Parasha Shemini (Eighth)

From Rabbi Jack...

1 Peter {5:1} "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Messiah, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: {5:2} Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; {5:3} nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; {5:4} and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

Peter in verse 4 calls Messiah Yeshua the Chief Shepherd, and rightly so because He is God and all other overseers, as Peter refers to himself as, are under Him.

As a congregation leader and Messianic Rabbi, many people come to me with their burdens seeking advice and rightly so because God has placed me in the position of overseer. As such I am the one that is responsible to watch over, care and guard the souls God has entrusted to me. I am also responsible to teach, nurture, exhort and correct so that in the end they all will arrive safely into heaven. However, the Overseer over me (Yeshua), has a far better perspective than I. He knows every detail of every life of every member of His collective flock (the Body of Messiah), and can see past any burden into the full and godly solution. That is why Peter tells us:

1 Peter {2:25} "For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

Peter is referencing Isaiah {53:6} "where Isaiah prophesied; "All we like sheep have gone astray but the Lord laid upon Him the iniquities of us all."

Messiah Yeshua has taken upon Himself the oversight of His sheep willingly. He is ever vigilant of what is going on in our lives and promises to never leave us or forsake us. He is the true Overseer of our souls having been obedient unto death on the Cross so as to secure our salvation. Human overseers can only do the possible but the Chief Overseer of our souls we can trust to achieve the impossible.

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I thought I had nothing to say but as Jack and I were going through Shabbat preparation this came about. A brother in the Lord is being immersed this coming Sunday at our immersion event in Karatina, Kenya. Subsequently he has been under spiritual attacks …PRAISE THE LORD!!! I say praise the Lord because the devil does not want us to publicly commit our lives to Yeshua! Our word to him straight from the Holy Spirit was to count it all joy because of his dedication and decision to publicly proclaim that he is YESHUA'S!!! Immerse yourself in Yeshua, immerse yourself in love, immerse yourself in deliverance, immerse yourself in the Word, immerse yourself in kindness, immerse yourself in generosity, immerse yourself in honesty and sincerity…IMMERSE yourself in the Lord Most High! Shabbat Shalom, we love you!!!

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

DONATE

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Not You Own Understanding"

Parasha Tzav (Command)

From Rabbi Jack...

Whenever we want to download an App, we are denied access until we provide a user name and come up with a password. Even then, if the password does not meet the site's criteria, we are still denied access until we finally think up one that is acceptable. Also, many times when we try to access a site doing a Google search, we are denied access until we accept their cookies. Often, I have been denied access to a useful App because I refused to allow it access to my contact list. It is comforting to know, however, that this is not how it is when we try to assess God. We can come to God at any time, present Him with any question, seek wisdom on any subject and never be denied access!

Romans {5:1} "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Messiah Yeshua, {5:2} through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Not only does God offer us unlimited and unrestricted access to Him, He encourages our boldness to come into His presence.

Hebrews {4:16} "Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

It does not matter who we are or what we are searching for. It does not matter if we are a Believer or a seeker, He has given us all the same simple, combined, easy access user name and password and that is Y-E-S-H-U-A. Why not try it!

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I always try to do something spiritual and uplifting but this time will be different. Purim is over and this means Passover is around the corner. You have to thank God because He lines everything up prophetically and also secularly. The great Feast of Passover occurs, as you all know in the Spring. Our Abba wants us to clean our lives and come to Him in anticipation of great breakthroughs, hence Pass-over. We not only thank Him for saving us from death into life but also for "The Big Clean Up"! This is the perfect opportunity to rid our homes of any lingering leaven and residue of the past season. We clean out our cupboards of anything that would be used as a raising agent in cooking; I myself go through our personal wardrobe cupboard and remove things we haven't worn. In fact here in Israel we collected clothing for the Ukrainian refugees so the opportunity was spot on. So, get to work cleaning your homes with joy and praise of our wonderful Abba for all He has done and will do in our lives. Don't make it a drudgery but sing songs of deliverance and salvation…believe it or not you will receive a blessing even through the chore of cleaning. We love you all and pray for great and mighty things to happen in your lives this Passover!

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

DONATE

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "God is Ever Present"

Parasha Vayikra (And He Called)

From Rabbi Jack...

