Tag Archives: TEACHING

Elul

ELUL, THE 12TH DAY OF PRAYER

Give Me Understanding and I Shall Live!

August 31th: TODAY WE ARE READING & PRAYING PSALMS 119-125

References:

Psalm 119 is one of the Psalms in scripture that is written in an acrostic form. There are 176 verses divided into 22 stanzas, one for each of the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza contains 8 verses and begins with with a letter of the Hebrew aleph bet in sequence. Verse 1-8 begins with the letter Aleph, verse 9-16 begins with the letter Beit, etc.

Since we are about to enter into the Biblical New Year of 5781, with the ’80’s being the decade that we are in, let’s concentrate our prayers today on verses 129-144.

Peh is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical equivalency of 80. The peh represents the mouth, speech, expression, to speak, proclaim, to open, an open word, i.e., prophecy.

Psalm 119 is presented below with each word that begin with the letter peh identified. For those that are not familiar with the way in which this Psalm is written (in acrostic form) I thought it might be helpful to see why these 8 verses are so closely connected /associated with the letter peh.

Before we pray, read through the entire Psalm and see how the letter peh is emphasizes words that express speech. In verse 1 we find that the very first word that begins with the letter peh is ‘wonder’ peh-lah; peh’la’oht is the plural form of peh-lah; our translation being, ‘wonderful’.

It just so happens that if you look at the ending of peh’la’oht and allow it to stand on its own, you have the word, ‘light’. Is, instead of just seeing the plural form, ‘peh’la’oht, you can see two words, peh’lah and owt; speech and light!

Doesn’t it stand to reason that ‘wonders’ would be formed from a combination of speech and light? Can you imagine the impact, if your speech brought forth light?

GOD’s Word does exactly that!

Your testimonies, LORD are wonderful, they are Your speech and light to us! My soul is drawn toYour Word, by virtue of Your Light. My soul shall keep them near, as precious treasures. The entrance of Your WORD into my life, brought light! You gave me understanding as a gift. You are the GOD that gives understanding to the humble, the innocent.. everyone who comes before You without guile in their heart.

Guide my footsteps LORD, that I may walk in your words. Please LORD< do not allow my feet to go where wherever I want to go. Take me to your house of study, take me to Your Torah!

Frustration, provocation, anger, malicious behaviors, all do their utmost to take me off the path to Your Presence. They pursue me steadily, to harass, cause mischief, distract– anything to pull me out of Your Presence, to get me in the flesh, to cause any type of situation that draws me away from the House of GOD, Your House of study, The place where I can hear from you.

But I yearn to be in the Beit Midrash (House of Study) with You. Like David, my footsteps would go toward the torah. No, I should run to the Tent to study and learn and restore my spirit. You Word restores my soul, and prevents me from walking with my evil inclinations.

Evil can not follow into Your House. Sin must lie at the door waiting, counting the minutes to I leave my place of peace, recovery and restoration.

But I will run to the House of the LORD, where evil can not enter. I shall be refueled and refreshed while sin will languish and perish outside the door. All my thoughts are purified by Your Word. Nothing that is not of You can hold sway over me.

Everything of this world that seeks to frustrate the plans You have for me LORD, draw them away from my path. Allow me to revive myself again, in Your Word, make Your House of Study my habitation.

Help me to walk with a sense of awareness of Your Presence and Your Word, greater than last year. Like David I long for your instructions, your teachings, Your directions, Your Commands.

Turn Your Face toward me each day and be merciful to me, as You do for all that love Your Holy Name! Order my steps, that iniquity will have no dominion over me, my family, my household, my friends, and all those that belong to me.

Deliver me from evil LORD and all those that practice it’s ways. Speak LORD and darkness must fall away, light is revealed and revelation is open to us.

Every WORD of torah is Your Name, every Word of scripture is a way to call to You on High! I Thank You LORD, that every WORD in Your Book, is a Name for Hashem, every verse of scripture paves the pathway to Your Throne Room.

Your WORD pulsates with Light and Life, and Truth.

Here I am LORD, in the House of Prayer and Study again!

AMEN

Psalm 119

129 Thy testimonies are wonderful (peh‘la’oht): therefore doth my soul keep them.

130 The entrance (peh‘tah) of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple (peh‘ta’yeem).

131 I opened (pah‘ar’tee) my mouth (peh), and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

132 Look (p‘nay) thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

133 Order my steps (peh‘a’my) in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Deliver (puh‘de-mee) me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts (pikkood).

