vracot  – Peace & Blessings – J & R

Reply, Reply All or Forward | More

Before we take a look at ‘faith and works’, we want to address the following portion of Nathan’s article and answer his question  ‘pagan to whom ?’ . Also, please remember that there are many other christians  outside what is referred to as the ‘Hebrew Roots/Messianic’ realm that observe Saturday worship or do not practice christmas and easter. This is not a phenomenon exclusive to the group mentioned in the article.  We will not take anything out of it’s context and will eventually deal with each portion of the article. This will not be a ‘bashing’ and will not be an attack on Nathan. We do not support the bashing or personal attacks that Nathan has reported receiving. It will simply be an attempt to correct some misstatements and misapplications of the Word. Below is the portion of the article that we wish to address first.  

The Annual Attack

I have noticed that every year around this time, I start seeing the bashing and attacks begin against those who celebrate Christmas with their families. I have witnessed that there are some who condemn those who are remembering and celebrating the birth of our Lord on this holiday.

Why is this?

“Well Nathan, it is because Christmas is a pagan holiday! I studied it. I can prove it, I watched the YouTube’s that showed me!.. It is very evil!”

My reply, … pagan to whom?…

And thus … It is as it is… in the eye of the beholder! In other words, I guess if someone is convinced that it is evil then that is their choice. We all have a conscience so let your’s guide you.

However, why is it that with this holiday, some of the enemies of Christmas become crusaders who enlist themselves in a campaign of condemnation to those with holiday cheer?

I have seen some of the arguments against Christmas. I have also seen that some of the anti-Christmas rhetoric generalize the holiday and likens those who acknowledge the day as participating in an abomination that has few equals.

To this I say, “Absurd!”                end of this portion of article

 First, let’s define some terms. ‘Pagan’ is a word that gets tossed around alot. What does it mean ?

‘Paganism, in the strictest sense, is a religion of beliefs and practices associated with the worship of nature. Paganism may take many forms, including but not limited to pantheism (belief that the whole of reality is divine), polytheism (belief in many gods), animism (belief that natural features of the world are invested with divine power) as well as Druidism, Witchcraft and Divination. Historically, the adherents of the three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) have applied the term pagan to the indigenous religions they encountered in the course of their expansion.’

©  Encarta1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

In other words, ‘pagan, by definition, is that which is contrary to the God of the Bible in existence and/or conception. It carries the connotation of being unclean or impure in it’s very essence, inception and/or conception ethically, ritually and religiously. ‘Pagan’ is the ‘way of the nations’, impure, in contrast to the ‘ways of God’ which are pure.

( we do not recognize the deity of the one worshiped by islam ) 

 Ok, so how does all that apply to me and christmas ? Well, let’s take a closer look at what we call christmas and the origins of it’s practices and how it connects to the birth of Jesus. Much of this you will have already heard, hopefully some will be fresh enlightenment.

 First, what does the Bible say about ‘clean and unclean, the holy and the profane ( pure and impure ) ?

 Job asks the question “  . . .who can bring a clean thing out of the unclean ?”

And his answer ? “ . . . No one . . .’ Job 14:4

 The book of Ezekiel is primarily end-time prophecy. Ezekiel 44:23 ( which is during the Millennial reign of Messiah-Jesus ) speaks of those that will be appointed to teach God’s people the difference between the ‘clean and the unclean’ and and to ‘discern between the holy and the profane’ (or the pure and the impure). .  Why ?  Because the previous leaders and teachers of His people ( Eze 22 ) had failed to teach His people these principles and were not only chastised but replaced.

 So if ‘understanding the difference between ‘clean and unclean’ and ‘pure and impure’ was important in the time of Job and it will be important in the Kingdom, does it not follow suit that understanding and teaching this difference should also be important today ?

 Once I understand that ‘christmas’ – the practices and many of the accepted traditions that surround the annual celebration of what we dub the birth of Jesus – are unclean and contrary to God in their inception   ( all of which is very easy to verify with about 10 minutes at the local library or online ) then what should I, as a blood-washed blood-bought ‘walking in obedience’ believer, do with this truth ?

Well, what does the Word say ? 

 “ . . . learn not the ways of the nations . . .”   Deut. 18:9, Jer. 10:2

“ . . . you shall not behave thus before the Lord . . .” Deut 12:4

“ . . . you shall not worship the Lord in this way . . .” Deut 12:31

 Gal. 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?¹⁰ You observe days and months and seasons and years!   ¹¹ I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

 Please, let’s remember that Paul (in Gal.4:9) is not speaking to a group of folks brought up in the traditions of the Feasts of Lord, Sabbath, etc. These are folks ‘out of the nations’ desiring to go back into their former practices . . . the ways of the nations . . .

So, to answer the question  ‘pagan to whom ?’ ( pagan is not our word, it was used in the article . . .)

Pagan to Whom ? According to the Word of The Living God, these things are Pagan to Him, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, The Lord of Heaven and Earth, past, present and future. If things and practices are contrary to His nature, should they not also be contrary to our nature as well ? Are we not to take on His nature ?

 Jeremiah 10:1Hear the word of the LORD O house of Israel: ² Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.

 ³ For the customs of the people are vain: for they cut a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

 ⁴ They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers,  that it move not.

 ⁵ They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they need to be carried, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

 ⁶ Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O; LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

 ⁷ Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

 Jeremiah was speaking to those of God’s people who were getting involved in the

‘ways of the nations’.

Paul was speaking to believers desiring to back into the ‘ways of the nations’ . . .

Seems things haven’t changed much. We still want to buddy up to stuff we have no business playing with.

 2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 By the way, ‘beauty, not the Truth, is in the eye of the beholder’ . . .

 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the Truth, and the life . . .”

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

 And we pray for Nathan’s healing and for protection and provision for him and his family and for all the household of faith in these days

 – B’Shem Yeshua HaMashiach –

in the Name of Jesus the Messiah – Amen . . .