Matthew {18:21} "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"{18:22} Yeshua said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Once when I went to someone to apologize, a person I apologized to in the past, they looked at me and using this scripture said; "That is 489." Of course, they were joking! Yes, even though in this scripture Yeshua suggests to Peter that he should forgive someone who sinned against him 490 times (70x7), the true meaning is that forgiveness should be unlimited.

However, forgiving someone who sinned against us, does not mean that we condoned what they have done. We are just saying that despite what they have done we have chosen to forgive and will not hold it against them, not now and not in the future. That is what Yeshua did?

Forgiving someone is as much for our benefit as it is for the person's because if we hold on to unforgiveness it will ultimately, totally disrupt our lives. Yeshua gave us an extreme example of what forgiveness is when He hung on the Cross; a heart filled with compassion!

Luke {23:34} "Then Yeshua said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do...."

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…Oh my goodness, so much going on in the world. It is all in one's personal perspective however. Jack and I have increased our reading of the Word and our prayer life as we seek answers to our questions. Abba is answering so many of our prayers there is no room for doubt that He is taking care of the smallest to the greatest prayer!!! We would like to thank God for Israel receiving plane loads of Ukrainian refugees and placing them in safe environments. Our God is not only a personal God but also a corporate God, He takes care of the smallest in the womb to the oldest needing care.

1 Corinthians {12.22} (ESV) "On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…".

Now is truly the time for unity, fellowship, good works and gathering together for prayer. I beg of you to put pettiness aside and raise up a banner of commitment to our God Most High. I beseech you to join together with like-minded believers and pray. Time is short, Yeshua is coming and we all want to be found worthy of Him. Do not slack off, because our God sees all, hears all and knows all! This is a time to become truly transparent as Jack spoke about last Shabbat, and if you are not working for the Lord…Get Working! We all want to win that all important race and be found a blessing and not a harm. I hope that you will be praying for us here in Israel as we pray for you in all corners of the world. The only safe place now is under the shadow of the Most High God…blessings in Yeshua!

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

DONATE

If you do not have a PayPal account and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Transparency"

Parasha Pekudei (Accounts)

From Rabbi Jack...

Ecclesiastes {1:9} "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. {1:10} Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. {1:11} There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after."

Have you ever felt like the situation you are going through is somehow unique, that God never had to deal with the type of circumstances you are facing before you? Well, King Solomon in the verses I quoted assures us that there is nothing unique, everything under the sun, that is on earth, happened previously. God has heard it all, and He has dealt with it all before; there is nothing new under the sun that God has not heard or dealt with. Nor are our situations beyond God's ability to deal with. He hears our prayers and knows what the answer or solution is even before we ask.

Isaiah {65:24} "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear."

This means that God anticipates our necessities, and in love, lays the foundation for granting our needs before we even ask. God is omniscient and knows the end before the beginning. He knows the hearts of man and He knows those who are His. He can read the thoughts of the hearts of all His created beings and His plan to redeem those that trust in Him was formulated before the foundation of the world.

What a comfort and joy it is to know that God knows and understands the deepest longings of our heart and hears and answers our prayers even before the request forms in our hearts or crosses our lips. He also provides the answer that He has deemed best for us, that is why Yeshua taught us to pray "Your will be done, not mine."

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I'm sure you all have heard the old adage "use it or lose it". Its practical meaning is that we must continually use and practice an ability which we possess. A good example is working out, you know… exercise! If we discontinue an exercise regime our physical body will suffer, it will lose strength and endurance.

When reading the Victory Bible plan the other day, we were in the book of Mark, specifically chapter 4 and verses 24-25, it said…. {4:24} "Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. {4:25} For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." When I read this, for at least the 30th time now over the years, it spoke, that in hearing the Word we must apply the Word. The more we hear the Word and do it, the more of the Word we will receive and retain. But if we hear the Word and do not use it, we will lose it! All that we have heard from the Lord will be diminished if we do not apply it daily. So, if you have not been keeping up with reading, praying, witnessing and serving…WATCH OUT because if you do not use it, you will LOSE IT!

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

DONATE

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

Please meet Eugene, Brian, and Matara from the orphanage, pictured below.

Eugene, on the left and Brian, pictured on the right are orphans who were sent to us by a local church pastor. Matara is the son of the orphanage's director. The three are best friends.

