Heaven's Ark

I have always been fascinated with events in the Bible that have deeper meaning. The Pesach meal was a foreshadowing of Yeshua’s sacrifice on the cross. I believe Abba has written the bible this way for a reason. I started to think about Noah’s Ark and what kind of foreshadowing that event will have. Then several months later, I started noticing different things and Abba talking to me about them. He was showing me that Heaven right now is like Noah’s Ark and believers and animals are being stored there until the start of the first resurrection. “What the heck?” I thought “How can that be?” Then He showed me the wolf with the lamb in Isaiah 11. They will be eating straw like an ox. He took me back to the beginning and started to show me things thru the bible. The foreshadowing of Noah’s Ark was just a small part in what’s going to happen. The earth will be in its third phase. We are in the second phase now. The best way I can explain what the phases are, is to call them by this, the first phase was “The fall”, the second phase is “The atonement” and the third phase is “The restoration”.
   In the first phase, God made a covenant with mankind. They were to populate the earth, have dominion over the animals, and only eat vegetation. (Gen 1:28-30) Everything was theirs to have, accept for the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good & evil. In Gen 3, Eve stole some fruit from the forbidden tree and ate it. She then gave some to Adam. Both of their nefeshs became corrupted and spiritually dead. They now know good and evil. They broke the covenant with their Creator bringing the severe and inescapable curses. Now Abba makes another covenant but this time, because of their disobedience, the earth and mankind is now cursed, death has entered. Sin will have it's rule. We will struggle to survive because death is now possible. The earth cannot produce food like before; they will need to work the ground for it. There now will be strife in the marriage because the woman will desire to be above man and she will also have pain with her cycles. In all this sorrow, Abba promises a seed from a woman that will restore the earth and rescue them. The earth begins to populate but also people’s nefesh was becoming more and more evil. Eventually all of mankind; their thoughts, actions, and deeds were continually evil. Abba was sorry he created man but He had a relationship with Noah. In Gen 6:9, says “Noah walked with God” Noah found favor with Abba and He was ready to bless him. The ancient world was highly advanced. Artifacts are being found around the earth showing a highly advanced civilization. In Luke 17:26, Yeshua says “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” In 2 Peter 2:5 “And spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly” People then were not ignorant they knew who Abba was and chose not to follow him. (Matt12:40) There was a great gulf between Sheol and Paradise. True believers went to Paradise before Yeshua died on the cross. They needed God’s spirit in them to be in His presence in Heaven.
   In the second phase, God makes another covenant. None of His covenants can wipe out another covenant or be taken back, changed, or stopped. They are eternal and a continuation of the previous covenant. This next covenant was also for all mankind. In the terms of this covenant, Noah and his family is to repopulate the earth. After the fall, mankind lost authority over the earth. Satan now has authority over all the kingdoms of the earth only and will offer it to the antichrist, his seed, who will accept it (Rev. 13v4). Mankind still has authority over animal kingdom and his diet now includes animals. Abba also separated the animals as clean and unclean to eat. No killing of mankind or eating of blood, because there is life in the blood. If a person was killed, the murderer was to be killed. Abba also promised not to flood the earth again (Gen. 9v13) giving us a rainbow as a sign of the everlasting covenant. After the flood, the earth was no longer the same. The land and its atmosphere are different. The animal kingdom is now only what was on the ark, the plant species is not in the same abundance as before, and the greatest change is man’s ability to think. The DNA in a human is now corrupted, death has entered. This is very important. Abba uses this to dramatically slow the growth of knowledge in humans. At the tower of Babel, He furthered slowed man’s communication making it harder to grow in knowledge. Why would Abba do that? For people to be born to have a choice, either now or in the earth’s 3rd phase. He knows how many people will choose Him and is giving them every opportunity, including to be born. After this Abba will make several more covenants but only with the house of Israel. He focuses in on one group and reveals himself to them. Abba uses Israel to show us who He is. Out of the 12 tribes, one tribe “The Levites” was chosen to take care of the holy things of God. Israel was also chosen by Abba to take care of the holy things of God for all mankind. This doesn’t mean Israel is better than the Gentiles, it just means they have a lot more responsibility, incredibility more “To whom much is given, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) Yeshua came and fulfilled the covenant by becoming the sacrificial lamb making a final atonement for all of creation thru the house of Israel. All who accept Him will receive the Ruach HaKodesh. (Ephesians1:13) The people of God are now equipped to be a blessing and help His creation to be over comers; to do battle against the spiritual kingdoms, rulers of darkness, stopping them in their tracks. (Matt.10:1) Satan will use spiritual counterfeits and deceptions to draw away God’s creation from knowing the truth. (Rev.16:14) All authority over the earth is the Lord’s but satan is still is the prince over the kingdoms. (Ephesians6:12) Yeshua says “As in the days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of man be.” There was great technology at that time with demonic activity. Our brain was operating in full capacity before the flood. Now there are experiments today where chips are placed in the brain to help with function and deficiencies. The technology is changing the way of life on how we function. Today, people are more and more involved with the occult. There is manipulation in the spiritual realm from raping women to being involved with demons, manipulating the mind, and going into the spirit realm to hurt people. The nefesh is becoming continually corrupt. We are becoming more and more like Noah’s time very quickly. Before the final phase begins, I believe the true believers will be taken out before the judgment begins.(Rev. 3:10) Just like when Noah and his family when into the ark. The tribulation period will come. Abba will destroy all those who still will not repent and call upon His name. (Rev.9:20-21, 16:9,11) The earth will be judged and destroyed by fire. Satan and the fallen angels will be bound for 1000 years. (Rev.20:2)
   In the third and final phase, the earth is restored and back to the pre-flood conditions but not to when they were in the Garden of Eden. The restoration will first start with believers from the tribulation period and the believers who already are in Heaven; with new resurrected bodies. The second death will have no power and then we will be at the great white throne ready for the new earth. “Blessed is he who takes part in the first resurrection.” (Revelation 20:6) I believe that the mentally ill, babies and anyone that could not choose before will live on earth and have that chance during the 1000 year reign; to be able to go before the Great White Throne. All knowledge is also restored. No more debating about Yeshua. Either you obey Him or not. When the children are born during this time, they will need to choose. The sin nature will still be active and death is still possible for those who are born during this time. The animals will be restored and they will be vegetarian. Children will be able to play with them without fear. Mankind will probably be vegetarian also. Jerusalem is now the religious and political center where Yeshua rules as king and all the kingdoms come and worship Him. The 12 tribes will be reinstated and the 144,000 thousand will take their rightful place in the kingdom.(Isaiah11:10) The governments or kingdoms will be first established by the Sons of God (kings and priests) Then after the 1000 years are finished, satan will be loosed and people will gather with him against God. They are defeated and satan is thrown in the lake of fire. Heaven and earth are gone. The Great white throne judges all of mankind. Paul says in Romans 14:12 ”So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Revelation 20:15 “And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.”
A new heaven and earth are created. The new Jerusalem will come down from Heaven. We will live forever and death is impossible. No more sin and we will be like the angles in heaven. The new earth will be just like the Garden of Eden. In Luke 20: 34-36, there is no more giving to marriage or having kids. This is the second age, the age to come. (Matt. 12:32)
Rev 21:1-7 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new "And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. ”He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son."

