Israel's Ultimate Victory: 2011

08 October 2011

Chapter 21: Transformed in a New Direction

19 People in Tziyon, who live in Yerushalayim, you will weep no more. At the sound of your cry, how gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you. 20 Although Adonai gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it.” Isaiah 30:19-21

"Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it; 14 but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way, preserveth his soul. Proverbs 16:17

Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Yeshua. 2 Corinthians 10: 3, 5

My sheep wandered around aimlessly on every mountain and hill; yes, My sheep were scattered all over the land, with no one to search for them or look after them. 7 "'Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of ADONAI: 8 "As I live," Adonai ELOHIM swears, "because My sheep have become prey, My sheep have become food for every wild animal, since there was no shepherd, since My shepherds didn't look for My sheep, and instead My shepherds fed themselves but not My sheep," 9 therefore, shepherds, hear the word of ADONAI! 10 Adonai ELOHIM says, "I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand My sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won't feed themselves either. I will rescue My sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer." 11 "'For here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "I am taking over! I will search for My sheep and look after them, Myself. 12 Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after My sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. 13 I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra'el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land. 14 I will have them feed in good pastures; their grazing ground will be on the high mountains of Isra'el. They will rest in good grazing grounds and feed in rich pastures on Isra'el's mountains. 15 Yes, I will pasture My sheep; and I will let them rest" says Adonai ELOHIM. 16 "I will seek the lost, bring back the outcasts, bandage the broken, and strengthen the sick. But the fat and the strong I will destroy - I will feed them with judgment." Ezekiel 34:6-16

The sheep knows and follows the Good Shepherd, Yeshua, through the sheep gate that leads to safety.

"Yes, indeed! I tell you, the person who doesn't enter the sheep-pen through the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who goes in through the gate is the sheep's own shepherd. 3 This is the one the gatekeeper admits, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls His own sheep, each one by name, and leads them out. 4 After taking out all that are His own, He goes on ahead of them; and the sheep follow Him because they recognize His voice. 5 They never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him, because strangers' voices are unfamiliar to them." 6 Yeshua used this indirect manner of speaking with them, but they didn't understand what he was telling them. 7 So Yeshua said to them again, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that I Am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. 9 I Am the gate; if someone enters through Me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure. 11 "I Am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:1-11

The Good Shepherd did lay down His life for His sheep and those of you who believe in Him, not knowing the paths ahead, follow because of love and trust, the One ADONAI, Yeshua, who is leading.

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI is my Shepherd; I lack nothing. 2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures, He leads me by quiet water, 3 He restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of His own name. 4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for You are with me; Your rod and staff reassure me. 5 You prepare a table for me, in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will dwell in the house of ADONAI forever. Psalms 23:1-6

"I Can Only Imagine"

performed by Mercy Me with the London Symphony Orchestra

Yeshua answered: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Genuine saving faith changes your lifestyle, transforms your thinking and behavior and puts within your heart a New Direction. With this New Direction also comes a new set of desires to please God by growing in the likeness of Yeshua. How does one begin this journey? You do not live by the standards of this world, but have enlisted in basic training to follow the example of Yeshua. God issues each a spiritual armor!

3 For although we do live in the world, we do not wage war in a worldly way; 4 because the weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God's power for demolishing strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The Spiritual battles that fight the forces of evil require Spiritual Armor!

10 Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with His mighty strength! 11 Put on the Full Armor of God, so that you will be able to take your stand against the devil’s deceptive tactics. 12 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. 13 Therefore, put on 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. 14 Therefore, stand firm then, with the Belt of Truth buckled around your waist, with the Breastplate of Righteousness in place, 15 and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of the Gospel of Peace. 16 Always carry the Shield of Faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17 And take the Helmet of Salvation; along with the Sword of the Holy Spirit, that is, the Word of God; 18 as you pray at all times in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-17

Every day is a new day! God has given you His Spiritual armor to protect your mind, body and soul. An effective way to follow these instructions is when your feet hit the floor each morning, pray this prayer; Lord, for this day, I pray for Your sandals of Peace, Your belt of Truth around my waist, Your breastplate of Righteousness, Your sword of the Holy Spirit, Your shield of Faith, and Your helmet of Salvation for wisdom to rightly divide Your Word of truth and protection from evil. In Yeshua’s name I pray, Amen.

