Hebrew Roots Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth

Hebrew Roots Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth

by | Feb 18, 2017 | Blog, Podcasts

Hebrew Roots Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth

Hebrew Roots Worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth

Let’s reflect upon the topic of worshiping Abba in Spirit and in Truth as it relates to our Hebrew Roots Faith. This will be part 3 of my multi-episode series on operating and walking out this walk in the Spirit. If you’ve not already done so, I would humbly ask you to check out Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections episodes 78 and 79 where I lay some of the ground work for this episode.

In Spirit and in Truth

I would submit that probably the biggest hurdle that most of us have to work through in this Faith of ours is the age-old battle that exists between the physical and the spiritual. Master, when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, presented to her one the most profound bits of vital information ever given to mankind on this planet. Yet that “bit of information”–as vital and essential as it is–has either been grossly misused because of gross misunderstanding, or it has been completely ignored because of complacency and or misinterpretations by some of our Bible teachers. The statement and information I’m referring to is found in John’s Gospel and reads as follows:

“God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24; KJV)

Now, I ask you: how much attention has been given to this crucial instruction and revelation? Who and how many teachers dare to tackle the what’s and the how’s of this essential truth, especially in Hebrew Roots? Our cousins in Christianity, especially our charismatic friends, love this and related passages. Why? Because it fundamentally embodies the charismatic mindset that everything having to do with God and Bible is spiritual. You see, we in Hebrew Roots have gone way too far over to the Torah side of things while the Charismatics have gone way too far over to the spiritual side of things. In both the Hebrew Roots and Charismatic side of things, we’re guilty of severely neglecting the other side of the equation: the Charismatics the Torah and the Hebrew Rooters the spiritual. And the funny thing about this dilemma is that the Charismatics have gone so far over to the spiritual end of the spectrum that they have essentially created an entirely independent religion that is not biblically supported in many aspects. While we in Hebrew Roots, we have gone so far over to Torah that we, in many many cases, have become pharisaic or rabbinic in appearance and practice.

The key point of this whole thing that I believe we must take into consideration is that Spirit and Truth must go together. In fact, the two are inseparable, especially as it relates to our worship of and relationship with the Almighty. Going back over to my Charismatic–Hebrew Roots comparison: the Charismatics must bring into their lifestyle Truth–Biblical Truth; while we Hebrew Rooters must bring into our lifestyle the spiritual. I would say that we are, in at least one aspect, no better than some of charismatic/fundamentalist cousins as it relates to relationship with and worship of Abba Father.

Bias Against the Holy Spirit

I’ve never really given much credence or attention to the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well until just recently. Prior to my recent examination of this story and it’s tremendous implications to our individual and collective walks in Messiah, I saw this story as simply our Master revealing Himself to a Gentile woman and an example of how our Faith must overcome racism in the world through the Gospel message. And yes, I’ve read many times over the years the verse that talks about God being a Spirit and us worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth. But I always sort of just read over it and never gave it much thought, especially after coming into Hebrew Roots. Why is that? Well, my early years in this Faith movement were met with teachings and warnings against spirituality–especially anything having to do with the Holy Spirit.

It wasn’t until I began listening to some of Arthur Bailey’s teachings that I began to realize that it is vital that every believer–every disciple of Yeshua Messiah–walk and operate in the Spirit. I began to see for myself that there was an ingrained cultural bias against everything and anything having to do with the Ruach Kodesh (the Holy Spirit). An overwhelming number of Hebrew Rooters simply reject the workings of the Holy Spirit in one form or another. It’s not that they don’t believe the Ruach Kodesh exists, it’s that they don’t want anything to do with speaking in tongues, healings, praying in the Spirit and talk and teachings on this subject. And I’ll be honest with you: I was right there with them early on in my walk.

But then at the end of the day, this and other related passages on the subject of operating in the Ruach (the Spirit) don’t go away. Oh, many in our Faith community will explain them away as being the Spirit of God operating in the world and making things happen in accordance with the will of Yah; that we don’t need to worry about the Holy Spirit; that all we need to worry about is obeying and keeping Torah–keeping the Feast Days–keeping the Sabbath–not eating pork–making sure we don’t interact with those Christians–supporting the big Hebrew Roots ministries with our tithes and offerings–attend those dry and boring Hebrew Roots Conferences from time-to-time–buy the latest teachings of various Messianic Torah teachers, and the likes. Essentially, we are encouraged not to operate independently in the Spirit and, for that matter, not fulfill our calling and commission as disciples of Yeshua Messiah–unless the various ministries sanction it.

I attended a Michael Rood Conference in the fall of 2015, and during a round table session, one of the conference attendees asked Michael Rood: if something were to happen to him, what in the world should we do? How will we function? What are we to do? Oh my, oh my, the sky is about to fall down upon us! Save us Michael Rood! I was sensitive to this brother’s concerns, but I was concerned that this believer’s concerns were indicative of a much greater problem in our community and movement: that we are nothing more than followers of men and ministries–that our individual and collective walks and our talks and our worldviews are so shallow and lacking true substance; that we need a man to tell us how and when to breathe, walk, talk, use the restroom, eat, pray, read our bibles, etc.

I was encouraged at the reply that Micheal gave this gentleman: Michael essentially told him that he must never base the future of his or anyone else’s walk on him and his ministry; that we are individuals who must operate in our individual callings; and that we must prepare ourselves for our respective ministries. I thought that was a pretty good response to a rather concerning question.

Clearly, there are many in our Faith community who are just like this gentleman–basing their entire walk on individual Hebrew Roots teachers and ministries. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with following the teachings of Abba’s anointed–in fact we are encouraged to hearken to the teachings of those whom Father sends–Romans 10:14, 15. Nevertheless, our trust and our sustenance must come solely from the Almighty. We are not to place our spiritual trust in men, but trust Yahuah our Elohim (Proverbs 29:25; Psalm 146:3; Psalm 118:8). It is the Spirit of Yahuah that leads, guides, and empowers us to do that which we are commissioned to do, not man.

All too often, and I’ve seen this in my own life growing up in the Baptist Church, we place so much reliance upon our pastors, preachers and teachers that we begin to worship them and to place them and their teachings and doctrines above that of even Abba Father. It’s a shame to see. And I can attest that this sort of worship of men comes along so subtly at first that most of us don’t even realize that we have fallen into man/teacher worship. And before you know it, we become just like that dude at the Rood Conference who was fretting that we as a community would be without a shepherd if something were to happen to Michael Rood. I guess, it’s expected. We pour so much of our souls and our trust and our finances into some of these ministries and teachers. Some of these teachers teach us how to think and see the world about us through their particular mindsets and we begin to conform to the image of the ministries we follow, instead of conforming to the image of our Master Yeshua HaMashiyach as true disciples would be expected to do.

I believe that’s why it’s so important that we embrace the power and might and leading of the Ruach Kodesh in our lives so that our focus is upon Abba and His will for us.

The Samaritan Woman and Yeshua–A Story of Transition

In Spirit and in Truth

The Samaritan Woman and Yeshua at Jacob’s Well

I now see from the story of the Samaritan Woman, a a classic reminder and lesson of how the flesh, religion and culture, all work in concert to enslave us and keep us from ever having a true and substantive relationship with the Creator of the Universe. I further see from this story a warning to us in Hebrew Roots that if we’re not careful, we will find ourselves in a similar situation as that of the Samaritan woman–isolated from the world around us; ineffective in our witness of the true Faith; following doctrines of men; going through the motions of worship, but never truly understanding the God we profess to know or experiencing the true power and might of Yahuah in our lives.

The woman in this story lived in a very challenging societal, religious and cultural construct–probably one of the most challenging that our Master had to deal with during His brief earthly ministry.

To begin with, the woman was a Samaritan, which put her at a particularly challenging disadvantage. She was a woman–second mark against her. She had been married and divorced five-times and was now likely shacking up with another fellow–mark three. I guess one would call her, in today’s pop-culture parlance, a “hot mess.”

Disagreements on Who and What Samaritans Were and Are Today

Several teachings have emerged over the years regarding who and what Samaritans were and are today. Michael Rood, in many of his teachings, as well as in his Chronological Gospels, classify the Samaritans as Gentiles. In fact, Michael has even developed a doctrine around the story of the Samaritan woman and her encounter with Master–that the two-days that He and his disciples spent in Samaria preaching the Gospel to the Samaritans, was a “prophetic picture of the time of the gentiles” as depicted in Leviticus 23:22. According to Michael, “…the time of the gentiles, the 2,000-year duration between the fulfillment of the Spring Feasts and the fulfillment of the Fall Feasts, is when the blindness “in part” that happened to Israel is accompanied by the opening of the eyes of the gentiles so that they can be properly grafted into the root of Israel and hopefully by bearing good fruit, they too will not be “cut off” as some of Israel was because of unbelief and blatant disobedience of the Torah.” (Rood, The Chronological Gospels, page 85)

Now, Michael is not alone in his contention that the Samaritans were and are gentiles. it is a common teaching and belief among orthodox and reformed Jews and I believe certain Messianics that the Samaritans were and are gentiles.

But is that belief and teaching accurate? Were and are the Samaritans gentiles in the classic sense of what we understand gentiles to be? I would challenge that contention and I believe there is biblical and extra-biblical support for my assertion that the Samaritans were not “gentiles” in the classical sense, but more so, they were actually of Israeli descent.

To begin with, Master told the Canaanite Woman, as recorded in Matthew 15:24, that

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isra’el.”

So by Master spending two-days with the Samaritans, preaching and teaching the Gospel to them: was He in violation of His own stated agenda? If we were to abide by a “Samaritans are gentiles” teaching and doctrine, then I would say yes. But I don’t believe Master would place His credibility on the line by hanging out and teaching the Gospel to Gentiles when He clearly stated that His mission was to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Secondly, biblical, extra-biblical and the stated history of the Samaritans themselves, support that the Samaritans were Jews, if not as Matthew Henry, Biblical Commentator, “mongrel Jews,” or more accurately, mongrel Hebrews. The Samaritans contend that they are descended from Ephraim and as we saw, the woman at the well went so far as to assert to Master that she identified herself as a descendant of Jacob. But Matthew Henry writes of the Samaritans:

“They were the posterity of the colonies which the King of Assyria planted there after the captivity of the 10-tribes (as noted in 2 Kings 17), with whom the poor of the land that were left behind, and many other Jews afterwards, incorporated themselves. They worshiped the God of Israel only, to whom they erected a temple on Mount Gerizim, in competition with that of Jerusalem.”