"My Cat Chance"

This is just like my cat Chance. Instead of flies, it's moths and he eats them.


"What is yours is mine and mine's me own" Me cleaning my room with Chance's help.

My favorite book

"When God Whispers Your Name"
By Max Lucado

excerpt; Chapter 11

IT’S QUIET. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

"Songs of the Heart"

Growing up in the 70's, my mom always had the Christian radio stations on and the songs always fill me with happiness. Now that digital age has come it is a lot easier to find these old songs. These old songs take me back and refocus me to Him. They are like a stained glass picture of who I am in Him and day by day I am becoming more complete. The shards of glass once broken now coming together making a new picture.


"Spirit Song"

O let the Son of God enfold You
With His Spirit and His love
Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul
O let Him have those things that hold You
And His Spirit like a dove
Will descend upon your life
And make you whole

(chorus)
Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill Your Lambs
Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill Your Lambs

O come and sing this song with gladness
As your hearts are filled with joy
Lift your hands in sweet surrender
To His name
O give Him all your tears and sadness
Give Him all your years of pain
And you'll enter into life
In Jesus' name

My King

Last weekend during my bible time, I was reading 1 Samuel. When I got to ch 8v6, the people of Israel says ”Give us a king to judge us.” I’m thinking “why do they do that every time and why do they need a king?” I continued reading and in verse 7&8 ^“And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.” When Abba says “They have forsaken me and served other gods.” that bothered me a lot and I started talking to Abba about it. Yeshua says to me “People are still doing that to me now.” I’m thinking “How? There is no king.” Yeshua says ”When they exalt their pastors over me.””Wow” I thought. Yeshua was showing me how people are afraid of intimacy with him. Just like the Israelites were afraid of God’s presence. In Deuteronomy 5v25 "Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die.” The Israelites wanted Moses to be their intercessor, just like the people today want their pastor to be their intercessors telling them what to do and depending on how close that pastor is with Abba, they will blindly follow instead of having their own personal intimacy and growth with Abba. Also they don’t want to be held accountable to Him. They want to do what they want on their own terms instead of Abba guiding their life. I am very blessed of the pastors I listen to. They know that Abba is King and we are to have a personal relationship with Him. They know they are on the same walk that we are on with Abba and they are only being used by Abba to strengthen and equip His kids. Not to be their king. Unfortunately some Christian religions do that and cause people to be in bondage. We need to have a one on one intimacy with Abba and only He is to be our King. Deuteronomy 5:29 Abba says, “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!”

"rest & worship"

Last week I received an email from Beth Israel - Robin Mark in concert. I was so excited. I gave myself a three day rest. Thursday night I ordered the hotel room for only 70 dollars thru price line, packed that night and headed straight to New Jersey right after work on Friday. The last time I tried to go to Beth Israel, there was a flood (see Tisa’s blog – Rescued 3/16/10). The concert was on Friday night and I left after Sunday service @ 1:30pm. I love Robin Mark’s worship music. The first time I heard his songs was on the Sound of Life station. The DJ had his “Revival In Belfast” cd and played “Days of Elijah” He is the original writer of the song. I love the Irish music with it. I’m half Irish/ quarter Sicilian, & quarter Italian so it is nice to hear some of my heritage in music and at the same time it being Christian worship also. The “Revival in Belfast” cd is one of the few cd’s I have that I can listen to every song on the album. Here are a few of the songs I could get from the album. Enjoy! :O)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

     For about a week now, Abba has been bugging me to write about this. Every time I write in the blog about my life, it brings back the memories good & bad. Reliving the episodes all over again especially the ones I don’t want to ever think about again. Why would Abba want that? Didn’t Paul say in Phil. 3:13 “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” Paul is speaking to not stay in that bondage but to move on. Don’t set up camp. But if you are going to ignore the issues then that’s a whole different story. Abba wants to dig up the weeds in our garden (our nefesh) and weed it out. Abba will allow the weeds to pop up so they can be dug out. Unfortunately they come out of us at times when we wish it would never have happened. Even Peter, thought he would never deny Yeshua but did. About 3 years ago I did something really stupid at work, really, really, really stupid! It totally wrecked my testimony at work and people were starting to change there too. Someone in a position of authority did something very wrong and I said a judgmental off the cuff remark about their situation. It came back around and I did something wrong. You never know what is going to come out of our nefesh. Only Abba knows what is truly in there. People may think they don’t have a problem in this or that area of bondage but it is by the grace of God that we don’t see it until it is time for Abba to start weeding out that area in our nefesh. People need to be very careful what they say about other people making a mistake. In Mathew 7:1-2 it says"Judge not, that you be not judged. 2For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” It just may be the next weed Abba is going to allow you to face. So when I see people struggling in an area even walking away from Abba who you thought would never have a struggle in that area, I know Abba is working on their garden cleaning out the nefesh to make room for His truth. When we are in the spirit our nefesh takes over. It is like our brain is shut off. Everything comes out of our heart(nefesh) the good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s why we are to seek God in spirit and truth. To fill our nefesh with His truth. We hear Abba thru the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our helper. How can we hear Him if we feed the flesh? Also in Mathew, Yeshua says “the pure in heart(nefsh) shall see God” It is so important that we guard our hearts and not let anything else bad get in there. People are always asking for a closer walk with Abba. We need to let Him weed our garden and fill up our nefesh so much with His Spirit that only His love, His truth, His mercy, His Spirit will come out.

