Random Thoughts About My First Sukkot (Before, During and After)

• Sukkot is agricultural in origin a biblical name for this festival is The Feast of Ingathering
• 2 Thessalonians 2:1 And now, brothers and sisters, let us tell you about the coming again of our Master Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah and how we will be gathered together to meet him.

YHWH/God uses things in the natural to shed light on things that are spiritual - When YHWH set the Israelites free - He gathered them together under His protection - He dwelt/tabernacled with them by night in a pillar of fire and by day in a cloud - the people pitched tents as they dwelt with the Father. 

Sukkot/The Feast of Ingathering/Festival of Shelters - so many Scriptures refer to the "harvesting of people" - I can just visualize the most wonderful "ingathering" of all time when people who have let the seed grow in their spirit - let it lead them to journey to the conquering King!  But for now, let us remember this time, this season, as the Father has called us to do - and join in the celebration with our brothers and sisters of past, present and future - to call to mind the provision of the Creator - and let our hearts be filled with joy of a time to come in which we will all be together in His presence!

DO THESE SCRIPTURES NOT SCREAM TO YOU THAT THE FATHER CARES TO GATHER US TOGETHER TO DWELL WITH US? Both spiritually now, and physically in the future? What a day it will be!

1Ch_16:35 And say, O save us, Elohim of our Y'shua*; and gather us, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.

Neh_1:9 But if you will turn to Me and keep My commandments, and do them, though you were cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to set My name there.

Psa_106:47 Save us, O YAHWEH our Elohim, and gather us from the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name, to exult in Your praise.

Isa_11:12 And He shall lift up a banner for the nations, and shall gather the outcasts of Israel, and gather those dispersed from Judah, from the four wings of the earth.

Isa_40:11 He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather lambs with His arm; and carry them in His bosom; those with young He will lead;

Isa_43:5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, and I will gather you from the west.

Isa_58:8 Then your light shall break as the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of YAHWEH shall gather you.

Jer_23:3 And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the lands where I have driven them there, and I will bring them again to their fold. And they shall be fruitful and multiply.

Jer_29:14 And I will be found by you, says YAHWEH. And I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says YAHWEH. And I will bring you again into the place from which I sent you into exile, from there.

Jer_31:8 Behold! I will bring them from the North Country, and gather them from the recesses of the earth. Among them the blind, and the lame, the pregnant one, and the travailing one together, a great company shall return here.

Jer_31:10 Hear the Word of YAHWEH, O nations, and declare in the coastlands far away, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.

Jer_32:37 Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands, there where I have driven them in My anger, and in My fury, and in great indignation. And I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to live in safety.

Mat_24:31 And He will send His cherubs with a great sound of a large trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the sky to the other.

Mar_13:27 And then He will send His angels and will gather His elect from the four winds, from the beginning of the earth up to the beginning of heaven.

Joh_11:52 And not only for the sake of the nation but that also the sons of YAHWEH who are scattered that he might gather into one nation.

Rev_14:18 And another cherub went forth from the altar having authority over the fire. And he spoke with a great cry to the one having the sharp sickle, saying, Send your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripened.

Rev_19:17 And I saw one cherub standing in the sun. And he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, Come and gather together to the supper of the great Elohim,

You are a Tent

Sometimes, when I am reading in the mornings I just have to jump on to blog what exciting thoughts pop into my head!  This morning is one of them.  

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? ⁶ I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. ⁷ Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’

⁸ “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! ¹⁰ And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past,¹¹ starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! ¹² For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever.¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. ¹⁵ But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will continue before me^[b] for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”

There is SO MUCH to say about these words, but I've committed to keep my posts short.  So here goes: 

Are you as humbled as I am to realize that the Father enjoys and is content to be in a tent and not a building?!  He reminds me so often that I am both His temple and His tent.  I am where He chooses to dwell, inside my heart, mind and soul.  This shell, this tent is temporary - yet He moves with me everywhere I go.  Oh, what an honor has been bestowed upon us, by His mercy and grace - and not because of anything we did to earn it.  How mindful we should be in our interactions with others, to get ourselves out of the way so He alone can shine through to love unconditionally.  For surely it is He and not ourselves that can do such a thing.

