Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.
The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day: one each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 1/13/19 through 1/19/19.
Observance of the seventh day Sabbath was one of the first things YHVH taught his people after coming out of Egypt. This shows the importance of this commandment in the eyes of the Creator. Egypt is a biblical metaphor for this world, Passover is a picture of salvation and coming through the Red Sea is a picture of baptism for the remission of sins. This teaches us that Sabbath observance is one of the first acts of obedience that a new believer will do after “being saved.” All arguments to the contrary—about how the Sabbath was done away with or exchanged for Sunday—are meaningless, irrelevant and antibfiblical lies having been propagated by liars, deceivers and the biblically ignorant. Period.
Exodus16:4–30,The Sabbath.This chapter chronicles YHVH’s efforts to literally force an irreverent, unruly and disobedient nation to keep the seventh day Sabbath.
YHVH endeavored to teach the Israelites the importance of the Sabbath in a most poignant way and pragmatic way—through food and hunger.
It’s as if YHVH were instructing the stiff-necked and rebellious Israelites that if they refused to follow his Sabbath instructions, they would literally go hungry. “If you don’t obey me, you don’t eat.”
This shows the gravity the Creator places on the Sabbath command. Yet despite these clear instructions, most in the Babylonian (Rev 18:4) mainstream church today, like the rebellious children of Israel of old, refuse to obey YHVH’s clear instructions regarding the Sabbath. Instead, they prefer to believe the doctrines of men proffered to them by their spiritual leaders that purport to invalidate the Continue reading →
Exodus 15:26,I am YHVH that heals you. This is the first place in the Scriptures where YHVH promises to heal his people of sickness. Here is a list of other biblical verses containing similar promises: Deut 7:12 and 15; Pss 30:2–4; 34:18–19; 41:1;91 (entire chapter); 103 (entire chapter); Isa 40:28–31; 53:4–5; Jer 17:13–14; Mal 4:2; Mark 11:23–24; Luke 10:19; John 14:13; 15:7; 15:16; 16:23–24; Rom 8:31; 8:37; Phil 4:13; Jas 5:14–16; 1 Pet 2:24. Notice the stipulations that YHVH makes for his promise of healing to be fulfilled upon his people. His people must “diligently heed [Heb. shema meaning “to hear and to do”] the voice of YHVH by doing what is upright [Heb. yashar meaning “right, righteous, correct, straight] in his sight by obeying his Torah.
Is There a Connection Between Sin and Sickness?
What if any is the connection between the sins we commit and the sicknesses and diseases that come upon us? Much, as the Bible teaches.
First, let’s establish some basic truths.
Everyone will eventually die, so not all sickness is a result of sin (Heb 9:27).
Some sickness isn’t due to sin, but so that YHVH might be glorified when the person is miraculously healed (John 9:2–3).
The purpose of some sickness is for spiritual refinement to bring us to a higher level spiritually as was the case with Job.
In a general sense, pain, suffering and death came upon all men because of Adam and Eve’s initial rebellion against YHVH Elohim in the Garden of Eden. As a Continue reading →
This is what Natan does when he’s not writing for and managing this blog. Check out his Good News Tree Service website at www.goodnewstree.com.
Today Good News Tree Service, Inc. welcomed a new member of our family—a Stihl MS880 chainsaw. This is the biggest saw that Stihl makes and has a five foot bar and stands at about seven feet tall. In Nathan’s left hand is the smallest chainsaw that Stihl makes. Can’t wait to bury this new big boy saw into a log!
Luke 11:33–34, No one…eye is evil. As Jonah witnessed to Nineveh proclaiming the message of repentance (vv. 29–32), even so, Yeshua is teaching us that we must do the same to our generation.
Furthermore, if when proclaiming the gospel message of repentance (i.e. turning from sin or Torahlessness and turning to Yeshua) our eye is evil—a Hebraism indicating greedy or covetous person, then our whole message will be compromised or tainted. How is this? If we have been called to preach the good news or gospel of the kingdom of Elohim, but we’re in it to make money, then those hearing our message may view it as suspect because they see behind our preaching an ulterior motive. Are we preaching the message out of pure altruism and seeking no financial gain or other personal benefit, or do we Continue reading →
Exodus 14:19,Angel [or Messenger] of YHVH. This is the preincarnate Yeshua—the Messenger or Word of Elohim before he was made flesh (John 1:1, 14).
Went behind them. Fire does two things: It both destroys and purifies substances depending on the durability of their composition. It consumes that which is flammable (e.g. wood, hay and stubble) and refines or purifies that which is inflammable (e.g. gold, silver and precious stones; 1 Cor 3:12–15). To those people whose lives are characterized by wood, hay and stubble, fire is a threat and terror; to those whose lives are gold, silver and precious stones, fire is welcomed, since they have nothing to fear; it will only make them better, not destroy them. Moreover, fire creates light. To those whose lives are characterized by light (truth and righteousness), fire is a positive thing, since it exposes sin and gives them light by which to go forward spiritually. To those people who are of the darkness (i.e. the world, the flesh and the devil), as was Pharaoh and Egypt, and who love sin and hate Elohim and his righteousness (John 3:19–20), fire and light are feared because it will not only expose their evil deeds, but will consume them in judgment. Therefore, the fiery flame that separated the Israelites from the Egyptians was a good thing and a blessing for the former and a bad thing and a curse for the latter. In fact, in Exod 15:7 in poetic terms the Egyptians are likened to stubble that YHVH destroys in his wrathful judgment. This same thing will occur again on a global scale when the earth is burned with fire and the wicked become ashes under the sole’s of the feet (Mal 4:3) of the righteous after the white throne judgment (Rev 20:11–15).
The Red Sea. The Israelites went through the midst of the Red Sea. Like the killing of the Passover lamb and the painting of his blood on the door posts, the Continue reading →
WARNING! This blog will NOT accept any critical or disparaging comments about this pastor or his message. Such comments will never see the light of day, or will be immediately deleted and the person making them will be banned from ever commenting again on this blog.
I for one am fed up with namby pamby, lukewarm, biblically illiterate “Christians” who all but take their talking points and marching orders from the godless heathens around them instead of the Word of Elohim, and who are doing nothing to stop the spread of evil, but can only criticize those who are trying to do so. Take your comments somewhere else; you’re not welcome here!— Natan Lawrence, the owner of this blog.
To the rest of you: please pray for Pastor Justin Roke of Weed, California. It’s time that righteous, Bible believing people began sticking together and supporting one another in the face of the tsunami of evil and the Antichrist spirit that is sweeping our country and the world. The US and this world is currently on a spiritual precipice and about to go over the edge unless enough people repent of their sins and turn to the Bible and to Yeshua the Messiah!
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16)
A sign calling homosexuality a sin sits on display outside of the Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church near Weed, California, on Dec. 31, 2018. | PHOTO: FACEBOOK/JUSTIN HOKE
A northern California pastor has begrudgingly stepped down as members threatened to leave after he posted a church sign that called transgender celebrity Caitlyn “Bruce” Jenner a man and stated that “homosexuality is still a sin.”
Justin Hoke, who formerly served as pastor at Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church in the town of Weed in Siskiyou County, took to Facebook to announce that he is leaving the church. His departure comes following protest and vandalism in response to his church sign.
On New Year’s Eve, Hoke used his personal Facebook page to post a picture of the sign outside of the church that read: “Bruce Jenner is still a man. Homosexuality is still sin. The culture may change but the Bible does not.”
The sign incited a pro-LGBT “Love Rally” demonstration Sunday morning before Hoke’s weekly service on Jan. 6.
Additionally, the church sign and the message was vandalized last week. The organizers of the rally say they don’t know of anyone involved in the vandalism and condemned the act.
“As of today, I am no longer the pastor of Trinity Bible Presbyterian Church,” Hoke wrote in a Saturday Facebook post.
In the post, Hoke felt the need to “communicate what has taken place.”
He stated that he was informed by an elder that the elder could no longer follow his lead as pastor of the church. Hoke added that he was also told by “essentially all but one couple in membership” that they would leave the church if Hoke did not step down.
“Our other elder and the couple felt that those who left would likely return if I would leave,” Hoke wrote. “Our other elder was agreeable to stay and assume the pastoral responsibilities. Therefore it was determined that it would be in the best interest of the local body for [TBPC and the Hoke family] to part ways.”
On Monday, Hoke updated the Facebook post to explain that he did not want to leave the church.
“I did not quit, and I was willing to stay,” Hoke asserted.
The Christian Post reached out to TBPC (also known as Lake Shastina Community Bible Church) for comment on Hoke’s departure. A response is pending.
In an interview with The Siskiyou Daily News, Hoke said his intention with the sign was to express his thought that the Bible doesn’t change even though the culture may.
“If you see a burning building, there are only two reasons not to warn those inside: if you think the danger isn’t too great, or if you don’t love those inside,” Hoke stated.
He told the Daily Wire that he was inspired to create the sign after reading about a customer at a store who “threw a fit because a clerk had accidentally referred to him with the masculine gender [pronoun].”
Another “Love Rally” demonstration was held during Sunday’s service with yet another planned for next Sunday.
Organizers of the protest told NBC 5 that their goal was not to get Hoke fired.
“I don’t want to be responsible for someone losing their job. The point in this protest is to show love for the LGBTQ community and other members of the community as well,” organizer Charolette Kalayjian said.
Hoke told the television news outlet that the protests were not the reason for his departure.
“There was a fear we would lose what little congregation that we had if I remained,” Hoke explained.
Luke 10:8,Eat such things. Does this passage give believers the freedom or even enjoin them to eat whatever is placed before them if, for example, they are in someone else’s home even if the food is non-kosher? Understanding context is vital to understanding the true meaning of the Scriptures. When verses are taken out of context they can not only lose their meaning, but can take on an entirely different meaning to the writer’s original intent. As Hebrew roots teacher Dr. Daniel Botkin points out in an article entitled God’s Dietary Laws: Abolished in the New Testament?, “Yeshua spoke these words when he sent out the seventy. These were seventy Torah-observant Jews who followed a Torah-observant Rabbi. … Rabbi Yeshua had told his disciples, ‘Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’ (Matt 10:6).
“It is obvious from this statement that the disciples would be lodging in Torah-observant Jewish homes, where the kosher laws were followed. It is ridiculous to suppose that the disciples might have been offered a pork chop in one of these Jewish homes. Even if this very unlikely possibility had occurred, the disciples would have had enough sense to know that this is not what their Master meant when he said to ‘eat such things as are set before you.’ He simply meant to be content with the food which your host provided” (Gates of Eden magazine, Nov.–Dec. 1997 issue).
Though similar to Yeshua’s passage, Paul’s passage in 1 Corinthians 10:27 has an entirely different context. The issue here is not clean versus unclean meat (e.g. beef versus pork), but meat (e.g. beef) that was sacrificed to idols that was later sold to the public in the meat markets of Greek cities (for context read 1 Cor 10:19–29). Botkin points out that four times in the Testimony of Yeshua believers are forbidden to eat meat sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:20; 21:25; Rev 2:14, 20), yet the dilemma was that when one bought meat in the public markets it was not known whether it had been sacrificed to idols first or not. So for conscience sake Paul instructed the Corinthian believers to buy the meat and to not ask about its origination (10:25). However, if a person knew that it was meat sacrificed to idols (verse 28) for their own conscience sake and that of others who might be watching them then they were not to eat of it (ibid.).
The same principle applied to those eating in someone’s house as a guest. If one knew that the meat was offered to an idol then they were forbidden to eat it. However, if they did not know, then it was not necessary to ask. Again, it was not a matter of clean or unclean meats (i.e. beef versus pork), but whether meat had been sacrificed to idols or not.