"I will go where you go"

PIC - Song of Solomon 8:5" "Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?"
     I love the song “Dance With Me” by Chris Dupree. The song reminds me of the first time I was with Bob and I ran to him on the hill. The song is about a bride and her groom. Bob will be back again and we will finally be together but I need to wait for him. We, the bride, are also waiting for Yeshua our groom. In an old Hebrew wedding, the father of the bride invites the future groom to the dinner with his daughter. After eating the meal the father asked his daughter if she accepts. They drink a cup of wine together symbolizing the beginning of their marriage - a betrothal period when the woman is considered legally married, although she still remained in her father's house. The groom leaves to go prepare a place for his wife to come back again and receive her as his wife.
      As the bride of Yeshua we too are waiting for Him to come back but what people don’t realize we are married to Him now. This concept wigs guys out a bit but it is good news. In a marriage relationship the husband is head of the family just as Yeshua is the head of us. He makes the final decisions. In Numbers 30v 10-13 it says” 10However, if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, 11and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. 12"But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her. 13"Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.” Wow, what a powerful statement. The husband has the power to allow it or stop it and it also says the Lord will forgive her. In our walk with Abba we are going to make some real stupid decisions but Yeshua has the override button. He will either allow it or stop it. What a comfort knowing that Yeshua is our husband and makes the final decision to protect, love, & help us. “I will go where you go, I will run where you run, and I will dance… I will dance with you.”

"Dance With Me"
by Chris Dupre

Dance with me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs
Romance me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all song

Behold You have come
Over the hills
Upon the mountain
To me You have run
My beloved
You've captured my heart

Dance with me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs
Romance me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs

With You I will go ( I will go)
You are my love (my love)
You are my fair one ( my fair one)
Winter is past ( winter is past)
And the springtime has come

Dance with me,
Dance with me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs
Romance me,
Romance me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs

Dance with me, O Dance with me
O lover of my soul ( lover of my soul)
To that song
Romance me, Romance me
O lover of my soul
To the song of all songs
Come and dance with me

I will go where you go,
I will run where you run,
and I will dance...I will dance with you

Close call

About 15 min ago, I was working on my XR80 resetting my air and fuel screws, when a skunk starts to walk by my bike. Half watching and reading my book I thought it was my cat. I started putting down the book to pet my cat, when I saw the skunk. I was spooked out so was Mr. Skunk. It backs up into the lawn chair and stops. At this point my stomach is in my throat. The skunk is about 3 feet away and makes its scared squeaky grunting noise and waddles off down the hill. I am so happy Abba did not let that skunk spray me. WHEW!

First Day

My first class for Hayesod was on Wednesday 23rd. It was suppose to start last Wednesday 16th but there were so many hiccups for everyone on Sunday & Monday, they skipped a week to work out the bugs. Fuse also monitored the session to make sure everything went ok. I loved it. The videos were so cool and jammed with info. I went thru a lot pages in the workbook and I still had a lot to do after the class. In the intro of the workbook, FFOZ tells you that this is not a typical bible study but a real class and expect it to be challenging. Wow, I grinned from ear to ear when I read that. When the class was over about 25% of the class didn’t understand what to do, has computer issues and some of them came late disrupting the class. At the beginning FFOZ gave clear instructions on what to do. There shouldn’t have been any problems. So why did people have problems? This whole first day sounded like people and their understanding of the word and their walk with Abba. Some get it immediately, others will follow but still learn, then some have too many problems and leave, and the last of them are just totally clueless, disrupting everyone. Our walk with Abba is not going to be handed to us. We need to study, grow, learn, and be one with Him. The diligent will seek Him. Deuteronomy 28:1 “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.”

HaYesod! "The Foundation"

Last week I recieved a email from FFOZ starting a 10 week summer school course of hebraic biblical roots. HaYesod courses use to be for home groups and bible studies but thanks to technology I can join the school group online. It starts June 13th. I chose Wednesday nights - safest night for me. Todah Abba!

Here is the web site to learn more about the programs they offer if you want to www.hayesod.org

Victory In Jesus

Today in prayer, Abba reminded me of this song I made over 12 years ago when I was young in the Lord. I had rededicated my life to Him in 1994, Wow I can't believe it has been that long. I wrote this song down in my journal. I am not going to forget it again. Then later in the day I started working on my motorcycle and when I opened up the manual a piece of paper fell out. I had forgotten when one of the times last year, I cleaned my room, I found the song and stuck it in my manual. Todah Abba!

Victory In Jesus
For days and day on end,
This trial has come to me.
I asked “Lord will this ever end?"
He said to me, “My child listen, for your trials will come and go but you have victory! and that is the only thing you need to know. I was crucified on the cross, your sins are gone! So trust in me and you'll have victory....”
I have victory in Jesus, satan's chains can't hold me now. The words of my savior come to me now, to me now....
I have victory in Jesus, satan's chains can't hold me now. The words of my savior come to me now, to me now.

