Another Sabbath Rest

Its been awhile since I have posted on this blog so I thought I would write a little to share what the past few weeks have been like. We were blessed with an opportunity to travel to KY to visit some dear friends and their sabbath keeping fellowship. It was a wonderful and encouraging time. I learned so much in visiting them. After a few days in KY we headed down to Jackson, TN where we once again were blessed with a family who paid our way to the Passover event there. It was an AWESOME experience! I can't even put into words what its like to observe the feasts that Jesus Himself observed! Its incredible! The Bible came alive for us. And the Passover is not just some little historical event.. its a remembrance of the Messiah who was the PERFECT Lamb! He gave His life so that we might live! The Passover was followed by a week of Unleavened Bread and I have to admit that being pregnant and nauseated that was a challenge. However, getting rid of sin in our lives is never easy and we must constantly die to self and deny ourselves. This was a wonderful lesson to me. Also we ate unleavened bread each day as a symbol of taking in more of the Messiah each day. Once we accept Him as our Passover Lamb, then we seek to rid the sin our of our life and seek to take in more of Him. We are now counting the days till Pentecost which will be celebrated on June 12. What an awesome year this has been so far. We feel so blessed.

Tonight was another Sabbath, another reminder that one day we will rest for eternity! I cannot wait for that day! We blessed the bread and the juice tonight and prayed together as a family. Daddy played the guitar and we sang one of my favorite songs, Days of Elijah! My favorite part, "Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds, shining like the sun, at the trumpet call. So lift your voice, its the year of Jubilee. Out of Zion's hill Salvation comes!" I am so excited that He is coming back again! He is coming to SAVE us! What a day that will be! I love how Yahweh shows us how to rehearse for His rest in the millennial kingdom! He instituted a seventh day rest every week! I look so forward to that. And He even told us to rest our land in the seventh year! Woven through the pages of scripture are object lessons for us to do that have a spiritual application as well. That is what Sabbath and His feasts are all about! Its incredible!

Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Unleavened Bread (ULB) is the second spring festival beginning in the fifteenth month of Nisan (Lev 23:6; Ex 12:15-17). When the Isrealites fled from Egypt they took the dough before it had time to leaven. On the next day when they baked it, it was unleavened bread. The fermenting nature of leaven is commonly used as a metaphor for sin. In remembrance of this event, Yahweh commanded His people to eat only pure, unleavened bread for seven days every year.

During this week long feast, nothing with leaven in it may be eaten. Leaven is removed from all houses before the Passover feast. Abstaining from unleavened bread for seven days is symbolic of Yahweh's people separating themselves from sin and becoming a holy (set-apart) people and experiencing a holy walk with Yahweh.

Spring cleaning has its roots in the Passover preparation. Thirty days before the festival, the women of every household began removing all leaven from their homes. According to Lev 13:7, as long as leaven remains in the house one cannot celebrate Passover. It is a spiritual as well as a physical cleansing. If one does not examine their hearts and life for sin and come before Yahweh with a pure heart, then that person cannot celebrate Passover. (1 Cor 5:7-8)

The matzah is a wonderful reminder of the Messiah. The bread with without leaven (sin), striped, pierced and bruised. He was wounded and bruised for our sins. The feast of ULB speaks of sanctification. The Messiah was set apart. His body would not decay in the grave.

The unleavened bread is also a visual lesson instructing us how Yahweh wants us to change through Yahshua (Jesus). When we accept Yahshua as the Passover Lamb who died for our sins, our position before Yahweh changes to sinless (without leaven) because Yahshua took on our sins. We are righteous through Yahshua. As believers in Christ we are to put off the sin nature within us. (Eph 4:22-24)

The symbolism in the feast of ULB is incredible. The Israelites fed on bread without leaven (sin) and believers on Yahshua, the Word, without sin. Unleavened bread is used for consecration and separation and believers in Christ are to be consecrated and separated to live a holy life.