You are not what you used to be, for by the love, mercy and grace of your Heavenly Father God, in repentance, you have turned from evil and are now pursuing the things of Yeshua by faith believing with the power of His Holy Spirit within. Forget the past; your sins are gone! You have dropped your baggage of sin at the cross where it is remembered no more! When you chose Yeshua, you are justified from sin by your faith in Him.

"He Reigns"

performed by Newsboys

10 It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah's body. 12 But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God. 14 For by a single offering He has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy. 17 He, Yeshua, then adds, " 'And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.' " 18 Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed. Hebrews 10:10-18

Keep your mind on living His way and not the ways of self. Recall the scripture Yeshua quoted as the believers Greatest Commandment:

32 `I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz'chak and the God of Ya`akov'? He is God not of the dead but of the living!" 33 When the crowds heard how He taught, they were astounded; 34 but when the P'rushim learned that He had silenced the Tz'dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh'eilah to trap Him: 36 "Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?" 37 He told him, "`You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, `You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot." Matthew 22:32-40

The attitudes for the believers’ lives are found in the early ministry of Yeshua in the Sermon on the Mount. These attitudes are called, “The Beatitudes” and can be found in, Chapter 10 “Come! Follow Me.” Continue to set your mind on living the ways of Yeshua, through the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

13 For, brothers, you were called to be free. Only do not let that freedom become an excuse for allowing your old nature to have its way. Instead, serve one another in love. 14 For the whole of the Torah is summed up in this one sentence: “Love God wholeheartedly and love your neighbor as yourself" 15 but if you go on snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other! 16 What I am saying is this: run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants. 17 For the old nature wants what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is contrary to the old nature. These oppose each other, so that you find yourselves unable to carry out your good intentions. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism. 19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God! 22 But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, 23 Humility, Self Control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. 24 Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. 25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:13-26

This is your New Direction, remove your hands from the steering wheel and follow the leadership of the power within; God’s Holy Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to continue to transform you into the likeness of His Son. The Holy Spirit is now your teacher and guide, giving you the wisdom and understanding of God’s Word which comes alive as you hear, see and understand because you know Yeshua personally, the Good Shepherd, whom you are following.

Even if you don’t have all the answers, you still have something amazing to share. As a new believer, the most effective way of telling others of your first hand experience of God’s love and grace is by sharing your personal testimony. Reference the scriptures from this section of Chapter 18 – God’s only way of Salvation.

The Holy Scriptures speak for themselves:

God’s Only Way of Salvation

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

In the beginning was the Word (Yeshua), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14

Yeshua said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

For Yeshua also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Yeshua died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Yeshua Messiah, Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord Yeshua. Acts 3:19

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! James 2:19

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua Messiah and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Therefore whosoever confesses Me (Yeshua) before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Yeshua said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbors as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Rejoicing shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth! Luke 15:7

The next chapter continues with more new gifts…

"More Than Ever"

performed by the Gaither Vocal Band

20 August 2011

Chapter 20: Your Transformation Continues... A New Love, New Heart and New Mind

My beloved brothers and sisters in Yeshua, this is just the beginning of the transformations from what we were to what we have become. We now can experience God’s ultimate love gift for the first time. Listen! Be still and experience the arrival of God’s priceless love gift to man.

The heavens announced His arrival. The brightness of the star led the way. The angels followed, praising and glorifying God; announcing peace on earth to those people of good will. The grand entrance was made, but there was no room in the hearts of men. Sorry, I have no room for you in the living-quarters, but there is a stable you can use. The King had arrived!!

He was not dressed in royalty, but in swaddling clothes. He had no castle, only a stable with a feeding trough as a bed. He came, as King but became the Savior. His name was Yeshua and what He had was life-saving love that was freely given to those like you who have chosen to follow Him.

Then came the New Love. The purest love comes from the very heart of God; a part of Himself, wrapped in the swaddling cloths of forgiveness, mercy and grace. Yeshua came to love, forgive, heal and set the people free!