135 Make thy face (puh-nay’kha) to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

136 Rivers (pal’gay) of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law (torah).

137 Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments.

138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.

139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.

141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts (pikkood).

142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law (torah) is the truth (eh’meth).

143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth (peh) : for thy love is better than wine. Song of Solomon 1:2

Elul

ELUL, Something of Value

You Are Worth the Fight…

Especially the fight that is waged internally… the internal struggles and spiritual battles that each one of us has to fight for our destiny. 💜

Everything that I want to show you about the WORD of GOD is extremely difficult to teach in the times of trouble… because the stress and pain that comes against us during difficult times, makes it even harder than normal for us to hear the WORD of GOD.

The pain is too loud in our ears and the strong teachings in the Word of GOD may sound like a rebuke, or even worse, they can sound like baseless and empty platitudes to a person facing a crisis.

So I pray constantly, that I am reaching you in a time of peace, so that your hearing is not emotionally compromised.

So, if by chance, I shake you with the WORD, please know that everything in me is writing to you with love.

WE HAVE TO STUDY IN TIMES OF PEACE…

We study in times of peace to ensure that we have enough WORD in us to withstand [and fight] “in the evil day” (Eph 6:13).

We have to be able to withstand attack and stand against our impulse to run, (mostly from ourselves).

In the Book of Revelation 2:18-29, the Church of Thyratira is mentioned as one of the 7 Churches that Jesus specifically spoke to. The Churches represent “a type” of believer.

To obtain a deeper understanding of the scripture and the message we have to look a little deeper to understand that Jesus was not just talking about a place. When the audience of the 1st century heard mention of Thyratira they connected a few facts, just like we would today if I just called out a location today, for instance, “New York”.

Simply by saying ‘New York’, you would immediately have a sense of context. In the first century, saying “Thyratira” would provide context for the rest of the message.

SO LET’S PLACE THYRATIRA INTO IT’S PROPER Cultural CONTEXT

Thyratira was such a city. A city without walls. Thyratira was considered one of the unimportant cities. It was not connected to any major Greek trade routes. History tells us that it was a commercial center, filled with many trade guilds, but never rose to the level of a sprawling metropolis.

Christians were prohibited from participating in any of the trade guilds (comprised of coppersmiths and dyers), by the early church. The guilds at that time, were known to be comprised of people that belonged to various cults.

Thyratira is filled with commerce, cults corruption and christians. It is a unprotected city, already open to “every wind of doctrine”, with a fledgling church trying to take root at it’s center. (This sounds very similar to the situation some of us can find ourselves in today).

For all intents and purposes, Thyratira has no rule over it’s own spirit, as a city. No borders, no protection, it’s completely vulnerable. This is the atmosphere that the early church is trying to grow up in.

But scripture warned us about this type of spiritual condition and situation in advance.

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down,   and without walls.” Prov. 25:28

In ancient days, a city without walls was one open to anyone and everyone, at anytime.

While that MIGHT sound great on the surface, it’s extremely dangerous as well.

Normally, cities were constructed with walls in order to defend against enemy attack, providing borders and boundaries as a means of protection.

Cities without walls were vulnerable to invasion by raiders from any and every province that desired what the city held to offer.

The Church in Thyratira was so easily invaded by Jezebel, because it was like a city without walls. Spiritually, they were open to everything, entertaining everything, surrounded by everything, trying to operate in the things of GOD, but tolerating evil in their midst.

Not just tolerating evil, but succumbing to it.

It is possible, that because of their surrounding culture, they felt they could have one foot in and one foot out. As if, a little double-mindedness was alright.

Thyratira had a lot going for it. They were doing a lot of things right (verse 19).

But, they took their eyes off of GOD and lost their focus. As a result, they were headed into a storm and not out of one.

THEY NEEDED TO REBUILD THE WALLS…

As a Church, in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation they had no control over building the physical walls of the city.

But they had total and absolute control over building up and maintaining the Spiritual walls we need to strengthen our spirit, so that we can resist Jezebel and her tactics to seduce us mentally, spiritually and physically.

2 Chronicles 14:6-7, not only confirms this point, but we should notice that King Solomon (author of the Book of Chronicles) points out that King Asa takes advantage of their time at rest, in order to rebuild the walls, during a time of peace.

“And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.”