Yet, just as he revealed in the picture/allegory in the Scripture above, there will come a day that indeed that we will dwell in His palace forever and ever just as He promised.  For our Savior who has come, will be the eternal King of Glory in the future.  He came as a Shepard but will return as a Conquering King.

Haggadah of Passover

How is the marriage covenant seen in Passover?

Please click on the link below for the Haggadah (the narration/telling) of Passover 2013 I will be haapy to email it to you.  It is well worth your time to study and read.

donnab050864@yahoo.com

Stirred and Willing

Good Morning Everyone - As I mentioned before, I am working on making my posts shorter (not everyone wants to dissect every word like I do).  I came across the Scripture below in my reading this morning in Exodus 35:

²⁰ And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹ Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

As always we see that YahWeh (God) does not force us to do anything, our hearts are stirred and we have to make the choice whether or not we are willing to respond.  I started thinking about "being willing" and realized you don't just pop up out of bed one day and make the decision to be "willing" to offer your time, your energy, your resources, and your talents to something overnight.  It is a process.

A few verses earlier in this chapter (verse 5) it says: Take from among you an offering to YahWeh.  Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering........

Therein lies the answer - it is a condition of your heart.  For your heart to become "willing" is a process.  From your heart comes an overflowing love and passion, it isn't about demands or orders - it is about a willingness to lay down "self" and reciprocate and engage in the love relationship the Father is reaching out to you with. It is a choice, not a feeling - you must first acknowledge that which has been given to you, that thing you know you don't deserve - and to be "willing" to accept and receive your position in this relationship with the Father.  What more could you be given than the life of the Father's Son?  Yes, we know that this is for Salvation but in the depths of His "willing heart and Spirit" - His love for you, creates in you a willing heart - your spirit WANTS to offer up to Him all that you have.  This isn't because a church tells you it's time to be a contributor, not a consumer - it is a process in the love relationship with Him that brings you to the point in which your spirit responds to ETERNAL LOVE!  My prayer for you today is that you will seek a deeper love relationship with the Father.  One that softens your heart to the very whisper of His voice, so that you may come to a place where your heart and your spirit are willing to offer all to Him that He alone calls you to do.  Amen.

The Holy Annointing Oil

My comments, questions and prayer for you today come from Exodus 30: 22-33 (noted below for your convenience-NKJV).

² Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.^{[a] 30} And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.
³¹ “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ³³ Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’”

I find it interesting that YahWeh (God) revealed the ingredients of the holy annointing oil but then said it was never to be compounded for any other use than to consecrate the Tabernacle.  He took this oil very seriously.  Verse 33 says:  "Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people."  Which means they would be killed.  Sound serious to you?

As always I found myself asking if there was a picture of Messiah (Jesus) in this?  He is our holy annointing.  He is the one that makes us holy before the Father.  There is NONE like Him!  His life was poured out for those with faith - not outsiders (those who are outside would be those who have not chosen to walk into the Father's house by faith, by believing in what they cannot see).  Messiah consecrates us for service to the Father, like the oil consecrated the items and priests in the Temple.

I find myself wondering what the meanings of the oils (myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, cane, olive) mentioned are, what their properties are, and if they have any significance to the character of Messiah..... all a topic for another day.  There is just so much revelation and things to learn about the love the Father has for us! 

In closing today, my prayer for everyone is that you lay hold of just how important our consecration to the Father is - He gave His Son - His Beloved - to be poured out for your life.  Willingly, knowing the cost - the torture - the heartache.  Do you think He did that for something that was of no importance to Him?  MAY IT NEVER BE!!!  YOU BELOVED - ARE IMPORTANT TO THE FATHER!  Come into His house today.  Search His Word, let Him teach you.  Let Him love you and accept what Messiah did for you on the cross so that you may never spend another day separated from His love.

