TIME is not on our side

TIME is not on our side.

 

A couple of weeks ago I journeyed to Huqoq on foot, which is about 3 km from here or about 1.5 miles. I went to get provisions for that week’s needs. Upon my return back down the mountain to Livnim my little village on a hill something unexpected happened. I witnessed a dog’s tragic death via delivery truck. See here in Israel especially in the small towns and Kibbutz’s dogs do their own thing. They pretty much free range and strays are very common along with Ferrell cats. These 2 dogs became tagalongs with us as we were returning home from Huqoq. The two dogs were friendly and most likely just hungry (dogs following you is real common here, happens every day I go running.) The road was curvy and this one dog kept just walking all over the road and he stepped too far out there and BAM! I turned just in time to see the body being tossed and split apart. It was graphic to say the least, one of those “I’ll never forget that day” kind of memories. The other dog (we’ll call her Grace) didn’t skip a beat and neither did the truck driver… I just said “keep on walking guys” after seeing the event. There is two life lessons to be learned or rather reinforced due to this event. One being don’t play in the street and the other is we are all very temporary beings of flesh and bone. This is an obvious observance and something I usually reflect on daily without having visual aids such as the untimely death of an unsuspecting pooch. Being away from my reality and being blessed by this trip here has got me thinking differently. I have always had the mentality that time is fleeting from us and it waits for no man. But I realize now the truth of the times we are living in.

Beloved time is indeed fleeting. “For what is your life? For it is a vapor, which appears for a little while and then it disappears. James 4:14” What Jacob the less (James) is stating is that our lives are short in comparison to the history of this world and the eternity to come. Time is becoming more and more precious to me as I grow in faith. We live in a world of complete and utter distraction. Take a step back and look at the life you have and the things that have your attention in the course of a day. The average person in the west has schedule broken down into 3 main blocks of eight hours. Eight hours for sleep, eight for work and then eight for free time. We all obviously must work and support our families and ourselves. The problem comes especially the 7-8 hours typically given out on a workday and the time we have on the weekends. What are we doing with this time? The problems that are encircling America like a pack of wolves are becoming more obvious to me. The moral decline and loss of true faith is coming in the form of complacency and distraction.

We have pushed the creator of the universe Yahweh out of our lives…

How did such a thing happen? You see the Devil and his demons are crafty. Satan has deceived the whole world, period. One of his greatest deceptions is keeping us all so occupied we don’t have time for Yahweh. Our life is not ours to live, as Paul's letters clearly show in the following:

“Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not of yourselves? YOU were bought with a price; then glorify Elohim in your body and in your spirit, which belongs to Elohim.” 1 Cor 6:19-20

 

“Therefore, brethren, I call on you through the compassion of Elohim to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to Elohim, which is your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this age. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by what is the good and pleasing and perfect will of Elohim.” Romans 12:1-2

We are called to be living sacrifices unto Yahweh and what a blessing to be counted worthy of this. We have to come out of the master mentality. This is what we have been programmed with via social media, movies, politics, our friends and families etc… What I mean by this is that we have been conditioned to be the “master of our universe” which is rebellion against Yahweh. We are not called to be masters but rather slaves. We have become slaves to what we think we are the masters of. A good example of this the claiming of ownership to things in the physical. This is simply nonsense in Yahweh’s eyes:

 “the rich and the poor meet together and Yahweh is the maker of all of them” Proverbs 22:2

Pauls letter to the Hebrews spoke about this evidence when he said: “For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is Yahweh” (3:4).

