YOU ARE MY FRIENDS – PART 2

3 – Act Accordingly:
Anthony Roberts, 25, was shot through the eye and skull with an arrow by a friend trying to knock a gas can off his head. The arrow's tip went 8-10 mm into Roberts' brain, but caused no brain damage. He lost an eye but was otherwise unhurt. Roberts explained that the friend was shooting the can off his head as an initiation for a rafting and outdoor group and admitted, [I feel really stupid.] With friends like he has, who needs enemies? Now let us say for a minute that you and I are good friends. You should be able to assume some things about me as your friend. In John Maxwell's book [Be a People Person] he identifies 5 areas of expectancy that we should have in our friendships, a friend should:

A -- Encourage me; B -- Appreciate me; C -- Forgive me; D -- Listen to me; E -- Understand me.

In other words, if I am your friend, you should be able to assume that I am going to care about you and I am going to try to help you and I am going to be the person that you know without a shadow of a doubt that you can rely on. I am writing on a human scale here and we all know that no matter how good of a friend we have, that person is not going to perform perfectly in all of these areas all of the time. But let us consider YHVH's offer of Divine Friendship. Not only is He a perfect Friend, He is always a perfect Friend. YHVH will never let you down [you might think He has, but when you see the big picture you will find out that He never has and that He never will]. We would all agree that you really cannot have a one-way friendship. Too many of us want YHVH to live up to His end of the deal and be our Friend, but we have been unwilling to return the favour. Contrary to popular belief friendship is not a give and take relationship. It is a give and give relationship. If I am a true friend, I am not so concerned about what I am going to get as I am about how I can give more to my friend. YHVH gives us many wonderful things as a result of our Friendship. He gives to us Joy, Encouragement, Purpose, Hope, Perspective, Love, etc... In fact, He has given us everything, because He has even laid down His Life. Yeshua spells out very clearly to us what we are to give in this relationship we have with Him. There are three very basic areas we can demonstrate our Friendship with Him. He asks us to:

A -- Love one another as He has Loved us -- verse 12.

B -- Do what He Commands as He has done what the Father has Commanded of Him -- verse 10.

C -- Bear Fruit. -- verse 17.

Now if we look at these three areas Yeshua is really getting to one particular area we must focus on if we are to give to YHVH. It comes down to Love. Yeshua said Love one another as He has Loved us. Yeshua said to do what He Commands and what does He Command? This is my Commandment: Love each other in the same way I have Loved you. -- John 15:12. Yeshua said to bear fruit, which basically means we are to Love other people into the Kingdom. If we are to act accordingly in our relationship with YHVH, we are going to be people who Love; it is as simple as that. Once I read about a woman who, on the advice of her doctor, had gone to see a minister to talk about joining the church. She had recently had a facelift and when her doctor dismissed her, he gave her this advice: [My dear, I have done an extraordinary job on your face, as you can see in the mirror. I have charged you a great deal of money and you were happy to pay it. But I want to give you some free advice. Find a group of people who love YHVH and who will love you enough to help you deal with all the negative emotions inside of you. If you do not, you will be back in my office in a very short time with your face in far worse shape than before.] He was right you know? Outside of a relationship with YHVH, we can never know, on the deepest level, what it means to have a Friend.

YOU ARE MY FRIENDS – PART 1

In October of 1988, veteran sky-diver Frank Farnan jumped from a plane at about 13,000 feet above Clewiston, Florida. Eleven other parachutists made the jump to practice building a formation. But at 10,500 feet, something went wrong. One diver fell into Farnan and knocked him unconscious. Farnan's body tumbled out of control and dropped below the formation, gaining downward momentum as it fell faster than the rest of the group and farther away every second. Another veteran in the group, Eddie Turner and two other jumpers put their hands over their heads and pointed their bodies straight downward, becoming human missiles aimed at the body tumbling hundreds of feet below. At 15 seconds until impact with the ground and at an elevation of only 2,500 feet, the three jumpers reached Farnan's body. Turner grabbed a leg, pulled Farnan's rip cord and the unconscious jumper's chute opened. Turner had only a few seconds to save himself. Turner emerged from the event unhurt and Farnan ended up with only a few bruises. Not many will put their life on the line for a friend. Yet, according to John 15, Yeshua was willing to do even more than that for those He Loved. As the Father hath Loved Me, so have I Loved you: continue ye in My Love. If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My Love; even as I have kept My Father’s Commandments, and abide in His Love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My Commandment, that ye love one another, as I have Loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I Command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what His Adonai doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. -- John 15:9-15) If we are to be friends with Yeshua it is imperative that we first of all:

1 – Recognize Our Need
Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. A study done in America reported that the loneliest group in America are college students. That is surprising! Next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives and the elderly. To point out how lonely people can be, Charles Swindoll mentioned an ad in a Kansas newspaper. It read: [I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for 5 dollars.] Swindoll said, [Sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It was not long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. -- Ecclesiastes 4:10. The fact of the matter is that we cannot make it through life on our own.

Loneliness is like a piano without keys,
like a violin without strings.
Loneliness is like a sanctuary without a congregation
or a choir where no one sings.
Loneliness is like a blade of grass
growing through a crack of cement.
Loneliness is like a camp ground
without a single tent.
Loneliness is like a mocking bird
that cannot sing a song.
Loneliness is a feeling
that one does not belong.
Loneliness is like a pansy in a corn field
hidden where no one can see.
I know all there is to know about loneliness
because it lives inside of me.

