The scent of the Moon & Trees

January 16, 2019March 17, 2019 / Tekoa / Leave a comment

Recently, a friend brought to my attention a very unique flower.

Here in Louisville, at the YEW DELL Botanical Gardens, they had on display an Amorphophallus konjac–aka the Voodoo Lilly, also known as the corpse flower. The flower evokes a horrid smell and an unusual bloom for 2 to 3 days and is native to China. When the plant blooms, it stinks worse than a rotting carcass and multiple photographs resemble a mans member. ( a smelly seed?)

Related image

Multiple lessons ran through my mind as I read the article and watched men from our police department wearing gas mask while inspecting the flower.

It just so happened that the same day my friend sent the article, I read the following definition.

“The name Jericho, according to Jones’ dictionary, may mean the City Of The Moon. Norse Study Bible Name List defines it as a Place Of Fragrance.

If the name Jericho is indicative of the meanings above, what a lovely place to be!

“Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road” (Mark 10:46, NASB).

The Bible describes this blind beggar in Mark like this,

“He was the son of Timaeus.”

He needs the Son of David.

“The name Bartimaeus means Son Of Timaeus. . . And since the name Timaeus means Highly Prized, the name Bartimaeus means Son Of He Who’s Highly Prized, or Son Of honor.

Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) circumvents this conundrum by deriving the second part of the name Bartimaeus from the Hebrew verb טמא (tame), the regular Hebrew word for to be or become unclean. That would render the name Bartimaeus the meaning of “Son of the Unclean One, or Son Of Uncleanness. . .” Abarim Publication.

Sometimes what the world regards as highly prized is actually unclean. Sometimes a flower doesn’t have a sweet aroma.

When we read about various forms of sickness in our Bibles, many have a hidden message that has nothing to do with physical ailments.

Bartimaeus’s father’s name meant “highly valued” as in wealth or goods. These goods could represent knowledge or prophetic gifting or material wealth and esteem. He was known due to his father’s honor of great wealth or of having great goods, but he’s a beggar. His father’s name also meant “unclean.” He was the son of the unclean wealthy man, and he was “blind.”

‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,” (Rev. 3:17).

Miserable. What picture does that word evoke?

When we read the previous story in the book of Mark, chapter 10, we read about a rich young ruler who was righteous and had kept all the commandments since his youth, but Yeshua told him that he lacked in one area. He said go sell everything you own and give it to the poor and follow me. The man left sad.

What’s this have to do with Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus? Much.

Bartimaeus is blind, and he is crying out. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18: 38-39, NASB).

His father isn’t blind physically. If he is, we don’t read that, but what we do learn is that he is unclean.

“For no one who has a defect shall approach: a blind man, or a lame man (the man laid at the gate beautiful), or he who has a disfigured face, or any deformed limb,. . .” Lev. 21:18, NASB).

The list continues.

Just like the woman with the issue of blood:

“Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ‘Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. ‘Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ‘When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.” (Lev. 15:25-28).

Each story is about a greater awakening and healing.

So Yeshua asked the blind man a curious question: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).

Seems like a bizarre question to ask a blind beggar. Isn’t it apparent that he would want to see? Do we want to see? Do we have an unclean area that needs to be healed? Are we crying out in the midst of the crowds around us who are yelling (be quiet)?

Do we see His beautiful moon, can we smell His fragrant flower.

Bartimaeus says, “Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

He was begging alms. Alms is the word for mercy.

I need mercy!

Inkfish has an interesting article on sight and smell. Can you smell the moon?

“Imagine the smell of an orange. Have you got it? Are you also picturing the orange, even though I didn’t ask you to? Try fish. Or mown grass. You’ll find it’s difficult to bring a scent to mind without also calling up an image. It’s no coincidence, scientists say: Your brain’s visual processing center is doing double duty in the smell department.

According to Jadauji, that the brain’s visual processing center is specifically involved in how we process smells. Marring the curriculum plans of kindergarten teachers everywhere, our sense of smell–or at least our skill at identifying different smells–may rely on our sense of vision.”

blind 3

And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God” (Luke 18:41-43).

Both stories deal with spiritual blindness.

Who is our Father?

How does His title differ from Timeaus?

What good things does He offer?

May we cry out to the Son of David to heal our sight and smell and to allow Him to crush us to the point a beautiful aroma comes forth that is pleasing to Him.

(2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV) “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. . .”

(Song of Solomon 2:13 ESV) “The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”

In the book of Mark, chapter 8, there is a blind man, and Yeshua spits on his eyes. He sees men as trees.

In Parashat Shoftim, we learn that men are as trees.

“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, making war against it to capture it, you are not to destroy its trees by swinging an axe at them. For from them you may eat, so you shall not chop them down. For is the tree of the field human, that it should enter the siege before you? ²⁰You may destroy and chop down only the trees that you know are not trees for food, so that you may build siege equipment against the city that is making war with you until its downfall” (Deuteronomy 20:19-20, TLV). When translated it says, “For man is a tree of the field.” We, as trees, are known by our fruit.

An interesting tidbit was shared with me by my sister. We recently bought a house and the owners told us we had a persimmon tree on the property. My sister said, “You can cut open their seeds and inside will be a knife, a fork, or a spoon.” What? Yes, and its supposed to inform us of how bad of a winter we will have. The folklore says that a spoon pattern inside the seeds indicates there will be lots of snow to shovel, a fork pattern inside the seeds indicates the winter will be mild with good eating, and a knife pattern inside the seeds indicates the winter will be cold with cutting winds. My point is, our fruit has a seed inside. Its either good or bad. The fruit of the spirit is 9 items. Just as it takes 9 months for a baby to develop in the womb. These 9 are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

May The KING of GLORY spit on our eyes. May he lay his nail-scarred hands over our vision. May our candles be scented as sweet perfume in a dark world. May our trees have fruit so bountiful that our branches are weighed down to the ground! May His Holy Spirit blow away any scent of a corpse!

I’m going to wrap this up with a passage from Isaiah that makes my mouth water and my eyes see something glorious in the distant.

Is it not yet just a little while

Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,

And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,

And out of their gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.

The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD,

And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 29:17-19.

Willy Wonka Meets Joni & Job, Soul Shine Part VI

January 6, 2019March 15, 2019 / Tekoa / Leave a comment

We ended our last entry looking at two people, Hellen Keller and Nick Vujicic. In this section, we will look at Job, his four friends, and a woman who has inspired me numerous times. But before I lose half my audience, let me say, I do love researching good health and natural medicines. I love the plants and seeds our Father created in all their wonder!

“And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29, ESV). The Bible lists many healthy foods and tips for healing. Song of Songs has various oils and healing properties associated with them, and Deuteronomy can also teach us what there is to eat from in a good land.

No matter what we do to stay fit and care for our temples, these temples will never walk through walls like our Messiah nor will they dine with Him until ‘That Day.’

Paul also tells us that “just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:42-49), and John tells us that “when he appears we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.

But until then, we have pain, suffering, and death. (Romans 8:18, ESV) “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

sun rising

But until That Day, pain comes in many forms. Some of us get a taste of multiple layers of pain like an onion. There is pain that cuts our teeth, as we grind in our sleep. There’s suffering that knocks the breath out of us. Old age–creaking pain that bends backs over. Pain that chews our inner cheeks and nails down. Pain that oozes out of our hearts like blood and stains our clothing. Pain that keeps our minds occupied in the night. Pain, due to stiff necks–prideful pain of bitterness.

The pain of divorce, abandonment, losing loved ones, rejection, losing a spouse or a child, or both. There is the pain of homelessness while living inside a house where no one communicates except through anger, silence, and unforgiveness. We have trauma triggers, Soldiers suffering from wars, poverty and so on. No one reading this is getting out alive.

Pain shouts. It shrieks, it even roars, but there are treasures hidden inside of it.

TREASURES!

“TV NEWSMAN: And now, details on the sudden announcement that has captured the attention of the entire world. Hidden among the countless billions of Wonka Bars are five gold tickets. And to the five people who find them will come the most fabulous prize one could wish for: a lifetime supply of chocolate.”

“SOMEDAY SWEET AS A SONG

CHARLIE’S LUCKY DAY WILL COME ALONG

‘TIL THAT DAY YOU’VE GOTTA STAY IN STRONG, CHARLIE

UP ON TOP IS RIGHT WHERE YOU BELONG

LOOK UP CHARLIE

YOU’LL SEE A STAR

JUST FOLLOW IT AND KEEP YOUR DREAM IN VIEW

PRETTY SOON THE SKY IS GONNA CLEAR UP CHARLIE

CHEER UP, CHARLIE, DO

CHEER UP, CHARLIE

JUST BE GLAD YOU’RE YOU.”

Cheer up, Job, cheer up, pretty soon the sky is gonna clear up. Just be glad you’re you.

The Creator of All told a man sitting in ashes scraping his sores with broken pottery to pray for his healthy ‘friends’ to be healed of a heart condition. Job’s pain had become a jawbreaker, a gobstopper, but the sky was getting ready to clear up.

gobstoppers

Read chapters 38-42 of Job (Lyov) when you have time, but let’s look at a few verses where the Voice of Mighty (YHWH יהוה) thunders!

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

2“Who is this that darkens counsel

By words without knowledge?

3“Now gird up your loins like a man,

And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding,

5Who set its measurements? Since you know.

Or who stretched the line on it?

6“On what were its bases sunk?

Or who laid its cornerstone,

7When the morning stars sang together

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8“ Or who enclosed the sea with doors

When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb.

When I made a cloud its garment

And thick darkness its swaddling band,

10And I placed boundaries on it

And set a bolt and doors,

11And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;

And here shall your proud waves stop’?

12“Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,

And caused the dawn to know its place,

13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And the wicked be shaken out of it?

14“It is changed like clay under the seal;

And they stand forth like a garment.

15“From the wicked their light is withheld,

And the uplifted arm is broken.

16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea

Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18“Have you understood the expanse of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this” (Job 38:2-18, NASB).

