Sunset begins Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. Have a blessed festival, brothers and sisters as we look forward to Yeshua's return! Chag sameach shalom!

Sunset begins Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. Have a blessed festival, brothers and sisters as we look forward to Yeshua's return! Chag sameach shalom!

One thing you will NEVER hear Jesus The Messiah say:
I was just joking!

This week's #torah reading is called #vayelech, which means "and he went out". I made a list of Apostolic passages worth reading and studying with Torah parsha Vayelech (#deuteronomy 31), along with links to related commentary and videos: https://www.americantorah.com/....2022/03/20/parsha-va

THE POWER OF PRAYER – PART 2

4. I Need Miraculous Intervention

While what we’ve been talking about so far involves the miraculous at significant levels, there are some things YHVH invites us to pray for that cannot be explained in any way except for a direct and dramatic intervention on the part of YHVH. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. James 5:16B-18. This is an absolutely amazing statement. Elijah prayed and the rain stopped and it did not rain for three and a half years. At the end of three and half years Elijah prayed and the rain began to fall. The beginning and ending of this change in the weather is contributed directly to YHVH working miracles in connection with our prayers. We need all the regular disclaimers thrown in at this point that YHVH will only answer a prayer that is in accordance with His will, which the Bible clearly teaches. But let’s not water down what YHVH is saying here just because we know it will not always be YHVH’s will to act in this way. The point is that YHVH does do miracles and that He will do miraculous things because you and I have asked Him to.

Three truths from this passage:

A -- Our prayer has a direct impact on heaven! When we pray in faith and we are living by YHVH’s rule in our lives we can expect great and wonderful results. The promise in this passage is that we can live in expectation of YHVH working the miraculous in our lives, in our church, and in our world. The biggest problem that we face in this area is not YHVH’s lack of ability to come through, but our lack of faith that He will do it.

B -- YHVH works through people just like us! Elijah was as human as we are… Elijah put on his sandals one foot at a time, he had bad hair days, he was sometimes in a bad mood and sometimes he lacked faith in YHVH. He was just like us, yet YHVH took this man and listened to his prayer and worked what could not be mistaken for anything but a miracle as a result.

C -- YHVH is inviting us to be a part of His miracle! If there is one thing that I’ve realized about my prayer life lately it is that I’m not praying big enough prayers. I want to pray in such a way that when the answer comes there can be no doubt that it has come directly from YHVH. In other words, why are we praying to conquer the molehill when YHVH wants us to take the mountain? The size of our prayers tells us a lot about the size of our YHVH, if we believe that YHVH is all-powerful then we will begin to pray prayers that demonstrate that power! What I am getting to is this: I believe that YHVH is going to do great things for you reading this letter, all He is waiting for is your earnest prayers, offered in the belief that He will act.

O YHVH, who has taught us to seek first Your Kingdom and its righteousness, teach me to say, Your will be done before I say Give me my daily bread. Teach me to accept Your will as the foundation of my happiness and other things as only its superstructure. I am more afraid of the hunger of the body than of the hunger of the spirit. Convince me that it would not profit me to gain the world and lose my soul. Show me that it is only the possession of my soul that makes the possession of the world any gain. Impress me with the truth that no thing can bring me joy if I myself am not already joyful. Inspire me with the knowledge that the issues of life are not from without but from within. Guide me into the discovery that the pleasures at Your right hand are the only things that are pleasures forevermore. Almighty YHVH, You inspired Your servant Luke, the physician, to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of Your Son. Graciously continue in Your children the same power to love and heal, to the praise and glory of Your Name. I am not worthy, Adonai, that You should come beneath the roof of my soul. Yet since You in Your love toward all wish to dwell in me, in boldness I come. Open the gates, which You alone have forged; and You will come in with love toward all as is Your nature; You will come in and enlighten my darkened reason. I believe that You will do this: For You did not send away the harlot that came to You with tears; nor cast out the repentant publican; nor reject the thief who acknowledged Your kingdom; nor forsake the repentant persecutor, a yet greater act; but all of those who came to You in repentance were counted in the band of Your friends, who alone abide blessed forever, now, and unto the endless ages. We pray this through Your Son, Yeshua Moshiach our Adonai, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of Ruach HaKodesh, one YHVH, now and forever. Amen

