Parasha Devarim & Sermon "New Wine"

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Israel's national anthem is Hatikvah (The Hope). Its lyrics longingly express the two-thousand-year hope for Jews to be a free nation in their ancestral homeland. Anticipation and hope are not foreign to any of us; we all hope for many things.

It is winter now in Kenya and the eastern part of the country is very cold; people there are hoping for warmer weather, farmers hope for rain, parents hope for their children to grow up to be successful, we all hope for good health, long life and so many other things. None of us have any shortage of carnal things in life to hope for. However, none of the things I just mentioned are under our control and hope as we may, we have no idea how any of these will eventually turn out. So, there is no security for us in any of these hopes.

Isaiah 40:30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

As uncertain as our carnal hoping is, on the flipside, that is how certain our hoping in the Lord is. Hope in the Lord is based on the certainty of God because when God says something, He delivers. One of the greatest hopes we as Believers in Messiah Yeshua have, is the hope of eternal life with God in heaven.

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Messiah Yeshua to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness 2) in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

Titus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua,

Yeshua has come, He died for us, as us, and took upon Himself all of our iniquities and all our infirmities and He promised us eternal life with Him in heaven. This is not just a hope, it is a promise and God does not lie! If we have Messiah Yeshua we have eternal life and He is coming back for us.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.

This is our blessed hope and one that we can put certainty in.

Hi Ellen here...I am sure, if you are on WhatsApp with me and have peeked in on my "status" page that you have seen the following… "Overthinking will steal your peace, give it to God and get some rest"! This is so true and this is not what Satan wants you to do! He wants you to dwell on the things that bother you, the things in you that you think other people can see in you! Honestly, do you think others can see in you while they are so busy overthinking their own things? Ha, no way!!! Rest is a hard thing to attain in our busy lives and in times of not so busy, because when we are not so busy, we begin to overthink, right? Well, let us try to get off this merry go round together. First, live in the present. You cannot do anything about the past because it is just that, the past. If you have erred in some way and come to Yeshua in true repentance and asked for forgiveness, all is good. Stop reminding yourself of what was; most of all forgive yourself! Stay away from the future…can you seriously create what is to come, no! Matthew 6.34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about its own things." Thank God, one less thing to NOT worry about or overthink! When we say Shabbat shalom, we mean just that. When we say Shabbat Menuchah (rest in Hebrew), we mean just that! We love you all but God, our Abba in heaven loves you even more! Shabbat shalom.

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Mottot-Masaei & sermon "To Whom are We Accountable"

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Shalom and blessings

1 Samuel {15:22-23} So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams 23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."

Samuel makes two comparisons in this passage of Scripture. First, he tells us that rebellion and witchcraft are the same sin and second, he says that stubbornness is the same as the sin of idolatry. How is stubbornness the same as idolatry? A stubborn person makes an idol of their own opinion. If we consider how many stubborn Believers there are, it is scary to think how many idolaters we are worshiping with.

The root of witchcraft is rebellion; therefore, rebellious people are under the spirit of witchcraft and need deliverance. Rebellion rejects authority, so if a person is rebellious against parents, the government, the boss, leadership, the police etc., the demon witchcraft is operating in them and it will make them rebellious against God. A society cannot exist without there being authority. Without authority there is anarchy and anyone that is in any way rebellious is overcome by witchcraft.

God is our authority, we have all been created to be under His authority and He is our legitimate authority, however, if we reject God's authority and those that He has placed in authority over us, we create an authority void, an empty place within us and that void has to be filled with something if it is not filled with God's authority. This leaves our lives open to being filled by the opposing counterfeit authority, the illegitimate authority of Satan. His illegitimate authority that supports rebellion is the demon of witchcraft.

In the Scripture I quoted from 1 Samuel, King Saul disobeyed God's order; he did not totally destroy the Amalekites (men, women, children and livestock). He saved what he thought were the best of the livestock, claiming that he was going to use them as fire offerings to the Lord. Saul was rebellious, so is it any wonder his life led him to consult with the witch of Endor for direction? When we reject legitimate authority, illegitimate authority fills the void. If we reject God's legitimate authority in our lives; Satan's illegitimate authority will move in to take its place.