Reunion

This Sunday I'll be going to my Aunt Shirley's house to meet with the rest of my family and all my Aunts on my mother's side. Everyone on my father's side is gone except my cousins and I never knew my grandparents. This will be a great chance to meet the rest of my family. I don't know if I be able to see them again in heaven.

left to right Aunt Joan, Aunt Shirley, Mom, Aunt Agnes

The test

   Writing these blogs has been fun. Abba has me writing things down what is on his heart and what he does in my life. When I did “Come now let us reason” a few weeks ago, It was 2:30am in the morning when I started it. He was bugging me to write that for a couple of weeks. I was sitting on the couch just finished watching a movie that ended up being really stupid and I regretted wasting my time watching it. Then Yeshua says "I have been asking you to write that blog and you waste your time on this!" I said “ok,ok,I’ll start right now.” I went upstairs to my bed and wrote straight for an hour, no stopping. He was downloading it to me over and over so I would get it all. He dictated to me every word. I finished at 3:30am and went to sleep. I woke up at 9:00am Sunday morning, came down stairs, turned on the computer, and started typing what I wrote. He had me add a few things and I finished it after lunch at 1:30pm. I never had done that before. When He wants you to write something you do it. What has also been really cool, after I write something He gives me, a week or two later my pastor will talk about the same things I’ve written. A month ago, I finally had enough courage to ask him if he knew what TISA’s blogs was and he just looked at me funny and said “I don’t read any blogs.” Abba is funny, using my pastor to confirm what He wants me to write. 

   So lately, I have been so busy I haven’t had the time to write. Abba has been impressing on me to write about one of my tests I had while I was in college. I look back at this test He gave me and think how much I’ve changed. In college I had no car so I took a bus every day. Troy, NY started to do road construction that semester and it was ok at first but then the CDTA bus was getting to the college later and later. I was getting to class 5 to 10 min late a few times in a row. Then the next week I came in a half an hour late. After class I apologized to the teacher an explained why. He was very upset and made a nasty comment. I got the point real quick; I need to take an earlier bus. Problem was the earlier bus was 8am and my class started 11am. Even though the CDTA bus route I took was made for HVCC students, it still took me 1 ½ hours to get there. 5am wakeup calls were not fun especially when you got to get up at 8am before. I got up early and was at the bus stop on time. I see the bus coming and it passes me. Sometimes when a bus is late they pass you if the other bus was behind them. Problem this time was the next bus was so close to the first bus it didn’t see me and passed me too. I stood there in disbelief. I thought how could Abba let that happen? I started getting upset but I prayed Abba please let me get down town on time. I had missed the normal bus and the back up one as well but Abba, during my time at HVCC, has held the other bus when I was late. I got to down town and the bus was already gone. There are three stops downtown before it leaves for Troy. I always get on the first because by the time it gets to the third, you will be standing. I jumped on another bus to get to the last bus stop before it leaves Albany. I was hoping I still could catch it. I didn’t get there fast enough, the bus was gone. I walked back to the second bus stop, the first was too far away. I was so upset, I didn’t want to face my teacher again late. I was so angry, pacing back and forth, crying. I felt God had let me down and didn’t care. The Holy Spirit said something to me but all I can remember was saying to Him angrily ”Yea, right!” I waited for the next HVCC bus to arrive. It came on time. It was such a beautiful day I knew there would be construction. Yeshua was also talking to me but I was so upset, I can’t remember what he said also. The bus started to approach the construction area. I had my head buried in my hands, crying. Then Abba said to me “Dry your eyes my child!...it will be ok.” I pick up my head and there was no construction. The bus pulls in the “Park and Ride” picks up some more kids and a car stops and lets the bus get out. The bus always gets stuck there also. When we got to the college the bus was 10 minutes earlier than normal. I get off the bus in shock. I get to the class room and the door is locked. The whole class is standing outside the door when the teacher shows up almost 10 minutes late. Obviously, I failed the test Abba gave me miserably. He wanted me to trust him. It seems we still get the same tests but just at different levels. Abba can be trusted, we just need to believe He will finish what He has started. Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

Up-Side Down week

This whole week has been an up-side down week. Wednesday last week, I met with my former coworkers for a reunion get together. Scott, my boss, asks if I would like to pick up a project as outsource and stay as per diem. I said ok but when I got home I needed to think about it. I was unsure about going back. I wanted to do what Abba wanted. I prayed and the next day I got a call from Scott asking if I would like to start Monday. I said yes before I could say no. I felt peaceful about the decision but anxious about going back. The day I was let go, I was sick to my stomach the whole time until I came home. Monday I woke up at 3am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I got to work around 11am. I had a fire house physical and blood work at 9am. It is required every year for Haz-Mat techs. They poked me 8 times and couldn’t get anything. They told me come back Friday morning when their main phlebotomist comes it. Couldn’t they tell me that 5 sticks ago? Anyway, at work I was given a building with many angular walls. The more angles on a job, the higher the difficulty to draw and design. Scott told me the first two floors were due in two weeks but wanted engineering to have it Monday. They had a lot of problems Monday trying to get my computer to load AutoCad. I couldn’t start the project. I had to be at the firehouse after work. I was there until 10pm. Tuesday the computer at work still wasn't working so I worked on the project at home. A storm came around 2:50pm and the power went out. I was starting to wonder if I should have gone back. I was seriously behind and was not allowed to work overtime. Wednesday came and I put a major dent in what I had to get done. Abba gave me peace and helped me. I stayed late Thursday to make up time I lost on Monday & Friday morning. Friday afternoon I finished the two floors and by the time I left, I finished the typical floor as well. I know now Abba wants me there again. This has been a crazy week but I know whatever happens next, Abba will help me thru it.