  

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King.
Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Putting Off the Old Self"

Parasha Vayakhel (And He Assembled)

From Rabbi Jack...

1 Kings {14:11} "The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!" {14:12} Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. {14:13} And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam."

Sometimes I wonder what God saw in me that He felt was worthy to die for. I did not deserve it yet He saw it fit to bring me to a saving knowledge of His Son Messiah Yeshua. Looking back on my life before salvation, I can see many times I could have died as sinner and ended up spending eternity in hell. As a young child I almost choked to death; my uncle revived me. As a young boy I was accidently pushed off a pier into the water and was drowning; a stranger lifted me out. As a young man my car spun out of control in heavy rain on a busy highway; somehow, I was saved from almost certain death. In my early thirties many friends I partied with and was doing the same things they were doing were dying from drugs and sexually transmitted diseases; I was spared to go on and become a Messianic Rabbi; talk about God's Grace! These are only the events I remember; I am certain there are many others that I am not aware of but God knows. I am sure all of us who are saved and reading this today have had similar experiences, some we remember, others will be revealed to us when we get to heaven.

We are quick to thank God and praise Him for answered prayer, getting us through difficult times or for unexpected blessings but have we ever thought of praising Him for preserving us until the day of our salvation? If you cannot think of any specific incident in your life to praise Him for, surely the fact that He chose to save you and die for you qualifies:

Psalm {71:6} "By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You."

To God be the Glory, Praise and Honor for the wonderful things He has done.

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…It has been a busy week and I have been very distracted. I will tell you why…Jack has survived an insidious disease and in fact June will be five years; hallelujah! He is now going through a similar situation but doing extremely well, praise God. The reason we are both distracted; when Jack began treatment, we were told he would have to endure 6 infusions of a very strong biochemical drug, once a week for six weeks. December 26th was the sixth treatment and all his bloodwork and numbers were stellar. To our surprise the doctor, instead of saying how well he was doing, stated that this protocol calls for two more treatments; Thursday, the 24th was his seventh…what am I getting at? I am getting at endurance and keeping our eyes always on the Lord. We praise God everyday…in fact we pray and praise at least four times a day together and always thanking Him for giving us a mantle of endurance to get through infirmities and trials…just as you all have to do. Everyone has a prescription for prayer. Everyone has sickness in their lives. Everyone experiences trials each day in all kinds of situations in life. Now I would like to type that everyone keeps their eyes on the Lord through all these but I cannot. Why? Because as finite human beings we all faultier…even Jack and I. Let us all ask the Lord for increased endurance and the never-ending ability to keep our eyes on Him. All our love in Yeshua to everyone.

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

DONATE

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week: He Calls Us Friend: Part 3"

Parasha Ki Tisa (When You Take)

From Rabbi Jack...

Ellen and I enjoy watching travel shows on television. In fact, Ellen has mentioned in the past that we have been around the world and have visited countless countries without ever leaving our living room. While in the country being featured on a show the host takes us to the exciting tourist attractions offered in it; museums, exciting cites and their features and beautiful vistas but they also engage, where available, in ziplining, bungy jumping and repelling. I am not afraid of heights but these are three things I have no ambition to do and are certainly not on my bucket list. I get butterflies in my stomach from just watching as the camera pans the gorges with either rocks or a raging river below the ziplines and high bridges, or the street below the tallest building in the city with cars speeding by where the repelling is done. Can you imagine trusting a rope while leaning backwards over the edge of a tall building or bridge seventy-six meters (250 ft.) or more in the air and letting yourself fall from it? Yet we can see people paying and standing in line to do it; not my definition of fun!

All over the world in our living room travels we have seen people putting their trust in ropes and harnesses. So why is it that so many people, including Believers in Messiah Yeshua, find it so difficult to put their confidence in Yeshua and release themselves into His hands? Throughout our lives as Believers in Messiah Yeshua we are going to have cliffhanging, edge of building type experiences where the only support we will have is not a rope or a bungee cord, but our faith. Ask an unbeliever and they will say faith in God is irrational while they would not hesitate to put their faith in a man-made rope. I do not know about you but I would rather trust in the Lord and put my faith in Him before ever putting my faith in man. There is probably nothing more exhilarating when falling into a difficult situation than to know that Yeshua is there as our lifeline. I would like to share the following verses with you:

Psalm 20:7 "Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses. But we trust in the LORD our God."

