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?”