The Ransom of Old is Still New

I would like to start off this blog asking you to read the following Scripture:

Exodus 30:11-16

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Ransom Money

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. ¹⁶ And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”

While reading a few things occured to me.  Just as the Father had Moses number the children of Israel in their day, Yeshua says:

John 6:39 - This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

The number of His children [YahWeh's children] has been given to Yeshua [Jesus] - none of that number will be lost as they have been counted to have accepted Yeshua's ransom on their behalf. Just like you and I [if you are a believer].

In verses 11-12 - ¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 

*Things I see in the Scripture: We see here that in times past every man gave a ransom [as instructed in the Torah] for himself to the Father. He essentially gave a ransom for his family members as well - those who would submit to his spiritual covering/authority over them [man being the spiritual authority of the household, etc].......Yeshua is our ransom - when - we submit to Him spiritually [Ask Him to be our Lord and Savior and choose to walk in His Ways].  He is our covering and our spiritual Authority.

It is up to each of us individually now that the veil has been torn, to be accountable before the Father on whether we accept His ransom [His life on the cross] or not.  The ransom has been paid. [His blood has covered our sin so that we would never be eternally separated from the Father]  Are you going to believe and receive?  Are you going to be counted "among them?"

**Things I see in the Scripture: The ransom removed plague from the people; Just as our ransom Yeshua removes sin from us before the Father as we come to His Throne and ultimately, will remove all plague from our lives in the Kingdom.

¹⁵ The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.

*Things I see in the Scripture: The atonement is being given unto the children of Israel.  The Father's chosen people.  Throughout Scripture we see examples of the fact that through Yeshua we are grafted in - or - adopted into the family of God - as children of Israel.  His chosen people.  His chosen people have not changed.  They were and always will be the children of Israel.  That should not be a stumbling block for us as Scripture says we are grafted into that family which consisted of the entire 12 Tribes of Israel (not just the Jews - tribe of Judah and Benjamin).  The following verses point to this very thing:

Romans 8:12-17
Romans 9:1-5
Galations 4:4-5
Ephesians 1:3-6

*Note: The world "law" in Galatians 4:4-5 is referring to the law of sin and death.  Not The Law as referred to The Torah [instructions for living a holy life set-apart to the Father - it has not been done away with and is still very relevent for our holy living today].  Within The Torah is the very place we find that a penalty needs to be paid for sin.  If we are to interpret law here to mean we are no longer under The Law, The Torah [instructions of the Father] then we have no need of a ransom because we would not know there is a penalty to be paid for sin.

*Things I see in the Scripture above: Whether rich or poor all were required to give the same 20 shekels.  None could boast one way or the other that they were somehow more in favor before the Father because of their circumstances.  The atonement was being accepted through the choice to be obedient.  Just as we have a choice as to whether we are going to be obedient to the call of the Father and accept our ransom - the life of His Son to cover our sin and eternal death.  Will we accept that gife of grace?  The atonement - and live an eternal life without plague in Heaven?

In these verses I read today, I see yet again how Moses is a picture of Yeshua.  I am so in awe that every single word in The Word is still somehow relevent, alive and active for us today.  Nothing, absolutely nothing about the Word has been done away with.  It is the Living Word! None of it is stagnant or old.  If there is one thing the Spirit is Teaching me - it is this:


DO NOT LEAN ON ANY MAN TO TEACH YOU MY WORD!
I AM YOUR TEACHER!
I WILL LEAD YOU INTO UNDERSTANDING!
DO NOT BE PART OF A LAZY GENERATION!
SET YOURSELF APART WITH ME.
DO NOT BE INFLUENCED WITH MAN'S IDEA OF TRUTH!
BE LED TO MY NARROW PATH FILLED WITH LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE AND LEARN MY WAY!