WOWZER!

The Book of Job is an ancient piece of comparative theology and a deep well of wisdom to glean from. By the time Job, a blade of grass, a worm, stood before the Mighty YAH, he was seeing himself for the first time in the light of how small and insignificant his knowledge and understanding were.

“ 1Then the LORD said to Job,

2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who reproves God answer it.”

3Then Job answered the LORD and said,

4“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?

I lay my hand on my mouth.

5“Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;

Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said,

7“Now gird up your loins like a man;

I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

8“Will you really annul My judgment?

Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

9“Or do you have an arm like God,

And can you thunder with a voice like His?

10“Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity,

And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.

11“Pour out the overflowings of your anger,

And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.

12“Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,

And tread down the wicked where they stand.

13“Hide them in the dust together;

Bind them in the hidden place.

14“Then I will also confess to you,

That your own right hand can save you” (Job 40:1-14, NASB).

job 2

Can you imagine? Do you tremble when thinking about what it would feel like to stand before HIM and hear the voice of thunder proclaim the message above while shaking in sackcloth and covered in sores? And I didn’t even touch the length and depth of suffering in the previous chapters.

Job is sitting in ashes scraping his boils. He has watched his life and identity collapse in front of him. His friends accuse and judge him wrongfully while giving him useless advice. They are scholars. His children are dead, and his wife tells him to curse God and die.

Suddenly, this man Job has eyes to see and healing to meet.

Abba speaks to him and tells him something unique. He informs him He has wrath for his friends, but first let’s look at how Job answered the Mighty King and Creator of ALL THINGS!

1Then Job answered the LORD and said,

2“I know that You can do all things,

And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

3‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

4‘Hear, now, and I will speak;

I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

5“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;

But now my eye sees You;

6Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Wow, I want to repeat one sentence– read it slowly with me.

“I have heard of YOU by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees you;”

Oh, Abba help us all!

It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. 8“Now, therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” 9So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job.

A sick, broken man scraping PUS, who has lost it all, is going to pray for the intellectuals— and they are going to make sacrifices.

We must rethink what we know. After losing his cattle, sheep, donkeys, servants, and children, this man does something unthinkable.

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said,

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked I shall return there.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

The epistle, James, tells us that Job was an example of how to endure trials, and According to Abarim publications, “Bildad the Shuhite probably had something to do with Baal, and Bel centered theology, and young Elihu, son of Barachel of Buz of Ram, probably represented the El cult of Canaan. Job’s friend Eliphaz the Temanite was roughly a contemporary of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and the father of Teman. In that particular model, Job would represent a proto-form of Hebraic Yahwism, whereas Eliphaz would represent the belief system of Edom at large. Note that both Job and Eliphaz lived in Edom — Job in Uz and Eliphaz in Edom’s capital Teman — and the friendly friction between Job and Eliphaz may, in fact, be a re-visitation of the brotherly friction between Jacob and Esau.” Click Here.

But let’s continue pealing the onion and look at a woman with a heart for Him regardless of suffering. This next lady is an inspiration for us all.

I watched a show years ago on TBN where a woman gave her testimony, and at the end of the show, the host wanted to pray for Abba to raise her up out of a wheelchair. She said, “That’s great; I’ll take any prayers I can get, but pray for my heart to be right, pray for me to forgive quickly and be used for his glory… I’m paraphrasing, but I never forgot her; her name is Joni.

When I think about Joni Eareckson Tada, my heart wants to burst. A teenage dive into shallow water goes wrong. “She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels and became a quadriplegic (or tetraplegic), paralyzed from the shoulders down.”

A woman with no ability to use her arms has written over 40 books.

A golden ticket!

“Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.” Willy Wonka.

Back in the day, Joni learned to write with a pen between her teeth and paint with a brush there as well. For me to list all her accomplishments and works would take up this whole blog post, but I’ll share a few.

Tada founded Joni and Friends in 1979, an organization to “accelerate Christian ministry in the disability community”[5] throughout the world. In 2007 the Joni and Friends International Disability Center in Agoura Hills, California, was established. The Joni and Friends International Disability Center runs a multi-faceted non-profit covering a number of program outlets. The longest running program is “Joni and Friends Radio” and can be heard each weekday on over 1,000 broadcast outlets. Tada also records a one-minute radio broadcast “Diamonds in the Dust” that airs daily.[7] Other Joni and Friends programs include Family Retreats (a camp/retreat experience for families affected by disability),[8] Wounded Warrior Getaways (which offer a similar experience for families of Wounded Warriors),[10] and Wheels for the World (collects manual wheelchairs and other mobility devices which are refurbished by volunteers in prison restoration shops then shipped overseas where the wheelchairs are fitted by physical therapists to people in developing nations).”

What would possess a person to help so many suffering souls? What would cause a person to refurbish wheelchairs and help wounded warriors?

Another wounded warrior!

A diamond in the dust.

She could have wallowed in pity and defeat but what amazing accomplishments she has acquired while running her race to get the gold. Her paintings and words help heal many who walk upright and use hands and feet and limbs that work perfect! She is running even though she cannot stand.

“GRANDPA JOE:

I NEVER THOUGHT MY LIFE COULD BE

ANYTHING BUT CATASTROPHE

BUT SUDDENLY I BEGIN TO SEE

A BIT OF GOOD LUCK FOR ME

‘CAUSE I’VE GOT A GOLDEN TICKET

I’VE GOT A GOLDEN TWINKLE IN MY EYE

I NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO SHINE

NEVER A HAPPY SONG TO SING

BUT SUDDENLY HALF THE WORLD IS MINE

WHAT AN AMAZING THING

‘CAUSE I’VE GOT A GOLDEN TICKET.”

“The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him” (Job 42:10-11, NASB).

May He restore us. May we use our teeth, our thumbs, ears, every part of our body that will function because all the parts of the body joined together is like a well oiled machine.

Blessings, Tekoa!

Part #1 HERE

Part #2 HERE

Part # 3 HERE

Part # 4 HERE

Part #5 HERE

Sources:

Willy Wonka:

http://wonkadotcom.tripod.com/script.html

Abarim Publication: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Job.html#.XDIIAE3sbUg

The Candy Man: Sammy Davis Jr.

Joni Eareckson Tada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Eareckson_Tada

Photos of Job: http://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/job/

Photo of Joni: Ambassador Advertising

Various photos of movie: Google

Willy Wonka and Soul Shine Part V

January 3, 2019January 6, 2019 / Tekoa / 6 Comments

What can healthy people learn from the chronically ill or those with disabilities? I want to show you something extraordinary, but you’ll have to take some advice from Willy Wonka and his fantastic quote.
‘Strike that, now reverse it!’

Roald Dahl, the author of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, has many hidden gems– so many indeed, I’ll be sprinkling them throughout.

Yes, strike out what you’ve been programmed to believe and reverse it.
Grandpa Joe, in the movie Willy Wonka, got out of his sick bed when his grandson received a golden ticket, but I have some dear friends right now with ALS, MS, RA, etc. that haven’t been able to get out of bed for months—can’t feed themselves, bathe themselves, wipe their __ themselves. Unless Yeshua walks into their rooms and heals them, they are going to be gathered with their loved ones sooner than later. And HE can, but He hasn’t yet.

No golden ticket, Charlie.

I have another friend with RA that has been in a nursing home bed over a decade—a decade in bed, but she has ministered to me during some of my darkest hours. She ministers from a bed of suffering typing text on good days with her pinky fingers as her other ones are like crinkle French fries.

time

“Time is a precious thing. Never waste it.” Willy Wonka.

But I ask, which person would waste more time, a person disabled or one with good health? All of us are prone to waste precious time, but I think you’ll be amazed at some of the people I cover in this post. Many of them could have consumed their whole lives in pity, anger, doubt, and fear, but instead ministered and still are ministering to the masses. They don’t have long healing lines wrapped around buildings. They don’t make millions or own jets, but what they have sparkles and shimmers from the inside–out.

“Where is fancy bred? In the heart or in the road?” Willy Wonka.

I asked the Father some questions the other day. Perplexing questions. I was feeling overwhelmed by the many sick people He has sent across my path, and also not having the time or strength to be there for them like I want to be. Many times, I talk to the Father but don’t get a quick response, but that day He astounded me.
That day, multiple blogs, memes, and posts on social media were upsetting me, but not just me, friends as well. I’ll give a couple of examples:
“Start each day with a jog–eat these foods instead of these–motivate yourself, make kale chips, take a yoga class, gets some CBD oil/ essential oil, water mineral drops, bone broth, etc.”
Sometimes healthy people upset sick people, and sometimes sick people frustrate the healthier ones, especially those who’ve conquered obesity, Cancer, thyroid issues and the list goes on. They want to fix us.

While meditating, Suddenly, I heard this in my spirit.

“Nick Vujicic wouldn’t have the ministry he does encouraging people if he had limbs.”

Immediately there Nick was before me smiling.

legless man
I meditated on that for a bit. If you don’t know who Nick is, He is one of seven known cases in the world of people born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs. ” According to his autobiography, his mother refused to see him or hold him when the nurse held him in front of her, but she and her husband eventually accepted the condition and understood it as “God’s plan for their son.”

His bio is long, but here’ a snippet.

“Since his first speaking engagement at age 19, Nick has traveled around the world, sharing his story with millions, sometimes in stadiums filled to capacity, speaking to a range of diverse groups such as students, teachers, young people, business professionals and church congregations of all sizes.”

The Father speaks to Moshe, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11, NASB).

Let’s get back to what I heard:
“Nick Vujicic wouldn’t have the ministry he does, encouraging people, if he had limbs.”
What a profound thought! And possibly due to his smiling photo splashing in his pool, we only see one side of his life. If he was sitting in a wheelchair looking disparaged and weary, would we see him the same? Would our emotions change? Of course, they would.
Some would argue that if the Father healed him and he grew limbs, he’d have a more prominent ministry, but what has given him a ministry is his attitude and vigor to make something of this precious life regardless of his physical condition. By the way, two of the seven with tetra-amelia syndrome are sports writers and journalist.