Hi Ellen here…God is so amazing, not only is He the author and finisher of our lives, He is the creator of all things beautiful! As of late, here in Israel and I am sure all over the world there have been parades using the rainbow as a symbol, you know what I am talking about. Well as grieved as we are of this particular event it leads us into searching God's Word and even a little science. Genesis 9.13-17 says that after God created a flood to wash away humanity's corruption, He put the rainbow in the sky as a sign of His promise that He would never again destroy the earth with flood! Rainbows are formed when sunlight is scattered from raindrops into the eyes of an observer. The lower the sun in the sky the more of an arc of a rainbow the viewer will see. Rain, fog or some other water source will accomplish the same…there you go, sun. water and air …all created by God for our viewing enjoyment, what a wonder. Here steps in the evil one with all bad intentions to take something beautiful created by our Creator and turn it into a symbol of sinisterism and perversion! But the thing I want you all to see is homosexuals are not our enemies…they are our mission field just as those not believers yet, addicts and the like. Don't sneer at the symbol God gave us but pray for the salvation for all those in need, blessings in Messiah Yeshua!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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"To Whom are We Accountable"

Parasha Phinehas & Sermon "Marriage Relationships"

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Shalom and blessings

You have probably noticed that I am no longer commenting on current events here in Israel. I decided not to for two reasons. First, with the internet and smartphone access to instant reliable news about Israel on sites like, Jerusalem Post.com and Ynetnews.com (the former giving a rightwing slant and the latter a left to center wing view), my opinion is not necessary. Second, what is happening day to day or week to week in Israel has no bearing in the life of a Believer. Following the news only takes our eyes off of God and His plan and purpose for Israel, as outlined in the Bible, and puts them on the worldly, human perspective, which is totally contrary to God. So, there you have it! How is Israel doing? "It is doing exactly the way God wants it to do!" What is my opinion? "I am not the one in control and having read the end of the Bible (the Book of Revelation), God wins and, in the process, so does Israel!"

Hi Ellen here…what a jammed packed week for Jack and myself. We both have had some health issues but God is bigger than all of them! I may not post Scripture for what I feel today…just rolling thoughts. We live in such tumultuous times; the devil is at work and equipping his network of demons but again I say rejoice! If we are not serving God on a daily …yes on a moment-to-moment basis then we give that slippery guy below all the power and allow it to do whatever it pleases. Get to work on the Kingdom at hand, get to work on your relationship with the God most High, get to work on the sin that plagues your life, get to work on your marriages thru the Word of God, get to work on releasing your children, your possessions, your workplace and all distractions to HIM…each and every moment of each and every day and say "Bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name!"

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

To All Our Canadian Family of Believers:

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Sermon "Marriage Relationships"

To All Our Canadian Family of Believers:

Parasha Balak & sermon "Why Why Why"

 

Shalom and blessings

Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Many misunderstand the term love as expressed in this verse. In context we are being told to love our neighbor as ourselves. The religious in Israel took the term neighbor to mean that they were to love only those of their own group or those of like-minded beliefs and could, therefore, hate their enemies. However, Yeshua at His coming corrected this misunderstanding of who our neighbor is and instructed us to love both our neighbor and our enemy.

Matthew 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, …

People sometimes misconstrue "tough love" and "correction" as being unloving, but that is the farthest thing from the truth.

2 Timothy 4: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Those in leadership positions have the responsibility to ensure that those in their charge are safe from deception and on the right spiritual path. That may require them to step in and correct and if necessary, discipline false, religious, idolatrous or misleading doctrine and information. This should never be confused with not being loving, rather it is "tough love" and "correction," as expressed in 2 Timothy. When we consider the consequences of false information or false doctrine, "tough love" and "correction" may in fact be a high form of love.

Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.