The Jews of course take issue with the Samaritans and their stated contention that are of Hebrew descent, and to a certain extent, the Jews have good reason for some of their biases against them–the main one being the Samaritan’s man-made religion that departs from Torah (John 4:20-22)

Master knew of the true identity of the Samaritans and thus He preached the Gospel to them over the course of two-days. Did this represent, as Michael teaches, a prophetic picture of the Gentile’s 2,000-years of grace, I don’t know; I doubt it actually. But what I do know, is that the story of the Samaritan was one of the first introductions of the concept of worshiping our Creator in both Spirit and Truth; a concept that Michael, in his chronology ignored.

Water and the Holy Spirit

I find it so apropos that Master would get into a debate with the Samaritan woman over the issue of the inappropriateness of our Master seeking to satisfy His thirst with her assistance. When this thing went down, something amazing took place; something earth shattering. Not only would Master use this awkward situation to introduce to the woman the way things were heading in terms of the worship of the One True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but Master would reveal his secret identity to the most reviled and rejected people in the community. Master would reveal to the woman, and subsequently to the other members of the Samaritan community, that yes, He was indeed the long awaited Messiah. He had not directly revealed His identity to any other group prior to this encounter. Yet He chose this unusual occasion in which to unveil to the world just who He truly was.

Master described water that was living and would satisfy our thirst forever.

Yes, in those two-brief days, a season of grace fell upon those Samaritans. It was indeed the day of their visitation. It was a day in which the Son of the Creator of the Universe, came to a people who had been rejected by their cousins for centuries, and received directly from the redeemer’s mouth the Gospel message that could freed from their cultural, religious and spiritual bondage.

Although racial and cultural biases ran rampant in the region during this time, Master had no problem in reaching out to those most in need of his message of freedom. The woman, recognizing that she was considered impure and unclean by her cousins the Jews, saw our Master’s outreach to her for a drink of water as nothing more than a joke and another potential insult to her and her community. One can only speculate how much abuse and bigotry she and her fellow Samaritans had endured over the course of their lifetimes. Thus, it is no wonder that her shields went immediately up when Master asked her for a drink of water.

The woman’s immediate response to the request for a drink from Jacob’s well was:

“How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.).” (John 4:9; ESV)

It is a well accepted fact that the Jew’s considered the Samaritans ritually impure and unclean and that any Jew using a drinking vessel after a Samaritan touched it would become ceremonially unclean. (NET) Funny thing is, Master made it His life’s mission to overturn the man made rituals and doctrines of Judaism that served only to make the commandments of Yahuah of none effect. (Matthew 15:6) So when He was confronted by the Jewish established on numerous occasions, over the issue of why He did not follow the traditions of the so-called Fathers, Master would school and scold them over the fact that they were nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites. (Matthew 15:7) So Master was a bit of a revolutionary–a maverick if you will. No other Jew in His day would have done what Yeshua did in asking the woman for a drink of water, seizing upon the opportunity to minister to this woman. John records the Master’s disciples having a bit of a meltdown and experiencing a bit of confusion over this encounter:

“At this point His disciples came and they were amazed that he had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do you seek? or, “Why do You speak with her?” (John 4:27)

But praise be to Yahuah that Master was not afraid to challenge the cultural and religious norms and biases of His day. Otherwise, we would be in a world of hurt. The only reason we are where we are today is because of Master’s revolutionary stance.

So the woman called Master out on His behavior. I can only guess that Master’s reply to her call-out was something that she would never ever have expected to receive in her entire life. In fact, she probably thought, at first, that this was a crazy man. If such an encounter were to happen to any of us today, we’d probably gather our belongings and move along as quickly as we could, because most of us aren’t too keen on crazy. At least I’m not.

But Master seizes control of the conversation and begins to speak to things that don’t make any sense to the carnal mindset. He talks to her about Him being someone who is special and who has the ability to provide her “living water.” Crazy huh? Indeed. But the woman, like so many of us today, blinded by and enslaved by a fleshly mindset that can not see beyond the here and now; that can rationalize such talk of “living water;” that sees such talk as crazy talk. So the obvious response from the woman was carnal in nature. Her response brought the conversation immediately back down to the carnal–the Master didn’t have anything to fetch the water in and thus He was likely out of luck in getting water from her; and that, hey, you are no better than us–we’re all descendants of Jacob. (John 4:11, 12) So the woman was essentially waving Master off and telling Him to get a life.

Master brings the conversation back to the spiritual, lifting it from the carnal:

“…Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13, 14; NAS)

As I was reading this passage, I became intrigued by the concept of “living water.” What is this “living water” that Master speaks of. The ESV identifies two-meanings to the phrase: (1) fresh spring, running water that we used in various Torah-directed purification rituals:

“He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.” (Leviticus 14:6; ESV) Other passages include Deuteronomy 21:4 and Leviticus 14:50-52.

Interestingly enough, the concept of Baptism (or as popularly coined today in certain segments of our Faith, Mikveh), did not originate with John the Immerser. The concept of immersing one’s body in water–mind you, running, living water–hearkens back to Leviticus 15:13:

“And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in running water and shall be clean.”

Thus living water, also referred to as running water, bears with it the concept of one’s impurities being washed away and we becoming pure again. Such a thing is not possible with standing water. Thus when we contemplate baptism, we should seek out bodies of water that are running or living, so to speak. Of course, we do the best we can in this respect.

The second aspect of “living water” has to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach Kodesh, in each of us. John records the words of Master:

“Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being! (Now He said this about the Spirit whom those who trusted in Him were to receive later–the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been glorified.)” (John 7:38,39′ CJB)

And it is this aspect of “living water” that Master was speaking to the Samaritan woman about. The Bible Commentator Matthew Henry writes of this “living water”:

“Yeshua (my adjustment) gives us the living water if we but ask. He received it mightily from His Father (our Father) and thus He freely makes it available to us.” (Matthew Henry)

The one other aspect of this story that I want to also reflect upon is the incident at Horeb and Paul’s commentary on that incident and what it means to us as Netsarim. The event at Horeb may be found recorded in Exodus 17:1-6, and it reads:

“All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. (ESV)

Paul seized upon this event from an amazing spiritual perspective–such that the event had tremendous prophetic significance to all of us. Paul wrote:

“…and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit–for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them and that Rock was the Messiah.” (I Corinthians 10:4; CJB)

The tie in to our present story of the woman at the well in Samaria is that Master was offering the woman the gift of living water that only He was in a position to give her. Master Yeshua was likened to a rock–that rock in Horeb–strong–permanent–ageless–the source of lifesaving water that can change our lives forever. It’s unlike the physical water that we all need to sustain our physical life. It is the Ruach Kodesh, that stokes the fires within our very core and reveals, admonishes, convicts, reminds, encourages, emboldens, teaches and confirms us into the splitting image of our Master Yeshua Messiah. If that “living water”–that Spirit–that Master spoke to the woman at the well is actually dwelling within us, then we stand to never thirst again. Master told us:

“We who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

The Word is food, but it can’t sustain us alone. We need water–spiritual water–the Ruach Kodesh, to help us and sustain us. The woman, whom I believe still did not understand what Master was talking about, sought to take this conversation a bit further by asking him:

“Okay, I’ll bite: give me this water so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” (John 4:15; NAS)

It wasn’t because she was interested in receiving the gift of the Ruach Kodesh that the woman asked Master for the everlasting water, but she was simply tired of having to go down to the well to fetch water every day no doubt. Thus, Master still had not moved the woman from the carnal, as so many of us find ourselves today. So He sought to seize upon something within her that would get her attention and shake her to her very core, which would then afford her the opportunity to transition from the carnal to the spiritual. So he asked her to go and fetch her husband. As the story goes, and irrelevant to this reflection, Master used this very power–that living water–the Ruach Kodesh, to slice into the woman at the very place she lived–her personal life–her love life. Master has an uncanny way of finding the very thing in each our lives that He can exploit in order to get our attention.

As the story goes, she’d been married five-times and was likely shaking up with another fellow in one form or another. Whether all of her husbands died or she had been divorced from each of them five times, or a combination of both death and divorce, is not readily apparent here. Yet when we drill down to the heart of this matter, the issue is not divorce or remarriage or shacking up that Master was trying to get at. Her revealed marital history was just an opener to get this woman’s attention. It would seem that Master was saying to this woman and to us:

“Listen, I’m not just some schmuck, loony, nut case, trying to disrupt the cultural, religious status quo of our bankrupt, man made, Yah’less system. On the contrary, I am someone you never imagined you’d meet in this lifetime. Oh, you’ve heard about me, and so have all of the members of your community and all of your forefathers. Yet none of you have ever met me until this very moment in time. This is the time of your visitation my dear. Allow me to present my credentials to you just so there is no confusion as to whom I am. In fact, I’m going to provide you my credentials by simply telling you about your past and present marital life without ever having spoken to you or to have met you before. In other words, allow me to display for you and all your community, one of the aspects of my ministry, long ago foretold to you of me by Mosheh:

“Yahuah your Elohim will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to Him you shall shemah—just as you desired of Yahuah your Elohim at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahuah my Elohim or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’” And Yahuah said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in His mouth and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And whoever will not listen to my words that He shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18; ESV, adjusted for Hebrew Roots)

Upon hearing of her past and present marital life from a man she’d never met before, she starts to realize that she is not having just some ordinary encounter with another kook off the street down by the watering hole. No indeed. This was something special. Something different. Something powerful This was some form of visitation unlike something she never imagined she would experience in her lifetime. A rare visitation from a prophet. But not just any ole prophet. Prophets were a shekel a dozen throughout the region during the first century of the common era and most of them were bona fide kooks trying to make a name for themselves, having no connection whatsoever with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were essentially impostors and they would pray upon the most unsuspecting and ignorant of the community.

