Today is the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. A day when the people of Israel give thanks to Adonai and ask for forgiveness for their sins committed the year before. A day directed in Torah that the High Priest may enter the inner chamber of the Tabernacle to perform the offering before Adonai. The day that we ask Adonai to write us in the lamb’s book of life for one more year. It is expressed that this is the day Moses returned to the people of Israel with the second set of Tablets.
For those who accept Jesus as the Messiah it is important to understand the concept that he has take the place of the High Priest as the intercessor on our behalf. He is the one who is allowed to stand in the inner chamber of the tabernacle to seek forgiveness for our sins. It is a day when we are to rest and be in prayer to Adonai the Father Almighty. This is a day Jesus would have held in strict observance.
When I saw this today I felt the desire to share this custom and see if you can fit this into your life in Christ. There is a ceremony called Kaparot performed by some sects of Jewish believers.
In the early morning hours of the day preceding Yom Kippur, the Kaparot ("Atonement") ceremony is performed. We take a live chicken (a rooster for a male and a hen for a female) and, circling it three times above our heads, we declare: "This is my replacement, this is my exchange, this is my atonement; this fowl shall go to its death, and I shall go to a long, good and peaceful life." The fowl is then slaughtered in accordance with Kosher Law, at which time we contemplate that this is a fate we ourselves would deserve, God forbid, for our failings and iniquities. The value of the fowl is given to the poor, and its meat eaten in the Yom Kippur meal; some give the fowl itself to the poor. (A alternate custom is to perform the rite only with money, reciting the prescribed verses and giving the money to charity. Kaparot can also be preformed in the preceding days, during the "Ten Days of Repentance" the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).
What I find interesting about this is not only due they use this as a way to repent or offer this up to Adonai for their sins, but they eat the Chicken and give the value of it to the poor.
So of what value is this to us you ask? Maybe the thing we need to be looking for is how can we as Christian believers fit this Day of Atonement into our lives and be more like the Christ in following the directions of Adonai the Father Almighty no different then Jesus the Son followed and observed this Day of Atonement. One thing that is important to consider in all of this is even thought Jesus was sinless before Adonai, why would he have followed all these observances? The answer to that question is if he hadn’t followed the Laws as written in Torah, and then he would not have been sinless. So we too should consider that maybe we need to gain a greater understanding of the way Jesus lived in order to be more Christ like in our lives, our observances, and seeking repentance through his offering on our behalf.
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Preparing for Rosh Hashana (Festival of Trumpets) & Yom Kippur the (Day of Atonement)
This is the Jewish month of Elul, it is very important to the Jewish believer; the 30 days of this month are ones we are to reflect on the past year and to look forward to the one to come. This is the month of Divine Mercy and forgiveness, a time to seek repentance.
How and why did this all come about you ask? If we look at the Book of Exodus Chapter 32 & 33, we see that while Moses was getting the Ten Commandments from the Lord the stiff necked people of Israel were building a Golden Calf. Adonai chases Moses back down the Mountain to witness this sinful act being committed. At that time he broke the tables. Moses then ask whomever desires to follow Adonai should come to him. It states that the Levites surrounded him. He then tells them to put on their swords and start to kill there Brothers, Sons, and Kinsmen who were refusing to repent for there sinful actions.
The following is based on the text, and the way the text reads the only ones who came to Moses were his family, the sons of Levi. The way this text is stated it would lead you to believe that the ones whom were put to death were Brothers, Sons and Kinsmen of Levi, yet they were told to go to the gates of each camp.
The text is very vague as to whether or not there were members of other tribes who took part in joining Moses, but the fact remains Joshua was not of the tribe of Levi and he accompanied Moses, part of the way up the mountain.
It is our collective opinion that Moses would have gotten the family of Levi, to put there swords on and surround him to protect him when he gave the order to the members of the other tribes to put those to death who refused to follow Adonai. The point to make here is that there were members of each tribe who chose to follow Adonai and Moses, otherwise each could not have killed his own Brother, Son, and Kinsman.
So we have looked at what started it all, so what does this have to do with us today, our point in bringing this to your attention is that this was the first time that in the history of Israel, there became a need for an intercessor for the people, from that moment on Adonai The Lord God Most High established the covenant of Sacrifice with the people of Israel and removed the negative faction from the people. So after Moses and the group who stood for Adonai, laid sword to the 3,000 people Adonai then brought a plague upon the rest. Leaving only those who choose to server Adonai and follow his Laws as directed to the people through Moses.