Freedom! A word the people only talked about, but very few had ever experienced until a babe, innocent and perfect in every way, stepped down from the throne in Heaven to become the Savior and Servant to a lost people. He came to show each one, first hand, a love so amazing, so divine, so sincere, but only through knowing Him as Savior, can it ever be experienced!

Amazing love! There is no greater love than that of our Father God and His only begotten Son, Yeshua. God defined love when He gave His Son to die for you that you may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. John 3:16

You demonstrate love for God when you live for Him, for to know God is to love Him and to love Him is to serve Him.

The following chapter speaks of this new love.

1 I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith - enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything that I own, I may even hand over my body to be burned; but if I lack love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, 5 not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not gloat over other people's sins but takes its delight in the truth. 7 Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, and always endures. 8 Love never ends; but prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass. 9 For our knowledge is partial, and our prophecy partial; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, argued like a child; now that I have become a man; I have finished with childish ways. 12 For now we see obscurely in a mirror, but then it will be face to face. Now I know partly; then I will know fully, just as God has fully known me. 13 But for now, three things last; trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13

Listen as George Beverly Shea sings

“The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman (1917)

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.
- Refrain:
  
  Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
  
  How measureless and strong!
  
  It shall forevermore endure—
  
  The saints’ and angels’ song.
When hoary time shall pass away,

And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,

When men who here refuse to pray,

On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,

All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—

The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Along with experiencing this new love you have been given a new heart! “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.”

24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all the countries, and return you to your own soil. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you; I will take the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit inside you and cause you to live by my laws, respect my rulings and obey them. 28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36

Yeshua accepted you, just as you were and created within you a new heart, filled with His love and direction for your life. Becoming a believer changes your lifestyle, transforms your thinking and behavior with a new set of desires. Your deep desire is to please God by knowing His Holy Word, the Bible. You also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit directing your life each and every moment.

Spiritually, Yeshua transformed your stony, hard, blackened heart filled with sin into a cleansed receptive heart that is as white as snow. He fills it with His love and Spirit to become more like Him. This is the miracle of being born again!!

The following passage speaks of Holy living.

1 So if you were raised along with the Messiah, then seek the things above, where the Messiah is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Focus your minds on the things above, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is our life, appears, then you too will appear with him in glory! 5 Therefore, put to death the earthly parts of your nature - sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry); 6 for it is because of these things that God's anger is coming on those who disobey him. 7 True enough, you used to practice these things in the life you once lived; 8 but now, put them all away - anger, exasperation, meanness, slander and obscene talk. 9 Never lie to one another; because you have stripped away the old self, with its ways, 10 and have put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its Creator. 11 The new self allows no room for discriminating between Gentile and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, foreigner, savage, slave, free man; on the contrary, in all, the Messiah is everything. 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. 14 Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart's decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body. And be thankful - 16 let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. 17 That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3

With a New love comes a new heart, then comes a new mind!

5 For those who identify with their old nature set their minds on the things of the old nature, but those who identify with the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 Having one's mind controlled by the old nature is death, but having one's mind controlled by the Spirit is life and shalom. Romans 8

You are not what you used to be, for by the mercy and grace of the only loving Almighty God, in repentance, you have turned from evil and now pursue the good and righteous things of God through faith believing in His Son, Yeshua. The power of the Holy Spirit within you is greater than the power of evil in the world. Now, forget the past and set your mind on pursuing God’s direction through His Holy Spirit.

Dare to be a Daniel!

But Dani'el resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or the wine he drank, so he asked the chief officer to be excused from defiling himself. Daniel1:8

Daniel made up his mind and did not compromise. Daniel’s three friends made up their minds as well when told to bow down and worship the image of gold.

