Parshot Netzavim - Vayelech (You are Standing - He Went)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link
Isaiah {6:10} "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." We are almost at the end of the month of Elul. Elul is the month of inspecting our lives. Specifically, so that our hearts will not be callous, nor our ears blocked, nor our eyes shut. It is a time of repentance and returning to Yeshua, our first love. Why is the month of Elul considered a time of returning to the Lord? Because the letters of Elul have been interpreted as an acronym. Its Hebrew letters, ""Aleph,"" ""Lamed,"" ""Vav,"" 'Lamed"" represent the words. ""Ani L'Dodi, V'Dodi Li."" This is taken from Song of Songs: {6:3} "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine" Elul is a time of return, because although we know that God always watches over the earth and is always waiting for us to return to Him, there is something special about the month of Elul, which makes God more accessible, somewhat like the Shabbat. Isaiah {55:6} "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" When the children of Israel sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, they were in effect rejecting God. It was in response to this event that Moses broke the first Tablets on which God inscribed the Ten Commandments. At that point, God was furious and wanted to destroy all of Israel, but Moses ascended Mount Sinai again and pleaded with God to have mercy and to forgive Israel. God accepted Moses's pleas and had mercy and forgave them. This time, however, Moses had to add work to his faith, when God commanded him to make another set of Tablets, like the first. Jewish tradition believes that Moses reascended Mount Sinai on the 1st. day of Elul and as we know he remained there 40 days, which would bring him to the 10th. day of the month of Tishri, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is not a coincidence because during these 40 days Moses was pleading for God’s forgiveness. Since then this period has been remembered as a time of introspection and repentance. It is for this reason the month of Elul is special and appropriate for personal reflection, repentance and asking God for forgiveness. "Chet" is the Hebrew word for sin, it means failure in our relationship with God, literally missing God's mark. "Chet" causes us to move away from God. "Teshuvah,” however, is the antidote for sin, it means "Repentance," returning to God and to a Torah based life. The King is coming so we are to be aware of His forthcoming visit. That is what the month of Elul is set aside for – preparation, where we allow the Holy Spirit to engage in refining our spiritual lives to meet the standards that the Lord expects of us.
from Ellen… Bible link
If I titled my short messages to you I would call this, “Leading By Serving”. Mark 10.45 says: “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” I remember when we started our time leading in Toronto at CMY, after Oneg my husband began to sweep the fellowship hall and one dear lady spoke up and pointed to him and said: “A true leader has come…”. No, pride did not well up inside either one of us because this was how we were not only brought up in our homes but in the congregation, we grew up as Messianic Believers. As we entered into leadership at CMY our schedules were drastically altered. We were the first to open the sanctuary and the last to lock the doors. The entire focus of our lives was God first, each other second and thirdly…the body of congregants the Lord had placed in our care. Nothing has changed… In this short message to you today is this…I am not lifting us up but I lift up the Name of Yeshua, God Almighty. God considers each of us, His precious treasure and He has anointed us to be in a responsible position of service. Oh, how I cry out to Him some days to teach us all His ways but we also give thanks in all things! If you are desiring to be in leadership in serving the Lord then begin with a changed lifestyle…God first!
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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