The Supernatural, Evil and Darkness of our Day–Torah Daily Living Challenge

Last week SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) legalized same sex marriage in all 50-States of union; a week ago, a crazed, seeming racist young man shot and killed 9 men and women attending a bible study in a black-church in Charleston S.C.; last month rioters looted and decimated Baltimore Maryland in response to the death of a young black man at the hands of Baltimore City Police officers; Islamic State fighters continue to make progress in Iraq and Syria as they leave a trail of blood and horror in their wake; ongoing European economic woes are leading the European Union down a path whereby its citizens will have limited access to their hard earned money—that is, the governments of the west will seize full control of every penny in their nations’ banks and the citizens of the world stand the chance of working solely for the economic well-being of their country while they live out the rest of their lives penniless and destitute; racial tensions continue to percolate in the United States in response to a proliferation of news reports on mainstream media outlets of white on black murders while white on white, black on black and black on white crimes go unnoticed by these same media outlets; the Bilderburg cabal met at a posh Austria resort 2-weeks ago to discuss and enact what most believe to be a globalist agenda. Meanwhile, the world’s citizens, especially in the west, in great part, goes about their day-to-day lives, oblivious of the things—the evil things—that are transpiring around them. These things, though they may not be directly impacting them at the moment, will have an immeasurable impact on everyone sometime in the near future. Yes, there is evil in this world dear Saints and there is especially evil in our day. Grab yourself a cup of joe or tea, settle in and let’s hash this thing out while we still can as a free people.

The Supernatural, Evil and Darkness of our Day

I don’t know about you Saints, but I have a terrible sense that there’s something going on out in our world today—now—right now. It’s not just life; it’s something, or better yet, somethings going on that is of a supernatural—very evil nature, that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s heavy and weighty. It’s dark and dank and it feels like my spirit is weighed down.
I’m not a spiritualist by any stretch of the imagination, so please don’t misunderstand me.I’ve said this over and over on this podcast program: I am just an average run of the mill citizen of heaven, living as many of you are, in a world that is not my true home…waiting for the change to come…waiting for the coming of our Lord and Savior—our Messiah to establish His kingdom here on earth…waiting for the “reset” button of this world to be pressed and for the rule of Holiness, truth, justice and peace to be the norm as opposed to the exception.
What is all this I’m referring to? As I just said, I can’t put my finger on it. The only thing I can say is that the joy that I normally have is somewhat diminished; the peace that I normally enjoy and relish within my spirit seems somewhat compromised; the way I’m seeing many things around me of late seems clouded or misted over by some indescribable veil. The only word I can attribute to this—whatever this is—is evil.

washington dc
Again, I don’t know what any of you are experiencing today—maybe I’m an exception—maybe I’m just out there—maybe my metabolism or hormones are out of sync. Maybe I’m just going through a phase of some sort. And certainly, any or all of these are distinct possibilities. But I’m not going to shy away from this feeling simply because I could be off somehow in my being. You see, I know that we are spirit-beings; just as we are flesh and blood beings. We exist in or within or between two-realms—the spirit and the physical. And depending on where we are at any given span or period will determine which realm we are spending most of our time in. If we are growing into the very image of Y’shua, as I prefer to think that I am, then we will at some point begin to experience some of the same things that He experienced when He ministered upon this earth. If you were to do a word search and simply look up spirit—be it in your Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance—or if you have what I have, one of my treasured resources—”BibleWorks”—simply type in “spirit” into the search box, the King James Version of the Bible, you will discover that there are some 456 uses of the term “spirit” therein. If we were to strip away all mention of “spirit” in the Tanakh (i.e., the Old Testament) and focus only on the Brit Hadashah (i.e., the Renewed Testament), we find that the Master was always operating in the spirit realm. He was moved by the “Spirit;” He taught in the “Spirit;” He recognized the presence and casted out unclean spirits; He discerned the purposes and conniving of men through the agency of the “Spirit;” He prayed in the “Spirit;” He recognized that there was a constant struggle that existed between the physical and spirit realm; He rejoiced in the “Spirit;” He grew up in the “Spirit;” He was led by the “Spirit;” and He promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to those of us who were and would soon become His disciples.
Many of us in the Messianic/Hebraic Roots/Netzari Communities, shy away from and even reject anything having to do with discussions or teachings or even consideration of things of the “Spirit.” I’ve mentioned this on this program before, how I’ve gone to a couple conferences where Arthur Bailey (overseer of the House of Israel) taught on things of the Spirit and invited the attendees to tap into the Spirit for their leading and healing, and seeing several people get up and storm out of the conference hall as he made the topic of his talk known. Also, when I’ve been in such conferences and there is praise and worship music playing, most of the attendees sit stiff as boards in their seats, seeming as though they can’t wait for the worship/praise to be over. It’s as if having anything to do with the Spirit is a bad bad thing. I can certainly understand how this could happen—or better, why this aversion towards things pertaining to the spirit realm. When I first came to the knowledge of the Feast Days, the Sabbath and the dietary laws through my affiliating with the United Church of God—this was sometime around 2005-2006, I was exposed to what I describe as a “spiritless” church environment. There was never any talk about the Spirit. Speaking in ecstatic tongues was seen as a demonic thing. The whole Acts 2 story was never expounded upon or taught by UCG teachers beyond a brief article in their magazine mailer that linked the Day of Pentecost to the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. There was no praise and worship music. People would come to church and endure mechanical hymnal music, sit quietly during the sermon without so much as a nod of the head in agreement to something that the speaker might be saying that was of some significance and truth to their mechanical lives. It was almost like living in “spiritual-less” bondage (my wording) for the 2 or so hours I attended such services. Looking back and having tacitly agreed with this practice through my participation and silence did me nor anyone else I came into contact with, any good.
Denying the stark relevancy or even existence of the spirit realm naturally leads to a lack or even absence in our ability to operate in the spirit realm. And if we are not open to the things of the spirit, our walk with Messiah will be uni-dimensional. We’ll be no different than our forefathers in the Sinai desert who functioned solely via their flesh. These were incapable of seeing beyond their stomachs, their past experiences, their carnal desires, their personal ambitions, their fears, their petty jealousies, envies and hatreds. That’s why the Churches of God (at least UCG) are so dead—they are dead in spirit. Oh the people are wonderful, caring and beautiful people who generally obey the rules of the church—observe the Feast Days and each Sabbath; reject port and shell fish; attend church regularly; tithe; occasionally read their bibles; etc., etc., etc.; but they lack joy, celebration, imagination, substantive introspection, the gifts of the spirit. These folks are ill-prepared to be effective in the work of the Gospel. In fact, most of the Churches of God forbid their members to evangelize, minister or function in any formal capacity in the work of the Gospel unless their work has been officially sanctioned by the church’s hierarchy. They don’t trust their people. They don’t trust their teachers, ministers and pastors to properly prepare their members for the work of the Kingdom. It’s insane and a sure-fire prescription for spiritual disaster. I tremble to imagine how these really nice people will fare during the coming tribulations and persecutions. These, as are millions of others in traditional, fundamental, liberal, hip-hop, quasi and orthodox Christianity, will have absolutely no idea what hit them when the crap hits the fan sometime here in the near future.
Folks, there is evil in our world and evil in our day and if we are not grounded in the Word of Truth and are not walking in the Spirit, all bets for our future survival and effectiveness and viability in the world are off the table. We all might as well pack up, grab our guns and ammo, store up food and water, shuffle ourselves and our loved-ones to the remotest parts of the world and await the coming apocalypse in hopes that we may stay out of harm’s way. But I ask you: is this what we’ve been called to do—stay out of harm’s way; occupy as so many believers have adopted such a mindset; hide our heads in the sand? I really don’t think so. I mean, haven’t we been called by the Master to be lights, salt, and even repairers of the breach, (Isa. 58:12; Mat. 5:13,14; Joh. 8:12; Phi. 2:15).
No other writer in the Bible has commented more than Shaul (aka Paul) on what we’ve been called to do. Have you read the 6th Chapter of 2nd Corinthians—I mean really read it? Listen to the man as I read his admonition to us that we not sit around and waste away our calling:

