Have no fear; I will help you

Shabbat Shalom!

 “But you, Isra’el, my servant; Ya’akov, whom I have chosen, descendants of Avraham my friend, 9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth, summoned you from its most distant parts and said to you, ‘You are my servant’ – I have chosen you, not rejected you. 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you; don’t be distressed, for I am your God. I give you strength, I give you help, I support you with my victorious right hand. 11 All those who were angry with you will be disgraced, put to shame; those who fought against you will be destroyed, brought to nothing. 12 You will seek them but not find them, those who contended with you; yes, those who made war with you will be brought to nothing, nothing at all. 13 For I, ADONAI, your God, say to you, as I hold your right hand, ‘Have no fear; I will help you. 14 Have no fear, Ya’akov, you worm, you men of Isra’el!’ I will help you,” says ADONAI; “Your redeemer is the Holy One of Isra’el. 

Isaiah 41: 8-14 CJB

“It won’t come near you”

You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon,
who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
² who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress!
My God, in whom I trust!” —
³ he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter
and from the plague of calamities;
⁴ he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his truth is a shield and protection.

⁵ You will not fear the terrors of night
or the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ or the plague that roams in the dark,
or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it won’t come near you.
⁸ Only keep your eyes open,
and you will see how the wicked are punished.

Psalm 91:1-8 CJB

The Rock of Israel

Shilo ben Hod released new Hebrew worship songs recently, and these are some of my favourites: the Rock of Israel and Yeshua, Saviour. The second song called Yeshua, Saviour is based on Psalm 121. I hope you enjoy these and remember Yeshua’s words in Matthew 5:11 – 20:

11 “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me! 12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way. 13 “You are salt for the Land. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except being thrown out for people to trample on. 14 “You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. 17 “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P’rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven! 

Lessons on Prayer from the Life of Sarah

Shalom Friends,

Last Shabbat, Rabbi Lawrence Hirsh from the Beit HaMashiach Congregation, discussed one of the most fundamental principles of prayer, that is to pray in the name of Yeshua, our Messiah. This principle to pray in the name of a person also appears in Genesis 24:12 and is also practiced in Orthodox Judaism. Please note that we, as believers in Yeshua the Messiah, pray in the name of Yeshua, because Yeshua indicated that in Matthew 28:18 CJB “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And further in John 14:6  Yeshua said, “I AM the Way — and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me. Lawrence also reflect on principles about prayer from both her life.

May Yeshua protect us during these strange times.

The Two Coronas

Shalom friends,

I hope you are doing well, under the circumstances of coronavirus, social distancing and self isolation measures imposed by various governments all over the planet. I saw a thought provoking video by Chaim Goldman where he discusses the 2 crowns of 2 Jewish Messiahs (Mashiach ben yosef / משיח בן־יוסף and Mashiach ben David / משיח בן דוד ) which we believe the roles Yeshua the Messiah has fulfilled as the suffering Servant (Isaiah Chapter 53) and will fulfill when he returns which I believe will be sooner rather than later, [and not because of the current pandemic]. 

May ADONAI, the God of Israel in the name of Yeshua / ישוע Mashiach continue to bless and protect you and your family during these times.

Unclean Spirit plus 7 returns

Shalom friends,

 

In Matthew 12:43-45(CJB) we read about Yeshua’s teaching on the return of the unclean spirits. The verses are below. I found an interesting video explaining this teaching and how it relates to this current status of the world we live in.

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”

I hope you have a blessed and wonderful new week – Shavua Tov!

 

 

Passover – the season of our liberation

 

!חג שמח. We’re celebrating Passover this week and I hope that it is special time for you and your family (whether you’re observing Passover or Easter). I’ve included this video and Dani Sayag ( from Mount Carmel Messianic congregation in Haifa, Israel) gives a beautiful explanation of Passover and the crucifixion of Yeshua Mashiach. If you don’t have time to watch the entire video, watch from 28′ to 35′.

Remember: The blood on the doorposts in Egypt and the blood of Yeshua on our hearts, set us free.

Please pray for the families of hundreds of believers who were murdered a couple of days ago in Sri Lanka by Islamic extremists. 

Marc Chagall, The Martyr, 1940

 

 

 

 

“Yeshu”

Shalom, friends!

I’ve found this interesting article and I’d wanted to share it.

In the final paragraph the writer notes the following:

“And I can tell you as an eye-witness here that the ayin is returning to Israel and the Jewish people as never before. Through visions dreams, study of the prophets and testimonies, many Jewish people are joyously discovering the Messiah, King of the Jews. That final letter is now being grafted back onto Yeshu and becoming Yeshua, the Hebrew word for salvation, and eyes are opening to see Him who is our very Jewish brother and King.”

All I could say is that I’m also an example of someone who was secular and found Yeshua  Mashiach (or actually Yeshua Mashiach found me!) 16 years ago. When I became a believer, I only knew 1 other Jewish believer in Yeshua, but during the last year or so, I’ve “met” many believers over social media. In my opinion, there is a great messianic awakening happening!