"The Judgment Seat"

Last night I took my mom to see “The Judgment Seat” play for her mother’s day gift. It was at The Egg, a performing arts center in Albany, NY. I haven’t been there since 2nd grade. I’m the type that would never go to the ballet or opera. I cringe even at the thought of it. So when my mom asked me to take her to the play, you can guess what my reaction was. Then she said she would like it to be her Mother’s Day present….Doh! The Egg is only 10 minutes away from my house. Living in Albany, it is extremely liberal. From the politics to the news, it is all liberal. So hearing about a Christian play, I thought “how Christian is it and will its owners voice their own agendas?” To my surprise it was very good and they didn’t add their agendas. Each aspect of the play showed God’s mercy and judgment of accepting and rejection of His son Jesus. It also had serious and comedic times in the play and was simplistic enough for a person to really understand why God does what He does and gave His son Jesus. A lady from the Loudonville community church prayed for five years to bring this director/ writer to Albany to do one of his plays. He has been all over the world doing plays and stuff. He never thought Albany would be a place they would accept him. He now wants to bring more performances to Albany. In all his plays he uses only volunteers to act and make the set designs. The quality was unbelievable. At the end of the play, a pastor goes up and talks to everyone about Jesus and gives an alter call. The place was packed and close to fifty people pack around the small stage. I know some still stayed in their seats. Two ladies in front of me raised their hands but never went up. I have seen on tv large alter calls but never was in the same place. It was truly a blessing to be there and to see that. Other people were blessed too that night. The lady next to my mom came in at the last minute. Her husband was in the play and she saw it the day before. She wanted to see it again but couldn’t afford it. Then someone gave her an extra ticket they had. My mom gave her the money to buy a DVD of that performance and she cried because she wanted one but couldn’t afford it. All in all it was a good night even if it was just a play...Doh!

Happy camper in the wilderness

About three weeks ago, I was in my room thinking about still not having a job and my unemployment insurance running out in a month. I started getting upset again thinking “Am I doing something wrong? What do I need to do?” Then Yeshua says to me “What is it to you that I wait to give you a job?” I said “Your right it is none of my business.”He then says “Are your bills getting paid? Do you have enough food? Do you have a roof over your head?” After saying “Yes” to Him after every question, He says “Then why are you upset?” Yeshua was right, I really had no reason to be upset. Abba was taking care of me. The main problem was the fear I really am doing something wrong and he won’t take care of me. No matter what I’m thinking, Abba is still in control and He will take care of me not by my standards but His. I know he loves me but He still needs to change my perspective of Him. If He’s a loving father would He really want me to have this fear of Him? He loves me and He wants me to trust and love Him and get rid of this fear. I need to change my attitude and be a happy camper in the wilderness.

Come now let us reason together

    In the next couple of weeks, people from my congregation will be going to Israel for about 10 days. Rabbi Steve made it clear they will not just be visiting the sites but also to breathe life back into God’s chosen people and witness to them. My nefesh was happy to hear that. I was going to go with them but I had to back out because I lost my job. I guess Abba doesn’t want me there this year. I then started to think “Why hasn’t The Church risen up and helped Israel?” I guess I can go all the way back to Genesis 4v6, when Cain has murder in his heart (nefesh) for Abel and it lead to killing him. Abel was the second born. Israel is also the second born. We look at Abraham and his sons Ishmael and Isaac. The covenant went thru Isaac. Isaac’s sons Esau and Jacob, the covenant stayed with the second born Jacob. So is the church trying to kill Israel? Replacement theology is mixed in with most churches today even the ones that say they love Israel. When Constantine, not the apostle Peter, started the catholic church, division between the Jews and Gentile grew rapidly dividing the church from its Hebraic roots creating a false religion that worshiped its leaders and quench the Ruach Hakodesh.
     Martin Luther brought some reform to the church but kept his anti-Semitism toward the Jews. Replacement theology flourished. Abba used this hatred to spread the gospel. This is found only in Luke 21:24 “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” That is what’s been happening with most of the churches today. They truly are against Israel. You would think that statement was wrong but it isn’t. In the bible, we see at times it was the second born that carried the torch (no pun intended). Even with Yeshua redeeming us, sin was represented in the first Adam and Yeshua, our salvation, in the second Adam. We see this pattern repeated in the New Testament. In the book of Luke, we are given the story of the prodigal son. The second son was the one that returned to his father while the first born despised him. This parable is only in the book of Luke. The book of Luke was written for the gentile believers in Yeshua. So what is Yeshua trying to tell us in this story? The first born is against the second born and is close to judgment of hell fire, just like Cain and Abel. The judgment will first start with the house of God.
In the parable, the first thing the first born son does is get angry at his brother and does not celebrate his return. 15:28 “But he was angry and would not go in.” Second the first born doesn’t acknowledge that he is his brother. 15:30 “But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.“ Finally His father has to reassure his son all that he has was his and to come in and join with his younger brother. 15:31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” Why couldn’t the brother go out and try to get his little brother back in the first place? Why does the older brother hate him so much? Yeshua stops the parable at this point, which I think that is very good for us. What are we going to do next? We have a choice to either to be bitter and not acknowledge them or embrace them. “But they need to follow our rules and regulations!” this statment is not going to win them over but showing Abba’s mercy and intimacy with us will. So are we going to rise up and join with our brothers and acknowledge them or are we going to keep shunning our Hebraic roots, forcing our laws on them to “convert them” and handing them easter baskets. Is this what we call provoking them to jealousy?
We need to rise up and breathe life back into our brothers and not to wait for Abba to bring them home. We need to tell them it was your God that helped me, it was your God that gave me hope, it was your God that gave me eternal life, it was your God that gave me a new spirit, it was your God that gave me Yeshua. Isaiah 1:18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

"The four cups"

My sister Becky the other day called me up and asked “What are the four cups in Passover?” I didn’t know and had to grab my haggadah book just to tell her. Then I thought “Why four cups?” I then did a little research. I looked on FFOZ web page and found an article by Tim Hegg called “I am ADONAI, and I will…” from Bikurei Tziyon, issue 68, 2001. It is so good and relevant to us as believers. I’ll give you quick synopsis of what he says for each cup. To read it all, you’ll just half to get it from FFOZ.

