Pruning Season

Have you ever gone through a season of pruning? When we experience difficulty or hard times, we may default to thinking "God is punishing me." Often, grief, disappointment, and disillusionment can accompany us into this season. But think of the results that come from pruning your roses, your peach trees - any gardener knows the benefits that come from pruning. I read a devotional that reminded us that anything that comes from the hand of God is a gift, and we should remind ourselves that "we are not what we do... we are someone He loves." 

That is a good reminder, but I would like to take it a step further: What we do does not define who we are, but what we do in faithful obedience to Him displays our trust and love for Him... "so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

So many people get caught up in the doing of the good works that soon it becomes doing for doing's sake... we lose sight of the fact that we are to be a blessing so that His name is lifted up. Does that mean that "bad things" won't happen to us when we are being obedient? I can't find that promise in scripture or evidenced in church history, but I can find that obedience brings blessing. (Too often, though, we want to dictate to God what blessing has to look like - which I see as basically a lack of faith in His perfect timing and perfect will.)

"Now it shall 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 nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country." Deuteronomy 28:1-3

At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who say "we're under grace and it's all covered by the blood of Jesus" as an excuse to do whatever seems right in their own eyes. "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts." Proverbs 21:2

What I believe is this:  God is with us in the green pastures. God is with us in the valley of the shadow of death. God is with us. Period. Everything this side of the sod tempts us and pulls us away from that Truth. 

(Which reminds me of that song: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.)

Thank you, Christine Miller, for sharing your talents!

Learning Curve :: Day of Atonement

This year, for the first time, I was able to actually observe Yom Kippur by taking the day off work and fasting. It finally dawned on me that all I had to do was request a "vacation day." Simple as that. As I did not grow up in anything close to what some may call "The Jewish Culture," I sometimes struggle with the balance between what scripture says in regard to The Lord's Days and what has evolved through time and tradition.

There is no shortage of opinions as to what we "should do," as people who believe that, (a) The Whole Bible is true, and (b) We should live as if we believe it still is valid for our lives today. Again, I find myself butting my head against tradition vs. truth. Except, this time, we have "new" traditions, tailor made for us by a new set of self-appointed pseudo-Sanhedrin.

So, for me, it's back to scripture. (What does the Bible say?)

Leviticus 16: 29-31

“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

Numbers 29:7

‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work. 

Other than the sacrifices that the High Priest was to make for himself and the people, which can no longer be performed for the simple fact that there is no longer a temple (and elsewhere in scripture YHVH forbids offering sacrifices in any other location), it boils down to some pretty simple instructions:

1. afflict your souls
2. do no work at all - a sabbath of solemn rest
3. have a holy convocation

Like I said, pretty simple. Right?

EXCEPT: 

• What exactly does it mean to "afflict" my soul?
• How do I "do no work at all" when I am a wife and work two jobs?
• Where and with whom do I have a "holy convocation"?

And in an honest attempt to flesh out those three simple guidelines while living in a nation that is not following the scriptures in this way, that is where we can get tripped up with tradition. 

This year, for me it looked like this: 

• Sleep in (all the way til 7 a.m.!)
• Pass on the morning ritual of coffee
• Read my Bible
• Read a study on Galatians and make notes
• Ignore the impulse to check social media
• Listen to worship music
• Watch a teaching video about Yom Kippur
• Take a short nap
• Put dinner in the crockpot (without tasting - that was a challenge!)
• Ask Alexa what time was sunset
• Take a walk
• Spend time in the garden
• Ignore the impulse to play a game on the computer
• Read my Bible
• Take a longer nap
• Read more study and make more notes
• Text my friend who is also walking through this experience for the first time to see how she was doing
• Pick up my husband from a friend's house
• Spend time with my husband after he got home
• Periodically look at my watch to see if it was time to eat
• Set the table, light the candles, and eat
• Bless YHVH for the time I was able to devote to spending with Him
• Wonder why it took me so long to do this! 

Still taking baby steps.

The second "most wonderful time of the year"...

Someone asked me today (in reference, I'm sure, to my Friday meander), "What do you say to someone about Hallowe'en?" Other than what I have previously said, these are the only other thoughts I really have on the matter:

According to the National Retail Foundation (in 2017):  "More than 171 million Americans plan to celebrate Hallowe'en this year, spending an average $82.93, up from last year's $74.34. Total spending is expected to reach $8.4 billion, an all-time high in the history of NRF's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights." Close to $2.7 billion of that will be spent on home decor.

To put that in perspective, the NRF's "Winter Holiday" prediction for 2016 was between $678.75 billion and $682 billion. To further put that into real-world perspective, the GNP of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2016 was 57.83 billion. If Congo is a little too Third-World for you to think that is a significant statistic, the 2016 GNP for Greece was 289.1 billion.

