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Preparing for the Sabbatical year
The next sabbatical year is in 2016; have you thought about how you are going to keep it? Keeping the Sabbatical year is generally dismissed as something that we can’t do because we don’t live in the land. YHVH instructed us to keep this commandment, and we would like to show you why it is for all to keep, even us in the nations. We also want to share the other common objections with you and why these are not built on truth. We shall also show you what the consequences would be if we don’t keep it and some practical ideas on how we can keep it.
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Everybody does what is right in their own eyes…
This statement has bugged me for a long time, especially when it is quoted to condemn believers who earnestly do their best to follow YHVH’s commandments. This phrase is also almost always quoted as a reason for the disunity that is evident in the Messianic community. Sometimes it is used to manipulate others to compromise their beliefs for the sake of unity. Anti-missionaries like to quote it when they refer to us who believe in Y”shua. This has become quite a popular phrase… However, is it right to use this phrase in these contexts?
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Tzit-tzit, a reminder throughout our generations
The wearing of tzit-tzit is a commandment given in Numbers 15:37-41 and is repeated in Deut 22:12. We also read about it in the Apostolic writings. YHVH gave this commandment to wear tzit-tzit and to look at it, as a reminder to us to do all His commandments and be set apart to Him. In this study, we will explore this commandment a bit to see how we are to understand and apply this in our lives. It may seem like one of the least of YHVH’s commandments, but it is very important.
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Praying in Y’shua’s Name
As believers, we were taught from the time we were little children to end our prayers with “in the name of Jesus (Y’shua)” Since YHVH revealed some of His truth, of keeping Torah, to us, we had to challenge and change many things we were taught as children and thereafter. Is this something else we need to change? Is it scriptural to end our prayers “in the name of Y’shua” or is this a doctrine of man? This doctrine originates from what Y’shua said in John 14:13-14 and a few other passages. Was this interpreted correctly to mean that we are to end our prayers in this way and if so, why?
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Y’shua in Prophecy – Part 5 – The Branch
Y’shua is the Light of the world; the Word made flesh; He is the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life. We learned in a previous article ” Y’shua in Prophecy – Part 3 -The Servant,” that He is also the Suffering Servant, Who redeemed us with His life by being a guilt offering. It is fascinating to see how many times YHVH has revealed Y’shua to us through the prophets. It makes us marvel at Him, knowing that he had a plan of redemption from the very beginning. In this article, we will learn that Y’shua is the Branch also. We need to know and understand all this in order to have a strong foundation, especially when we are confronted by those who have fallen away from the faith in Messiah Y’shua or those to whom Y’shua has not yet been revealed as the Messiah.
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They say there are giants in the land…
This probably sounds like something out of a fable, but it’s very real. We all have experience with giants in our lives. Allow us to explain… We all face trails from time to time. Difficult trials, that overwhelm us with such an intensity that we do not know where to turn to or what to do. These trials may be due to a bad report. You may be facing this right now, even amidst other trials. When you hear this report, your whole world may be crushing down in front of your eyes. These bad reports are like the message the Israelites were confronted with when the spies returned and reported back about the land. They reported of giants and saw themselves as grasshoppers compared to them. The Israelites, having already been stretched a bit by what has happened to them since they left Egypt, now has to face this bad report. It has been more than a year of difficulties and now this. It must have been quite overwhelming to them. Have you experienced such a situation?