NAS  2 Corinthians 6:1 And aworking together with Him, bwe also urge you not to receive cthe grace of God in vain–
2 for He says, a”At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you”; behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation “–
3 agiving no cause for offense in anything, in order that the ministry be not discredited,
4 but in everything acommending ourselves as 1bservants of God, cin much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
5 in abeatings, in imprisonments, in btumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in chunger,
6 in purity, in aknowledge, in bpatience, in kindness, in the cHoly Spirit, in dgenuine love,
7 in athe word of truth, in bthe power of God; by cthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,
8 by glory and adishonor, by bevil report and good report; regarded as cdeceivers and yet dtrue;
9 as unknown yet well-known, as adying yet behold, bwe live; as 1punished yet not put to death,
10 as asorrowful yet always arejoicing, as bpoor yet making many rich, as chaving nothing yet possessing dall things. (2Co 6:1-10 NAS)

There is evil in our world and that evil is prevalent in our day, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. From small-town U.S.A. to the great monuments and halls of law and policy in our nation’s capital, the enemy has left his mark and is working a work through the people who would be our leaders and our protectors. If you think me silly or crazy or just another Alex Jones-type cook (or any of the other questioners of our world-governments’ sanctity and sacred nature) who is spewing anti-American slurs and promulgating fear and mistrust in the public domain, carve out a chunk of your next free weekend and read Rob Skiba’s book, Babylon Rising Book 1. Now I don’t agree or believe everything in Rob’s book, but I do agree and believe most of what he’s written. If you don’t have any agendas—political, religious or personal ones—and you simply step back from the equation and carefully look at the case that Rob is laying out before us, you will realize that indeed virtually every fiber of our nation’s (for that matter the world’s) government is rooted in evil and stands and operates under the auspices of evil. Many of the men and women who serve as our leaders and protectors in Washington know very well whom they are serving—and these are not serving the people of this or any nation. And don’t get me wrong, the buck doesn’t just stop at the desks of our political leaders. Indeed, there are those in our world who have amassed for themselves great wealth, power and influence; beyond those at the top of many of the world’s giant corporations and businesses. These individuals sit in positions of world dominance and control. These elitists or as popularly referenced in certain conservative media forums, globalists, are believed to have control over the well-being of virtually every man, woman and child on this planet. These operate beyond the reach and restraint of laws and government. These power brokers serve only themselves and their god. They will not be swayed from their purpose and agenda. These will ensure that the will of their master is met and served. We here in the trenches of the world will likely never know their names or their identities, for they operate in darkness as does their master—hasatan. And hasatan is quite content for the citizenry of this world to be ignorant of him and his government over the governments of this world. When was the last time you knew of a celebrity or politician or corporate giant who wanted anonymity? Anonymity and celebrity just doesn’t mix now, does it?