1N'vukhadnetzar the king had a gold statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, which he set up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Bavel. 4 and a herald proclaimed, "Peoples! Nations! Languages! You are ordered 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, zither, lute, bagpipe and the rest of the musical instruments, you fall down and worship the gold statue that N'vukhadnetzar the king has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship is to be thrown immediately into a blazing hot furnace." 13 In a raging fury N'vukhadnetzar ordered that Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go be brought. When the men had been brought before the king, 14 N'vukhadnetzar said to them, "Shadrakh! Meishakh! 'Aved-N'go! Is it true that you neither serve my gods nor worship the gold statue I set up? 16 Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go answered the king, "Your question doesn't require an answer from us. 17 Your majesty, if our God, whom we serve, is able to save us, he will save us from the blazing hot furnace and from your power. 18 But even if he doesn't, we want you to know, your majesty, that we will neither serve your gods nor worship the gold statue which you have set up." 19 N'vukhadnetzar became so utterly enraged that his face was distorted with anger against Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go. He ordered the furnace made seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men in his army to tie up Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go and throw them into the blazing hot furnace. 21 So these men were tied up in their cloaks, tunics, robes and other clothes, and thrown into the blazing hot furnace. 22 The king's order was so urgent and the furnace so overheated that the men carrying Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go were burned to death by the flames. 23 These three men, Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go, fell, bound, into the blazing hot furnace. 24 Suddenly N'vukhadnetzar sprang to his feet. Alarmed, he asked his advisers, "Didn't we throw three men, bound, into the flames?"They answered the king, "Yes, of course, your majesty." 25 But he exclaimed, "Look! I see four men, not tied up, walking around there in the flames, unhurt; and the fourth looks like one of the gods!" 26N'vukhadnetzar approached the opening of the blazing hot furnace and said, "Shadrakh! Meishakh! 'Aved-N'go! You servants of El 'Elyon! Come out, and come here!" Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go emerged from the flames. 27 The viceroys, prefects, governors and royal advisers who were there saw that the fire had had no power on the bodies of these men - not even their hair was singed, their clothes looked the same, and they didn't smell of fire. 28N'vukhadnetzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They defied the royal order to the point of being willing to give up their bodies, in order not to serve or worship any god but their own God. 29 Therefore I herewith decree that anyone, no matter from which people, nation or language, who says anything to insult the God of Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to be reduced to rubble; because there is no other god who can save like this." 30 Then the king gave Shadrakh, Meishakh and 'Aved-N'go higher rank in the province of Bavel.
Daniel 3

They made up their mind! They stood firm and proved there is no God but Jehovah God. How great is our God!! God + 1 = majority!

Everything written concerning the New gifts given to each new believer is the result of God’s love for you.

To be continued…

"Change My Heart Oh God"

By Eddie Espinosa

06 August 2011

Chapter 19: Transform to New!

In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the 'olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. Romans 12:2

The old self-nature is gone and the New Spirit nature, God’s Holy Spirit has come! You have shed the old man and put on the new man. You are not patched up, but you are now a new creation in Yeshua Messiah! The following scriptures illustrate what you were vs. what you have become through God’s miracle of being born again through Yeshua!

21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old coat; if he does, the new patch tears away from the old cloth and leaves a worse hole. 22 And no one puts new wine in old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is for freshly prepared wineskins." Mark 2:21-22

9 Never lie to one another; because you have stripped away the old self, with its ways, 10 and have put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its Creator. Colossians 3: 9-10

22 then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; 23 and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, 24 and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth. Ephesians 4:22-24

Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation - the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! 2 Corinthians 5:17

12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God, so that we might understand the things God has so freely given us. 13 These are the things we are talking about when we avoid the manner of speaking that human wisdom would dictate and instead use a manner of speaking taught by the Spirit, by which we explain things of the Spirit to people who have the Spirit. 14 Now the natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God - to him they are nonsense! Moreover, he is unable to grasp them, because they are evaluated through the Spirit. 16 But we have the mind of Yeshua

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

2 Why? Because the Torah of the Spirit, which produces this life in union with Messiah Yeshua, has set me free from the "Torah" of sin and death. 3 For what the Torah could not do by itself, because it lacked the power to make the old nature cooperate, God did by sending his own Son as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one, but He being without sin. God did this in order to deal with sin, and in so doing he executed the punishment against sin in human nature, 4 so that the just requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who do not run our lives according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Holy Spirit wants. Romans 8:2-4

3 You make it clear that you are a letter from the Messiah placed in our care, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on human hearts.

18 So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into His very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by God’s Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:3,18

14 All who are led by God's Holy Spirit are God's sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear; on the contrary, you received the Holy Spirit, who makes us sons and by whose power we cry out, "Abba!" (that is, "Dear Father!"). 16 The Holy Spirit Himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God.