So the connection to the Light of Adonai for some maybe Jesus, that still doesn’t give them a free pass to not contemplate or ask forgiveness for our transgressions towards others, during the past year. These High Holy Days that follow this month are those Jesus would have been committed to follow and comply with to the utmost of his spirit.
It is a very interesting to note that the New Testament never makes direct reference to any other High Holy Day (a time to Sacrifice) by name other than Passover, when Adonai freed the people from slavery. However there are multiple references of Jesus being at the Temple. The people of that time only went to Temple for the High Holy Days Passover and Shavuot, this evidenced by further texts of the Levities store houses where they stored there grain and meat. If they only received great quantities of offerings in the spring summer and twice in the fall, this would feed the Levities through out the winter getting them to the spring Holiday of Passover. Then it is reasonable to extrapolate that this was Jesus attending the Temple on Days other then just Passover.
Christians are lead to understand that the time of Passover was when the Sacrifice and the intercession began, but the truth is that it began at least some 130 days after Adonai removed them from Egypt. As we have expressed and are written in the text from Exodus we have quoted.
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX
How and why did this all come about you ask? If we look at the Book of Exodus Chapter 32 & 33, we see that while Moses was getting the Ten Commandments from the Lord the stiff necked people of Israel were building a Golden Calf. Adonai chases Moses back down the Mountain to witness this sinful act being committed. At that time he broke the tables. Moses then ask whomever desires to follow Adonai should come to him. It states that the Levites surrounded him. He then tells them to put on their swords and start to kill there Brothers, Sons, and Kinsmen who were refusing to repent for there sinful actions.
The following is based on the text, and the way the text reads the only ones who came to Moses were his family, the sons of Levi. The way this text is stated it would lead you to believe that the ones whom were put to death were Brothers, Sons and Kinsmen of Levi, yet they were told to go to the gates of each camp.
The text is very vague as to whether or not there were members of other tribes who took part in joining Moses, but the fact remains Joshua was not of the tribe of Levi and he accompanied Moses, part of the way up the mountain.
It is our collective opinion that Moses would have gotten the family of Levi, to put there swords on and surround him to protect him when he gave the order to the members of the other tribes to put those to death who refused to follow Adonai. The point to make here is that there were members of each tribe who chose to follow Adonai and Moses, otherwise each could not have killed his own Brother, Son, and Kinsman.
So we have looked at what started it all, so what does this have to do with us today, our point in bringing this to your attention is that this was the first time that in the history of Israel, there became a need for an intercessor for the people, from that moment on Adonai The Lord God Most High established the covenant of Sacrifice with the people of Israel and removed the negative faction from the people. So after Moses and the group who stood for Adonai, laid sword to the 3,000 people Adonai then brought a plague upon the rest. Leaving only those who choose to server Adonai and follow his Laws as directed to the people through Moses.
So the connection to the Light of Adonai for some maybe Jesus, that still doesn’t give them a free pass to not contemplate or ask forgiveness for our transgressions towards others, during the past year. These High Holy Days that follow this month are those Jesus would have been committed to follow and comply with to the utmost of his spirit.
It is a very interesting to note that the New Testament never makes direct reference to any other High Holy Day (a time to Sacrifice) by name other than Passover, when Adonai freed the people from slavery. However there are multiple references of Jesus being at the Temple. The people of that time only went to Temple for the High Holy Days Passover and Shavuot, this evidenced by further texts of the Levities store houses where they stored there grain and meat. If they only received great quantities of offerings in the spring summer and twice in the fall, this would feed the Levities through out the winter getting them to the spring Holiday of Passover. Then it is reasonable to extrapolate that this was Jesus attending the Temple on Days other then just Passover.
Christians are lead to understand that the time of Passover was when the Sacrifice and the intercession began, but the truth is that it began at least some 130 days after Adonai removed them from Egypt. As we have expressed and are written in the text from Exodus we have quoted.
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX
Stepping out of the Comfort Zone 18
Our question is much like who was benefiting from the sale of these offering in the Temple, who is truly benefiting from your financial gifts to the Church? Is it truly those in need or is it the ones who are in control of it?
We asked some tough questions at the end of last week’s article. Let’s look to the creation of the sacrifice process. Beginning at the start of the Book of Leviticus, Adonai gives Moses directions to what and how the sacrifice is to be performed and what portion is to be given to Aaron and his descendants for their keeping the Tabernacle and teaching the Torah.