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6) in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…On our first trip to Kenya in 2007 we had the joy to be able to minister at a retreat for a couple of days. This was not a religious compound but a rustic resort set close to Mount Kenya. Our accommodations were simple, clean and we had everything we needed. As Jack readied himself to teach a Bible study we were asked to go for a walk and view the grounds as it was still light. The trees and foliage were beautiful…mature and well cared for. As we approached a very old and very large tree there arose an odor, no more like a stench in the air and our host smiled…he beckoned for us to quietly come closer and there was a split in the trunk housing a very large and smelly badger. Many years have passed but that memory lingers, not sure if it is because of the beauty of the place or the stench of the badger.

This past week we were reading in Exodus concerning all the materials used for the Tabernacle and lo and behold the Lord directed Moses to use badger skins for the covering of the Tent. Yes, I am sure they were treated and all lingering odors had gone. What came to mind was the Lord used the skins of smelly animals to adorn and protect His dwelling, so how much more will he continue to use us for His glory!

Please continue to pray for Janet. Her mother abandoned her because she was premature and sickly and she could not afford to care for her needs. Pictured below:

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, we help the poor and orphans and in Israel we help the elderly poor and the sick.

DONATE

Do not use PayPal? Contact me for other donation options.

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

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "He Calls Us Friend: Part 2"

Parasha Tetzaveh (You Shall Command)

From Rabbi Jack

There is an amazingly beautiful thing that God does in our lives when we go through adversity. So many ministries have been started by people, not because they decided to start a ministry, but because they went through an affliction, a disease, an addiction, persecution or other traumatic events in their lives. Afterwards, because of it, they want to use what they experienced to help and comfort others. Sometimes, as Believers in Messiah Yeshua, God plans for things to happen to us so that He can use it for us to bring relief, comfort and consolation to others with the comfort and consolation we received from the Lord during our time of trial. I can attest to this from my own life, as I am now emerging from battling a second round of cancer. I have found a well of compassion that was not there before and which I never thought was in me.

2 Corinthians {1:3} "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Messiah Yeshua, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, {1:4} who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. {1:5} For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of the Messiah so also our comfort abounds through the Messiah. {1:6} If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. {1:7} And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

Life happens, we are all subject to the same curse placed upon Adam after the fall; old age, physical deterioration, sickness, pain, diseases, but all these things that we experience and encounter travelling through life do not have to overwhelm us and detract from living our lives for Yeshua. If we allow Him to, the God of all comfort will use us and our experiences to glorify Him and bring hope, encouragement and comfort to others.

From Ellen....

Hi Ellen here…Many years ago when Jack and I were at Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto I wrote an article on how the Lord peels back the layers of our lives. I likened the process to peeling an onion. I also thought that the Lord was patting me on the back because I had faced up to what He peeled away, repented and voilà I was redeemed. All this is true but lo and behold here I am at another stage in my life and there is lots of peeling going on…again! I have been going through a rough patch spiritually and the Lord reminded me of my article. What is the idiom of onion skin…it is to expose various layers of something…the need to peel back the onion skin to find out what was bothering me. Sounds easy right? Not so! So, I took a beautiful new onion from our pantry and started to peel…first the papery outside then that first peel that we really do not use then the clear filmy part…all discarded. Now I had a beautiful fresh onion so I began to slice and halfway through this perfect large bulb was a ring of mushy decrepit onion, yuck! This is an example of what our heavenly Abba does in our lives. I am sure that the spoiled ring in the middle of this beautiful onion is like an unresolved issue in our lives that needs further investigation. As I go through this rough patch or yucky spoiled ring in my life, I thank God for Him exposing my sin to me so I am able to confess and express the need for His forgiveness. If you are going through a hard time in your life, slice an onion and ask Abba to take you through a time of awareness. Do not worry, if you are willing to be humbled, He will help you through…sending you all my love.

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

DONATE

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, we support the poor, sick and orphans. In Israel we help the elderly poor and sick.

Meet Janet (picture attached below), a prematurely born child at the orphanage who because she was premature, battles illness regularly and is often in need of medical care. Please keep her in prayer.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the Week "He Calls Us Friend: Part 1"

Parasha Terumah (Offering)

From Rabbi Jack...