I am not saying people don't have a right to waste spend their hard-earned money as they see fit, What I am saying is, I think we need to get a little perspective here. I get it, people just want to have fun. Golly, I want to have fun, too! I really am not the stick-in-the mud, killjoy you imagine. And, let's face it, despite all our discretionary spending, the US, Australia, and Canada rank right up there on the 2017 World Giving Index... 

...right BEHIND Myanmar, Indonesia, Kenya, and New Zealand. (Yeah, you heard me right.)

So, aside from the fact that celebrating a "holiday" that clearly has pagan roots and makes no effort to disguise that fact, aside from the fact that we could clearly be doing a better job of helping our neighbor (or to quote Jesus/Yeshua, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’)...what's my point, you ask?

No point, just making a statement of fact. Draw your own conclusions.

Off the top of my head :: My 2¢ Worth

The question was posed:

I often wonder, when people who I am quite sure do not know Jesus, or don't recognize God in any part of their lives, what do they mean when they say "I'll pray for___" or "I prayed for____"... to whom do they pray?  We as Believers in Jesus know the One to whom we pray... in a personal, intimate way.  No other religion or sect can claim that.

After a little thought, I am inclined to think that (in the instance as described above) the word "pray" is maybe used as a euphemism for "thinking positive thoughts"... as in sending good vibes out into the universe - that type of thing.

There are probably some who, while they don't necessarily believe in YHWH, Creator of the Universe, the True and Living God, Father of our Messiah Jesus/Yeshua... they do ascribe to a belief in "a deity", or "the man upstairs" - you know what I'm talking about, we've all heard people say that from time to time.

So, in that instance, I guess they would be directing their petition to "the Big Guy in charge." Or, in the case of some people that I know who are self-avowed pagans, whichever pagan god or goddess they ascribe to. Otherwise, I believe the most common thing I have heard is "sending positive thoughts/energy your way." (I am not trying to be sarcastic when I have the mind-picture of needing a butterfly net to catch those positive thoughts. I just keep my mouth shut on that one.)

Here is what I normally say if someone says they are praying for me, but I am pretty sure they are not praying to YHWH our Elohim... I will say something along the lines of, "I appreciate your kindness."

I do not say "thank you", because, frankly, I do not want to be the recipient of prayers to any pagan deity on my behalf. Maybe that sounds slightly superstitious... I don't know. But I certainly do not want to dismiss their act of kindness for what it is - it is simply an expression that they care for whomever it is they are "praying" for.

It's somewhat along the lines of what I say to people around the winter holidays when someone says "Merry Christmas." They do not know, nor do they particularly care that I do not celebrate Christmas, so it is pointless to give them a speech about that. I simply smile and say, "Enjoy your holiday!" There is never a need to be unkind to someone who is trying to express kindness.

So, that's just my 2¢ worth... off the top of my head.

Shana Tovah

Driving out to the observatory at the park to try to sight the sliver of a new moon was a bust - due to the lousy air quality, courtesy of practically our entire state being on fire. (Or maybe it just seems that way.)
See the big red blob in the northstate? Yep, that's us. This is today's map, and yesterday wasn't any better.

Needless to say, spotting a moon, sliver or not, was not going to happen. So we came home and I successfully blew my shofar anyway, just because I was not going to be denied.

No one pounded on my door, so either my neighbors are used to me, or else I didn't make enough noise for them to notice. 

If you are interested in reading the Yom Teruah scripture readings:
Genesis 21-22
Numbers 29:1-6
1 Samuel 1:1-2:10
Jeremiah 31:2-20
Matthew 24
Mark 13
Luke 21
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Hebrews 11:17-19
Revelation 8-9

(Phew! That should keep you out of trouble for awhile!)

The more sources I read, the more I think the theory that Yom Teruah is a rehearsal for Yeshua's second return makes more sense. Here is where I went today:
The Refiner's Fire
A Rood Awakening
One for Israel

Elul 30 :: Not The End

Today is the last day of my personal commitment to blog daily throughout the month of Elul, leading up to the the Fall Feasts of the Lord. It has been a time of introspection and self-examination, and developing my thoughts. I appreciate that some people have expressed that they have been impacted by a few of my meanderings.

This blog was started, and continues to be a venue where I can anonymously sort through various experiences, thoughts, and working out what I find to be true - or false - about a given topic, in a "safe place."

