To all my dear friends, family, and extended family across the United States and around the World, Shabbat Shalom and may YAH bless you with the fullness of HIS presence and meet all your needs according to HIS riches in esteem in Messiah Yeshua!

This coming week, August 14-20 (17-23 Av 5782), the Bible reading plan covers the portion Eikev (On the Heel Of).

14 Aug Deuteronomy 7:12-8:10 Ezekiel 28:1-29:21 Colossians 4:1-18 Psalm 118:1-13
15 Aug Deuteronomy 8:11-9:3 Ezekiel 30:1-31:18 1 Thess 1:1-2:20 Psalm 118:14-29
16 Aug Deuteronomy 9:4-29 Ezekiel 32:1-33:20 1 Thess 3:1-4:18 Psalm 119:1-8
17 Aug Deuteronomy 10:1-11 Ezekiel 33:21-34:31 1 Thess 5:1-28 Psalm 119:9-16
18 Aug Deuteronomy 10:12-11:9 Ezekiel 35:1-36:21 2 Thess 1:1-2:12 Psalm 119:17-24
19 Aug Deuteronomy 11:10-21 Ezekiel 36:22-37:28 2 Thess 2:13-3:18 Psalm 119:25-32
20 Aug Deuteronomy 11:22-25 Isaiah 49:14-51:3 1 Timothy 1:1-2:15 Psalm 119:33-40

The complete annual Bible reading plan for 2021-22 (Hebrew year 5782) is available at this link:

https://bneyyosefna.com/byna-b....ible-reading-plan-fo

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
Jeremiah 20:9

If God's calling is on your life, resistance can destroy your mental, spiritual, and physical health.

FAITH – WHEN THE STORM COMES – PART 2

2 -- PRAY THROUGH THEM

If I had to name the most exciting thing going on right now it would not be the planning program for the future, although that is very exciting. To me, the most exciting thing is renewed emphasis on prayer. Believers are praying like never before and if we continue in this vein, there are no limits to what we can accomplish for YHVH’s Kingdom. This idea of calling on YHVH in prayer is also necessary for our personal lives. Prayer is for all times, but especially when we face the storms of life, it is an absolute necessity that we bring our problems to YHVH.

I -- Ask For Guidance

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of YHVH, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. -- James 1:5. I’ve heard this promise quoted for all types of things, but it is specifically given here for those who are facing storms in their lives. We are most vulnerable to making unwise choices when we find ourselves under the stress of trials and tribulations coming into our lives. We need the wisdom of YHVH to help us think straight, to point our feet in the right direction, to show us that there is an end in sight. Now the problem most of us have, is an unwillingness to ask. But we are assured that YHVH wants us to ask. He is our Father and His desire is to help us get through whatever it is we are dealing with. YHVH is not put out because we are taking up His time, He takes pleasure in hearing from His children. -- Ask Him, the Word says, and He will gladly tell you.

II -- Expect An Answer

Have you ever offered up a prayer to YHVH and as soon as you were finished praying, you started to try to figure everything out on your own? I’ve done that many times, and I’m sure that you have too. When we do that, we are not praying in faith and we are not really expecting YHVH to do anything about it. We are just going through the motions and asking YHVH in prayer because that is the kind of thing, we’ve been told that believers are supposed to do. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Adonai. -- James 1:6-7. Let’s pretend for a moment that I am your father and I possess all wisdom. You come to me asking for guidance and before I can give you an answer you walk away and start doing your own thing. What would you expect me to do? Chase you down and force my wisdom upon you? No! I wouldn’t respond at all and neither does YHVH. In prayer I am approaching the most Powerful, Wise, Holy, Great Being in the entire universe; He wants to help me; He has assured me of this. Now I must approach Him knowing that He has the answer and that He is going to give it to me. When I do that, YHVH will do as He has promised and I will be the better off because of it.

III -- Don’t Stop Praying!

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint -- Luke 18:1. I want to pray and pray and pray some more until I get an answer. YHVH will come through, but He is not working on my timetable. I must be patient and at the same time continue to pray. I am going to continue to seek YHVH’s Face until the storm is over.

3 -- TAKE A REALITY CHECK

While it might seem difficult at the moment, when storms come, we really need to take some time, sit back, and examine closely the situation we find ourselves in.

A -- Accept Your Circumstances

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also, shall the rich man fade away in his ways. -- James 1:9-11. There is a lot we could say here, but the main point is that whatever situation you face, YHVH is there. He honours the poor, He humbles the rich, and He makes us face the reality of our life circumstances. Most of the time, there is not a thing I can do about the storm I find myself in, so I need to simply accept it for what it is and then let YHVH get to work in my life. James says that everything is going to fade away eventually, so it is unhealthy to place all of our focus on either our poverty or our riches. No matter what storm hits us in this life, it is going to pass; there is a better day ahead.

B -- Get Ready for Glory

You can take away my job, my income, my health, my family and everything else that I value in this life, but there is one thing you cannot take away: The promise that YHVH has given to me that I will be given the crown of life someday. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which Adonai hath promised to them that love him. -- James 1:12. When the storms invade our lives, we have this one focus that is so crystal clear: YHVH is waiting for us in the land of glory, in heaven we have a home waiting for us and there is nothing that you can throw our way that is going to change that fact. Even if you take away our life, we have eternal life on the other side. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. -- Romans 8:18. We praise YHVH today, because we know the end of all our storms is coming.

