Parasha Re'eh

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Shalom and Blessings

2 Peter 3:11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

I am addressing Peter's question to all who are reading this, "What type of person should you be?" Peter asked this question of the Believers. He was addressing them because he held that our conduct as Believers will either delay or hasten the return of Messiah Yeshua. In his question Peter mentions three things: holy conduct, godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. The answer to Peter's questions is found in:

2 Corinthians 6:17) Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."18) "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty." 7:1) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

So, in answer to Peter's question of, "What type of person should you be;" we are to come out from among the worldly influences of unbelievers. This means not participating in what they watch or what they do or any of their forms of idolatry (that is whatever they put before God in their lives). This is what Peter means when he says not touching what is unclean, he is not talking about food. We, therefore, need to examine our lives and ask ourselves; "Are we touching anything unclean?" What type of people have we chosen to hang out with, be friends with? What kind of parties do we attend? What kind of books have we chosen to read or what do we watch on YouTube (Tik Tok) etc. Every unclean thing we expose ourselves to will enter our spirits, corrupt our hearts and ultimately come out in the way we live our lives.

Matthew 5:8) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Hi Ellen here…I was looking at Proverbs 31…so much content, it could make any wife or any woman for that matter feel totally inadequate and defeated even before she gets up in the morning, that's if she is not already up baking bread and weaving flax. I also looked at Proverbs 31 women in Israel and Africa…I came from New York so I didn't grow up planting fields or making my own clothing…spoiled you say, maybe just the culture. But here is the thing…it is not about all the work spoken of in these beautiful verses but it is about attitude. We need to drop feelings of defeat and inadequacies and pull-on characteristics of compassion. We need to take care of our husbands, children and extended families, yes, we should give to the poor and more importantly step out of the box we have put ourselves and God in! Next time you stand in your kitchen peeling vegetables or nursing an ill husband with a cold, say thank You Lord for all that I have and all that You enable me to do! Blessings in Yeshua with loads of love!!!

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

P.S. Know of someone that would benefit from these teachings? Ask permission and send me their address.

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Parasha Ekev & sermon "That He May Dwell"

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Shalom and Blessings

Matthew 26.64 Yeshua said to him, "The words are your own. But I tell you that one day you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of 'The Powerful One' and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Notice that in this passage Yeshua does not use the Name of the One the Son of Man is sitting at the right hand of, instead He uses a circumlocution. Circumlocution is to circumvent an actual word (in this case a name), with another word, group of words or name so as not to say the actual word or name. This method is most often used in Scripture in place of the Sacred Name of God. Like the initials YHVH, Adonai or "LORD" in caps. Here in Matthew, Yeshua uses "The Powerful One" instead of saying the Name of God. He quoted from Psalms 110: "A psalm of David: The LORD says to my lord, sit at my right hand..." David, like Yeshua, never used God's Sacred Name anywhere in Scripture, nor did any writer of the New Testament. If anybody had authority to use the Sacred Name of God, Yeshua and the Gospel writers sure did, but they did not use it, ever. When Yeshua quoted Scripture where He could have used God's Name, He always used a circumlocution, substituting the actual name with another name.

The Scriptures talk about "Glorifying the Name of God." Glorifying God's Name does not mean using His Sacred Name. The Hebraic understanding of the term 'Name of God' as used in glorifying the Name of God, means to glorify the Character of God. God's Name equals His Character, and glorifying God's Character always brings Him glory.

No one knows the proper pronunciation of the consonants YHVH, Hebrew, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh. Some think it's Jehovah, others Yahweh, others Huway, or some such pronunciation, but I say NOWAY! Yeshua certainly knew the correct way to pronounce God's Sacred Name, but He chose never to.

In the prototype prayer of Matthew 6: 9-15 Yeshua explains the meaning of "Hallowed be Your Name" and He uses the common Hebrew poetic device of parallelism to do it. 'Parallelism, is a rhetoric component of literary style used in both prose and poetry. Coordinate ideas are arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with one of equal importance and similar wording.' In other words, Yeshua in this prayer says the same thing using different words. "Hallowed be Your Name" is coordinated with "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done." So, Yeshua is specifying that God's Name has nothing to do with pronunciation, but rather He wants us to pray for what God's Name represents, who He is, His Character.