Hi Ellen here…Oy, another blurb of alarm! No but Abba wants us to be cautious, continually on guard because there is a lion …a toothless lion…a devil with many cohorts roaming this earth to destroy, distract and devour all in its path. But we have a God, an Abba in heaven watching over us at all times. It may not seem that He is with us at times but He said that He will never leave us or forsake us, hallelujah! There is a threefold warning that I would like to share with you. I may have shared in the past but we live in uncertain times. The warning can come like a bull in a china shop or even like a whisper. The devil has three main tactics of attack…1) FEAR, 2) INTIMIDATION, and 3) DECEPTION. Number 1 we know is not from God as He has given us perfect love to cast out all fear. Number 2 is a bit more abstract but the Word says to do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth. Last but not least number 3…Yeshua said to watch out that no one deceives you! Many will come in His name in fact many have already come saying they are the Messiah! Don't look at what you see!!! Look up!!!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

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Listen to sermon "Why Why Why"

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

Parasha Chukat & Sermon "Prescription for Anger Management"

Shalom and blessings

In reading through the Book of Daniel we can take comfort in what he and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, accomplished under extreme and difficult circumstances. They were taken in their youth from the midst of the royal court of Jerusalem and planted in the pagan environment of the City of Babylon. Even though the Kingdom of Judah was in apostasy at the time, we can get from Scripture that Daniel and his friends had a relationship with the Lord God of Israel. We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for these young boys to hold to their godly convictions, but hold on they did and not only did they survive, they prospered without ever compromising their beliefs and faith.

January 19, 2021, we went to bed in a world whose pagan values were challenged, the supreme court of the United States had moved right, prayer was being reintroduced into schools and we heard the name of Jesus proclaimed in political speeches. We woke-up, however, on January 20, 2021 to a world that almost mirrors ancient Babylon. Most of what was done by the previous U.S. administration was being undone by the new administration and as much as Believers disagree with what was happening, we, like Daniel and his friend, could not control our circumstance. Yes, we may not be able to control our circumstances but we sure can control how we react to our circumstances and that is what Daniel and his friends did. By not compromising their faith, by not compromising their commitment to God they managed to change Babylon in such a radical way that when King Cyrus and Darius came on the political scene, God had paved the way for the reestablishment of the nation of Israel.

Study the Book of Daniel because we will ultimately face many of the challenges he did and hopefully we will be as steadfast in our resolve and loyalty to God as he was.

Hi Ellen here…this is not a judgement call only a question…Are you filled with the Ruach haKodesh, the Holy Spirit of God? I have been pondering and Jack and I speak about it with each other often. When we get saved, hallelujah we receive the Holy Spirit and it is only when we completely surrender our lives to Yeshua and we know that we are not of our own any longer…do we truly become FILLED with the Holy Spirit. In order to nurture and nourish His incredible presence in our lives by reading and studying the Word can we be led by Him. He leads us to pray, He convicts of us sin, He moves in us to evangelize and so much more. So are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Let us pray…Abba, I thank You for saving me. I now come before You and surrender my entire existence to You. You own me and I ask that You will guide me in all understanding and wisdom of Your ways. Thank You in the Name above all names – YESHUA!!!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Korach

Shalom and blessings

Philippians 3:13 "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua."

Paul's past sins were forgiven, they were put under the blood, all guilt of his past was removed, yet like the children of Israel he found himself drawn back in his mind to things of his past. This was happening to him partially because of humiliation and partly because he wanted to magnify the grace of God that was at work in his life. The Lord had forgiven Paul but he was having a problem forgiving himself. His solution; not to look back but to keep his eyes focused on what God's greater plan was for his life.

Paul found a solution for his dilemma. However, I have encountered far too many Believers who, although they accepted that they were forgiven through Messiah Yeshua, their Lord and Savior, they had still not forgiven themselves. If by chance you are one of those people, I would like you to consider this.

It is understood that Yeshua died for our sins on the cross at Calvary, that He paid the price of our sin by dying in our place and as a result we are forgiven. However, what I believe many of us do not understand about what Yeshua did for us, is that He did not only die for us He died as us. We no longer live, Messiah lives through us, therefore, there is no condemnation against us, not for the past, present or future.