**Final pondering thought:  What does the number 20 represent - 20 shekels, men age 20 - etc. I found while looking that the number 20 could represent "expectancy" - that just short of spiritual perfection (which would be the number 21 - 3 times 7).  Could it be that all of the Word here is showing that atonement here is just short of what we can expect - - of what we will experience in Heaven with the Father - the ultimate fullfillment of the ransom of our Savior - the eternal, plague free, holy existence for eternity with our loving Father and Creator?





 

Do you know you are a priest?

I hope you find this as interesting as I did/do!

It was my intention tonight to get through a large portion of my reading schedule in my Bible.  That has not happened.  As I got to the later part of Exodus 28:1 (NLT)....They will be my priest and they will minister to me - I was immediately struck yet again by love and beauty of the Almighty and how He has woven such a moving and dramatic story of love to this life we live.

It occured to me that this was another Scripture that was a shadow in the Torah and that apostolic writings have given futher revelation.

1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own spiritual people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of YAHWEH, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

The Father originally chose a special people to reflect His glory to the world.  Those people were the Israelites (**note: not just the Jews [who were descendents of the Tribe of Judah] but the Israelites; the people group that encompassed all 12 tribes).  Furthermore, he chose special men to be set apart to minister to Him.  The priests.

I began to ask myself, if I am now part of a royal priesthood because I am adopted into the family of God, or grafted in as some may say - then what is it that the priests did, what made them set apart and special - and shouldn't I be paying attention to that, if I am now part of the chosen generation - a royal priesthood - and part of a holy nation?

The priests ministered or "served" YAHWEH.  To serve is to direct ones self and others to the proper service to YAHWEH.  What others see in us, the fruit we bear is a reflection of a love relationship we are experiencing with the Father.  It helps to give direction to those around us that points to the one true Way - which is an intimate and loving relationship with our Creator.  Just as the priest in the Tabernacle submitted himself to the Father in service, which brought through radiant blessing and influence into the world - we also should be striving to do the same.

"It is not incumbant upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it." (Avot 2:21) [we each have a purpose and part to play out in the greatest love story of all time]

The priest was the illumination of YAHWEH's presence giving a daily blessing over the people of Israel:

And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying,
In this way you shall bless the sons of Israel, saying to them:
YAHWEH bless you and keep you;
YAHWEH cause His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you;
YAHWEH lift up His face to you, and give you peace.

A beautiful blessing of peace and love given to the people!

Can't you see how this opened up the gates of mercy towards the people!  Through it the people of Israel (which now includes us as we are in the family of God by the blood of His son) are blessed with offspring and long life, spiritual blessings, Divine protection and true peace.

We need to represent these attributes people!  We need to bring the Father's blessing down once again to this world in which we live!  What is our model to do that?  Where do we learn?  It's not a new lesson, or a new plan!  It's been there for us all along - and the fullness of it is in the Messiah who came to show us the way!

Just as Peter says - you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own spiritual people!

You have to ask yourself, "what does it mean to be a holy nation?"

First you have to be set-apart.  We are set-apart and sanctified [made right with the Father] by the blood of Messiah - but do we reflect that to others around us?  Are we SERVING the Father like the priests in the Tabernacle did.  Are we speaking blessings over our families, our friends, our co-workers, our enemies, our people in authority?  Are we reigning down the Father's mercy?  Are we illuminating the love relationship we have with Him?

Or are we looking the opposite of holy...... mundane and ordinary? [doesn't that make you want to cry.....it does me......because I realize so often, I'm not laying hold of what He has already given me.....I'm not walking in the light that He shines upon me everyday.  I so often am stumbling in the darkness, because I can't get SELF out of the way and just submit and serve my Father].

We have the greatest Teacher known to mankind.  Messiah is Living Instruction - He is the Living Torah - How did He really live out His life?  He was obedient to His Father - He celebrated the Feasts as commanded for all time by His Father - He loved - He loved His enemies (of which we all were at one time) - He gave grace to those finding their way - He didn't judge - He lived out both everything you read in the Old Testement and the New.  Nothing has been done away with - the New just shines a brighter light on the Old - but you don't know it's true brightness if you can't see the contrast - you have to read and understand the shadows.

