Tag Archives: Repentance

Examine Yourself Before Taking Communion at Passover

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1 Corinthians 11:23, This is my body. We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua (Heb 10:10).When we eat the bread of communion, we are “eating” Yeshua who is the incarnate and Living Torah Word of Elohim (John 1:14). We are announcing that Yeshua is the spiritual bread of life from heaven that leads to eternal life (John 6:48–51), and we are announcing our desire to live by the totality of his Word (Matt 4:4). 

The bread symbolizing the body of Yeshua was unleavened, which is a picture of Yeshua’s sinless life. By eating this bread, we declare our faith in his sinless life by which he was able to pay for our sins. We also declare our identification with his sinlessness as an example for us to follow.

Yeshua took the unleavened bread and broke it signifying our deliverance from our sin nature by the breaking or death of his sinless body. The unleavened bread broken during the Passover meal speaks of our deliverance from the power of sin by the death of our old man. The rite of baptism is a picture of this (Rom 6:4–13). This paves the way for us to live a sanctified (sin-free) life.

We become unleavened or sinless (known as sanctification) because Yeshua our Passover Lamb was sacrificed for us (1 Cor 5:7). Our body of sin died with Yeshua when we were baptized making us unleavened (or sanctified, Rom 6:6). Let us therefore live in accordance with the new man, or new spiritual creation we have become through Yeshua (1 Cor 5:8; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20). When we eat the unleavened bread at the communion part of the Passover service, we remember that we are sanctified by grace and that the power of sin (or Torahlessness, see 1 John 3:4 cp. John 14:15) has been broken in our lives.

In the first Passover, the children of Israel were delivered from the penalty of their sins by the blood of the lamb on the door, which pointed forward prophetically to Yeshua’s sin-atoning death on the cross. But when they ate the unleavened bread, this speaks of their being delivered from their slavery to sin and oppression in Egypt. They were now to leave Egypt (a spiritual picture of the old man and life) and go toward the Promised Land (a spiritual picture of the new man) taking with them, on their knees, the dough of the unleavened bread. This points to the fact that the redeemed saints are to walk in the newness of a spiritually unleavened or sanctified life as pictured by their eating the communion bread. When we eat the bread of communion, we memorialize the events surrounding the Exodus, and recognize the present reality of freedom from sin in our own lives.

1 Corinthians 11:25, My blood. By the blood of Yeshua we are redeemed, liberated or released from the bondage of sin (Matt 26:28; Rom 3:25; Eph 1:17; Col 1:14; Heb 9:22; 1 Pet 1:18; Rev 5:9) and from sin’s death penalty claim on us (Rom 6:23; Ezek 18:4) brought on by our disobedience to YHVH’s instructions in righteousness, the Torah (which defines sin, 1 John 3:4). His blood also sanctifies (or separates, Heb 9:13–14; 13:12) us from past sin (Rom 3:25) or Continue reading →

 

The Florida School Massacre—My Response

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YHVH has blessed my wife and I with four beautiful, healthy children. There’s no way for me to even remotely imagine losing a single one for any reason, much less at the hands of a deranged murderer.

“YHVH Elohim, have mercy on the parents, spouses, children, families and friends of those who were murdered. May beauty come from these ashes and out of the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, may people’s hearts be stirred to look heavenward toward you. Help them to seek and to find you, so they can experience the love, peace, joy, mercy and forgiveness that comes only from you. Instead of being angry at you, may they be angry at the sinfulness of fallen humanity that has willfully separated itself from you and now is reaping the consequences of its actions. May this reality cause many to turn to Yeshua the Messiah and to fall repentantly at the foot of his cross in search of redemption from their sins. May they find there the river of life that comes from you as they surrender themselves to your path of spiritual light and righteousness as revealed in your Word, the Bible. Amein.”

In response to the Florida school massacre, I received this note from Jennifer S.

In light of the recent violent shooting, about 20 years ago, I wrote a simple comment in our local newspaper…it was 7 words. “”God out, guns in. Think about it.”” I guess it must have been in response to the Columbine shooting. There were lots of positive comments that came in response to that brief offering. But now, it is ever more relevant today than it was then!  Now that all the so-called “experts” have spoken, this is what needs to be said: If young people were learning “thou shall not kill”, etc., and “bless those who persecute you, pray for those who despitefully use you, do good to them who hate you”, as well as, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”…there would not be so much extreme violence.