FAITH – WHEN THE STORM COMES – PART 1

In Max Lucado’s book, In the Eye of the Storm, he tells the story of Chippie the parakeet. Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second, he was peacefully perched in his cage and the next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said hello, when sssswoopp, Chippie got sucked in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie, still alive but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do… she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. Well, she replied, Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore, he just sits and stares. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over! How many of you can relate to Chippie today? The fact of the matter is that each and every one of us is going to have some struggles in this life, some storms that are going to come. - In John 16:33 Yeshua gave His followers a strange promise, -- Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12, -- everyone who wants to live a godly life in Moshiach Yeshua, will suffer persecution. As the disciples preached in Antioch, Acts 14:22 tells us, -- They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of YHVH through many tribulations. Believers in Moshiach have found this message of Yeshua and Apostles to be true. I know that some of you are facing different storms in your life right now or have been through some only recently. Some of you parents feel your teenagers are putting you through a storm. Some of you teenagers feel your parents are putting you through a storm. Some of you face the storm of not having any parents or ones who don't care. Some of you have faced deadly disease or sickness. Some of you have had some terrible tragedy in your family. Some of you have recently had a loved one that passed away. Each of us is either going through a storm right now or we will face one or more in the future. So, the question before us is not if we will face the storm, but when we do face it how should we, as believers, react?

James gives us several suggestions:

1 -- LET YHVH USE THEM

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers’ temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. -- James 1:2-4. Now this goes completely against the grain! The last thing most of us think of, when storms come into our life is how to use them in a positive manner. But of course, YHVH often goes against the grain. James gives us three ways that YHVH can use the storms of our lives to benefit us.

A -- To Test Us

The storms of life give us a chance to reveal the genuineness of our faith. James refers to trials as the testing of our faith. The word [tested] refers to ore which was put into a fire to burn away impurities. If our faith is real, like gold, it will stand the test of fire and be proved as genuine. Faith comes in two varieties: The IF kind of faith and the NEVERTHELESS kind of faith. One kind of faith says; if all goes well, if life is prosperous and happy, then I will believe in YHVH. The other kind of faith says, nevertheless, though the forces of evil triumph, though everything else goes wrong, and Gethsemane comes and the cross looms, nevertheless I will believe in YHVH. The IF kind of faith was once demonstrated by a young man who asked YHVH to help him pass his exam to be certified in his profession. When he failed the test, he checked out on YHVH. His approach to YHVH was, -- IF You will bless me, then I will serve you. The other kind of faith was demonstrated by a lady whose son was critically injured in a motorcycle accident and whose husband had a heart attack from the shock. At the hospital, where both husband and son were in the ICU, she said to her pastor, -- I'm not going to draw any conclusions from this experience until YHVH gets through with it Anybody can have faith when things are going our way. We show what kind of faith we really have when the troubles come and the lights go out.

B -- To Correct Us

I can still remember a number of times when my dad was about to give me a hiding and he’d give the standard line: -- this is going to hurt me more than it does you. Well, if that’s the case Dad, I’d be glad to switch places! The fact is; my father’s discipline really was for my own good. What I viewed as a trial, helped to shape me for the future. No, I’m not implying that every storm in your life is caused by YHVH, but I am saying that YHVH can use whatever problem you’re going through to help you to reach out to Him and get your life going in the right direction if it is going off course. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy Statutes. -- Psalm 119:71. The times that most of us reach out for YHVH is not when things are going great, but when our lives are going off track. The storms of life often lead us into a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. They give us an opportunity to recognize how much we need Him and grant us security when we realize how willing YHVH is to help.

C -- To Build Us

Facing storms produces endurance in us. Endurance in turn, makes us mature, complete and lacking in nothing. Our trials mould us into fit instruments for YHVH to use. They help our faith to develop and mature. Helen Keller [1880-1968] never knew the beauties of sound or sight. Yet she said of her blindness and deafness, -- I thank YHVH for my handicaps for through them I have found myself, my work and my Elohim. Nature teaches us this same principle. Free a butterfly from its chrysalis and from the struggle of liberating itself and you destroy its life, for it will never develop the strength to soar as it should. When fortitude is lacking in one of YHVH's children, He has a time-tested remedy: -- the testing of our faith. What are our handicaps? What are our unpleasant circumstances? What is it that binds our lives? What causes us to suffer? Don't bemoan these things, James says, rejoice in them. For YHVH may be using these things to mould us into the person he wants us to be. Every experience of suffering is a crossroads in our lives. We can respond in anger and become bitter or we can accept the storm as the chisel YHVH uses to sculpt us into a saint and become better – It's our choice.

Shabbat shalom! Thank you for joining us this whole wonderful week!

For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of YHWH has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
Jeremiah 20:8

The words deeds of the righteous should feel like violent blows to the wicked conscience. Don't be surprised when they react poorly when they see you following and hear you speaking God's commands.