I believe in healing and multiple ways of being healed, but is everyone healed physically? No. Not even the most righteous missionaries in the Newer Testament. Not even the great prophet Elisha who died in his disease. Wouldn’t they be eating foods that were grown the Torah way? Eating Kosher? Of course! Wouldn’t they have a better grasp of anointing oils and laying hands on the sick? Why would Paul (Sha’ul) tell Timothy to have a little wine for his stomach, if a swing of his suit jacket, a dab of oil and a “By His stripes you are healed” would work?

“Wrong sir, wrong!” Willy Wonka.

But let’s face it, there are many people with arms and legs that are suffering greater than smiling Nick. He encourages people to enjoy life and be thankful, grateful even, but if you give him enough kale juice, cut out sugar and carbs, slather him in oils, will he grow arms and legs? Not likely. These things work well for the person who is healthy, or for the ones who have taken their health for granted and have become couch potatoes.
I want to present a thought: Could Nick be more whole than you and I? More joyful–More thankful? Wasting less time than those with limbs?
Have you ever visited a nursing home, hospital, or orphanage to minister to someone and they ended up ministering to you? Happens every time!
There was a man named Lazarus who died and went to Abraham’s bosom. He wasn’t wealthy or healthy. He was sick and in need of food. He had sores oozing. However, in the next life, it was the wealthy strong man who was in torment.

The next life. . .

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores” (Luke 16:19-21, NASB).

If you want to view paradise, take around and view it.” Willy Wonka.

I’ve written about sickness often, but possibly not in these shades of grey and the worse I suffer, the more I have to say. These blogs aren’t for everyone, but perhaps they will help a few.
People quote multiple verses on healing. They use them over and over for friends who just received a diagnosis, but most of these people boldly quoting, still wear prescription eyeglasses and see a dentist, take medications for pain or a Tylenol on occasion. Possibly many who claim divine healing took the chemo, had the surgery, etc. for extra coverage.
If a person who has paraplegia or a person with quadriplegia is brought into the room, will those who are shouting verses, and natural cures, will they walk over and yell “Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Stand up and walk! He came for you to have an abundant life!” Would they be inclined to tell them to just eat some kale and drink some pomegranate juice– live the Torah way?
Doubtful.
He did come to give us life and life more abundantly! And Nick is living just that! But Lazarus wasn’t. He was right in front of the Rich man, but the rich man never poured wine or oil in, he didn’t medicate his sores or let him eat at his table. It was a healthy, wealthy man who needed to be healed of a heart condition.

By His stripes, we are healed,” is a popular one used for the sick. Peter uses this verse to point out a truth. “…and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1st Peter 2:24 NASB). Yes, often it’s talking about being healed from sin, and the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

Is there a measure used when regarding how Powerful Our Father is? Is someone with poor eyesight or an earache a better candidate to be healed than say, Nick, growing arms? Why don’t we pray to throw out our bifocals at 40? Why did a man who had vigor and perfect eyesight walk up a hill and die? Because Abba said, it’s time, Moses. Because Abba said its time, Son.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting” (Deuteronomy 31:14, NASB).
“Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated” (Deut. 34:7, NASB).

“Bubbles, Bubbles everywhere, But not a drop to drink” Willy Wonka.

I know that most people want those suffering to get better–to live happily ever after. They do everything out of love, and they want the ones in anguish to be made whole! But what if the person in front of them is more whole than they are? Even happier?
Sometimes things are opposite.

“Strike that, now reverse it!” Willy Wonka.

Psalm 73,

“Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!
2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.

3For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4For there are no pains in their death,
And their body is fat.

5They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.

6Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.

7Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.

8They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.

9They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth.

10Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

11They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

12Behold, these are the wicked;
And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
And washed my hands in innocence;

14For I have been stricken all day long
And chastened every morning. (Psalm 73:1-13, NASB).
Do you feel stricken and chastened? Job did. Jeremiah did and many others.

Another person who was born with much adversity was Helen Keller, but she accomplished more than most people who were born with eyes to see and ears to hear.

“Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world… there’s nothing to it.” Willy Wonka.

“Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, was made famous by Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker.”
What would her life have been like if she was healthy, had perfect vision, and powerful hearing?

AWW, BUT SHE DID!

helen_reading

She saw and heard things many did not, thanks be to her mentor, Anne Sullivan. Who are you mentoring right now that has greatness inside of them, things that need to be birthed for future generations?

One for Israel has a fascinating blog on the life of Hellen. Here’s a snippet:

“Helen visited Israel shortly after it was founded, to promote rights for the disabled and to be an encouragement to the newly-born state. There she met Golda Meir who was Israel’s Labor Minister at that time, and the friendship between the two continued through letters after she had returned to the United States.
She worked with the American Institute for the Blind for 44 years, and while in Israel teamed up with the Jewish Institute for the Blind, who presented her with a special silver-covered Jewish Bible when she visited them there.

Many of these facts, visits, and letters are not well known to the public, but possibly one of the most powerful pieces in the Keller archive is a letter to the Student Body of Germany, written in 1933. The German universities had been burning books that contradicted their evil agenda, including a book that Helen herself had written on socialism and social justice, and hearing of it shortly afterward, Helen’s anger and sharp words warned the Nazis;

“History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas….
Do not imagine your barbarities to the Jews are unknown here.
God sleepeth not, and He will visit His Judgment upon you.”(1). Click HERE

Would Helen Keller be the same bold, compassionate woman without her disabilities? Without her teacher? Perhaps, but doubtful in the measure of hunger she exuded. How many people with spiritually closed ears and eyes laid hands on her or prayed for her to see while they sat blind and naked without hunger or passion? We can have 20/20 vision and be blind as a bat.
Oh, friends, we must rethink some things.

“We have so much time and so little to see.
Strike that, now reverse it!” Willy Wonka
We’ve looked at a few people with disabilities in this portion, but we will look at some with dis-ease, depression and mental health as we continue in our next portion of Willy Wonka, Part # VI.

wonka suspense

Part # 1 HERE

Part # 2 HERE

Part # 3 HERE

Part # 4 HERE

Part # 5 HERE

Part # 6 HERE

Grace

December 4, 2018 / Tekoa / 7 Comments

cabin

The picture above is a cabin that was built out of refurbished wood from my grandpa and grandma Green’s home. It was built on their land, and I love it.

I entered this particular poem in a contest a few months back but did not win. However, I enjoyed writing it and since my husband and I just moved into our new home, with the lights of Hanukkah shining brightly, it seemed like a good time to post it. I hope you enjoy!

Even the quilts were tired here.
The bedraggled mattress sagged like an old man’s baggy trousers.
The tile floors were worn, and the grout had crept away little by little with every sweep.
The stairs hung like a sunken ship,
its stepping too exhausted to hold up feet.
The chairs, with their feeble legs, refused to offer any bones a place to sit.
The walls held each other in an embrace that looked like men coming home from battle.
One huff and one puff from the wolf would collapse the rooms like a cardboard box
still, the house hung on for dear life.

Rumples and cracks filled corners like spider webs.
The ceilings with their age spots and vein lines gave way to the constant dripping of tears that needed proper patching.
Pipes coughed up hairballs but never found the strength to feel a river run through them again.
The windows plucked their bushy eyebrows by shedding the moth-eaten cloths that covered their eyes. The sun had given up trying to shine through their glass panes coated in grime.
The front door hung on one hinge, swaying to the sound of the mulberry trees mournful refrains from the yard.
The foundation raised up in a few places, trying to gasp for a breath of strength but never falling back into place—stuck in passing.
The cupboards echoed with emptiness, no longer a place where little hands grasped the delicacies hidden on shelves.
No more little feet were running to greet its arms.

The shades closed their eyes, and the chimney stopped its breath.
And the dilapidated old house, board by board was falling to its death.
The autopsy revealed it had died of a lonely heart.

One day some men came.
The house straightened his torso as best he could, and attempted to hold the beams and the boards for the men’s girth and weight.
One young man looked familiar
As if the walls held bits of his laughter,
Smudges of his fingers and words soaked in plaster
Yes, the house had felt his presence, he was sure of it now.
Another man yelled, “Shall we bulldoze it and throw the wood in the fire?”
Another mouthed, “Yeah, doesn’t look like there is much left here to savage.”

The house gathered all his strength and mouthed an exhausted, “no.”

The following week a young man in a truck took the bones and stacked each limb, even the stair rail was placed neatly in the bed of the pick-up.
“Where are you taking me?” the disjointed pieces asked.
Shiplap, and refurbishing the old with the new, and the tired house straightened its shoulders as each piece was nailed in place. Each limb was given a new anchor to hold.
Once again was heard the sound of tiny feet, a bark, a yell, a chimney sweep–music and laughter, and chatter galore.
The old house felt as useful here with his new friends as before.
The windows needed no scrubbing. The stairs were sturdy and straight, and the stars danced on the roof with the sound of rain.
It’s like a dream thought the house as he looked around. Freshly coated paint and shiny new floors. No mildew, no spiders, no rotten floors. No broken down bedding or sheets with stains and the old boards embraced the books on the shelf, the scent of babies and freshly baked breads.

Suddenly, the front door opened, sturdy and straight adorned with a brass knocker, and from the front yard, a new maple tree waved as the new owners invited their guest to enter the threshold.

“I love what you’ve done with the place! Using grandpa and grandma Green’s wood from the old homestead was a magnificent idea! ”

And the chairs in the kitchen straightened their backs as the children sat down to enjoy a meal. The adults held their glasses up for a toast, “May peace, joy, health, kindness, and good fortune live here!”
And the house straightened his posture, and bowed his head and in appreciation said
Grace.

Can Angels Sin? Doctrines of Demons Part #1, Chapter 19.