Galatians 2:20 "Oh I have been crucified with the Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Hi Ellen here…First, please forgive me, last week I gave the wrong address for the Fruits of the Spirit, they are found in Galatians 5:22. Now for this week's encouragement…There is a military term in Hebrew, "Kadima." It implies "Go Forward or Advance!!" I really like this term because I feel it has power and is uplifting in spirit when said…KADIMA!!! We all must go forward and after confession and repentance…we must not look back. In Philippians 3.13 it says, "but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua." Wow, can you see yourself standing there clothed in the armor of Yeshua ready, willing and oh so able to march forward into battle for our lives and the lives of your family and friends and even more so for their salvation? I want to be found worthy and alive in the here and now of my life so God will use me and I pray the same for you. Don't let yourself slip into your past, hear Yeshua say, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9.62). Hear Him also say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant. (Luke 19:17). Rabbi and I bless you with all the blessings of Messiah Yeshua!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

Listen to "Position, Prospective, Priority, Power

"

Parasha Shelach

Shalom and blessings;

It is no secret that Believers, Christians (including Messianic), are being persecuted and killed throughout the world. And if we are not being persecuted and killed, we are being vilified, which is evident by what is taking place in the West. We all thought there was a glimmer of hope when Donald Trump was elected President, that God would be restored in America, but then our hopes have been dashed. However, what we are experiencing should be no surprise, Yeshua warned us about what was coming. While carrying the cross He was to be crucified on He said to the women who were watching:

Luke 23:31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

Does that mean that we need to crawl into a hole and allow the world to bury us, no, that is not what the Apostles did as we learn from the book of Acts. They were called to task by the Sadducees and Pharisees who warned them not to preach in Yeshua's name yet they were unshaken by the threats:

Acts 4:29 "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your Holy servant Yeshua." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

If you are convinced of the truth, do not allow the world to intimidate you; speak out in love but in boldness, trusting the Lord to use your witness for His Glory.

Hi Ellen here…We pray so often for the Lord to fill us with His fruit. We all know the scripture in Philippians… "the fruits of the Spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Long Suffering (which is patience) and Self-Control." They are all wonderful and they are all needed moment to moment, minute to minute, hour by hour and day by day! What is Goodness and how do we obtain it other than getting it from above? We strive to be good. We strive to find good even in the bleakest times of our lives…in fact it says in Psalms 23.6… "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…" and here it comes, the answer, "and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The goodness we get from striving is carnal but the goodness we get from dwelling with the Lord is infinite. My prayer for you this week and for myself is to dwell with the Lord in His house and obtain His goodness. Shabbat Menuchah to all.

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

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THIS WEEK'S SERMON LINK: SEEING IS BELIEVING

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Listen to "Seeing is Believing"

Listen to "The Two Witnesses

"

Parasha Beha'alotecha & sermon "An Issue of Contentment"

I am telling you old news when I say that Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, in fact it is fourteen-year-old, old news because Hamas and Israel have been under a ceasefire agreement for over a decade. The fact is, Hamas and Israel have never had a long-term peace agreement and according to their Constitution, which calls for the destruction of Israel, they can never have one without a Constitutional Amendment.

We have to reach into the spiritual in order to find purpose in this last war, because in the physical there is none! The Gazans are no better off than they were before the war and Hamas is no less determined to destroy Israel then they were before the war. Whereas Israel is $385 million U.S. poorer (without counting the economic losses suffered by the people which is $363 million), and we are left traumatized, shell-shocked and wondering what happened. God, You must have had a purpose for these11 days of horror and if nothing else, we can take comfort in that Your purpose was achieved. Come Quickly Lord Yeshua!

I do not know about you, but I am over hearing proud, arrogant world leaders and petty politicians strutting their wares like they have all the answers to the world's woes. When we search the history books, Bible included, its pages are filled with arrogant, proud people; leaders who thought they had all the answers and who thought they could conquer the word but ended up being dethroned, cut down to size, humiliated and made manure for the ground; "Pride comes before the fall." In comparison let us look at the achievements of those whose lives were marked by servanthood and humility; Moses and Yeshua for example. Their lives of humility fostered love and respect for others, it demonstrated true caring and empathy but most of all their humility was proved by servanthood. A true leader is a servant and a servant is a humble leader. God has given us the formula for successful leadership, we need only to be willing to accept it and apply it to our lives.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Humility is not artificial modesty, or weak timidity, it is as the prophet Isaiah said: "Here I am Lord, send me!"