It sure seems that somewhere along the way the Coheim lost sight of their duties and their job. It sure appears that they were the ones who, along the way, made these determinations that only the animals they deemed acceptable were to be used and sold to those in need of an offering. Our question and the point Jesus was making at the time was what gave these men the right to make this determination?
Even given this time that the People of Israel were no longer farmers or raising animals, why would they have created this farce in or around the Temple grounds. We would venture to say that their mind set would have been much like that of Judas, when the women anointed Jesus’ feet with the oil, Oil that could have been sold at a great price.
Although we will never know for sure if Judas was stealing from the ministry cash box, many Authors and Theologians are assuming that he was, merely because he was in charge of the funds, he was a known theft, and he made such a big deal over this event.
What concerns us with this matter is, what makes us any different today than those Jesus condemned for these actions. We build these Million Dollar Churches and Synagogues in order to praise Adonai, yet we care not for what he has directed us to do. We are more concerned with the appearances of our place of worship then we are of caring for the needy, more concerned with our own possessions and keeping up with the Jones then we are about our friends, neighbors, or the people of this world. We would rather spend hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to put in great sound systems to our places of worship than see that the members of our own Church have a roof over their heads, or are eating properly, or are able to seek necessary medical care.
If this is what your community of believers is all about then one really needs to reevaluate their place of worship and what the place of worship is really all about. The big question one really needs to be asking is What makes my place of worship any different than those that had control of the Temple when Jesus went in an cleared out the money changers and those extorting the people of Israel in Adonai’s Holy House?
The way one brings the Light of Adonai to this world is to care for the needs of other’s less fortunate than us. Adonai never once in his Torah states that it is important for you to spend Millions or Billions of Dollars for these houses of worship, yet the opposite we are supposed to shine the Light of Adonai in our giving to care for the needy. Maybe it is truly time for some to reevaluate what it truly means to spread the Light of Adonai for some and Jesus for others.
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX.
We asked some tough questions at the end of last week’s article. Let’s look to the creation of the sacrifice process. Beginning at the start of the Book of Leviticus, Adonai gives Moses directions to what and how the sacrifice is to be performed and what portion is to be given to Aaron and his descendants for their keeping the Tabernacle and teaching the Torah.
It sure seems that somewhere along the way the Coheim lost sight of their duties and their job. It sure appears that they were the ones who, along the way, made these determinations that only the animals they deemed acceptable were to be used and sold to those in need of an offering. Our question and the point Jesus was making at the time was what gave these men the right to make this determination?
Even given this time that the People of Israel were no longer farmers or raising animals, why would they have created this farce in or around the Temple grounds. We would venture to say that their mind set would have been much like that of Judas, when the women anointed Jesus’ feet with the oil, Oil that could have been sold at a great price.
Although we will never know for sure if Judas was stealing from the ministry cash box, many Authors and Theologians are assuming that he was, merely because he was in charge of the funds, he was a known theft, and he made such a big deal over this event.
What concerns us with this matter is, what makes us any different today than those Jesus condemned for these actions. We build these Million Dollar Churches and Synagogues in order to praise Adonai, yet we care not for what he has directed us to do. We are more concerned with the appearances of our place of worship then we are of caring for the needy, more concerned with our own possessions and keeping up with the Jones then we are about our friends, neighbors, or the people of this world. We would rather spend hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to put in great sound systems to our places of worship than see that the members of our own Church have a roof over their heads, or are eating properly, or are able to seek necessary medical care.
If this is what your community of believers is all about then one really needs to reevaluate their place of worship and what the place of worship is really all about. The big question one really needs to be asking is What makes my place of worship any different than those that had control of the Temple when Jesus went in an cleared out the money changers and those extorting the people of Israel in Adonai’s Holy House?
The way one brings the Light of Adonai to this world is to care for the needs of other’s less fortunate than us. Adonai never once in his Torah states that it is important for you to spend Millions or Billions of Dollars for these houses of worship, yet the opposite we are supposed to shine the Light of Adonai in our giving to care for the needy. Maybe it is truly time for some to reevaluate what it truly means to spread the Light of Adonai for some and Jesus for others.
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Stepping out of the Comfort Zone 17
Now it’s time to look at the Mikvah of Jesus and the events that followed. A closer look through the Gospel of John 1:29-35. According to John’s account it was the testimony of John the Baptist who was witness to the Rauch HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) upon Jesus.
There is a point that needs to be addressed here, Jesus claims John the Baptist was Elijah reborn, take a look at Second Kings Chapter 6:15-18, this is an example of the gift Elijah was gifted by the Lord. He was able to see and understand things others were not able to see. In this section of Scripture Elijah asked the Lord to remove the blinders from his young student’s eyes so he would be able to see the army of God.