The ultimate objective of torah, in my experience, is to get us to the point that we are able to filter all of our problems, complications and situations, through GOD’s WORD, so that we do not react impulsively, with anger or out of frustration.

In times of peace, like Elul, we take the time to build ourselves up spiritually through setting ourselves before GOD at an intensified level, together as a community of faith.

In this way, our strength is multiplied.

Instead of emotionally reacting we ask ourselves a few questions first, like…

” Where am I, right now, on the pages of Scripture?” or

“Where is this situation on the pages of Scripture?, WHO FOUGHT THIS KIND OF BATTLE” or

” Who, in scripture, got the victory over this ridiculous situation that I am in?”

…and “What do I need to do to fix it, and What do I need to speak to this mountain, in order to move it?”

We speak retroactively saying, “I’m under attack” or “I’m being attacked”, but the question that I am posing to you today is three fold.

  • How are you responding during the attack?
  • Do you have enough scripture in you to see where you are on the pages of scripture?
  • Are you applying the biblical example/response that GOD provided on the pages of scripture to your situation?
  • Are you disciplined enough in the spirit to control your own tongue?
    • to control you own actions?
    • to control your own thoughts?
    • to be still and wait on the LORD to move on your behalf?

The Goal is to Control Ourselves, Not Others

If you take the time to ask yourself any of those questions during the “attack”, you will diffuse the situation ‘within yourself‘ enough, to see the situation for what it truly is…a way to pull you out of the spirit and into the flesh.

Don’t Be Pulled Out Of the Spirit…

If we are pulled out of the spirit, then our flesh responds to the situation, instead of our spirit, and we get a flesh bound result.

More importantly, the prophetic anointing is unable to flow freely, when we are in the flesh.

(Our Spirit has more wisdom than our flesh. The difficulty we face, is in over-ruling our flesh, and allowing our Spirit to have a seat and a voice at the table).

If we subdue our flesh, and allow our spirit to respond to the situation, instead of our flesh, then we operate within the anointing, and obtain an anointed result.

Here’s the issue: Do you know when you are in the flesh vs. when you are walking in the anointing? Can you tell the difference?

If not, then you have to practice knowing/learning the difference in the little things, before you can move forward with the bigger issues. Self discipline, is the only way I know that you can learn to distinquish between the two.

REMINDER: Being impulsive, stubborn, easily provoked, easily manipulated, rebellious, willful, arrogant, etc. etc. unteachable… will never allow your spirit to rule over your flesh.

Studying the WORD of GOD is the best way I know, to learn how to master your own spirit.

We need wisdom… GOD in His Word is our best assurance against being manipulated by another, for their own personal agenda. It is through study of the WORD that you build up a resistance to the “wiles of the enemy”.

While there are plenty of enemies to go around, there are times when we can be our own worst enemy. We need to know the difference.

Since the inception of this blog, all paths of study have been leading to encouraging you to obtain a consecrated, dedicated prayer life. Prayer is your strongest weapon. You may have heard that all of your natural born life… “cause it’s true.”

What Feeds Your Flesh?

Prayer doesn’t. Meditating on the Word of GOD doesn’t. Operating in Love doesn’t. Kindness doesn’t. Obedience to GOD doesn’t…

Prayer, and doing what doesn’t feed your flesh, puts you spiritually in control.

Be Spiritually in Control of the Situation…

While the world desires to be Physically in Control of every situation, the People of GOD are being trained up by the WORD of GOD, to be SPIRITUALLY in Control.

Application of the WORD of GOD will put us in a position to have SPIRITUAL Control, which is far more powerful than physical control.

Physical control has its earth bound limitations. The only limitations that stand to interfere with your Spiritual Control, is your own level of faith, and resisting the temptations that come against your own flesh.

THE PART WE DO NOT WANT TO HEAR…

Unlimited Faith equals Unlimited Spiritual Control.

Many of us believe that we are operating with unlimited faith. That’s a GOOD THING.

What we need now, is for our unlimited faith to elevate us into a state of unlimited spiritual control.

ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS…

But, what if I do have faith, and things are not working in my favor? That’s a GOOD Question.

“I have a consecrated, dedicated, full strength prayer life, and I am not seeing anything change for the better, are you saying I’m the problem?”

“It’s never GOD’s fault, it’s always me?

Here are the tough answers that are hard to hear…

Sometimes, no is no. But, I do not get a lot of “No’s”, and that is what I want to impart to you in these teachings, about the Word of GOD.