Hi Ellen here…We think we have it all figured-out…wrong! I thank God every day that His ways are not our ways, they are so much higher yet He sees us and whatever condition we are in. We have beautiful families, smart children, a roof over our heads and food on the table. So, what's wrong, why do negative thoughts creep into our minds…do we look around and only see what we do not have? Satan wants us to be down on ourselves, he wants us to compare our lives to others and worst of all he wants us to be down on our spouses and grasp onto the STRONGHOLD OF UNGRATEFULNESS! We need to pray Psalm 139.23, 24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." In these times of turmoil and uncertainties it is very easy to see the bad in everything, in everyone and become negative and bitter. Hebrews 12.14-15 speaks about bitterness, please read it for yourself it is an eye-opener for sure! Today let us all purpose to see the good in everyone and the good in everything. This will lighten the load we are carrying and bring joy and peace…just give it a try. We love you sooo much!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Listen to "An Issue of Contentment"

Parasha Naso & Sermons

Shalom and Blessings

Times are so uncertain in Israel. We have had to endure almost two weeks of constant bombardment from the terrorist group Hamas and it has totally wearied us. We are spending sleepless nights and tense days as sirens blare and explosions ring out around us. Hamas is continually firing volleys of rockets into our city and throughout the country, sending us running for safety into our safe room, not even knowing if it could sustain a direct hit.

This is not the first attack from Hamas that Ellen and I have experienced, it is more like the third or fourth, so you will understand when we say that we do not want this one to end, at least not the way the others have ended, with no real victory for Israel and concessions for Hamas. Yes, we are weary, tired and stressed but we are ready to suffer through it, if for once Hamas can be soundly defeated and forced to agree to a true peace, a real peace that will last. Israelis, for the most part, have pulled together and rallied around Netanyahu and his team as he rejects Hamas's phony calls for a truce. He continues to have our military pound Hamas's military installations and infrastructure with steadfast resolve so that they will think twice before attacking us again.

Is your life in a quandary because you do not know where God is leading you? Are you questioning God, questioning everything that is happening in your life and you are confused and frustrated because you do not know where it is all going to lead?

When Ellen and I first came to Israel on vacation we would take our tour guide books and a map and each night plan out our trips around the country, marking the various sights we wanted to visit. I would drive and Ellen would read the map, one of her least favorite jobs, but between us and with a lot of God's grace we would make it to where we wanted to go. When we thought we were lost, we would look at each other and say; "All roads lead to Tel Aviv," and they did, well in most cases, and from there we could easily find our way home. Today with the technology of GPS, when going somewhere new or strange we do not have to know the route, or even what direction to travel, we just type in our intended destination and the GPS does the rest; we trust and rely on it completely.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

How come so many of us can accept human technology (GPS) and trust in it without reservation, but we have a hard time putting our trust in God who has promised to direct our paths?

Hi Ellen here…reading my husband's words brought back so many fond memories of traveling around the Land. Israel has so much to offer in so many ways. I know that anyone that has visited here on a tour got a peek, only a peek, of our rich biblical history and archeological sites.

As Jack and I drive down one of the main streets in our city Ashkelon, we see beautiful blooms of purple lining a busy street welcoming Spring…through the tumult and bombs and black plumes of smoke there is beauty. We Have an aloe plant on our balcony which is in bloom. Several times throughout the day these gorgeous tiny humming-like birds come and suck the sap from the orange blooms…so exquisite. As we were praying in the morning God spoke to my heart, He said that even in all the black plumes His light shines through, even in our darkest time His light shines through, wow! Remember this, don't look at what you see but see as He sees…Love you all – Blessings in Yeshua.

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Take A Stand

 Key To The Spirit's Power In Our Lives

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

This week's Torah commentary attached below:

Parasha Bamidbar & Sermon "Honest Faith"

Well, as expected Bibi Netanyahu could not put together a government; even other staunch right-wing parties abandoned him. This election is the Israeli spinoff of the "Donald Trump Election Show" and how I wish we could turn it off or at least change channels, but no such luck. Do they not realize that the country has much bigger problems to deal with; Gaza, the Israeli Arabs, Iran, the United States, civil unrest and economic woes, just to name a few, but they are instead forcing on DUMP TRUMP BIBI. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that Netanyahu was the only one able to deal with Obama and he will be the only one who will be able to deal with Biden. I hope we will not be saying a few months from now "Look at the mess you got us into now Lapid;" time will tell!

