Blog Scripture Readings for 6-8 through 6-14-14

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Sh’lach L’cha — Numbers 13:1 – 15:41 
Haftarah — Joshua 2:1–24
Prophets —Jeremiah 45:1 – 51:35
Writings —Ecclesiastes 2:1 – 8:17
Testimony — Romans 11:11 – 16:27

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 6/8 through 6/14/14.

 

BEWARE: the Mouth!

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Numbers 12:1–3, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. This is slander! None of us are immune from this sinful proclivity of man’s fallen nature. Sadly, such activity is rife within our congregations! As long as we give in to gossip and slander we will grieve the Spirit of Elohim and will not advance spiritually. We’re all guilty of this. Confess your sin and repent now! What does YHVH say about those who sow seeds of discord among brethren? How does view it? (See Prov 6:16 and 16.) How did the apostles handle such individuals? (Note Rom 16:17; Tit 3:10; 2 Thess 3:6; 1 Tim 3:5.) What was the penalty that YHVH prescribed for Miriam because of the evil misuse of her mouth? (Read Num 12:14.) How does this penalty compare with that which Paul prescribes for those who cause division and strife with in the congregation? What does Paul teach about slandering or rebuking an elder in the congregation? (See 1 Tim 1:19.) What does he call such activity? (Read verse 20.)

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Seven Ways to Misuse the Mouth

(From a book entitled Stop the Runaway Conversation by Dr. Michael Sedler)

  1. The Backbiter: One who speaks against an absent individual. All criticisms and comments, as the name implies, are made without the accused being present or are behind his back. (Ps 15:2–3; Rom 1:30; Prov 25:23; 2 Cor 12:20)
  2. The Busybody: One who seeks out information on a false report and spreads it by means of gossip, slander, backbiting, etc. YHVH takes this very seriously. In fact, he equates being a busybody with being an evildoer or even a murderer. (1 Pet 4:15; 1 Tim 5:13; 2 Thess 3:11)
  3. The Complainer: One who finds fault. This type of person often uses a personal situation as a platform for his or her complaint. “I was treated unfairly.” “Do you know what this person did?” You think that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me.” These are the types of phrases that will come from such a person. (Num 11:1; Jude 16)
  4. The Murmurer: One who grumbles. We find that this person is usually complaining but only loudly enough for those in close proximity to hear. The murmuring person is seldom happy or pleased with the outcome of situations. Like the complainer, he looks for faults and then justifies a bad attitude with his comments. (Phil 2:14; Num 16:2; Jude 16)
  5. The Slanderer: This is an individual who tries to injure someone’s reputation or character by false and defamatory statements. (Num 14:36; Jer 6:28; 9:4; 1 Tim 3:11; Prov 10:18; Ps 101:5)
  6. The Talebearer (or Gossip): This is a person who elaborates and exaggerates so as to make a story more dramatic or “juicy”). (Prov 11:13; Lev 19:16; Rom 1:28–30; see also Prov 18:8; 20:19; 26:20,22; 1 Tim 5:13)
  7. The Whisperer: This is an individual who talks about other people privately, secretly and covertly in order to hurt them. (Prov 16:28; Ps 41:7)

 

 

Omer Count — 49th Day! Tomorrow is Shavuot/Pentecost!

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We are in the 7th week of seven weeks of the counting of the omer. Today is the 49th day of 50 days in the counting of the omer leading up to the biblical Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). (Lev 23:15-16)

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Shavuot: Past, Present and Future

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Tomorrow is Shavuot! Are you ready to imbibe of the Holy Spirit?

Want to learn about what the significant relevance is of Shavuot/the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost? Then I invite you to read my teaching article on the subject at http://hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/shavuot.pdf.

Shavuot, Joyous

 

 

Omer Count

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Less than two days to go until Shavuot/the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost! Are you ready?

We are in the 7th week of seven weeks of the counting of the omer. Today is the 48th day of 50 days in the counting of the omer leading up to the biblical Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). (Lev 23:15–16)

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Condoms to Sixth Graders? Shame on Gervais, Oregon!

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I’m angry!

The story below is proof of the sickness of the public educational system in America, and in my own state of Oregon. Instead of teaching sixth grade students exclusively about sexual abstinence, some schools are now teaching them how to use condoms, and then handing those condoms out to those same students. Come on now! What student won’t interpret this as a carte blanche approval and encouragement to become sexually active?

What kind of mental retardation has overcome our public educators to believe that there is some sort of a moral virtue or positive benefit in distributing condoms to our children and encouraging their use? This is a symptom of liberalism or progressivism (or whatever elitist sounding name you want to call it), which is, instead, repressive and regressive, and it’s a mental disorder to boot!

When one loses one’s moral and spiritual compass, this it what happens. Degeneracy occurs. To the morally derelict and reprobate, good (i.e., teaching the virtue and benefits of sexual abstinence to our students) is evil, and evil (i.e., giving condoms to eleven-year-olds) is good. This is evidence of a society that’s in the process of a steep moral and spiritual decline — a fact that our political and educational leaders seem too stupid to understand. They have become fools because they have rejected the God of the Bibles and his laws of right living. They are now attempting to indoctrinate our children with their own godless values with the hopes that if enough people view their own private amoral cesspool as acceptable, somehow it will make it so.

The perversion of our youth at taxpayers’ expense with the lies of so-called “progressivism” is reprehensible. What’s progressive about men following their animalistic instincts that only lead one down into the dank and stench-filled cellar of man’s baser nature? This isn’t the elevation, but the debasement of man from being a noble creature made in the image of God (YHVH Elohim), and with the potential to become like Jesus (Yeshua), the Son Elohim, to being just another amoral animal that simply follows its instinctive jungle impulses.

What the US and the world need is a spiritual revival of the fear and love of Elohim. It starts with you and me!

By the way, the school district in Oregon where they plan to start handing out condoms to sixth graders is about 20 minutes from my house. I am ashamed for the town of Gervais and for the school leaders there who are acting more like primates instead of humans made in the image of God. Shame on all of them for corrupting our youth. May they repent of their wickedness, and if they don’t, may YHVH’s just judgments come upon them swiftly for the travesty they’re committing against our children. And a double shame upon every  spiritual leader in that community who isn’t standing up to these degenerates in the school district by shaking an accusing finger at them and demanding that they put the kibosh to this idiotic policy!

Now on to the story…

Oregon school district to offer condoms to students starting in 6th grade

Reuters

By By Shelby SebensJune 4, 2014 8:27 PM

PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) – An Oregon school district plans to offer condoms to students starting in sixth grade as part of an updated sex education policy aimed at decreasing teen pregnancy, sparking debate over whether 11-year-olds are too young for such a program.

The plan by the rural Gervais School District comes after a 2013 survey by nursing students found that 7 percent of district high school girls had experienced pregnancy and 42 percent of students reported “never” or “sometimes” using protection.

“Over the past few decades, teen pregnancy in our community has remained somewhat constant, but higher than the board felt comfortable with,” Superintendent Rick Hensel said in a blog post dated Monday.    Click here to read the rest of this story: http://news.yahoo.com/oregon-school-district-offer-condoms-students-starting-6th-002710449.html

 

Are you in the war or AWOL?

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Numbers 10:11–12a, In the second year. Israel had rested at the foot of Mount Sinai for slightly more than one year. According to the Torah, newlyweds (in this case, YHVH and Israel) were to spend one year together (getting to know each other) before going to war (Deut 24:5). It was now time for Israel to go to war—to fight their way to the Promised Land. With this biblical principle in mind, how would you characterize your spiritual walk? Are you in the warfare stage of your spiritual journey yet or are you still sitting (on the sidelines) in the same place spiritually that you were at the beginning of your journey? Have you fought the spiritual Canaanites, the serpents and scorpions, the heat and cold, hunger, doubt and unbelief, or have you never ventured outside of your spiritual comfort zones to do battle, to labor hard, to minister for YHVH in attempting to reach the Promised Land of his kingdom? (Let’s not forget what Yeshua said to the unprofitable servant in the Parable of the Talents in Matt 25:14–29.)