And yes Saints, I’m a conspiracy theorist. And quite frankly, I don’t believe anyone can call themselves a true messianic/Hebrew roots or a netzari and not be a conspiracy theorist. The apostle Shaul was indeed one of the first conspiracy theorists on record if you ask me. (Oh just take a drink and chill–those who’s blood pressure just spiked and eyes rolled to the back of their heads over my last statement.) Yes, I believe Shaul was a conspiracy theorist, certainly led by and operating in the Spirit. But when all is said and done, there must be no doubt in any believer’s mind that Shaul was on to something regarding the spirit-realm and the life and death struggle that is being waged here on earth and in the heavenlies. Just listen to the insight and genius of this powerful man of Yahovah:

“Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with His mighty strength! Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom. Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.” (Eph. 6:10-18; CJB)

How many of us have read this passage and really taken it to heart? I recall speaking at length to my boss on this passage a few years ago and our conversation was centered mainly around dealing with our personal woes and challenges. (By the way, my boss at the time was a conservative, so-called “born again Christian” who was constantly battling personal life problems and she found solace in frequent discussions with me and a select few about overcoming–overcoming life’s little problems. Oh boy, when  I think about the hours over the course of several-years that I wasted discussing pointless and petty things that really had little positive impact on our individual walks with Messiah. She was not a believer in Y’shua Messiah, but a believer in Jesus Christ. She completely rejected anything having to do with Torah Living, citing that we have freedom in Christ and thus we are no longer under bondage of the LAW!!!!! Hallelujah!) The gist of our conversations were primarily focused upon how this or that person was getting on our nerves and causing us heartburn; or a personal drama that we saw as an attack by the enemy. And we began to think and discuss about all the things going on in our personal lives that took away our focus from God and that stole our joy. It was “fellowship,” I guess, and to some extent it was better than focusing on non-spiritual things of life. But looking back at those conversations and hours of contemplation about these types of things, we were trivializing this passage more than we were actually seeing Shaul’s admonishment about spiritual warfare–which is what Shaul was actually addressing here–to its fullest light and relevancy. I don’t mean to trivialize our individual trials and tribulations and personal dramas, the etiology of which we tend to attribute to the enemy or to demons. I’m a firm believer that our personal life dramas and challenges can be the result of an intrusion by the wrong-side/the bad side of the spirit-realm and we probably need to be cognizant and on-guard of this at all times. But the vast majority of personal problems and life-dramas that we endure are the results of our own stupidities and the poor-choices we frequently make in life; the really bad relationships we choose to embark upon; the refusal to allow the Ruach Kodesh to lead us into living righteous, prosperous and peaceful lives.

The reason I say we as believers tend to trivialize this passage is that Shaul is not addressing the petty issues that we all experience in our lives here–Shaul is addressing something much greater; much deeper; much more scarier than we can probably imagine. And I’m also a firm believer that a common trick of the enemy is for us to focus our attention solely on our personal issues and life-dramas and thus miss the bigger–more ominous conditions and situations that are taking place around us. Indeed, we are so side-tracked by our cell-phones, television shows, celebrity dramas, personal and family dramas, politics, career and personal ambitions, likes and dislikes, food, entertainment, cars, etc., that we can’t see the forest for the trees so to speak.

Going back over to Ephesians 6:12–that famous verse that we all know regarding spiritual warfare but we really don’t understand–when we really peel away the brilliant prose of Shaul and examine the organs of what he is say (sorry, my coroner background somehow came peeking through here), we see some interesting things. The term principalities translates in the Greek to “arche”. According to the Thayer Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: arche is defined as the first place, principality, rule, magistracy (cf. English `authorities’) (ἄρχω τίνος ):  Luke 12:11; 20:20; Titus 3:1; office given in charge (Gen. 40:13,21; 2 Macc. 4:10, etc.), Jude 1:6.  Hence, the term is transferred by Paul to angels and demons holding dominions entrusted to them in the order of things.

So we’re talking about demons and the spirit realm here. And what is so interesting for me here is that Shaul–with the sole exception of Y’shua–was one of the very few in the whole of the bible who had a deep, comprehensive understanding of the evil operations that have and continue to transpire in the spirit realm. The Thayer Lexicon pointed to Jude 1:6 as a reference in relation to the ongoing struggle taking place in the spirit-realm:

NAU  Jude 1:6 And aangels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has bkept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, (Jud 1:6 NAU)

The term “domain” in this passage actually translates to “arche”—the same word used to describe the term principalities–which according to Thayer refers to an order or organization of beings that have authority over certain realms or spheres in either heaven or earth. Jude here is speaking of angels who left their assigned domains and intruded into realms that were never intended for them to enter in and cause problems within those realms. Thus these angels–these fallen ones—we often refer to these as demons–were bound and cast into darkness because of their intrusion into prohibited realms; these are currently awaiting judgment day. I’m inclined to link this passage to the angels that entered the prohibited human realm and bound themselves to women and their progeny resulted in the Nephillim. But I don’t wish to get into a discussion about the Nephillim as that is a discussion to be had by others who are more versed on the subject than I am. But suffice to say, this passage tells me that angels—fallen angels—have penetrated into our realm and are working towards a purpose that we humans are completely in the dark about.

The Pauline and Judas passages speak ever so loudly to me regarding the influence or intrusion of the spirit world into the affairs of the human race. Today, more than ever, our world seems to be at the tail-end of the dog whereby fallen angels are wagging the governments and societies of our world—i.e., the tails. We citizens of the world are oblivious as to the struggle that is ongoing between the powers of good and evil. Sadly, there is no escape for those of us who have chosen not to drink the world’s kool-aid. Our world leaders are operating under the influence of these demonic dominions and powers, unbeknownst to most of us. Those of us who choose to speak out against this assault by the forces of darkness on the affairs of men are labeled as crazies, nuts, zealots, conspiracy theorists, non-conformists, trouble-makers, etc. We are a small lot, crying out in the wilderness of a vast world of beings whose only concerns are their personal comforts and securities and well beings. And this is what the enemy does to shroud their plans and their operations—distract the inhabitants of this world with the cares and things of life. Our future is not in the hands of caring individuals in Washington or any of the western governments—on the contrary—these governments are every bit the tail-end of the dog and there is almost little to no distinction between the two—between the workings of men in high-positions and places of the world and the demon realm. This relationship—between men and demons—is an ungodly union designed to foil the plans and purpose of our Creator. Evidence of this ungodly union are everywhere and manifested in virtually every aspect of our lives.