To me these spring feasts represent the process of salvation and sanctification in a believers life. First we accept the Messiah as our Passover Lamb and His blood gets put on the door posts of our heart. Then we seek to turn from our sinful ways and purge the junk out of our lives, this is ULB. And finally we then begin to really study Yahweh's Word and we start in the beginning which is the Torah. From there we seek obey Him by observing all He has written for us (this is Pentecost). I will explain more about the feast of Pentecost in another blog post. But for now I just wanted to show how the spring feasts from Passover to Pentecost show the journey of a Believer's life.

My family and I are so eager to celebrate these feasts this year. What an awesome way to make the Bible come alive and to even further understand the road map that Yahweh has laid out for His children to become set apart for Him!

Passover

Yahweh (God) has given us seven annual feasts, or festivals on which to worship and honor Him. By observing them according to His Word, we can understand His ultimate plan for humanity. Leviticus 23 lists all of Yahweh's commanded festivals in order.

The very first festival is called Passover. It comes from the word "Pesach" which in Hebrew means, "passing over" or "protection". Passover, which falls in early spring in the Holy Land, is a reminder of how Yahweh took the lives of all the firstborn Egyptian males (Ex 12:7, 26-29) but passed over the Israelites' homes because they had placed the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their doorposts. The blood of the lamb foreshadowed the sacrifice of Yahshua (Jesus), which spares mankind from eternal death. In the New Testament, Believers come to understand that Yahshua is the true Passover Lamb (compare Ex 12:21 with 1 Cor 5:7). Yahshua was sacrificed on Passover.

It cannot be overemphasized as to how foundational Passover is in Yahweh's redemption plan. It is on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Only Nisan can be the first month in Yahweh's calendar. Though other cycles and other aspects of life in Yahweh are important, it is the sacrifice of the Lamb that gives it all meaning. Except for the sacrifice of Passover and the blood on the doorposts, all Israel would have suffered the same fate as the Egyptians. The promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would have then become void. With no Passover sacrifice and with no blood on the doorposts, then no Torah could have been given and no other celebrations would have followed. We would have no hope and remain dead in our sins; however, the command was obeyed and deliverance was accomplished. Indeed, for us, this is most certainly the first of all the months, the first month of the year. This is the real beginning of all spiritual life.

Yahweh instructs parents on this special night of the year, to pass down His story of the Exodus from Egpyt. This night not only looks back on the miraculous story of Yahweh delivering His people, but it also presents the promise of Messiah's death and resurrection. It is an exciting experience centering on a mixture of ritual foods. The matzah (representing Yahshua's sinless body), bitter herbs (representing the bitterness of bondage), wine (representing His blood) and other things provide a lasting link through the march of history.

Scriptures through the Bible on Passover being remembered:
Numbers 9, Deut 16, Joshua 5:10-11, Ezra 6:19-20, 2 Chron 30-32, 2 Kings 23, 2 Chron 35, Ezekiel 45:21-24, Luke 2:41-52, Matthew 21 -28, 1 Cor 5:7 and Acts 12:3

My Savior

I would like to share something that my Abba Father has so lovingly shown me.. I am humbled, I am full of gratitude and love....

I am standing at the foot of the cross and as I look up I see my Savior, Yashua, dripping blood and gasping for breath. He is in agony and He looks down at me. I drop to my knees and bury my head in my hands, weeping uncontrollably. I just keep hearing these words from the cross, "Your penalty is paid, your penalty is paid my child!" I manage to stop sobbing just long enough to look up at the cross. As I look I see these ordinances against me on papers just nailed all over His cross.. there they are.. lying, hate, pride, selfishness, bitterness, disobedience.. its ALL there! Every one of them I stand guilty of! Underneath each ordinance is the penalty written: DEATH! Wow, I am trembling and weeping again now. My Savior speaks again as He gasps for breath, "Your...penalty..is..paid! It....is...FINISHED!"

My Savior has breathed His last breath. He died for ME! For my SIN! This is GRACE! Unmerited favor! I rise to my feet quickly... I am FORGIVEN! I am FORGIVEN! The written ordinances against me have been PAID IN FULL!!! What can I do to show my Savior my gratefulness for what He has done? What can I do to show Him just how much I love Him? Should I return to my former ways and continue in lying, hatred, pride, selfishness, bitterness and disobedience? God forbid! I will REPENT! TURN from my sinful ways! I will seek to live my life for HIM! I love Him so much! My heart can barely contain all the love I have for Him! My Savior! He died in my place! I will obey Him with ALL my heart! I will walk as He walked! I will obey His commands, His law, His ordinances and His statues! They will become my delight! I will be a light on a hill! A beacon for Him! I will walk in love and humility and follow in His very footsteps until my very last breath! I will fail and I will sin, but I will be quick to repent knowing that He will forgive me! This is GRACE! This is what freedom really looks like.. freedom to obey Him!

I am now skipping down the hill. I must tell my friends, my family and all who I can. The time is becoming short! Yahshua is coming again! He has promised! He is coming back for ME! And for all those who are in covenant with His Father! Who by FAITH are saved! Let my life song sing to you Abba Father! The bridegroom is coming! The bridegroom is coming! Be ready! Dont let your lamp oil run out! Let it burn bright for ALL the world to see! May He find me faithful when He returns!

My thoughts aloud...

Ok, it has been a long time since I have written a blog post. I have been busy pouring over the Scriptures and just standing amazed at where these past few months have taken me. Yahweh has been SO good to me! I have been SO blessed! My husband and I are becoming more and more one (echad) in our relationship with the Creator of the universe. This journey has been amazing and I had no idea what I was missing all these years in mainstream Christianity.

Walking in the footsteps of my Jewish Messiah has been incredible. Falling in love with my Abba and delighting in obeying His instructions for righteous living. Remembering that I am saved by faith alone but that out of that faith I seek to obey and bear the fruits of my salvation. I am humbled in realizing just how much I missed for so many years and how much the Holy Spirit has revealed to my husband and I these past few months. I truly feel like David in Psalm 119 when he said over and over again just how much he delighted in the Laws of Yahweh.

I just want to share before I close this blog post some of my latest thoughts. Now that I have really come to understand the Hebrew authors of our Bible, the Scriptures are becoming more and more real to me. I can no longer understand how anyone could think that Yahweh made a covenant with gentiles. I do clearly see how Yahweh made a covenant with the House of Judah and the House of Israel.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:


And I do see that there is only one law for everyone who call themselves children of Yahweh or children of the covenant.

Exo 12:49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.


Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
(Even the stranger keeps the Sabbath!!)


So there is only one law and the covenants were made with the House of Judah and the house of Israel only. Then what happens to the rest of us?

ph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Romans 11:16-22 (You can look that passage up as well)

So now we know that there is only one law, a covenant with only Judah and Israel and the rest of us can be grafted into the the house of Israel! Praise Yahweh! When we enter into covenant with Yahweh then we are grafted into His family! We seek to know Him more than ever and become echad (one) with Him. Our heart then begins to overflow with love for Him which then displays itself in obedience to His instructions. As a man once asked Yashua...

Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Psa 119:1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
Psa 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
Psa 119:3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Psa 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
Psa 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
Psa 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psa 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
Psa 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
Psa 119:9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Psa 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psa 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.


I know that my life just oozes the love I have for Yahweh and for His Son, My Messiah! I can't do anything or say anything without Yahweh being part of it! I live, breathe and think Yahweh every waking moment! He is my reason to live. I wait expectantly for His return! I am betrothed to Him and I wait for my bridegroom to return. I must be ready at all times and not be caught unprepared (like the parable of the ten virgins). At any moment that trumpet will sound and I need to be ready! I look forward to celebrating His feasts that point to His Second Coming! I am rehearsing for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

Our Purim Celebration!