THE POWER OF PRAYER – PART 1

Let us look at some key passages in the New Testament, learning together about having Faith that Works and the Power of Prayer. By now, as believers, we know what it means to have faith, how to deal with the issue of people playing favourites, the hindrances to efficient prayer and the purposes of prayer. Let us take a look how YHVH invites us to pray to Him at different times in our lives. James gives us four very specific times that YHVH invites us to come to Him in the power of prayer. YHVH Invites Me to Pray When…:

1 -- I Need Comfort and Strength:

Each one of us go through periods in our lives when we find ourselves in need of someone to give us comfort and to offer us the strength we need to move forward. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. -- James 5:13. There are some of you today that are experiencing a great deal of suffering, some of you are dealing with struggle in your family, others have seen relationships disintegrate, some have lost loved ones, others are dealing with disease, loss of income, tremendous stress and a host of other problems. It is not at all unusual in these times to begin to feel distant from YHVH. The Word tells us that it is in these times that we need to pray. Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. -- 1 Peter 5:7. YHVH knows your situation, He understands the struggle, He wants to be involved in the suffering with you and to see you come through on the other side. YHVH cares about what happens to you, He is deeply concerned and He wants to give you the comfort and strength that you need. All that He asks is that you pray, that you discuss the problem with Him, that you be open to what He has to say to you. Sometimes I know that it seems impossible to pray; there are those times when we have no words to say; we are at a complete loss as to how to express our need to YHVH. In those times I think it is appropriate to just look to the heavens and say: YHVH, please help! Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. -- Romans 8:26. Ruach HaKodesh will pray for you if you will let Him, just open up your heart and allow Him to take over.

2 -- I Need Healing for my Body:

Since I was a young man, I have watched so-called faith healers on TV. I used to get quite a kick out of them and would laugh as I watched them push people to the ground, supposedly curing them of their ailments. Now when I see them, I have a different response: I get angry when I see these people abusing the Scripture and taking advantage of people by playing to their emotions and siphoning their money from their wallets. No-where in the Bible does it advise us to go to faith healers for healing. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of Adonai: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and Adonai shall raise him up -- James 5:14, 15a. YHVH’s resource for physical healing is prayer. He says that we are to call for the elders to pray and to anoint us with oil [symbolic of Ruach HaKodesh]. Obviously any believer can pray for healing and YHVH can respond, but here we are specifically told to call for the elders of the church to pray. I have personally seen miraculous healing take place as a result of this. I have also seen this take place where the person prayed for, soon passed away. The fact of the matter is in both cases, healing took place. The ultimate healing for believers is death, because it is only in physical death that we are made completely new and come into the presence of YHVH. It is only in physical death that all suffering ceases for all time. If physical healing for this life was always YHVH’s will, no believer would ever die [have you ever wondered why faith healers still get sick?]. But why does YHVH sometimes grant healing so this life will continue and other times He allows the person to die? I have absolutely no idea! I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve quit asking the question, I just continue to pray and allow YHVH to answer according to His will.

3 -- I Need Forgiveness for my Sin:

Workers for the Chicago Transit Authority came up with some interesting terms to describe life on the trains and tracks of the city, said writer Anne Keegan. The elevated train often runs on a platform built above the city streets. In many places, these platforms are narrow, with just enough width for two trains to pass. If a workman was fixing the tracks when two trains came from different directions, he would have no room to move to avoid the oncoming trains. And so, now and then, alongside the tracks there is a small platform with a railing, three feet square, projecting out over the street. These small platforms provide a place for those working on the tracks to escape an oncoming train. Workers for the Chicago Transit Authority call these platforms, Fool-catchers. On occasion we all play the fool, we lose our temper, bend the truth, neglect our responsibilities or perhaps even do something criminal. Sometimes these sinful habits accumulate beyond our control and we find our lives moving further and further away from YHVH. In these times, YHVH invites us to pray, but He goes further than that; YHVH says that we should confess our sins to others so that they might pray on our behalf. And if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. -- James 5:15B-16a. The interesting thing here is that this is the tail end of the passage we just read where we are to call on the elders of the church to pray for our physical healing. But here it is specifically talking about sin that needs to be confessed. James includes both needs here; both in times of physical suffering and in times of spiritual suffering, the solution is prayer.