But recognizing and acknowledging to Master that he was a prophet of a particularly unique pedigree, she sought to take advantage of this opportunity by bringing up one of the most divisive issues separating Samaritans Jews from their Orthodox Jewish cousins: that being the issue of the place of worship being in Jerusalem versus Mount Gerizim. (verse 20)

Well, Master was more concerned about exploring with this woman and her community, the issue of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahuah than that of the supposed center of Jewish worship. But since she asked, Master wanted to quickly set the record straight: (1) your system of worship is not of Yahuah; (2) true worship of the Creator of the Universe is practiced by orthodox Jews. I, Yeshua, am an orthodox Jew and being an orthodox Jew, salvation comes from the orthodox Jewish system—not the Samaritan, Gentile-influenced system of man made religion—and certainly not the Pharisaic system. But since I’m here in Samaria speaking to you, let’s just get this one sticking point out of the way. Samaritan Judaism is a bunch of crock and always has been. (Verse 22)

Master continues on: But I will tell you this much: in just a short time, worship of Yahuah our Elohim, will not be based on the physical location of the worship center. (verse 21) You see, something is coming and something big is about to happen that will turn the religious world upside down on its head. Worship of the Creator of the Universe will take on a form unknown to man up to this point, but certainly foreseen and prophesied by some of Yahuah’s most anointed prophets of old. (Ezekiel 11; 36; Jeremiah 31) Worship is going to transition from that of rote-mechanical adherence to a set of ordinances, regulations and statutes; away from a physical location on this planet; over to the individual worshiper. (verse 23) No longer will the true worshiper of Yahuah be required to worship in any one location. There’s coming a day when the true worshiper can go into his or her closet and worship the Father directly, without need for all the trappings of a temple and the intercession of men acting as priest. Worship will transition from an outward show reverence and praise and petition and penitence to that of an inward, genuine show of love, reverence, peace, praise and the seeking of forgiveness. This new form of worship will be energized and driven by the Spirit of the Creator of the Universe that will be deposited into each worshiper’s heart, mind and soul. No longer will the worshiper have to seek forgiveness from the Creator by going through a frail, sinful man who offers up the life of an animal each time you sin. No longer will it be impossible for you resist sin which puts up a barrier between you and Abba. For Abba is going to perform a work in every genuine believer that will elevate him and her to a place where true worship can happen—not some dead, meaningless attempt at communing with the Creator. But true worship. Face to face with the Creator of the Universe.

No longer will someone have to write-up prayers for us to recite and vainly attempt to communicate with the Creator. No longer will we have to struggle blindly in the dark, reaching out to an illusive God, hoping to touch His Face, but never coming close enough to Him to do so. No longer will thousands of lambs, goats and bulls need be killed because you can’t stop sinning. No longer do you have to show up smelling like a fire sale before the nostrils of the Creator. You will be cleaned up, you will be able to commune with me on a level that makes the old way seem as though it never existed.

No doubt flummoxed by all that Master revealed to her, she sense that this prophet that sat before her at Jacob’s well was not just any prophet. This was a visitation unlike any she could ever conceive of. “Maybe all that which you’ve just spoken to me is true,” she responds to Master. “But it is well known that Mashiyach is coming some day. And when Mashiyach comes, He’s going to sort all this stuff out as it relates to the true place of worship of Yahuah. He will set everything straight.” (verse 25)

And this is where the story peaks: Yeshua says to her—My dear, who do you think you’re speaking to? It’s me! I’m Mashiyach. I’m the one you’re referencing. Yes, I’m here to set all things straight. Woman, rejoice. Indeed, this is the time of your visitation. Your life will never be the same from this point forward. (verse 26)

Stuck at the Base of Mount Sinai

When will we realize and embrace our visitation? When will we ever leave the base of Mount Sinai: struggling to understand the Creator of the Universe; haughty; stiff-necked; carnal; inwardly focused; stuck in the flesh; unable to live Torah the way Father always intended us to live it.

Friends, I believe we should have spiritually left Mount Sinai when Master Yeshua initiated the renewed covenant and ushered in the Gospel of the Kingdom. Yet, so many of us never left that mountain. We are stuck, focused on a mechanical, rote obedience to Torah less any power and workings of the Holy Spirit.

Master revealed to the Samaritan woman that because our Creator is a Spirit, it is essential that believers worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. What is Spirit? It’s the Spirit of the Most High, operating in our lives and molding our spirit to be in complete sync with the Spirit of Yahuah. The writer of Hebrews reiterated the prophecy that was given to the Prophet Jeremiah regarding the renewed covenant and it reads as follows:

“For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says Yahuah, when I will effect a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah; not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says Yahuah. For this is the covenant that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, says Yahuah: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach everyone His fellow citizen and everyone His brother, saying, “Know Yahuah; for all will know me, for the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrew 8:8-13; NAS adjusted)

This is speaking to the Houses of Judah and Israel specifically. However, we have ready access to the benefits of this renewed covenant whereby Abba’s Word can be written in our minds and upon our hearts. But there’s little evidence of this having ever taken place among many of the members of our community. We should not be so worried about one another in terms of how we keep Torah and splitting hairs about the nuances of Torah. We should not be harboring hatred and anger towards one another if indeed the Ruach Kodesh is dwelling within us. We have been freed from the cold, lifelessness of religion and carnality. Sickness should not be named among any members of our body; poverty should not be plaguing the members of the body; peace and joy should be the mainstay between members of the body; many sons and daughters should be flooding into the body on a regular basis. Why isn’t this stuff happening in the true Body of Messiah? I’ll tell you why: because we’re still stuck at the base of Mount Sinai to this very day. We’ve not left the base of that mountain and we’ve not embraced the indwelling, the power and the might of Abba’s precious Ruach HaKodesh.

What is this Truth that Master spoke to the woman at the well about? Truth is the Word of Yahuah—specifically Torah. The writer of Psalm 119: 142 wrote:

“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law (i.e., thy Torah) is the truth.” (KJV)

So what then is Master saying in His statement regarding the true worshipers worshiping Yahuah in Spirit and in Truth? Essentially Master is saying that true worship comes through Spirit-filled Torah-living—plain and simple. That’s it. It is now time that Hebrew Roots embraces Spirit-filled-Torah-living and stop pussy-footing around. We’ve wasted enough time as it is. And there is no more crucial a time such as this whereby we absolutely must adopt full on spirit-filled-Torah-living.

With that, I will bid you a warm and blessed Shalom. Until next time fellow Saints in Training.

Spiritual Transfer of Power–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode-78

by | Jan 25, 2017 | Blog, Podcasts

Spiritual Transfer of Power–Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode-78

“Finally my brethren, be strong in Yahuah and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of Yah that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world; against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of yah, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the Besorah (the Gospel) of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of yeshu’ah (salvation), the sword of the Ruach (the Spirit), which is the Word of Yahuah: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Ruach and watching therefore unto with all perseverance and supplication for all qodeshiym.” (Ephesians 6:10-18, Cepher, adjusted by me)

President Donald Trump

Many believers have placed their trust in President Donald J. Trump over Yahuah.

   The Peaceful Transference of Power

I found parallels to last week’s historic installation/inauguration of the 45th-president of these United States, Donald J. Trump and something that has become very near and dear to me over course of the last week–searching after Abba’s power in my life to overcome some personal challenges (in other words, I needed a transference of power from Abba to me).

With the swearing in of President Trump this past Friday (and even weeks and months prior to his inauguration), we in the public kept hearing talk about “a peaceful transference of power” being a fundamental and essential aspect of our democratic system.

Talk of the Spiritual an Affront to Many

Talk of the spiritual is often viewed as an affront to many in our Faith community. I suspect it is likely the result of charismatic churchianity’s heavy emphasis on the spiritual and their perverted doctrine of grace.

My point here is not to advocate that we Netsarim adopt such charismatic practices as slaying folks in the Spirit, laughing uncontrollably or making animal sounds. Such practices do not appear to be biblically sound at all.

A New Era of Spiritual Activity in the World

We’ve entered into an unprecedented time of spiritual activity, almost exclusively from the evil end of the spiritual spectrum. This is clearly seen in the high degree of:

  • Personal attacks
  • Anger (unwarranted anger)
  • Violence
  • Hatred
  • Lying
  • Warmongering/saber rattling
  • divisiveness
  • racism

President Donald Trump-The Christian’s 21st Century Savior?

Many in our Faith community, even throughout large segments of churchianity, have placed a great deal hope and future trust in President Donald Trump. Is this hope and trust misplaced? According to Scripture it most certainly is.

“Trust not in princes nor in the children of men in whom there is no safety.” (Psm. 146:3, LXX)

“It is better to trust in Yahuah than to put confidence in humans.” (Psm. 118:8, QBE, adjusted by me)

Our Battles Have Only Just Begun Despite Trump Being Elected

Why am I reflecting upon the topic of “Spiritual Transfer of Power?”

I’ve experienced some recent personal attacks that I believe to be of supernatural origin. Furthermore, I have concerns for the future of our nation and our Faith community. Why? I’m seeing what’s going on in the world today (i.e., the violence, hatred, evil and divisiveness).

We are at war with an unseen enemy.

We are at war. We require the power of Yahuah to effectively wage this war.

We Are At War!

We are in a war. I believe that we’ve been in a war for quite some time. That war is ramping up and is only going to get worse in the days, months and if Master tarries, years to come.

Our war–our true fight–is not against humans/men/flesh and blood. Our war is against unseen powers that are spiritual in nature.

The enemy is obviously ramping up his assault on the elect. He is doing something in the world today, the knowledge of which is unknown to mankind. Nevertheless, the enemy has a purpose and an endgame in mind. That purpose and endgame is anti-man and anti-Messiah and anti-Creator. Whether we want it or not, we have been drafted into the armies of Messiah. We are at war against an unseen enemy.

At Lot is at Stake

How do we defeat the enemy when the enemy is spiritual in nature? How do we survive the present and future onslaught of the enemy? There is a lot at stake in this war:

  • Our commission and discipleship is at stake.
  • Our Faith community is at stake.

We are Sorely Ill-Prepared

Unfortunately, our Faith community is sorely ill-prepared for spiritual warfare for the reasons stated above. Why?

  • We focus too much on Torah while ignoring the spiritual aspects of our day-to-day walk in Messiah.
  • We tend to be angry, untrusting people who fail to show the love of Messiah to the world.
  • We trust too much in our teachers and overseers, looking for the latest Torah revelation. All the while, there is a war ragging about us. Sadly, we go through our lives each day ill-equipped and ignorant of the war being waged around us.
  • We lack spiritual objectives and purpose in our lives and in our walk with Messiah.
  • Our movement, although likely still growing, has become stagnant. Yet, fundamental Christianity is losing/bleeding members each year. Ironically, we’re seeing more and more rejection and marginalization of our community when we should be attracking those who’ve abandoned fundamentalism.

Ephesians 6:10

“Finally my brethren, be strong in Yahuah and in the power of His might.” (Cepher)

  • “Finally”–here Shaul is saying, henceforth (from this point forward; starting today; from now on…)
  • “brethren”–most manuscripts and translations have omitted this term
  • “be strong”–that is to be “empowered” –“endunamoo” which is a passive form of dunamis
  • “power”–that is in the strength–“kratos”
  • “might”–that is Yahuah’s strength–“ischus”

We Need Father’s Strength More Today Than Ever

I contend that we need Yahuah’s strength–His power–in our lives. We need Father’s Strength and His Power in order to properly walk this walk and to defend ourselves against the enemy. It’s not a stretch to think that we need Father’s power to wage an assault against the enemy (if and when we are instructed to do so by the Ruach.

The questions then become: why (why do we need it?); what (what is this power that Paul/Shaul speaks of in his letter to the Ephesian Assembly?); where (where do we find this power?); how (how do we harness this power?).