To the list of the reasons behind the increase in mass shooting in the U.S. I would add several other causes.

On that list would NOT be the mindless, mass hysterical response of the leftists that the government needs to confiscate and ban guns. Just ask people who have lived in countries where guns have been confiscated and banned how this has worked out for them! On the other hand, a couple of countries come to mind where the citizens either are Continue reading →

 

What was John the Baptist really preaching? A Lesson for Us…

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John the Baptist was no politically correct, mealy-mouthed, sissified, panty-waist, Ahab-ized preacher! He grew up outside the religious system so that his perspective and preaching wouldn’t be jaded when it came to calling those inside the system to repentance. We need more preachers like him today!

Luke 3:7–17, Then he said to the multitudes. What’s really going on in this exchange between John the Baptist and the religious folks of his day? Let’s step back and look at the bigger picture.

The multitudes of Jews had to make the long, hot and arduous journey through the Judean mountains down to the Jordan River, which was the lowest spot on earth, to hear John the Baptist who was the latest fad preacher to come on the scene. However, when they arrived at his lonely wilderness pulpit, instead of stroking their egos by complimenting them for their religious zeal, he excoriates them and calls them a brood of vipers. John confronts them when he says that if they don’t repent, the fires of YHVH’s judgment will consume them (John 3:7–9). John’s preaching pierces their hearts, and lays them low spiritually, and they ask him what he expects them to do (John 3:10). John then preaches a message of social justice involving giving to the poor, being fair and honest in your business dealings, and if you’re a government worker, treating the citizens you serve with respect (John 3:11–14).

Interestingly, he doesn’t instruct these religious Jews in what many might consider to be the specificities and dos and don’ts of the Torah-law, although it could be reasoned that Continue reading →

 

Eight Things You Can Do Now that Donald Trump Will be President

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Yehovah Elohim, the Creator of the universe, has granted the USA a reprieve from a well-deserved spiritual judgement by allowing Donald Trump to win the US presidency in a stunning and historical election upset over Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump IS NOT the answer to America’s problems. No human is. Only Yeshua the Messiah is. Period. Yet down through the ages, Yehovah has chosen to use human instruments to accomplish his purposes no matter how flawed they may be. The Bible records several notable examples of amazing flawed individuals and even a heathen leader that the Creator has used. Two examples of this were Samson the womanizer who helped liberate the Israelites from their wicked Philistine enemies, and Cyrus the heathen Persian king who sent the Jews back to the land of Israel to rebuild the temple. Beyond that, Moses, King David (he as also an adulterer) and Paul the apostle were all murderers. Also let’s not forget how the Almighty Creator used Balaam’s donkey to accomplish his purposes!

The choice in my mind was clear who to vote for. Admittedly, I never cared for Donald Trump from the time I read his best-selling book back in the 1980s, The Art of the Deal. This was because of his extreme arrogance and his womanizing. However, as the owner and operator of a business since I was twelve years old, I can’t but help but respect anyone who is a success in the business world. Most business fail in the first five years. Anyone who can make it, deserves credit and respect.

Beyond that, the choice was clear. I will be blunt here. This may offend some, but I don’t care. You can switch the channel if you don’t like it. It’s time wake up and get real. Our choice was between a woman who is a lying, megalomaniac, Jezebel witch and sexual deviant who was also a traitor to her country and totally sold out to the Babylon the Great New World Order and a very flawed and rather typical carnal man. That’s all.

America had a choice to make. It could continue down the road of leftist progressivism that has failed everywhere in the world where it has been tried. It could choose a leader Continue reading →

 

No spiritual breakthrough…and salvation without this!

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Young businessman breaking trough a wall

Matthew 4:17, Repent…at hand. Mark’s Gospel adds, “and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Yeshua continued preaching the repentance message of John, and this became the essence of the gospel message (see verse 23). When Yeshua sent out his disciples two-by-two, he instructed them to preach the same message (Matt 10:7; Luke 9:6), the same message of repentance became part of the great commission (Luke 24:47). On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the same message of repentance (Luke 2:38).

“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is a message that is seldom heard in the Christian churches today, nor has it been consistently preached for a long time. In the late nineteenth century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great English preacher, complained in his day that “Repentance is an old-fashioned word not much used by modern revivalists” (The Soul Winner, p. 27 published in 1895!). If this was true in Spurgeon’s day, how much more so today?! Yet, this seldom used word in the lips of today’s Christian preachers was the first word out of John and Yeshua’s mouths when they began their preaching careers. Even so, if we are to be imitators of Yeshua, repent must be the first word out of our mouths when sharing the gospel to a sinful world!

Why should “repentance from sin” to be the first words out of the gospel preacher’s mouth? Quite simply, Adam and Eve fell out of fellowship with Elohim because of sin, and the only way for man to restore relationship with his Creator is to go back to the place where our first parents got off of YHVH’s spiritual path, to repent of that sin and to from that point on walk in obedience to his Word. Yeshua, as the Second Adam, leads man in that restoration process to undo the evil that the first Adam did. Repentance is the first step.

Repentance — The Law of Return & Key to Spiritual Breakthrough

Hebrew Word Definitions

There are two biblical Hebrew words that together present the complete picture Continue reading →

 

The Month of Elul is here—time to prepare for the fall feasts!

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Getting in Sync With YHVH Times and Seasons

What are the forty days of teshuvah (the Hebrew word meaning “repentance”) all about? Let’s briefly explore this concept to see how why they occur when they do and how they relate to the fall biblical feasts and the second coming of King Yeshua the Messiah.

Repentance

During these forty days, which begin on the first day of the sixth month on the biblical calendar and end on the Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), it is time for the redeemed believer to get his or her spiritual house in order for the upcoming biblical high holy days. Why? Because these holidays prophetically picture the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah and his gathering his people to himself, and the coming judgments upon the earth of the wicked and lukewarm, and the pouring out of YHVH’s wrath upon the wicked along with the destruction of Babylon the Great by Yeshua. They also point to the time when Yeshua will establish his millennial kingdom on this earth, and finally, the coming of the new heaven and new earth at the end of the millennium.

Furthermore, during the forty days of teshuvah, it’s time for YHVH’s people to awake from their spiritual slumber (1 Thess 5:1–8; Rom 13:11–14) and repent (or make teshuvah) from sin and turn back to wholehearted obedience to Elohim. The three months between the biblical feasts of Shavuot or Pentecost and Yom Teruah (the Day of Shofar Blasts) prophetically pictures the 2000 year time period between the first and advents of Yeshua the Messiah. As we near the end of this period, it is time to get ready for Yeshua’s second coming and to put off spiritual lukewarmeness by repenting of sin (Torahlessness) and by putting on the robes of righteousness and looking heavenward in anticipation of our Messiah’s coming. The forty days between the first day of the sixth month and Yom Kippur is the time to be doing this.

Why forty days and why now? According to the biblical record and Jewish tradition, Moses received the tablets of the ten commandments on Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks or

Continue reading →

 

The Utter Depravity of Sinful Man

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Zombie Eyes

Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all thing. 

The Bible is a big book. It contains more than 1500 pages of divine instructions on countless subjects from numerous authors written over a period of more than 1500 years! Within the plethora of subjects contained therein, it is easy to overlook certain ones that are less complimentary to man, but that he nevertheless needs to be reminded of if he is to come into a right relationship with YHVH Elohim (the Creator and ultimate Author of the Bible).

One of these biblical themes pertains to the utter depravity of man in his spiritually unregenerate state. The Bible has a lot to say about this subject, and it’s not a pleasant one. And even after man is regenerated by the Spirit of Elohim, he still struggles with his base, carnal, godless, rebellious, anti-Elohim and sin-bent nature.

Like taking a strong medicinal tonic, from time to time, it is imperative that the redeemed of YHVH review the Scriptures in the Bible that discuss the subject of man’s depravity. As forgetful humans who have the prideful tendency to gloss over our sins (this too is an aspect of man’s depraved and sin-inclined nature), we need to hold the mirror of truth up to our faces to see ourselves as we really are. When we behold this reality, perhaps it will drive us back to the cross of Yeshua in repentance of our sin, and cause us to fall down in contriteness before the mercy seat of Elohim’s throne begging for mercy. Perhaps the fear Continue reading →