There are four cups based upon the four activities of God in Exodus 6:6-7. In the Midrash it states “There are four expressions of redemption by God:
1 – I will bring you out
2 - I will deliver you
3 – I will redeem you
4 – I will take you


They use four cups to correspond with these four expressions, in order to fulfill the verse in Psalm 116:13 “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”


1st cup - “The Cup of Sanctification” – God choosing of Israel for his own
Exodus 6:6 “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
“The first cup marks Israel out as God’s chosen ones - as the people for whom He would bring deliverance from under the burden of slavery, freeing them to worship and serve Him in spirit and truth. And this is the same work He does for each and every child He brings into His family – He chooses them of his own sovereign will and frees them to worship Him as He intends. It is the calling of every child of God to be sanctified – set apart – unto God, to be given over to His worship and His worship alone. The cup of sanctification or Separation, reminds us of this crucial starting point of our salvation.


2nd cup - “The Cup of Deliverance” – emphasizing Israel’s utter helplessness to rescue herself
Exodus 6:6 “I will deliver you from their bondage.”
“The second cup reminds us, then, that we were in great need of deliverance, for our own idolatry so bound us as to be unable to affect our own rescue. God’s deliverance was (and is) our only hope. Understanding the cup in this way makes it clear why Luke begins his report of Yeshua’s last Passover seder with the second cup (Luke22:14-17). He wants to emphasize that Yeshua is our Deliverer.


3rd cup - “The Cup of Redemption” – Abba paying the necessary price to redeem his children
Exodus 6:6 “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.”
“The picture turns from mere legal transactions in freeing a slave, to the heart of a father toward His own children, and His willingness to pay the necessary price to have them back, even when that price is most costly. That price was nothing less than the giving of His own dear Son, Yeshua, emphasized by His identification with the third cup as symbolic of His own blood shed for the redemption of sinners (Luke 22:20).


4th cup - “The Cup of Hope” – when Israel is in her land, her enemies are subdued, and peace reigns.
Exodus 6:7 “Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God.”
“This fourth cup envisions the time when true Israel and all those who have attached themselves to her via faith, we will worship God in truth, and will be known in every way as His people. This finial cup reminds us that our redemption is not fully realized yet, and though we enjoy the realities of it in the present, the future still holds our full and final redemption.

Summary of the Four Cups

First, that God chose us to be His holy (separated) people. To accomplish this He promised to unburden us from our enemy’s entanglements.
Second, That we cannot affect our own release and that in our helpless state we must trust in God and in Him alone for our salvation.
Third, God further reavels to us that His sovereign work of salvation necessitates both divine power and payment. Our salvation would cost Him dearly, even the life of The Lamb.
Fourth and finally, God lets us know that the redemption that is ours is still not fully complete. We must await the future with hope of Messiah’s coming, for He alone can transform us fully into the holy people He has ordained.

Growth

This one has been sitting in my blog for a while waiting for me to finish it. I love avocados. I usually make a very thick dressing with lime juice, garlic & salt to replace mayo. I love to mix it with premade sushi rice w/ wasabi and eat it on sliced cucumbers w/ nori. So a year ago, Me & a coworker started to grow one of our own at work. Mine for some reason, grew incredibly quick (see pic) but the first avocado seed I gave her didn’t sprout. I found out with these seeds the avocado plant has been grafted so many times that the fruit it produces most likely not be the one you bought in the store. Trying to grow one of these takes a lot of patience. It takes close to 3 months just for it to sprout. Then after it grows about 6” you need to cut it back so it won’t grow too tall. Also you won’t be able to see any fruit for at least 4 years. I feel more and more like this plant every day. Sometimes when Abba prunes us it hurts a lot but it is always for everyone’s benefit. To grow we must be cut back. All farmers know this. They know if they don’t prune the whole plant suffers and will not produce good fruit. We will hurt the people around us if we don’t let Abba prune us.

Update: I planted it in a pot, put it outside for some sunshine and Mr. squirrel ate it. D'oah!!!

“My Rose”

by RMH

Today, my master has planted my rose for me.

He has placed you right next to me in his beautiful garden.

When your roots have grown, they will be entwined with mine.

I will nourish you with my roots, we will be one.

I sit here day & night to see if you will bud this year.

I long to smell your sweet fragrance and to see what color
you'll become.

The time has come; my yellow petals have fallen, for I have
bloomed already.

I will go asleep now for many months but I know when I awake, you will be here with me, my Rose.



"I must wait"
by TMG

I must wait...
I want to look in your eyes, feel your breath on me.
I must wait...
To hold me in your arms and to love me.
I must wait...
The word constantly echoes in my ear without mercy, twisting my heart. It is a word that keeps us apart. I want to grab it and toss it to the farthest sea. Someday will come and Wait will be gone forever.

"The Rescue"