I'm sure we've all heard the saying "You are what you eat." Eating the wrong foods can cause obesity, diabetes as well as a whole slew of other health problems that may shorten our life span and cause us not to have a good quality of life. Poor nutrition can have so many negative effects on our bodies. Just as junk foods are contaminants to our bodies, sinful habits are contaminants to our souls and because of them many Believers are spiritually unwell, they have polluted their souls with worldly lusts. The Holy Spirit is a Person that comes and lives inside of us when we receive Yeshua as our Lord, and Savior (Born Again). At first the Holy Spirit is like a little baby inside of us, so in order for Him to be effective He must grow and in order for Him to grow He needs to eat. The Holy Spirit eats and grows when fed the Word of God, healthy spiritual food. If we try to feed the Holy Spirit with the junk of the world or deceptive teachings, He will not grow and if we persist, He will ultimately leave. That is why there are so many carnal Believers among us.

Hi Ellen here…WOW! Our Lord is awesome…all of the time. His arm is not too short, He reaches down and touches each one of us as He wills. Amidst all the turmoil and tumult happening in our area and all over Israel we have also seen miracles happen. As we check in with all those closest to us, friends, family and acquaintances …they too are checking in on us, B"H. We have a good friend living within walking distance from our home, her "Mamad" (Hebrew for bomb shelter) is not available, for whatever reason, so she was happy to leave for her office Tuesday morning where there is a viable shelter. I told you God is awesome…while at work a rocket hit her building and damaged many apartments, she was saved by a divine move of our Lord.

Jack and I are so blessed to hear from so many that are praying for our safety…we are safe as we abide in the shadow of His wings. I urge all of you to check your news resources as there is a whirlwind of fake reporting. We live in Israel, the Palestinians provoked violence on the Temple Mount and have continued to barrage Israel, with Israel retaliating their hostility. Also note that before Israel targets an enemy location, they alert civilians to leave and seek shelter. We pray for all our enemies to humble themselves and seek shelter with our Almighty God and savior Yeshua.

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Listen to Parasha

Listen to sermon "Honest Faith"

Parasha Behar-Bechukotai & sermon "Well Everybody is Doing It"

Shalom and Blessings

Satan harvested more than 44 souls last week as over 100,000 ultra-orthodox obsessives (Haredi) gathered at the graves of dead rabbis on the 33rd day of the Omer to pray. It is not uncommon for religious zealots to pray over the graves of, what they call dead saints. I have often wondered what the difference is between Catholics praying to Mary (the dead) and Jews praying to the dead, to me both are idolatry? The fault of this great tragedy in which the dead included children who were trampled by the crowd, lies squarely of the Haredi leadership who are the blind leading the blind.

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."

In the meantime, the country is mourning this the worst civil, domestic disaster ever to strike Israel. Please pray for God to have mercy on His treasured people.

As Believers we are called to be stewards. Stewardship is not so much about business, finances and tithing as it is about overseeing and managing God's Word in our lives and the lives of our families; it is making sure our lives match up to what Yeshua would do in every situation that confronts us. A good steward is a good representative of God and seeing that we might be the only Yeshua people will ever see, we need to be sure that they are seeing Yeshua in us.

Hi Ellen here…Well not much to say this week, sorry, sorry as they say in Kenya. It has been a challenging time for Jack and me but I am sure each and everyone of you have shared in different but also same areas. Please pray for power from above concerning healing and decision making! We are fast approaching Shavuot…one of my favorite times because number one we receive a double portion, a double anointing, a double blessing from our Lord. This is the time of the giving of the Torah and the Holy Spirit, hallelujah Lord Yeshua! In addition to these amazing gifts from on high we eat cheese and I absolutely love cheese, all kinds of cheese, yum. Please pray with me for supernatural breakthroughs, supernatural wisdom, leading and direction and supernatural healing from above in the name above all names, Yeshua!!!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

Read Parasha

Listen to Parasha

Listen to "Well Everybody is Doing It"

Parasha Emor & Sermon "Stubborn as a heifer"

Shalom and Blessings

Explosions have been lighting up the skies of the cities bordering Gaza. Last week in excess of forty missiles had been launched at us. By the grace of God, although there had been some unrelated injuries, like people getting hurt running to shelters, there was little physical damage, at least that is what we are being told, and no deaths. Of course, the air force retaliated, but that has done little to deter the Gazans, in fact, they have taken up rioting at our border again; we can see the smoke of burning tires from our balcony. Things have also significantly deteriorated in Jerusalem with rioting going on nightly. The situation is frustrated by the fact that there is no strong leadership to deal with the problem and arrests and push-back by the police seems to be have no effect. Yes, we have Covid-19 under control, but Satan is finding other fronts of attack us. Thank you for your prayers; "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" has special significance these days.