I am deviating again today from the published devotional with The Rabbi's Son, not because I believe it has no value, but because it is presented in allegorical story form that cannot logically be conveyed in a few sentences. Instead, I want to turn my thoughts to the first of the Fall Mo'edim, the Feast of Trumpets, or Yom Teruah. My understanding is that the word "teruah" refers to the blasts of the shofar, a ram's horn used to call the assembly or call warriors to battle. Over the years, this holiday has also come to be called Rosh haShanah, because tradition says it is the anniversary of Creation, and therefore is celebrated as the head of the civil year in traditional Judaism (as opposed to the religious/Biblical "New Year" which falls at Passover.)

Really, the only instruction given to us in scripture is this:

The Feast of Trumpets

Leviticus 23:23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ” (The Scriptures, 2009)

Other than the specifics of the required Temple sacrifice outlined in Numbers 29:1 (which I am of the opinion cannot be performed in light of the destruction of said Temple in 70 AD), there is no further instruction on how to commemorate this day. Of course, there is a wealth of traditions to be found in a simple Google search, but beyond understanding the principles behind the traditions, I am not interested in adding another layer of hoops to jump through in my life. I will, however, be going to the observatory to see the new moon and blow my shofar (as best I can.) As I have explained elsewhere, I am learning as I go.

Trying to understand the prophetic significance of Yom Teruah, and how that points us to Jesus/Yeshua, there are quite a few thoughts out there. A good number of them propose that it foreshadows the return of Messiah, or his Second Coming. 

In light of my comments made in yesterday's blog regarding the end times, I found a blog, He That Has An Ear, wherein the writer hypothesizes that Yom Teruah could possibly be "the day that no man knows." It's an interesting read, for anyone interested in pursuing that line of thought.  Other blogs  with that proposal are Bible Things in Bible Ways, and Restoring the Way. I am not including these links because I agree or disagree with them, I just found them worth considering as I examine how to observe the Lord's Appointed Times in a way that will honor Him. 

It can be nice to have a local fellowship of like-minded believers who are in agreement about how to celebrate together, but some of us on this faith journey are thrust into the adventure of exploring and learning for ourselves. 

Elul 29 :: I Wish We'd All Been Ready

Because the US media seems to be so focused on the real and imagined drama happening on this side of the globe, I make it my practice to regularly expose myself to other sources of information, such as BBC World News, for one... and a fellow I have been following for years who does a weekly update on YouTube of events we don't normally hear about which are unfolding in the Middle East:  Monte Judah with Lion and Lamb Ministries.

And, even though I am not going to be precisely following today's Elul devotional from The Rabbi's Son, the topic goes hand in hand. You may have noticed that we are almost at the end of our 30-Day period of introspection and self-examination, in preparation for the upcoming weeks of Fall Mo'edim (Appointed Times) which many erroneously call the "Jewish High Holidays."

All of the Lord's Appointed Times are prophetic pictures of Messiah and the reign to come. I am not one for getting side-tracked by the myriad so-called "prophets" who distract believers (and incite non-believers to ridicule us) by making predictions each year that "this is the year." It's no secret that Jesus/Yeshua Himself told his disciples, "...of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." -Matthew 24:36 (NKJV)

Rather, I think the key here is to remember that we are to be like the wise bridesmaids in Matthew 25, who were ready and waiting for the bridegroom to come. In other words, we should be "Preppers", in a spiritual sense. I used to be caught up in the Rapture theology, but have found it difficult to support that theory with scripture, so I am back to the mindset that some jokingly call the Pan-Trib position that YHVH knows what He's doing, He's calling the shots, and it will all "pan out" in the end.  What we need to really concern ourselves with is keeping short accounts with our fellow man and with our Creator. In other words, I am back to the theme of teshuva, or repentance. After all, that is really the ultimate point of spending time in self-examination, isn't it?

I have likewise come to believe over the past years that repentance was also the message that Messiah preached during His time on earth. Growing up in mainstream Christianity, I had somehow got the idea that "the gospel" that we believed was only about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. While I am not arguing with that historical fact, I now have a different perspective. For one thing, it seems odd at the very least that Jesus/Yeshua would be preaching "believe that I died on the cross to forgive your sins" before the fact. Did He predict His death and resurrection? Sure He did. But His main message was to repent so that we can inherit the Kingdom of God/YHVH. 

So, the question remains, From WHAT are we to repent? Anything that is less than what YHVH has called us to, which is holiness. Our thoughts, our desires, our actions are to be set-apart according to how He has instructed us to live and to be His representatives. How are we to be a light to the world, directing them to Him if we are not accurately reflecting His light that lives within us? That is only accomplished by laying down our desires and dreams in favor of something much bigger: HIS desires and dreams. 

Can I get a "YIKES!"?  No... don't despair: He also assured us that nothing He asks of us is too hard or unreachable.¹ 

(Looking at the news reports, though, I can't help but wonder if it's going to be here before we know it. So, stock up on lamp oil.)

¹ For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. - Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NKJV)