November 6, 2018 / Tekoa / 3 Comments

Can angels sin? Were one-third of the angels cast out of heaven? Many of the doctrines we have been taught contradict themselves, don’t line up historically or make no sense. More than likely, you have heard several interpretations from Genesis six. The most prevalent one is that angels fell into sin and slept with the daughters of men or the seed of Cain and this caused giants to appear on the earth. Let’s read:

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

–Genesis 6:1-2, KJV

As I said in the last chapter, I don’t believe angels can sin. Many believe Satan was an angel who fell due to pride and that one-third of the angels left with him. Yeshua’s words suggest just the opposite.

Yeshua answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the Angels of God in heaven.

–Matthew 22:29, KJV

Multiple teachers have confidence in the theory that the angels fell, slept with mortal women, and reproduced giants. However, after careful study, I believe this may be a false doctrine of demons. Of course, I was not there during that time period, but let’s dig in deeper and see if we can uncover some clues. The first portion of this chapter is written by my eighty-two-year-old father who has studied the Bible for years and will give you the accounts of what he believes happened at the beginning of Genesis. Let’s go now and look at my father’s theory and see if it holds water.

Buddy Green’s theory is as follows:

I discovered a lot of things that I never heard any preacher or anyone else for that matter mention, let alone try to explain. I am NOT claiming to be an authority on doctrine. However, you will see what I am telling you is simply what I believe Adonai’s Word says. I am going to start with the gap theory. I am sure most of you have heard of this theory that may or may not have happened between Genesis 11 and 12. They claim this was a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. This may or may not have happened; it’s still just a theory. I want to talk about another gap theory that very few mention. That is the gap between the time Adonai created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden until the time they sinned. I don’t think anyone would just assume that they were given a paradise with everything they could ever hope for on the first day and then by the next day had already disobeyed a commandment Adonai had given them. (Jewish tradition suggests it took seven years). It could have been years; the Bible does not say. I believe they were still living in eternity until they sinned. You see, that is when I believe time started.

Here is where I am going to say something that will probably blow your mind but don’t quit reading. Please hear me out. I believe Adam and Eve (Chavah) could have had a number of children before they sinned. It’s all there in Genesis. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: (Genesis 1:28, KJV). Then after they had sinned, He says in Genesis 3:16 “…I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;” (KJV). Now we believe Adonai can do anything. However, our Father knows how to multiply, and zero multiplied by any number is still zero. If there had never been the pain of childbirth before, Adonai could not have multiplied it. This is the first proof they may have had children before they sinned. The second proof is found in Genesis 3:20 it says, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (KJV). Then in the beginning of chapter four, it says, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord” (KJV). She was already the mother of all living back in the third chapter of Genesis. You may be thinking, well, perhaps it was not written in chronological order. I say perhaps it was. For the third proof, we need to go back to the third chapter of Genesis and the last verse. “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24, NIV). Why would Adonai do this? Why didn’t He just destroy the garden? I believe the reason he couldn’t destroy it then was because he was protecting the children and grandchildren of Adam and Eve. The sages believe the garden represented Israel. Possibly there were many generations that were still in the garden and had not sinned. I know some of you are thinking if this is true what happened to these people and why are they not mentioned in the Bible? Well, they may be.

Let’s take a look at Genesis 6:1-2. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (KJV). If these were not children of Adam and Eve that had not sinned, then who were they? I have heard some say they were fallen angels. But the Bible calls them sons of Adonai. (Sons who kept Torah) Let’s look at Hebrews 5. “For unto which of the Angels said he at any time, you are my Son;” (Hebrews 1:5, KJV). Furthermore, Romans 5:14 says, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression…” (KJV). Now think about this, to have sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, wouldn’t one have to of been in the garden and eat of the forbidden fruit in order to do that? Not necessarily, let’s look at a better translation for more understanding. “Nevertheless, death ruled from Adam until Moshe, even over those whose sinning was not exactly like Adam’s violation of a direct command.” (CJB). The point is the sons of Adonai were sinning, not celestial beings.

The genealogy of Yeshua says, “The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:38, NIV). Therefore, it makes sense to me if Adam was the son of Adonai, for he is listed, then we can assume that children born before Adam and Eve sinned would be sons of Adonai as well. Another reason they couldn’t have been demons or fallen angels is found in Genesis 6:4 it says, “…when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (KJV). If demonic angels could reproduce, we would be overrun with them. There would be one behind every tree and dozens in every closet. “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30, NIV). This indicates to me that angels do not reproduce. How could they when they are celestial beings?

Let’s go back to Genesis chapter 6:3, “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (KJV).

I have heard preachers use this verse and say, “Saints, if you turn away from the Holy Spirit, there will come a time when He will no longer deal with you.” Well, this may very well be true, but in my opinion, that’s not what He is talking about here. He is displeased with the sons of Adonai for defiling themselves with these daughters of men born after the sinful nature (Torahlessness). I have also heard some people read this and say this is speaking of when Adonai shortened man’s life to one hundred and twenty years. Personally, I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about here either. I think he was displeased with these Sons of Adonai taking wives and defiling themselves with these daughters of men born after the sinful nature. (Possibly, these men and women would not have been in the garden area, under the covenant with Adam as their High Priest. These would have been men who turned their back on our Father’s instructions and sought their fleshly nature).

My father has written some interesting thoughts here, wouldn’t you agree? It’s possible there were children before Adam and Eve (Chavah) fell. Who am I to say it’s impossible? I for one wanted to cut in and tell you some reasons why I think much of his theory holds water, and that is not just due to men in the Bible being referred to as “Sons of Adonai” but being referred to as angels as I explained earlier. Many have disputed my father’s theory; however, I believe much of this understanding of giants stems from Greek and Roman myths as well as other Asian cultures. I’m not saying the N’filim were not on the earth at that time, just that they are possibly not half-angel/half-man.

In Greek mythology, the Titans were a people of massive proportions who were the offspring of Olympian gods. It was believed that the Titans were imprisoned in a section of the underworld called Tartarus. II Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; …” (NKJV).

Marcellus Kik, a minister and teacher who has studied at both Princeton and Westminster Theological Seminaries. explains, “The Greek term aggelos (angels) does not always refer to such heavenly spirits. The meaning of the term must be determined by the context.” For example in the book of Matthew, it says, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” 11:10 KJV. This is clearly talking about John the Baptist and not an angel messenger. Many times the word “messenger” is a person and not an angel. According to the Jewish encyclopedia, the Hebrew word “mal’akh” is the standard Hebrew Bible word for “messenger.” This word refers to both human and divine.” [1]

Let’s rethink this verse in II Peter, along with the verse that coincides in Jude:

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their position of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

– Jude 1:5-6, KJV

Could the translators have erred when rendering the word “angels?” We will delve in deeper in part two of this interesting topic.

Part Two

angel

We closed our last portion with a verse concerning a very touchy topic, angels who did not keep their authority. From reading Jude’s account, we can see that this is talking about a circumstance that happened after Egypt when Adonai brought the children of Israel out. The topic has something to do with positions of authority. Let’s look at something that fits perfectly with what is going on.

Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s Tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.

–Numbers 16:8-10, KJV

This fits well when we see the angels (angelos) as men. If you read the whole chapter of II Peter, you will see that Adonai is talking about the wicked men in Noah’s day, the wicked men of Sodom and Gomorrah, and also these men who followed Korah. They did not keep their positions of authority because they wanted to usurp the priesthood! Let’s look at this deeper and see exactly what this casting down to hell is about.

Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.

–Numbers 16:28-29, KJV

As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

–Numbers 6:31-35, NASB

When we place all of this information together from Jude and II Peter and the timeline of Moses and Korah, we see even further that the whole topic is unified. Look at what else Jude has to say about this:

In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams, these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

–Jude 1:8-10, KJV

These men of Korah rejected Adonai’s mighty prophet Moses’s authority, and the earth swallowed them up. Hell is a word that has multiple meanings, and in this particular case, it means Tartarus from the Greek word Tartaroo, which is used only once in the Newer Testament in (II Peter 2:4). This is not referring to a place of flaming fire, and you cannot chain celestial beings there. They walk through things. They disappear. They fly. I strongly believe this is the men who rose up against Aaron and Moses.

“David Chilton makes the same point, showing that in the Older Testament the word mal’ak, often translated “angel,” is used for human prophets in II Chronicles 36:15-16; Haggai 1:13; and Malachi 3:1. The “angels of the seven churches” in Revelation are surely human leaders since it makes no sense to write a letter to a spirit angel. Spirit angels are members of God’s heavenly Council, and so are human prophets (and in the New Covenant, all believers). Thus, the term “angel” sometimes refers to a human prophet or messenger, and not always to spirit angels. [See David Chilton, The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Ft. Worth: Dominion Press, 1987), pp. 81-83.”

This should clarify and open your eyes to more understanding. I will use the next verse to elaborate more on this issue. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8 NASB). This word “angel” is also a word for a prophet or a messenger of Adonai. Remember, John the Baptist was Adonai’s chosen messenger, but according to this verse, others could have preached another gospel. Other angels? No, other men. Can you imagine an angel standing in all its glory, able to soar and fly, appear and disappear, said to do all Adonai’s bidding, teaching a contrary gospel? Never!

“His created ones, who do His commands and obey Him. “Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!” (Psalm 103:20, NASB). He also has angels who He sends to wreak havoc and destroy, but one thing is certain, He controls them. “He sent upon them His burning anger, Fury and indignation and trouble, A band of destroying angels” (Psalm 78:49, NASB). He controls all of them, and as scripture explains clearly, they are His servants. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14, NASB).

Below is a quote from “Yahweh’s Restoration” titled “The Sons of Elohim:”

“The theory that angels mated with mortal women later crept into the Septuagint version. Of the three oldest manuscripts of the Septuagint, only the Codex Alexandrinus of the fifth century offers the word “angels” in Genesis 6:2 instead of “sons of Elohim.” Not one of the Hebrew manuscripts, however, has the word “angels” in Genesis 6:2. Instead, all Hebrew manuscripts read “sons of Elohim.’ [2]

Also, I would like to quote from the book of Jasher, which is referred to in Joshua 10:13 and II Samuel 1:18. Just as there were multiple copies of the book of Enoch, there were several copies of the book of Jasher as well. One published in London in 1751 and again in Bristol in 1829, these two were considered imitations. Below in italics is part of the introduction to the book.

“During this same time, a legitimate book of Jasher was translated into English in England. Because of the unfavorable excitement caused by the bogus books of Jasher, the translator was reluctant to publish his edition. He chose to remain anonymous, and in 1840 he sold his translation of the book of Jasher to a Jewish newspaper editor and prominent New York publisher named Mordecai Manuel Noah.”

And this is the source I am quoting from. We will start at Jasher 4 verses 16, 17, and part of 18.

“And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the Lord. And every man made himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence. And their Judges and Rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice…”

This type of wickedness is currently something we see happening in the middle-east by extremists and sadly, all over the world due to sexual lust. I must continue to voice that I believe angelic beings were created perfect and were never put out of heaven. Many scriptures seem to imply that the angels are perfect and created for Adonai.

Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!

Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.

He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.

–Psalm 148:2-6, NASB

Adonai just spoke in Psalms that He created the angels for Him and that He established them forever! He informs us that there is great joy in heaven over one sinner repenting. Having said that, we must realize by this point that it is clearly possible that Satan is not an angel. Also, Lucifer is a Latin word as we have already discussed in prior chapters.

I believe these angels Adonai created are perfect, immortal, and used by Adonai. The dragon many say is Satan is described in Revelations.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

–Revelations 12:3-4, NASB

Many say Satan is the dragon and the stars are fallen, angels. However, does Satan have seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on his head? No. These are kingdoms and rulers of these kingdoms. It is kings who wear crowns, not angels. It describes the worldly kings of the earth. Yeshua told the people, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear my words? “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:43-44, NASB). Was their father literally the devil? These people were not angels nor were they fallen deities, they were men who could not hear the Word of Adonai. Their father wasn’t literally Satan. They had earthly fathers. Their fathers were the religious leaders who had brainwashed them.

“Among the Pharisees were two schools of thought, based on the teachings of two rabbis, Shammai and Hillel. Shammai called for a strict, unbending interpretation of the Law on almost every issue, but Hillel taught a looser, more liberal application. Followers of Shammai fostered a hatred for anything Roman, including taxation—Jews who served as tax collectors were persona non grata. The Shammaites wanted to outlaw all communication and commerce between Jews and Gentiles. The Hillelites took a more gracious approach and opposed such extreme exclusiveness. Eventually, the two schools within Pharisaism grew so hostile to each other that they refused to worship together.” [3]

The strict school of Shammai is where we get the term “synagogue of satan.” Those who sat under him were told their father was the devil (an adversary). They did not want Yeshua to be King. They were in control, and they loved the power, wealth, and control of the people (Anti-Christ). When they came to arrest Yeshua and Peter drew his sword, Yeshua told him this: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:23, NASB). Twelve legion is more than 36,000 angels. He doesn’t seem concerned about any fallen ones or about these men who have come to arrest him.

Yeshua called men who were religious evil serpents: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33, NIV). But we know these men were not literally snakes. This Babylonian system is one that will be hurled down at the end of days. This system that has destroyed and taken from the poor, the widows and the orphans, and has piled up for itself kingdoms on earth with money it has stolen from the needy, will one day be judged.

Have you ever noticed that the beast in Revelation thirteen also has seven heads? Perhaps there is even more to these scriptures. Did you know the constellation Draco is the Greek word for dragon and is referred to as the serpent, dragon, and devil? It really does have a tail, and it sweeps the stars and causes meteor showers.

Now, let’s revisit Revelations 12:1-5:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman (Virgo/Rachel/ Israel) clothed with the sun (Father), with the moon (Celestial calendar/Feast/His seasons) under her feet and a crown of twelve stars (Twelve Tribes,) on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon (Constellation Draco/ adversary/ Babylonian System) with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (3.5 years or 1^st half of tribulation).

“Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun (Rachel) and the moon (Jacob) and eleven stars (Eleven brothers plus Joseph, all twelve tribes) were bowing down to me” (Genesis 37:9, NASB).

Do you still believe this dragon is a red horned angel with a pitchfork? This woman is Israel. There is much more. What is happening in the heavens is being played out on the earth. “On earth as it is in Heaven” might have a deeper meaning than we thought. We look to the moon for His calendar and Festivals.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; it rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

–Psalm 19:1-5, NASB

This knowledge spoken of is increasing not just in the world but among Adonai’s people. Adonai has always used His skies for times, seasons, and yes, prophecy. Everything is not black and white yet. As we get closer to His return, I believe the gray areas will decrease as knowledge increases. I pray that the revelation in this chapter is a start at digging into Adonai’s Word with new ears to hear even more of what the Spirit has to say!

There will be more evidence and scripture reference concerning this topic in Doctrines of Demons Part 3. New release coming soon.

[1][1] [J. Marcellus Kik, An Eschatology of Victory (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1971), p. 147f.]

[2] https://yrm.org/the-sons-of-elohim/

[3] Bible Answers for Almost all Your Questions by Elmer Towns

The Story of Us

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 / Tekoa / Leave a comment

jenn 2 This blog is especially late and should have been posted right after Yom Kipper/ Day of Atonement, but life happens. I hope you enjoy this tribute to friends who have a unique story to share. Keith & Jenn, I wish you nothing but the best.

In Sleeping Beauty, due to a curse, the Princess falls into a deep sleep for 100 years until one day she is awakened by a kiss from a king’s son. What would cause a bride to forget about her wedding date, lose interest in her first love and fall asleep? It could only be poison.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. (Matt 25:1-10, NASB).

This blog post will tell a unique story of two lovers and their journey. Throughout this blog, you will hear two distinct voices, the voice of the bride, Jennifer, and my own voice. I will warn you, it is a tad longer than most my writings, but one of my favorites thus far. Before we get started on this journey, I want you to picture a Glorious King and our bridal clothing, clean and white, without spot or wrinkle. Brides get new names. Brides wear royal garments. You are about to enter a wedding ceremony on a most peculiar date. It’s not a lavish ceremony. There were no tuxedos, no grand ballroom displays. No champagne or limousine for the bride and her maidens, but there was something there, something tangibly felt. The wind of His Breath breathed on the people, and many of the people wept. The name Jennifer means ‘Fair one.’ Keith means ‘the Forest/ Wind.’ Both meanings hint to His Holy Spirit—a MIGHTY rushing wind blowing upon us.

Jennifer:

Our wedding date was chosen because it was 13 days after his birthday (Sept

5) and 13 days before mine (Oct 2).

I felt completely confirmed in the date because of not only our favorite number 13 (love, unity, covenant, and eternity) but also because the date would be 9-18-18. Nine (fruitfulness, fruit of the spirit, and the womb) being the number signifying birth and 18 (life, prayer, worship) being double that (plus 8+1=9 again). I felt it appropriate that we would be birthing our future, our permanence, and our ministry from the very day of our wedding onward.

This event was placed on a very unusual date indeed, the evening going into the Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur, a Tuesday night at 6:30 pm. If you are unfamiliar with this day, I hope the theme of the wedding and the hidden nuggets from His Word spark your interest.

Jennifer and Keith had been young sweethearts; now 30 years later, they were becoming ONE. The non-denominational church where the event was being held is called ‘Awakening Church.’ How intricate our Father is. We blow the shofar in this season to awaken us from our slumber so we can prepare our bridal gowns. “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ (Messiah) will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NASB). Even the age of their first proposal reminded me of the 12 tribes of Israel. Remember, Judah was only one tribe.

Jennifer:

We met when I was 11 and he 12. We dated about a year and a half during which time he proposed to me at the old farmhouse I used to live in (I was 12 and he 13 at the time). We were broken up after that (in 7th grade) by his cousin who was my best friend and who deceived us with lies. We went through the rest of middle school and high school together watching each other grow up but never speaking. We were both destroyed emotionally by it, never speaking to the other one about it, and went on to pick multiple toxic and abusive partners.

Years ago, I met the groom online, and learned that Keith was working on a murder mystery that’s now available on Amazon titled Foolish Pride. He picked up my fictional works and loved them. He opened up about his personal past and the many hurts he’d endured. After reading my fiction, he began to read my teaching books. Once while my husband and I were speaking at an assembly, he drove over an hour to attend, and he purchased more books. My husband and Keith soon realized they knew each other from their background in law enforcement. We heard from Keith periodically. We learned later on that he was going through a personal journey of crushing. Our hearts went out to him.

Jennifer: Fast forward to May 1, 2013, we found out that the breakup had been a lie and that neither of us had intended to leave the other. We spoke long enough to heal the old wounds and get closure. We lost touch for a bit but then began talking in late Aug of 2015.

Unlike Valentine’s Day, the Hebrew holiday of love happens each year in late August in the month of Av’. The single women borrow white dresses from one another, and they go out into the fields to sing and dance. The single men come out to gaze upon the fair maidens. Can you picture our Heavenly King?

“And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards located on the outskirts of the city. And everyone who didn’t have a wife would go there. And what would they say? Young man, lift up your eyes and choose wisely. Don’t look only at physical beauty’ (Proverbs 31:30). “And the daughters of the rest of Israel would borrow from each other, so as not to embarrass those who didn’t have.” (Talmud, tractate Ta’anit 30b-31a).

“There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur, since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying: Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife)?” (Ta’anit, Chapter 4)

Jennifer:

We finally saw each other face to face again in late Oct 2015 after 25 years of not seeing each other in person. I became certain that God wanted us together for a purpose and continued to place myself in Keith’s presence as often as I could until he was healed enough to see for himself that we needed to be together. Keith taught me about faith, patience, and how to seek God intensely with passion. By April 3 2016 he was willing to go on “a date” with me. He reminded me not to get my hopes up. But he also told me, when I asked what book of the Bible I should start with, to read Ruth. So I did. I believe that he deeply wanted to try again with me but was so broken that he didn’t want to hurt me or get himself hurt again. On my 40th birthday Oct 2, 2016, he kissed me for the first time (our second “first kiss”) and agreed that we were finally dating.

jennnnn

I wanted to chime in here again before getting to the wedding ceremony. Let’s relook at the date above. October 2nd of 2016 was the Feast of Trumpets in the year 5777. Another name for this feast is Yom HaKeseh, “The Day of the Hiding” or “the Hidden Day. Jesus/ Yeshua spoke about this day.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah” “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming (Matthew 24:36-37 42, NASB).

In ancient customs, a Jewish wedding proceeded with a betrothal period when the groom worked on building a room onto his father’s house for his bride.

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, NASB).

While the groom was working on the house, the bride was working on her wedding garments. When the father told the son, ‘it is time,’ a shofar was blown, and the groom would go get his bride for the wedding ceremony. The bride was to keep her bridesmaids near, their lamps filled with oil, and her garments clean, white, and ready. The verse from Matthew above explains that we will not know ‘which day’ our Messiah is coming, but friends we can know the very season when we keep His holy days. They were still being kept throughout the newer portion of the Bible. Let’s look at this deeper. ”Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day” (I Thessalonians 5:1-5 NASB).

We do not have to be in darkness! We are to be sons of light and sons of the day. “Thief in the night” is a Jewish idiom for the Feast of Trumpets/ Rosh Hashanah. These days are all about Jesus/ Yeshua and hold the keys to His coming return–the day He will set up His glorious Kingdom. The reason no man knows the day or hour is because the Feast of Trumpets always falls on a new moon. Since weather can affect the sighting of a new moon sliver, we soon realize why no man knows the day or the hour. They had moon spotters back then who would search the sky for the first sliver of the moon. The Sanhedrin, like our wedding couple, would need two witnesses (moon spotters). The world has its own calendar, but Abba has written His in the Heavens. The moon is ‘born again’ every month. Jennifer was returning to her ‘first love.’ Yeshua said this to one of the 7 churches, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4, NASB).

After some time, Keith informed us that he had reconnected with his ‘first love,’ and he was getting his CDL license. Things were looking up. Shortly afterwards, He came to one of our meetings and shared his testimony. It’s touching to see an ex-marine, truck driver, with a law enforcement background get teary eyed, but he did. He explained how reading Polishing Jade and Walter the Homeless Man helped him forgive his abusers and heal from the pain of his past. He shared his journey of faith with the Father of Lights and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

The next time my husband and I saw him, he had his soulmate by his side, and she was everything I imagined. Soft, kind, intelligent, a wordsmith, a caregiver, a counselor for those troubled in spirit, and I instantly liked her. We learned of their engagement, and they shared their story of how the Father brought them back together after 30 years. But guess what event he brought her to? It was none other than the Feast of Tabernacles/ Sukkot. This is our wedding day. When Yeshua returns to tabernacle among us.

Finally, the day of the wedding was here, and I was wondering what to wear. I was accustomed to wearing white on (Day of Atonement) Yom Kippur, but everyone knows the bride wears white. Ha! Yes, the Father was already putting the puzzle pieces together. I kept hearing “Just show up for the wedding!”

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8 NASB).

jen and maid

The theme of the wedding was ‘books.’ Ironic that it fell on the eve of the day when our names are said to be sealed in His Book for another year? Allow me to give you a short synopsis of this amazing event before going into the wedding ceremony.

The seventh month is called Tishri in Hebrew. Remember this is when Keith first proposed and also the exact date of their second kiss, its none other than the Feast of Trumpets.

“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:24, NASB). If a man were elected as King, he would not be crowned and eligible to rule until after his coronation during this time. This is the season we look for our returning King, Yeshua, who will be crowned King of the universe! He will be ruler over all the kingdoms of the world. Paul spoke about these awakening shouts!

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV).

Jesus/ Yeshua has fulfilled the first portion of feast called the spring feast, but we are still waiting for the fall feast to come forth. So after the Feast of Trumpets, known as Yom Teruah (Awakening Blast or Shout), we enter a time called the Ten Days of Awe, where we begin great introspection, repentance and trying to make right with anyone we may have wronged. Salvation isn’t a one-time prayer. Paul said we were to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1^st Thessalonians 4:16, NASB).

During the season of this Feast, the gates of repentance are thought to remain open until the Day of Atonement, at which the judge makes His final decree. Yom Kippur is the holiest day. It marked when the High Priest would go behind the veil into the most holy place and make atonement for the sins of the people. Hebrews chapter 9:12-13 explains how our Messiah went one time for all. “He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God. . .

This couple unknowingly had picked the eve of this date to take their vows. Kol Nidre is an oath recited before sundown on Yom Kippur and it means “all vows.”

Oh, friends, think about this on a deeper level! What man hurries to pick a bride? Men of great wisdom carefully study a possible mate. They don’t just rush in and pick a woman that looks good on the outside; they look at her heart. They watch, study, and make sure the woman they become intimate with will be a wise woman who builds her house. Jennifer believed lies and left her first love. Through lies and deceit, Israel went far away from her husband, and He divorced His bride. “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce” (Jeremiah 3:8, NASB). He uses the prophets to explain how one day He will gather them again. And He is! Yeshua said He came for the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

But let’s get back to the Book of Life and visit this very curious wedding invitation! Actually the most peculiar and inventive wedding invitation I have ever seen. It was a library card—old school! I want you to imagine the heading where it says author, and picture the Author and Finisher of our faith. “looking to the author and perfecter of faith – Jesus (Yeshua), who, over-against the joy set before him — did endure a cross, shame having despised, on the right hand also of the throne of God did sit down;” (Hebrews 12:2, YLT). It is the story of us. I hope you are as touched as me as we watch this library card unfold in the spirit during this blog.

card lib

Truth was revealed at Mount Sinai. Acts chapter two is also about a Feast day termed Pentecost or Shavuot in the Hebrew. This was when the Torah was given over 3,000 years ago, and our wedding vows were said. This truth revealed matches their card. Just days later, on May 15, 2013, was the day of Pentecost or the Feast of Shavuot, rather. A shofar was sounded at that time as well.

First Proposal:

Abba Father (the Groom) and Israel (His Bride—the story of us) took their vows. The shofar waxed louder and louder, and our Father gave the people a moral code of conduct which we call the Ten Sayings or Ten Commandments, written in chapter 20 of Exodus. Before the commandments are even given in chapter 20, the bride says this, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8, NASB).

As my husband and I walked into the church, we were delighted to see the reception area adorned for the wedding supper. Each table held something mind-blowing. In the place where one would usually see flowers and candles, their tables were adorned with books tied with strings. Excuse me while I stop to sing.

“Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things!”

Books on the day of His Books! Amazing. And atop the books were glass jars that had written scrolls rolled up and sealed instead of flowers. Each stack of books on Jennifer’s tables had a typed quote or passage from a favorite book, and there at one of the tables, I spotted one of my own babies, Polishing Jade! My heart jumped with joy at all the Father was showing me concerning His feast day and our soon coming wedding day. He even whispered a vow He made to me concerning my pen.

books

Yes, like the quote from The bridge of Terabithia, just keep your mind wide open to these Feast. They are filled with wonder. Jenn and Keith were about to give their vows and say “We will do.” They were making vows on the day when our names are sealed in the Book of Life.

The Father knows the time of His first proposal to all of us. I was five or six years old, but I remember the day quite well when with tears in my eyes I asked the Father and His Son to accept me and change me. I also remember the day when I was like the prodigal son and went far away from my Father, living with swine and in drunkenness. I am thankful for a merciful Father who has made a way of redemption for us all, aren’t you?

In Acts chapter two, over 3,000 souls came back into their wedding covenant. Although they had sinned and He had scattered them across the earth—He had even written them a certificate of divorce, but now the blood of Yeshua had covered their transgressions and made a way for them to be united again. I’m singing an oldie but a goody, REUNITED and it feel so good.

After Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets, we say to one another, “May your name be inscribed in the book of life.” It is during these ten days we try and repent for anything we may have done or any person we may have hurt.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelations 20:11-12, 15, NASB).

The Day of Forgiveness (Yom Kippur) is spent fasting and praying. Because this day is the most solemn day in the year, it is known as “The Day.”

“The First Trump,” blown and associated with Shavuot (Pentecost);
“The Last Trump,” blown and associated with Rosh HaShanah; Feast of Trumpets
“The Great Trump,” blown and associated with Yom Kippur.

It is on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) when the Great Trumpet (Matthew 24)), known in Hebrew as the Shofar HaGadol is blown.

“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:9-10)

doors

We entered the church (Awakening) and were seated in the sanctuary. It was dimly lit and lights shined from strands laced on the altar. Suddenly the bridesmaids (Wise virgins), (5 total), came down the aisle carrying their own stack of books tied in string. As they passed by I noticed one of my books in their hands. I learned later, that all the bridesmaids carried one of my books in their stacks. I wept more. How many times have I laid my books at His altar? Our Father is so intricate. He doesn’t miss a beat! He said, “Just go to the wedding, Tekoa!” He had treasures for me there. He has treasures for you there. He is saying, “Just come to my wedding feast!” This reminded me of several passages.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come” (Matthew 22:2-3 NIV).

“Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves” (Luke 12:35-37 NASB).

The pastor opened up the ceremony and informed us that the bride to be and groom had requested to worship before they exchanged vows. The singers came forth, and the music started. Many arose from their seats and lifted their hands to the Father of Lights. A sweet smelling fragrance entered the room and then a song was played. This song touched us so much we were both in tears. The Title simply “History.” History is a love song from our Father to His Bride. A song of redemption. How far back do we go? Remember the first proposal! Oh, how He loves us!

You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back

[Verse 1]
For eons I thought about you
Before I ever made you
I wrote every moment down
You were all my idea
Above all I created
You are my most precious crown

[Chorus]
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back

[Verse 2]
I saved words just to say to you
Before you ever met me
So take some time and hear them now
I gave you my greatest gift
My love cannot be measured
You’re my treasure, You’re my child!

So after the reception and book talk, we gathered around for cake and dancing and singing, then home to begin our fast. After the fast is over, we enter into a time of great celebration. The feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. This feast is the 7^th Feast and it happens in the 7^th month and it last for 7 days. It’s our wedding rehearsal for the real deal! Oh Saints, think about the beauty of a bride on her wedding day. When Yeshua returns in all His Glory, and we rule and reign with Him it will be the season of our joy.

Remember those wise and foolish virgins at the beginning of our blog? They all had something in common, they all fell asleep. “As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6 ESV).

While the foolish went off to buy oil, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Notice what happens when the foolish virgins return from purchasing more oil, “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” (25:11-12).

Notice the five doors in the photo above. One door for each wise maiden. The symbols at this wedding were everywhere.

Like the inscription on the pillow below, “We are waiting for ‘just one more chapter!’ His Fall Feast. May we all return to our first love in this season. May we be ready and waiting with oil in our lamps, our wicks trimmed, our garments clean, our hearts prepared. May we see His Feast in all their glory and May the Father of Lights use this couple to spread the gospel with power and might. After 30 years they are reunited. It was at the age of 30 that the King of Kings began His ministry, our Messiah Yeshua, may He be lifted up!

Many blessing to this couple!

Tekoa

jenn and story

The Photograph

October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 / Tekoa / 2 Comments

mom poem

It hung there like a branch on a tree.
The color?
It was more of a brown,
Like shoe leather and cream with orbs of splattered sunlight.
The timeworn camera had captured a split second of special.
We would call it a black and white photo today, but to suggest it had a quality of such would be illogical.
The little girl in the picture was very colorful, indeed.
Her eyes were sorrow filled holes that bored into your soul.
Her hair was ringlet curls that hung draped in perfection adorning her oval face.
No one could have noticed anything else in the photo—not the trees or the rose bushes or the sailor dress that draped her thin body.
Her eyes were too potent,
They pled for love, solace, or some form of healing.
They drank you in, mesmerizingly, till one could scarcely pull themselves away.
They held you
Captive.
Concealed in black and taupe, were irises speckled in a blue of the palest sky.
Eyes of wonder.
The picture hung on the refrigerator,
A constant reminder that the white-haired woman with Parkinson’s disease,
The one who could empty a whole coffee cup within seconds by sloshing it on the floor was the same child in the photo.
A child who would later hold the title of my mother.

Taste Your Words–Healing of the Soul Part IV

October 1, 2018January 6, 2019 / Tekoa / 4 Comments

Sticks and stones may break bones, but words can crush the heart. A word spoken in anger, disgust, and hatred can go deep into our bones and take decades to heal from. They are shot like arrows into our hearts. Even the words we speak about ourselves are damaging.

Loving our neighbor as ourselves is difficult if we are constantly bashing our temples and the creativity and talents the Father has given us. We are all unique and gifted in different areas. Our outer shells may not look the way we desire, but is that because we do not see our own beauty and worth? Are we coveting others gifts and physical appearances? Do we express our weaknesses to others or speak death daily?

The other day, I was led to an amazing article written by Author Ted Hargrove, titled Seven Things You Should Know About Pain Science, he explains how if we feel pain it’s because our brains think our bodies are under some sort of threat. Ted uses two traumatic examples where no pain is felt. One, a soldier wounded in battle, two, a shark attack that removes a limb, and explains how that person will more than likely feel no pain until the emergency is over.

He goes on to describe something called ‘allodynia.’

“Allodynia is a condition where even normal stimuli such as a light touch to the skin can cause excruciating pain. This is an extreme example of something that might occur quite commonly on a much smaller scale – the nervous system is sensitive to potential threats, and sounds the alarm even when no real threat is present.”

A person who has been through trauma, rejection, and stimulation overload, could end up in full-blown Allodynia. This reminded me of fibromyalgia, a condition I used to suffer from daily, but have mostly been healed from.

Yes, an alarm goes off even when it appears no real threat is present.

I also became keenly aware of adjectives we use to describe our pain, whether emotional or physical, but what if our pain was trying to exhibit something hidden? Something more than a title or label placed on us by a doctor. Could our past tragedies, heartbreak– a bad car wreck, abuse, or fearful experiences be triggered again and felt, with all its excruciating agony, by just seeing a car like the one that hit us? Could smelling the same cologne worn by our attacker cause our brain to signal a warning, like a car alarm that was going off for no particular reason? Could watching a violent movie cause us to re-experience the beating, the trauma, or the very same emotions we had as a five-year-old child whose brain sent a signal to run and hide because danger was near?

The body is a complex machine that was created by the original Designer of All Things.

The words that we speak may hold underlying answers about our emotional state, spiritual state, and yes, physical state. So the first thing I am going to ask you to do is to start listening to your own voice. What are some of the things you say when you have any type of pain? Not just the “ouch,” I stubbed my toe pain, or the lower back pain, but pain that at times says things about our deeper emotions.

While watching an episode in a series, a woman severely obese was crying out to lose the weight, but all I heard in my spirit was, “Are you carrying a ‘heavy load?’ Is it “weighing” you down or weighing on your mind? Do you ever say, “I feel weighted down with worry? I’m “fed-up!” Think about that term—fed-up. I can barely fit in my clothes.” Let’s ponder these and the mental anguish they carry.

After a very painful situation, that brought about division in my life, for over a month, my eyes would not stop weeping. Actually, I am just now starting to get relief. I began asking The Father what was wrong. No allergy medicine or eye drops seemed to dry up the continuous pouring. On one particular day, I just threw my hands up in the air and said, “Why are my eyes pouring to the point I am carrying a cloth with me everywhere I go to dab them?” Immediately afterward a friend sent a text message that was a photo shot of Psalms 126.

“Those who sow in tears

will reap with a song of joy.

Whoever keeps going out weeping,

carrying his bag of seed,

will surely come back with a song of joy,

carrying his sheaves.” 126:55-6.

Then another friend sent a text with a prayer request for a loved one who had a heart condition and now it was causing swelling in her legs and feet and a weeping under the skin– fluid. Sometimes we are weeping inside but cannot express the emotions we are feeling. Any time I have ever done ministry for those who have been shattered and broken, they tend to cry. It doesn’t matter if they are grown men, tears begin to pour out. This is the first sign of healing. Sometimes the pain in our emotions is so intense it comes out in our skin. Yeshua wept! Yeshua sweated drops of blood.

My husband, who suffers from eczema, has to use special soaps, detergents to launder sheets, towels, and clothing. His skin can erupt and become itchy and red. One pharmaceutical company has a new and upcoming drug for this issue (and no, I am not a big pharm gal) but the commercial explains how eczema can be ‘under the skin.’ We like to say things like, “Boy, he or she was really getting under my skin!” Eczema signs and symptoms include tiny blisters that can ‘weep’ and ooze, eventually producing crusted, ‘thick skin.’ Hopefully, by now you are picking up on the play on words here. After so much weeping and oozing, we tend to acquire a thick skin against those who insult us and criticize or hurt us. We become hardened to difficulties, but our skin can show signs of things hidden.

Our inner strengths or weaknesses can be interpreted in organs and health issues. We hear that Jennifer has a weak heart, or possibly our Uncle Ken, who died of an enlarged heart—his heart, like Secretariat, was too big. It burst! There is a real term used called broken heart syndrome.

“For some people, a traumatic event or memory can trigger the physical symptoms of “broken-heart syndrome.” Also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or apical ballooning syndrome, it’s a condition in which heart muscle becomes acutely weak and then fully recovers a few days later.”

Cancer is a word that comes from the Latin word crab or creeping ulcer.

What about diabetes? An old term used for it was ‘pissing evil.’ It comes from a Greek word that means to pass through as urine speedily.

The words “diabetes” and “mellitus” have two very separate meanings. They are, however, linked together and have a meaningful connection. Mellitus is pleasant and tasting as honey. Diabetes means passing through as a large discharge of urine.

It doesn’t matter what type of diabetes you have, it can and does lead to excess sugar in the blood. This causes serious health issues. What picture words come to mind here? We at times can ‘pass through’ things quickly with an overly sweet demeanor, but possibly underneath we are hurting. Are we pissing evil instead of possibly confronting situations? Yes, a spoonful of sugary helps the medicine go down, but a whole pitcher full may be doing more harm than good.

Do we need a chiropractor or massage therapist often? Is your Father-n-law or daughter-n-law a “pain in the neck?” Or have they been giving you the “cold shoulder?” What about this one. “My back is tight.” Is your back against a wall? Do you feel like you’re in a ‘pinch? Has someone “hit a nerve?”

See how we easily relate and send our pain and sorrow through our temples? Take it from someone who was pronounced fully disabled in 2009 at the age of 42, pain in your life will erupt in your body. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2008 and later was diagnosed at Mayo Clinic as a ‘possible MS suspect.’ I had scars or lesions on my brain. MS means multiple, as in many. Many scars. My life was filled with just that, many scars. Picture a lamp cord plugged into a socket with the light turned on, now picture all the rubber protection covering the wires removed. You then have a live wire. Thankfully, due to His mercy, I am recovering and on the road to good health, but how do we achieve this?

If your body has been through trauma, abuse, rejection, and sickness, here is a free chapter from my devotional ‘Thirsting for Water’ on steps to take to become whole. Click HERE.

If we are bruised on the inside, it will flow outward and cause issues. I recently purchased fruit from the store. The fruit was labeled organic and looked yummy on the outside, but when I got home and cut into it, it was rotten to the core. The inside was black. Many times we have had so much thrown at us, and written on our spirit that we need an eraser. We need a bath or a mikvah to wash off all the phrases we have spoken against our amazing temples and all the abuse that has been spoken against us by those in ignorance.