Does this mean that we can’t own anything or have personal possessions? No, of course not but what we will be held accountable for what we do with our blessings. If we spend our life and time building our little kingdoms and focusing on the physical we may miss the kingdom that is coming. Yahshua told the young rich man in Matthew chapter 19 to go and sell all he had and give it to the poor. “But having heard the Word, being grieved, the young man went away, for he had many possessions. And Yahshua said to His disciples. Truly I say to you that a rich man will with great difficulty enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a heavy rope to pass through a needles eye, than for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of Yahweh”  

People misunderstand the scripture above due to not understanding the original language this is written in, Aramaic. The Aramaic word for camel and heavy rope are very similar “Gamla and Gamala” these two words are only separated by one vowel point which the Greek translations missed. Yahshua was making the point that a heavy rope could not go through the needle. But, if the rope is taken apart strand by strand, little by little eventually a strand will make it through the eye of the needle. The possessions are the strands and the rope is his little kingdom. The progression of giving back to those in need and coming into meekness is where the blessing and Kingdom come.

We must all be proactive in realizing where we are being led away from seeking the face of the Messiah on a daily basis. It can come in the form of anything: school, work, family, entertainment (especially this one), friends etc… We will all give an account to what we do in this life. Time is indeed fleeting and we must make the most of the 70-80 years we are given but not guaranteed in this life. Paul gives a wonderful word of encouragement to the believers in Thessonlonia.

“Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of Yahweh comes as a thief in the night.”

Then he gives them encouragement on how to act in their faith and towards one another. “So then, we should not sleep as the rest also do, but we should watch and be sober. For those sleeping sleep by night and those having been drunk are drunk by night. But the let the children of the day be alert, putting on the breast plate of faith and love and as a helmet put on the hope and the salvation; because Yahweh has not appointed us to wrath, but for obtaining of salvation through our Master Yahshua Messiah. He dying on our behalf, so that whether we are awake or we sleep (die) we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another as you indeed do.” 1 Thes 5:6-11

Then in verses 15-23 he continues with:  “See that not any returns evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue the good, both towards one another and towards all men. Rejoice Always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of Elohim in Messiah Yahshua toward you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good, keep back from every form of evil. And may the Elohim of peace Himself fully sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and life and body be kept blameless at coming of our Master Yahshua Messiah.”

I hope and pray that this message has blessed you! Please be in prayer for me and my group as we journey to Jerusalem for the next few days. Blessings and Shalom from the Sea of Galilee!

With Love,

Joshua

Cause the Bible tells me so… Persecution

Cause the Bible tells me so… Persecution

                Shalom family of faith. Things here in the land are running along smoothly, the weather has been quite pleasant with a few early showers. The farmers and locals praise the early rains due to the impact on the early crops and the current olive harvest.  Water in Israel is limited to say the least and we have to really watch our consumption of it. Don advised us on the first day here “No American showers” due to about 10 of us in the group being from America/Canada (aka the west). So in other words get in and get out! Little things like this has changed my focus and made me that much more appreciative of all the blessings we take for granted daily in the west. The longer I am away from my daily luxuries the more I realize how unimportant it all is.

 I have had the privilege of being housemates with three men from Africa. Harrison and John from Kenya and Kuel from South Sudan. The stories and testimony I have received from all of them has really brought reality into focus. South Sudan is currently gripped by a devastating civil war and until I got here I had no idea. I consider myself pretty on top current world events but this one slide right by me. Kuel gave his testimony this past Shabbat (Sabbath) and it was sobering to say the least. He is the Senior Elder for Congregation of Yahweh Jerusalem in Africa and is key in the mission work being done there. Less than three months ago he was forced from His home in the middle of the night because the battle had come to His backyard. See what is going on here to explain in more detail is this. There is a regime made up of one of the large radical tribes called the Denga and they hate the Nuer tribe. Kuel is part of the Nuer and is thus in constant danger along with the other hundreds of thousands Nuer tribesman. The Nuer in collaboration with others make up the rebel force that had fought from secession from the primarily Muslim northern part of Sudan. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to the conflict included Kuel and the two other African sisters that are here with us in Israel. Their testimonies are equally horrifying as Kuel’s, but back to him. He was forced to run for his life with others from his village Nassir and walk for 11 hours the first day and 9 the next to get to the UN refugee camp. They took a small amount of water and the clothes on their backs, by day two all the water was gone and they were forced to drink stagnant ditch water to survive the African summer heat. But, praise Yahweh he survived as well as those with him and they made it to the UN camp. The Denga are able to tell enemy tribesman by markings on the foreheads that are ceremonial and will kill any they find on the spot. He explained that in the past few decades so many have inter married with other tribes that everyone has markings of other tribes. The result is they are simple killing everyone. Kuel stated that he has seen whole villages massacred and left in the streets. The two other women Nanyan and Nanyett from the same area are here with Kuel. Nanyan had her son taken from her and was promised he was being taken to school, but rather he was put into the military. She fears him to be dead. Nanyett was with Kuel when they were all forced from their homes. They all have lost loved ones, brothers, children, parents etc...