This ungodly union was first established by and with Nimrod who has become known as the first world-leader and precursor to the coming anti-Christ. The resulting government and religion—there has never been a true separation between church and state in this world—has since been modified and repackaged and sold to the citizens of this world for purposes of getting every human to comply. Listen, I’m not talking about individual instances of demon possessions and demonic activity throughout history—these things indeed have and are occurring even today. I’m talking about the grander picture here. I’m talking about the struggle that has been waged and continues to be waged between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of heaven/God. This perpetual struggle has and continues to occur with the blessings and compliance of the citizens of our world. The leaders of this world have and continue to be nothing more than puppets on a world-stage, doing the bidding of the puppeteer who is non-other than hasatan and his minions. And as time goes by and the world becomes more and more in lock-step with the principalities and dominions of the spirit realm, the closer we get as a race to a final confrontation between Yahovah and His chosen and hasatan and his chosen. Needless to say, we all know who the winner of that contest will be.

But in the interim, we must prepare ourselves for the coming onslaught. The world around us is becoming more and more hostile towards the things of our God and His Torah. Just this week, here in the United States, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gay and Lesbian marriage. That ruling by the highest court in the land legalized same sex marriage, fundamentally changing the god-sanctioned concept of marriage being a union between a man and a woman. Now I don’t wish to get into the whole political rigmarole around such a ruling, but more so, I wish to warn about the fall-out that is certain to come as a result of this landmark ruling. As I postulated on our Facebook page and our Google+ page this morning, this ruling is not really about same sex marriage as most would surmise. The issue is about fronting-off Yahovah and His Torah before this nation. Yahovah made it clear that He viewed gay and lesbian relationships as an abomination that could not be tolerated. Yet the men of our government are under the illusion that they have second-guessed God on this issue and their opinions must overshadow that of Yahovah and their opinions must be made known and clear to all the citizens of the land. No friends, it’s about men being duped into thinking that they’ve shown God up when in reality, it is hasatan who is orchestrating and bringing about this defiance. Men are simply hanging in the balance of this struggle—this war—this wrestling match that Shaul referenced in Ephesians.

I referred to men and their governments (as well as their religions) as the tail of the dog. Just because I see men and their governments and religions as the tail of the dog, doesn’t excuse men from any culpability in this cosmic struggle. Men have from the beginning been endowed with freedom of choice. We have the wherewithal to decide whether to conform to the ways of Yahovah and be His children and servants on this earth, or serve hasatan and his heinous plan to overshadow and even unseat the Creator of the Universe. Satan tried a direct assault against Father once but failed; he is going to try it again, but this time he will use men to assist him in his plans.

It then becomes our duty to act in opposition—to stand against the enemy and sound the alarm and inform the inhabitants of this world, that their religions and their seemingly good intended governments are all part and parcel of a plan that seeks to challenge and come against the Father and His plans for mankind. That’s why I will not vote for politicians or anyone who is running for a political office—be it national or regional or local. Our government in it’s various forms and permutations are nothing more than extensions of the government of the evil one. I believe that participation in the electoral process only furthers the cause and purpose of the enemy that exists in complete opposition to Yahovah and His Kingdom. Thus we need to get prayed up and educated and ready for the battle that we’ve been enlisted to participate in. Shaul gave us the step-by-step protocol to follow that entails putting on the whole armor of God, tempered with constant prayer and seeking the will of the Father, fueled by His Ruach.

I’m worried friends. I’m not worried about how all this will end. I’ve read the back of the book and I know how it ends and yes—we win! Big time. But what worries me is that we as a Faith—as a small, less than committed community–collectively and individually, are ill-prepared for the battle ahead. There are just a few precious ones out there working in the fields—sounding the alarm—rattling the cages of the enemy—fulfilling vital roles in the Great Commission while the rest of us simply hang out in various Messianic chat rooms; watch DVDs; attend conferences; and simply wait. What we’re waiting for, I don’t know. But all the DVD watching, conference attending, chatting, etc., will be for naught if we don’t get up off our BE-HINDS and perform.