This reflection is the result of my journey through Scripture as it relates to this topic. It is NOT based upon any past or present popular dogma or denominational positions on spiritual warfare.

What is this Power that Paul is Writing About?

The power of the resurrection.

The power we have access raise Master from the dead.

Let’s start with what: what is this power?

It is the same power/force that swept us up on eagles’ wings, rescuing us years of bitter bondage in Egypt .

Exodus 19:4–“You have seen what I did unto the Mitsriym (i.e., the Egyptians) and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and guard my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: For all the earth is mine: and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. ” (Cepher)

“…that the law of Yahuah may be in your mouth, for with a powerful hand Yahuah brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.” (Exodus 13:9, 10; NAS)

Here Yahuah is referring to the Feast of Unleavened Bread/Matsah. The point in this is that we were instructed to pass on to our posterity why we kept Unleavened Bread throughout every generation. The reason should include that the power of Yahuah freed us from the mightiest miliatary nation on the earth at that time. It was not by our own hand that we were freed from hard bondage.

The power of Yahuah delivers us.

Yahuah’s power delivers us from bondage unto salvation.

As we are today: many of us are in bondage to sin, strongholds and various life situations. That same power that freed us from Egyptian bondage can free us from the bondage of sin that besets us and hinders our walk with Messiah.

“And Moshe entreated (he besought; he implored; he pleaded with Father) Adonai his God and said, “O Yahuah, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power (in Hebrew: koach) and with a mighty arm?”” (Exodus 32:11, QBE)

“Yet they are your people and your inheritance which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.” (Deuteronomy 9:29, QBE)

“He (Yahuah) showed us the power (i.e., the koach; the power conferred by Yah according to BDB Lexicon) of His works.” (Psalm 111:6, NAS)

It is that same power/force that Yeshua tapped during His earthly ministry where He spoke with authority (the exousia of His Father), healed the sick, fed the hungry, prophesied and raised the dead, etc. (reference: Matthew 9:8; 10:1; 28:18; Mark 2:10; 3:15; 6:7).

Yeshua was imbued with both exousia (authority) and dunamis (power and strength) that comes only from Abba Father (reference Mark 14:62; Luke 1:35; 4:14, 36; 5:17).

Yeshua passed along that power and authority to His disciples. In doing so, Yeshua’s disciples were able to achieve the greatest of exploits

“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power (dunamis) and authority (exousia) over all devils and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1, KJV)

With the dunamis of Yahuah comes the added bonus of authority. Why? Because you can’t ply His power in the earth (His dunamis) without His authority (His exousia).

“Behold, I give you authority (exousia) to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power (the dunamis) of the enemy…” (Luke 10:19; NAS)

It is that same power/force that raised our Master from the grave and exalted Him in heavenly places, high above all earthly, and even heavenly, powers (Philippians 2:9-11).

“I pray that He will give light to the eyes of your hearts so that you will understand the hope to which He has called you; what rich glories there are in the inheritance He has promised His people and how surpassingly great His power (His “dunamis”) working in us who trust Him. It works with the same mighty strength He used when He worked in the Messiah to raise Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heaven, far above every ruler, authority, power, dominion or any other name that can be named, either in the olam hazeh (that is: this world) or in the olam habah (that is: the world to come).” (Ephesians 1:18-21; CJB)

This is the power we need to overcome the enemy and this evil and perverted world.

The translating power of Yahuah.

The power of Yahuah will raise us up to meet Master at the last trump.

It is that same resurrecting power that will raise us up in the end times as Shaul has taught:

“Yahuah raised up the Master, and He will raise us up too by His power (His dunamis).” (I Corinthians 6:14; NAS)

Later on Shaul comments about the resurrecting power of Abba:

“It is sown (speaking of this mortal body being placed in the grave) in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power (in dunamis).” (I Corinthians 15:43; NAS/ESV)

All indications are that our new bodies will be permanently infused with this same dunamis that took us out of Egypt; empowered Yeshua to do His work; and that raised Him from the grave. Why do we shy away from that power today? Why do we in Hebrew Roots reject anything having to do with the workings of the Ruach and the dunamis of Yahuah? Clearly, with such awesome power at our disposal, I can’t help but think demons stand no chance against us.

And it is that same power/force that empowered and filled the apostles and saints on the Temple Mount that Pentecost morning, 2,000-years ago, and effectively turned the world upside down from that point forward in history.

“And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power (dunamis) from on high.” (Luke 24:49; ESV)

Why Should We Concern Ourselves with Talk of a Transference of Power

Why? Why should we concern ourselves with seeking a transference of power from Yah to our lives?

“For now I will stretch forth my hand and smite thee and kill thy people, and thou shalt be consumed from off the earth. And for this purpose hast thou been preserved that I might display in thee my strength (My “koach”), and that my name might be published in all the earth.” (Exodus 9: 15-17, LXX)

“Then he (an angel conversing with Zechariah) answered and spake unto me saying, “This is the word of Yahuah unto Zerubbabel saying, “Not by might, nor by power (koach), but by My Spirit (My Ruach) saith Yahuah of Hosts (tsaba’ot).”” (Zechariah 4:6; KJV, adjusted by me)

Our natural, physical and cognitive powers (or koach) are totally ineffective against the enemy and the world. Most times, the problems facing us require the Ruach of Yahuah and His associated power (His koach) in order to over them.

The enemy possesses great power as well and in our carnal selves, we are absolutely no match to stand up to him and his minions. Master instructed and informed us:

“If you love me, guard My commandments. And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even the Ruach of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him. For He dwells with you (He already dwells within those of us who are His)–He dwells with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:15-18; Cepher)

Shaul warned of the enemy:

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of hasatan with all power and false signs and wonders.” (II Thessalonian 2:9; ESV, adjusted by me). (Further references: Revelation 13:2)

If not to defend against assaults from the enemy or assault the enemy in spiritual warfare, we still have a job to do. That job requires power from on high if we intend to be effective in our call:

“…the Ruach Koesh will come upon you and you will be my witnesses...” (Acts 1:8b, ESV)

The apostles were given great power (dunamis) from the Master though the infilling of the Ruach Kodesh such that they would become the most effective witnesses of the Gospel ever to walk this planet (Acts 4:33; 6:8; 8:10)

Regarding the work, mere words are often insufficient to deliver the gospel. When it comes to the spiritually oppressed and the enemy inhibiting the spread of the true gospel, Father’s power is necessary to accomplish the mission set before us:

“…my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Ruach and of power (dunamis) so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power (dunamis) of Yah.” (I Corinthians 2:4, 5; NAS, corrected by me)

Shaul comments on work of the Gospel:

“For the kingdom of God does not consist of words but in power.” (I Corinthians 4:20′ MAS)

It’s all spiritual in nature

The great Bible scholar Matthew Henry, in his commentary on the whole Bible wrote concerning the need for Yah’s spiritual power:

“…constancy in our Christian course and to encourage in our Christian warfare…for we struggle with the common calamities of human life…we struggle with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies who would keep us from Yahuah and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves. Finally, my brethren, it yet remains that you apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers.”

We can’t fully do this walk on our own strength–I can surely attest to that. And anyone who tells you that you can, is probably not quite with it in terms of a clear understanding of what they’ve signed up for in this walk of ours. Without Father’s help through His Ruach and the power that He has made available to us, we stand  a great chance of faltering time and time again. Not to mention, getting our individual clocks cleaned by the enemy every time the opportunity comes for them to reek havoc in our lives from a spiritual perspective. We are all soldiers in a war unlike any that mankind has and will ever know: spiritual warfare. We cannot stand on our own against the supernatural and go toe to toe with the enemy. We are weak and feeble. Thus, we must rely completely upon the strength of Yahuah’s might.

Matthew Henry continues:

“Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of Yah…By the actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare.” 

Speaking of why he left a life of privilege and influence to pursue and deliver the gospel, Shaul wrote to the Philippian Assembly:

“Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him, that is, to know the power (dunamis) of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings as I am being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10; CJB)

Most of all, we need Father’s power to endure these present times. Shaul taught his apprentice, the young evangelist Timothy:

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves (sound like today?); cov etous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection; truce breakers (i.e., irreconcilable; unappeasable; implacable), false accusers; incontinent (i.e., without self-control); fierce, despisers (i.e., haters) of those that are good (again, sound familiar with what is going on out in our nation’s streets?). Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power (the dunamis) thereof; from such, turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:2; KJV)

Where do we find this power?

Where? Where do we find this power?

“Both riches and honor come from You and You rule over all and in Your hand is power (koach) and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.” (I Chronicles 29:12, NAS)

“O Yah. You are awesome from Your sancturay. The God of Israel gives strength and power (taatsumah–strength and abundant might; vigor) to the people.” (Psalm 68:35, NAS)

“The One who gives might (koach) to the faint (yaeph, to mean weary) will make power (otsmah, meaning full power) abound in those without strength (on, meaning the powerless)” (Isaiah 40:29, QBE)

“I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by my great power (koach) and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.” (Jeremiah 27:5, NAS)

Would it stand to reason that Yahuah gives His power to those who possess an obedient, pure and contrite heart and spirit? Are not such the individuals who get Yahuah’s attention and who please Abba the most?

The source of this power is the Ruach Kodesh that Master promised:

“But you will receive power (dunamis) when the Ruach Kodesh has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8; ESV)

Many come into the Faith once delivered as a result of the workings of Yahuah’s power and might as did Shaul, which He beautifully shared with the Thessalonian Assembly. For Shaul, his acceptance of the gospel was much much more than mere words, or an exercise in cognitive reasoning, or for that matter, a leap of faith:

“For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power (dunamis) and in the Ruach Kodesh and with much conviction…” (I Thessalonian 1:5; NAB, adjusted by me)

If not to wage war against the enemy, delivering the gospel to a sick, dying and perverted world often requires supernatural abilities as Shaul taught his apprentice, the young evangelist Timothy:

” For Yah gave us a Spirit who produces NOT timidity, but power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7; CJB)

How do we Harness this Power in our Lives?

How? How do we harness this power in our lives

In her “It’s Not as You Perceive” podcast program, as it relates to accessing and harnessing Abba’s power, my wife Hilary Thomas stated:

“When you move from self to the realm of Yah, you experience His strength.”

When we are at a point in our relationship with Father that we start to chip away self from our life-equation, and start to build upon a firm foundation of Yahuah’s Spirit taking over our lives; and that Spirit starts infusing every fiber of our being, then we can fully access and harness that power. An example of this can be seen in the writings of Paul to the Assembly in Corinth. In that epistle, Paul speaks of a time when He approached Master on 3-occasions to be healed of his infirmities. Master responded to Shaul’s petition:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power (my dunamis) is made perfect in weakness (Greek for “astheneia” meaning infirmity). Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power (dunamis) of Messiah may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9; ESV)

Self-denial; total reliance upon Father and the work of Yeshua HaMashiyach is a prerequisite in receiving the Father’s power (dunamis) and authority.