The past 42 posts have been primarily about prayer. They have also been about character correction and character formation, the staples of a consecrated lifestyle.

These entire posts for the Month of Elul, have been about encouraging you to conduct the search of your own heart, to judge yourself, that you not be judged… How did you do?


Did you clean out your closets? Are you still having arguments in your head with someone, about something, that you just can’t let go? Are there people that you just have not forgiven? Forgiveness is just too good for them?

I have had to negotiate a few peace treaties in my own mind. So many issues have built up over this year alone, that I am sure we each had to wrestle with, spirit, mind, soul and body.

Suffice it to say, there have been some hard places.

What I can share with you is that, unforgiveness will keep every one of those hard places bound to you, for another year, minimum.

It all depends on you, whether or not you will forgive and repent.

GOD instructed the Priesthood, not to touch any dead thing… so it would be wise not to carry the dead thing around with you for another year, right?

If you just read that statement…

…I wrote above and the thought crossed your mind, “I am not a part of the Priesthood”, then that is a serious part of the problem right there.

Everyone, who loves GOD, says that they want to follow GOD, or desires to follow GOD, becomes a part of the Priesthood.

GOD is not raising you up to be a lifelong disciple. He is raising you up so that you can be sent, out!

Your purpose is not to sit in the pew for 120 years.

You are being raised up to take your Holy positions as Prophet, Priest and King.

The Priestly anointing is the glue that binds the Prophetic and Kingship together. If we are going to covet something good, covet the power of a priestly anointing.

The priestly anointing doesn’t appear to be as highly pursued as the others. It requires a great deal of self discipline, dying to self, obedience, dedication, faithfulness, sacrifice, patience, listening, kindness, submittedness, yieldedness, etc. etc.

The priestly anointing is a lot of work and absolutely no glamour. But it is your priestly anointing that carries the potential to elevate you beyond measure.

It is the priestly anointing that will help you rise to the full measure and stature of Christ Jesus.

Esau refused the garments of priesthood. He lusted after Kingship, but not to do GOD’s Work, he just wanted to rule the world. He had no prophetic anointing of his own, he depended upon the power of his father’s prophetic prayers in order to thrive..

David accepted the garments of the priesthood, because he excelled in humility. He never lusted after kingship, becasue he was humble. He accepted kingship in order to do the will of GOD. David did not need to depend on the prophetic prayers of others in order to survive. He had his own relationship with GOD in prayer. Evidenced by his prayers rooted and grounded in humility.

David is anointed, Prophet, Priest and King.

Jesus is anointed Prophet, Priest and King.

We are His fruit. His perfect will, is for you to do, “greater works than these…”

Are You Willing to Do The Greater Works?

Do you really want the greater works? Do you want to speak into the earth in His Name, as a king? Do you want to flow in the gifts of the prophetic as He desired that you do?

Will You Accept the Priestly Anointing?

I would see you reign in the prophetic, wield authority in the heavenly’s as king, and possess power and authority in the priestly anointing.

People will disappoint you, that’s a given. Actually, it can’t even be helped, because we are all fragile and vulnerable.

But people, can also surprise and delight you! That’s a given, which also can’t be helped.

You never really know which will happen first or what sequence of events will occur.

But they are both to our benefit because they both have the ability to make us stronger.

I hope you spent Elul in prayer. I hope that the anointing over this season transforms your life, because you humbled yourself to pray, and seek GOD’s Face. I pray that you fought for your place and position in the anointing!

The fight this month has been about you and only you. GOD is fighting for you!

Your soul matters, it is something of value. Your soul is the most precious possession that you share with GOD.

Notice, that I specifically stated that, ” it is the most precious possession that you share with GOD”, not that you own it. Because it does not belong to you.

That particular soul, that you are carrying around, The Lover of Your Soul, GOD, wants it to return to Him, as his personal possession.

Your soul contains evidence of your existence, evidence of who you are, and who you became in Honor of GOD’s Name. Your soul is evidence of GOD, evidence of Love, evidence of Truth, evidence of the Spirit of GOD, evidence of the Messiah, evidence of who you are to HIM.

Everyone wants proof that GOD exist…

You Are The Evidence GOD Sent into the world. You bear witness to His Word, by the Word of your testimony.

You Are Something of Value.

This post was revised after publication to clearly address my reference to the Book of Revelation, and my reference to a city without walls, Thyratira.