Yes, there is a heaviness around us today and I believe that heaviness is the enemy intruding more and more into the affairs of men and men’s negative reactions to this intrusion. Saints, we must react to this intrusion as well. But instead of complying with the enemy’s purpose and instructions, we must do our part to counter their onslaught—not by physical means as Shaul instructed—but through the use of spiritual armament and spiritual warfare methods. I will suit up and ready myself for the battle ahead. How about you? Will you join me? Dudes and dudettes: do not be a pew warmer; do not let this battle pass you by and think you will emerge unscathed. It just ain’t gonna happen. You will be drawn in one way or another. Don’t be just another one of the billions of world victims; instead let’s be spiritual aggressors. Pray, fast, study up, live blameless-holy lives, be the witness worthy of our calling as the redeemed of the Most High; let us live lives that people will look upon and wonder what the heck is going on in that person’s life that makes him or her so strange—so different—able to rise up above the fray and live victorious, powerful and relevant lives. The reason why Fundamental Churchianity is losing so many of her members today is because they find no relevancy in that Faith—they find it empty and without any personal and spiritual fulfillment. This Faith we love so much is the real deal and it’s out there for those who are leaving Christianity today. Let us not let this opportunity to catch those folks exiting the theater that is churchianity and let’s give them a taste of that which they’ve been longing for all their lives. We must act before it’s too late friends. The storm clouds have already been gather—they’ve been gathering for the last 5,000 or so years. It’s just today, the clouds seem ever so ominous and most everyone outside our Faith seems to not care in the least. The world is too caught up in their own personal dramas and in crap that doesn’t matter—Beyonce and JZ, and the economy and Hilary Clinton and her run for the presidency; cell phones, the drought, race relations; and we can go on and on. I’m not saying that world affairs in not important per se. What I am saying is that our focus is being taken away from that which should be the sole focus of our lives; and that is Yahovah and His Torah; the Kingdom of Yahovah and His righteousness. Not this other stuff that the enemy is using to shove our collective and individual attentions elsewhere. We gotta change that…we gotta sound the shofar and warn the world of the impending storm before it’s too late. Cuz once the storm hits, folks will be too worried about their own safety and consumed by the events that will be transpiring before their very eyes.

Let me know if you are feeling the same heaviness that I’m feeling, simply by emailing me at perceptionwp@gmail.com or utilizing the speakpipe feature of our website; or use the comments feature that proceeds and precedes each post. Follow us on social media simply by clicking the appropriate icons at the top-right-most column of our website themessianictorahobserver.org; subscribe to our website by filling in the appropriate boxes to the right-hand portion of this website entitled subscribe to this website; subscribe to this audioblog/podcast feed by clicking on the iTunes or Stitcher icons at the top-right-most column of this website and following the promptings on the other end. Become a part of the discussion and forum. We can’t fight this fight alone saints. We need each other as much as we need the Ruach Kodesh.

Paradise Image      Rod Thomas–Coroner Investigator, Messianic Blogger, Disciple of Yahoshua Messiah, Wishful Musicisn

Willing Obedience is a True Act of Love–

Willing Obedience is a True Act of Love

 

Deuteronomy 10:12-11:9

 
What does our experience tell us about Yahovah? What is our testimony? It is these exploits, these events that occurred in our lives that make us strong and ready to possess the land. We must not underestimate the value of our journey. Our individual journeys in Messiah serve as training grounds and provide us with the experience and knowledge base to move forward and possess that which Yahovah has given us. That which Yahovah has in store for us, although the journey to get there may at times seem insurmountable, is awesome. This was our experience in the wilderness prior to entering the land and it was that light at the end of the tunnel that drove us forward. Unfortunately, we failed to love and respect Yahovah as Yahovah so desired us to do. Instead, we tried to serve and obey Him governed by our flesh. We found that we could not keep Torah to the degree that Yahovah desired that we keep Torah. We kept Torah out of fear and we kept Torah like androids. This never satisfied Father. It was always a heart thing with the Father. Contrary to what we thought Yahovah wanted of us, it was not just compliance to His Torah that He wanted from us. No indeed. Ever since Yah created man, He has sought to have a relationship with him, unlike that which He has with His angels. Yah’s love for us is as deep and complex as the love a mother has for her child. It’s unconditional. It’s immeasurable. But Yah yearns for us to love Him just as He loves us. Is it wrong for us to empty out ourselves and seek to love Yahovah to the same degree He loves us. Oh, I know that scholars and teachers will tell us that we can never love Yahovah as much as He loves us and that may well be true. But the simple fact of the matter is, dear Saints, that many of us have taken that belief to heart and effectively become loveless children of Yahovah. Oh, we’ll gladly honor and observe the Feast Days, honor the food laws and the Shabbat. We’ll fellowship and support our favorite ministries. Many of us will even support charities and help those in need. But as it relates to our love for Yahovah, it has always been and remains plastic–unidimensional–colorless. And this lack of love translates, sadly, over to our brothers and sisters and anyone else who may enter into our spheres of influence–we are suspicious and hesitant to enter into any true, loving relationship with them. 
 
It’s a heart thing. It always has been. Serving and obeying Yahovah is pointless without the heart being the central driving element behind our obedience, praise and service. We must never be so naive to think that Yahovah is fooled by our loveless service to Him–indeed, as the traditionalists love to say, He knows our hearts oh too well. He wants a full commitment, not unlike that of a young couple who are so much in love that they choose to honor that love by taking a marriage vow. Yah’s love for us culminated at the Mount Sinai. He provided us a marriage covenant in advance of our agreeing to abide by that covenant. We knew the terms of that contract and we agreed to be married to Father. Yet we cheated on Father so early in the relationship. Oh how He must have been devastated. Why did we cheat on Father? I believe we cheated on Father because our hearts were never part and parcel of the marriage contract in the first place. We chose to just go along with the covenant and the plan of God because we had nothing better to do at the time. The problem of simply going with the flow and not having our hearts behind the commitment becomes that which ultimately leads to infidelity. It may not lead to idolatry as became the practice of our forefathers. But it may lead to infidelity through other means–allowing the cares of life to drown Him out; becoming preoccupied with materialism; establishing relationships with those who are unequally yoked; or simply walking away from Yahovah altogether. It happens all the time. That’s why it is so vitally important that we start this journey with the heart in sync with our minds. We know at some point that we should follow Yahovah, for whatever reason. So we commit to a relationship with Yahovah. But before moving on in the relationship and commitment, we must evaluate our intentions: do we truly love Father? Are we willing to die for Father? Are we willing to walk away, if necessary, from family, careers, lifestyles, relationships, material things, the things we love in the flesh? How much do we love Yahovah? How much? Because if we can’t certify that question with an unconditional “I love Him beyond measure,” then that relationship will be built on sand and it will ultimately fail. Yahovah opened Himself to us through Moshe and said to us: 
O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! (Deu 5:29 KJV)  
He so desires for us to love Him as much as He loves us. But sadly, that love is rarely returned in any appreciable capacity or measure.
What does our love for Yahovah look like: hands raised in praise; hours on our knees praying; wearing tzitzits to work; reading His Word; thinking about Him from time to time; or having a warm sensation within us as we think about His goodness. Yes, these could to some degree describe our love for Him. But, these displays of love are primarily acts of emotion. We know that emotions come and go, depending upon environment, situations, feelings, worries, hopes, perspectives, etc. Emotions change and thus, love based primarily upon an emotional response to that which Yahovah has done for us or what He will do for us, will most certainly ebb and wane. Yahovah is not naive. He most certainly does, as many in popular Christianity love to say, know our hearts. And depending upon how we feel at any given time, will determine to what degree we love Yahovah. Consequently, take away something we hold precious, our love for the Father may wax seemingly cold. Our lives grow stagnant and everyone around us gets blessed but our lives appear as though we are in a state of hibernation, our love for Yahovah may become equally stagnant. Oh, but get that big raise and great things start happening for us, then we are so in love with Yahovah, aren’t we? Therefore, cognitive, emotionally based love is not what Father desires of us. 
 