This person recognized their need, but did not know how to fill it. But many of us do not even realize how badly we are in need of friendship. We think we can just go through life, without the need to share, without the need to care for someone else and without the need to be cared for. But one day we will find out how badly we need a friend. YHVH designed us to be people who are in relationships with one another. In fact, Paul tells us: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the Law of Moshiach. -- Galatians 6:2. The good news is that Yeshua does not intend for us to go through life on our own. He very clearly says, [You are My friends]. Walter Winchell said: [A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.] If this is an accurate definition of a friend, then Yeshua is a friend indeed. So first, we must recognize our need, the second step is to:

2 – Accept YHVH’s Offer:
YHVH's offer is an offer to be our Friend. Yeshua says to His disciples: …but I have called you friends… -- John 15:15. This is not the first time YHVH has offered His Friendship. And Adonai Spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. -- Exodus 33:11. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed YHVH and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of YHVH. -- James 2:23. Art not Thou our YHVH, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Yisrael, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy Friend for ever? -- 2 Chronicles 20:7. So Moses, Abraham and Yeshua' disciples were called YHVH's friend. But guess what? We can be YHVH's friend too, if we just accept His offer of Friendship. Now some offers are too good to be true. A lot of people have been ripped off by offers that are too good to be true. Kenneth Peart, 77, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, reported that he was cheated out of $12,700 by two telemarketing companies. A third firm, called and offered to come to his rescue. [They told me that if I sent them $600, they would get back the money I had lost], Peart told the News. [They said they knew some bad things happened to me with those other guys and they were going to help me out. Instead, he said, they helped him out of $600. I got really tired of all of these great offers people want to give me. But I know that when YHVH offers to be my Friend, He really means it. He is not offering something He will not deliver on. He has no ulterior motives behind His offer. YHVH really wants to be our friend. The question is: [What kind of friendship is YHVH offering us?] Yeshua says in verse 9 that He will Love us in the same way the Father Loves Him. Yeshua says in verse 11 that His Love will make our joy complete. Yeshua says in verse 15 that He will teach His friends everything He has learned from the Father. To put it simply, Yeshua is offering to us a Friendship that is complete, that is for real and that actually means that He will be there for us. We know this is true, because: YHVH paid the price to be our Friend. Yeshua said: There is no greater Love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. -- John 15:13. Yeshua did not just say it, anyone can say something. He did it; He gave His own Life as a sacrifice for us. With each nail that was driven into His Body and with every moment of suffering He experienced, He was offering to us a bond of Friendship. He was saying, [I am doing this for you.] He wants us to accept His Sacrifice and to become His Friends. We do that when we bow down to Him as Adonai and Saviour. After YHVH's offer is accepted there is another step we must take: we must...:

Precious metals continue to be pressed lower. Silver is in bargain basement territory (and has been for a decade, but better now than a year ago). In the high $18s right now... God declares silver and gold are money... (conversely, paper is not...)

It’s prep day! Happy prepping!

The only property tax in God's Law is a tithe of the produce of the land, including food, wine, oil, and firstborn animals. And guess what? You get to eat your own tithe as you share it with your community. Since the Levites have no inheritance in the land, God requires the rest of Israel to also share their land tithe with Levi.

In two out of three years, the land tithe is to be taken to Jerusalem. If it's not practical, you can sell it, then take the money to Jerusalem, buy whatever food and drink you want, and have a big party with God. The third-year land tithe is to be gathered into a common, local storehouse to be shared with the poor, landless, and indigent in your own community.

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

The "One Cup A Day" Benefits of Neem Tea
Neem tea starts to benefit your body from the first sip!
The Neem Queen Tea Challenge for Better Health
Are you ready to improve your health a little bit each day? Get ready for the Neem Queen Tea Challenge!
For the next 30 days, drink one 12 oz. cup of Neem tea each morning.
#neem #healthy #whoisreadyforthechallenge #neemtea #detoxtea #detoxing #neemqueentea #allaboutneem #neembenefits #detoxifying #neemqueenchallenge #betterhealth #improve

The "One Cup A Day" Benefits of Neem Tea
Neem tea starts to benefit your body from the first sip!
The Neem Queen Tea Challenge for Better Health
Are you ready to improve your health a little bit each day? Get ready for the Neem Queen Tea Challenge!
For the next 30 days, drink one 12 oz. cup of Neem tea each morning.
#neem #healthy #whoisreadyforthechallenge #neemtea #detoxtea #detoxing #neemqueentea #allaboutneem #neembenefits #detoxifying #neemqueenchallenge #betterhealth #improve

God doesn't want his people shaving their heads or tattooing themselves in honor of the dead because we are to be holy, and affinity with death is inherently unholy.
Deuteronomy 14:1-2

The flesh of animals that are forbidden to be eaten are disgusting to God. They aren't forbidden for health reasons, even if there might be good health reasons for not eating them. They are forbidden because God wants to be close to his people, and he is disgusted by their meat.
Deuteronomy 14:3

On this date in history, 08/26/1920: The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees women the privilege to vote in elections. #otd #tdih #repeal19