“Yeshu”

I was speaking in Hebrew to a friendly middle-aged Israeli woman about Yeshua and was very surprised that she agreed with everything I said. Finally I felt there was something not quite right, so I asked her if she understood about whom I was speaking. She said yes, Yehoshua ben-Nun. So I clarified and said, “Yeshu.” Then and there she screamed at me and said, get away from me, missionary! and she left in a huff.

“Yeshu” is the abbreviation of the name Yeshua as found in the rabbinic writings. It is the removal of the last letter of the name, which is the letter ayin, or ein. Ayin is also the word for eye, but is also the word for a spring of water, as in Ein Gedi- the Goat Spring. The use of the same word for eye and spring define the spiritual nature of the eye, which is like a spring of water. A good eye, or spring, puts out much good water, and a bad spring, or eye, is one who is not generous, which is the biblical and common expression, ayin rah – evil eye – meaning stingy, as opposed to generous – ayin tova – good eye (see Deuteronomy 15:9, Matthew 6:21-24).

By removing the ayin from the name Yeshua, one removes the eye, causing blindness. The Hebrew for blind is eiver, also beginning with the letter ayin. As Paul writes in Romans 11:25, ‘For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in‘, and Isaiah wrote, “Who is blind but my servant…” (Isaiah 42:19). Some even construe the name Yeshu to be a curse, which indeed it is.

As there are no numbers in Hebrew, the letters define numbers- the first letter alef being one, beit, two, etc. The letter ayin is the number seventy. According to biblical exegesis, seventy is the number of the nations, the Gentiles, the goyim, based on the scripture, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of

Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:8), which is seventy Hebrews that went down to Egypt with Jacob (Genesis 46:27). That ayin, or eye, which is given for vision, and the spring of living waters, has gone out to give that vision to the nations, and that yeshuah, which is the Hebrew word for salvation, has gone out from Israel to the world, now for nearly two millennia, to either be accepted or rejected by the Gentiles.

Now, in these latter days, Israel has been re-gathered back to the Promised Land of Israel, a phenomenon unprecedented in history, and seen before the eyes of all the nations. Both Yeshua and Paul inform us that Israel shall be set apart until the time and fullness of the nations be come in (Luke 21:24; Romans 11:25-32), and then all Israel will be saved.

And I can tell you as an eye-witness here that the ayin is returning to Israel and the Jewish people as never before. Through visions dreams, study of the prophets and testimonies, many Jewish people are joyously discovering the Messiah, King of the Jews. That final letter is now being grafted back onto Yeshu and becoming Yeshua, the Hebrew word for salvation, and eyes are opening to see Him who is our very Jewish brother and King.

Source: http://kehilanews.com/2018/04/01/yeshu/

 

 

Happy Passover / חג שמח

Shalom friends!

I hope that you and your family will have a peaceful Passover and festival of matzah. Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile as these “appointed times” are “[t]he designated times of ADONAI which you [Moses] are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times” [Leviticus 23:2 CJB] and we (i.e everyone) should keep these.

I’ve included four interesting videos related to Passover below:

!חג פסח שמח

 

 

 

 

Please note that I don’t necessarily endorse any comments made in these videos. I’m posting these out of interest.

A thorn in the flesh

Shabbat Shalom, friends!

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we read about “the thorn” (a messenger from the Adversary) in Sha’ul’s flesh:

 7 Therefore, to keep me from becoming overly proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from the Adversary to pound away at me, so that I wouldn’t grow conceited. 

8 Three times I begged the Lord to take this thing away from me; 

9but he told me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness.” Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that the Messiah’s power will rest upon me. 

10 Yes, I am well pleased with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties endured on behalf of the Messiah; for it is when I am weak that I am strong. 

In verse 10, we read about Sha’ul being “well pleased” enduring his hardships and difficulties. I have been reflecting on this particular verse for a while as I’m have been experiencing issues in my life and I must admit it’s hasn’t been pleasant. I think to myself that, what I’d like to call : the “Entitled Me” is overly upset and this “Entitled Me” is really trying to dominate. The “Entitled me” wants me to ask whether it is really wrong to feel upset about the situation? Is it or isn’t it?

To ward off this “Entitled Me”, I was drawn to Psalm 19:12 -13:

12 Who can discern unintentional sins? Cleanse me from hidden faults. 

13 Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins, so that they won’t control me. Then I will be blameless and free of great offense. 

After “meditating” on these two verses for a while, I turned to Psalm 20:1 and these words: May ADONAI answer you in times of distress, may the name of the God of Ya’akov protect you”.

Thus, I pray:

ABBA (אבא), The Almighty Living God of Israel, in the name of Yeshua ha Mashiach (Yeshua the Messiah), please hear my prayer. Thank you, ABBA (אבא) for everything You do in my life – all Your grace You have given to me. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in Your presence. I have sinned. Please cleanse me. Please forgive my sins. Please protect me. I ask this in the name of Yeshua ha Mashiach (Yeshua the Messiah).