Romans 8:14-16

Your body is now the spiritual Temple of God, with His Holy Spirit dwelling within your heart. The old sinful nature has been replaced by the new nature of God’s Holy Spirit.

Review Chapter 17: The Power Within!

How great is our God that He would give you and I the gifts of His love, His Son, His Holy Spirit and being made free from sin to serve Him with the fruit of the Holy Spirit unto holiness, with everlasting life in our future home: the Kingdom of Heaven! Praise, glory, honor and power be to the God of our salvation!! AMEN and AMEN!

"How Great Is Our God"

Music and Lyrics by Chris Tomlin

09 July 2011

Chapter 18: Your Crossroads - Your Choice

Shout it from the mountaintops with the shofar! Just as one follows the Law and celebrates the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the Fast Day, Yom Kippur, for the atonement for sins, one can celebrate a new birth by being born-again spiritually through Yeshua, declaring eternal victory and freedom from sin.

Shout it from the valleys and ravines with echoes going on and on! Shout from your rooftops the message of love and forgiveness and truth! Yeshua Messiah is today, giving you a beckoning call to “Come, follow Me.” Stop now and say this prayer with all sincerity: Open my heart Lord, I want to see You. Show me Your truth, Oh God, for I am willing to follow. I want eyes to see You and ears to hear You, to heed Your truth and Yours alone. I ask for truth, I seek truth, and I knock for I know Your word says, "Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps asking receives; he who keeps seeking finds; and to him who keeps knocking, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

I turn in repentance to You, Oh God. Grant me understanding through faith to experience Your love for me. Amen.

“Open The Eyes of My Heart, Lord”

performed by: Michael W. Smith

One must begin with an open, receptive mind and heart to receive the convicting power of God’s Holy Spirit, for He is the revealer of God’s truth. Let us look at some often asked questions, not for critical information but for spiritual application, and we will answer these questions using God’s Holy Word.

A question about sin: What about the origin of sin? Sin began in the heart of the anointed cherub, who had the seal of perfection, was full of wisdom and beauty and blameless in his ways from the day he was created until unrighteousness was found in him. Internally he was filled with violence, and he sinned; therefore his creator, Jehovah God cast him as profane from His Holy Mountain. The heart of the anointed cherub became proud because of his beauty and he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his self-will.

12 "How did you come to fall from the heavens, morning star, son of the dawn? How did you come to be cut to the ground, conqueror of nations? 13 You thought to yourself, 'I will scale the heavens; I will raise my throne above God's stars. I will sit on the Mount of Assembly far away in the north. 14 I will rise past the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.' Yesha-Yahu 14

Sin was displayed outwardly, but originated in the mind and heart. Pride is the anti-God state of mind, for it is all about I, me, my and mine - the self-will, which rules one’s being. It is because of pride that the devil became the devil, for pride produces selfishness, greed, anger, envy, hate, lust, sexual immorality, jealousy, and unfaithfulness; the list goes on. The one to fall from God’s Holy Mountain, the heavens, has many names: Satan, devil, deceiver, the lawless one, the dragon, the ancient serpent and the accuser just to name a few.

19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God! Galatians 5

The account of Avram and Lot best illustrates how the old nature of selfish ways of the flesh, directed by the ancient serpent in the garden, can blind the eyes and deceive a person’s heart. They come to the crossroads of life; they must choose one of two directions.

5 Lot, who was traveling with Avram, also had flocks, herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support their living together, because their possessions were too great for them to remain together. 7 Moreover, quarreling arose between Avram's and Lot's herdsmen. The Kena'ani and the P'rizi were then living in the land. 8 Avram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours, since we're kinsmen. 9 Isn't the whole land there in front of you? Please separate yourself from me - if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left." 10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Yarden was well watered everywhere, (before ADONAI destroyed S'dom and 'Amora,) like the garden of ADONAI, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Tzo'ar. 11 So Lot chose all the plain of the Yarden for himself, and Lot traveled eastward; thus they separated themselves from each other. 12 Avram lived in the land of Kena'an; and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, setting up his tent near S'dom. 13 Now the men of S'dom were evil, committing great sins against ADONAI. B’resheet 13