Yeshua said "They will know us by our love." Love is so lacking in our world today and as persecution and suspicion of Christians increases, it is very easy for us as Believers in Messiah Yeshua to neglect our love and compassion for our enemies. Ellen and I watched a movie about Richard Wurmbrand some months ago. He was a Hebrew Christian who ministered in Romania during the communist era. Pastor Wurmbrand strongly opposed the pagan communists in Romania and was jailed and tortured fourteen years for it. One day after being severely beaten, one of his tortures came into his cell and saw him beaten and blood on his knees praying. His torturer mockingly asked, "What could you possibly have left to pray about?" Pastor Wurmbrand painfully looked up at him and said, "I am praying for you!"

Hi Ellen here…Yes, lots going on at the Homefront as well as all over the world yet Jack and I have peace, shalom, in knowing our Messiah promised to return. Our most important prayer as of late before salvations…healings…deliverances…forgiveness and so much more is SIVOLET, YOM B'YOM…! This means ENDURACE, DAY BY DAY! Yes, we need to express true repentance before coming into the presence of our King…giving Him all our requests, but we must ask for endurance, endurance to persevere in prayer. It is only by prayer and supplication unto the Lord that we see answers and get guidance to endure! We continually need endurance to navigate in a fallen world "yom b'yom, yom b'yom"…we need endurance to love, love the unlovable and even love our enemies. Jack and I in the past prayed for the Lord to annihilate our foes, now we pray for the love of God to enter their hearts so that they may be saved. Please pray with us for the great and awesome love of Messiah Yeshua to fill the hearts of those who are filled with hate.

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

Read Parasha

Listen to Parasha audio

Listen to "Stubborn as a heifer"

Parashot Acharei Mot–Kedoshim & Sermon "The Great Anti-Virus"

Shalom and blessings;

If political rhetoric and name calling were a commodity, Israel would be a rich country. Bibi Netanyahu is having a hard time putting together enough seats to reach the 61-seat majority and the religious parties, who now support him, threaten to pull their support if he makes a deal with the moderate Arab party. So, the anti-Bibi wolves are circling their prey, salivating as they get ready to devour him. The wolves led by Lapid (center left); I believe will have no problem accepting the Arabs 5 seats to form their majority. Biblically, that will be a sad day for Israel.

Do you consider yourself a disciple? Maybe you do not understand that a disciple is just an ordinary Believer in Messiah Yeshua. In fact, Yeshua defined a disciple for us in: Luke 6:40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." So, simply put, a disciple is a student and in our case Yeshua is our teacher. Learning from Yeshua is a lifelong process and none of us should ever expect to know everything about the Word. As a disciple we will all continue learning until we meet Yeshua in the air. In the meantime, we need to make Yeshua the center of our lives; learn from Him through Bible reading and Bible studies (God speaks to us through His Word); then take what we have learned and share it, so as to make other disciples. So, I ask again, "Do you consider yourself a disciple?"

Hi Ellen here…Did you notice the list of blessings and the list of curses in Deuteronomy 28? Astounding, isn't it? Well, we want to be on the positive side so let us look at the blessings!

The first one takes care of all of them so we will discuss verse 1… "Now it will come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth." How can we achieve such a high calling…only through prayer! We can hear God's voice through the reading of His Word and in speaking with Him. Next, we read that we need to obey all His commandments…this was done for us through the shed blood of Messiah Yeshua because it is impossible to be able to achieve all His commandments we need His Grace. This next and final part is one I really like, "…then He will set us high above the nations of the earth!" What a promise!! This has been done through the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua. How blessed are we to have a God, a King, a Father and a Friend such as He…wow! Jack and I close our morning prayers with the reading of Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Won't you join us in these incredible blessings?

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King;

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

Listen to Parashot audio

Read Parashot

Listen to "The Great Anti-Virus"