Amen!

 

 

Joshua

Shabbat Shalom, friends!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. I hope you and your family have been well!

I’m currently reading through the Book of Joshua. This book records the history of the people of Israel as enter and take possession of the Land of Israel. Joshua is their new leader, ADONAI leads them victory as long as they obey HIM. I follow the Kehilat haKarmel congregration in Haifa, Israel on Youtube. This congregration is currently reading through the entire book. These sermons are both in Hebrew and English; and definitely worthwhile listening to (in my humble opinion). I’ve include the video from last Shabbat’s sermon below:

 

As I was reading, I was drawn to Joshua Chapter 5  verses 13 – 14:

 ¹³ One day, when Y’hoshua was there by Yericho, he raised his eyes and looked; and in front of him stood a man with his drawn sword in his hand. Y’hoshua went over to him and asked him, “Are you on our side or on the side of our enemies?” ¹⁴ “No,” he replied, “but I am the commander of Adonai’s army; I have come just now.” Y’hoshua fell down with his face to the ground and worshipped him, then asked, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?” ¹⁵ The commander of Adonai’s army answered Y’hoshua, “Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy.” And Y’hoshua did so.

After I’ve read these verses, I thought of the following: Firstly, this could be seen as Joshua’s “burning bush”  experience as Moses was also asked to remove his sandals. Secondly, it also reminds me of when Yeshua successful completed his testing by the adversary and the angels came to take care of Him (Matthew 4:11). Yeshua also mentioned that ADONAI would sent armies of angels to protect him, but He had to die for our sins. (Matthew 26:53).

We might not always think about this, but we have the best protection. Psalm 91: 11- 12 really describes it very well:

¹¹ for he will order his angels to care for you
and guard you wherever you go.
¹² They will carry you in their hands,
so that you won’t trip on a stone.

As long as we obey and trust, ADONAI’s protection and grace will never fail us.

I hope you have a peaceful Shabbat!

Eitan

Raise your voice

Shabbat Shalom, friends!

I hope you had a good week.

For this Shabbat, I read Yesha’Yahu / Isaiah 52 but instead of continuing to Chapter 53, I turned back to Chapter 51. I was drawn to Chapter 52 6 to 8 and then also to the same verse numbers (verse 6 to 8) in Chapter 51.

Yesha’Yahu/ Isaiah 52:

⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
therefore on that day they will know
that I, the one speaking — here I am!”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
proclaiming shalom, bringing good news
of good things, announcing salvation
and saying to Tziyon, “Your God is King!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen are raising their voices,
shouting for joy together.
For they will see, before their own eyes,
Adonai returning to Tziyon.

 

Yesha’Yahu/ Isaiah 51:

⁶ “Raise your eyes toward the skies,
look at the earth below.
The skies will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like clothing.
Those living on it will die like flies;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my justice will never end.

⁷ “Listen to me, you who know justice,
you people who have my Torah in your heart:
don’t be afraid of people’s taunts,
don’t be upset by their insults.
⁸ For the moth will eat them up like clothing,
the worm will eat them like wool;
but my justice will be forever,
and my salvation for all generations.”

 

I’ve highlighted the parts of the verses that stood out to me.

After I read from these two chapters, I thought to myself:  what does it mean to believe in Yeshua ha Mashiach?

It means freedom.  Freedom from man-made religion, freedom from rabbinical / theological interpretations (church dogma) as we receive the message directly from the source – the Word of God.

It is freedom to know what is right and wrong because the Torah (God of Israel’s Instructions) has been placed within us. We have the Word of God and the Ruach ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit / Spirit of ADONAI) to guide us and we don’t need to rely on our own limited human understanding.

Salvation is also free to anyone who believes in Yeshua and continues to trust and believe.  The only way to the ADONAI (The Almighty Living God of Israel) is through Yeshua (Yochanan / John 14:6). We don’t need a Priest or Rabbi to pray on our behalf to receive salvation.

Furthermore, it also gives me a feeling that I could describe as a combination of joy, excitement and sense of achievement because through social media, I am able to raise my voice, together with my fellow bloggers, to share about our Messiah, Yeshua, the King of Israel to anyone who visits my blog. Through social media apps,  I’m connecting with fellow believers in Yeshua in Israel, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Most important, I won’t stay quiet about Yeshua and I’m sure, you won’t stay quiet either.

Finally, I’d like to say that we are seeing ADONAI returning to Zion before our very eyes to those whose eyes have been opened and are being opened to the message of the Messiah. It’s not always easy to be a believer, but through fellowship, we are standing together and united!

I hope you have a blessed and peaceful Shabbat!

 

A family member who is visiting Israel sent these photos:

Lake Kinneret / the Sea of Galilee (29 November 2017)

Jerusalem, Friday evening, 1 December 2017

 

Jerusalem, Friday evening, 1 December 2017