I would say also, although Shaul does not actually say so in this cited passage, that we harness Abba’s power through the following:

(1) stay on the straight and narrow and warn those who are heading down the path towards destruction;

(2) comfort those who don’t know any better and who are in need of our help in matters where we may be of assistance to them;

(3) we exercise the patience of Job when it comes to relationships with one another;

(4) that we do not render evil for evil;

(5) we always seek after that which is good, in every aspect of our lives;

(6) rejoice in Yahuah always–in good times and in bad times;

(7) pray without ceasing;

(8) give thanks to Yahuah in all things;

(9) that we not ever stifle/extinguish/make sad the Ruach Kodesh operating in our lives;

(10) that we not reject prophesyings;

(11) we stay buried in the Word such that we are able to prove all things and hold fast to that which is of our heavenly Father; and

(12) that we avoid at all costs any appearances of evil in our lives (I Thessalonian 5:14-22).

When we find this power, what do we do with it?

Then What? When we find this power, what do we do with it?

“But as for me, I am filled with power (filled with koach) by the Spirit (the Ruach) of Yahuah, and with judgment and might; to declare unto Jacob his transgression (his pesha or his rebellion) and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8, QBE)

We must be poised to deliver the Gospel to a dying, sick, perverted world and making disciples for Yeshua Messiah. We thus require Abba’s power to effectively carry out this responsibility.

As it relates to resisting temptations and overcoming strongholds, Yahuah’s power is crucial. Matthew Henry wrote:

“Resist temptations through a reliance of Yah’s all sufficiency and the ominipotence of His might.”

This is most eloquently stated by Shaul in his writings to the Corinthian Assembly where he declared that which Matthew Henry declared:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through Yah to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of yah and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of HaMashiyach. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Cepher)

This is crucial to our mission; to our spiritual health; to our very lives and being. We must seek after, find, take possession of and employ Yahuah’s power in our lives.

The Whole Armor of God

With Father’s power now operational in our lives, we must then put on the whole armor of God and stand (Ephesians 6:11, 13)–stand against the wiles of the devil and don’t let the enemy take one inch of territory. He is a liar and a loser and his end is certain. As Yahuah’s elect, we should be the biggest problem the enemy faces here on earth. In part, that is why he is going to wage a final frontal assault upon us (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 13:7).

At some point, the enemy, contrary to popular teaching, will prevail against us. Many of us will lose our heads (literally) for the sake of the gospel and at the hands of the enemy. But I say: not before we give him hell! We can achieve that through Abba’s power. In the end, Father will avenge us and we will be raised victorious and reign with Master Yahoshua for a 1,000-years.

Faithfully Submitted

Rod Thomas

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Falling in Love with Christmas all Over Again-Part 2–STAR-75

by | Dec 25, 2016 | Blog, Podcasts

Falling in Love with Christmas all Over Again-Part 2–STAR-75

KJV  Jeremiah 10:1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.  3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. 6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. (Jer 10:1-6 KJV)

This is Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode 75–Falling in Love with Christmas All Over Again–Part 2

Shalom

As I am drafting, recording and publishing this episode, we find ourselves at the 25th Day of the 9th Biblical Month which for many in our Hebrew Roots Community (and much of the Jewish world) is the first day of the 8-day celebration of Hanukkah. For the rest of the western world, today is also Christmas, the fulcrum of this episode.
“I hate, I despise your feast days and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your  meat offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols. But let judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Yisra’el? But ye have borne  the tabernacle of your Molek and Kiyun your images, the star of your elohiym, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says Yahuah, whose name is The Elohiym Tseva’ot.” (Amos 5:21-27, Cepher)

Punishment for Syncretism

This did actually occur to the House of Yisra’el between the years 710-703 BCE. The question I have to ask is: what will be the punishment to our Hebrew Roots Community? I’ll reflect upon this in just a moment.
Amos was a shepherd from Judah who’s prophetic ministry was to the House of Israel. House of Israel’s syncretism had become extremely troubling to Father. So much so that He sent prophet after prophet to warn House of Israel of their pending doom if they did not turn from their wicked ways. The Bible has, in addition to revealing Father and His holy ways to us, been given to us to learn from the mistakes of those who’ve gone on before us. Yet generation after generation of people who have been exposed to the truth in one form or another, fail to heed the examples of those who have chosen to follow after hasatan and his ways.

Just Like Our Daddies and Mommies

This historical problem can’t be any more serious than for us in Hebrew Roots. We should have come out of the darkness of religion, into Abba’s marvelous light and remained there:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: Which in times past were not a people but are now the people of Yahuah: which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (I Peter2:9,10; Cepher)
Allow me to continue with readings from the Word of Yahuah:
“Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devours the stubble and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the Torah of Yahuah Tseva’ot and despised the Word of the Holy One of Yisra’el. Therefore is the anger of Yahuah kindled against His people and He has stretched forth His hand against them and has smitten them: and the hills did tremble and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still.” (Isaiah 5:20-25, Cepher)
“Therefore seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of Yahuah deceitfully, but by manifestation of the Truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of Yahuah. But if our Besorah be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the eloah of this world has bllinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Besorah of Hamashiach who is the image of Yahuah should shine unto them.” (II Corinthians 4:1-4, Cepher)

The Problem Restated

In episode 74 or the first part of this Thoughts and Reflections, I introduced the problem of members of our community that contend there is no true evidence linking Christmas to paganism. As a result, several influential members of our Faith community are advocating a return to Christmas keeping for those of us who once rejected the horror-day.

Examples of this are seen in David Jesse’s 9-part blog series on Christmas that was posted last year (http://davidsjesse.com/tag/christmas/) and Torah Babies (www.torahbabies.com).

Zachary Bauer Takes a Stand Against Christmas

As I mentioned in episode 74, I had not at all intended to reflect on the topic of Christmas. I believed our community was well versed in the dubious history and distinctions of Christmas. There was not reason to beat the drum on that topic again. At least, not until I came across Zachary Bauer’s YouTube debate and follow-up posts on the issue ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnTmOOgpYF8) and his post entitled: “See, I Told You So” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTS3tUJAJrE)

Zachary Bauer confronts pro-Christmas Hebrew Rooters

Zachary Bauer takes a stand against Christmas in our Community.

In the first video, Zachary engaged a fellow who chose not to seen on the video and who chose to go only by his first name. In that debate, Zachary’s debate opponent kept hammering home the idea that there is no proof in the Bible on in secular history that Christmas is of pagan origin. Zachary’s opponent considers himself an apologist. In the second video, Zachary reported that members of our Hebrew Roots community have jumped on the “we can’t prove Christmas is pagan” bandwagon and are encouraging others to start keeping Christmas.

Falling in Love with Christmas all Over Again

Many contend there is no pagan roots to Christmas. Thus Hebrew Rooters are Falling in love with Christmas all over again.

What the Big Deal?

Look: from my perspective, I can care less if anyone, be they members of our community or not, keep Christmas. As far as I’m concerned, that’s their business. The issue is between them and Yahuah. Where I take issue is the efforts that these influential Hebrew Roots people have undertaken: to sway members of our community to abandon the fundamental position that Christmas is not something that Netsarim should be keeping. For obvious reasons.
Personally, I see these individuals’ actions as extremely dangerous and harmful to our community. Paul wrote:
“I pray you could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with a righteous jealousy: for I have espoused you to one man, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to HaMashiach. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Chuah (aka: Eve) through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in HaMashiach. For if he that comes preaches another Yahusha whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another ruach, which ye have not received, or another Besorah (gospel), which ye have not accepted, you might well bear with him. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (II Corinthians 11:1-6, Cepher)

There are Problems When we Compromise on Christmas

I see several problems associated with this present trend in our community:
Not only are those that encourage a pro-Christmas agenda deceived, their rhetoric (i.e., there is no proof that Christmas is pagan) in and of itself has the great potential of deceiving. We all know that “hasatan deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) through his lies and his mechanism well orchestrated assault on the truth (John 8:44).
Our community has been renown for resisting the natural tendency to compromise our Faith at all levels. Sadly, the present-day efforts to certify Christmas as a benign holiday for all to keep because there is no proof that paganism is linked to Christmas, has only opened the door to compromise in our community. Paul wrote to the Galatian assembly the following:
” I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Mashiach unto another Besorah: which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Besorah of HaMashiach. But thought we or an angel from heaven, preach any other Besorah unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other Besorah unto you than that you have have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or Yahuah? (Compromise?) or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Mashiach. But I certify you, brethren, that the Besorah which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Yahusha HaMashiach.” (Galatians 1:6-12, Cepher)

 Compromise: The Bain of a Believer’s Existence

When we elect to compromise on Christmas, based upon a lame argument that there’s no proof that Christmas is of pagan origin, we violate the commandments of Yahweh. Mosheh admonished us as follows:
“Guard and hear all these words which I command you, thta it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of Yahuah Elohayka. When Yahuah Elohayka shall cut off the nations from before you, whithere you go to possess them, and you succeed them, and dwell in their land: take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you. And that you inquire not after their elohiym, saying, “How did these nations serve their elohiym?” even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so unto Yahuah Elohayka for every abomination to Yahuah, which He hates, have they done unto their elohiym, for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their elohiym. What thing soever I command you, guard to do it. You shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:28-32, Cepher)

Circumstantial Evidence Suggests a Pagan-Christmas Link

I would think anyone in our community that holds to a belief that Christmas and Easter is not of pagan origin, is extremely deceived. 19th Century Scottish Anthropologist Sir James George Frazer wrote of Christmas and other Christianized pagan holidays in his book “The Golden Bough” wrote:
“Taken altogether, the coincidences of the Christian (aka Catholic) feasts with the heathen festivals are too close and too numerous to be accidental. They mark the compromise which the church in the hour of its triumph was compelled to make with the vanquished yet still dangerous rivals. The inflexible Protestantism of the primitive missionaries, with the fiery denunciation of heathendom, had been exchanged for the supple policy, the easy tolerance, the comprehensive charity of shrewd ecclesiastics, who clearly perceived that if Christianity (again, Catholicism) was to conquer the world it could do so only by relaxing the too rigid principles of the Founder, by widening a little the narrow gate which leads to salvation.”
 The erroneous position that the pro-Christmas Hebrew Rooters are taking ignores even secular understandings of the pagan origins of Christmas. At the very least, it has been widely established that Christmas has ties to the Roman mid-winter festival Saturnalia, which was celebrated for centuries prior to Yeshua Messiah’s birth. (Fred Coulter, 2016) Ultimately, Saturnalia was “branded “Christian” by the Catholic Church in order to appease heathen converts who refused to give up their pagan ways. Over time the Christianized” festival, including December 25th, became associated with Yeshua’s birth.” (F. Coulter, 2016) Never mind the fact that the first century saints kept only the festivals commanded by Yahovah in Leviticus 23 as evidenced in various ancient writings by the so-called Church Fathers.
Furthermore, when we compromise on this issue because we choose to go with what men are saying as it relates to a lack of proof, are we not denying the Ruach’s testimony within each of us that declares the Christmas’ pagan ties. We deny the Ruach’s operation in our Faith Community by turning to human opinion, leading and understanding as opposed to the opinion, leading and discernment of Abba Father.