The love Father desires from us is obedience based. That obedience is carried through, not out of fear or guilt or feelings of obligation, but out of a genuine heartfelt love for Father. Thus, we do that which Father commands us to do and we do it readily and with zeal and with a willing heart and mind. That is true love for Yahovah.
 
Thus, our Torah Challenge for today is to love Yahovah the way He commands us to love Him. Any other concept of love, such as the popular, westernized concept of love, though warm and fuzzy at times, is not up to snuff to the love Yahovah is expecting of His chosen ones. Shalom. 
Paradise Image Rod Thomas–Coroner Investigator–Messianic Content Creator–Disciple of  Yahoshua HaMashiyach–Wishful Musician

 

God’s Law Written on our Hearts–Parashah 46 (Part 4)

God’s Law Written on our Hearts

Deuteronomy 10:1-12

Moshe regales the time past when Yahovah instructed him to come up the holy mountain with two tables of hewed stone, similar to the ones that Yahovah provided in the first time. (Reference Exo. 34:1, 2) Prior to that, Yahovah instructed Moshe to have the ark of the covenant constructed. (reference Exo. 25:10) We must recall that awesome day, at the foot of mount Sinai, when Yahovah ratified His covenant with us and He shouted down to us His ten-commandments. (Reference Exo. 19) Later, Moshe was called up the mountain and Yahovah provided him two-tables of stone, inscribed with the ten-commandments. However, when Moshe saw the people had broken the covenant that had just a few days prior been established between Yah and us, Moshe broke the tables of stones containing the commandments. This second set of stone tables would be hewed and brought before the Father for His inscription, whereas the first set of tables Yah provided and inscribed His words upon them. This second set of tables were placed into the ark of the covenant by Moshe as instructed by Yahovah.

Moshe's Tablets

Additionally, Moshe rehashes our journey from B’nei Ya’akan to Moserah. It is at Moserah that Aaron died and the priesthood was transferred to his son Eleazer. (Reference Num. 20:28; 33:30-38) From Moserah we traveled to Gudgod and then on to Yotvatah. It is during this period of relocation that Yahovah set apart from the rest of us the Levites who would carry the ark for the covenant of ADONAI and to stand before ADONAI to serve him and to bless in his name, (Deu 10:8 CJB) Thus the Levite would have no inheritance in the promised land like all the other tribes, for Yahovah would be their inheritance.

Lastly, Moshe regales how he petitioned Yahovah on our behalf; for Yahovah to spare us as a result of our evil and sin. We were spared and allowed to proceed on our travels because of Moshe’s intercession. Indeed, Moshe was a precursor to our Lord and Savior Y’shua HaMoshiyach.

I want to return to the beginning of this section and look at this issue of the stone tables. We recall that Yahovah Himself hewed stone out of the holy mountain and inscribed His commandments upon them and gave those tables to Moshe. Moshe destroyed those tables in response to the people’s breaking of the covenant. The second go-round, Moshe was instructed to hew the stone tables and bring them before Yahovah for inscription. It is this second set of tables that were then placed into the ark of the covenant. What a beautiful shadow picture that Father has placed before us. The first set of tables Yahovah did all the work in bringing forth the commandments which resulted in the tables’ destruction. This second set, Moshe brings the tables for Yahovah to inscribe His commandment upon. We today are the second set of tables that must come before Father for Him to write His Law upon our hearts. Before, Yahovah simply provided the Law and said here, follow and obey. We did not follow and obey and thus the covenant was broken. We are now under a renewed covenant, whereby Yah’s Law is written in/on our hearts. Thus Yahovah’s Word lives within us. We are not compelled to obey out of rote obedience that is based upon fear and blind ignorance. We follow and obey because we love Yahovah with our entire being: our heart, soul and strength. (Reference Mat. 22:37; Deu. 6:5)

The Torah Challenge set before us today fellow Saints is for us to realize and live out Torah that has been written/inscribed on our hearts. We are no longer bound to religion and the whims and teachings of our religious leaders who twist the Word of Yahovah to fit their own personal or denomination’s agenda. Let us strip off denominationalism and religion from our being and walk and operate in the power and might of the Ruach Kodesh, realizing that we are one with Torah, because Yahovah has placed His Law within us. Be blessed. Shalom.