If you read this post earlier today, please accept my apologies for reposting…I just had to make certain to the best of my ability to be as clear and accurate as possible for you.

GOD Bless You,

May you leave this Month of Elul, refreshed, energized and ready to embrace your calling as Prophet, Priest and King! this New Year, Rosh Hashanna 5780.

Amen.

The Journey Back, What is Torah

The Journey Back to a Torah Mindset Begins… Part 1

– A Rabbi once asked his five students, “What is the good path to which a human being should cling?”  Naturally, he received five different answers.  The question is now posed to you.  What is the good path to which a human being should cling?

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YOU ARE THE ANSWER GOD SENT INTO THE EARTH…

Torah teaches you, that you are important to God. The trouble with that significant piece of information is, that before you can ever fully come into the knowledge of this truth, you must first be important enough to yourself to discover why it is true. So, we now have a dilemma. Judging by what we may see in the world around us, it may be difficult to imagine yourself as, “an answer” to anything. Where is the evidence of my importance to God? How am I, an answer?

BIG QUESTIONS REQUIRE BIG ANSWERS!

I actually consider these fair questions. When it comes to the Word of God, we all ask very worthy and intriguing questions that deserve a response. But as my students come to learn, big questions require big answers. In order to have our questions about God answered, (and our questions about ourselves) we have to decide how much time, if any, are we willing to invest in hearing the torah out? Are you willing to search the scriptures for yourselves, to see if these things be true? Let me ask that another way. Are you willing to do the work it takes to locate yourself on the pages of scripture?

What a student learns in their own study, can be far more powerful than what the teacher can ever teach them. God said, “Learn of me.” (Matt. 11:29 KJV). This requires a personal commitment, a teachable spirit and a consecrated heart.

Our minds are powerful and dynamic. In my experience, the student never has just one question. Any question you ask, is just one small component of what you really wanted to know. There are years of thoughts (the ungodly and Godly kind), ideas, disappointments, suppositions, information, and misinformation which are compounded by our life experiences from jubilation, to accusations, to church frustrations that are wound up in everyone’s simple questions about God.

We are complex and our questions are complex. God is complex, and we are created in the image and likeness of His complex being. In short, no simple answers will ever satisfy us at our core, and that’s a good thing. That being said, where do we begin?

SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES…to see if these things be true…

We begin with a heart of study, a heart of purpose and intention. Everyone eventually arrives at a place in life where the pew is not enough and the world is not enough. You know there is something more to all of it, especially the Word of God. You arrive at a place where all of your mindful recognition of God, your awareness and open acknowledgment that He exists, is compromised knowingly and simultaneously, by your present daily awareness that you don’t really operate like God is before you at all times. This is true for a great many peoples. In the larger scheme of things, the Book of Revelation may just be right. Of the 7.6+ billion people in the world today, there may only be, 144 thousand qualified to walk with Christ in the thousand year reign. What if this 144k is comprised of all the people that ever lived? …not just people living in this present day and time? If God is speaking in literal terms, we do get a sense that the enormous gap between 7 billion and 144 thousand, correlates with how far removed the majority of people in this world are from God.

PLACING A DEMAND ON HEAVEN…

How does this news help matters? If you decide to place a demand on Heaven to increase our ranks and become, one hundered-forty four thousand and ONE, you have chosen to become a light in the midst of darkness. At anytime we can say, ” We are better than this!”. When we decide, as believers to place a demand on Heaven saying, “I make 144k and One! That’s when we have conclusively decided to study to show ourselves approved. We have the ability to stand before God like Moses and ask for a different outcome. But we have not challenged God on the matter. More often than not, we look for ways to explain the hundred-forty-four thousand. Perhaps, we should present God with an argument to increase it!

This can only happen when we decide to come out of the pew, serve others and do the actual work of God. When we decide that, we are not good enough the way we are, anad the situation is not good enough the way it is. We decide our voice matters. We decide our life matters. We decide that it’s preferable not to be of the 1% of the world, and to pursue instead, the one-hundred-thousandth percentile with God. We decide that humility, kindness, generosity, and compassion is better than, not less than. We decide that character refinement is our mandate. We decide that consecration, education and dedication are not less than, but greater than. We decide that we know the difference between right and wrong, and we no longer stay silent about wrong. Especially when its happening right in front of us. If it is in your power to do good, will you do it? This is the substance and quality of our faith.

SO, WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?