When We Compromise on Christmas We Trust Man Over the Creator on the Issue

Our trusting faith (a requirement to be a true Child of the Most High) is compromised. (“It is impossible to please Father without Faith”–Hebrews 11:6) Our Godly discernment is blunted. When this happens, we start to fall for everything. What’s next folks: keeping of halloween, easter, all saints day, lent, etc.? We simply become disobedient children that are now eligible for punishment just as our forefather’s experienced. We fail to imitate the example of our Older Brother and Mashiyach Yeshua.
When we compromise on this issue because we choose to go with what men are saying as it relates to a lack of proof, we empower the enemy and provide him the win that he needs to disrupt our work in the Kingdom. The enemy disrupts our unity and fellowships by inserting confusion and chaos. Our Father is a God of order and not chaos. This pro-Christmas agenda causes members of our community, especially the newbies in the Faith once delivered, to stumble.

Judgment May Come to Hebrew Roots

I fear judgment is coming to our Community is we continue down this road. It is only a matter of time before we, as a community, compromise in other areas of our Faith. If this trend continues on to the next area or issue and we compromise on that, and so-on and so-on, we will become like our cousins in churchianity. We don’t need that. For when Master returns, He will be looking for Faith, which even He questioned finding before He left us.
“I tell you that He will avenge them speedily (speaking of Father). Nevertheless when the Son of Adam comes, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8, Cepher)

 The Bottom Line on Christmas

My bottom line thoughts and reflections on this matter Saints is this: This controversy has the potential of spiritually, reputation-wise, and witness-wise of setting our Faith Community back for many years. It has the potential of dividing us even more so than we have been for decades. I can only hope, trust and pray that this does not happen. Surely, there is enough “circumstantial evidence” to conclude that Christmas is of pagan origin, regardless what some in our community erroneously contend.

Stand Firm on the Truth

For those of us who will uncompromisingly stand for Truth, let us stand; let us stand strong and unshaken. Paul counseled that after we’ve put on the full armor of our Elohim such that we may withstand the evil days that are upon us. After having done everything else within our power to combat evil and falsehoods and persecutions, that we simply “histayme”–stand! (Ephesians 6:13)

We’re In a Sifting Phase

We must not forget that principle that a Facebook friend wrote to me in the midst of me being told that my position on Christmas is baseless: “This whole thing is simply a “sifting process.” As hard as it is to recognize this simple principle, at the end of the day, she’s absolutely right. Whatever issue or position those who claim to be of our community try to get over on us, we must remain strong and histayme (stand) on the Truth. There may not be much that we can do beyond that apart from praying for those who have been misled and or are being misled by their rhetoric. In the end, those who do not stand resolute for the Truth and who fail to execute the faith that is necessary to please Abba (Hebrews 11:6) will be purged from among us:
KJV  Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. (Psa 1:4 KJV)
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Hos 13:3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections on the Issue of Christmas Keeping

Allow me to end this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections which to me is one of the most touching passages ever penned and recorded in the Holy Writ. It was Moshe’s parting admonishment to his successor Yahoshua as he ceremoniously passed the torch to him to lead us into the promised land:
 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Jos 1:6-9 KJV)
For those of you who observe and keep Hanukkah, have a blessed, safe and warm Hanukkah. For those of you who do not but simply are keeping the Faith once delivered to the first century Saints by Yahoshua HaMashiyach and His anointed Apostles, Shabbat Shalom; Shavuatov; and may you be most blessed fellow saints in training.
Faithfully submitted, your brother in the Truth Faith once delivered: I’m Rod Thomas

 

Hollywood and Atheism

by | Aug 25, 2016 | Blog

Hollywood and Atheism

Atheism is Alive and Well in Hollywood

I came across an article the other day that just solidifies for me how shallow some of the more elite of us are in our western society. When it comes down to the question of “do you believe in God?” I elected not to recite for you the names of said elitists. I don’t want to glorify those who would take a stand or side against our Creator. Some of the reasons these elitists gave for not believing in God had hostile overtones. My purpose here is to share with you the mindset we’re up against as active members of our shared Faith.

"Surprise!

It is a fair bet that the fans of these paragons of all that is “cool” and “desirable” in our culture and society, adopt the mindset of their idols. Sadly, these elitists and those who adopt their atheistic worldview are misled “fools.” The great King of Israel David wrote: “The fool has said in his heart there is no God. They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.” (Psalm 14:1, NASB) What David is saying here is that with so many infallible proofs to the Creator’s existence, how can any person question God’s existence. And when you are blessed with tremendous responsibility (such as being a celebrity), you are expected to be a role model. You are prohibited from leading your followers astray.

Needless to say, I was especially ticked off when I read this article. I was outraged by the arrogance that some of these individuals proudly displayed in expressing their disbelief.

So as a means of therapy for my outrage over these folks’ statements against my God, I felt that I might as well air these foolish reasons for not believing in the existence of the Creator.

Homosexuality

The first celebrity declared he was an atheist because he was angry that the Creator was “homophobic.” Father is “homophobic” so I just won’t believe in Him. I’ll show Him mentality. Well, for me, that celebrity certainly showed his true colors in more ways than one. And I would even submit that this individual’s gripe is not against the Creator but with him self. And that is sad.

A Question of Baptism

The second celebrity had an issue with Christianity as it is portrayed in the New Testament. This individual specifically had an issue with baptism, which I found to be quite strange. But whatever. This individual throws out there that if he finds that he’s wrong about God’s existence, then he would be fine with being committed to a fiery abyss. All I say to that is: live, drink, be merry because if you don’t get this sorted out, you just might get what you believe will happen to you.

Knowledge Over Faith Every Time

The next celebrity had more of a rational take on the question of the Creator’s existence. He and another polled celebrity elected to side with intellect. They asserted that the knowledge that mankind has accumulated over the course of his existence has replaced any need for belief in a sovereign God. Well, I would say that I respect this perspective more than any of the previously stated perspectives and the perspectives to come.

The second celebrity who appealed to intellect cited that religion can not be proved while science is provable. Interestingly, isn’t it the Creator who created the laws of the universe which embody science? But I would venture to guess that most of these intellectual types do not realize this which in my mind questions their level of intellect. I believe that most denials of God’s existence are based upon emotion and ego. I do realize that knowledge, although one of the greatest gifts from the Creator, has the potential of being used to deny the existence of Father.

Faith in God is a Waste of Time

The next celebrity asserted that belief in a sovereign God is a waste of life. Okay. I guess that accumulating fame and fortune is a much better use of one’s life. At least those who are the elite of our society enjoy in this life a life of pleasure, comfort, etc. Yet these have no real sense of security when it comes to the day they close their eyes for the last time and they cease to exist as a living being on this planet. Then what?

The Bible is Offensive

The next celebrity is simply offended by the Bible? I guess that’s as stupid a reason to deny the existence of God as any other. But then, why is this celebrity offended by the Bible? One of the greatest purposes of the Bible is to offend and cause one to make a change in their life. Maybe this individual is feeling the tug to come over to the Faith and abandon his or her evil and anti-God ways.

Celebrity is God

One female celebrity, jokingly, cited that her celebrity was her god. She gave a slight back-slap at our Master by staunchly asserting that Jesus had nothing to do with her success. I believe this back-handed remark had to do with the conventional practice by some celebrities who give credit to Jesus or God for their success, especially when receiving and or accepting an award.

Christianity is Immoral

Another female celebrity pompously cited that her morality was superior to Christianity’s morality. Again, wow! I certainly have come across at least one individual who has made the same type of assertion. But when one takes an inventory of these individuals’ sense of morality, one finds that these individuals tend to be extremely liberal in their views. Their lives and worldviews are typically less than pure and noble. Elitists are naturally self-centered. They feel a sense of superiority over those who would adopt the Faith once delivered. But this is a most dangerous game that these individuals are playing with the Almighty. When we pit our sense of morality against the creator of true morality, we are clearly signing our own eternal death warrants.

I Can’t See God–So He Can’t Possibly Exist

I like this next celebrity’s take on the existence of God: How do you believe in something you can’t see? Well, the answer to that question is simple: you just do goofy! The whole point of the Faith and faith is faith! Faith is the cornerstone of everything. We base our life; our behavior, hopes, obedience, everything on that which we can not see with our natural eyes. That’s the whole kit and caboodle in a nutshell.

God is Mean

And closing out this thing is a celebrity who declares that he’s an atheist because he sees God as cold, callous and hateful. I did an podcast episode addressing this very thing and I entitled it: Will the Real God of the Old Testament Please Stand Up. That episode got a goodly amount of downloads. I challenged the common misconception that God is cold, mean and callous in that post. I essentially called out the common but arrogant behavior that we humans tend to display. That has to do with judging the Creator using our own set of morals. Sadly, this is a fools game that we commonly play. Yahovah is the sole establisher of morals for humanity. The Torah contains Father’s established morals. Unfortunately, the Torah stands before most secular souls as being immoral. That spells bad news for all who would foolishly second-guess the Father.

So What Then?

This is what we’re up against folks. Most of these individuals and their myriad of followers require the scales fall from their eyes in order for them to see the truth. That truth will set them free.

Let us be about Father’s business and make disciples of the nations. Pray for this nation. Let us hope that more and more scales fall from the eyes of the elite in the coming end of days.

Faithfully Submitted

Rod Thomas

The Cepher Bible–A Violation of Torah? Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections 46

by | Feb 15, 2016 | Blog, Podcasts

The Cepher Bible–A Violation of Torah?

Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections Episode 46

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (i.e., Messiah). Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God (i.e., Yahovah). (Colossians 2:16-19, ESV)–(cf. Rom. 14:3-5; 14:17; Gal. 4:10)

 

What I love about our Faith and community, that is Hebrew Roots community and Faith, is our focus on living in accordance with the principles and commandments that Father passed down to us in His Torah and through His prophets; Y’shua Messiah and His Apostles. We believe that Torah is still in effect today for the would-be, discerning disciple of Y’shua Messiah and that it was Master Y’shua who taught us how to live Torah the way Father always intended Torah to be lived. Thus we reject man-made religion that makes up a great majority of Judaism and Christianity today.