At the beginning of Feb, my little sister Becky, wanted to go on vac so bad but she had to wait until Sept. for her group home’s vac. I said “Becky, just rent a hotel somewhere and get away for the weekend. It should only cost about a hundred bucks” She became so happy and asked if I could help. At first I thought no way but then I started to think I should get away too. I needed a break from everything. I just got my income tax check back and thought why not. Me & Becky planned and made reservations for March 12, 13, 14 in New Jersey. For the next month that’s all I heard. On Wed the 10th, I helped Becky with her packing and the next day we went out and shopped for some food and stuff. Friday came and we left around 3pm. We got there around 6pm. We had dinner and I became sick for some reason. I wanted to go to Beth Israel for 8pm service but couldn’t. We got up at 7am and had breakfast. We got a paper and checked the movie listings. The only real movie theater was Lowes down in Wayne. Jersey roads can be backwards at times and they have a lot of one ways, not fun when you are just getting use to the area. Abba helped me with that. We had lots of fun. We were out until 8pm. I parked in the back of the hotel and was told I should move just in case the river overflows. The building grade was steep in the back. The grade had about a 10’ drop over 150’span. I parked in the front by the door. We got back to the hotel room and found out the power had gone out. The tv was down so was the wifi. Things started to feel uneasy to me. We had dinner. Becky started to feel sick and threw up. It was around 10:30pm. We should have just packed up and left. I figured maybe by morning she will be ok and we would go to Beth Israel for 11am service. She threw up 3 times during the night. I couldn’t fall asleep. People were up making lots of noise and I couldn’t understand why. I found out later people were being told to move their cars because of the river was over flowing. I finally fell asleep and woke up to the phone ringing. I was told I need to evacuate immediately. Becky was still sick. She put on her Capri pants. When she packed them I thought it was kinda cold for that but Abba knew she would need them. We grabbed our stuff and headed for the truck. I was stopped in the hall by one of the rescue workers and asked where I was going. I was wearing my FH utility jacket. I said “my truck” he asked where it was and I pointed and said "out front." He looked in my eyes and said "you need to leave right now." From one rescuer to another I knew it just wasn’t an evacuation anymore. People were still undressed and didn’t understand what was going on. The evacuation had become a rescue operation. I got out the door and stepped in 3” of water. I walked over to the back of the truck and it was about a foot deep. The water was very cold. I had pain in my legs and feet. We got in the truck and I told Becky to take off her wet shoes. I blasted the heat. I was wearing my nylon slacks that dry quick and running sneakers that acted just like water socks. I didn’t think of it at the time but Abba had guided us on what we wore. I backed thru the parking lot and turned around staying close to the pool fence to the front entrance. I knew the water was shallower there. I could see lots of cars already flooded from the river. I went to the front desk and handed in my card keys for accountability. I heard people crying and yelling about their cars. Being in Colonie, I’ve never really had anything that bad happen. As a rescuer, I had never been on the receiving end of things either. I jumped back in to my truck and headed to NJ-23. I tried to go north but was told it was flooded. I headed south and went to the gas station to fill up. I met another person who was at the hotel also. We talked about what was happening and he showed me the weather on his phone. I knew the only way out was west. I headed south on 202. I got to a junction and thought I had to go right. Abba turned me around and had me go up Main Street which was 202. I didn’t have a street level map. Abba showed me where to go. I got to 287 and headed north. We were blocked again and I had to get off and go to the next exit. I didn’t understand where to go. Abba told me to follow the plow w/ the white trailer. I followed and saw a NJ 17 sign. I had a no turn on red - red light and the trailer disappeared. There were at least 30 cars behind me following me to the next exit. I thought what if I mess up, what if I can’t get them to the next exit? The light turned green and I saw some of the cars going in the wrong direction. I stayed on path and saw the white trailer along with the next exit. I got back on relieved. I finally started to relax. I knew Abba had carried us out of there just like a firefighter out of a burning building. Strange feeling at that moment, Abba has helped me before, but this felt different like there's more of this to come and I need to be ready. After a couple of pit stops, we were home around 10am. We went thru our stuff and our clothes were soaked. The rest of the stuff was in bags and ok. I sit here and think todah Abba for your mercy. Times ahead are going to get tough. We need to be one with him and His will for our lives. This is only the beginning of birth pangs.

“Which one am I?”

About a week ago I was feeding the birds and thought of this story. This story seems familiar to me for some reason. I hope I haven’t heard it before. Enjoy! :O)

One day the master threw out some crackers. Birds from all around came for the feast. The crows made an announcement to the other crows exclaiming “The food is here! The food is here!” For they were the big birds, staunch in size, able to take the whole cracker. They didn’t want to stay below and be with the other birds, so they would fly high into the trees above. The master knew this and would break some crackers for the smaller birds. The bluebirds came and tried to take the whole cracker but it was just too large for them, so they had to eat the broken ones. They would eat only a little bit, here and there because they were too busy chasing the smaller birds away. The small birds had a great feast. Eating what the crows would drop from above and what the bluebirds were too busy to eat. Mr. Cat was walking by and saw the birds. He thought to himself “I shall have one for dinner.” The crows saw him and started to yell “Go, get out of here!” The small birds heard and flew away. Mr. Cat took a big leap and grabbed one of the bluebirds. As I saw this, I thought of how we are. I wonder what would have happened to that bluebird if the other birds banded together and thought “Which one am I?”

Ata Tzuri

I woke up Monday morning with this song going thru my head. Karen Davis’s songs are very beautiful. Most of her songs are from scripture. I get filled with peace when I hear her songs. God is my rock!



Ata Tzuri (You Are My Rock)
Psalm 23

Ata Tzuri(You are my rock)
Vi'yeshuati (and my salvation)
Ata hu shir levavi (You are the song of my heart)
You are my rock
You are my strength
You are the song of my heart
Though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for You are with me
Goodness and mercy shall follow me
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Gam ki elech (though I walk)
B'gei tzalmavet , (in the valley of thre shadow of death)
Lo irah rah (I will fear no evil)
Ki Ata imadi (for You are with me)
Chesed v'tov yirdafuni (mercy and goodness shall follow me)
V'eshev b'veit Adonai l'olam (And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever)

Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Upgrade

Last year in September, my nephew Steven washed his IPod by mistake and had to buy a new one. He bought an IPod touch and taught me how to use it. Wow. I thought my little mp3 player is nothing compared to this. My nephew wanted me to get one. I said “No way, knowing me, I probably would drop it. Too expensive for my taste.” One of the nicknames my family gives me is “Bank of Theresa” because the way I handle money and I can pinch a penny and make copper wire. I’m very stingy with myself also. Couple of weeks later Abba starts bugging me to get one. What? Why? I said “I already have a mp3 player plus work is getting real bad and I don’t want to waste money at a time like this.”Abba said ”You will enjoy it. You can do many things with it.” I couldn’t understand why but I knew He wanted me to get one. I said “Ok fine, then who gets my mp3?”He says “Your brother Peter.” I found out later my brother had just thrown out his bad music CD’s. A week later I bought the 8G IPod touch. I couldn’t believe how many songs I put on there and I had to take some off just to have room for apps. It also makes bible reading easier because I can look stuff up while in my room instead of being downstairs at the computer. I don’t half to wait to use the computer either. I can check my emails. It’s like carrying my computer around the house. I also just found out Wednesday, I can put Kindle books on it Woohoo! My first book I bought was “Godprint” by Skip Heitzig. Really good, I read it in two days. I actually splurged 8 bucks for myself. I’m still finding out new stuff about it. Funny thing is it never came with a manual. They make you read it online. Abba has given us an instruction booklet "The Bible" We need to obey Him no matter what. We lose out on so much by not being obedient. In John 10:10 Yeshua says "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." We need to have His word in us and obey Him. Abba knows what’s best for us, even if it is an Ipod touch.