In closing, I hope you search your lives - that you believe you are part of a holy nation - that you know you are a royal priest and that like me - you get back to understanding that responsibility on a deeper level, fall ever deeper in love with your Savior - and let Him illuminate His love in this world through you and your life.

 

Shabbat Notes 2-9-13

In my reading this week, I studied more what it really meant in Exodus 21 about being a slave and discovered - basically - it's the same as when we engage in an employment contract - we need an income to survive so we sell ourselves to a place of employment and get paid in exchange of our services. 

 

When the Hebrew was down on his luck and needed sustenance to survive, he would sell himself into service to another Hebrew who could provide for his needs. On the seventh year the master was to set him free - but the slave could decide to stay forever as a bondservant because he loved his master so much.

 

In essence he and his family (if he had a wife and children) became part of the masters family. As I thought more on the subject, I came across something that one of the Torah teachers (Mike Clayton) had written and thought it was so beautiful from the perspective of our relationship with The Master - that I wanted to share. Hope you enjoy it! My notes are in parenthesis. Donna~

 

Mishpatim (the rulings) Exodus 21:1-24:18 Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26 Matthew 5:38-42; 15:1-20 Acts 23:1-11 Hebrews 9:15-22; 10:28-39 The Master's Awl We stand this week in a holy place. The giving of the Mishpatim (rulings) is much more than just providing standards for life. Here is witnessed the Ketuba, the marriage contract. Hashem (God) is setting forth the terms of the marriage. For those who have ears to hear, we will see that the theme of this Torah portion is not commandments, the theme is love. Exodus 21 tells us what to do with slaves. It is all too easy to read over this section and consider this for a different time and people. What could this possibly have to do with life in the year 2013? Truth is, these verses are just as relevant today as they have ever been for the person who will take the time to look past the surface and gaze into the depths of scripture. Let us look not at the master, but to the slave. The slave has served his master well for six years. He has been treated well and his daily provision has been met. Though life has been good overall, he is still a slave. He lacks the freedom to come and go as he pleases. At the end of six years a decision must be made. The slave can now go free or he can decide to voluntarily give up his freedom and become a bondservant. How will the slave make his decision? Will it be based on provision, rules of the house or even his own family? Chapter 21 verse 5 gives us insight into the heart of the matter. The slave declares, "I love my master, my wife and my children, so I don’t want to go free!" Notice the slave places his master first, even above his wife and children. Because of love, the servant places himself under the subjection of his master. With this subjection comes obedience to the rules of the household and the desires of the master. His declaration is that he will obey, not from fear or duty, but out of love for his master.(I was thinking of how this should be our heart towards the Messiah. We should mindfully bring ourselves under obedience, out of love, to His rules for our lives.) In Isaiah 56:6 we see this progression when it speaks of the foreigner or gentile who is grafted into the family. We are adopted into this family through faith, faith which in the early days brings forth service. We are looking for something to do in His Kingdom, more through duty to the One who has redeemed us, not as much out of love, for in the early days we do not know Him that well. Follow the verse though. This service causes us to love His name, which in Hebraic thought is to love Him. This love then produces a new kind of service, the work of the bondservant. See, obedience to His word is not a master-slave issue. Obedience to His word is a love issue. This is what Yeshua was saying in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep my commandments." We need to understand that the person giving the commandments to Moshe was none other than Yeshua Himself. The person the elders ate and drank with was the person of Yeshua, a manifestation of Hashem. The commandments Yeshua was speaking of were the very words given to Moshe, the Torah! If we love Him we will obey His Torah. This simple means that if we are having an obedience issue, it may have nothing to do with obedience. It may truly be a love issue. As the seventh day, the seventh millennium approaches, it is time for a decision. Do we walk away, free to do our own will or do we walk to the door to have our ear pierced with His awl? Do we receive His mark upon our lives, a mark of love, not of fear? http://www.joinedtohashem.org/

Increase and Responsibility

As most of you already know, I opened my own business last year.  There have been great moments of stress, mostly brought on by learning curves.  My business is commission driven, so, no sales equals no money.  There have been months I have beaten myself up wondering if at the end of the month I was going to be able to make ends meet.  As I opened my Bible this morning and read Exodus 21 and 23, I was overwhelmed with how much the Father really loves us.  He did not miss one tiny detail instructing us on how to live.  There were some verses that spoke to my spirit in a very personal way- but isn't that just how He loves me?  To make it living water for me.  To make His Word my instruction and guide?  Amazing. 