Please, don’t misunderstand me: we do not reject those who are blind to this fact; those who are opposed to our Faith; those who are caught up in the lie that is religion; we simply reject that which is not of Yahovah and that which was not taught to us by Y’shua Messiah. In the passage I read in the opening of this episode, Colossians 2, Shaul (i.e., the Apostle Paul), was apparently dealing with the issue of religion within and around the Colossian Assembly. Some refer to this issue as Asceticism which is the adoption of man-made practices and protocols as a means of achieving some greater spiritual power or advantage or some greater degree of revelatory understanding apart and above others. As we can see here in verse 16, Paul admonishes the Colossian Assembly to not be put off by those who would pass judgment upon them in how they consumed food and drink, or how they welcomed the renewed moon each month or how they celebrated the weekly Sabbath and the Feast Days. Those who dared to pass judgment upon the Assembly over such things as the consumption of food, drink; the celebration of the Feasts and observances of the Sabbath and the renewed renewed moon were essentially establishing their own methods of righteousness that they were pompously applying to and demanding of others to follow. Now this is contrary to how Churchianity reads and understands this passage. Churchianity sees this passage as Shaul putting forth the erroneous doctrine that the Torah has been done away with and furthering the false, hijacked doctrine of grace.

Judaism in the first century of the Common Era, as it is today, was full of practices, protocols and traditions, all designed and incorporated into the Hebrew Faith for purposes of exhorting or setting one’s self apart from others—as well as controlling the lives of the masses. This was the embodiment of Judaism and Kabbalahism. Although some might view such an endeavor as noble and admirable, to Father, asceticism and other man-made religious demands that the establishment loves to place upon the people is not what He has ever instructed us to do. He gave us His instructions and commandments and precepts as well as He sent His Son to model for us how we are to live out those commandments, precepts and instructions. Moshe (i.e., Moses) instructed us to “…not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahovah your God…” (Deu. 4:2, ESV) Beyond our following the commandments–observing and obeying Torah–and our Master’s instructions, every other man-made concoction and prescription for life that he has with great hubris decided to incorporate into the One True Faith is nothing but a vain attempt to earn one’s salvation and relationship with the Creator of the Universe. You see, when we add to Torah and Y’shua’s teachings and instructions our own prescriptions and practices for whatever reason, we are attempting to establish our own standards for righteousness. Nevertheless, the great prophet Isaiah wrote: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment (i.e., filthy rags in the KJV). We all fade like a leak, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isa. 64:6, ESV) In this passage of Colossians, Shaul was simply saying to the Colossian Assembly that they need not kowtow or succumb to the pressures and judgment of those who are pushing an ascetic-type religious agenda. Do that which you have learned from Scripture and have been taught by Master Y’shua—that is, we are to do the very best that we can as Shaul instructed Timothy, found in 2 Timothy 2:15-19. For us today, if it ain’t in the Bible, we have no right to demand man-made practices and traditions be followed by our brothers and sisters in the Faith, which would be an attempt on our part to apply our sense of righteousness upon the Body of Messiah. That, my friends, is a prescription for disaster. That’s not to say that if someone in our community—in our midst—wishes to follow ascetic practices for whatever personal reason, they are not permitted to do so. That’s absolutely their business and it is between them and Yahovah. The plumb-line, however, is when these individuals insist that others follow their ascetic ways—follow their religiousness—and then condemn those who refuse to follow suit. That’s where we must draw the line in the sand and say, no, not here—we will not permit such behavior in our midst. Just saying.

Calendar Concerns

As I prayerfully put together this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections, we find ourselves at the 4th-day of the 12th-Biblical Month. The renewed moon was sighted over the land of Israel this past Tuesday evening, signaling the start of the 12th month, also known as the month of Adar. Looking ahead on the Biblical Calendar, we are at a critical cross-roads in terms of upcoming Feasts and Festivals. In just 10-days the Festival of Purim will be upon us and from there we enter into the holy month of the Aviv–which of course encapsulates Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Purim of course is not one of the 7-mandated Feasts or moedim of Yahovah, so we are not necessarily compelled to actively observe the day. However, there are tremendous spiritual applications to be gained from looking at this Hebrew Festival that I will be examining in the next Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections episode. I’m looking forward to sharing some thoughts and reflect upon this key point in Israel’s history which became a popular, and unfortunately, secular Jewish festival. Despite the secular bent on this festival, as with Hanukkah, Purim portrays a “Shadow Picture” (Rood phrase) of spiritual elements that are associated with our Faith that we would be remiss to overlook. So let’s discuss next week. As it relates to Passover/Pesach and Unleavened Bread, hey, it is beyond important to our Faith and our community and we will certainly be looking at it in great detail in the coming month. But now is the time for us to start preparing for the Spring Feasts of Yahovah and not wait till the last minute.

Of course, if you follow Michael Rood and the “A Rood Awakening” ministry, you may know that he is planning his annual Passover celebration in Charlotte, NC, commencing Friday, March 25th, through Sunday, March 27th. It promises to be a great time of fellowship and teaching that hopefully if you are so inclined and led, I would highly encourage you consider attending this event. Hilary and I will be attending along—Yahovah willing–with a few others from our Sabbath fellowship. I will put the link to this event in the show-notes for your convenience and reference.

Thoughts on the Cepher Bible—A Violation of Torah?

Allow me to now turn to a rather frustrating issue that you may or may not be able to identify with. This will be the only point of thought and reflection for this episode. This issue has captured my attention this Sabbath and I am compelled to share it with you. I had actually started preparing other content to reflect upon for this episode, but I have been led to table that content for the next sharing opportunity. Thank you in advance for your attention and patience with me as I discuss this issue. As with any other episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections, I welcome your comments and feedback.

Alteration of Philippians 2:11

The Cepher Bible

As some of you may know, over the last few year, our community has been elated of sorts, over the production of a bible called the Cepher. The Cepher was to be the Hebrew Roots’ answer or challenge to the Protestant Bibles that have littered the Bible marketplace for years but those bibles have failed to address the spiritual needs and desires of the community. I had heard about this bible late last year when a couple members of our Sabbath fellowship brought this enormous bible to one of our fellowship sessions. I was awestruck by the size of this thing. When I asked my brother what in the world that thing was, he commented of course that it was the Cepher Bible that restored the sacred names of the Father and Son to the books of the Bible as well as added the apocryphal books to its canon. Upon seeing this for myself, I gave praise for this bible thinking to myself, well it’s about time.

The Cepher Bible can boasts about some relatively important things about it its content and make-up that were once not available to members of our community: (1) an English version of the whole bible based upon the most reliable–available texts in existence; (2) the sacred names of the Creator and the Son; the Hebrew names of the books of the bible; the Hebrew names of every person named in the bible along with the Hebrew names of every place mentioned in the bible. (3) The inclusion of the 66-books of the present-day Christian or Protestant Bible, along with I believe, an additional 10-books added to the Old Testament canon. For those of you who have been avid bible students for any length of time, you will be familiar with the Deuterocanonical (aka the second books) and the Apocryphal books (aka the secret or hidden books) that were originally contained in the 1611 King James Bible, the Oxford Bible and other earlier versions of the Bible. These 10-books over time were purged out of the Protestant Bible by scholars who really gave no true reason as to why they purged them out of the established canon, apart from these apocryphal and deuteronomical books were not “inspired” by God. There were of course other expressed reasons for this purging out of the 10-apocryphal books, but it appears to me that this is just another example of man’s attempt to control the masses through religion. And (4), the books contained therein were now placed in their proper order–the order they are believed to have been written.

Needless to say I had to have this bible and eventually I made connections to secure 2-copies of this bible: one for Hilary and one for myself. I was overly excited to finally receive the bibles.

This thing is so big and voluminous that to get any good use from it you would have to use tabs to mark the start of each book in the bible; otherwise you may spend a great deal of time searching for a single passage–not to mention that the books are not in the order that we are familiar with in our present day Protestant Bibles. So soon after receiving the bibles, I spent a great deal of time affixing book tabs to both bibles. In short order I figured out that this bible would not be as practical a resource as I originally envisioned–it’s size and complexity would necessitate that it be kept at home—not something to take out and use on the move, like say to our Sabbath fellowships or to our Feast Day celebrations. It just wouldn’t work well.

Still I was jazzed to have this resource and I began to reference it in my research and preparations for this program and in my daily Torah studies. Apart from its awkwardness as a usable book—that is its size and complexity–I initially had just two areas of criticism: (1) I would have appreciated having embedded throughout the text, notations that would explain the how’s and why’s and wherefore’s of their translation of the manuscripts they used for the Cepher text—just something I would have appreciated to help me understand why they rendered the text the way they rendered it—that’s all. And (2), the Cepher writers and editors used the name Yahuah and Yahusha to denote or refer to the Father and Son respectively. Of course, if you’ve listened to or read the contents of this ministry and website, you will know that we use the name Yahovah and Yahshua as names for the Father and Son. As it relates to the Cepher using the names Yahuah and Yahusha, I was able to live with that as I realize that no one really has absolute knowledge of how the Father’s name was pronounced—we only have the outline of the tetragrammaton to suggest possible pronunciations, all of which Judaism and Churchianity have outright rejected—choosing instead to use our Father’s title and descriptor and a bastardized transliteration of our Master’s name to refer to the Creator of the Universe and His Son. So for me, the Cepher’s attempt to restore the names of the Father and Son to the Biblical record was acceptable to me, despite my preference to the names Yahovah and Y’shua.

Oh, and the other thing about the Cepher that was sort of an initial annoyance for me was the placement and dispersement throughout the entirety of the Biblical text—I believe it to be 2,400 separate places to be exact–of the Hebrew letters “aleph” and “tav,” followed by the English letters eth—which the writers of the Cepher claim are found throughout the extant manuscripts that they referenced to produce the Cepher Bible. As it relates to “Eth” (i.e., the aleph—tav), the writers and developers of the Cepher offer an interpretation of “divine” and Cepher is Hebrew for “Book.” Thus when put together, Eth-Cepher means—the Divine Book. Now, I’d be alright with this if it actually made sense to the context where it is numerously found throughout the Cepher Bible—mainly, the Eth showing up in hundreds of places throughout the entirety of the Cepher and assuming the Eth means divine, somehow I don’t always get how the term divine works in most of the places the Cepher writers placed it in the body of the text. The writers indicate that the Eth or Aleph and Tav are found in the manuscript text they used to create or develop the Cepher and thus to stay true to the holy aspect of the Scriptural texts, they’ve elected to leave it in place. The problem is that their rationale does not hold true for the entirety of their work—staying true to the best extant manuscripts for their translation, that is. What I mean by this I’ll discuss momentarily. Nevertheless, running across this throughout the text was a bit annoying, but again, I could live with it.