Consider this. When addressing our earthly fathers, we would never disrespectfully call him by his name, rather we would use the circumlocution "Dad, Papa, Abba, Father, etc." The same goes for God's Name. It would be disrespectful to call God by His name even if we did know it and knew its correct pronunciation. It is disrespectful to use it and so it is never used. The KJV of the Bible erroneously uses the name Jehovah, but then again, they also call Passover Easter!

Hi Ellen here…I had this whole commentary on being a noble wife in such tumultuous times, that was my basar (flesh in Hebrew). As I sat down to write the Spirit of Adonai spoke and to my surprise, I listened! Ok all wives out there be blessed and obey the Word of God…now for my little message…HE sent us two by two in the Tanach and the Brit Chadasha, do you recall? I will refresh our memories: In Noach, Genesis 7:9…He said they came into the Ark two by two as God commanded. In Luke 10:1 He said after the Lord had appointed seventy-two others He then sent them out two by two… I am seeing procreation of course in the Genesis address but throughout the Word of God I see support. I guess what it comes down to is do not try to go it alone! It is you and the Lord but HE also places others in our lives to support us. Pray for sharpened abilities to hear HIS voice and anointed powers to discern so as to fellowship with those who exhort and exalt the Name above all names. We are here to support you as well because we love you and care for you…YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

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 Va'etchanan & sermon "Your Redemption is Coming"

FROM THE RABBI'S DESK

Shalom and Blessings

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…

One of the Fruits of the Spirit that is hardest to manifest in our lives is the Fruit of Joy. It is because of all that is going on in the world around us. Certainly, with all the wars that are being fought in various places, the natural disasters that seem to never let up, the political upheaval in so many nations, and the riots that foster destruction of property and lives, how can we manifest the Fruit of Joy? Where is the joy when we hear of murders, famines, rapes, child abuse and more happening on a daily basis? Where is the joy when we have sickness, death and lockdowns from a supposedly manmade virus? Where is the joy when we are suffering economically as prices go up and our income goes down? Yet, as Believers who have received the Holy Spirit one of His Fruits is joy.

As triune beings, the different parts of us experience joy differently. To the body joy is pleasure, to the soul joy is happiness, but to the spirit joy is an intimate, loving relationship with God. Pleasure is temporary, happiness ebbs and wanes, but joy that comes from a relationship with God is enduring and transcendent. God's joy is not temporary, it never wanes or ebbs, it is constant and consistent no matter what is going on in the world, no matter what is going on in our lives. As Believers in Messiah Yeshua, if we have the Holy Spirit, and every true Believer does, we have the joy of the Lord.

Nehemiah 8:10 … This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

The joy of the Lord is our strength because of who our Lord is. Our God is a God of love, compassion, grace, truth, mercy, kindness, and faithfulness. He is a God who will never leave us nor forsake us, He is always with us tenderly keeping watchful care over us day and night. He is a God who keeps His promises and remains true to His Word. Joy comes from knowing the truth, and the truth is found in knowing Messiah Yeshua as Lord and Savior.

Hi Ellen here…Well there will be no doom, no gloom and no warning…just great anticipation and excitement! What's up you say, let us read together. Each week Jack does a drash, a commentary on the Torah portion and I confess that I do not always read them on my own. But this is a very special time because we read in the Book of Deuteronomy and Isaiah together. It is almost like reading the entire Torah encapsulated in one book and for Isaiah…the news! And now for the icing on the cake, it also means that the High Holy Days are soon approaching. Our hopes and aspirations become more alive and the drawing near of Yeshua's return is most palatable. This is a time of deep introspection. This is a time of self-examination and confession. This is a time to come clean with our Maker and ourselves. This is a time of preparation as the bride readies herself for her Groom. This is the time to be able to enter the month of Elul with confidence. Are You ready?

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 Devarim & Sermon "New Wine"

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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"

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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:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

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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

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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.

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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

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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!

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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: