Dealing With the “Leavening” in Our Lives—Overcoming Sin!


Exodus 12:15, Remove leaven from your houses. Leaven is a biblical metaphor for sin. How do we remove sin from our spiritual lives?

Throughout Scripture, leavening is a spiritual metaphor for sin, pride, hypocrisy, malice, bitterness and false religious doctrine (Pss 71:4; 73:21; Hos 7:4; Matt 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor 5:8–6; Gal 5:9). Even as a small amount of leavening agents in bread (e.g. yeast and various chemical agents) will quickly permeate bread dough causing it to rise, so a little sin can rapidly infect our lives (or like a quick spread cancer disease) and take us away from Elohim’s path of righteous-living.

The Scripture teaches us to be overcomers (Rom 12:21; 1 John 2:13–14; 5:4) eradicating the leavening of sin from our lives. We must overcome the world, the flesh and the devil (Jas 3:15). Yeshua admonished each of the seven Messianic assemblies to be overcomers (Rev 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; see also Matt 24:13). For those who overcome, there will be great rewards—a spiritual inheritance; they will be sons of Elohim (Rev 21:7).

The Greek word for overcome is nikao meaning “to conquer, to get the victory, prevail” and Continue reading →

 

Don’t Get Tossed Out With the Trash!

Luke 12:5, Killed…cast into hell [Gehenna]. There are two deaths: a physical and a spiritual death. All humans will die a physical death (Heb 9:27), but not everyone will die a second or spiritual death. This death is reserved for the unregenerate wicked and is called the lake of fire (Rev 20:12–15). The Hinnom Valley (Gr. Gehenna) on the west side of Jerusalem was a Hebrew metaphor for the fate of the wicked. The Jews used this valley as a refuse dump, and it was there that the bodies of dead animals and criminals were burned. Literally, at the white throne judgment after having judged the unregenerate wicked, YHVH will cast them into his spiritual garbage dump to be burned up (Rev 20:11–15).

 

Submit Willingly Now or Else…

All false gods and idols will come down including the god of self! We can willingly submit to YHVH Elohim now, or be forced to so later under his hand of judgment.

Exodus 10:3, How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? The sovereign Creator ultimately demands that everyone submits to his will and purposes. Those who refuse to do so imperil themselves. The Scriptures record that YHVH held other leaders accountable for exalting themselves against him in addition to Pharaoh—for refusing to humble themselves: Nebuchanezzar (Dan 4:19ff), Belshazzar (Dan 5:22), Zedekiah (2 Chron 36:12), Lucifer (Isa 14:13ff) and Herod (Acts 12:21–23).

Furthermore, those who put their trust in false gods will come under the judgment of the one supreme and true Elohim or Mighty One of the Bible. Elohim uses men’s false gods or idols as a judgment against sinners to help them to see the futility of their idolatrous delusions and to bring them to repentance (e.g. Isa 66:4–5; Prov 10:24). As Elohim judged the false gods of Egypt one by one and brought that arrogant nation down, he will do the same in the end days with Babylon the Great and the gods or idols of this world. We see a striking parallel between the plagues YHVH brought upon Egypt and those he will bring upon the rebellious inhabitants of earth just prior to Yeshua’s second coming. For example, the seventh plague of the seventh vial is an ultimate expression of the fierceness of Elohim’s wrath upon a rebellious and still blaspheming world (Rev 16:17–21). Seventy five pound hailstones will fall from heaven and the earth will quake beneath. There will be no hiding place from Elohim’s wrath. Additional end-time plages that replicate those of Egypt include grievous sores to come upon men (Rev 16:2), the seawater and fresh water turning to blood (Rev 16:3–4), and darkness upon the earth (Rev 16:10). After this, Babylon the Great will fall (Rev 18:2), even as ancient Egypt fell under the mighty blows of YHVH’s judgment.

Psalm chapter two summarizes the rebellious arrogance of men, and their conspiracy against the Creator to keep control of their earthly kingdoms. Elohim will laugh at them from heaven and will send his Son to judge them and to break their kingdoms in pieces with a rod of iron. Kiss Messiah the Son now and worship him if you expect to escape these judgments (v. 12)!