The point we are trying to express here is that based on the account written in John’s Gospel, the way John the Baptist was able to determine that Jesus was the Messiah, and the one he was instructed to do the Mikvah for was that he would be surrounded by the Rauch HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as a dove, the interruptive narratives given in the other Gospels attempt to lead the readers into the understanding that every person present at the time witnessed this, and based on John’s writings this was not the case.
One thing to keep in the back of your mind here is that all this was done far from the Temple grounds and before Jesus set one foot into the Temple. Just a thought but as the Scape Goat (Sin Offering) for the people the Mikvah of Jesus would have been performed off in the Wilderness before he had a Mikvah in order to enter the Temple grounds.
Jesus then begins his ministry and his teaching of the disciples. Unlike the other three Gospels, John’s tells the story of Jesus entering the Temple and driving out the money changes. This is a very important thing we need to address for our Society today.
We find it very interesting that in the 400 hundred years prior to Jesus, Adonai refused to have any contact with the people of Israel as they continued to go about their business of daily life. Was it that they were so wrapped up with themselves and the desires of the ones in control—the Sanhedrin?
Did the Rabbi’s and leaders of Israel have that much control over the people that they just rolled over a played dead. Who was benefiting from their controlling orders, it surely wasn’t those that Adonai had instructed it to be now was it? Adonai couldn’t have cared less where someone’s sacrifice came from, just that Adonai had provided it for that person. While those in control made it out to be that you had to purchase a Sheep or Dove or Calf from those at the Temple or your sacrifice would not have been acceptable before Adonai.
The sad part is that some churches today seem to lead people to believe in this concept. That in order to be part of their Church you must believe in their Doctrine and everything they stand for. While telling those you must give us your money, so we can continue the work of Adonai, without your support we can not continue our Ministry and get the word out.
Our question is much like who was benefiting from the sale of these offering in the Temple, who is truly benefiting from your financial gifts to the Church? Is it truly those in need or is it the ones who are in control of it?
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX
There is a point that needs to be addressed here, Jesus claims John the Baptist was Elijah reborn, take a look at Second Kings Chapter 6:15-18, this is an example of the gift Elijah was gifted by the Lord. He was able to see and understand things others were not able to see. In this section of Scripture Elijah asked the Lord to remove the blinders from his young student’s eyes so he would be able to see the army of God.
The point we are trying to express here is that based on the account written in John’s Gospel, the way John the Baptist was able to determine that Jesus was the Messiah, and the one he was instructed to do the Mikvah for was that he would be surrounded by the Rauch HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as a dove, the interruptive narratives given in the other Gospels attempt to lead the readers into the understanding that every person present at the time witnessed this, and based on John’s writings this was not the case.
One thing to keep in the back of your mind here is that all this was done far from the Temple grounds and before Jesus set one foot into the Temple. Just a thought but as the Scape Goat (Sin Offering) for the people the Mikvah of Jesus would have been performed off in the Wilderness before he had a Mikvah in order to enter the Temple grounds.
Jesus then begins his ministry and his teaching of the disciples. Unlike the other three Gospels, John’s tells the story of Jesus entering the Temple and driving out the money changes. This is a very important thing we need to address for our Society today.
We find it very interesting that in the 400 hundred years prior to Jesus, Adonai refused to have any contact with the people of Israel as they continued to go about their business of daily life. Was it that they were so wrapped up with themselves and the desires of the ones in control—the Sanhedrin?
Did the Rabbi’s and leaders of Israel have that much control over the people that they just rolled over a played dead. Who was benefiting from their controlling orders, it surely wasn’t those that Adonai had instructed it to be now was it? Adonai couldn’t have cared less where someone’s sacrifice came from, just that Adonai had provided it for that person. While those in control made it out to be that you had to purchase a Sheep or Dove or Calf from those at the Temple or your sacrifice would not have been acceptable before Adonai.
The sad part is that some churches today seem to lead people to believe in this concept. That in order to be part of their Church you must believe in their Doctrine and everything they stand for. While telling those you must give us your money, so we can continue the work of Adonai, without your support we can not continue our Ministry and get the word out.
Our question is much like who was benefiting from the sale of these offering in the Temple, who is truly benefiting from your financial gifts to the Church? Is it truly those in need or is it the ones who are in control of it?
The Lord Bless you and Protect you!
The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
The Articles presented here are copy written by The Light In Christ Ministry in Sherman, TX
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