What I am trying to do is paint a picture for you. Persecution, death and loss is to be expected in this life, especially if you are a follower of the one true Messiah. Unfortunately in western society false doctrines contrary to the truth are innumerable. We have been jaded for example by televangelist preaching a false unbiblical entitled prosperity for simply “believing in Jesus.” As a society we have been in a bubble for the better part of our inception. We are the land of those having, not the land of have not’s. What do you give a person/society who has everything? Advice? How about the truth? Yahshua stated to Thomas after he asked about knowing the way “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:5-7)

There is more to this “Way” of life than what most people of faith know and accept. Yahshua goes on to give them a parable about the fig tree.

“I am the True Vine and my Father the Vinedresser. Every branch in me not bearing good fruit, He takes away; and each one bearing fruit, He prunes, so that it may bear more fruit” John 15:1-2.  The pruning that is spoken of by Yahshua is that of trials and tribulations that come naturally to those in the faith. It is the responsibility of every true disciple to bear fruit for the Kingdom. This is what we call Kingdom principles and thinking. He goes on say in verse six: “Unless one remains in Me, he is cast out as the branch and is dried up; and they gather and throw them into a fire, and they are burned.”  This is clearly speaking of the judgments given to those who do not bear fruit for Yahweh and His Kingdom. So we have established that the Messiah is requiring more than just belief in Him. We are called to much more, we are called to change and be transformed. This transformation changes our motives and our intent and good fruit will be born out of doing the will of Yahweh.  

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he gives them direction stating: “ Brethren, I call on you through the compassion of Elohim to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to Elohim, which is your responsible service. And be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is good and pleasing and the perfect will of Elohim (G-d). Romans 12:1-2” We use the terms “saved” and “born again” in a much looser fashion in the west from my experiences being raised in America. This is a serious issue not one to be taken lightly or to assume about one’s self. We see where in John 3:3 Yahshua tells Nicodemus “Truly, truly I say to you, that if a man is not born again, he is not able to see the Kingdom of Yahweh.” Paul again states in His 2nd letter to the Corinthians the importance of being a new creation. “So that if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” 2 Cor 5:17.

These messages are simply absent from mainstream Christianity for the most part.  

Getting back to persecution… While I am writing this to you a Ugandan Elder of the Congregation of Yahweh, has been detained and is currently in prison there. His crime? Preaching the true gospel of Yahshua. We are told again and again to not expect an easy life but rather a hard one full of persecution. Paul spent a majority of His time in prison while writing his letters to the different brethren. Yahshua’s Sermon on the Mount is probably one of the most important chapters of scripture there is. His disciples ask Him “what will be the sign of your coming?” He clearly defines the following: tribulation, hatred, betrayal and death.  “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes against many places. But all these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to affliction, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Matt 24: 7-9” Sounds like the present to me. The persecution of believers has been perpetual in history, but it has risen at an alarming rate. We are to consider it a joy to be persecuted for sake of the Messiah. We haven’t seen anything yet, the day is coming where we will be forced to decide to wither take up our crossbeam or deny Him. We are quickly approaching the “Days of Sorrow.” I personally am excited at the fact of being alive in this time, He chose me to be here at this junction of time called the present. I know the message here seems gloomy, but we have the blessed hope of the Messiah. Hope in a hopeless world, what a blessing and an honor. I pray this message speaks to you and quickens your spirit. 

With Love,

-          Joshua