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!!!

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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!!!

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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!

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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 "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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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:

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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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:

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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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:

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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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:

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parashot Tazira-Metzora

Shalom and Blessings

 

As of this writing, there is still no resolution to our election dilemma. You have heard it said, "Two Jews, three opinions," well that is holding true with Netanyahu's attempt to form a government. However, without counting the Arab parties, the saying should be more like, "One hundred and five Jews, one hundred and seventy opinions." Everyone is jockeying for their own advantage and few if any are considering the country and the people. What can I say except, welcome to the world of politics!

 

In these difficult times God's people are experiencing; increasing persecution, eroding of the pure Gospel message of Messiah, deception, false prophets, false teachers and the effects of liberal government's anti-God laws, to name just a few things. For this reason, we must never take our eyes off the Blessed Hope of the return of our Messiah Yeshua.

 

Titus 2:11-13 11) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Messiah Yeshua,

 

From this passage I want us to notice that the apostle Paul calls Yeshua God and Savior; He is not just the Messiah, not just our Savior but He is God and Savior! If we as Believers want to survive in this spiraling downward world, we must never stop anticipating the return of our Savior and our God Yeshua. If we lose our expectation of the Lord's return it will be impossible to maintain His standard of holiness and thus survive in a wicked world. The world hates us because they first hated Him and as His disciples, we are not greater than our Master. The more difficult the times, the greater our resolve should be to live holy lives if we ever expect to see Him.   

 

 

Hi Ellen here…What a wonderful week this has been!  We remembered the holocaust last week (Yom HaShoah) and this week we are remembering all those that have fallen to war and terrorism (Yom Hazikaron). Thursday was Independence Day here (Yom Ha'atzmaut), and for that we have reason to rejoice. It is an incredible thing to live in Israel, a place where ALL acknowledge these events and are on the same page.  We pray it would be the same with our government as Jack mentioned above.  There is nothing to be concerned about because Isaiah states in his book that the government is on HIS shoulders, not Isaiah's but on our Lord. 

 

I would like to shift from the above and share a wonderful answer to prayer.  Jack and I have an extensive prayer list as we are sure you all do…we have been praying for a little boy, I'll call him "Y" to be healed of cancer.  We do not know him personally but we have been praying throughout the lockdowns for a year and this week he has been pronounced CLEAR of this disease, hallelujah!  Telling you about the remembrance days, the government and our precious "Y" this scripture danced in my spirit…  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Messiah Yeshua...Phil. 4.6-7. Thank You Lord!

 

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 Shemini

Shalom and Blessings

Well, the election opera is not over yet here in Israel and the fat lady has not yet sung, we are just listening to another aria now. Round and round and round she goes, as operas normally do, with ups and downs, villains and heroes. With all the suspense it is still not clear who is going to be jilted, who is going to be politically murdered and who is going to commit political suicide. One thing we can be sure of, however, God wrote this story and the outcome is of the Lord!

What is your motive? I would like to share a great pitfall which God has placed upon my heart that is at work among Believers and many people in ministry today; MOTIVE. How can we tell if our motivation in serving the Lord will withstand the test of fire? It is by understanding that the only motive of service that is acceptable to God is for Him to be glorified. Too many people are serving God with the wrong motive. We can hardly tune into a Christian channel or listen to a preacher on YouTube without them trying to empty our pockets or promote a book they have written. I find nothing wrong in writing books glorifying God but I do have something against using God's glory to promote a book for the author's glory or personal financial gain. Sadly, there is a lot of that going on in people and ministries today. But it is not limited to preachers and books, every one of us needs to examine what our motivation is in serving the Lord. Our service should only be motivated for the sole purpose of glorifying God!

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

There is only one acceptable motive for our service unto the Lord and that is that He might be exalted and us abased, everything else will be burned up by fire like stubble and hay. So, ask yourself as you are serving God, "How by what I am doing will God get the Glory?"

Hi Ellen here…I don't know about you, but sometimes I just cannot pray. Maybe because too many distractions; so many things on my mind…and whatever excuse we can find, right? Wrong answer, because our Lord gave us an out, He is the WayMaker and even makes a way for us to pray, thank You Lord! We all know the prayer in Matthew 6.9-13…here the Lord gave us a model so we may apply it to our lives. Take a look at it with me and personalize it…acknowledge His abode and His will; ask Him to supply all your needs; pray His forgiveness in your life along with His divine protection and as Jack spoke above…GIVE HIM ALL THE GLORY forever, Amen!

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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