This weekend we celebrated Purim and today was our Purim feast with our friends at Beth Shalom. It was a wonderful time of remembering how Yahweh saved the Jews, using Queen Hadassah (Esther). We were so excited to be a part of this celebration because if there were no Jews, there would have been no Messiah and no Bible. I have such a deep love for my brothers and sisters in the Messiah! Thought I would share some pics from our festivities. And below is some concise information about Purim.



What is Purim?

The festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar (late winter/early spring). It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in Ancient Persia from Haman's plot "to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day."

The story in a nutshell:

The Persian empire of the 4th century BCE extended over 127 lands, and all the Jews were its subjects. When King Ahasuerus had his wife, Queen Vashti, executed for failing to follow his orders, he orchestrated a beauty pageant to find a new queen. A Jewish girl, Esther, found favor in his eyes and became the new queen—though she refused to divulge the identity of her nationality.

Meanwhile, the anti-Semitic Haman was appointed prime minister of the empire. Mordechai, the leader of the Jews (and Esther's cousin) defied the king's orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman was incensed and convinced the king to issue a decree ordering the extermination of all the Jews on the 13th of Adar—a date chosen by a lottery Haman made.

Mordechai galvanized all the Jews, convincing them to repent, fast and pray to G‑d. Meanwhile, Esther asked the king and Haman to join her for a feast. At the feast, Esther revealed to the king her Jewish identity. Haman was hanged, Mordechai was appointed prime minister in his stead, and a new decree was issued—granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against their enemies.

On the 13th of Adar the Jews mobilized and killed many of their enemies. On the 14th of Adar they rested and celebrated.

Forgetting the Spirit of the Laws....

I know for a while now my posts have been very heavy on all different aspects of my spiritual journey recently. I was afraid that I was conveying a condescending or judgemental tone in my posts and I wanted to be sure I corrected that. At the very least, offered an apology if I have come across in any way that makes it appear as though I am better than or know more than anyone else. I am truly sorry if my posts have reflected an attitude like that.

I am still very new in my journey. There are not too many things I am 100% certain of and I would be lying to tell you otherwise. My goal with my blog has always been to be very transparent and I want to be sure I live up to that. Of one thing I am certain. That Jesus, Yeshua, died on the cross for my sins. He paid the penalty so that even in my shortcomings I could be with Him in eternity if I believe in Him, repent of my sins and turn from my old ways and live a new life. Of this I am certain. I am also certain that turning from our old ways and starting a new life means we have to change. I am convinced that YHVH has laws. He is the King of the His kingdom and every King has rules. In searching the Scriptures we will seek to determine just what those rules are. I am certain we are not saved by obeying rules. But out of love for our Messiah and our YHVH we obey His rules/laws/commands.

My husband and I will be re-reading the Bible from the Genesis to Revelation and relying on only the Scriptures to make our decisions. We will not be following any man, any great teacher or preacher or anyone for that matter, except YHVH. I am convinced that I have been programmed to listen and believe what man says instead of auditing those beliefs and seeing what YHVH actually says. For far too long I have only done what I did because that is what my family did or my pastors said to do (bad reasons!). We are starting over fresh! We are un-learning and re-learning things. This process takes lots of time! We are taking baby steps and will take one thing at a time. My husband will take the lead and I will be in submission to his leadership. We will see YHVH together. Already there are many, many things that I have found false in the Christian church and therefore it has caused us to question many of the things they are teaching as solid Biblcal doctrine. Questioning is a good thing I am learning. We should always be auditing our beliefs. And in doing that, our walk may start to look different and it may even change from year to year. The change is just proof that we are auditing our lives and our beliefs against the Word of God at all times. We seek to know the Truth and the truth only. We believe that when one veers even 1/8 cm off course.. over a period of hundreds of years this gap in becomes wider and wider. We seek to walk as close to what YHVH says as possible.

That being said I hope you understand that while I am seeking to understand the commands of YHVH I do not want to become like the Pharisees. I do not want to look good on the outside but lack the fruit of the Spirit on the inside. I am human so I make mistakes but I am trying my best.

This verse has been on my mind for days now.. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but not much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Phil 2:12 (KJV)