Paradise Image

Rod Thomas–Coroner Investigator–Messianic Content Creator–Disciple of Yahoshua HaMoshiyach–Wishful Musician

“Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads”? (Deuteronomy 6: 6-8)

What do you think YHWH (Yahweh) meant by: “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads”?

Deuteronomy 6: 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Do you think the above in any way meant we are to tie physical objects (Tefillin and Tekhelet) to our heads and hands? The truth is: We just don’t know for sure.

While there are no scriptures to verify that Yeshua wore tefillin (there is some argument that the PRECISE final form of rabbinic traditional tekhlet and tefillin developed over time and finalized in the Middle Ages), it would not be correct to say that no form of these items were worn in Yeshua’s time, either by Him or his followers….

Tefillin are traditional prayer objects that were an invention of the Pharisees, which was later picked up by the Rabbis. The Gospels reveal they were worn all day long by the Pharisees to give the impression that they were pious men, constantly praying.

Matthew 23: 5. And they do all their deeds that they might be seen by the sons of men. For they widen their Tefillin [1] and lengthen the Tekhelet [2] of their robes. (Aramaic English New Testament)

[1] Leather box/straps containing Bible verses that traditional observant Jews bind on their arms and foreheads during daily prayer, except on Shabbat (Deut. 6:8 (Paul Younan translation)).

[2] The “ribbon of blue” of the “tzitzit” (fringes), as commanded in Num. 15:38. “Tekhelet” can also refer to tzitzit, or even the whole prayer shawl/talit. (Paul Younan translation)

So, let’s think about this, logically:

Why would YHWH tell us to “tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads”? When these words were given, man certainly did not understand the reason. The Orthodox Jews – hundreds, if not thousands of years ago – took this verse literally and came up with actual, physical ways to comply with this command. They wrote down the words of YHWH on pieces of parchment, inserted them in little boxes (called Tefillin) attached to bands, and literally tied them to their hands and foreheads.

But, is this really what YHWH meant for us to do? Let’s examine it from both, a Biblical and a scientific perspective.

Today, science has a pretty good working knowledge of all things physical. This includes an excellent working knowledge of the human brain. Unfortunately, scientists tend to get wrapped up in their particular mindsets and often think they have “the answer” to nearly every question – but that’s fodder for another article….

The human brain is described today by scientists as consisting of several parts that control different functions. You are probably familiar with the terms “cerebrum” or “cerebral cortex”, “cerebellum”, and “brain stem”.

The cerebral cortex is the largest part consisting of those two roughly symmetrical, “corrugated-looking” or “folded” hemispheres. Though far more complicated than can be covered here, the cerebral cortex, having much to do with the physical and mental functions of our bodies, is further divided into areas called the “frontal lobe”, “parietal lobe”, “occipital lobe”, and the “temporal lobe”. Scientists have determined that these cerebral cortex lobes correspond to the following functions:

Lobe Function

Frontal Motor control and cognitive activities, such as planning, making decisions, setting goals, speech, and purposeful behavior

Parietal Sensory processes, spatial interpretation, attention, and language comprehension

Occipital Processes visual information and communicates with the parietal and temporal lobes

Temporal Auditory perception, language comprehension, and visual recognition

The area at the very front of the frontal lobe is called the “Prefrontal Cortex”. Let’s look at a study on the prefrontal cortex in a February 2003 article in Nature Reviews on the human brain by Jacqueline Wood and Jordan Grafman: “Human Prefrontal Cortex: Processing and Representational Perspectives”.

Grafman and Wood start out by saying “Although it is clear that the PFC [Prefrontal Cortex] is important for higher cognitive skills, particularly in humans, how it achieves these functions is unknown.” Interestingly, throughout the remainder of the article, Grafman and Wood speak casually about how the human brain “evolved” into its capability of higher cognitive skills. You see, for many – if not most – scientists, “evolution” explains without them having to actually come up with an explanation….

Grafman and Wood go on to say the PFC has two main areas that deal not only with each other, but with other parts of the brain. One part of the PFC, (the “ventromedial” region), is associated with other parts of the brain that deal with emotional processing, memory, and visual information; and the other part of the PFC, (the “dorsolateral” region), is associated with areas of the brain dealing with motor control, mood and emotions (cingulate cortex), and the sensory processing done in the parietal cortex.

Specifically: “The ventromedial PFC is well suited to support functions involving the integration of information about emotion, memory, and environmental stimuli, and the dorsolateral PFC to support the regulation of behavior and control of responses to environmental stimuli.” After describing the types of cells in the PFC and how the neurons in the PFC can act differently than in other parts of the brain, they say: “This is one structural explanation for the PFC’s ability to integrate inputs from many sources and to implement more abstract behaviors.”

In other words, the prefrontal cortex is where you make decisions to take action on a thought. The prefrontal cortex handles your behavior!

Now consider this: Thousands of years before man developed the modern sciences and determined what parts of the brain are responsible for the various human behaviors and activities, YHWH told man to keep His words “on your forehead”.

Touch your forehead. Go ahead. No one is watching. Just a fraction of an inch beyond your fingertips is the PREFRONTAL CORTEX. God told us to keep His word there. Keeping His word there keeps us from processing worldly desires and events (i.e., evil) and acting on it. If we keep God’s word in our prefrontal cortex, we are less likely to commit sin.

And there you have the reason for Deuteronomy 6:6-8! Talking about God’s word keeps His commandments on our foreheads, on our prefrontal cortex, and thus, keeps us from sin.