Psalm {8:3} "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, {8:4} what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them? {8:5} You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. {8:6} You made them rulers over the works of Your hands; You put everything under their feet:"

In creating man God turned over the administration of His creation to us. David was amazed that God would do such a thing because he felt, as we can tell by many of his psalms, so unworthy. We can all relate to David's feelings of unworthiness because I am sure that at one time or another, we have all felt unworthy. Like David we fall so short at times in our faith and commitment to God. However, God has not given us kingdom authority based upon our worthiness. Judging from the condition of the earth today, the pollution, the destruction of forests for profit, the poaching of animals for ivory and to satisfy people's desire for exotic meats, the killing of whales and other animals to the point of extinction for greed or pride, surely do not credit us with worthiness. No, I believe that God made man ruler over the works of His Hands for the purpose of eventually bringing them to salvation, not of their bodies but of their souls.

It is sad that those of us who have been saved through the acceptance of Messiah Yeshua as our Lord and Savior have to witness what the rest of the world is doing because of their rejection of God. However, the Bible teaches that we need to make such a mess of things, until we come to the point of realization that we cannot rule over the works of God's Hands, that we made a mess of it all. It is then that we will finally turn over what He has put under our feet back to Him in total and complete surrender to His Kingship.

Revelation {21:1} Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. {21:2} I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. {21:3} And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. {21:4} 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." {21:5} He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

From Ellen...

Mmmmm…" MEDITATION", what comes to your mind when you hear or read this word? New age, yoga, mantra, clearing one's mind, concentrating on self or an object …all of these once came to my mind until I was saved and focused on my Lord and His Word. When you sit down to read your Bible by NO means clear your mind but by ALL means ask the Ruach, the Holy Spirit, to fill your mind with things that are lovely, noble and uplifting. Ask Him to bring His Word to you and flood your mind with it…ask the Ruach to guide you and instruct you on the journey He would have you go on through the written Word. Our Lord wants us to draw near to Him continually, and especially when reading His Word. "I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways." (Psalm 119.15)," Make me understand the way of Your precepts and I will meditate on Your wondrous works (Psalm 119.27). In a biblical sense to meditate really means to think about, to ponder, to mull over the Scripture…even to chew on it! Please do not read with thoughtless intention but read with the expectation of insight, understanding and wondrous enlightenment.

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. See the pictures I have attached below.

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Watch Sermon "God First"

Parasha Yitro (Jethro)

From Rabbi...

Psalm {63:1} "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water."

Ellen and I can certainly attest that during the long hot summer months Israel is a dry and thirsty land. There is no rain from Passover (April-May), until Sukkot (October-November) Even in the winter when it normally rains, the Negev (wilderness of Judah), where David hid out much of the time when King Saul was pursuing to kill him, gets very little rain.

What is so beautiful about this Psalm is how David is comparing the longing of the land for rain to water it, to his longing for the Lord to water his soul. It is not unusual for us with all the struggles life brings our way for us to experience dry and thirsty souls that long for God to pour His rain into. At dry times in our lives it is not unusual to feel like God is not there, that He does not hear us or see what we are going through; we are spiritually parched and we are longing for refreshing.

Isaiah {55:1} "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

There is a refreshing well of salvation just waiting for us to drink from and that well will not only revive our thirsty souls it will save them; we just need to come to it. That well is Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua said:

John {4:14} "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

From Ellen...

When Jack and I pray we of course wait on the Holy Spirit to guide and instruct us how to pray BUT…there are many things we include almost in every prayer time. One very important statement is, "Lord we command in the mighty name of Yeshua that no fear, no intimidation and no deception fall upon us!" I have a warning because the devil considers all of us his dinner and we continually need to fight him. He is a toothless lion roaming around ready to devour anyone that would leave a door open in their lives. 2 John says plainly in this short but wonderfully profound book. Verses 4 through 11 is necessary reading right now…don't procrastinate on this one because you too could be a meal for the evil one in an instant…

2 John {1:4} "I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Messiah Yeshua as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-Messiah. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Messiah does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Messiah has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

Hallelujah! However, my favorite verse is (12) "Having many things to write to you, we did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but we hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full." AMEN!

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Watch Sermon of the Week "After God's Heart"

Parasha Mishpatim (Judgements)

From Rabbi...