Little did I know that over the last several months, members of our Hebrew Roots community began discovering some interesting things about this Bible that would ultimately lead to my questioning the validity of this Bible for our community. It is these discoveries and questions about the Cepher Bible that I am thinking and reflecting upon as the primary focus of this episode.

Before I go on, let me first say that I’ve not done a thorough examination of this Bible to qualify me as a true expert or witness for or against its validity. I actually have the 2nd Edition of this Bible. Apparently the 1st edition has been out for a number of years, so the Cepher is not a brand new Bible, to say the least.

However, I’ve done a good amount of reading and referencing of the Cepher’s contents over the last few weeks, but I have not critically examined the Cepher itself—which may not be a bad idea at some point in the future. I’ll have to consult Father if this is something that He’d have me do. But suffice to say, I have come across at least two areas of concern regarding this Bible that have given me cause for pause and question: the one area has to do with the Cepher Bible’s Gospel’s accounting of the lineage of Y’shua which one gentleman I found on YouTube took issue with. I still need to finish listening to his concern about the Cepher’s treatment of the lineage of our Master before I say anything further on it. But another area that is of concern to me is Cepher’s apparent rewording of Philippians 2:11, whereby the developers of the Cepher admit to rewording and reworking the passage to fit their specific Christian beliefs in the divinity of Y’shua Messiah. But like one individual I recently came across on a YouTube recording said of the Cepher, if the developers and translators working on the Cepher are willing to alter the Philippians passage to say what they want it to say in order that it match their personal religious beliefs or doctrines, what other passages in the Holy Writ have they taken liberty with? Certainly, given the size of this thing, it may take some time to find the answer to that question. And it is the altering of this Philippians verse where I personally take a great deal of umbrage—that is the intentional altering of a passage of Scripture to match one’s beliefs and doctrinal stance, yet maintain the selling point for this Bible as stated in the following review:

“The Cepher is the most advanced, yet the most correct to antiquity, of any collection of Biblical material available today. If a Disciple of the history of what has been considered “Bible” from 1450 BCE through the Common Era of the First Century were to compile a collection of what they would call Bible, it would include the Cepher. As a disciple and teacher of the Bible, I believe it to have been one of the greatest services to be inclusive of the writings that have shaped the faith of true believers for more than 2400 years – without the exclusions of books and proper Names that have been slanted by Councils, self-serving individuals and Societies for hundreds of years…The scholarship and literary inclusion found in the Cepher is, to my knowledge, the best available in one volume to the Disciple today. I personally recommend the Cepher for study to show oneself approved, properly dividing the Word of Truth.” F. Andy Tryon, Jr., Ph.D., Th.D. Pastor Emeritus, West Valley Fellowship

Assuming this is the case, how would one then explain the rationale behind altering a passage of scripture such as Philippians 2:11, such that it departs from that which is commonly found in all other translations and versions of that passage. The only answer that comes readily to my mind is that the developers and writers and translators of the Cepher intentionally took liberties with their translation of this passage—and God only knows what other passages—for purposes of influencing their readers and advancing their own agenda and doctrinal stance. Is this indeed the case however?

Before proceeding further on this issue, let’s look at the Cepher’s actual rendering of this passage in comparison to other translations of the same passage:

The Cepher says: V.11 ~ “And that every tongue should confess that YAHUAH is YAHUSHA HAMASHIACH, to the glory of YAH the Father.

Now let’s compare it to other translations:

The King James Version reads: “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (kurios=master), to the glory of God the Father.”

The New American Standard Version reads: “and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (kurios=master), to the glory of God the Father.”

The English Standard Version reads: “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The other translations that I consulted in my BibleWorks software package, with the exception of the Complete Jewish Bible, all refer to Jesus Christ as Lord or Master. The CJB refers to Y’shua as Adonai.

Now don’t misunderstand me fellow saints: I am not here today to debate the divinity of Y’shua Messiah. That is a topic that I have not been led to discuss at this juncture—maybe sometime in the future. The point I’m trying to make here goes beyond the issue and topic of the divinity of Christ. The point is the perceived brazen intentional hubris of the editors and writers and translators of the Cepher Bible to translate Philippians 2:11 and then record and print it in the Bible they claim to be accurate and I would think, unbiased—with the expressed intent to support and further their doctrine of the divinity of Y’shua Messiah. And let me just say that I am not spouting my own personal opinions here as it relates to the Cepher’s staff’s intentions. Allow me to state from their very own website the reason why they’ve taken it upon themselves to alter this passage:

“I will try to summarize our thinking. Let’s begin with the passage that has drawn the ire of those who deny MASHIACH, who deny the divinity of YAHUSHA, and who otherwise have converted to Judaism…” What follows is the editor’s attempt to support their alteration to this verse by the use of various reference or support verses to include I Corinthians 12:1-3 where the term “Lord” (small letters) or “kurios” is translated into Yahuah; John 14:9 whereby our Master said that those that have seen Him have seen the Father; and John 17:14-22 whereby our Master attested to us that He was one with the Father. I will conceded that all of these are fair verses to use when defending one’s position in favor of the divinity of Y’shua—that is if you believe in the divinity or that Y’shua is Yahovah. Interestingly, the Cepher folks did not alter these support verses, but allowed them to remain consistent with other translations. In other words, they chose not to tamper with these verses as they did with Philippians. Not sure why they didn’t. I’d be interested to find out why.

But consider what this same editor says after putting forth these support verses on the Cepher website:

“Now, there are those who are outraged with our generous interpretation of the Greek (and Aramaic, upon which we also relied for this interpretation).” So clearly there was intent on the part of the translators to bend the verse to read in accordance with their beliefs and doctrines on this subject. Suffice to say, from there, the editor expends a great amount of space on the company’s website expounding upon the terms: kurios, Lord and Master, with expert manipulation of the support verses to justify their alteration to Philippians 2:11.

And that my friends borders on the “unforgivable” if not “blasphemous.” Already, at least one fundamental Christian website has referred to the Cepher as heretical (reference: christianresearchnetwork.org). And given the Cepher’s publishers’ self-proclaimed affiliation with the Hebrew Roots community, this same organization—The Christian Research Network—goes on to refer to our community and our Faith as “dangerous.” And no wonder! Granted this Christian-based organization and others like it are more concerned with the Cepher’s use of the sacred names and the inclusion of the apocryphal books to the established Protestant canon of Scripture, but when we add to the mix the Cepher’s translators’ willingness to alter passages of Scripture at will with utter manipulation of support documentation in the way of other Scriptural verses, I believe there’s good reason to harbor concern about this book and how it may erroneously affect and misrepresent our Faith.

As a Faith community, we already have enough credibility problems with the rest of the world. I generally don’t care what the outside world thinks about our Faith. But then, in all fairness, we’ve brought a lot of the outside world’s hatred and disrespect of us upon ourselves. When we consider the unbridled infighting between our various factions and with one another; when we consider our absolute focus on the Torah—almost to the point of Torah worship; and when we consider our rejection of Spirit Living; when we consider the epidemic of Biblical illiteracy that plagues our community; when we consider our stand-offishness; our pompous attitude that we know it all and those Christian folk are just stupid, misguided individuals; when we don’t seek to do our part in the great commission but remain holed up in our homes on the Sabbath and during the Feast Days, there’s no wonder the rest of the world looks down upon us and sees us as the wayward ones. And quite frankly, I personally believe the Cepher will only add to our already existing woes.

Why should we care about all that I’ve just outlined to you? Simply put my friends, the Cepher is problematic and quite conceivably a violation of Torah. Not just because of the divinity issue that they bring up in their blatant support of their intentional translation alteration, which is beside the point. The reason the Cepher is a problem and conceivably a violation of Torah is that the Cepher is adding to and altering that which Father instructed us not to add to His Word, especially adding to His Torah—Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6. I will concede that this commandment pertained primarily to the Torah. However, when we look at how all the remaining books of the Bible point back to Torah, we can not take for granted the care that must be taken when transmitting the whole of the Bible. If we are willing to take liberties in our interpretations of passages of the Bible, record them and place them into a Bible; to the point of completely altering the meaning of words and even inserting names where a clear title existed in the manuscript, we are no doubt capable of manipulating and altering even the Father’s Torah. This type of behavior can not stand and we in Hebrew Roots, regardless where we individually stand on this issue of the divinity of our Master, should not; can not; must not support such a publication—we must speak out against it and that is what I am doing here today my friends.

I call upon the publishers and translators and writers of the Cepher Bible to abandon their reckless behavior; stay true to their original calling which was to produce a version of the Bible that would be the most accurate Bible on the market today and that would restore the sacred names of our Father and the Son and the people and places recorded in the Bible. I call upon them to remove their so-called “generous interpretations.” I call upon them to remain unbiased in their work and allow the Father to speak to their readers through an untampered version of the Holy Writ. I would further call upon these same people to fix or correct the 2nd Edition of the Cepher and make the book consistent with the extant manuscripts that they referenced to create the Cepher in the first place. If you really care about your patrons and you want to come clean and explain yourself, I would certainly entertain a response from any representative you select from your organization. The Bible does not belong to you. It does not belong to anyone. Thus, it is not ours to tamper with and to use as a medium to further any one organization’s agenda and doctrinal stance.
Assuming the Cepher folks are not about to do that which I have demanded, I will simply admonish each of you and every Hebrew Rooter out there who has expressed an interest in purchasing a Cepher: use that $100 for something else; do not purchase this Bible; do not be made a mockery of by these people. There are many other excellent Biblical resources that you could put your $100 towards and gain much more insight and blessings from. But then, it ultimately falls upon you to decide where you fall out on this issue. These are just my thoughts and I do not in any way wish to shove my thoughts down your throats. As always, this is part of the overall journey that we as Hebrew Rooters must walk. There is a sifting process going on as we head towards the End Times. How we react and what we learn and adopt from such things is what this journey—this walk with Messiah is all about.
Is the Cepher a violation of Torah? Well, I would say it depends. If the intentions of the Cepher organization was to manipulate their readers and put advance their own agenda and doctrine, then I would say it certainly borders on a violation.

This Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections has by no means pleased me to deliver. I’m essentially speaking out against a group of individuals who are using our community to further their doctrinal agendas and religious purposes—whatever those agendas and purposes may be. As Hebrew Rooters, our entire existence rests upon the purity and accuracy of the Holy Scriptures. We have no time for such liberal and backstabbing behavior as I believe is being perpetrated through the production of the Cepher Bible. So please, before you go out and purchase the Cepher Bible, give the content of this Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections some serious prayerful consideration.