What gods or idols do we have in our lives that we are holding on to? Each of the plagues against Egypt was a direct strike against one of the many gods of Egypt (Exod 12:12; Num 33:4). Elohim will destroy all pretenders and imposters who dare to challenge his sovereignty. The god of self is the most powerful god we will ever face!

 

Exodus 10:1–13:16 Parashat Bo

This is a gospel-oriented Torah study. Our goal is to connect the good news of Yeshua the Messiah (the gospel message) to its Hebraic, pro-Torah roots or foundations. The information given here is more than head knowledge. Understanding and wisdom (the right application of knowledge that is based on truth) is taught thus making biblical truth practical, relevant and applicable to your daily life. The truths of the Bible not only have the power to transform your life here and now for the better, but eventually to take you past the veil of death and into eternity.

This Torah study is subdivided in sections by topic in a magazine format thus making it easy to watch at several sittings.

May you be blessed as you watch this video.

For a free, printable adult and youth Torah study guide on this Torah portion (parashah), please go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/parshiot.html

 

President Trump Sat Down with CBN News for an Exclusive Interview

Check this out! This is good news for a change. Continue to pray for our leaders. Ask yourself, what can I personally do to help advance the gospel and kingdom of Elohim in this era of spiritual opportunity that we have now entered. It may not last long! Instead of complaining, or seeing the negative, be thankful for our blessings and carpe diem (seize the day)— Natan

President Trump Sat Down with CBN News for an Exclusive Interview

01-28-2017

CBN News and the The Brody File are making news with an exclusive one-on-one interview with President Donald Trump at The White House.

Brody sat down with President Trump Friday morning in the Blue Room and below are some of the bites from that interview.

 

President Trump says evangelicals will love his Supreme Court pick.

 

President Trump says persecuted Christians will be given priority as refugees.

 

President Trump calls mainstream media “the opposition party.”

 

Video clips and transcripts from the interview can also be seen on The Brody File, beginning Friday afternoon through Sunday when the full interview airs at 11 p.m. EST on Freeform. It will also air Monday on The 700 Club.

To watch the video clips of this interview, go to http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2017/january/president-trump-to-sit-down-with-news-for-exclusive-interview-friday

 

Trump plans to give persecuted Christians priority refugee status

It’s about time that we had an American leader who was sympathetic to the plight of persecuted Christians at home and abroad instead of showing favoritism to religious terrorists wanting to enter and destroy America! May YHVH bless, strengthen and encourage our leaders to do the right thing. Please pray for our leaders and President Trump in particular that YHVH will guide, embolden and direct them to do his will that the kingdom of Elohim may be advanced! — Natan

Courtesy of the Washington Examiner at http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/exactly-right-jindal-backs-trump-over-travel-ban/article/2613297

Persecuted Christians seeking asylum in the United States will be given priority when they apply for refugee status, President Trump said Thursday.

“We are going to help them. They’ve been horribly treated,” Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network in an interview set to air Sunday.

“Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, and the reason that was so unfair — everybody was persecuted in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody, but more so the Christians,” he told CBN’s David Brody.

Upon being asked if he sees persecuted Christians “as kind of a priority” when it comes to granting non-citizens refugee status, Trump told Brady: “Yes.”

Trump was expected to sign an executive order Friday afternoon that would temporarily shut the door to most U.S.-bound immigrants from Muslim countries and suspend the Syrian refugee program.

“The secretaries of state and homeland security, as appropriate, shall cease refugee processing of and the admittance of nationals of Syria as refugees until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the [U.S. Refugee Admittance Program] to ensure its alignment with the national interest,” read a draft of the order obtained by the Washington Examiner earlier this week.

Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Reading Schedule for 1-29 Through 2-4-17

Aside

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Bo — Exodus 10:1 – 13:16
Haftarah — Jeremiah 46:13-28
Prophets — 1 Kings 1:1 – 7:51
Writings — Psalms 106:1 – 110:7
Testimony — Luke 11:14 – 13:35

Our new Scripture Reading Schedule for 2016-2017 is available to download!

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 1/29/17 through 2/4/17.