1 ADONAI appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. 2 He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, 3 and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don't leave your servant. 4 Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, 5 and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on. "Very well," they replied, "do what you have said." 20 ADONAI said, "The outcry against S'dom and 'Amora is so great and their sin so serious 21 that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know." 22 The two men turned away from there and went toward S'dom, but Avraham remained standing before ADONAI. B’resheet 18

1 The two angels came to S'dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S'dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. 2 He said, "Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant's house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way. "No," they answered, "we'll stay in the square." 3 But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate. 4 But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house -young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S'dom. 5 They called Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!" 6 Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brothers, don't do such a wicked thing. 8 Look here; I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don't do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house." 9 "Stand back!" they replied. "This guy came to live here, and now he's decided to play judge. For that we'll deal worse with you than with them!" Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn't find the doorway. 12 The men said to Lot, "Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city - son-in-law, your sons, your daughters - bring them out of this place 13 because we are going to destroy it. ADONAI has become aware of the great outcry against them, and ADONAI has sent us to destroy it." 15 When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. "Get up," they said, "and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." 23 By the time Lot had come to Tzo'ar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then ADONAI caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S'dom and 'Amora from ADONAI out of the sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. 27 Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before ADONAI, 28 and looked out toward S'dom and 'Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! 29 But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. B’resheet 19

Sin is a folly to deceive you, a force to destroy you, and a fact to condemn you. Sin is the revolting act of disobedience against the perfect will of God for your life. The first recorded sin of man took place in the perfect Garden of Eden.

Click on this link to review Chapter 1: Come Let Us Reason Together to read this account in Genesis.

12 Here is how it works: it was through one individual, Adam, that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as everyone sinned. Romans 5

17 For if, because of the offence of one man, Adam, death ruled through that one man; how much more will those receiving the overflowing grace, that is, the gift of being considered righteous, rule in life through the one man, Yeshua the Messiah! 18 In other words, just as it was through one offence of Adam that all people came under condemnation, so also it is through one righteous act of Yeshua the Messiah, that all people who follow Him will be considered righteous. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man, Adam, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience and righteousness of the other man, Yeshua Messiah, many will be made righteous. Romans 5

2 "Hear, heaven! Listen, earth! For ADONAI is speaking. "I raised and brought up children, but they rebelled against me. 3 An ox knows its owner and a donkey its master's stall, but Isra'el does not know, my people do not reflect. 4 "Oh, sinful nation, a people weighed down by iniquity, descendants of evildoers, immoral children! They have abandoned ADONAI, spurned the Holy One of Isra'el, turned their backs on Him! 5 "Where should I strike you next, as you persist in rebelling? The whole head is sick, the whole heart diseased. 6 From the sole of the foot to the head there is nothing healthy, only wounds, bruises and festering sores that haven't been dressed or bandaged or softened up with oil. Isaiah 1

For those who are hurting physically and spiritually, Yeshua delivers a parable to return to Him for He is waiting.

11 Again Yeshua said, "A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.' So the father divided the property between them. 13 As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in wild and reckless living. 14 But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch. 15 "So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any. 17 "At last he came to his senses and said, “Any number of my father's hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death! 18 I'm going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers." 20 So he got up and started back to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly. 21 His son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son -- 22 but his father said to his slaves, “Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet; 23 and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it. Let's eat and have a celebration! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he's alive again! He was lost, but now he has been found!” And they began celebrating. Luke 15

Return to Father God, your creator, by faith, believing in His Son, Yeshua, and you who are lost, will be born-again and become a part of the family of God.

18 "Come now," says ADONAI, "let's talk this over together. Even if your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; even if they are red as crimson, they will be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you will be eaten by the sword"; for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken. 27 Tziyon will be redeemed by justice; and those in her who repent, by righteousness. 28 "Rebels and sinners together will be broken and those who abandon ADONAI be consumed. 31 The strong will be like tinder and [the idol's] maker like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put them out." Isaiah 1

The next important question is: What is God’s remedy for sin? The ultimate sacrifice was made by His Son, Yeshua, not born of the seed of man, but of His Father God’s Holy Spirit. He is referred to as the Holy One of Israel.