Exodus 13 below shows proof positive that it’s not a literal binding on our hands and forehead, as we see YHWH reiterating the importance of His Passover and what His people are to DO and REMEMBER on/about that particular Holy Convocation:

Exodus 13: 1 ADONAI said to Moshe, 2 “Set aside for me all the firstborn. Whatever is first from the womb among the people of Isra’el, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.” 3 Moshe said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you left Egypt, the abode of slavery; because ADONAI, by the strength of his hand, has brought you out of this place. Do not eat hametz. 4 You are leaving today, in the month of Aviv. 5 When ADONAI brings you into the land of the Kena’ani, Hitti, Emori, Hivi and Y’vusi, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this ceremony in this month. 6 For seven days you are to eat matzah, and the seventh day is to be a festival for ADONAI. 7 Matzah is to be eaten throughout the seven days; neither hametz nor leavening agents are to be seen with you throughout your territory. 8 On that day you are to tell your son, ‘It is because of what ADONAI did for me when I left Egypt.’ 9 Moreover, it will serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, so that ADONAI’s Torah may be on your lips; because with a strong hand ADONAI brought you out of Egypt…”

As you can deduce from the above, it’s all about DOING so that we can better REMEMBER! “Tie them as symbols on your hands,” does not mean we are literally attach anything to, or write down YHWH’s word on our hands!

Consider this: We decide what to do with our brains. God asked us to keep his word in our prefrontal cortex so we would not sin. When we sin, how do we typically commit those sins? With our hands! A thief does not steal with his ear. An angry man does not strike another with his hair. A man does not kill another with his nose. A forger does not fake a signature (typically) with his foot.

In the majority of cases, we commit our sins with our hands. Keeping God’s word “on our hands” would mean that we proceed through life not allowing our hands to commit a sin.

What marvelous words in Deuteronomy 6:6-8! It is truly a wonder why so many people think the Torah, God’s original teaching and instruction, has been “done away with”. His words are so true and so powerful!

Carmen_smile

Carmen Welker–Author, Torah Teacher, Content Creator for The Refiner’s Fire

The Supernatural and Evil–Torah Living Daily Challenge

The Supernatural and Evil

This month of June in the year 2015 may mark on of the worst months on record for the proliferation of evil throughout the world. Word on the street is that the Supreme Court of these United States will rule on same sex marriages sometime between the posting of this writing and Monday the 29th. The ramifications of this crucial ruling may affect every believer in Y’shua Messiah in the United States. The Bilderberg Group (an international conglomerate of Elitists) met and discussed globally significant issues at a posh resort in the mountains of Austria last week. The primary topic of discussion at this globalists’ celebration is believed to have been “the use and employment of artificial intelligence” in the world. Russia is being antagonized and challenged by the West regarding her ongoing involvement in the affairs of the Ukraine. How far will this agitation and challenging go between the West and Russia before Russia tires and does something regrettable is a frightening prospect. Last Wednesday evening a radical racist entered one of the oldest black churches in the United States and murdered nine of that church’s members in cold blood. The nation mourned this heinous hate crime. All the while, more and more of every citizen of the United States and even the world is having their civil and human rights eroded away as governments are grappling with ways to combat a worldwide economic meltdown and terrorism. Speaking of terrorism, the Islamic State continues its blood bath in Iraq and Syria, almost unabated and unchallenged.

Many conservative pundits believe our nation and possibly the world is heading towards a period of terrible crisis and abject evil. It’s not a question of if all these terrible things will manifest on the world stage, but more a question of when and how bad will it get. As believers in Y’shua Messiah, we as a community tend to be quite knowledgeable of such current events and international trends. However, we tend to remain ignorant as to the degree in which we are prepared to face the certain fall-out associated with these crises. Take for instance the potential supreme court ruling in favor of same sex marriage. A potential ruling in favor of same sex marriage by the highest court of this nation would have attached to it mandates that would prohibit any semblance of bigotry associated with gay and lesbian rights. Notice I said any semblance of bigotry; semblance of bigotry because the potential that we our adherence to Torah and thus our stand on the issue of gays and lesbians will certainly be viewed as bigotry. Thus, any existing tax exempt status or religious practice freedoms may be removed by the government. Beyond that, we can only surmise how bad it may become if we as the redeemed of Yahovah were to take a stand against gay and lesbian rights. Could our religious freedoms for instance be at risk? The potential for our treasured freedom to worship Yahovah in accordance with Torah being stripped away from us is certainly not beyond the realm of impossibility.

As the Chosen of the Most High, we are not guaranteed protections against persecution, trials and tribulations. Somehow, we believers of modern times have deluded ourselves to think that we are not to suffer persecution and tribulation. That’s an absurd and most dangerous mindset to possess. We must be reminded of the first and second century believers who endured unimaginable tragedies and death as a result of their faith in Y’shua Messiah. I’m not necessarily linking the tragedy that occurred in South Carolina last week with anything that we as a community of believers in Messiah may experience. I’m more concerned with the likelihood that we may loose our right to practice our Faith because of the stand that we are compelled to take against gay and lesbian so-called rights. For me, it comes down to this internet-based ministry. If I am led to speak or write out against gay and lesbian so-called rights by the Ruach, I could stand to lose this ministry’s websites and my place on the worldwide web. It’s a daunting prospect to say the least. But I–we must not fear such things. The loss of our freedom to live, worship and teach Torah is going to happen–it’s not a matter of if but when. And when all our rights get taken away and we are hunted down and persecuted, we must be in the best spiritual strength that we can be in.  Now is the time to get in spiritual shape friends. We must pay attention to the signs and listen to the various news outlets to stay informed. We must make preparations for the inevitable–both physical and spiritual preparations. Let us pray and fast and keep our heads in our Bibles in anticipation for the times ahead.

Stay blessed Saints. Shalom