If you were raised with parents who suffered from mental issues or low self-esteem, you might have been exposed to this sickness at an early age. Perhaps you heard things like, “He is immature for his age!” “Are you eating again?” “She’s as skinny as a bean pole.” “You will never amount to nothing!” “Whore—slut!” “Bastard.” “I never wanted you—I wish you had never been born.” “Ugly.” The list of words flung through the air like arrows that pierce hearts is without end. We, humans, hurt each other. We judge harshly, and we lack the love of a Father at times. Our broken bodies need injected with His Spirit. A King lives inside of us. There is oil in Gilead.

Picture a clean slate. A feeling many of us felt when we made a covenant with our Father and Yeshua, the one whose blood covered us. We felt like we had been given a bath. His Word is said to wash us clean. Instead of soap picture His Words bathing us, and it does.

Have you ever heard someone say something that was so offensive that when you described what they told you, you used these words? “It went straight through me!” Can you say diarrhea? A word that means ‘to flow through.’ The words spoken or the stress of upcoming events is so difficult ‘to stomach’ it just flows on through.

Let’s look at a couple more items before I wrap this up. What about asthma? COPD? Are you finding it hard to breathe in real time? Do you have to tell yourself to ‘take a deep breath?’ Are the people in your life ‘a breath of fresh air or are they ‘suffocating you?’ See how that works?

Are you continually trying to fill an inner void?

A very special verse comes to mind and one that I am holding onto in this season.

“Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. Don’t be intimidated; I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will support you with my victorious right hand.

“Everyone who is angry with you will be ashamed and disgraced. Those who oppose you will be reduced to nothing and disappear. You will search for your enemies, but you will not find them. Those who are at war with you will be reduced to nothing and no longer exist” (Isaiah 41:10-12, GWT).

Whether any of these words have anything to do with our illnesses, one thing is certain; speaking life is good medicine. I am not a name it and claim it gal, but I do believe that when we speak powerful words from His Word and we hear them, they can take root in our spirit man and cause us to erupt with life. Like a plant that is dying, we nurture it with water and food and also words.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Let’s start looking in the mirror and loving who we are, what we look like, and pamper our bodies. Let us speak kindly to ourselves and celebrate what works in divine order.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

Our words should flow with living water. Our words should clean, heal, uplift, hold, love and encompass those who are broken and hurting. May He heal our lips and our hearts.

Blessings,

Tekoa

Part # 1 HERE

Part #2 HERE

Part #3 HERE

Part # 4 HERE

Part # 5 HERE

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* Free Chapter* Give Your Abused Pets Treats Slowly

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018 / Tekoa / 2 Comments

Thirsting for Water

A devotional that brings healing to the hurting!

Yes, I’ll admit it, I’ve snapped at my children, gotten angry at friends, and said things I regret. I once told my husband while we were dating that I had been through a lot and that I felt like a dog that had been beaten half to death. I informed him that when people held up their T-bones and said, “Here girl,” most of the time I was still too afraid to come. I did not trust them.
A year later, after much healing, I noticed a friend’s behavior that was controlling and defensive towards me. She seemed to yell at me a lot when things were taken wrong. As I pondered the snapping issue, I heard in my spirit this message — “If a dog has been abused, it may snap at you.” Oh, my, revelation into the healing of the soul!
So I did what any other certified google-oligist would do, I googled it. “How to care for an abused pet.”
The number one item on the list was to provide a safe place for your abused pet to live. The second suggestion was to make sure they have plenty of fresh food and water. Since I had been abandoned by my ex-husband when I was chronically ill and eventually became homeless, I needed these simple necessities myself afterward. Once you get the basics for your abused pet, you must go more in-depth into helping them heal.
# 1) Give your abused pets treats SLOWLY. Use one hand to approach them genty–two hands may scare them.
#6) Don’t allow the abused pet to interact with other pets until they are whole. If the other pets are pushy or mean, this will cause the abused pet to be even more submissive and scared. Never hit or scold an abused pet. Reward good behavior, but do not punish your pet.
I began to notice how we humans tend to be a lot like these fur companions that have been wounded. We have trust issues, and at times we need to be approached with ease. We don’t like to be pried for information or pushed into doing something. We don’t want to be controlled through harsh words or even bribed with treats. Syrupy compliments can also evoke warning signals. We tend to think things like, “What do they want?” “What are they after?” Yes, too often, pets and people who have been hurt are quickly ready to runoff from a family function or an event that makes them feel worse about themselves. Their lack of self-esteem can be crushed when others are given all the attention in the room, and yet they are not ready for the focus of everyone in the place to be on them.
Next, I wanted to know how a person could tell if their dog (pets) had been harmed or abused, so I did some research on this topic. While you read the list below, try and think in people terms.
# 1. Check the dog for physical signs of abuse. These could include scars, lesions, burns or open wounds. Also missing fur or sores around the neck could indicate a dog was chained up for long periods of time. The pet may have missing teeth that rotted out, cloudy eyes, show no energy and be generally fatigued. An animal may also have been starved. Repeated vomiting and bloody diarrhea are other signs of trauma.
Did you notice that the signs of abuse are physical illness, mental stress, and fear? Could our sickness in our bodies at times be caused by past trauma and abuse? Yes, I believe it could. Ask a person who has PTSD, and you will get an even broader understanding of what our environment can do to our mental health. Sometimes our sickness and wounds were brought on by ourselves.
(Psalms 38:4-7, CJB) “Your indignation left no part of me intact; my sin made my whole body sick; for my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me. I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness. I am bent down, prostrate completely; I go about mourning all day long.”
We must heal our spirits, our souls, and forgive the abusers. We have to take action to see a healthy body come forth, for it will not without us making the phone calls to the counselor, joining a fitness program, caring for ourselves by watching the words we speak about ourselves and others.
Abused tattered souls may need to write their abusers a letter that never gets sent. This type of journaling helps release bottled up anger. We vent and get rid of the pain. At some point we will cry out to our Father to help us forgive the person who kept us chained, muzzled, or unfed. And He will because He is a good Abba. Our trauma and fear may not be something that is cured overnight, although it can happen. The mighty hand of HaShem is not too short to save. His powerful Spirit can find the mangiest scrawny, scared pet in the darkest alley and rescue it from the power of drugs, sickness, pain, guilt, and shame. Our Father sweeps in and brings us to an animal shelter. Pets who have mangled and matted up fur, have to be shaved and shampooed with medicated ointments. We need the balm of Gilead, the anointing oil, and the covering of prayer.
If you have been abused today, the Father of Lights wants to hold each of you and comfort you. The Father’s love and compassion have no limits; it’s unreachable. He is holding out His arms to you right now! Reach up and take the Masters’ hands. Run to Him instead of getting back into a relationship with a new partner. Chances are you will run smack dab into another person who will harm you if you haven’t healed. We must become whole and healthy to attract someone who is healthy for us.
“For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: “It is Zion; no one cares for her”’ (Jeremiah 30:17, NASB).
Someone cares for you! Yeshua the Messiah is interceding right now on your behalf.

dog

Son Flower Seeds

September 15, 2018September 15, 2018 / Tekoa / 7 Comments

sunny 2

She sopped me up like a piece of bread dipped in venison gravy
She said she tasted something wild even though I soaked in vinegar
“It’s a tad gamey.”
she folded up three creases on her forehead and twisted her mouth unpleasantly.

“Buuuttt how?”
“I steeped like a teabag.

Why, I submerged until my skin crinkled up like an accordion!”

She added more indentions to her scowl
“It’s a prune, dear!”
“Dear” sounded condemnatory.

She was no peach, but neither a prune.
I quickly sprayed Sunflower perfume on my skin,
And hoped she would get a whiff of it.
Her nostrils flared.

I absorbed her like a cotton ball full of astringent.
She got into my pours with her words.
It tingled in a cleansing manner.
Other words stung like a wasp.
I opened the window and shooed out those words.
Saving the witch hazel and rose water for my complexion.

“Can you catch it?” she said, looking rather concerned.
“What’s that?”
“Our words before they fly out of our fingertips or lips?”
“I’ve been trying to capture mine in a net and bathe them first.”

Interesting.

I started to speak but rolled it around for a bit
It tasted like lemon drops–the letters forming words.
Sweet, yet sour.
Like a ball of snuff in my cheek ready to drip out of my mouth.

“The bars of teeth are hard to keep locked down,” I said.
“The vapors get out.”
She bit her nail and looked worried.

“I let them out in a ball of fire, I fear.”

She chewed her index manicured digit.

“Well, if we remember to use SonShine Words, they fly out like orbs.
Glowing balls of light that penetrate clothing and even prune skin.
They inject medicine and cause hearts to come back from the dead!”

I shouted a little too loudly like a two year old.
“I like that,” she said–

“SonShine Words.”

“But now and then I mistakenly let a lousy morsel or two get past me.
I ask myself “Did I harm their character?
Did I make them look bad?
Did I send words soaring through the air sticking like wallpaper paste?”

“And what if you have?” she said with wide eyes of ginger, placing a hand over her mouth.

“Well, I gargle with Listerine!
I spit and wash and try again.”
I waited for the wasp sting but instead smelled a hint of rose water.
“Hmmm, I see.”

She seemed to like my response.
Only two creases showed on her forehead now.

I planted a field of Sonflowers, I said, sitting up straighter.
They can be contagious–attract bees as well.

They can take over a meadow.
Salty Seeds spreading through the Wind.

She ran and got a burlap sack and untied it.
I’m knee-deep in Sunflower seeds!
“I had no idea!!
Had these hidden inside my bedroom closet.”
Her eyes now peppermint bark scented.

“They were a gift,” she beamed.
“Of course, they were!” I squealed with delight.
We danced and threw them in the air.

Sunflowers

The wind wore high heeled shoes and rained seeds that day.
We held our mouths open, and a steady stream of water began to beat down.
Suddenly we were as Naphtali running through the hills.
Leaping on the mountains,
Springing into flight!

Artwork and poetry by Tekoa.

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Part Two

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