In fact, in some cases there appears to be a connection between un-confessed sin and physical suffering, while that is definitely not always the case, sometimes it is. The point here is that we are to take our need to other people so that they can intercede for us before the throne of YHVH. This does not say that you have to take every wrong that you have ever committed and confess it before the entire church! It is saying that when you are caught up in a sinful behaviour you need to go to someone you trust, an elder or minister of the church or perhaps a believer friend that you know you can rely on and share your burden with them. Then they can pray for you, can make an appeal to YHVH on your behalf, can share with you in the struggle and help you to overcome the problem. Again, I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them. -- Matthew 18:19-20. Now the interesting thing is, Yeshua made this statement in the context of a believer that was caught sinning against other believers. He had just finished telling the procedure for dealing with such a situation just prior to these verses. I am quite sure that in this context Yeshua is saying that this believer who has sinned is in need of intercession by his or her fellow believers. A person confesses their sin, then two or three of us are able to bring this matter before YHVH in prayer and Yeshua promises to be in our midst as we petition our Father. We are not confessing to receive condemnation, but to receive the support and encouragement we need from other Moshiach Followers and from YHVH Himself. YHVH invites me to pray when I need comfort and strength; I need healing for my body; I need forgiveness for my sin and there is one last invitation YHVH gives us to pray that we really need to believe and act upon if we really expect our lives to make a significant impact for Moshiach in the world in which we live.

I believe that every follower of Yeshua (aka Jesus) should be keeping God's appointed times. Passover, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, etc. I believe that doing so honors God and teaches valuable lessons.

I also believe it's important that we try to do it the way God said to as much as possible, including the timing. Of course, very few people can go to Jerusalem, and there's no altar or priesthood, so there's a lot we can't do, but we can keep the spirit of the Feasts.

We have a pretty good idea of the correct timing, though. If you believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, then you must believe that he kept the commandments correctly. We know that he kept the weekly Sabbath and the other appointed times on the same day that the Pharisees and Sadducees did. They were wrong about some things, but clearly not about everything. With a few minor exceptions, we know when the first century Jews kept the weekly Sabbath and all of the other appointed times and therefore when Yeshua kept them. They counted the months according the new moon and the weeks according to a continuous cycle of 7 days with no connection to the new moon, and so did Yeshua.

Whether you follow the sighting of the new moon or the calculated new moon, you can get the timing of the annual holy days right within a day or two, even if you've chosen the wrong method...whichever that is. Maybe you count the start of the year by the sighting of ripe barley or maybe you count it by the calculated agricultural cycles. Either method is reasonable, and I don't think we have sufficient information about first century practices.

However, if you're trying to keep the appointed times on a day that's radically different than most other people--counting the Sabbath by the new moon or calculating the months without reference to the new moon, for example--I have to wonder what makes you think you know better than Yeshua.

If you don't think keeping the feasts is important to God, this probably seems like a petty disagreement. I'll simply refer you back to the Scriptures, which plainly say that the timing of the feasts is important to him. If the King summoned you to court on Tuesday and you showed up on Wednesday because it was more convenient for you, do think he would care?

These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the LORD food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day...
Leviticus 23:37

23And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,

24“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance of blowing of trumpets, a set-apart gathering.

25‘You do no servile work, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to יהוה.’ ”

Leviticus 23

Our Verse of the Week

Shalom people. Anyone got a link for a Yom Teruah event? ?
I’m in the UK, and I don’t really know how to celebrate. I would love to join someone online from here ?