Once when Ellen and I were at one of the largest hospitals in Israel for an appointment at one of the departments, we did not know where to go, so we asked for directions at the information desk. The man behind the counter got up from his chair and called another man who was also associated with the information desk and when he was told where we wanted to go he said, "Follow me, I will take you there." He then proceeded to navigate through the hallways, going up this hall and down the other, turning left here and right there with Ellen and I following close behind. You can imagine that we were both impressed and grateful for his kindness, on our own we would have been lost.

Life is that way, it can be a confusing maze with so many directional options but yet only one direction leads us out of the maze while all the others are just dead ends. So, it is not uncommon for us to question which way to go? It is then that we need a guide, someone we can follow close behind who will show us the way and bring us to where we have to go.

Psalm {63:7} "Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. {63:8} My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me."

David knew that in the midst of all his troubles, if he stuck close to God he would see the way out. Yeshua told us:

Matthew {16:24} "Then Yeshua said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.""

If we stick close to and follow Yeshua He will get us through the maze of life and bring us safely to Himself in the end.

From Ellen...

Do you have a lot of friends? If you are a believer, I hope that most of them are as well. It is great having friends, you can text them during the day, meet for coffee, have them over for a meal or go out to a restaurant together. If you are a female, shopping trips are fun and maybe having a pedicure at your local nail spa together. The possibilities are endless. It is friends that you want to make happy and have them be pleased with the way you conduct your friendship. Do you know who the best friend you can have is? This may be a trick question because if you are married the first thought is; 'my husband is my best friend,' or my neighbor or my sister or the cousin I grew up with…if you are a male probably your golf buddy or brother or business partner may be your best friend. Do you know who the best friend you can have is? As friends go, are you kind, gentle, respectful and considerate? Are you the friend everyone leans on for compassion and mercy? Do you know who the best friend you can have is? Your best friend as I'm sure you have already guessed is the Ruach, the Holy Spirit. So why do we lie to Him, ignore Him, stop listening to Him, stop calling on Him for guidance and instruction. Acts {5.3-4} says "But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God."…OUCH!

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

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel:

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

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Beshalach (When He Let Go)

From Rabbi...

Many reading this now are facing difficult circumstances in their lives. I remember the time when I was faced with having to leave my wife and travel to another city where I would receive radiation and chemotherapy treatment; the hospital in our town did not treat the type of cancer I had. I would be spending five days a week for seven weeks in a hostel and then home for Shabbat. The thought of having to go through the treatment was daunting enough and having to leave my wife only added to it. I was already weakened, tired and in pain because of the cancer and I did not know if I would have the strength to see the seven weeks through. With the little strength I had, not only did I have to hold myself together but I also had to battle Satan who was playing with my mind.

2 Timothy {9:17} "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. {9:18} The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

In and of ourselves when difficulties arise and we are in a weakened state where we feel deserted or are deserted by friends and family or when we have to leave loved ones, we can take solace in the fact that if we call upon the Lord, He will rescue us.

Isaiah {41:10} "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Such was the case with me. In my distress God sent me encouraging and uplifting scriptures which I was able to listen to every night and draw strength from. It was a difficult seven weeks but God saw me through and what he did for the Apostle Paul and for me, He can do for you. In God there is hope!

From Ellen...

There are so many things to tell you from God's Word, through my eyes. Sometimes I do not know where to start but here goes. Jack and I watched a film depicting the life of Yeshua…it was over 6 hours so we broke it up over many viewings. Although not Messianic it still contained the Word! What we saw was not new but it brought to our minds the basic principles of our instruction book, the Bible. It was filmed in Israel and Italy by an Italian director and chock full of famous actors, some of whom are not with us any longer. We watched as the man "Jesus" walked the dusty earth and blessed, healed and delivered numerous afflicted people, some who received Him and some who just went on their way back into the world.

Here is what struck me from the film, brief but profound. We are to be like Yeshua on this earth. We are to possess His values and know His precepts. What moved me most was His gratitude toward His Father. He fed the 4000 and the 5000 by just thanking, by just believing that He, as God in Heaven, will provide for all the followers.

If you ever have been hungry, help to feed the hungry. If you have ever been thirsty, give a cup of cool water to those that thirst. If you ever have been naked, help to clothe those who are cold. "We are because He Is!"

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 Commentary

Sermon "God's Will Be Done"