As the Father was teaching the Israelites how to live now that they were coming into their Promised Land - He lets them know - Hey, this isn't going to be accomplished over night.  You don't have enough population yet, to handle the responsibility it takes to have dominion over the vast amount of land I'm about to give you as your inheritance.  I'm letting you know right now, the land will become yours a little at a time, listen to my instruction.  As you are multiplied, so also will your land and responsibility be increased.

Exodus 23: 27-31 says:

²⁷ “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. ²⁸ I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. ²⁹ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. ³⁰ I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,^[f] and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River.^[g] I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.

Personally, I think the overall premise of this Scripture for me personally is - Hey, Donna!! Did you see that????  It isn't going to happen overnight!  I have things to teach you about running a business.  Your greater success is coming, but it is coming a little at a time - because if I poured out my full blessing on you right now - you do not have the people nor the tools to handle it.  I AM meeting your needs step by step and giving you proportionate responsibility along the way.  Now get out of the drivers seat and just enjoy the ride!  Oh HOW I LOVE THAT LIVING WATER!  IT IS A FEAST TO MY SOUL!

Shabbat Thoughts 2-2-13

I just thought I would share some of my gleanings from my time with the Father today.  I hope you are blessed by it in some small way.

Exodus 19:6 caught my attention; “and you will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” 

How prophetic – for we are living in these very times.  The very moment the Messiah died on the cross for our sin, the veil was torn and because the blood of our Savior covers our sin and makes us white as snow, we are welcomed to the throne of the Father!  There is no longer a need for one man to offer prayers and sacrifices on your behalf because the PERFECT MAN has done that for you, once and for all time! 

As I read on and read once again the Ten Commandments – it resonates within me that this foundation of instruction is a fountain from which rich knowledge pours forth.

Exodus 20:24 …..build altars in the places I remind you where I am, and I will come and bless you there.

While in the past the alter was a place for the sacrificial system that was put aside with the sacrifice of the Messiah – 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us; “Or do you not know that your body is the Dwelling Place of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not your own?  1Co 6:20  For you were bought with a price, therefore esteem Elohim in your body and in your spirit,¹ which are of Elohim. 

Bought with a price…..the price of His Son!  A price that no tag can be put upon!  A price so painful, it is unimaginable.  A price paid because I am loved. 

Therefore esteem your Father in body and in your spirit.  How do I do that?  By obeying the Torah (the Father’s instructions and commandments) and walking out my faith in this world.   

A Scriptural example for walking out my faith is to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit:

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness,

Gal 5:23  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Law (Torah/Instruction).

Gal 5:24  And those who are of Messiah have impaled the flesh with its passions and the desires.

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Gal 5:26  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 

When we realize just how short we all fall from being the holy people the Father wants us to be, it should break our hearts.  We may look around at others in our lives and desire to be closer to the Father as they seem to be – but remember this; In one sense it is good to desire and be encouraged by the walk of our fellow brothers and sisters in Messiah – However, we must also be mindful that we all come to different levels of spiritual maturity at different times in our lives.  Until we are resurrected we all come to the throne with our brokenness – and there is always hope in our brokenness for further maturity in holiness.  

Psa 147:1 HalleluYah; for it is good to sing praise to our Elohim; because praise is delightful and becoming. Psa 147:2 YAHWEH builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel.Psa 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their sorrows. 

I pray for  you – that in your time of Shabbat with the Father – that He revealed to you, your brokenness and that through that time, you were matured in the love He has for you!  Shalom~