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

One day when I was around 8 years old, I asked God if he could stop letting it rain. It was raining a lot and I wanted to play outside. Being cooped up in the house with 3 brothers and 2 sisters was not fun. I asked Abba to make it stop and the next day it stopped raining. For three days it wouldn’t rain and News channel 13 weatherman Bob Kovachick couldn’t understand why it stopped raining and why the air mass wasn’t moving. I told my mom it wasn’t going to rain because I asked Abba. She knew God was stopping the rain because of me. My mom told me it wasn’t good to do that. Farmers and trees need the water. I reluctantly agreed and said to Abba, He can let it rain now. The next day it rained. The weatherman was relieved and happy. What makes us lose our child like faith? God is still the same. He hasn’t change only we have. We are now more aware of our sins and think God doesn’t love us as much anymore. God’s love for us isn’t based on how good we are. Nothing we could ever do ourselves would ever justify us in His sight. Yeshua willingly took God's righteous indignation against us upon Himself so that we don't have to be separated from Abba anymore. Yeshua became our Pesach lamb when we accepted His death on the cross as payment for our sins. We are now reconciled to God whom we have offended. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them…God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, 21). He loves us and there is no more anger toward us it was satisfied by Yeshua. We are now in right relationship with Abba if we surrender to and obey Him. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:19-23). So is anything too hard for the Lord?

Isaiah 12
A Hymn of Praise

And in that day you will say:
“O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.”
Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
And in that day you will say:
“Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

"Whom Do You Serve?"

I refuse to get cable so I replaced it with Sky Angel. It is just like having cable without the bad stuff but I do half to be very careful of the teachings that are on there. At least 98% of the teaching is denominational and agenda driven and not Holy Spirit driven but just like anything else Abba will use it to his glory. He can and will use anything to get our attention. Before I got Sky Angel, TBN was on my local TV. Most of the shows on there are not good but a week before my dad died he gave himself to the Lord because I was watching a story on The 700 club. Trust me I do not advocate people getting their spiritual nourishment from these shows but just like in Yeshua’s time people were being healed by others and not by Yeshua or the apostles. Yeshua addresses this by saying to John:

Mark 9:38-40 38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side.

In Luke 13:14-16 Yeshua condemns the Pharisees for loving their righteousness rather than having compassion with spiritual discernment. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” We need to have compassion for thoes who need God.

 I’m not happy that false teachers can cast out demons and show healings but Abba will still use those situations. If just one more person can hear about God and get saved or healed, is it worth having to deal with it? People like that are all around us whether we like it or not. We need to speak truth to people who are in bondage. Every person is going to have a different view and different levels of understanding of who God is. Now I know there are limits but we need to have compassion with spiritual discernment. I go out and witness with a different church that loves the Lord but we definitely have different viewpoints not as far as salvation but other things. We don’t save people or heal the sick, Abba does that thru us. In Matthew 7:21-23 Yeshua makes it very clear, if we do not seek to have a personal relationship and don’t grow, we’ll stay lukewarm and fall into sin. He will chew us up and spit us out. Each one of us needs to grow. We will be held accountable for our own walk. We need to be in fellowship with Abba and have discernment. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ There will definitely be a price to be paid for people who claim to know Abba and don’t. Just like in the times of the early church they cast out demons but didn’t have a relationship with Abba. They have little concern for God or respect for His power following the lusts of their flesh. There are so many books out there that talk about how to heal people. I don’t doubt that it has happened but are these people truly walking with Abba? When we see them or read their books we need to have discernment, to know who these people are and what god they serve. In 2 Timothy 3:5-7, Paul talks about these people “5 And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Joshua 24:14-15 14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Whom do you serve?

"We are His"

        In a basic game of solitaire, sometimes you are set up by the cards and you can't win. The cards were just shuffled that way. This whole month has felt that way. No matter what I did things would just turn out upside down. Then about a week ago, I woke up early and before I fell back asleep I was thinking about all the things that have been happening and wondering why. Thinking “What do I need to learn? Why does Abba need to use those circumstances? Am I not doing his will? Am I making things worse?” I fell back asleep and started to dream about the apartment. The apt. house is over 95 years old and down the street they have been removing about 5 acres of trees. The house shakes all day. I started to dream the house was separating. The north wall started to crack and separate. My nephew would not listen and get out. I rescued him and was in a safe area. I had gone to a place where I had to wait for my brother to give me help and info for things to get done. He was wasting time. I started to get upset and was crying frustrated with everything that was happening. I woke up upset thinking "Now even in my dreams I cannot escape problems." Then the Holy Spirit said “God is also in your dreams. People need to exalt Him in their every thought, action, and deed. So much so that they are so saturated by Him that He just comes out of you including in your dreams.” I laid there thinking about each word "thought, action and deed." I couldn’t understand the word deed. The Holy Spirit said “the written words when you write.” Every part of who we are, what we do and what we say has to be of God. Abba wants every ounce of our life. We are not our own anymore we are His and we gave our life over to Him. 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The Signs of the Times

Back in the spring of 2002, on a Saturday morning early, I was getting ready for football practice and there was a small earthquake. New York doesn’t have many earthquakes. I felt only 4 in my lifetime but this one was different and I will never forget it. Several days before it, there were about 30 or more spiders in the family room and kitchen and not upstairs or in the cellar where I think they came from. Before I was able to get rid of them they left after the earthquake. I have no problem with bugs but spiders just eek me out. Anyway, the spiders knew something was coming. We are also to be ready at all times, to know the signs of the times of his coming. In Matthew 24 we see this analogy. In the end there will be many deceivers boasting their theology but it is up to us to be in Abba’s presence, to have discernment and “to know the signs of the times.”

Matthew 24
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.