When we decide to educate, validate and emancipate ourselves from lower level thinking, that’s when we are ready to question what we know, and how we know it. When we are so hungry for God’s wisdom that we submit our wisdom to His. When we can see the signs of God along the way and are not ashamed to follow Him and let everybody see it. In our carnality, the things that we treasure are…what we know, what we think we know, what we have, what we want to have, what we hold dear, what we think should be held dear…When we are ready to put someone else’s needs ahead of our own, we abandon our worldly treasures. This is when we are ready to hear God’s word. When we begin to notice that our conversation has changed and elevated. When we are ready to love our neighbor, who is, by the way, our enemy...that’s when we are truly ready to do a work for the Lord God Almighty. That’s when we transfer ourselves and our possessions from our kingdom and what we cherish, and into the Kingdom of Heaven, which God treasures.

THESE ARE NOT OUR WEAPONS…

It is around this time and space, when we begin to hear the answer to our questions and we become an answer ourselves. When we are ready to lay down all of our worldly carnal weapons and say teach me LORD, how to wield the weapons of Your Warfare. When we decide a prayer life is not so hard to accomplish. When we decide worship is not embarrassing or a foreign concept, but a lifestyle. When we decide that gossip, loshon hara (an evil tongue or wicked speech) or a mean spirit are putting blockades between ourselves and God, shutting up the Heavens like iron. When we would rather control our tongues than put up walls between ourselves and God. When dying to self is preferable to staying stuck in our own wicked ways. This is how we release the anointing over our own lives. That’s just how it works.

Torah elevates thought. Torah elevates your work ethic. Torah creates moves ahead of your opponents. Torah opens up the Heavens. Torah increases wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Torah increases compassion. Torah changes us.   If we are not ready to do all of the above, there is no reason to study torah… because that’s all God talks about.

MORE DEMONSTRATION, LESS CONVERSATION…

There are no short answers to weighty questions. There’s only study and walking out the answers. Besides, once you know the answer for yourself and become the answer, no one can ever take that knowledge of who you are, away from you. Then and only then, are you ready to give an answer to everyone, about who God is.

CONNECTING THE DOTS…

This blog will be about connecting the dots in scripture and showing you where all the connection points are, line upon line. I’ve been very straight forward, very matter of fact, because your time, your life, your role in God’s plan is not just valuable, it’s a matter of urgency.

If you’re ready to challenge what you’ve already been taught, ready to build upon good soil, ready to be good soil, this blog may be a good match for you.

Let’s study the Plan of God…

Note: In every place where I spoke of “You, Us or Your”, I am referring to the collective “Us”, as the Body of Christ. This blog is not being written as an apologetics tool. It is written for those who believe already. If you do not, you may find this blog helpful in clarifying points of scripture. However, it is not written to challenge anyone but the Christian Believer and My Current Students, who are seeking Greater Knowledge and Understanding in the Word of God.

This Blog is dedicated to my son in honor of the memory of a precious soul he knew, whose life was cut short by baseless hatred and senseless violence.

…I am so sorry for your loss. I know that place you find yourself in and how hard it is to celebrate a homegoing. So I will call it instead, his Change of Address. You lost his presence here on earth, the presence of someone you truly cared about, one of your peers. Someone whose life, ideas, thoughts, and messages penetrated your soul, like the Word of God itself. Be comforted. His blood cries out from the ground and his voice can still be heard in the earth. People of his caliber are rare jewels and their legacy must be continued. I pray that the passion and compassion you feel in your heart today, never perishes from this earth. I pray that the international community never forgets and that thousands of young men place a demand on Heaven and pick up his mantle. I pray that the love they feel in this moment fell on the good soil in their hearts. Let the ache in their hearts become a perpetual fire of purpose. His message and his deeds will not be snatched away, the beast of the field shall not trample over them. His seed shall remain and multiply, and his Legacy Continues.

To God be the Glory, Amen.

[When I find typo’s that I did not see before I published and/or I re-read and know that I could have stated something better for clarity, I will make corrections and place brackets around the changes, like so.  I want your final product to be as pristine as possible.  Also, you have noticed that I do not include the scripture reference when I am quoting or paraphrasing something from the New Testament.  I do that intentionally.  We know this material and I believe it is already a part of our regular dialogue.  We may have the impulse to look them up and that’s good.  I want to provoke us to do that.  It’s good for the soul 🙂  Your a good student!  God Bless You].

© 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog