April | 2017 | truthinus

Archive | April, 2017

Chirp 21 Apr 17

Working Dates: Friday, April 21, 2017 to Sunday, April 23, 2017

[Sunday, April 23, 2017 Note: Taking a pause while I wait on God to send a computer angel to get rid of the Internet bug, so that I can keep writing. Some beach. O well. Some days the caged bird gets to sing and other days she makes her nest.]

By Kathryn Hauser

[18 pages]

Isaiah 29:4 And brought down thou shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of a ghost out of the ground, and thy speech shall chirp out of the dust.

Tweety Bird: Did you say “chirp”?

LDS.org: Chapter 29 [of Isaiah]. A people (the Nephites) will speak as a voice from the dust—The Apostasy, restoration of the gospel, and coming forth of a sealed book (the Book of Mormon) are foretold—Compare 2 Nephi 27.

Chuck Pierce (21 Apr 17): From Passover to Resurrection Power to Perceiving I AM!
This is such a key season that I want to be sure all of you can fully grasp not only why we celebrate Passover, but how this causes us to arise with Resurrection Power! Therefore, we have developed a special replay with three critical themes from this last weekend. This special replay will begin with Robert Heidler’s teaching from Saturday night on “Passover 5777: Unsealing your Scroll for the Future!” To show how this connects with how the Passover Lamb rose from the dead and the gift this provide us, we have also added Robert’s short teaching from Sunday morning, “Celebrating Jesus the Risen Lord: The Firstfruits of a New Creation! Finally, to help us think differently about what transpired in the Garden Tomb, we are also including my message from Sunday’s Breaking of the Day Service, “How Do You Perceive the Resurrection?” Beginning today and all day tomorrow, this extended webcast will be our featured replay. We will also keep up this replay through the end of the month so you can watch it as many times as you need, to fully embrace the power of this season.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: The way it is expressed is “you have your truth and I have mine.” Along with this goes the relativism that says, “We can’t really know the truth, but we believe certain things to be true.”

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Thesis: Who is Jesus to tell someone what is true worship or faith? What authority does Jesus have to tell you how to live your life? What right does Jesus have to declare something wrong or right, good or bad, moral or immoral? What about areas where you might disagree with Jesus: e.g. there is only one true God, only one way to heaven, sexual sin, love your neighbor, love your enemy, don’t lie, don’t covet, don’t gossip, care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the stranger, serve, give, worship, pray …? Why should you yield your life to Jesus?

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Let us begin with a cat. A person who acts like a cat is very selfish and self-centered, while at the same time projecting a persona that everything is okay. The Talmud says that a cat does not recognize its creator… The flaw is in the damaged thought processes,, for when a cat does behave at its best, the Talmud teaches that if we had not received the Torah and its teachings we could have learned modesty from a cat.

Patricia King: Faith will demolish the challenge your facing

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: In other words, “Believing makes it so.” This is what I have described elsewhere as Tinkerbell Catholicism.

Isaiah 29: 5 But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away; yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly–

Amber Picota: God showed me that I would just have to begin serving people and loving people and ministering to people without a great big hoopla. We’re talking a whole lotta of washing toilets, and very rarely ever getting to preach or do anything remotely “ministry like”.

Yosef Marcus: Nevertheless, this tzadik‘s [“righteous one”] service is a “small thing” in comparison with the wondrous path of the “Leviathan tzadik“. The Leviathan will therefore “slaughter”, i.e. raise up the Wild Bull. It will do this with its fins, since it is with its fins that the Leviathan glides smoothly through the water. The fins therefore represent the propeller of the tzadik‘s lofty ascent.

Veronica Kilrain: There’s a resilience, and stamina thats been produced in many of God’s children in this past season. Propelled further and deeper into the heart of the Father through the fiery trials of life, I see a silver lining in the clouds! Emotional stamina, supernatural strength, mental breakthrough and an army of overcomers arising in this hour in such power! Spiritual gold is pouring forth through souls.

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day, Kathryn!

Yosef Stern: In the same vein, the Mishna is admonishing the Torah scholar to weigh carefully every word, since he may be living in an era in which the words of Torah are in exile, i.e. easily misunderstood. While in previous generations a scholar could presume that his audience would appreciate and comprehend his words, that assumption is no longer necessarily true.

Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter: Kabbalah illustrates the connection between exile and the constricted flow of wisdom.

“Avtalyon says: Scholars, be cautious with your words, for you may incur the penalty of exile and be banished to a place of putrid water….” (Avot 1:11)

Yosef Marcus (in “Wild Bull” 18 Apr 17): On the other hand, there is an advantage to the “Wild Bull tzadikim” [“righteous one”], since it is they who fulfill the mission of making the physical world an abode for G‑d. Thus the Wild Bull will “slaughter” the Leviathan and elevate it as well – each one imbuing the other with the virtue that it lacks.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Eight is unbounded by the reality of the world…

Brat: My mystical marriage to Jesus was in 2008.

Ascent of Safed: The Price of Prophecy

Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles: A young tzadik learns not to divulge his prophetic powers.

Brat: Does that translate to me as “Shut up!”?

Sheri Rose Shepherd – “Thrive”: Tighten Loose Lips

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 27: 1 In that day the LORD with His sore and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the slant serpent, and leviathan the tortuous serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

United States Office of War Information (WWII): Loose Lips Sinks Ships

Disney’s “Little Mermaid”: Pour Unfortunate Souls [https://youtu.be/iuwuMh3PmwM]

[URSULA, spoken]

My dear, sweet child. That’s what I do. It’s what I live for.

To help unfortunate merfolk like yourself.

Poor souls with no one else to turn to.

I admit that in the past I’ve been a nasty

They weren’t kidding when they called me, well, a witch

But you’ll find that nowadays

I’ve mended all my ways

Repented, seen the light, and made a switch

True? Yes.

And I fortunately know a little magic

It’s a talent that I always have possessed

And dear lady, please don’t laugh

I use it on behalf

Of the miserable, the lonely, and depressed

Pathetic

Poor unfortunate souls

In pain, in need

This one longing to be thinner

That one wants to get the girl

And do I help them?

Yes, indeed

Those poor unfortunate souls

So sad, so true

They come flocking to my cauldron

Crying, “Spells, Ursula, please!”

And I help them!

Yes I do

Now it’s happened once or twice

Someone couldn’t pay the price

And I’m afraid I had to rake ’em ‘cross the coals

Yes I’ve had the odd complaint

But on the whole I’ve been a saint

To those poor unfortunate souls

[URSULA, spoken]

Have we got a deal?

[ARIEL, spoken]

If I become human, I’ll never be with my father or sisters again.

[URSULA, spoken]

But you’ll have your man.

Life’s full of tough choices, innit?

Oh, and there is one more thing.

We haven’t discussed the subject of payment.

[ARIEL, spoken]

But I don’t have-

[URSULA, spoken]

I’m not asking much, just a token really, a trifle!

What I want from you is – your voice.

[ARIEL, spoken]

But without my voice, how can I-

[URSULA]

You’ll have your looks, your pretty face.

And don’t underestimate the importance of body language, ha!

The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber

They think a girl who gossips is a bore!

Yet on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word

And after all dear, what is idle prattle for?

Come on, they’re not all that impressed with conversation

True, gentlemen avoid it when they can

But they dote and swoon and fawn

On a lady who’s withdrawn

It’s she who holds her tongue who gets a man

Come on you poor unfortunate soul

Go ahead!

Make your choice!

I’m a very busy woman and I haven’t got all day

It won’t cost much

Just your voice!

Ya’ poor unfortunate soul

It’s sad but true

If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet

You’ve got the pay the toll

Take a gulp and take a breath

And go ahead and sign the scroll

(Flotsam, Jetsam, now I’ve got her, boys)

The boss is on a roll

This poor unfortunate soul

Beluga selvruga

Come winds of the Caspian Sea

Larengix glaucitis

Et max laryngitis

La voce to me

Now, sing!

[ARIEL]

Aah…

[URSULA]

Keep singing!

[ARIEL]

(Aah….)

House of Destiny: Are you good news or bad news?

Christy Johnston: “Shake Off the Spirit of Python into the Fire”

Rabbi YY Jacobson: This is a metaphor for life. Each of us was given his or her “seed,” his or her body, psyche, and soul. The saddest thing you can do is try to mimic other people because you dislike your own seed; to live your life based on other people’s expectations, so that you gain their approval and feel successful, even if that means repressing your own seed and using the seed of another. Only when you become completely honest with your own condition and reality, confessing that your seed has grown nothing, can you truly make something of yourself and become a genuine source of leadership and inspiration to yourself and others. Only when you can embrace the truth of your soul, can you discover the infinite light of G-d that radiates through you.

Brat: Where is God leading us through this conversation?

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Q3. Discuss how worship of God and true faith impact every area of a person’s life (and therefore there is no area where Jesus should not have authority in your life).

Revelation 12:⁵She 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.

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Jesus’ authority quesVoned [Matthew 12:23-27] What is the source of Jesus’ authority? The Jewish leaders ques9on Jesus’ authority to cleanse the temple, receive praise as Messiah, and to teach [23]. The religious leaders had not granted Jesus authority. Jesus’ authority comes from God, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth …” [Mt. 28:18-20]. Jesus asks a quesVon to those who quesVon His authority: Jesus challenges them with a ques9on whether John the Bap9st’s ministry was from God or man [25]. The religious leaders realize that if they acknowledge that John’s ministry is from God and John pointed to Jesus as Messiah [Jn.1:29] then they have the answer to their ques9on – Jesus’ authority is from God [25]. If they say that John’s ministry was simply from man, the masses would stone them [Lu. 20:6] for the people recognized John as a prophet [26]. The religious leaders refuse to answer [27] thereby disqualifying themselves from judging Jesus’ authority. What keeps you from yielding to Jesus?

Monk: I see. I take this as an answer to Brat.

Brat (in “Ye Princes” 17 Apr 17): Maybe if I write slower you will hear me more clearly. For ten years I have been parking and praying for the Church every day. For ten years I have been asking for sanctuary from the Church. By ‘sanctuary’ I mean a safe place where I can live and thrive in Maslows’ Hierarchy of Needs being met while serving the Lord Jesus in my calling. This is very practical. I’ve been “above the cloud line” and I need a safe place to land.

Monk: The great spacing between the words makes it visually look like you are speaking back slowly to me, wielding Jesus’ authority, and in response you are in essence refusing to say anything and disqualifying yourselves. Since the male child is snatched up to God and to His throne and the first Pharisees set the precedence in Jesus’ day, then it makes sense that today’s story would follow suit. Thank you for your priestly service of taking this upon yourself to show this.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 31:9 And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Tzion, and His furnace in Yerushalayim.

James Goll: “God is Choosing and Appointing Watchmen to Make History”

David Slavin: Behold, from all of the types of influences mentioned above that would fall for the Jews, only a “watered-down” version would be given to the seventy ministers of the [archetypal] Seventy Nations. This is just like the teaching of the Sages: “Our Rabbis have taught that Eretz Yisrael drinks first, then the rest of the world. Eretz Yisrael gets pure rain and the rest of the world gets theirs watered down. Eretz Yisrael is watered by The Holy One Blessed Be He himself, whereas the rest of the world is watered by a messenger, as the verse says, ‘He gives water on the face of the Land and sends the water to the face of the outlying boundaries.‘” (Job 5:10, Taanit 10a)

Lana Vawser: These heavenly strategists are rising up with heavenly insight to root out and expose the hidden things. The spies in lands, through the strategy of heaven being put into action, is seeing and will see truth prevail. Seeing the spies cast out of the land and the breaker released for a tidal wave of His Spirit to come in and release revival and resurrection life all around.

Bible Hub: Matthew Henry Commentary [Isaiah] 29:1-8 Ariel may signify the altar of burnt-offerings. Let Jerusalem know that outward religious services will not make men free from judgements.

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Jesus’ authority and faith [18-22] Jesus has authority to declare true faith [18-20] The next morning Jesus was returning to Jerusalem and was hungry [18]. He saw a ﬁg tree that should have had fruit but there were only leaves [19]. Fig trees were plen9ful in the region and their fruit was part of the diet. A ﬁg tree bears fruit ten months per year. The leaves would give an outward appearance that there was fruit, but there was none. Jesus cursed the ﬁg tree and immediately it withered away, and the disciples marveled [19-20]. Why was this ﬁg tree the only thing that Jesus cursed? Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin with ﬁg leaves [Gen. 3:7], but only God can forgive sin. Also, the ﬁg tree was associated with Israel [Jer. 8:13, Hos. 9:10] and the Jewish leaders’ failure to receive Jesus would result in judgment. And it may refer to someone who claims to follow God but bears no fruit of spiritual transforma9on and thus there is no saving faith in Christ. All three reasons point to a lack of faith in Jesus’ work and authority.

Brat: My writings are my dowry. They are my fruit. They show the journey with God. Saying “someone who claims to follow God” is a judgment. Saying “the Jewish leaders’ failure to receive Jesus” is a judgment. God HAS forgiven sin, and the cover-up continues. The people themselves are not showing a lack of faith in Jesus’ work and authority. They are not the ones holding the fig leaves in front of their snatch. You yourself are the one who reminded me that fig leaves are ITCHY, and Adam and Eve tried to sew fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. It was the Lord who came through with making them garments of skin and clothed them. (Gen 3:21)

Elaine Tavolacci: As I began to fall asleep last night I heard the words “Ultrasound”. The Holy Spirit said “I am sending an Ultra-sound” from heaven to shake the nations. I instantly understood that this was not a shaking of war and destruction, it was not a sound of fear or famine, but it is the sound of the voice of God. There is a sound that is reverberating from heaven.

Brat: I have seen “Puss In Boots” twice. Humpty Dumpty and Puss used to be best friends. Humpty behaved like the religious institution.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah claims that turning to “the book of the Lord” [Isa 34:16] will reveal that none of the animals “shall be missing.” Some commentators suggest that the “book of the Lord” refers to the book of Genesis which describes how every creature and its mate was gathered to Noah in the ark at the time of the flood. Since they heeded God’s commandment to come to the ark, not one of them went missing. The message then is clear. If even animals are capable of obeying the Divine decrees, then how much more so should humanity be willing to listen to God’s word.

Lana Vawser: “There are new assignments upon many of you where I will send you forth with specific words into specific places and you will prophesy and not only will the hard grounds break open, but there will be DESTINY in these places suddenly awakened. The prophetic words sown into the grounds by My heart will SUDDENLY come to life as you prophesy. I am sending many of you forth as ACTIVATORS to prophesy what I am saying, to call forth the seeds of destiny sown into cities, regions and nations, in accelerated ways, that is going to active by the power of My Spirit the “tipping point DESTINY MOMEMNTUM for that place.”

Brat (echo): Where is God leading us through this conversation?

Jennifer LeClaire: “Ride the Wind: A Prophetic Word About Turning the Tables”

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: In a similar way, “Shabbat Shemini” hints at two levels in G‑dly service. Shabbat is the seventh day and completion of the creation process. However, despite being the pinnacle, Shabbat is still part of this natural process. “Shemini“, from the Hebrew word meaning “eight“, hints at a level superceding nature and creation. Eight is unbounded by the reality of the world. Shabbat Shemini is thus a combination of these two levels. The lesson for us is that even after serving G‑d through all natural means (a feat in itself), one must strive to serve G‑d above the natural reality, not letting the world’s limitations affect us.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah begs the people to repent and return to the Lord (in Hebrew, the word ‘shuv’ (שׁוּב) – means both repent and return). If they do, then Assyria will fall before God, whom the prophet describes as both fire, in Hebrew, ‘ur’ (אוּר), and furnace, in Hebrew, ‘tanur’ (תַנּוּר). While both metaphors involve fire, there is an importance difference between them. As fire, God burns and destroys, as the Assyrian enemy will discover. As a furnace, God’s fire is the source of heat and comfort. Our actions determine whether God relates to us as fire or as furnace.

Jennifer LeClaire: See, the devil’s adversity coming against you is no match for the God on the inside of you. The battle in your mind may be raging, but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah on the inside of you roars louder than the roaring lion that’s after you.

Anna Blake: I arrived at the barn mid-fight. The barn manager was refereeing a dust-up between a trainer and a boarder who was not his client. The trainer had tied a horse’s head, snubbed down tight, to the its side and left in a stall. The boarder went into the stall and untied the horse. The trainer cried trespassing and the boarder cried cruelty. From over my shoulder, I heard the trainer growl, “Mind your own business!” at the boarder, an unapologetic older woman.

Amber Picota: When Your Calling Goes Unnoticed

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Despite the fate of Ashdod ten years earlier, abandoned by Egypt to destruction by Assyria, there were still those in Judah who felt that making an alliance with Pharaoh was the best defense against the Assyrians. Isaiah describes how donkeys bearing treasures were sent southwards through the Negev desert in hopes of buying Egyptian loyalty. Therefore, God expresses his frustrations with Israel for continuing to rebel by trusting in others, not in Him. However, states Isaiah, Divine patience was not yet exhausted. If they would “cry to the Lord” (verse. 19) and abolish idolatry entirely (verse 22), God would be gracious to his people. This is an important message for mankind. The Lord is a God of patience and forgiveness. Though people sin and turn their backs on Him, he is always waiting for them to right their ways so that He can be gracious to them and have compassion on them.

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: The Shelah reminds us of the famous Talmudic axiom based on a verse in this week’s portion, “Make yourselves holy and you will be holy.” (Lev. 11:44) The Talmud writes that a person who tries to sanctify him or herself below, even a little, is helped to be sanctified very much more from Above – both in this world and the world to come. (Yoma 39a) “Sanctify a little from below”, refers to the relatively insignificant activities of the body. “Sanctify much more” from Above refers to the gift of eternity to the soul.

Anna Blake: Bend Like a Crescent Moon

Grayson Gilbert: I find it puzzling that this topic is still up for debate, yet the sentiments of many Western Christians is that you can love Jesus without loving the church. Verbose arguments abound on the church not being confined to a building – that all spaces are sacred and therefore, filled with divine presence. The well-worn argument that the church does not consist of the physical space you occupy while worshipping God, but instead the body of believers, contains just enough truth to lure readers to their inevitable conclusion:

Church attendance is optional. Serving the brethren, again, is optional. Loving the brethren? Still optional. Feeling guilty about not wanting to go to church? Don’t worry about it; that’s the fault of institutionalized religion.

Isaiah 29: 3 And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mound, and I will raise siege works against thee.

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Jesus’ authority and worship [Mt 21:12-17] Jesus has authority to deﬁne acceptable worship of God [12-13] Jesus had just made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is four days before the Passover Feast and Jewish pilgrims ﬁlled the city. There is a s9r that Jesus has entered Jerusalem. Could He be the Messiah? Jesus entered the temple [12] referring to the outermost court (The Court of the Gen9les). Then there was a court for Jewish women, and then Jewish men. The actual sanctuary of the temple was only entered by priests, and the Holy of Holies was only entered by the High Priest once a year on Yom Kippur. Business or marketplace ac9vi9es were conducted at the court of the Gen9les [12]. Money changers, for a fee, converted foreign currency, to the Jewish Scheckel required to pay taxes to support the temple. Sacriﬁces were available to purchase, at a premium price, so people would not need to bring sacriﬁces from home to Jerusalem, and were assured the sacriﬁce was inspected and approved. Per Josephus, the Jewish historian, more than 200,000 lambs were oﬀered at Passover. Doves [12] were the oﬀering of the poorest and most vulnerable people. The system tended to exploit people who were coming to worship God. Thus, Jesus describes those who exploited as a “den of thieves” [13] and drove them out. Jesus asserts authority when He declares the temple is “My house” [13]. God desires that the temple be a place of prayer and worship (for all na9ons) [13] [Is. 56:7]. This was the second 9me that Jesus came to the temple and sought to remove those who exploited worshipers. There was a similar event at the start of His ministry [Jn. 2:13-17]. Jesus made it clear that we are to worship God in spirit and truth, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” [Jn. 4:23-24]. Our worship is to be shaped by the truth of God’s word and inspired by His Spirit.

Brat: So, just for clarification, I am in the “Women’s Court.” Jesus called me His Bride and asked me to marry Him. I said, “yes” on 14 May 2008 and experienced a mystical marriage. This made sense to me, as Anchorites down through the ages have also had this experience. Since Jesus’ authority comes from God and the religious leaders refused to answer and thereby disqualified themselves from judging Jesus’ authority, as you have said, then what keeps you from passing me along to a safe house of prayer where I will not be exploited? I worship God in spirit and truth. Sanctuary is a physical need. Everyone on the planet needs sanctuary.

Michelle McClain-Walters: The Anna Anointing: Become A Woman of Boldness, Power, And Strength

Rebecca Bratten Weiss: However, is the “Jesus’ wife” theory really all that much of a vindication? While it certainly clears Mary’s reputation, morally, it still succumbs to a perspective which is unable to view women other than sexually. If Mary was important to Jesus, she must have been bound to him maritally and sexually: that’s the presupposition here. As though she couldn’t have been valued as a spiritual companion, a trustworthy friend, a courageous witness.

Susan Michael, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem US Director: Are the law and prophets obsolete?

Isaiah 32:⁹You women who are so complacent,
rise up and listen to me;
you daughters who feel secure,
hear what I have to say!

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: A dog, on the other hand comes from the opposite end of the spectrum. The Talmud says that a dog does recognize its creator. It goes further to say that dogs are clever. At the same time its emotions are faulty. This is hinted at in its name. In Hebrew the word for dog is kelev. Kelev can also be read, kol lev, all heart. A dog is controlled by its emotions. The Midrash points out that a dog marshals all of its cleverness to help fulfill the desires of its heart. It describes a dog as insolent, as are those who act like a dog, using their brains to fulfill their emotions and putting other people’s thoughts and feelings aside.

(From “Purpose Driven Life?” 2 June 2011) Matthew 15:21 Jesus left that place [!] and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

15:23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” [!]

15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

15:25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” [!]

15:26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

15:27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Something is not true because you believe it. You believe it because it is true.

This twisted form of fideism is what stops many people from pursuing the truth of the Catholic faith. What they believe is what they think is true and they think it must be true simply because they believe it.

Grayson Gilbert: We know Paul was prohibited from communing with the saints whilst in chains. We also know that many churches are confined to secret rendezvous, have gone without official teachers/elders for a period, etc. No one is speaking of things literally barring another from being able to be among the saints and sit under the Word, or a temporary, ecclesial detriment; it is the willful forsaking of the brethren and the eschewing of God’s good gifts.

Journal (in “Purpose Driven Life?” 2 June 2011): From living through this with the Church, and seeing this passage through the lies of apathy I understood what Jesus did and why He did it. If someone doesn’t care, REALLY doesn’t care, then all one can do is let them alone. Walk away. But Jesus must have still been affected by the energy of apathy. When the Canaanite woman came up to Him begging for mercy on behalf of her daughter, He did not answer her at all. And that is repeatedly what the Church has done to me for the last year since Anchorites was released. The Church did not answer me at all. I would imagine the clergy groupies kept telling them, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us!” And I keep answering, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of the Church.” Then yesterday as I was in my solitude spot I started crying for all of us spiritually and physically homeless people. The Canaanite woman was like a voice of Lady Liberty without the vision but with only the voice. I cried out, “Lord, help me!” “Lord, help us!!” Because the Church is silent, the rest of the world suffers. The Church is sitting on gifts that God has already given each individual church for the purposes of sharing for the greater good, and because she sits and does nothing, she hoards the gifts.

Russ Shumaker: Articles and conversations about the nones and dones from a religious perspective often have an undercurrent of panic as people try to understand why so many are leaving organized religion. Anxiety is a normal human response to change (especially when those changes expose our own hidden doubts). But there’s a better way to think about the future of religion. It’s found in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison.

Lillian Daniel: Are you are doing a good job of welcoming people who have never experienced religious community before? Or are you assuming that everyone has already experienced it, and merely pointing out your church’s key differentiators? It’s something to think about, and apparently Jesus thought about it long before we did.

Anita Alexander: Many have wondered why this season has been so long, been so painful and been so hard to bear. The Lord says that it is for the purpose of the high calling. For much given, much is required. The Lord has required a faith that He doesn’t ask of everyone. He has required a humility that not every vessel can endure. But for those, He is about to release in this calling and appointment of Thunder, the last season will begin to make sense. For those that have been through the wilderness of humility and the fires of faith, the Lord can trust with the thunder of His voice and power. They are a vessel ready to be catapulted into destiny in explosive fire and glory.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: A bear represents simple gross physicality, like the mass of flesh that is a bear. Spiritually, a bear person is someone whose thoughts, speech and action are not refined. A person who behaves like a bear will always be in motion, constantly running to fill its desires. At the same time that the cat and dog might exhibit some reserve, because their faults are in their intellect and emotions, the bear represents an addiction to eating and drinking, things that push a person towards grossness and bodily interests and pushes us away from spiritual matters.

Grayson Gilbert: They then do a follow up post called The Real Reason Evangelicals and Millennials [insert people group] are Leaving the Church, where again, they pander to what people want to hear. So long as you subject the Scriptures to tokenism and appeal to sentimentalism, people will eat it up. Soon enough they’ll be in the woods celebrating “communion” with Coca Cola and cookies.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Yes. Fine. But are those beliefs true? They are not necessarily true just because you believe them. Protestantism with its “faith alone”
dogma is especially prone to fideism. When it is combined with anti-intellectualism it is especially noxious. Thus some Protestant fundamentalists and Calvinists will hold to beliefs that any child with some common sense can show are simply untrue, but they hold to their beliefs thinking that believing makes it so.

Isaiah 29: 2 Then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and moaning; and she shall be unto Me as a hearth of God.

Wikipedia: Ariel (Hebrew: אריאל, Ari’el, Arael or Ariael‎‎) is an archangel found primarily in Jewish and Christian mysticism and Apocrypha. The name Ariel, “Lion of God” or “Hearth of God,” occurs in the Hebrew Bible but as the name of an angel the earliest source is unclear.

Isaiah 31:⁴This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.

Veronica Kilrain: I see a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that delights the Father’s heart! Such tenderness. The mercy heart of the Father beats in the hearts of sold out lovers in this hour! A sweetness that’s been produced through the fiery trials! Great compassion for brothers and sisters and a desire to see unity and blessing flow. This love, the world will know!

Petula Dvorak: The woman dubbed in the Bible the “Apostle of the Apostles” has spent two millennia being reduced to a seductress. In some ways, Mary Magdalene’s story is the story of modern women everywhere.

Rebecca Bratten Weiss: Reading Dvorak’s piece, I found most of it familiar, because I have conversed before, with feminist theologians, about the problematic and historically inaccurate way in which Mary Magdalene’s role in the Gospels ends up being undermined, ignored, or misinterpreted. Prior to these conversations, I had a kind of affection for Mary Magdalene because I was drawn to the idea that one who loved greatly and wrongly could, in fact, be searching for religious truth. What I failed to note was a) I was reading Bible stories through an interpretive lens of questionable value; b) I was missing all the other things Mary Magdalene did.

Jennifer LeClaire: “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” (Rev. 8:2). The angels are entrusted to blow these all-important trumpets, signaling judgment. Matthew Henry’s Commentary explains, “Still the angels are employed as the wise and willing instruments of divine Providence, and they are furnished with all their materials and instructions from God our Saviour. As the angels of the churches are to sound the trumpet of the gospel, the angels of heaven are to sound the trumpet of Providence, and every one has his part given him.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: How do we speak of God — without religion, i.e. without the temporally conditioned presuppositions of metaphysics, inwardness, and so on? How do we speak (or perhaps we cannot now even ‘speak’ as we used to) in a ‘secular’ way about ‘God’? In what way are we ‘religionless-secular’ Christians, in what way are we the ἐκ-κλησία, those who are called forth, not regarding ourselves from a religious point of view as specially favoured, but rather as belonging wholly to the world? In that case Christ is no longer an object of religion, but something quite different, really the Lord of the world. But what does that mean? What is the place of worship and prayer in a religionless situation?
Letters and Papers from Prison, 280-281

Chuck Pierce: I am still amazed how the LORD ordered our Passover Celebration. Only Holy Spirit could have orchestrated the alignment of worship, peoples and revelation to cross us over into a new season. If you were not able to join us last week or missed a session, please find your times to watch our replays. I encourage you to invite your family and friends to watch with you so you can corporately cut your way into your new season of victory and favor.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: The spiritual work of a Jew must be to purify and elevate the physical with the help of our divine soul. When weighed down by the faulty attributes of the cat, dog and bear, this is impossible. The defining condition of a kosher animal is that it has hooves. Hooves cover the paws of kosher animals, creating a buffer between the foot and the ground. While according to Jewish law the skin, horns, and bones of an animal can become spiritually impure, not so the hooves. The hooves are not something independent, in and of themselves. They are something subordinate to the animal. They protect its paws.

Anna Blake: Imagine a line from your inside leg that travels diagonally through the horse to his outside shoulder. Ride that line, ask your horse to step into that outside rein. Your outside rein should work like the rail of the arena, containing and supporting the bend, which you’re remind yourself a million times, refers to the outside arc of the horse, and so, leave the inside rein alone. Foot!

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: On a spiritual level hooves represent a boundary that separates a Jew from the material. Only someone who knows how to separate themselves from the physical is able to elevate the physical to holiness. To transform something you have to be at least a bit aloof. This boundary does not happen by itself, it takes effort to protect ourselves (“our feet”) from filth of the ‘land’ on its lowest level.

Isaiah 31:²Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;
he does not take back his words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation,
against those who help evildoers.

Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles: The Torah of the Land of Israel has a healing power.

Microsoft Rewards: ✉ Special delivery, Kathryn. See what’s inside for you.

Pastor Steve Dittmar: Wherever you are in your walk with Jesus your conversation with Him is shaping your day. The Father is not random in His thoughts nor all over the map in His directions. He has a calling and inheritance in each of us, which was given to us before the foundation of the world in Christ, and is only fulfilled in Christ.

Rabbi YY Jacobson: Yet, sadly, we often observe the opposite. Some religious circles thrive on dishonesty, on people making believe they are morally “perfect,” and have no un-kosher struggles. The more you “fit in” and do not reveal your truth to anybody, the more you are accepted and the more religious you are considered, when it truth it is all a sham.

Isaiah 31:³But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped will fall;
all will perish together.

Jubilee Church (in “Wild Bull” 18 Apr 17): The problem with being right is that there is no place left to go. So, in relationships, forgiveness is our bases of knowing each other. If we are all wrong then we can all be forgiven, but if we are right there is going to be a fight.

Pastor Bruce Zachary: Believers are the temple of God [2 Cor. 6:16]. And there presumably is need for cleansing to align our will with Jesus’ will so that we are worshiping in spirit and truth. Unfortunately, there are s9ll a few exploiters, and we can trust that Jesus will deal with them. Don’t let them be an obstacle to your worship of God, and yielding to Jesus. We are to be a house of prayer, people who are yielded to, dependent upon, and in in9mate communica9on with God.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: For what sin did God punish Judah? Compared to Samaria, the northern kingdom, with all its idolatries and immoralities, Judah seemed positively pious – it fact, they had purified their country under Hezekiah. Isaiah answers with one sentence. Though the people prayed and performed the ritual commandments, their service was not genuine, but only lip-service. Some commentators understood this as hypocrisy; however others interpret Isaiah’s words to mean exactly what they say – unfeeling, robotic observance that has no value. God wants both our consistent external actions with corresponding internal feelings united in his service.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Only on holy land, like the earth of the Holy Temple, do we not need to make a separation between the person and the physical. Then the opposite applies. Moshe was commanded to remove his shoes when he stood next to the burning bush. Priests in the Temple would walk around barefoot. In such places the land itself has the ability to sanctify, there is no risk that the person will be contaminated by it. But till Moshiach comes, when the whole world will be sanctified, it is crucial in our routine relationship to the physical to make a boundary. To keep on wearing our metaphoric ‘hooves’.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Our whole nineteen-hundred-year-old Christian preaching and theology rest on the ‘religious a priori‘ of mankind. ‘Christianity’ has always been a form — perhaps the true form — of ‘religion’. But if one day it becomes clear that this a priori does not exist at all, but was a historically conditioned and transient form of human self-expression, and if therefore man becomes radically religionless — and I think that that is already more or less the case (else how is it, for example, that this war, in contrast to all previous ones, is not calling forth any ‘religious’ reaction?) — what does that mean for ‘Christianity’? It means that the foundation is taken away from the whole of what has up to now been our ‘Christianity’, and that there remain only a few ‘last survivors of the age of chivalry’, or a few intellectually dishonest people, on whom we can descend as ‘religious’. Are they to be the chosen few? Is it on this dubious group of people that we are to pounce in fervor, pique, or indignation, in order to sell them goods? Are we to fall upon a few unfortunate people in their hour of need and exercise a sort of religious compulsion on them? If we don’t want to do all that, if our final judgment must be that the western form of Christianity, too, was only a preliminary stage to a complete absence of religion, what kind of situation emerges for us, for the church? How can Christ become the Lord of the religionless as well? Are there religionless Christians? If religion is only a garment of Christianity — and even this garment has looked very different at different times — then what is a religionless Christianity?
Letters and Papers from Prison, 280

Isaiah 29: 1 Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add ye year to year, let the feasts come round!

Anita Alexander: The Spirit of Elijah

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: The ultimate hope that Isaiah holds for his people is that they can dwell quietly in the Land of Israel. His prayers are the prayers of all the prophets. For example, Hosea writes, “In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety” (2:13). Maimonides similarly concludes his summary of Jewish law, the “Mishneh Torah” with the declaration that the Jewish people want the Messiah to come not to rule over other peoples, but to simply dwell in quiet and peace in their land so they can pursue righteousness (Laws of Kings, ch. 10). This remains the hope and dream of the Jewish people today, that the Messiah will come quickly and bring peace to the entire world.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Catholicism, on the other hand, is based on reality. Catholicism may confound common sense, but it never contradicts common sense.

Grayson Gilbert: I sense that if one were to have a conversation with the apostle John on this, it would go similarly:

Objector: But what if the church damaged me?

John: Go to church.

O: But what if people hurt me at one point?

J: Go to church.

O: But what if I feel like I connect more with God in nature than with people in the church?

J: Go to church.

O: But what if I…

J: [interjects] Are you dying?

O: No.

J: Are you imprisoned?

O: No…

J: Is there anything prohibiting you from going to church?

O: Well, I feel like…

J: [interjects again] You can’t love God without loving His people and loving His people means that you die to self, bear with one another in love, and obey the commands of Scripture for your personal and corporate edification, in order that God might be glorified. Go. To. Church.

Brat: Thank you. I DO go to church! And God has been sending me to the Churches. That’s my assignment. I went to the Catholic Church, too, and the Church said Nothing.

Revelation 2:25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.

Lillian Daniel: “And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” – Matthew 5:47 NIV

Anita Alexander: “And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God] – in order to make ready for the Lord a people prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state].” (Luke 1:17 Amplified version)

Disobedient: rebellious, insubordinate, perverse, contrary.
Incredulous: disbelieving, unbelieving, doubtful, dubious, unconvinced.
Unpersuadable: obstinate.

These words in the Scripture above speaks of an impenetrable heart, but God!

Rabbi YY Jacobson: This does not mean that I must fall prey to every struggle, and surrender to every appetite. Often I must subdue my cravings to live up to my true calling and essence. I need to confront and battle my addictions and bad habits. But I must never deny who I am and what I am dealing with. I must show up to G-d with my entire self, not with a psychologically mutilated sense of existence.

Russ Shumaker: “It’s a relationship, not a religion” wasn’t a slogan yet when Bonhoeffer wrote these letters. If it had been, I’m sure he would have protested against it as adding to the problem. What Bonhoeffer was referring to, and what many nones and dones experience, is a Christianity that carries so much emotional and psychological baggage that it has become meaningless as a frame of reference. The world has been disenchanted, and it turns out religious language is unnecessary, like a shaman’s explanation of why aspirin works. Although language plays a role in shaping our understanding, what’s more important than the language used is the reality underneath the terminology. For Bonhoeffer, this religionless world is not something to be lamented, but an opportunity to be explored:

Pastor Steve Dittmar: These are not new truths, just a renewed movement of hearts toward God. It’s incredible! Encountering God in His word is always new. “Behold I make all things New.” Revelation 21:5.

Chuck Pierce: We are a changed people! We have PASSED OVER in one of the most extraordinary gatherings we have ever hosted. The LORD met us in almost-unimaginable ways each day, as Holy Spirit orchestrated the alignment and expressions of people, tribes and nations. Futures and destinies that had been sealed for generations were unlocked in the progression of sound and revelation that burst forth over the weekend. If you have any doubt about crossing over into your new place, our free webcast replays will help you shift now!

Grayson Gilbert: What’s more than all of this is that a local church is not a church without some semblance of this God-given functionality and structure. A group of three people without the headship of elders and teachers is not the church. They are part of the global church – but they are not a substitute for the local church. There are always exceptions to the rule, yet the exception does not prove the rule; special provisions do not institute a normative ecclesiology. The text never presupposes the rugged individualism indicative of American Evangelicalism.

Jubilee Church: Sunday, 2 pm – 5 pm: “Worship in the Battle Dance Camp“, with Ralph and Mindy Seta, of Messianic Dance Camps International, will be leading anyone interested in learning messianic dance. Come and learn the power of the synergy of dance in worship. No experience is necessary. Cost is $10 at the door. This will be followed with a worship service.

Brat: Thank you for your prophetic words. I “see” a prophetic dance between Pastor Steve Dittmar, Pastor Bruce Zachary, and Fr. Dwight Longenecker, but that could just be my bias of a group of three. Father God, You make the connections that You deem important. You’re part of this conversation, too, God.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have compassion upon you; for the LORD is a God of justice, happy are all they that wait for Him.

Lillian Daniel: Prayer
Jesus, you welcomed all people before there ever was a Church in your name. Teach me to say less about my own brand of Christianity and more about you, my own amazing Savior. Amen.

Friday, April 21, 2017 at 7:28 pm Journal: I just saw two huge flocks of geese flying SILENTLY overhead as they migrated up the coast. The Holy Spirit has also been highlighting the color RED all afternoon in my travels about town. Red is the color of Pentecost. Lord, are You preparing the brothers to receive the empowering of Your resurrection Spirit to lead the people in restoring Your kingdom on earth?

Isaiah 31:⁵Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

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Wild Bull 18 Apr 17

20 Apr

Working Dates: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 to Thursday, April 20, 2017

By Kathryn Hauser

[12 pages]

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 5:23 pm Journal: Parked by the 101 Freeway. Lord, I am listening.

Pastor John Tolle: Let’s keep talking.

Anna Blake: There are general guidelines on word count for most genres. Books should be about 80,000 words, give or take. A plot should run tight and hot. Longer manuscripts are frowned on by the book industry. The assumption being it’s badly edited; that it rambles or has superfluous characters. The generally accepted length of a blog is around 600-800 words to rank well in the search engines, and not over 2500 words. Blogs are considered short form writing and should be crafted to stay on topic and hold the reader’s attention. Briefly.

Likutei Torah: “This Leviathan You created with which to play…” (Psalms 104:26)

Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

Monk: Babylon…and on…and on…

Joel Mwakasege: Hey,
I’m tired. Showing up. It’s exhausting, it’s demanding, and it’s frustrating.

Long hours of thinking, tweaking, and listening.

I’m learning though.

Anna Blake: Writing is therapy and some of us need it more than others. I was fine with that. Somewhere in the process of distilling an experience into words, I found a bit of sanity for a few hours. And poetry forced me to whittle huge thoughts into mere paragraphs and then dissect to the heart of that.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 23:1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in; from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.

Brat: Hmmm…are we coming full circle? St Paul was born in Tarsus. (Acts 22:3)

Monk: Paul was sometimes long-winded in his epistles, too.

Dana Jarvis: Blessed are the desperate for they will do whatever it takes to get what God has promised them.

Report (19 Apr 17)

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah concludes his prophecies against the nations with a description of the impending downfall of Tyre. Just as Babylon and Assyria represented the pinnacle of military might in the ancient world, Tyre represented the height of commercial power and riches. Based on the coast of what is today Lebanon, Tyre established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean Sea, as far away as Spain (Tarshish). [Isaiah 23] Verses 1-7 describe how the shocking news of Tyre’s downfall reverberated throughout the ancient world. Isaiah places the blame for the downfall on Tyre’s sense of pride; rather than being thankful before God who granted them riches, they viewed themselves as a great power. This idea of pride is a common theme throughout the prophecies of Isaiah. In chapter 2, he describes the pride of Israel as being the source of their sins which ultimately lead to their exile. When humanity levels its pride and recognizes God’s goodness, He will reveal Himself again to the world.

Rick Joyner: The Great Lisbon Earthquake on November 1, 1755 may have been the most powerful quake in recorded history. It shook most of Europe, Africa, and was even felt in North America. The damage was extreme in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. The population of Lisbon was about 150,000 at the time, and an estimated 90,000 died that day.

Lance Wallnau: It’s a bummer, because this year we’re focusing on building and nurturing relationships that support God’s will and plan for your life. But to be perfectly honest, we’ve had hundreds of people telling us that they couldn’t make it in person, either.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “And I will spur Mitzrayim against Mitzrayim; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and everyone against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.” Isaiah 19:2 (The Israel Bible™)

Yosef Marcus: During his stay in the cave, however, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai drew forth this light through spiritual acts.

Rick Joyner: As we read in the first part of Revelation, the stars represented the messengers to the churches. It seems that this great meteor shower event was a sign in the heavens of the great messengers being released upon the earth. Since that time, some of the greatest voices in church history appeared and burned brightly in the short span of their life, much like a meteor shower.

Revelation 12:⁴Its 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.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: ISIS attacked a monastery in the heart of the Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, continuing its wake of terror targeting Christians in Egypt.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook: “The purely righteous do not complain about evil, but increase justice. They do not complain about godlessness, but increase faith. They do not complain about ignorance, but increase wisdom.”

Brat: More faith? That’s what Jesus talked about with the Church in Smyrna. (Revelation 2:8-11)

Anna Blake: Edit like a mad dog with a chainsaw.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 23:5 When the report cometh to Mitzrayim, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

Theresa Phillips (in “Ye Princes” 17 Apr 17): Recently, during my watch in the early night, I heard three words: currency exchange depot. Then I heard this: Education, Media and Arts. That got my attention!

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 21:2 A grievous vision is declared unto me: ‘The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam! besiege, O Media! All the sighing thereof have I made to cease.’

MorningStar: We Want To Treat You!

Anna Blake: Luckily, I’m an introvert, so I wrote it out for hours at a time. My words built a cage for my monsters. In a while, I felt safe enough to sleep through the night with the help of a few good dogs.

Microsoft Rewards: Kathryn, extra points if you sing along! “It don’t mean a thing…”

Isaiah 19:3 And the spirit of Mitzrayim shall be made empty within it; and I will make void the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the whisperers, and to the ghosts, and to the familiar spirits.

Revelation 17:³Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Lance Wallnau: I was just as disappointed as you were, until…

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: ISIS forces opened fire from a hilltop overlooking the police checkpoint situated about 800 yards from Saint Catherine’s Monastery, a popular tourist site in the heart of the Sinai Peninsula. One Egyptian police officer was killed and four others were injured. It is believed that some of the ISIS attackers were wounded before fleeing the scene. The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack via the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

Brat: Are you saying that it was ISIS’s intent to take out St Catherine’s Monastery, or that the monks at the monastery nearby were praying for mercy when the fighting broke out? It makes a difference. Was God answering a prayer or was Satan just stirring up more trouble, so that God has to go into the situation to work out all things for Good for those who love Him (Rom 8:28), because those who are self-absorbed half a world away don’t give a rip that Sanctuaries are under attack? (Rev 18) After all, supposedly all they do is pray. How does one make a profit off of praying?

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Saint Catherine’s Monastery, part of the Eastern Orthodox Church, was built in the sixth century and is the oldest operating monastery in existence. This is the first time ISIS has attacked a monastery, but it comes ten days after an ISIS affiliated terror group attacked two Coptic Churches in Egypt, setting off bombs that killed 45 people. After the attack, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency. Tensions are high as this recent act of anti-Christian violence comes ten days before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt. ISIS sources stated the terror group will continue to target Christians in Egypt. Egypt, with ten percent of its 90 million people as Christians, has the largest population of Christians in the Middle East.

To the Church in Smyrna: Revelation 2:¹⁰Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: From this we learn that at a time when death is aroused in this world, a person should be particular not to do anything in order to not further arouse the aspect of judgment. An exception is if a person is awakened into the “action” of a mitzva, because this has the power to push off the immediate damage that the judgmental forces may cause, for when that force is aroused in the world, whoever meets it will be collected by it and depart from this world. This is why their instruction [in the above verse] concluded with the words “lest you die”.

Lance Wallnau: That means you can watch it in the comfort of your home, office or wherever you want, so long as you have a computer and internet access.

Isaiah 23:9 The LORD of hosts hath devised it, to pollute the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

Hank Kunneman (5 Apr 17): The Spirit of God says, “Am I afraid of your weaponry and your armory? I am the God who is called ‘Lord of Hosts’; ‘Lord of angel armies!’ I am the One who stands and when I speak the earth obeys, and so shall North Korea, so shall Iran. For as they seek to intimidate like Goliath who sought to paralyze a nation called Israel, so this is the intent of these ancient spirits again who desire to raise their heads.

Anna Blake: I write about life, using horses are a parable. There are three books now, several hundred blogs, and lately, I try to sum it up in even fewer words.

Revelation 19:1 ¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

Anna Blake: Go the distance.

Do it with grace or do it ugly,

because some days

that’s what your best looks like.

It only matters

that you go the full heart distance.

Joel Mwakasege: To show up is not knowing victory or defeat. It’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging.

It’s being all in. It’s daring greatly. So here I’m again daring greatly.

Joey LeTourneau (in “Ye Princes” 17 Apr 17): At the same time these places of refuge will also serve as a “City on a Hill,” where weary wanderers of the world will find living water, the bread of life, and the contrasting light they’ve been searching for. As Jesus often did, there is something powerful to going away consistently to re-calibrate—and not just in the midst of daily rigors or taking a summit once or twice a year. These places will be needed for God’s sons and daughters to “get above the cloud line” more often.

Brat: Maybe if I write slower you will hear me more clearly. For ten years I have been parking and praying for the Church every day. For ten years I have been asking for sanctuary from the Church. By ‘sanctuary’ I mean a safe place where I can live and thrive in Maslows’ Hierarchy of Needs being met while serving the Lord Jesus in my calling. This is very practical. I’ve been “above the cloud line” and I need a safe place to land.

Joey LeTourneau: A Testimony of Simple Faith – “We Ask You God for a House”

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: [Isaiah] Chapter 24 begins four chapters which describe the total destruction of the world, only to be replaced by a more righteous and just world. Isaiah describes why this will occur – it is the same reason that led God to bring about the flood in the times of Noah. Due to man’s wicked behavior, the earth is “defiled” or “polluted” by sin (see Lev. 18:25, Num. 35:33), and must be purged. The eternal covenant between God and man was made after the flood between God and Noah (Gen. 9:16). Jewish tradition states that there are seven commandments that God gave to all mankind at that time. These serve as the foundation of all ethics and morality, and if followed appropriately will ensure that the world is filled with justice and righteousness.

(From “Purpose Driven Life?” 2 June 2011)

15:21 Jesus left that place [!] and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

15:23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” [!]

15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

15:25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” [!]

15:26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

15:27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Journal (2 June 2011): From living through this with the Church, and seeing this passage through the lies of apathy I understood what Jesus did and why He did it. If someone doesn’t care, REALLY doesn’t care, then all one can do is let them alone. Walk away. But Jesus must have still been affected by the energy of apathy. When the Canaanite woman came up to Him begging for mercy on behalf of her daughter, He did not answer her at all. And that is repeatedly what the Church has done to me for the last year since Anchorites was released. The Church did not answer me at all. I would imagine the clergy groupies kept telling them, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us!” And I keep answering, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of the Church.” Then yesterday as I was in my solitude spot I started crying for all of us spiritually and physically homeless people. The Canaanite woman was like a voice of Lady Liberty without the vision but with only the voice. I cried out, “Lord, help me!” “Lord, help us!!” Because the Church is silent, the rest of the world suffers. The Church is sitting on gifts that God has already given each individual church for the purposes of sharing for the greater good, and because she sits and does nothing, she hoards the gifts.

Torrey Marcel Harper: As we step into the days and season ahead the Lord began to highlight “…and they stood on their feet” found in verse 10. This is the season the Body of Christ is regaining her posture and position back. A realignment of footing is being established in the Church. God is securing the grip of His people to stand strong and become a mighty army. No longer will the Church take a backseat. No longer will the Church be silent. Her voice is being restored!

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 23:2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast-land; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

Revelation 18:¹⁵The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn

Yosef Marcus: When Rabbi Avraham begged the Arizal to reveal just one secret to him, the Arizal laughed and replied, “I testify by heaven and earth: if I were to live eighty consecutive years, without exaggeration, and relate what I learned this time on the subject of Balaam’s donkey, I would not be able to say it all. So how can I reveal one of the secrets to you, since they are all inseparable….” (ShivcheiHaAri, chapter 2)

To the Church in Pergamum: Revelation 2:14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.

Brat: The harlot does ride the beast.

Monk: I see her as a madame running a brothel.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 23:3 And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Revelation 18:¹⁷In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.

Prophet Charlie Shamp (Good Friday, April 14, 2017): The Lord spoke to me to tell the American Church that this is a season that they must intensely intercede and pray for the US military, but especially the United States Navy. They must pray for a change of tide in this season for the enemy will try to bring a great storm of conflict at sea against the US Military. Only prayer will shift the tide and break the demonic undercurrents that Satan wants to unleash on the Navy.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah 23:4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: ‘I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I reared young men, nor brought up virgins.’

Yosef Marcus: These tzadikim, the “creatures of the sea”, unite the worlds with the Infinite Light.

Torrey Marcel Harper: “Let the four winds blow: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.'”

Wanda Alger: “WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, THERE IS FREEDOM (2 Cor. 3:17).” As people began to engage in their prayer language and worship in the Spirit, things started to shift and freedom came! Everyone, especially the young people, were impacted and hungry for more. Individuals who had never before experienced freedom began to speak out in praise to God. Though it appeared that things were getting “out of order”, it was only because freedom had come and people were expressing their joy. It didn’t matter that the outline or planned message didn’t happen the way the leader thought – the Spirit of the Lord was bringing freedom! And, it came when everyone did it together. (This will be key for corporate worship gatherings as well as intercessory prayer groups!)

Yosef Marcus: They are therefore called ” Leviathan”, which connotes “joining”. After Leah gives birth to Jacob’s third child, she calls him “Levi”, since “now my husband will be joined [in Hebrew, ‘yilaveh‘] to me.”

St Peter: Acts 2:29 “Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

2:30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne.

2:31 Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’

2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

Torrey Marcel Harper: This sound rising up is not just mere noise; it’s a resonating sound, one with deep impact. I began to hear the sound of things rattling together. The Lord began to say, “There is a rattling and coming together in the earth.”

Jennifer LeClaire: Torrey Marcel Harper has a heart for revival and a pure prophetic function. I’ve ministered at his Times Square House of Prayer and Apostolic Center on numerous occasions and traveled with him and his team across the northeast on ministry engagements and have seen him minister the word of the Lord in song, in bold prophetic utterances, with high levels of accuracy. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does with this Millennial prophet laboring in the heart of Babylon.

(From “On Your Mark” 7 June 2013) Ezekiel 9:⁵As I listened, [s]he said to the others, “Follow Him through the “city” and “kill,” [confront] without showing pity or compassion.

The mark on the grieving is like the mirror opposite to the mark of the beast in Rev 13:16. The mark of the linen-clad scribe goes to those who lament and grieve over the detestable things. The mark of the beast is on those who don’t care and really don’t give a rip.

Ezekiel 28:¹ The word of the Lord came to me:²“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre [the prince of darkness], ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.” [I am at Seacliff to confront you the Great Prostitute of Babylon who calls herself a queen (Rev 18:7)!!]
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.
³Are you wiser than Daniel?
Is no secret hidden from you?
⁴By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
⁵By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.

Charles Shamp (10 Apr 17): “I will wipe away the military zone and will remove the one who divides and destroys from his throne. I will remove him by an unseen force, one that many will not believe. I will shake the land in the north to release a great awakening which has been prophesied by My Prophets’ lips for many generations. This awakening will come with great force, like lightning when it strikes and shakes the ground.

Dana Jarvis: When you become desperate, people will criticize you. You will get those religious looks. They will look at you as if you just went overboard. If it is not according to their program, then it is just a little too extreme. Well as for me I do not operate by a program, but totally out of the box. So right now, I want to take this moment and speak to those who have reached the state of desperation beyond maintaining those religious looks; to those who are ready to come out of their comfort zones to receive their miracle; those who don’t mind getting their perfected make-up flawed by their tears, nor their nice attire getting messed up by their desperation; those who are ready to lift up the loud cry just like Bartimaeus and don’t care who is looking at them. Even when they say to be quiet, you get that much louder. I am speaking to those that are extreme. They may call us radical, but we are going to get to Jesus. A miracle is going to locate your life! Something is about to shift! To all the desperate ones needing that move of God for something in your life. I am calling forth the change you desire to see.

Charles Shamp (10 Apr 17): For the Lord says, “I have stripped him from his seat of authority among men and will lay waste his kingdom. He has said in his heart that he is a god. Has he not seen what I have done to those who lift themselves up to be gods? He will fall like lightning from the sky never to rise or be seen again.

Jubilee Church: Forgiveness is easy if we are aware of how much we have been forgiven. But if we don’t understand that forgiveness is our relationship, our righteousness, our state of being, we will think it’s our new beginning and start trying to live righteously. When we focus our attempt at living right, we become self-righteous and self-righteousness is the enemy of forgiveness.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker (in “Ye Princes” 17 Apr 17): Where Did Judas and Jesus Go?

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017 at 7:56 pm Journal: I have been praying through this word for two days and seeing how it may apply to my life. In truth, I am not interested in tracking down my Judas. It is more important to me to find a safe place, sanctuary, where I can write and share the journey.

Jo Ellen Stevens: “There will be a sign in the northwest that will take place that will NOT ONLY crumble mountains in the natural, but in the spirit there shall be a paradigm shift taking place in the thinking of the Church who thought they had the truth, but will see that my ways are not their ways says the Lord! Look for it and BE READY TO SPRING INTO ACTION IF YOU KNOW ME AND ARE CALLED BY MY NAME! MANY WILL BEGIN TO USE THE PLATFORM THAT I HAVE GIVEN TO THEM TO BRING IN THE LOST AFTER THIS SIGN APPEARS!”

Rick Joyner: Such signs are given as markers of the times. These amazing signs took place in the sixth church age. They spanned the time of the First and Second Great Awakenings and likely contributed to them. Modern missions and the modern evangelical movements emerged during this period and spread over the earth. After these signs, we should see the unfolding of the next great event John prophesied would come, which we will cover next week.

Brat (6 Apr 17): Lord God, complete the work that You have already started! At this Passover/Easter I see that You are doing a work in us that we haven’t seen in millennia. I know Jesus did say, “It is finished” on the cross. I also know that we are works of Art and You are not finished with us yet. Holy God, as we pray from our gardens of Gethsemane to go where You lead, we give You thanks that You are interceding for us and leading the way. We are grateful that You are doing everything You can to bring Your heavenly kingdom on earth. Remove the idolatrous priests and prophets whom the kings had ordained. Forgive them. Forgiveness does not mean tolerance. Set Your kingdom right. We’ve had enough of this war. You promised that You’d send in Michael. (Revelation 12:7 and Daniel 12:1)

Jubilee Church: The problem with being right is that there is no place left to go. So, in relationships, forgiveness is our bases of knowing each other. If we are all wrong then we can all be forgiven, but if we are right there is going to be a fight.

Brat (in “Stranger” 13 Apr 17): Did You mean that I am physically supposed to join the Bagel Boys in Jerusalem? They are good boys. I love them so! If You are talking about relocation, then I’m asking for help. I have no gold or silver (or money, as the Funny Bunnies know!) All I have is my writings. My writings are my dowry. I have many “brothers” but no “father” to pass me along. Timothy had Paul. God, You are my Father and I await Your instructions. I give You glory and to no other. If the Bagel Boys want me in Israel then maybe they could ask Jacob to write a letter and pay for the relocation. Of course, I’d also need a chaperone. But it’s Your call. I’m not telling You what to do, just asking for what I’d need if this is what You want. Lead me, Jesus.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Listen, friends. Is the risen Lord your Brother? Here’s the way you can know. Brothers know that they’re deserters. If you’re willing to say, “Yes, I know I’m a deserter. I know. I’ve gone my own way. I’ve tried to live for myself. I know I deserve rejection.” If you know you’re a deserter, then you can be a brother. If you don’t know that, if you resist that, then you can’t be a brother.

Pastor John Tolle (14 Apr 17): Jesus is our Elder Brother who chose to stand in place of us. The qualifications to be the sacrificial Lamb are listed in the Old Testament. None of us can qualify even to save ourselves.

Yosef Marcus: This tzadik [“righteous one”] is called “ShorHabar“ [“Wild Bull”], which can also mean “purified bull”. In other words, this tzadik is involved with the physical – represented by the bull – which becomes purified through his divine service. In contrast to the cool and tranquil service of the “Leviathan tzadik“, this tzadik‘s service is filled with fire and excitement.

Jo Ellen Stevens: “IT SHALL BE THAT THE LATTER HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER! AND IN THIS SEASON OF RESURRECTION UNTIL PENTECOST THE SOUND OF A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND AND THE FIRE OF MY SPIRIT WILL ERUPT IN MY HOUSE AGAIN WITH THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY FOR MY POWER AND PRESENCE! MY PEOPLE WILL ARISE WITH GREAT ZEAL AND THE HARVEST WILL BE GREAT!”

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Until you admit you’re a deserter you can’t be a brother. But if you come to Him, come knowing that whatever you need today is in His hands. He is the risen Lord. What do you need? Some of you say, “I need faith itself.” Okay. No excuses, remember? He has it. Drop your conditions. Look at his wounds. Just say, “I want to believe in you. I want to learn to trust in you,” and that’s your beginning. What else do you need? Some of you are discouraged. You need His peace. It’s there. Some of you need changed. He has power. It’s there. You know, nobody could understand the early Christians because the more the world was on top of them the more they thought they were on top of the world. We can be like that too. Whatever you need, it’s in His hands. He stands before you today on this Easter Sunday and He says, “Receive.”

John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Yosef Marcus: On the other hand, there is an advantage to the “Wild Bull tzadikim” [“righteous one”], since it is they who fulfill the mission of making the physical world an abode for G‑d. Thus the Wild Bull will “slaughter” the Leviathan and elevate it as well – each one imbuing the other with the virtue that it lacks.

Jubilee Church: Jesus came to the disciples who were hiding in fear of being the next ones to be arrested and killed. Jesus came and said, “Peace to you.” He literally joined them to His peace through His greeting – inside – His victory. In His peace, they found peace and experienced Jesus resurrected – something they had never known. Resurrection life so powerful, so overwhelming that the disciples had to see the holes in Jesus’ hands and side to believe. Then gladness and joy filled their hearts.

Jubilee Church: Jesus declared, “I am sending you – Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins you remit are remitted and whosoever sins you retain are retained.” Jesus was sending out the forgiven to forgive-them. Not the law to condemn-them, but the Forgiven to forgive-them. The law had condemned all of us under sin; but Jesus had risen and forgiven us all! We, the Forgiven, were to continue giving away His forgiveness by remitting (sending away) sins; but, that is our choice. We can also retain (hold with our strength) sins and they are retained.

Torrey Marcel Harper: Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.”‘” Ezekiel 37:11-14

Jubilee Church: Let’s find out together – Jesus is sending us, the Holy Spirit is empowering us, and we have all the authority to forgive-them.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Jesus says to Mary Magdalene,

“Go tell my brothers I am waiting for them.”

Yosef Marcus: These tzadikim [“righteous ones”] are called “creatures of the sea”. Just as fish are completely enveloped and concealed by the sea so these tzadikim are fully enveloped by G‑dliness – they are of the world of concealment [Alma D’itgalya].

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Did you notice in the scripture I read in the beginning, that every time Jesus shows up after He had been raised from the dead that He said, “Peace.” Do you know why? When you and I face life and it is DIFFERENT than what we have known, we get uncomfortable. We know how to ride OUR bike but living by faith is counter-intuitive to our experiences. It is difficult to believe when we REMEMBER what we have experienced. Our brain will serve us with memories of our past, good or bad, our brain will tell us this is how you go left on a bicycle BUT God consistently does life differently because He is NOT limited to locked doors. He is not limited by failing bodies. He is not limited by our disbelief. We are limited when we choose to NOT BELIEVE that He is contrary to our way of life.

(In “Teamwork” 7 Apr 17) Matthew 28:10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: This is the first time Jesus calls them brothers in the gospel. Now why in the world does Jesus do that? Why shouldn’t Jesus say, “Hey Mary, go tell the deserters that I want to see them now.” Instead, he says, “I do not call you deserters. I call you brothers.”

Jubilee Church: Jesus connected our personal forgiveness directly to our willingness and practice of forgiveness. We can both enlarge the reign of His grace to others when we forgive them as well as expand the reign of His grace in our hearts. Imagine what might happen if we chose to use this authority to forgive? How far could we extend the remittance of sin? Through our family? Workplace? Neighborhood? Nations?

Anna Blake: What if all my words worked together instead of being contained in separate categories that name-called each other? It seemed obvious in hindsight.

Yosef Marcus: The Leviathan and Wild Bull are also present within the divine service of each person: 1) our efforts to “attach” ourselves to G‑d [Leviathan]; 2) The elevation of the physical world [Wild Bull] (Leviathan 5747).

Torrey Marcel Harper: I began to see and hear the sounds of many things rattling and coming together within the Body of Christ. Unified movements and reconciliation springing forth with pastors, leaders and churches. Differences being squashed in love and honor.

Yosef Marcus: They ascend very high yet without agitation [in Hebrew, “hitlahavut“] and the “boiling of the blood”. They ascend with “cool blood” and calmly. This cannot be explained in words – how and what it is.

Torrey Marcel Harper: A new sound is rising in every sphere of society—especially Arts and Entertainment. A Creative Revival is breaking loose upon artisans and creatives, upon singers and musicians. Let there be a rattling together!

Yosef Marcus: The second type of tzadik is one who serves G‑d in the revealed sense, within the physical realm. This tzadik fulfills mitzvot on the physical plane, such as the mitzvah of rejoicing on a festival, which is fulfilled through the eating of meat and drinking wine. Indeed the spiritual light of each festival is drawn forth through the fulfillment of the physical mitzvot associated with that festival – matza on Pesach, Lulav on Sukkot, etc.

Pastor Steve Dittmar: Easter Services were glorious this weekend with such a strong presence of God in the worship, in His worshippers, and in His word. At the end of the 11 am service, Diana Anderson began to sing something like “I’m forgiven so I forgive-them,” and I heard “Forgiven Forgive-them.” This had been the message but in song it was made so simple and so connected.

Yosef Marcus: The union signified by Levi is one of great sublimity, since it comes after and is thus beyond the level of Reuven and Shimon, which connote “seeing” and “hearing” of divinity respectively. (Leviathan 5747)

Torrey Marcel Harper: Dreams are rattling together in this hour. Things that you thought were dead, missed opportunities, prophetic words, delayed moments and visions are being rattled back to life! Can’t you hear and feel the sound?

Yosef Marcus: And like the fish of the sea, who glide smoothly from one end to the other with one movement, so too these tzadikim traverse their spiritual paths with one, unswerving thrust. Theirs is a path free of gaps and inconsistencies. It is one and smooth.

Torrey Marcel Harper: Now, more than ever, God is shifting His Bride out of the old and into the new. The Lord says, “New wine for the new wineskin. I am changing everything about you. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Things are shifting in you, around you and for you! Set your expectation high in Me. Yes, there’s a shift in your outlook and perception about Me and the world around you. I am doing away with the old religious structure and ideologies of men. What I am doing now in your midst will reveal Me and it will bear My glory. This new wineskin will reveal My nature, beauty and majesty. Get ready for the new. Expect it, embrace it, step into it. It’s time to come alive.”

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Accounting

20 Apr

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for 18 After Pentecost 22 Sept 2013
Accounting
We are now in the time of the Jewish Festival of Booths (also known as Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles.) Sukkot began at sunset on 18 September 2013 and will last through the evening of 25 September 2013. The archetypal Seven Churches have also set up their own “booths,” even though God Himself had diverted Peter from doing so on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Peter wanted to set up booths for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. (Mt 17:4-6) Peter ended up not setting up the booths for the Patriarchs at the time, but the Church did end up following in his heart’s desires. This is supposed to be our season of Rejoicing. This is the time of the Ingathering! In order to gather in, we, collectively, must stop living in the past (represented by Moses), or the future (represented by Elijah), and stick to the holy Present Moment where we truthfully encounter Jesus within us. We must confront assumptions and voice them in order to unlock the stronghold of their energy-depleting power. (Confront the assumptions, not the character of the people.) We must proclaim the saving love of God’s mercy, just as Pope Francis stated in an interview with an Italian Jesuit journal on Thursday (19 Sept 13). There is rejoicing on one level and then God’s heart is revealed on another level, as in today’s lectionary readings. What a disconnect! I just want to hold God and to comfort Him!
O God, I hear You when You say, “My joy is gone, grief is upon Me, My heart is sick.” (Jer 8:18) My heart is so with You, Father. Is there anything I can do for You, Lord? I hold You tenderly and closely. You are so sad today. I hear with You the cry of Your poor people far and wide. (v 19) It must break Your heart to know that You already sent Your Son to Zion, the kingdom of the heart, and we would not know it by our actions. So You are still asking: “Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” (v 19) I hear Your broken heart and frustration over our images and foreign idols. (v 19) We cannot navigate anywhere (on roads or in cyberspace) without our senses being assaulted and our spirits being “raped.” Since this is happening to us, I can only imagine how grievous an affront this must be to Your holiness, God. It is technically true, that the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved (v 20) from ourselves. I don’t mean that the Great Harvest of revival or that Kingdom restoration won’t come, but that the opportunity has past for us to have collectively, truly, honestly, and wholeheartedly repented at any one of the many points where the hand of love was extended.
Jeremiah 8: 6 I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course
like a horse charging into battle.
I hurt with You God for the hurt of Your poor people. (Jer 8:21) I mourn with You. (v 21) Horror grips me, too, and I am just as dismayed as You are. (v 21) I heard on the BBC News this week that infighting in Syria is so bad and the conditions are so treacherous that even the physicians are joining the mass exodus of refugees. I have asked the same question as You, Father, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” (v 22) O that we would have the common sense of Your Head and be like a spring of water to each other (Jer 9:1), and have Your Heart of compassion to cry fountains of tears for each other (v 1), so that we could carry this burden with You as You weep day and night for the slain of Your poor people! (v 1)
God: “Do Me a favor and read the passage from the Jerusalem Bible.”
Jeremiah 8:18 “Sorrow overtakes Me,
My heart fails Me.
19 Listen, the cry of the daughter of My people
sounds throughout the land,
‘Yahweh no longer in Zion?
Her King no longer in her?’
(Why have they provoked Me with their carved images,
with these Nothings from foreign countries?)”
20 ‘The harvest is over, summer at an end,
and we have not been saved!’
21 The wound of the daughter of My people wounds Me too,
all looks dark to Me, terror grips Me.
22 Is there not balm in Gilead any more?
Is there no doctor there?
Then why does it make no progress,
this cure of the daughter of My people?
Jer 9:1 Who will turn My head into a fountain,
and My eyes into a spring for tears,
so that I may weep all day, all night,
for all the dead out of the daughter of My people?
God: You are also My daughter.
Me: [Just breathing…Reverent breathing…]
Me: All of the words in today’s lectionary readings have been fulfilled, Lord. The Church herself was the dishonest manager in the Gospel Lesson parable. And charges have been brought to You that the Church has been squandering Your property. (Lk 16:1)
Jesus to the Churches: “What is this that I hear about you? Give Me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be My manager any longer.” (v 2)
Hear what the Spirit says to the Churches: “How much do you owe my Master?” (v 5)
To Thyatira: Our Lord gave you “a hundred jugs of olive oil” (v 6) and you took the anointing and split it in half, between the top half and the bottom half. (Rev 2:24) Archetypes are still archetypes no matter how you slice them. So, sit down quickly (Lk 16:6) and stop working so hard, for the Lord knows your deeds and that you are doing more now than you did at first. (Rev 2:19) Relax. You are beloved.
To Pergamum: ‘And how much do you owe?’ (Lk 16:7) You knew better than anyone the depth of grace and what it means. You understood the wheat (v 7) concept:
John 12:24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
You were metaphorically given ‘a hundred containers of wheat,’ and hidden manna (Rev 2:17) in them, and yet you still wrestle with gluttony and promiscuity. (v 14) Strengthen your faith and relax into Jesus Christ. Take your “bill” and cut it down 20%. Reign yourselves in, so that you can enjoy the Lord’s Table. Abide in Him knowing you are beloved.
To Ephesus: You are the ‘Children of Light’ (Lk 16:8), but the Lord removed your lampstand. (Rev 2:5) The “Indigo Children” of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than you are in dealing with yours. The Indigo Children intrinsically understand that there is enough room for everyone with various points of view when we keep our focus on God Himself. It is God’s grace that fills in the gaps when we dare to love. Relax. Know that you are beloved.
To Laodicea: Go make friends for yourself. (Lk 16:9) At one time you had a wealth of them. You had everything. (Rev 3:17) Does racking up “friends” on Facebook count as fulfilling Jesus’ words?
Luke 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Come and sit down. (Rev 3:21) Relax. Recline at His Table. Really know within your core how deeply you are truly beloved.
To Smyrna: You were faithful with very little. (Rev 2:9) And where you covered up for each other when you should have been open and honest with each other, it will all wash itself out.
Luke 16:10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.
So, relax in the Lord knowing that you have been faithful. Relax knowing that you are beloved.
To Sardis: If you have not been faithful with honesty, then who will entrust you with true riches? (v 11) Your deeds are incomplete. (Rev 3:2) Relax. Stop trying to control. Recline at the Lord’s Table knowing that you are beloved.
To Philadelphia: You spoke the truth. It opened a door no one could shut. (Rev 3:8) Truth not only belongs to us individually, but also corporately.
Luke 16:12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?
You have been faithful with the truth. So, who will now give you what is your own? Relax. Loosen your grip. Let music flow from your being. You have little strength (Rev 3:8), but your strength comes from the Lord. (Judges 7; 1 Cor 1:25) Receive the crown you already wear. (Rev 3:11) You ARE beloved!
To the Churches: No Church or organization may pimp God, and that includes the wealth of marketing manipulation out there, which is a form of pimping, and occurs in every camp under the guise of keeping the fighting, competitive edge.
Luke 16:13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Me to God: Lord, in today’s parable You talked about the dishonest manager (Lk 16:8) and said that he would give You an accounting of his management. (v 2) I don’t mean to split hairs, but what is Honest and Dishonest on either side of the chasm when the Churches and I still cannot communicate directly even after all these years, and we still only converse through Arc Speak (ie, what the Spirit is saying “between the lines”)? Is indirect communication the ‘dis’ of the dishonest manager, since the prefix ‘dis’ means separated or apart? We have not become disconnected from Your Truth within us, but we have been disconnected from the people who need to hear the message that they are beloved. Lord, make up for our shortcomings in this Babylon-like society where there is too much noise for us to hear each other, and the very noise stimulation separates us and makes more noise. Bridge the communication gap, Jesus. Send the Holy Spirit (Paraclete) to the Churches so that they can “hear” the deep love which You are saying to them. Amen.

18 After Pentecost 22 Sept 2013 Gospel: Luke 16:1-13
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
8:18 My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.

8:19 Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: “Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” (“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?”)

8:20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

8:21 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.

8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

9:1 O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!

Psalm 79:1-9
79:1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

79:2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.

79:3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

79:4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.

79:5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?

79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name.

79:7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.

79:8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.

79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake.

Amos 8:4-7
8:4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

8:5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,

8:6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

8:7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Psalm 113
113:1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD.

113:2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and forevermore.

113:3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised.

113:4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

113:5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,

113:6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?

113:7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

113:8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.

113:9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

1 Timothy 2:1-7
2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,

2:2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

2:3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

2:4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2:5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,

2:6 who gave himself a ransom for all–this was attested at the right time.

2:7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Luke 16:1-13
16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.

16:2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’

16:3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

16:4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’

16:5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

16:6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’

16:7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’

16:8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

16:10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.

16:11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?

16:12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?

16:13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Categories Uncategorized

Success? 20 Mar 17

20 Apr

Success? 20 Mar 17
Monday, March 20, 2017 to Wednesday, March 22, 2017
[16 pages]
Kris Vallotton: After reading over these I want to challenge you to think through how you’ve defined and measured success in the past, and how you’ll start to define it today.
Anna Blake: Not surprisingly, horses have a definition that’s a bit more intuitive. I’m bilingual; let me translate for you.
Brat (in “What Say You?” 19 Mar 17): No one agrees on what “Sanctuary” is and Pergamum won’t talk about it! The Church-as-son was snatched up to You, God, and to Your throne. (Rev 12:5)
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: King Solomon’s throne is firmly established. “Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father,” but unlike his father, King Solomon rules a kingdom of Israel that is consistently strong and at peace. Under his rule, the kingdom of Israel grows into a world power, with the ability to spread monotheism throughout the world, and becomes a shining example of a just society. The knowledge of the One God and His insistence on justice and righteousness is key to building a just society as this keeps people from oppressing others and encourages them to make the world a better place. This is the same opportunity that today’s State of Israel embraces on a daily basis by shining as a moral light in a world all too often darkened by hate, poverty and injustice.
Steve K: taking Christian leaders out of obscurity and into major influence
Mary Luti: The psalmist knows he’s here today, gone tomorrow, a passing guest of God. We all are. On earth for a fleeting breath, we live by sheer hospitality, God’s to us, ours to each other, our common death our closest bond.
Richard L. Floyd: The Greek word we translate as “repent” simply means to change direction. The son in today’s parable repented of his first answer. He changed his mind and did what his father asked him. He started out in the wrong direction, but finally turned to the right one. [Matthew 21:28,29]
Jennifer Eivaz: At the same time, God is placing a protective covering over your heart. That means the things that would normally overwhelm you, the things that would typically derail you, now they will not affect you. You are being led to the Rock that is set above you (Ps 61:2). You are finally getting over it and marching out of March like an overcomer and into the dreams ahead.
Kris Vallotton: HOW TO THINK LIKE HEAVEN
Brat: Where to share? Can’t you see that “Sanctuary” and “Where to share?” are related?
Pastor John Tolle: Our penchant for accumulation, thirst for pleasure, fear of survival, craving for accomplishment, the sense of entitlement, the give-me-my-space mentality and our proud self-sufficiency and so on . . . only underscores our need for Jesus’ touch upon our very souls. Only he can do it!
Israel 365: This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat. ~Passover Haggadah
Pastor John Tolle: A while back three of us were having breakfast and it proved to be a rich time of fellowship. Almost immediately the conversation turned toward a comment one of the men made. It was in regards to his being prompted by the Holy Spirit to contact an acquaintance. It just so happened that when he did, the acquaintance shared how he was going through cancer treatment. The contact led to an opportunity of ministry. Just like that – an opportunity for ministry.
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “My intention was to try something different, to be myself, and present God in a positive way,” the rabbi said. “I think I succeeded in that. I thought that maybe some people who don’t normally connect to God might see it and feel like connecting to Hashem (God).”
Journal (in “Protector?” 18 March 2017): Pastor John Tolle said he had run into ten pastors this week at various times, pastors he used to pastor and were not part of his weekly prayer circle, and they each asked how he was doing and what he IS doing. [Such a guy thing!] He said that he is doing well. He’s thinking about showing “The Shack” for Easter. Each of the pastors said, “I wish I had the guts to do that.” Pastor John explained to us that they feel bound because they don’t want to offend people. “The Shack” doesn’t follow doctrine. It goes against the grain of Christian purists.
Pastor John also said that he has his notes ready for Easter.
The church has tried showing movies on Easter before to use them as tools to spur conversation. It hasn’t really worked the way they’d hoped. He said, “I can lead but if no one follows then I’m a fool.” He asked us to pray about it.
Well, the movie is a prop. The message is forgiveness.
I can testify that the book profoundly changed the way I related to the Holy Trinity and thereby changed my mindset, and that changed the way I prayed to God. The book broke up my compartmentalized notion of the Trinity and showed me their Persons. I related to each Person (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) differently. How I related changed the tone and tenor of my prayers. The more real the Persons of the Trinity became, the more real my prayers became. This whole process developed as I journaled out what I was going through with God.
James Goll: Your personal journaling might not only be about your life. It might also be used to help to give direction and assurance to others! Journaling not only brings you confirmation and direction over time, but a record of our revelation may be used to strengthen and encourage others. That is why it is so important to record your revelatory encounters so that anyone who reads them (perhaps even years later) may gain faith and courage to run to the battle and declare, “Is there not a cause!”
Pastor John Tolle: Father God, help me to hear what Jesus is saying about my life and its challenges. And with the authority and power of your Spirit I will be like Peter who said, nevertheless, I will launch out . . . for the blessings you have for me and your eternal kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen!
James Goll: But today I want to highlight the art of journaling that records the details of what was spoken or shown to you. Include a summary of the content, the time and date it occurred and even where you were geographically when the Holy Spirit spoke to you. Consider including the primary emotion involved in the experience. Following these simple procedures will be an enormous help for future reference. This form of revelatory journaling includes a log of your dreams, visions, impressions, visitations and any other forms of God-encounters.
Brat (in “Protector?” 18 March 2017): Saturday, March 18, 2017 at 9:54 am Journal: Parked at work after corporate prayer with Crosstown Church. Across the street are tree trimmers pruning a tree that has grown too tall and scraggly. As much as I hate the noise of the buzz saw, I also know this is prophetic. The weird thing is that the tree trimmer’s pick-up truck is parked RIGHT UNDER the tree! That doesn’t make sense to me. Large branches keep tumbling down and hitting the truck. The workers don’t seem to mind. They cut the branches into smaller pieces and go after the next. Are they not concerned a large limb will land on their windshield and crack it, and thereby obstruct their vision and cause costly repairs, and hence eat up the profits of all their hard labors?
James Goll: Many believers have discovered that the simple act of recording revelation solved one of the strategic missing links in their journey of hearing and discerning the voice of God. Over time, you too will find a continuity of language that emerges. You will notice divine suggestions and develop an art of interpreting symbols that only matures as you grow in your journaling experience.
Anna Blake: If you want to play along at home, start here: When is a blog not a blog? When we re-task it to suit our journaling needs. Think of a blog as a word processing program that also has a search feature and comes in a tidy, attractive package. You can categorize your thoughts/posts in a more organized way than a spiral notebook. A blog can be as private as a diary, shared selectively, or used to bring the world to your desk. Rather than having word docs attached to emails, drifting around the internet, and loitering in other computers, your words are contained and shared by a simple link. And, blogs are free. You can have a whole stable full of blogs for different purposes.
Joel Yount: The Lord showed me recently how increase is connected to wisdom. While out on the water, the disciples were trying to catch fish all night but were not successful. The voice of Jesus called out and instructed them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat.
Pastor John Tolle: But far more powerful is what follows. The Bible passage says that the fishermen were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken . . . then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.
Kenneth L. Samuel: “When Gentiles who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves . . . .They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.” – Romans 2:14-15
Joel Yount: Wisdom Unlocks Miracles!
Rabbi David Sterne: Charity or Prayer?
Pastor John Tolle: Have you ever been nudged?
Joel Yount: He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. – John 21:6
Rabbi David Sterne: How a donation can perform the job of atonement
Brat: I gave at the Office.
Joel Yount: An abundance of fish came in as a result of a few words of wisdom!
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: You still have to show up at the office, but you don’t have to consider your occupation as your purpose in life.
Brat: Does that translate into “Don’t quit your day job”?
Pastor John Tolle: Peter and his fishermen buddies had worked all night and caught nothing and now they were encountering Jesus who was challenging them to go back out and try again.
Joel Yount: While at church recently I felt the Lord give me a specific amount to sow in the offering. While hesitant at first, I know when God tells you to sow He has a blessing in mind. 7 hours later a harvest came in that was triple the amount I sowed earlier that day.
Israel 365: For as the earth sends forth its growth and as a garden sprouts forth its seedlings, so will my Lord, God, cause righteousness and praise to sprout in the presence of all the nations. ~Isaiah 61:11 (The Israel Bible™)
Joel Yount: One word from God unlocks a harvest of miracles in your life!
Rabbi Chaim (ben Moshe) ibn Attar: All the materials contributed for the construction of the Holy Tabernacle enjoyed lasting blessing.
Chuck D. Pierce: “Do not back up! Do not back up when the rains begin to fall! I will send a sign upon this state that says the monetary structure will now change. I will cause My people who have rejected My move, and moved in My move up to the point of breakthrough and then backed off, to now arise as a Kingdom people. The wind will not only blow, but the fire of God will come and this state will become a glory bed for My Kingdom purposes. Let the visions come and the handshakes begin to let go. Begin to form new and form afresh!”
Joel Yount: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. – Proverbs 3:9-10
Pastor John Tolle: God will make this happen, for he who calls [nudges, prompts, leads] you is faithful. [1 Thessalonians 5:24]
Rabbi David Sterne: “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle of Testimony, which were calculated, according to the order of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.” (Ex. 38:21)
Joel Yount: Right now I encourage you to sow a seed into Spirit Fuel based on the promise found in Proverbs 3:9-10. Sow a seed of $39.10, $391, or $3,910 into Spirit Fuel and name it “Financial Breakthrough” or something you are believing God for as an act of faith for breakthrough in your situation. By sowing a seed today into Spirit Fuel, you will be helping to reach more people on the internet for the Kingdom of God. It takes a dedicated team and resources to maintain the Spirit Fuel platform. Ask the Lord if there is a specific amount He would have you sow. As you sow today, name your seed as Spirit Fuel is praying and believing for your needs today. Thank you for supporting Spirit Fuel!
Brat: You have no idea to what depths I loathe this marketing ploy! Father, forgive them for they know not what they do! Redeem the times!
Monk: When Jesus turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the doves of peace, He said they were making it a den of thieves.
Breaking Israel News: Viral Video: Priest, Rabbi and Atheist Smoke Weed and Talk About God [WATCH]
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:12 (The Israel Bible™)
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: Yehuda and Yisrael were many, as the sand, which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Simcha-Shmuel Treister: These [holy] messengers oppose them so they will have no power over those who study Torah, as it is said “For He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall carry you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone”. ( Psalms 91:11 -12)
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: A new video, provocatively titled “A Rabbi, a Priest and an Atheist Smoke Weed Together”, has gone viral, garnering almost two million views and shares all over the net. This diverse mix of beliefs cooked with a liberal dose of marijuana produced a compelling interaction between three very stoned men.
Simcha-Shmuel Treister: That “stone” is “the stone that causes stumbling and a rock that is a stumbling block” (Is. 8:14), whereas the other is called “a tested stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16), the “Rock of Israel”. These stand one opposed to the other.
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Breaking Israel News asked Rabbi Mirel why he participated in the controversial video. “I am at the point in my career where I can take these social risks,” Mirel explained. “I thought there was an important point to be made, and most rabbis wouldn’t do this.”
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: Unlike King David who began his rule only over Judah, King Solomon rules over a united kingdom of all of Judah and Israel. As the classical commentator Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi) notes, everyone in the kingdom recognizes King Solomon’s rule due to the universal recognition of his God-given wisdom. The chapter ends with the reward for unity among the People of Israel: they see the fulfillment of the blessing God gave to Abraham (Genesis 22:17), becoming as numerous as the sands of the shore and successful in the Land of Israel.
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Noting that it was Ash Wednesday, Reverend Schuller described the Christian custom of rubbing ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead. Reverend Schuller and Diller took turns rubbing the marijuana ash into each other’s forehead. It was suggested that Rabbi Mirel join them, but he declined.
Pastor John Tolle: During these days we are spending together with Jesus on this Journey to the Cross it would not surprise me to hear of more stories of similar nudges. You see, the Holy Spirit is very active and is forever prompting us into action. The real challenge is this; will we follow through? Have you ever felt that Spirit-led nudge that prompts you to talk or pray with someone about something?
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “I speak in churches and believe in connecting with Christians,” he [Rabbi Mirel] explained to Breaking Israel News. “Not to be disrespectful, but I don’t participate in Christian rituals.”
Rabbi David Sterne: The parasha then proceeds through the list of all the donations and their weight/worth in shekels, noting: “A beka for every man, that is, half-a-shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who went to be counted, from twenty years old and upward, for six-hundred-and three-thousand, five-hundred and fifty men.” (Ex. 38:26)
Pastor John Tolle: When we recognize that the Spirit is up to something, we then must summon the courage to step out by faith. That’s exactly what Peter did when Jesus instructed him to launch out into the deep. [Luke 5:4] In other words, Jesus was prodding Peter to “try again.”
Brat (in “What Say You?” 19 Mar 17) (echo): No one agrees on what “Sanctuary” is and Pergamum won’t talk about it! The Church-as-son was snatched up to You, God, and to Your throne. (Rev 12:5)
Rabbi David Sterne: These half-shekel donations, we were told earlier, would serve as atonement.
Pastor John Tolle: Today God’s Spirit will be prodding, leading, nudging, prompting . . . whatever you want to call it. It’s Him and not you.
Shem miShmuel asks: How does a donation perform the job of atonement? For the purpose of atonement, we have sacrifices, and – since the destruction of the Temple – we have prayer, but how does a donation get us closer to G﷓d when we have transgressed and distanced ourselves?
Pastor John Tolle: We all know that God never prompts people to wrong, bad, or sinful actions. Instead He prods us to do things that will be a blessing to others and His Kingdom.
Rabbi David Sterne: In answer, he quotes his father R’ Avraham Bornstein (also known for one of the works that he wrote, the Avnei Nezer). Atonement is not equated with forgiveness for sin. Atonement is necessary when, through our transgression, we have separated ourselves from the Jewish community. We need atonement (or as some have said, at-one-ment) after thinking that we can exist as an individual without a connection to the nation.
Israel 365: Bring Jerusalem Into Your Heart ✡ “Her Salvation Blazes Like a Torch”
Rabbi David Sterne: By giving the donation of a half-shekel, which goes towards buying the daily sacrifices, we thereby rejoin the Jewish people and the sacrifice becomes truly a sacrifice of the entire nation.
Pastor John Tolle: The story concludes with Peter and company catching a net-busting, boat-sinking amount of fish. Peter’s obedience to launch out into the deep brought a wonderful blessing. Catching a load of fish was a great reward for “go out and try again.”
Israel 365: For Zion’s sake I will not be silent and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still, until her righteousness emanates like bright light, and her salvation blazes like a torch. ~Isaiah 62:1 (The Israel Bible™)
Rick Joyner: We can rarely judge the fruit of something in this life. Our goal must simply be to be obedient.
Pastor John Tolle: Wow – from catching fish to catching people. Because Peter obeyed the command of the Master, his life would be forever changed. And so can ours when we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Patricia King: The Working of Miracles
Rabbi Tuly Weisz: Our mission is to build a bridge between Lovers of Israel around the world and the Jewish People living in the Land of Israel every day of the year.
Pastor John Tolle: These seasoned fishermen knew their business. They’d caught nothing and were ready to go home but . . . Jesus’ challenged them. They were faced with the decision to either obey the call of Jesus to go back out again or accept the empty nets and go home.
Chuck D. Pierce: Declare that California is being aligned in a new way! Wherever you live, welcome the outpouring of Heaven into your region so that hidden veins can be uncovered for God’s purposes to manifest in new ways!
Johnny Enlow: Hollywood, itself, is under heavenly invasion and at some point will be informally referred to as “Holywood” because of the influence of the arising sons and daughters of the King. Whatever good thing that seems impossible for God to do in California—that is the very thing that He is going to do. All who call themselves by His name …
Brat: Excuse me for the interruption. Is this not proof of fulfillment of what Jesus said to Pergamum (Rev 2:13): “Yet you remain true to My name”?
Johnny Enlow: …are called to work with Him to accelerate that glorious thing. Whether you live in California, another state, or another nation bless California in every way that you can, and it will come back to you. There is an Israel-like call on California and it is demonstrated even in what grows here. California produces almost all of the United States’ almonds, dates, figs, and olives- Promised Land fruits. There are also about a million Jews here, further making the California-Israel connection. There is also a great Harvest Glory angel posted in this state that has power to affect nations. I wrote about that in my word related to the Azusa Now event of 2016. There is mystery to it all, but for those who are discerning the fingerprint of God is unmistakeable. Let the next gold rush begin.
Israel 365: Join the Fight to Restore Jewish Prayer to the Temple Mount! ✡ “As the Earth Sends Forth its Growth”
Rebbe Nachman of Breslev: “restoration of the moon” from its blemish. It is then that the “sanctification of the moon” takes place.
Revelation 12:1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
Brat: Aren’t we talking about the earth, moon, and the “stars” we are all dancing with?
Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Tammy and I had the privilege of celebrating the life of Anna Hayford last Saturday afternoon. Many of you know Pastors Jack and Anna Hayford. If you aren’t aware, Anna went to heaven a couple of weeks ago and is celebrating with Jesus. Pastor Jack and his family did a wonderful job of honoring her life and reminded us how powerful a “simple life” can be. There wasn’t anything complicated about Anna Hayford. She was a farm girl from Nebraska that came to California for Bible College and fell in love. The Hayford’s are a tremendous influence in Tammy and my life. President (of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel) Glenn Burris said, “people will either celebrate their time with us and grieve in our absence OR grieve that they are in our presence and celebrate our absence.” We get to determine what our family and friends celebrate and grieve….choose wisely!
Israel 365: A Passover Message of Redemption ✡ “Let Him Come and Eat”
Revelation 22: 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Pastor John Tolle: When you read this story from Luke 5:1-11 we see several things: We see that Jesus was delivering the word of God. Next we see Him summoning Peter to action. And last we see Peter obeying.
Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles: The well-known scholar Rabbi Moshe Galante of Tsfat (Safed) heard an account from his brother about the extraordinary holiness of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Ari), the foremost Kabbalist of the generation. He decided to see for himself.
Cindy Jacobs: “Stand on My holy mountain. I am blowing the trumpet on My holy mountain. Calling My people together to pray. I am calling My people together to assemble. I’m calling My people together to go forward,” says the Lord. And the Lord says, “If you get in fear, you yourself will lose.” And the Lord says, “Even now receive a new anointing of faith, receive a new anointing of strength, receive a new anointing of grace, fear not for I am with you. Resist the devil and he will flee, so it’s time to shine.”
Kris Vallotton: Your capacity for success is determined by your courage to take great risks, and the wisdom to know when not to.
Anna Blake: The mental part of the half-halt isn’t always talked about but that’s the mysterious part; the part beyond the physical cues. A half-halt is a mental re-balance as well. It’s an instant that affirms the connection between horse and rider in that moment, but also in the near future. It’s a blink of acknowledgement that the two of you are together, as well as a hint that something’s coming …wait for it. The challenge is timing. By the time we remember to half-halt, it’s too late, and the horse can’t respond in time.
Brat (in “Protector?” 18 March 2017): Lord? What do You want? Pastor John Tolle declared that they would do Your will and NOT their will. From just what I observed this morning, I ask You, is it Your will that they repeat showing a movie on Easter in the hopes that it would be a witnessing tool, when in the past that tactic didn’t produce the results of evangelism that they’d expected? Sure, movies spur conversations, but how do movies take us into deeper relationships? They are only tools. Props.
Pastor John Tolle: “God is destroying our props.”
Brat: I journal to take the relationship deeper. I’m not saying that showing the movie is wrong. I’m saying the reason for showing it is off. It should not be used as an evangelism tool when there are whole chunks of the Church’s own collective soul that are “lost” and wandering in the wilderness.
Crosstown Church’s gifts are faithfulness. She perseveres in faithfulness.
And she really gets the testing thing!
[My God, how she gets the TESTING thing! Oy!]
Mary Hope quoted Pastor John: “EVERYTHING is a test!”
(Sigh. Ephesus.)
Where’s the mercy? Will showing a movie stir hearts to acts of mercy?
And what about the other pastors? John is still leading them even if he’s not checking in with them every week.
Pastor John said that our eyes have been open this prayer time even if we just closed them to blink.
I quoted, “…In the blink of an eye…”
Shelly next to me elbowed me and grinned, “…in the twinkling of an eye…” she confirmed.
1 Corinthians 15: 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
We both got it that we “got” it. We giggled some more.
Ephesus is so ripe! Shelly said the reapers are the harvesters.
I stated that the sower and the reapers rejoice.
Brat (in “The Well” 16 Mar 17): Did I not get upset this morning that the prophets were saying “…about this time tomorrow…?” The time is now! It’s here! It’s been here for a long time, but Cathy Svitek said that few people “get” me. I must believe that those who have bothered to read what I’ve shared must understand something! They are the reapers of what they have not sown. (Jn 4:38) You said that the reaper is already receiving wages [!] and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together. (v 36)
Ray Bentley: I love what Zola Levitt, a Jewish believer who is now with the Lord, wrote:
“The trumpet was the signal for the workers to come into the Temple. The High Priest actually stood on the southwest parapet of the Temple and blew the trumpet so that it could be heard in the surrounding fields. At that instant, the faithful would stop harvesting, even if there were crops, and leave immediately for the worship service.”³ [³Zola Levitt, The Seven Feasts of Israel (Dallas, TX: Zola Levitt Ministries, 1979, 2012), 12.]
Brat: Is not Thousand Oaks in the southwest parapet of the Lord’s Temple? God did say that the train of the Lord’s robe fills the Temple.
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Chuck Pierce: “The rivers of this state shall begin to fill, for this is a season that the heavens are shaking. In the midst of the heavens shaking, you are on the verge of the greatest breakthrough that you’ve ever know in the state. Do not back up! Do not back up! The rivers will now begin to fill and flood, and the rivers that have never contended will now begin to contend. There will be a divine splitting at places that you would not have thought that rivers would overflow and split.
Psalm 68:18 When you ascended on high,
you took many captives;
you received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious—
that you, LORD God, might dwell there.
Pastor John Tolle: What Jesus was saying was simple. He was teaching people that when they make their own lives or anything in this world . . . the center . . . the focus . . . and the source of everything, they’ll ultimately lose. Instead, when they make Him the basis for all of life, they will win.
Rick Joyner: A main purpose in this life is to be a priest to the Lord. This is a calling on all New Covenant believers. If we are shown something in a vision, or in the natural, it is likely that the purpose of the revelation is for intercession. That intercession can also take on the form of helping to resolve the matter, pulling others out of the sinful traps they have fallen into, or keeping them from falling into them.
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: While on his sickbed, King David promises Bath-sheba that their son Solomon will follow him to the throne. Bath-sheba then bows and says “May my master King David live forever.” [1 Kings 1:31] As all people must one day die, there is a deeper level of meaning to her words than eternal life. King David represents the eternal Jewish monarchy over the nation in the Land of Israel. Bath-sheba is thus praying for the eternity of the People, the Land and the Davidic monarchy of Israel. Her prayers would be answered with the anointing of King Solomon, who solidifies the kingdom and helps it attain the heights of holiness with the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Kris Vallotton: The beauty of your success lies in the grace you display in tough seasons, and the level of kindness you give to those who fall short of your standard or fail your mission.
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: Jerusalem is to be both the political and spiritual capital of the Nation of Israel. It is to be the seat of the monarchy from where the king and his officers rule the nation. But it is also to be the location of the Holy Temple and the Supreme Jewish Court known as the ‘Sanhedrin.’ Thus, Jerusalem has a double function which allows the People of Israel to be a free and holy people in the Land of Israel. The Prophet Isaiah (2:3) expresses this when he said, “From Zion will go forth the Torah, and the word of God from Jerusalem.” Rabbi Avraham Kook explained that “Zion” refers to the political and nationalistic aspects of the city, while “Jerusalem” referred to the spiritual aspects. Both are essential aspects of Jerusalem and allow the Jewish People to fulfill its holy mission.
Kris Vallotton: The power of your success is determined by the level of confidence you have in your own ability to complete the mission, and the amount of faith you have in God’s ability to cover your weaknesses, as well as fix your failures.
Simcha-Shmuel Treister: [This Holy Chaya] includes two aspects, the lion and the eagle merged into one form named Ahi-el. (Note: we don’t pronouce angels’ names out loud – Ed.) When it receives the sparks of light from that spirit [Zohari-el] which is above it, this Holy Chaya causes four Ofanim to issue forth. They include all aspects [of guidance and activity] and they are called Hadri-el, Yehadri-el, Ahadriah and Assimon. (Note: we don’t pronouce angels’ names out loud – Ed.) They each have eight wings [two cover their face, two cover their legs, and they fly with four]. These [four ofanim] are in charge of all of the Heavenly Hosts that arrange wars.
Pastor John Tolle: Here’s my simple prayer: Father, thank you for the loving gift of Jesus Christ! I invite him to wash my life where I need it most. Only he can do it! Amen!
Brat (in “Protector?” 18 March 2017): Also one of the things we talked A LOT about was Mary Hope quoting Pastor John Tolle saying that EVERYTHING was a TEST. Everyone at the table seemed to agree with him. To calm myself down during my work shift, I kept allowing myself to receive the Lord’s soft butterfly kisses on my cheeks. The word TEST would try to break through my peace. I remembered my debilitating Test Anxiety that I suffered as a kid. I remembered Jo’s question from yesterday: “When was the last time you really felt totally safe?” Not from feeling TESTED! As a kid I associated tests with right and wrong, good and bad, pass and fail, success and failure, and torture. I never felt good enough. How could I reconcile that with what the Church taught that we are saved by grace? With being constantly tested, I never felt worthy of anything. My calling flipped everything on its head. Now worthiness was just a part of the vocabulary and not weighted with all that heavy baggage. Jesus had taken all that. Yet still, with the Church continuing to teach that we are constantly being tested by God, we can’t move beyond the test, because the test has become the idol. I had to break the TEST idol. During work I suddenly found myself paranoid. Who was watching me?
I refocused my attention on Jesus and calmed down.
Then I thought of a mother’s love. Loving moms don’t continually TEST their children. They correct, coach, instruct, nurture, encourage, and provide limits and support, but NOT EVERYTHING is a TEST. There are times for testing, to let go and see what the child will do to see if she can apply what she’s been taught, but it is not done from an attitude of grueling precision. She looks to see where she needs to give more direction and instruction to build the child’s confidence. It’s a different mindset than the guys. And the Church definitely has a guy’s mindset!
Lord, I ask You to break the TESTING mindset/idol. It is a hindrance to our growth.
Brat (in “Judas Baby” 17 Mar 17): Friday, March 17, 2017 at 11 am Journal: Parked by the freeway in a warehouse district off Dawson Drive. (I don’t know where I am. I can’t find the Recycling Center.)
Pastor John Tolle: He washed the feet of doubting Thomas and the feet of Peter who denied him and the feet of the greedy, sell-out artist, Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ betrayer. He washed all of the disciples’ feet. And He is waiting to wash our feet . . . regardless of who we are . . . where we’ve been . . . what we’ve done . . . or what our attitude is.
Brat: Judas, the sell-out artist?
I’m an artist!
Are you calling me a Judas? It wouldn’t be the first time!
Pastor Bruce Zachary: “Judas writes with a Bic.”
Owe!
Heal.
I thought I had healed from that!
Forgive. Bless. Release.
Healing. Peace. Forgiveness.
Lord, thank You for the healing that You are already doing.
I guess we really do not have the same understanding of sanctuary.
Jo said to be careful because miracles are abounding everywhere.
Pastor John Tolle: DO YOU HAVE IT OR DOES HE?
Brat (in “Judas Baby” 17 Mar 17): They want to see (AGAIN!) how I react. Well, I bless with sweet butterfly kisses. I sing a lullaby of kindness. I breathe God’s hug of warmth and forgiveness. I caress the wound with a balm of oil. I cry tears of longing and hope that love will cross the blood-brain barrier and move from the ears to the heart, where compassion has a chance to be nurtured rather than killed; where joy can be rejoiced because God is good and merciful and not because winning is a competition. I bless the curious humming birds and the blooming roses. I rejoice and give thanks that God will bring rain to Israel and to Africa to stop their drought. I bless Jesus who took the pain of the world upon Himself, so that I don’t have to carry it. I bless the Holy Spirit who makes God alive in us every single day. I bless the High Priest who is furthering us along in our collective journey, for without him we’d still be wondering what (thuh f.) we’re doing. Judas didn’t know. He was just eager and tormented. Caiaphas knew. He was a politician.
It was nothing personal, just political.
Anna Blake: I have a confession: I love my writing. I’m probably supposed to lament writer’s block and be a tragic soul about a dozen literary things, but in my previous thirty years as a professional artist, I never threatened to cut an ear off either. What if the imagination/creativity thing was easier than we think?
Brat: I really do thank You, Lord, for what You are doing.
Haggadah Highlights: We begin the Seder by remembering and inviting those less fortunate. One Passover, a poor woman asked her town Rabbi an unusual question. She wanted to know if she could use milk for the four cups of the Seder, for she could not afford wine. The Rabbi, in response, gave her a large amount of money, much more than was needed to purchase wine. The Rabbi reasoned that if she expected to drink milk at the Seder, it was clear she had no meat either (as we are prohibited from eating milk and meat at the same meal). So he gave her enough to buy both wine and meat for the festival.
(In “Ahab” 12 Mar 17) 1 Kings 19: 21a So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate.
Brat: “Oxtail Soup” was like cooking the oxen. The Twelve Tribes of Israel got in there, too. They’ve all “eaten” from my posts. I’ve chosen to stay at Jesus’ feet like Mary, instead of running to the kitchen like Martha, and yet they still “eat.”
Kenneth L. Samuel: The Mercy Seat
Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Is the church a divinely appointed institution established for the eternal salvation of souls or is it a social construct which sincere people have put together to make the world a better place?
Pastor John Tolle: It takes a while for us to come to understand that God, the creator, has more to offer than this world does. And it takes an equal amount of time to come to believe that we do not have the resources or capacity to make our lives truly abundant.
Brat (in “Judas Baby” 17 Mar 17): Lord, take the recycling place that I could not find and turn it into something new, applicable, usable, and beautiful for Your Name’s sake.
Anna Blake: Then a few strides into the canter, he begins to speed up. Pull on his face if you want, but he’s probably tense in the poll already. Besides, you’re trying to have better hands. Think about a better rhythm in his canter. Breathe. Focus your body. Reset his speed and steady him as your body realigns. Yay, you did a half-halt.
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And the king said unto Araunah: ‘Nay; but I will verily buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the LORD my God which cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Brat (in “Protector” 18 Mar 17): Pastor John also said that the devil often resorts to bluffing to keep us from breakthrough. I took that as Arc Speak to the Judas Artist, (which I realized this morning upon a second read that Pastor John had used a different phrase, not con-artist, but something else. I can’t remember and I don’t have it printed out to go back to and look at.)
[Prompt: “sell-out artist”]
[Thank you.]
In any case, I really “got” that that was a bluff. I let it go. There was more important stuff to focus on.
Pastor John Tolle: God’s best to you today! May your nets be full and may you catch many people for the Kingdom of God!
Lana Vawser: THE WEATHER FORECAST HAS CHANGED – IT IS RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!!!
Anna Blake: The first rule about half-halts is that you must do it in time… think of it as a discipline of preparation. You might half-halt to begin to prepare for a transition. One more half-halt to actually prepare, and then the transition. A half-halt asks for his attention but it should feel light and happy to him, like it will be fun. “Oh goody, a trot’s coming…”
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: King David is known as the “sweet singer of Israel.” Though much of this chapter focuses on his worldly accomplishments, King David is an intensely spiritual person who strives with every ounce of his being to serve God. According to the Rabbis, King David had a harp hanging by his bed so that he would be able to sing inspired songs of praise to God in the middle of the night. King David is a scholar, and the author of most of the Book of Psalms, who spends his evenings studying Torah and in prayer. And when he sins, he repents with a broken heart. Though not granted his wish to build God’s Holy Temple, he is able to make many of its preparations. King David serves as the quintessential leader who uses all of his talents and all aspects of his personality to serve God and the Jewish People.
Kris Vallotton: So how are you walking in obedience today?
Brat: I post on Facebook. I send letters and emails. I keep track of where the conversation is going. I share where God tells me to share. I RARELY (hardly ever) get answers back – EVER!
Spirit Fuel: oops…
Richard L. Floyd: Repentance has long been an important theme for Lent, but many are put off by the idea since it seems to demand one big life-changing event. A friend of mine had a poster on his wall that said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” In small print at the bottom it said, “If you have already repented, please disregard this notice.”
Kris Vallotton: To access heaven’s wisdom and God’s thoughts, I want to challenge you to change your relationship with the Lord, practice obedience and be a trustworthy friend.
Pastor John Tolle: TRY AGAIN?
Richard L. Floyd: But I contend that we should never disregard that notice since repenting is something we must do again and again and again throughout our lives.
Brat: My relationship with the Lord is sound. I am anchored in Jesus Christ. I take it up with Him. Where is the House of David? (Isa 7:11)
Anna Blake: I’ve decided to do some writing about writing; a road map of the paths and stopovers that I made. There will be weekly posts with writing exercises included. It isn’t that I think I’m an expert or that my book sales have bought me a second home. Or even a second bathroom in this home. I’ve just had such a great time on this adventure and sharing it serves as a thank you.
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke unto David my father, saying: Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for My name.
Pastor John Tolle: Have you ever given up? Peter had – at least for the moment.
Yerachmiel Tilles: The “Holy Ari” Reads a Forehead
Monk: Have you got a fever?
Brat (in “Protector?” 18 March 2017): The problem with the on-going Silence for ten years is that I am open and vulnerable to predators. Those in the Church who should be speaking up and are called to be protectors simply remain in the shadows. Their inaction makes my environment unsafe. I don’t belong here.
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Working for the Weekend
Monk (echo of Brat): Where to share? Can’t you see that “Sanctuary” and “Where to share?” are related?
Kenneth L. Samuel: Religion Without the Rules
Anna Blake: If you want to play along at home, start here: When is a blog not a blog? When we re-task it to suit our journaling needs. Think of a blog as a word processing program that also has a search feature and comes in a tidy, attractive package. You can categorize your thoughts/posts in a more organized way than a spiral notebook. A blog can be as private as a diary, shared selectively, or used to bring the world to your desk. Rather than having word docs attached to emails, drifting around the internet, and loitering in other computers, your words are contained and shared by a simple link. And, blogs are free. You can have a whole stable full of blogs for different purposes.
Brat: Honestly, I blogged for years. The Church was my audience and the Church showed no interest. I was sharing to an abyss with too few readers and no encouragement. I stopped sharing in that venue. Every writer needs readers. The stats counter on the blog site didn’t lie. I write and the silence is deafening. I know I write well. I know I have gifts from God to share. I figured I could go the way of conspiracy theorists, buy into those giving voice to the Jezebel curses, or I could keep writing, share the journey where God told me to share, and practice my “half-halts” on this pony ride until God sends me a protector in the flesh. Protecting IS the bishop’s job. In the meantime, I’ll try the blog again, because Pastor John Tolle said to try again.
Anna Blake: And just one more thought from me. Words matter so very much. They are powerful; how we speak of ourselves and our dreams are the creative spark that lights the future. At 62, I’m so aware of how precious that light is and how important our diverse voices are to the collective conversation. Too many of us hold our tongues, thinking we’re being polite when the world needs our truth. Writing is the art of molding our voices to say just the exact thing we mean, with honesty and vulnerability, and hopefully a little humor.
Brat: The blog’s name was https://wordpress.com/posts/truthinus.wordpress.com
Mary Luti: Prayer
Life is short, most holy God. Make me tender towards my dying companions, all of us your passing guests.
Anna Blake: Please join us. Take your writing seriously. Whether the world ever reads us or not, it’s past time that we give our own words the respect they deserve.
Pastor John Tolle: Such nudges are from God. It’s His simple way of speaking to you and me. Often it starts off with a sense that there is something to do. This leads to us wondering if this is, in fact, the Lord’s doing . . . or just our imagination. Should we ignore the feeling and just move on through the day?
Chuck D. Pierce: “There will be a splitting of what was joined together here in California. California will now unhook its unholy alliances. The rivers will rise and all unholy alliances will begin to split. The bitterness of the robbing of the gold and structure of resources in this state now will come to a head, and a new reconciliation will occur and a new glory arise. Along the main river system of this state there has been great contention, and great iniquity has been performed.”
Brother Andrew: God’s Smuggler
Rabbi Tuly Weisz: You can fight against land grabs in the Biblical Heartland
Bible Gateway: If you’re in, I’ll send you a free gift!
Microsoft Rewards: Quiet, please! For Kathryn’s next trick—watch points magically appear.
Elijah List: Breaking the Jezebel Yoke with Sandie Freed (LIVE webcast March 23)
Pastor John Tolle: Let’s make it our objective to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I’m sure we will be wonderfully surprised!
Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: King David purchases the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and – according to one classical rabbinic opinion- the entire city of Jerusalem. That threshing floor is the place where King David intends to offer sacrifices, the place that is now called the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As this site would later become the location of the Holy Temple, David purchases this holy land publicly, just like Abraham did when he purchased the Cave of Machpela in Hebron for a great sum of money and in front of witnesses (Genesis 23). Although, like Abraham, David was offered the site as a gift, David does not want any future generations to claim that it was stolen by the People of Israel. Since the sale of each is recorded in the Bible, the Sages teach that Jerusalem, Hebron and Shechem are the three places that belong to the Jewish People indisputably.
Brat: Didn’t Judas Iscariot pay back the Sanhedrin thirty pieces of silver with Jesus’ blood on the money and with that money the elders bought Potter’s Field for us foreigners and that was publicly purchased? (Matthew 27) Jesus has been a significant “threshing floor” where many, many have offered sacrifices and been sacrificed in the name of all religions. The price has been high. Faith today has not been stolen by the People of Israel. In fact, I would say that the Sanhedrin has redeemed the present-day situation from two thousand years ago.
Matthew 21:12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Monk: Is this not atonement for sins, as Rabbi David Sterne talked about?
Anna Blake: Atop
It’s an inherited seat;
elders and babies ride loose in time,
strong and vulnerable
and not quite domesticated.
Sky-tall and exquisitely tiny;
a saddle blends contradictions
into a familiar sacred stride.

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Laundry 10 Apr 17

12 Apr

By Kathryn Hauser

Working Dates: Holy Monday of Passion Week, April 10, 2017 to the Second Day of Passover, Wednesday, April 12, 2017

[21 pages]

Chabad.org: Passover is here! Please take a minute to read.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Because Aram hath counselled evil against thee, Efraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying: [Isaiah 7:5]

Brat: Wait a minute! There’s more to this story…

Talitha Arnold: As Christians, it’s our responsibility to tell the truth—the real truth of this holy story. That the religious leaders did what they did because they were human, just like you and me.

Jennifer LeClaire: This simple prophetic word is manifesting before our eyes!

Isaiah 7: ⁶“Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” ⁷Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Yotam, the son of Uzziahu, king of Yehudah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Yisrael, went up to Yerushalayim to war against it; but could not prevail against it. [Isaiah 7:1]

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Bar Leib explained that this unusual characteristic of Assad is also referred to in the Book of Daniel.

And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom. Daniel 2:41

Bar Leib believes this verse clearly refers to Syria and Assad, describing the Arab leader as a “mixture of modern iron and old-world clay”. “Syria is where the conflict between iron and clay is taking place,” he said.

Brat (in “Monogram” 7 Apr 17): The capstone came on the shirt (of all things!) (Hmmm…upon reflection, I remember Jesus saying stuff about new garments…) Anyway, I was sitting in my seat and hadn’t even pulled out my clipboard yet and I looked down. I hadn’t noticed this before. On the corner of the shirttail in the front and below the bottom snap in white stitching was the word “ROCK.” I laughed out loud. It was a monogram. It felt like God was confirming a message to me. All the rocks in our story were going to converge together:

Jesus is the Rock of our salvation. (Ps 95:1)

Peter is Rocky upon which Christ’s Church is built. (Mt 16:18)

Rick Joyner: “Drop your Stones.”

Even if they remain quiet, the rocks and stones will sing (cry out). (Lk 19:40)

The Rock was cut out while you were watching… (Dan 2:34)

Daniel 2:³⁴While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

The wise man built his house on the rock. (Mt 7:24)

They stumbled over the stumbling stone. (Ro 9:33)

Who will roll the stone away? (Mk 16:3)

The stone you builders rejected. (Ps 118:22)

Not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Cor 3:3)

I just looked up that last reference and the verses in that passage that Paul wrote sit like a diamond among the herd:

2 Corinthians 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Lord? Do they know this?

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: Sometimes it is known and recognizable from the type of sacrifice that is required to be brought, as to which aspect it repairs.

Quinn G. Caldwell: Prayer
God, this little light of mine doesn’t really seem bright enough for the job you have in mind. But it’s your call, so I’ll do my best to not put it out.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah and his son Shear-jashub confront Ahaz, then king of Judah, who was facing an invasion from Aram (Syria) and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. While Ahaz fearfully refers to them as two powerful princes, Isaiah tries to assure him that they are only tails of smoking firebrands, two kingdoms on their deathbeds. Therefore, says Isaiah, Judah has only to trust in God and nothing to fear. This meeting – a paradigmatic demonstration of faith in God – occurred at the Launderer’s Pool. This pool of water is mentioned two other times in the Bible, and there are two opinions as to its exact location. One opinion is a location in the northeast of Jerusalem, close to the Lions’ Gate, where a dam forms a pool carved into a riverbed. The second is a location in the northwest of the city where a channel of a riverbed was discovered. Both of these pools were within Jerusalem city limits during the time of the Second Temple and were used by tens of thousands of pilgrims each year for drinking, cleaning and purification in preparation for their visit to the nearby Temple.

Beth Herr: I was at a gathering, called the Merge, with Danny Steyne in the beginning of November. He came over and was giving a word to a friend who was sitting in front of me. I saw REVIVAL branded on his back. I had seen this same word, REVIVAL, written on his back over the summer while at the Catholic church’s Holy Spirit week where he has become a regular speaker. So I asked the Lord why he was showing it to me again months later. He said He is REBRANDING REVIVAL. This time I couldn’t see where the brand ended. It was like looking into a deep well and not being able to see how deep it went. Also, on top you could see the separation of the letters but below all that separation was gone. It completely disappeared. It looked like one big pool. Then the Lord said what we have seen as revival before was good, but only superficial to what we are about to see. The walls will melt away. Expectations of what revival will look like will melt away. Barriers between people will melt away. We won’t do revival or experience revival. We will become revival. We will be walking revival fires.

Ayodeji Awosika: How to be the Hero of Your Life Story

Pastor John Tolle: Thank you, Father God for the cross of your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for its power that continues to change me so that I no longer have to prove myself worthy of your love. Day by day you are making me more like Jesus! Amen!

Tony Robinson: “The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.'” – John 9:8-9

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Priestly Sacrifices Revived as Paschal Lamb Offered to God Near Temple Mount

Talitha Arnold: We Christians are about to start the holiest week of our year. In churches around the world tomorrow, our congregations will wave palms and sing “Hosanna” to remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. On Thursday, many of us will gather in the shadows for the Last Supper. On Friday we come to the foot of the cross and sing “Were You There?”

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: On Thursday, Kohanim, men from the priestly caste, dressed in special garments that adhere to Biblical requirements and perform the ceremony accompanied by musical instruments specially prepared by the Temple Institute for use in the Third Temple. A lamb was sacrificed under supervision of a representative of the government veterinary ministry, and subsequently roasted as mandated by the Torah.

Brat: Roasted?

Urban Dictionary: a banquet to honor a person at which the honoree is subjected to good-natured ridicule.

Brat: Thank You, God, for sending in the rabbis as I had asked!

Prayer (on Palm Sunday, 9 Apr 17): O, Lord! Make it so! Remove the sound barrier of dysfunctional silence so that justice can prevail. Please send in the Rabbis into the Church. The Christian Pharisees have made this hedge of protection around themselves and the results have yielded “wild grapes.” They pretend that they don’t see. Eli pretends to talk to his sons. It is all pretense in CYA (covering their assets.)

Nate Johnston: Don’t give up, stand your ground and laugh at your opponent because this fight was rigged and Jesus already foretold the score. You were destined to win.

Lovesick Scribe: Relationship with Christ is vital for seeing our culture transform. It is vital that the body of Christ embrace authentic passion for His Presence. Religion is not the remedy. Religion has this way of trying to do damage control when alabaster vessels are cracked open. Religious people refuse to linger because they carry dead men’s bones. When they see lingerers and the anointing, they perceive a mess instead of discerning intimacy.

Randy Travis: Diggin’ Up Bones [https://youtu.be/f6AaHrOYpi0]

Talitha Arnold: “Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.” – Luke 22:1-2

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: For the last fifteen years, the Sanhedrin has hosted a full-dress reenactment of the Passover sacrifice in Jerusalem. With humble beginnings and intended more as a public lesson, the ceremony has grown. Every year, more people attend and the ceremony itself develops in complexity, becoming more like the actual ceremony in the Temple.

Tony Robinson: What happens to someone who is touched and changed by Jesus?

Pastor John Tolle: This is the week of the cross – a brutal week of experiences that would be too much to handle for a normal person! Yet Jesus endured being – sold out by traitorous Judas and then arrested; denied by Peter, not once but three different times; bounced around, like a pin ball, from one trial to another, five or six times; publically scourged . . . It’s almost too much to bear. But HE did! He endured it all until his final words, “It is finished.”

Vince Amlin: How will I get up and face another day? Where will the energy come from, to run another lap? Maybe it will be from the one who said, “It is finished,” and didn’t really mean it.

Lance Wallnau: Didn’t think you could make it, did you?

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Chapter 5 [in Isaiah] presents one of the most famous parables in the Bible, the song of the vineyard. Isaiah gathers the people together to pass judgment on a disobedient vineyard. Despite the owner’s efforts to care for the vineyard that he loves, it produces unripe grapes. Therefore, the owner announces that he will tear down the walls protecting the vineyard from the thorns and dangers of the forest. So too, Isaiah states, though Judah is “the plant of His delight; instead of justice (in Hebrew – ‘mishpat’), there was violence (’mispach’); for righteousness (’tzedaka’), there was crying (’tza’aka’)” (verse 7). God will therefore remove His protection from Israel and allow for its enemies enter. The theme of injustice and oppression leading to destruction plays a prominent role in Isaiah’s prophecies. Similarly, Zion will ultimately be redeemed through justice and righteousness (Isaiah 1:27).

Chuck D. Pierce: “This week you’ll have two days like a pit-stop in your life. This week I will be causing things in you to recover. Pull aside as a pit-stop and allow Me to find some things in you that are not working right, even some hidden things that are not working right. Don’t try to go until you’ve had your pit-stop, because if you go before the pit-stop, you will have pieces that wear out too quickly as I accelerate you in the future. This will be a week of setting you in time and redoing parts of your emotions and your mind. Let Me re-do those parts in you so you can accelerate in days ahead!”

Brat: Jeremiah 31:15 This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the Sefer Torah, that he rent his clothes. (II Book of Kings 22:11)

Ben Peters: Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the Saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Ayodeji Awosika: Look, I’m practical. I’m not going to pretend like your story will work out. It can, but no book in the world will force you to accept the call.

Ben Peters: Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence…that the nations may tremble at Your presence…the mountains shook at Your presence. (Isaiah 64:1,2,3 emphasis mine)

Rick Joyner: Last week we compared this second seal to the obvious parallels with the church of Sardis, the second church that the Lord addressed in Revelation. We ended by asking if this implies that the Gospel message itself had been tainted red by war. The answer to that is “yes,” and this is a corruption. The bride of Christ is to be clothed in white reflecting her purity, not red or any other color. War is an ultimate defeat for Christianity, but are there not righteous wars and righteous warriors? Yes, but to understand this we must tackle a basic theological issue that I call “the two authority mandate.” This is explained in Romans 13:1-7 when the Apostle addresses the Christian’s relationship to secular authority:

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;

for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil (Romans 13:1-4).

Lana Vawser: I noticed as He breathed upon those dreams and desires a golden scroll appeared on the table in the middle of the room. Jesus went over to these golden scrolls and one by one He broke the red seal open and unraveled these scrolls. They looked like blueprints but as I looked closer at the scrolls I saw the title of the scrolls were destiny prints.

Ben Peters: Summarizing: Creation groans under the weight of corruption brought on by sin. The mountains of society, likewise groan under the weight of corruption on them. God is also groaning and allowing us to groan with Him in prayer.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: “and say unto him: Keep calm, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.” [Isaiah 7:4]

Beth Herr: So, here is the gist. The church, even the charismatic church, has segregated people and limited them to their space behind bars. We have segregated gifts and labeled people. Those are the prophetic people in that cage. Those are the people with gift of healing in that exhibit. We have tried to tame people instead of teaching them and showing them how to be fully themselves. We have watered down church so much to make everyone feel safe that we have stripped the people and the church of much of its power.

Brat: I can completely relate! Pastor John Tolle told us to imagine St Paul as he wrote the “Prison Epistles.”

Johnny Cash: God help, The Beast In Me: [https://youtu.be/T8tGCVavS5s]

Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin: With blessings for a truly liberating and enjoyable Passover – a Happy and Kosher Passover from all of us at Chabad.org!

Pastor Steve Dittmar: Experience Jesus, in the Upper Room with His disciples, celebrating Passover. Watch as Jesus rises, taking the robe of the servant and washing the disciples feet, Judas’ feet, then Peter’s feet. Peter says, “No”. Then says, “more”. Peter is confused. “Who will betray You? Why can’t I follow You? I will never deny You!” Peter is really confused.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: At Least 24 Arrested in Attempts to Bring Passover Sacrifice

Nick Lowe (used in The Sopranos): The Beast In Me [https://youtu.be/N41nrSf5XrY]

Tammy Dunahoo: And it is the love of God that creates that which is lovable. Mary was not loved because she was beautiful; she became beautiful because she was loved! What a gracious portrait that she would be the one Jesus would speak to first, the restored one, the liberated one.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: An ancient Jewish tradition states that after the miraculous deliverance of Judah from the Assyrian invasion, God desired to crown the righteous king Hezekiah messiah. Only one thing was required – that Hezekiah would sing a song of praise before Him. Instead, Hezekiah arose that morning, and continued with his regular daily routine, the study of the Torah, until Isaiah instructed him to sing. Unfortunately, once the singing was a response to a command, and not spontaneous, the opportunity was lost. In this verse, Isaiah teaches the importance of appreciating everything that occurs for us, and being able to sing praise for it before God.

Brat: What?! Hezekiah? It is Jesus who is lifted up! How many times does He have to die for the world to recognize what He and God did for us? Is the Church just going to sit on this?

Revelation 15:3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.

Pastor Steve Dittmar: Experience Jesus as He walks with His disciples from the Upper Room down the hillside to Gethsemane. (John14-17) Listen as He promises to come again and receive them into His Father’s house, His many mansions. The Holy Spirit is coming. All shall be well—no, better! It will be like a mother who has birthed a child. The travail will be forgotten and joy will come! Listen as Jesus completes His mission surrendering His will to Father’s sovereignty. Being in agony, He prays more earnestly. The disciples sleep, overwhelmed by sorrow. Jesus, by Himself, must purge our sins.

Chuck D. Pierce: “This is a season of paradoxes. In this bi-directional movement, I am keeping one of your feet on each side of the paradox. Even when I said my Son was a servant, a Lion and a Lamb, know that I’m causing you to move in different ways so you can move with the foot on both sides of a paradox. This is what is necessary to move with Me in this season of movement!”

Doug Addison: Passover is a Jewish festival that celebrates God’s greatness when He gave instructions to the Israelites in Egypt that would cause the disaster to “pass over” their houses (Exodus 11-12). This year, Passover started at sundown April 10 and goes through sundown April 18.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Itamar Ben-Gvir, an attorney from the Honenu organization representing some of the defendants, called the arrests a serious infringement of freedom of religion and democratic principles. “These are arrests to silence people and the police need to allow the Temple Mount activists freedom of worship,” Ben Gvir said.

Brat: Honey, nu?

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “Israel is losing its democratic nature, people cannot be arrested in the middle of the night just because they want to observe the commandments of Judaism.”

Matthew Laney (from “Honey” 5 Apr 17): So let’s hop and skip over all that and dive into the New Testament where Jesus embraces children, feeds the hungry, raises the dead, eats with the unclean, rescues an adulterer and condemns only the punitive religious police!

Doug Addison: The prophetic aspect of Passover is still available to us today. When uncertain times come in the form of economic, spiritual, environmental or personal attacks against your family, health or finances, God can reveal strategies that will allow you to avoid them or even receive a blessing in the midst of difficult times (Genesis 26:12; Genesis 41).

Lana Vawser: Instantly, I knew that Jesus was giving “divine glimpses” into the destiny of His people. The one thing that stood out to me was that the “dreams” and “desires” that His people had been dreaming as they delighted in Him, were at the very bottom of the destiny print. He knew I had seen it and He turned to me and smiled and spoke, “That’s just where I begin. I am more faithful than My people realize!”

Brat (in “Honey” 5 Apr 17): You say I should continue discipling in my orbit, but I cannot finish the pieces I am writing without an actual safe place to work. It does not give me a sense of safety knowing that the computer could angrily explode at any moment because of faulty house wiring. That’s physical safety, not emotional or spiritual safety. Plus, if Dad drops dead, I don’t inherit any of his properties. No safety. And no income to speak of to support a property if I had one! Just sayn…everyone has their limits.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Ancient idol-worshippers believed that the fortunes of their countries were directly tied to the strength of their gods. Therefore, if another country was to conquer theirs, they would have no problem transferring their worship and loyalty to the invaders’ gods, as they were clearly stronger. What Isaiah is now saying to the people is revolutionary. Not only are the Assyrian gods non-existent, but God Himself controls the Assyrians and is using them to punish Israel. Should the Jewish people return to God and practice justice and righteousness, however, God will break the Assyrian yoke over Israel and punish them for their arrogance. Isaiah’s eternal message to the Children of Israel is that God is always the cause for all that occurs to them and their adherence to His laws will always determine the nature of their fortune.

Pastor John Tolle (02 Apr 17): The word of God will differentiate and show you how to be a citizen of Heaven. Scripture will prove it. How I live my life, my lifestyle, will reflect it.

Chuck D. Pierce: “I’m coming full circle! I’m coming full circle! I reign over your past, and I’m bringing portions of that past before you. Don’t try to go backwards, but go forward into your past and you’ll have victory over your past. You are at an intersection! You can look to the right or look to the left, but this will be a week that you will stand quietly at the very intersection point to which I have brought you. Many may say, ‘Lord, I will not move until I hear the way to go.’ Know that I am coming full circle! Though you think I’m quiet, I will explode upon your scene!”

Pastor John Tolle (09 Apr 17): We experience cycles because we don’t take the advice of scripture on lifestyle teaching. Giving your life to the Lord to direct your thought is faithful, FAITH FILLED, to explode in your life. It changes how you process. God is using you mightily.

Brat: If the tools I have to write with are being sabotaged by Satan, so that I cannot complete the assignment, then all I have left is prayer! That goes back to lifestyle.

Lana Vawser: He turned to me again and spoke, “Expectation is a great key—it’s time to ‘Come up here and see!'” Jesus began to release glimpses of these destiny prints to His people. What He was showing them was so much bigger than they could have ever imagined! They were plans for their life and destiny that were not possible to be completed by them and only He could do it. As He began showing them glimpse after glimpse of what was to come—life, hope and healing were being brought to their hearts and souls. His joy was exploding within them, igniting the fire to dream again.

Pastor John Tolle: I’m grateful for a shepherd who went the distance for me . . . all the way to the cross so that I could be found and placed in his flock!

Ben Peters: Isaiah cries out for the return of God’s presence to the mountains that have trembled in the past. If we want to shake the seven mountains, we need God’s presence on the top of those mountains. How will that happen? Let’s look now at Isaiah 2:

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. (Isaiah 2:2)

Tammy Dunahoo: That all of us would see the privilege of being His witnesses, and that we would go and tell.

Chuck D. Pierce (in “Pony Ride” 7 Apr 17): God’s has the best for our life cycle. The enemy wants to interrupt our life cycle and interject sin that becomes an iniquity that shifts us out of God’s best. Iniquity can form a cycle that twists our life’s purposes. This is how our spirits become vexed. You can build a sanctuary of time filled with God’s presence. From this sanctuary you can understand the process of time that is directing your life. To stay in God’s processes you must keep in line with the appointed times of God for your life.

Brat [Yawn]: You could also be talking about the life cycle of a caterpillar, aka, a worm in a silken box, the princess’ coffin hanging from a branch, yada yada…Ya’know Peter got this, too. What fairy tale doesn’t? Are you going Jungian on me?

Ben Peters: The groaning is a cry that we, the children of God, would take up our positions on top of these mountains. May we (as princes and princesses of the King) receive from Him the faith and courage to rise up out of our comfort zones. Then through the authority of the Holy Spirit, in divine unity, we confront and conquer the kings on these mountains, exposing corruption and replacing it with righteous justice.

Tony Robinson: When I watch a religious TV show or listen to some personal testimonies, it seems that after meeting Jesus everything is better. “Jesus came into my life and now business is great, my wife and I are super in love, and the kids, who were on drugs, are getting straight A’s. Thank you, Jesus.”

Journal (in “Monogram” 7 Apr 17): By the time I was done, I was DONE! I closed down the computer. There had been this sense of Chuck sitting on his “sanctuary” of Time and Brat gave him grace space in the life cycle of the fairy tale. Meanwhile the angels were sitting where Jesus’ body used to be in the empty tomb. (Jn 20:12) So why is he still standing around? There were two angels in Jesus’ empty tomb. One was seated where Jesus’ head had been and one at His feet. (v 12) In a prophetic overlay, Pastor John Tolle has been wrestling with the mind of Christ and I’ve been sitting at Jesus’ feet. So, what is stopping Chuck from coming to Crosstown Church to remove Lazarus’ grave cloths just as the angels did of Jesus?

Acts 1:¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Chuck? Why do you stand there looking into the sky?

Microsoft Rewards: Kathryn, look up! It’s happening tonight.

Tony Robinson: It may be that way for some people. But I’m struck by what happened to the blind beggar, in John 9, who was touched and healed by Jesus. He got healed and his neighbors no longer knew him. His parents disowned him. And he was kicked out of the church. If he’d given a testimony it might have been, “Yes, I was healed by Jesus and my life turned into a mess. People I’d known for a long time acted as if they didn’t know me, my family didn’t want anything to do with me, and the authorities threatened to arrest me.”

Pastor John Tolle: The Bible doesn’t sugar coat the events of the week. Nor does it whitewash the disastrous character flaws of Jesus’ followers – their pride . . . their self-reliance . . . their bravado . . . all crumbled in the face of Jesus last days. They’d miserably failed him on his journey to the cross. And so do we. Yet he calls us.

Brat: Someone had just warned us this week about being on the alert, that we were being targeted for character assassination.

Jennifer LeClaire: Just as we find authentic apostles in the New Testament, Paul made it plain there were false apostles in his day—and there are still false apostles in our day. We’ll start our study exploring 2 Corinthians 11. Note that just because someone has poor character does not make them a false minister, but false ministers have poor character.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Foursquare General Supervisor Tammy Dunahoo knows there is a special reason Jesus chose Mary Magdalene to be the first to see Him after His resurrection and to go and tell the others what she had seen.

Quinn G. Caldwell: God doesn’t need you to be in the public eye; God needs you to be the light that lets it see. If you knew God needed you not just to not be a public embarrassment, but to enlighten the world by the way you live your life, what would you do differently today?

Jennifer LeClaire: Discerning the difference between a true and false apostle is not complicated. Since Scripture clearly tells us that Paul is our apostolic model (see 1 Cor. 4:16), we can use his surrendered life as our standard. Here are six signs that a man or woman who claims apostolic leadership is actually a dangerous influence in the church.

Brat: Pardon the interruption. Pastor John Tolle said that St Paul did not feel he was in competition with others proclaiming Christ. He was just glad that Jesus was being lifted up.

Talitha Arnold: Let’s Tell the Truth This Holy Week

Tammy Dunahoo: Mary Magdalene, of all the people Jesus could have sent, of all the messengers he could have commissioned. A woman, when a woman’s witness was not considered credible—and not just any woman, one who had been known to have seven demons. What made her the one Jesus would choose to be His first witness of the resurrection?

Brat: After reading your piece from Holy Week, I remembered one that I’d written. I dug out that Reflection from eight years ago, one of the many that I’d written while I was still at St Patrick’s. I may have shared it with you. You said nothing. Nobody said anything.

Palm Sunday 2009—Kathryn Hauser’s Reflections on Mark 14:1-15:47

The Eucharist

Worshiping God is our relationship with God. A relationship with God starts in the heart. How we worship God is an indicator of where we put our attention. God Himself teaches us how to keep our eyes on Him, as we come to Him with our hearts. The woman with the expensive perfume had her total focus on Jesus. The others in the room had their focus on the potential for good deeds, giving to the poor, and wasted profits. And just as Jesus gave explicit instructions to the two disciples, who wanted to help prepare for the Passover meal, Christ has sent others before us to remind us how we prepare our hearts in worshiping God. This living, breathing relationship is a dynamic one. It starts with God drawing us to Himself. When we humble ourselves before God, we are changed. God helps us put our priorities in the right place, as we put Him first. The minute we take our eyes off Him, it is human nature to start finger-pointing at others’ betrayals and saying the same thing as the disciples, “Surely, not I.”

Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we say at the Table, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” I believe we are doing more than remembering in our minds and hearts what Christ did for us. Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are experiencing the flow of divine grace. One way of looking at divine grace is that of the mystical experience of the Holy Spirit reestablishing and recreating God’s covenant, or promise, of sharing of Himself personally with us in our everyday, ordinary lives. Bread and wine are ordinary. The Holy Spirit makes it extraordinary. The Eucharist cannot stay a simple ceremony of gestures, words, and rituals, because God infuses His own love and meaning into it, making it truly a celebration.

The Eucharistic flow is in the fabric of life itself: bless-break-share-bless. The blessing starts with God. We bring Him our brokenness in humbleness. Our broken hearts and wounded egos are soothed, healed, and restored to wholeness. He lifts us out of the pit of isolation. Forgiving others, forgiving self, and forgiving God for allowing the suffering, is an uplifting process. It is recurring and on-going, and integral to our human relationship with God. We cannot will ourselves to forgive. All we can do is lay our willfulness at Christ’s feet in humility of our humanness. God does the rest. He restores us by His grace. He restores us by His love. In gratitude for God’s loving-kindness, we reach out to others and share that grace. Others are blessed. The glory and blessing return back to God, from Whom it all started.

Bless-break-share-bless.

The Eucharist is not merely a reflection of God’s grace in our lives, but is the very holy presence of God in the grit of our lives.

Victoria Boyson: Then I realized why the enemy has tried so hard to keep women from the labor fields of revival. Satan will do or say anything to keep the elements of this harvest from coming together.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Pastor John Tolle: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? [Mathew 16:24-26]

Tony Robinson: I imagine his testimony might continue. “Yes, since meeting Jesus my life is harder in many ways. But, you know, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because now I see. I see how afraid many people are, how afraid I was. Afraid to tell the truth, afraid to live, afraid to take any risks. It’s like we’re blind. It makes me sad. But I don’t want to go back.”

Pastor John Tolle: Following Jesus was the hardest thing the early disciples had ever experienced. They didn’t want to be crucified. And it’s no different for us today.

Tammy Dunahoo: She was a recipient of firsthand knowledge by experience, one who received deeply of the love of her Savior, and it transformed her into one who stayed close to Him. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, Mary was never far away, so it’s quite fitting that she was near the cross mourning His suffering and there with spices to anoint His body after His death.

Pastor John Tolle: In following Jesus we come to really understand ourselves. We discover what we’re capable of . . . we come to know our limitations . . . our bad intentions . . . our limited strength . . . and so on. It’s only then that we come to the realization for our need to die.

Holy Monday 2009—Kathryn Hauser’s Reflections on John 12:1-11

Mary Anoints Jesus

Mary understood “Worship God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your body, and your spirit.” All of the parts of her Self that made up her “I am,” her identity, was totally present as she was anointing Jesus with the costly perfume. The where and how we worship is not important. It is Whom we worship that is important. God wants every part of us. The more we give Him our devotion and attention, the more opportunities He has to change, infuse, and transform the separate parts of ourselves into one integrated whole.

Mary poured the perfume on Jesus. She gave Him everything she had. And Jesus said that was more than enough, accepted the gift, and even went on to explain the purpose, the bigger picture, behind her simple act of worship. She was anointing Him for burial. We often don’t get explanations for the meaning behind our sufferings. When we come to God with everything we’ve got, we focus on God and not the answers to our questions. The grace of being able to focus on God at all comes from God Himself. It is His gift to us, to help us worship and adore Him. It is not something we have to “work” at, but instead stay open to receiving. Jesus shows us by example how to receive gifts. He saw Mary’s heart and honored her offering. Gracious acceptance is simple, but not easy, as we see played out in the bulk of the gospel. Manipulation, trickery, deception, ulterior motives, dishonesty, suspicion, and subversion, all threaten the simplistic beauty of hospitality–of sharing. God cuts through the mire by helping us to focus our attention back on Himself, the Source of hospitality.

Israel 365: Happy Passover “Chag Sameach” From Israel! ✡ “And I Delivered You”

Tammy Dunahoo: Finding His body missing from the tomb, she was in distress when He spoke gently to her. Thinking He was the gardener, she asked if He had carried Jesus’ body away, asking that He tell her where so she could get Him. There was a sad longing for the one she loved.

Tony Robinson: Being touched and blessed by Jesus may not mean our lives are suddenly successful, as society defines success. Jesus may make life harder, but in ways that matter. He gives us problems worth having. And when we experience hard things on his account, that is when we come to really know him.

Tammy Dunahoo: It’s then that she heard Him call her by name, “Mary,” that sweet sound she’d heard before. The voice of the one who spoke the word that set her free, the one who gave her worth and value, the one who taught her a new way of life and purpose. She was overwhelmed with joy and reached for Him, when He responded by instructing her not to cling to Him physically, but to go and tell His brothers (John 20:17).

Pastor John Tolle: At the core of my being, in my heart, there is a cross and a throne. I am on the throne of my heart until I purposely place Jesus there. Once Jesus is on the throne of my life, I have no other place to be but on the cross. That’s what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

Edie Bayer: Don’t get out of your seat! It is the adversary’s goal to get you up out of your heavenly seat, to get you out of position. Don’t do it! Use your seat belt, keep it buckled up, and stay seated with God in heavenly places!

Ben Peters: “Get ready! I will not tarry any longer. I will pour out the passion of My heart into every willing heart, and you will no longer worry about little things that have occupied your heart and mind. Embrace what I am doing. I will show mercy and favor to all who seek first My Kingdom and My righteousness. You will experience the joys of the harvest and the spoils of victory. Fear not the enemy nor the warfare. This is My battle! I cannot lose.”

2 Peter 3:12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

Tammy Dunahoo: The beauty of the Incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Christ and His effect on humanity are wonderfully portrayed in Mary’s story. God reveals himself in hiddenness, in the face of a perceived gardener. God is found among the suffering. When He engaged Mary, she was bound by the torment of the evil one, and God was known in her suffering. His love reaches downward to humanity; it does not ask us to reach up to Him.

Ben Peters: With a New Testament understanding, we know that the House of the Lord is made up of His people – living stones that provide a temple for God. This prophecy says that the mountain (exalted authority) of His house will be firmly planted on the tops of other mountains. God is saying that His people will rule over the other mountains to bring justice and righteousness to all. However, these mountains are currently under the control of ungodly rulers—although change has begun and the battles are getting fierce. No king easily surrenders his throne and neither will those who currently reign as kings on any of these mountains.

Pastor John Tolle: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. [Galatians 2:20]

Ben Peters: Early Church leaders used spiritual gifts to defeat their enemies, including those on religious and political mountains. The victories and miracles we will see in the near future will far exceed what was seen in the early Church. The battle-lines are now being drawn. We must take these mountains for God and His Kingdom.
Are we ready for the battle? Let every warrior of Christ respond with a hearty, “Bring it on!” and “Count me in!”

Megan Imbres: “Mt. Everest or Motherhood?”

Ryan LeStrange (10 Apr 17): My Monday Word for You…Announcement is Upon You (Prophetic Insight)

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Isaiah’s prophecy of the upcoming salvation of the people against their enemies is combined with a prophecy of the birth of a child. Judging from the context of the prophecy, Isaiah appears to be referring to the righteous king Hezekiah, whom tradition credits with educating all the children of Israel about the intricacies of God’s laws. Over the last three chapters, Isaiah has combined prophecies of redemption with announcements of upcoming births. This signifies that even if the present may seem difficult, the future will always be brighter.

Brat: We already have the intricacies of God’s laws. Where’s the compassion? Where’s the mercy? We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. How we love our neighbors says a lot about how much we love ourselves. If we neglect our neighbors, how does that make God feel? Church? Where are you?

Rick Joyner: So what about the gray areas where we are not sure? That’s why we’re told in places like John 10 how important it is to know the Lord’s voice. Throughout the Old Testament, which addressed so much of the daily behavior of His people, when there was an exhortation to obey the Lord’s commandments, “and heed His voice” would be added. The Bible does not, and could not, contain instructions for everything, and if it did, then the New Testament would be another law. We must know the voice of the Lord too, and obey His voice.

Tammy Dunahoo: The message He is sending through this unexpected witness is remarkable. I believe it was the first announcement being made of a new day, a new way of being, a new world. Jesus had been radical in His life’s teachings, and now He is radical in passing it on through others. And I don’t know about you, but as another unexpected witness, I am so grateful. Let’s go and tell!

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Palm Sunday is normally the weekend we celebrate Tenebrae at Lighthouse Church. This weekend we celebrated the return of Christ by reminding ourselves of an incredible day that is to come. Jesus WILL return and when He does it will be heaven for eternity for ALL who are ready for His return. The scripture admonishes us to “stay awake,” and be “dressed in our serving clothes.” Serving in the mission of Jesus while we are on earth is ALL our responsibility. I’m grateful for our Church and Team Lighthouse that serves in our ministries so we can “fill our world with the character and ministry of Jesus.”

Ben Peters: God has been awakening and training His Church to use powerful spiritual weapons to conquer these mountains. They are not carnal, but mighty through God to pull down strongholds (see 2 Cor. 10:4,5). Jeremiah was given a similar charge: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down; to destroy and to throw down; to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:9,10).

Ayodeji Awosika: One night, I got so drunk I decided to pick a fight with someone I shouldn’t have picked a fight with. To this day, I don’t even remember what the guy looks like, but I do remember my eye socket being the size of a tennis ball the next day.

Quinn G. Caldwell: Well, Isaiah says God’s hoping for a lot more from you than just good public manners. Isaiah says God’s given you—you!—as a light to the nations. You’re to be the beacon fire on the mountaintop. The searchlight on the rescue helicopter. The torch in the Statue of Liberty’s hand.

Brat (in “Blow Out” on 2 Apr 17): When I was very little and used to bite, my Mom would say, “Use your words.” When I was a teenager and used to bite, my Mom would say, “Use your words.” I say, let’s use their words to the glory of GOD!

Nate Johnston: I believe we are on the cusp of our final moments in taking down the strongholds we have been warfaring against. I have felt the weakening of the assault because when the enemy is tired he throws everything he can at you, but much like a worn fighter that has lost his speed, agility, and precision it doesn’t land and only reveals his hand.

Quinn G. Caldwell: If you’re like most of us, you make a bit more of an effort on days when you’re going out than on ones you plan to spend on the couch. If you’re like most of us, you say things to your family when you’re safe inside your house, and say them in a way, that you would never say in public.

Me to Jo: I realized I haven’t shared my writings with you lately. I went back into them and pulled out the latest flurry.

Rabbi Tuly Weisz: My Personal Wishes for a Blessed Passover and a Special Appeal

Brat: Hah! The sound of the flurry!

[Narrator: She laughs at her own jokes, compliments of Faulkner.]

Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin: In between scrubbing their stoves, mopping their floors, grinding their Maror (bitter herbs), setting their tables, and preparing their children’s Haggadahs, these selfless men and women are summoned continuously by the buzz of their email:

Quinn G. Caldwell: If you knew everybody was watching, what would you do differently? If the world could see what you were doing right now, how would it change what you were up to?

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: And it was told the house of David, saying: ‘Aram is confederate with Efraim.’ And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind. [Isaiah 7:2]

Brat: I guess I’m only making my own wind. The Church goes on making her own cupboards. The Church doesn’t hear the Sound and the Fury. She doesn’t hear the Sound and the furry. No, I take that back. She does hear Kitty Paw and Kitty Purr. She coughs up her own fur balls. Pastor John is leading us this Lent through what Jesus went through. I don’t know how to pray for him.

Ben Peters: Sometimes our mission is so top secret that we don’t even know what we’re praying about, but God does. We can bring about major change and transformation without knowing we had anything to do with it. It’s God’s brilliant way of keeping us humble.

Lana Vawser: “It’s Time for the Winds of Destiny to Arrive”

Chuck D. Pierce: “I am sending the ‘Hei’ winds to blow through the paradox. These winds will also blow through you and through the nations. I am shifting and overturning, and causing My people to emerge in the right position to lead the forward charged in warfare.”

Beth Herr: Zoo

Kat Kerr: Revealing Heaven: An Eyewitness Account

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Last week, the Israeli police prevented the nascent Sanhedrin from holding their annual reenactment of the Passover sacrifice in an area adjacent to the Temple Mount. The event was moved at the last moment to an area inside the Jewish Quarter, and was attended by hundreds, including Likud Member of Knesset, Rabbi Yehudah Glick. The reenactment was performed by Kohanim (men of the priestly caste) wearing authentic garments as mandated by Torah law, and using vessels and musical instruments specifically prepared for use in the Thurd Temple by the Temple Institute.

Monk: Is this a thurd roast? Be kind!

Brat (echo): Matthew 2:18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Doug Addison & Jennifer LeClaire: “Reap Where You Weep – It’s Payback Time”

Beth Herr: Then, later in the same meeting, as Danny was sharing, I heard the word ZOO. It just dropped on me out of nowhere. What? I had no idea what it meant. Even with my best imagination, I had NO idea where the Lord was going with it, assuming it was the Lord. I pondered it, but I can’t get an interpretation until He is ready. Then, a little while later, He dropped this. The church is the ZOO. Wow. Ok, then. There was a lot in that statement to unpacked. I knew it was the Lord because this isn’t anything I had ever thought but it made complete sense when I heard it.

Brat: From six years ago…

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for The Reign of Christ Sunday 2011

Holy Zoo

The First Lesson [in this week’s lectionary readings] talks about how the Lord God Himself will search for His sheep and seek them out. (Ez 34:11) He will rescue His sheep, gathering and feeding them (v 12), being their Shepherd (v 15), healing and nurturing and reestablishing justice (v 16). To do that, He has to sort them. In the Gospel Lesson Jesus picks up this theme.

Mt 25:33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

I notice that in Revelation (and Ezekiel Chapter 1), where the Four Living Creatures are described, neither sheep nor goats are mentioned:

Rev 4:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

I looked at their characteristics:

Lions are known for their courage, sense of family, strength, energy, vigilance, and as being guardians and protectors.

The Ox is known for his steadfastness, power, strength, sacrifice, and self-denial for the good of others.

Man is a mixed bag of extremes, but there is always room for choosing dignity, honor, and respect.

The Eagle represents the Divine Spirit we have within; connection to Creator, ascension, intelligence, renewal, courage, illumination of spirit, sacrifice, healing, creation, freedom, justice, and risk-taking.

Then I looked back again at the animals from today’s lessons:

Goat is known for his surefootedness, stubbornness, independence, diligence, being naturally curious, as well as for his lack of foresight; (ie, brilliant, but no common sense.)

Ram is known for being stoic, majestic, sensitive, persevering, curious, and bullish.

And the Sheep?

I looked up Native American lore.[1] Amazingly, in my research I never did find Sheep or lamb listed on any totem charts, but I did find out that the domesticated sheep dates back 11,000 years to Iraq.[2] I was further able to find information on sheep behavior in the animal husbandry section. Susan Schoenian defined behavior as “an animal’s response to its environment.”[3] Within this definition it is understandable that sheep are best known for their strong flocking (herding) and for following instinct. In contrast, since goats are naturally curious and independent, they are less likely to follow (unless they think it is their own idea.) Ezekiel 34:2 describes the ram’s behavior:

Ez 34:21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,

34:22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

Later on in the same article, Susan Schoenian shows differences between ram and goat fighting behavior. She says, “In a fight, a ram will back up and charge to butt heads. A goat will rear up on his hind legs and come down forcibly to butt heads. This fighting behavior favors the ram.” The topic of comparing sheep and goats fascinated me, so I sniffed along the trail some more. I found out that sheep and goats have similar nutrient requirements, though goats have slightly higher maintenance requirements, as they are usually a smaller animal (by weight).[4] It turns out that goats and sheep are similar, although goats have 60 chromosomes and sheep have 54.[5] In their foraging behaviors goats prefer to eat the tops of plants and sheep prefer to graze close to the soil surface. (Notice how that mirrors the spiritual foraging people do. The intelligent typically stay in their heads at the tops of contemplation, and the flock prefers to stay close to the surface. That’s not a judgment. That’s a style; a way of being.) And here are more similarities: “A sheep that is reluctant to get up is probably in pain. A sheep takes a long time to lay down is probably in pain. A sheep that cannot relax is under stress. Teeth grinding is another common sign of pain in sheep.” One slight difference between goats and sheep is that sheep need their wool to be sheared annually, where most goats do not require shearing or combing. As I compared and contrasted the differences and similarities between goats and sheep, I was hard-pressed to figure out what the issue was that made them so radically different that Jesus would make a point of separating them. Ezekiel just looked at sheep, emphasizing the distinction between fat sheep from lean sheep from ram-like butting sheep. (Ez 34:16, 20, 21, 22) I sat and held the lectionary passages in openness and let the Holy Spirit interweave Her breath into them.

As I sat looking at this heavenly zoo, I wondered what was going on beneath the metaphors. Sometimes God speaks literally, and other times metaphorically. So I thought I’d take a moment to share my process with you. I asked myself, “How do I know God is speaking?” I looked at the passage itself. Ezekiel 34:11 starts off with “For thus says the Lord GOD…” In Old Testament Books the authors frequently will specifically insert,

“–It is Yahweh who speaks–”

so there will be no confusion on His promises. In today’s Gospel lesson on ‘The Last Judgment’ it is Jesus Himself who is speaking. How did I know He was speaking in metaphor? I looked at what was being compared and the spirit imbedded in it. In the Book of Revelation, John is taken in Spirit before the throne of God. (Rev 4:2) While in the Spirit, he sees the Four Living Creatures and describes them employing a poetic tool called simile, where comparisons are made using “like” or “as.” In Ezekiel 34:12 he starts off with “as:”

“As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will…”

In Matthew 25:32 Jesus continues the comparison with “as:”

“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,”

In Revelation 1:13 John saw someone “like” the son of man:

¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

My humble apologies if this is starting to sound like a high school grammar lesson on simile and metaphor, but laying the groundwork for establishing how I am discerning what I am reading seemed important. Once I know that God is speaking metaphorically, then I can look deeper at what the underlying message is below the metaphor.

I asked myself, “Who are the characters?” Characters have characteristics. I reviewed:

Sheep—unite together in the flock

Goats—intelligent and curious

Rams—butting bullies

Extending the list to the Four Living Creatures in Revelation and Ezekiel:

Lion—courageous guardian of the family

Ox—steadfast

Man—dignified

Eagle—carries wisdom and justice (cf Rev 12:14 “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,…”)

Characteristics are qualities of the spirit. They fundamentally don’t change, although at various times in the journey we draw on certain qualities more than others. Since God is not talking about separating people one from another based on their characteristics (Mt 25:32), then I wondered why He would put the sheep at His right hand and the goats at the left. (v 33) Then I realized it was not the character itself God was referring to but the action taken from within the root of character. Since goats are naturally curious and intelligent, their actions would reflect this. The sheep don’t necessarily know. The sheep are not dumb. They are just following each other on instinct; plus there is protection in the herd. The rams are too busy being bullies to care. They have hormones and body chemistry dictating their behaviors. So I wondered what was the behavioral distinction between goats and sheep? As I kept reading the article on sheep and goat behavior, the sentence almost knocked me off my chair:

“Goats will seek shelter more readily than sheep. Neither likes to get their feet wet and both prefer upland grazing to lowland.”

What leapt off the page at me was the word “shelter.” Shelter was what Jesus did not get during His life. Yes, God Himself protected Christ and sent generous people (mostly women) to fund His ministry. However, in relationship to fellow humans, Jesus was born facing “no room at the inn,” (Lk 2:7) and as He was dying on the cross, He died bequeathing care of His own mother to His best friend. (Jn 19:27) In reality there was no sanctuary in His life. He was completely dependent on God to meet His every single need. Shelter is a one-word concept for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Basic Needs, like food, water, clothing, companionship, and the very things Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel passage from Matthew 25:31-46. Another word for shelter: sanctuary. [Think Quasimodo and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.] The curious and intelligent are wilier about how they get those basic needs met. God’s “Last Judgment” [deliberately in quotes] is not an evaluation of how we meet our own needs, but in the action of sharing with others. Is that not the last judgment, the ultimate, the last straw, the proof of our character, no matter what chapter we are in within our developmental cycles of growing up, whether as individuals or societies? We are judged by what we do (or do not do.) Actions speak louder than words in every century.

Over the last 3 ½ years in this dance in which the ‘Seven Churches’ and I have been involved, (but we’re not talking about), the curious and intelligent knew (deep inside themselves kind of knowing, they knew) God had sent a miracle in their midst, and they did nothing. I was divinely sent to engage the clergy, the religious, and the biblically educated. In the end they were the “goats” who separated themselves from the “sheep” (the ordinary flock.) Deep in their hearts and souls they knew that I am Christ’s ambassador bride and they did NOTHING. They knew I am a member of the King’s family:

Mt 25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

I was hungry (famished!) for spiritual food and the religious gave me no engagement or encouragement.

I was thirsty and parched for spiritual hydration and they said and did nothing.

I was a stranger in their midst and they did not welcome me.

I was naked in my vulnerability and they gave me no comfort.

I was heart-sick (and sometimes physically sick) in the isolation chamber of “Let’s Not Talk About It,” and they did not visit me.

25:45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

I WAS “one of the least of these” and the religious offered me no sanctuary, comfort, or companionship on any front, especially now toward the end of this journey/growth cycle. The clearer I am, the more silence and distancing ensues.

What’s left to judge?

Pastor John Tolle: During Jesus’ time on earth shepherding sheep was a common occupation. For us today, our under-standing of shepherding is very limited or non-existent. Most simply think of a shepherd as a caretaker. However, he was much more. He was a guide and leader, a hunter and veterinarian, and a fierce warrior-defender.

Nate Johnston: The phrase or proverb “it is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back”, describes the seemingly minor or routine action which causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction. But what I felt from the dream was that the coach was saying “You got this, you’ve already worn him down, now go finish this!”

Lana Vawser: As I watched God’s people approach the throne, some boldly, some with heavy hearts, some afraid, some with their heads down, some ran towards Him; but no matter which category, I saw Jesus running towards them to meet them. Such love, such acceptance, such joy, such adoration and such excitement filled His eyes. There are no words to adequately describe the joy in His eyes and absolute delight in His people.

Rabbi Tuly Weisz: Greetings from Israel during one of the most special weeks of the year, when the nation of Israel celebrates our festival of redemption. On Passover we commemorate our thanks to God and joyfully sing His praises as we remember what the Lord did for our ancestors long ago in Egypt. Yet, not every Israeli family can enjoy the Passover holiday, as many needy Jews suffer in poverty today in the Holy Land.

Nate Johnston: Watch for the unexpected release from bondages, debt, sickness, and messy situations this week as that final blow takes down what has been stealing your hope and joy for far too long.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: After describing the upcoming Assyrian invasion, the prophet takes steps to ensure that a small remnant of believers in God’s salvation will remain. He goes so far as to name his children with names of hope and promise, as signs that the redemption will come. Isaiah points to the fact that God’s Divine Presence continues to reside on Mount Zion. Regarding the Temple and Jerusalem the Sages stated, “even though it is destroyed it still possesses its holiness.” This means that God will never abandon His land or His people. Instead, He remains with His Children even while in exile, and guarantees that He will redeem them at the right time (Deuteronomy 30:3-5).

Tony Robinson: Prayer
When you open my eyes to see by the light of your truth and grace, Lord, grant me the courage to keep ’em open. Amen.

Talitha Arnold: Tragically this holy time for Christians has historically been a time of holy terror for our Jewish brothers and sisters. A good friend, now in his 80’s, remembers as an Orthodox boy in Brooklyn how his mother kept him indoors on Good Friday to keep him safe from the Christian boys who prowled his neighborhood after their noontime service, looking for Jewish boys to beat up for “killing Christ.”

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day (Holy Monday, April 10, 2017) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

Talitha Arnold: Jewish-Christian relations have changed, thank God, in the last decades, but as Christians, we still need to pay attention to how we tell the story of Holy Week. Today’s text that begins with the religious leaders’ plot to kill Jesus is a good example. “Chief priests and scribes” are distinctly Jewish terms. Yet the leaders wanted Jesus dead not because they were Jewish, but because they were in power, he threatened that power, and they were afraid. Such fear is not limited to a particular ethnic or religious group. They plotted against him because they were human, not because they were Jewish.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: “Despite all the difficulties, every year we come closer to the glory that was once in the Jewish Temple and, God willing, will return to Israel,” Rabbi Weiss said. “There is clearly an awakening as more people become connected to the Temple Mount and the reenactments of the Temple ceremonies.”

Talitha Arnold: The New Testament scholar and civil rights advocate Clarence Jordan understood that. In his “Cottonpatch Gospel,” Jordan translates “chief priests and scribes” as “denominational executives and secretaries.” Ouch.

Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin: Also, if you are unable or do not want to contribute, we fully understand. These solicitations are purely elective for those able to help. Please do not hesitate to use our services!

Doug Addison: Right now, the books in Heaven are being balanced and those who have sown in tears in this past season are now going to begin to reap with joy. Those who have wept before the Lord, carrying the words of the Lord, are now going to return with songs of joy and sheaves from the harvest. You are going to weep for joy as you are going to reap from your weeping.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Then said the LORD unto Yeshayahu: ‘Go forth now to meet Achaz, thou, and Shear Yashuv thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers’ field; [Isaiah 7:3]

Brat: What is a Fuller?

Wikipedia: Fulling, also known as tucking or walking, is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker.

Vince Amlin: When I can’t seem to catch a break. When I get through one challenge only to find an even larger one on the other side. When I am completely empty and asked to give a little bit more.

Doug Addison: The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. Psalm 125:3-4 NIV

Lana Vawser: The Lord is really highlighting the throne room right now. There is a significant increase happening right now in the Body of Christ, where He is releasing greater throne room encounters. These throne room encounters with Jesus are bringing a great refreshment to those who are weary and discouraged.

Ayodeji Awosika: I wrote this book because if even just one of you accepts the call, it means I’ve used my time on this earth well.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Israeli Police raided the homes of seven Jews who had declared their intent to bring the Passover lamb sacrifice in Jerusalem, and arrested another 17 on their way to sacrifice lambs.

Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Rabbi Yehudah Glick, an activist for universal prayer on the Temple Mount and a Likud Member of Knesset, was in attendance.

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley: Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me shall be for signs and for wonders in Yisrael from the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Tzion. [Isaiah 8:18]

Chuck D. Pierce: “This is a season of asymmetrical warfare. I will move My people in an unconventional way that neither you nor the enemy can expect. This is a time when warfare will take on a whole new expression. So let Me move every and any part of you that I activate in this season. This is a time for unconventional warfare!” (Chuck D. Pierce, Marty Cassady, Tobias Lyons, Lisa Lyons, Anne Tate, Janice Swinney, Brian Kooiman)

Talitha Arnold: Prayer
Thank you, God, for this Holy Week and for the truth this journey helps us to tell.

Brat: Lord? Does this mean You are washing our robes? You are doing laundry?

Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

Ayodeji Awosika: See, our stories are intertwined. Helping you, helps me. I’m on a mission to open the eyes of as many people as possible. I know it’s more than possible to turn your life around and start a rewarding journey.

Pastor John Tolle: The sheep knew the voice of their shepherd and followed his gentle and decisive leadership because he knew where his sheep needed to go and just how easily they could go astray. Jesus even tells a story of a wayward sheep in Matthew 18:12-14 and how the shepherd hunted for the lost sheep until he found it. Great rejoicing took place when the lost sheep was found and returned to the flock.

Lana Vawser: As I watched, many of God’s people were entering into these encounters with Him in the throne room in worship—through visions, prophetic dreams, visitations—I watched as they “entered in” and they were walking through the most beautiful, crystal clear waterfall. I looked around and saw all the walls were like rushing waters with jewels of every color of the rainbow and as far as the eye could see. So many things made of gold, the purest form of gold I have ever seen. There was a red carpet leading up to the throne and they were lined with rose petals, representing He is the Rose of Sharon, and the deeper level of divine romance of His love upon the people of God.

[1] http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-totems2.html

[2] http://www.animaltotem.com/store.html?wc=74

[3] http://www.sheep101.info/201/behavior.html

[4] http://www.sheep101.info/sheepandgoats2.htm

[5] ibid

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Announcement 02 Apr 17

2 Apr

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 to Sunday, April 2, 2017

By: Kathryn Hauser

[19 pages]

Preface: Last night we had a circuit blow out while I was writing on the computer. It looked serious. I feared I’d lost everything. I almost didn’t get to share this piece. God was good and the work was miraculously saved. Thank You, God!

Breaking Israel News: Letters to God Are Cleared From Kotel Before Passover

Shmuel-Simcha Treister: The Zohar teaches that all of a person’s divine service should be performed in joy.

Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 12:09 pm Journal: Parked by the freeway. I have the biggest grin on my face and I couldn’t wipe it off if I wanted to! Yippee! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve felt this kind of sustained joy. Something is new, though, about this exploding joy that I have never felt before. This joy is somehow about partnership.…

[Announcer: We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for this very important announcement.]

Monk: Say what?

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: God again performs a miracle with human partnership and through using what already exists in nature. Thus, this miracle emanates from existing oil and continues only for as long as jugs are brought. [II Kings 4:3] David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, famously said that in Israel one must believe in miracles to be a realist. Indeed, there is no logical reason that the State of Israel exists at all, let alone as a strong and vibrant nation. It is only due to God’s miracles, which He attaches to the great efforts of many human beings, that Israel is here to bring blessing to all the world.

Anna Blake: When philosophers consider the nature of God and the metaphysics of the universe, surely they must consider the central position that horses hold. If they don’t, we know they’ve fallen short of the thing artists have known since the time of cave paintings; it was always about humans and horses.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And they broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a draught-house, unto this day. ~ II Kings 10:27

Brat: Pastor Gary Dunahoo said something about being drunk in the Spirit.

Personal From Rabbi Tuly Weisz: My Visit to the UN

Brat (28 Mar 17): Today I prayed for two hours for the healing of the nations as I sat inside Jubilee Church. They have the flags of the nations hanging around the perimeter of the church inside the sanctuary. On Sunday I was anointed with oil to stand in the gap and pray for others.

Breaking Israel News: Rabbi Tuly Weisz Prays at UN Podium: World Leaders Should Recognize Truth of Bible

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: While God requires of only the Jewish people to keep the Torah’s many commandments, He expects the entire world to follow the Noahide laws. Included in these laws are renouncing idolatry and serving the Lord exclusively. He has no tolerance for idolatry, which brings with it such sins as human sacrifice, especially in the Land of Israel. In fact, engaging in idol worship results in exile from the Land (see for example Deuteronomy 29:23-27). Furthermore, there is a commandment to destroy idol worship found in the Holy Land. God has made clear that there can be no tolerance for idolatry in the “Palace of the King,” particularly when it ensnares the hearts of the Children of Israel.

Kris Vallotton: Of course there are false prophets, false signs and wonders, demonic trances, demonic tongues, etc., but the devil only counterfeits things that are valuable! Nobody ever counterfeited a penny or a dollar bill; it’s just too much work for very little impact. But in their zeal to not be deceived, some Christians take anything that is counterfeited and assign it to the New Age movement; consequently, what’s left is a powerless church. Paul warned Timothy about these people when he said, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come…people will “hold to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” (2 Timothy 3:1, 5)

Pastor John Tolle: We continue yesterday’s episode of the disciples being out of sorts over the storm that they were experiencing while Jesus wasn’t worried about it at all. He was confidently resting. It’s at this point we need to notice something very important in the text of scripture. When they set out on their journey, Jesus made a definitive declaration, “Let us cross over to the other side.” [Mark 4:35]

Phyllis Ford: This Passover marks a major turning point for government, the Church, and our nations at large. Just as we see seeds firmly planted in the ground arise in the spring, we will see an uncovering of much that has been operating underneath the surface. This is a good thing, because that which is exposed and brought to light shall be removed.

Lee Strobel: Was Jesus’ Death on the Cross Faked?

Prophet Rene Picota: Normally, I charge $47 to do these calls.

Matthew 28:15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Journal (26 Mar 17): … Pastor John Tolle got the message in what I posted on Facebook with Jennifer LeClaire’s outline in how to test apostles. [Rev 2:2]

Pastor John Tolle: Jesus spoke up and said to Simon, “I have something to say to you.”

Rene Picota: This is for you only.

Jennifer LeClaire: I pray that the Lord would sharpen your discernment in these last days, to recognize these deceitful workers; to avoid labeling the false as true and the true as false; and to rightly divide the word of truth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Brat: This false apostle that Ephesus ferreted out [Rev 2:2] is seemingly dead: “Er ist tot.”

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day (01 Apr 17): [ Psalm 14 ] [ For the director of music. Of David. ] The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. ~ Psalm 14:1 (NIV)

Karen Hardin (27 Mar 17): Abigail (her name means one who brings joy) saw her husband’s foolishness and recognized that her entire household was now in danger because Nabal had withheld the blessing. She responded immediately in wisdom and instructed the servants to load down the donkeys with the best of her provisions—a provision fit for a king. She was in fact, by this provision, prophetically declaring what was to come as she honored David with honor befitting a king. She saw into the future while her husband saw only his own kingdom and self.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. (~ II Kings 7:7)

Monk: Did you said, “Tot”? As vaporous as whappy fumes? Do you smell something?

Johnny Enlow: Hoards of Hell have protected purveyors of high level darkness involved in all sorts of tawdry acts and deeds and it is now time for that cover to be blown. It will not make for a pretty sight but it is a needed step in the overall throngs of reformation that are now gripping our nation.

Tsivya Fox: The guide told Rabbi Weisz that an overwhelming number of UN employees are vehemently anti-Israel, but she and a small group of others meet each week to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And all Yisrael shall make lamentation for him, and bury him; for he only of Yerovam shall come to the grave; because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD, the God of Yisrael, in the house of Yerovam. ~ (1 Kings 14:13)

Pastor John Tolle: They really believed they were going to die. But they’d forgotten his start-of-the-trip speech . . . “we’re going to the other side.”

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: The enemies of Israel miraculously flee, abandoning their entire camp. There have been times in State of Israel’s history where the enemy fled before engaging the Israeli Defense Forces. A famous example was during the Six Day War when IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren and his driver single handedly captured the Holy City of Hebron. When they drove into Hebron, mistakenly thinking IDF soldiers were already there, they were greeted with a city full of white flags and empty of soldiers. God’s miracles are always in evidence among the soldiers of Israel.

Pastor John Tolle: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. [John 15:13 (NKJV)]

Phyllis Ford: When a major shift takes place in our lives, we are presented with a new beginning. Where there is death of the flesh there is a wellspring of new life and resurrection. As we focus on the new life, the pain of death breaks off of us, allowing us the chance to embrace new joy in the resurrection.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And Jehoiada the Kohen took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the Mizbayach, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD; and the kohanim that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. ~ II Kings 12:10

Katie Barker: “I am breaking strongholds of the enemy and recompensing My people for what has been stolen. As My people align their hearts and will with Mine, surrender afresh and put their faith in Me I will bring healing and freedom. With this freedom will come a peace and hope they have not known before.

Pastor John Tolle: Father God, just as I have been loved, accepted, and forgiven, may my heart do the same to those who have failed. In Jesus’ name!

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: According to Jewish law, money that is designated to be used for the purposes of the Temple is endowed with a special status and must be used for its intended purpose. In the Holy Temple, it is necessary to make sure that funds that are donated are properly secured and then distributed for care of the Temple and communal offerings. Even without a Holy Temple, we are required to make sure that we are completely honest in our financial dealing, and that money is used for its intended purpose.

Tsivya Fox: Rabbi Weisz concluded his visit in the General Assembly Hall, where he proudly held high The Israel Bible at the very podium from which so much anti-Israel venom spews forth. “I offered a prayer that these so called world leaders would submit themselves to the one book that honors the God, the people and the Land of Israel, the Bible,” smiled Rabbi Weisz. “I pray that our efforts bring about the day when the leaders of the world gather, not to deny God, but to unite together and recognize the One, True God of Israel.”

Israel 365: What’s Your Hebrew Name? ✡ “He Counts the Number of Stars”

Revelation 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

Phyllis Ford: This also empowers us to do many things like reviving that which has been cheated out of life. There are those who have been in a death-like state and have been driven to give up on the promises of God, but the Lord said that they have been “cheated out of life.” Know that the Lord is going to empower the humble so that they might be restored.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: God is not yet ready to destroy Judah, due to the promise that He had made to King David to give him an eternal kingdom. The Hebrew word used for kingdom in this verse is ‘nir,’ which can also mean a light or a lamp (from the word ‘ner,’ which means candle). The kingdom of David is intended to give eternal light to the entire Nation of Israel, and by extension the entire world. Even in the absence of a kingdom, the knowledge that God will eventually return the kingship to David through the Messiah is a source of light and hope to all.

Malachi 2:¹¹Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. ¹²As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.

Lance Wallnau: Dismantling the Spirit of Political Correctness

Katie Barker: These vines represented incorrect mindsets that were stopping the person from seeing God as He truly is and seeing themselves as God sees them. Jesus breathed over them and they were filled with life, peace, hope, joy and freedom. They were transformed by the touch of Jesus. I then saw them being given new garments by Jesus which represented new spiritual positions and new levels of spiritual authority.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: What’s plagiarism? A refusal to acknowledge your Source, the Original Contributor. Plagiarism is acting like you’re the author. Plagiarism is acting like you’re the authority. Denying your dependence, acting independent, refusing to acknowledge your gratitude. It’s illegal.

Anna Blake: Dishonesty, hidden agendas, and unknown resources all become creative license for a writer. We plot the word-to-action disconnect and get to weave in the questions we want to ponder along the way to the ending we choose. We’re all gods in our writing.

Brat: I suppose that stands to reason.

John 10:³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? [Isa 41:23] ³⁵If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?

Brat: The Greeks wrote their stories of mythology, but St Paul set them straight on the One True God (not Zeus.)

Monk: I guess that holds for Dr Seuss, too.

Acts 17:²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

Isaiah 41:²¹“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
²²“Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
²³ tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
²⁴But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.

Brat: I keep writing and sharing when and where God tells me. My audience is the Church. I’m blessed if I get one or two “hits” a month (according to the stats.) Anyone else would have given up on this assignment years ago. But I’m called. God called me. I didn’t call myself.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: But G-d is also calling to the person who sees themselves as lacking in accomplishments, the one who is not a fighter. For this person the call is like stretching out a helping hand. Don’t ever give up! No matter how desperate the situation might seem, it is always in your strength to pull yourself up and out of from darkness to light. (Farbrengens of 1982, vol. 2, p. 1107)

Binyomin Adilman: The Midrash, however, interprets the verse to give us a deeply challenging insight. “Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them, when a person from you will offer up a sacrifice to G‑d….” G‑d wants us, not just our sacrifices. Every sacrifice had to be accompanied by genuine repentance before it was accepted…

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: The thing that gets God most angry, the root of all godlessness and wickedness of men, the Bible says, is ingratitude. That’s in Romans 1:21. Ingratitude is the root of everything bad. It’s the heart of things. It’s the number one killer. You don’t think so? Look-even at the human level. When you write a paper, and you use a lot of scholarship and sources, and you don’t cite your sources, you get into trouble. What’s it called? Plagiarism.

Brat: How can it be plagiarism when you guys speak your own words?

Malachi 2: ¹⁵Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

Brat: Look! Jesus sent His angel to the Churches. (Rev 22:16) Even angels cite their sources. Both good and bad angels know their scriptures and The Source! The Bible is a living Source, because God is the Living Word.

James 2:¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Brat: I have my writings, which reveal my faith. Writing, praying, and sharing are deeds putting faith in action. I lift up Jesus.

Pastor John Tolle: It’s easy to ignore or forget this truth as evidenced by a group of religious leaders who paraded a sinful woman in front of their gathered group demanding that Jesus agree that she needed to be stoned. Pointed fingers of accusation revealed their hardened hearts and minds. And so intent on bringing justice to this adulterer and society, they failed to take into account their own sinfulness. They really couldn’t handle Jesus.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: The Hebrew word ‘mashiach’ means “anointed one.” In Judaism, kings and high priests are to be anointed with oil, which symbolizes their designation for their holy positions. In Hebrew, the Messiah is referred to as the ‘Mashiach,’ as he will be a king who is anointed for this holiest of roles. He will lead the Jewish People and bring peace and justice to the entire world. We pray for, and eagerly await his coming each and every day.

Pastor John Tolle: Before you think Jesus was soft on crime, the eternal type, keep in mind that He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. [1 Peter 2:24]

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: Daat is in the middle channel of the tree of the sefirot and is able to “unite” the right and left sides – mercy and judgment – respectively.

Brat: An’ daat’s duh Truth!

Katie Barker: Matthew 3:11 tells us Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. When we receive Jesus’ baptism we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit that sets us apart to minister with His gifts in power. The anointing does not point to us, but to God who empowers us. We are anointed to transform our area of influence for the advancement of the Kingdom and to bring glory to God. God anoints us to fulfill the plans and calling He has for us.

Anna Blake: My breath is deep. I was born to sit right here. I feel his ribs expand as he breathes with me and some jagged pieces mend. One more breath and my busy mind settles deep into my heart with a sigh. He’s taught me that oneness means the parts of the rider become united. Horses are that way already.

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day (31 Mar 17): But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ~ Isaiah 53:5-6

Anna Blake: Perhaps younger riders look at me like I’m a crazy old nag. I smile and wave, stubborn as a pony, working to show them the patience that my first horse had for me back when I fell short of my horse’s withers and wisdom.

Pastor John Tolle: Laying down one’s life for his friends also comes into greater clarity when we discover that Jesus set aside his life for us . . . his 2017 friends. A few verses after the passage of scripture listed above Jesus says; You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you, we see how laying down our lives has real application to daily living.

Binyomin Adilman: G-d wants us, not just our sacrifices

Monk: Say what?

Pastor John Tolle: So, what was Jesus trying to say? Here’s a jammed–packed paragraph of what I think he’s saying. Do you have something to add to it?

Rene Picota: Whatever you do, don’t share this with anyone. I don’t want to overbook myself with these calls and can only handle so many people.

Pastor John Tolle: Jesus appears to have come into the world for people who really needed him the most and not for the righteous – known as self-righteous. He seemed not to judge these sinners or the unclean . . . and to the rejected and despised he offered them his love. He respected and even accepted them. He even called some of “these types” to be his disciples. He didn’t approve of their wrong doings but instead gave them hope for lives free from toxic pasts. His plan was to draw these wayward people back to the Father who had sent him. He presented himself as the only way to God which was in sharp contrast to all of the spiritual regulations and traditions that the religious people heaped upon them. Then Jesus took a journey to the cross to pay for all sin – theirs, mine, and yours . . . because we could never right all the wrongs of our own lives.

Phyllis Ford: I received an understanding in prayer concerning the Lion and the Lamb. In this hour, we are receiving the understanding that the emphasis of the Lamb is coming into full view – understanding that humility comes as a result of a life laid down (see 1 John 3:16 and John 3:16). In order to walk in the resurrection power of the Lion we must understand the humility of the Lamb. Our humility and service of compassion to others releases the power to walk in a consistent flow of resurrection life, giving us the authority to tread over that which is keeping God’s people from walking forth in the manifestation of signs and wonders and into the glory of God.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: Elijah is such a central prophet in Jewish history that the Sages teach that he will be the one to usher in the righteous Messiah when God so decrees (based on Malachi 2:23-24). Yet, God instructs Elijah that he must anoint Elisha to replace him as prophet. Though his strengths no longer fit the needs of his generation, we await the day when he will once again rise up to herald the coming of the Messiah.

Brat: None of the chapters in Malachi in my Bible go up past verse 18. Are we using the same Bible or was that a type-O?

Pastor John Tolle: As Simon the Pharisee saw what was happening he said to himself, “If this Jesus was the prophet I thought him to be, he would know who this notorious sinner is that is touching him.”

Donna Schaper: A friend told me the story of how she was jinxed in the seventh grade by a certain project she had to do. It was to build a birdbath, out of any materials she could find. I don’t know why that assignment interrupted her. But I do know that another kid in her class built it for her, permitting her to advance. Accident? Angel mischief? Coincidence? Who knows? What is clear is that we get by with the help of our friends.

Ringo Starr (1969): With a Little Help From My Friends [http://mpo.fm/828613]

The Beatles: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: In Biblical Hebrew, the word ‘malach’ means messenger. There are two kinds of messengers. One is a human messenger, the other is an angel, who is a messenger of God. According to Jewish belief, angels do not have independent free will. Rather, they are God’s messengers who are only able to fulfill the specific mission He gives them. When human beings use their free will to do the Lord’s bidding, they have the ability to become even greater than angels as they are choosing on their own to obey God. And when they show their loyalty to God by doing His bidding and improving His world, they become His messengers to the rest of the world.

Randy Walter: Doves are a symbol for love, peace, harmony and the Holy Spirit. A group of doves is called a “flight,” “dule” or “dole” (also defined as one’s allotted share, portion or destiny). We need eagle eyes to see far and into God’s prophetic. We need owl eyes to find wisdom. And we need dove eyes to only have eyes for Him.

James Bond (1981): For Your Eyes Only [https://youtu.be/e0iF8TCk4Fw]

Spirit Fuel: For your eyes ONLY… (Please DON’T SHARE)

Israel365: And I will rejoice in Yerushalayim, and joy in My people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. ~ Isaiah 65:19 (The Israel Bible™)

Kris Vallotton: I have a Spirit Guide; His name is Holy and he guides me into all truth! “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:13)

Revelation 19:¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

Anna Blake: We have a secret that others don’t know. While other women dream of romance-book lovers or foreign shores, we dream of a horse who comes to us with an invitation. Personally, I think it’s a white horse –like my Grandfather Horse. He was perfectly ordinary. We all had one just like him. The one that we knew before we were born. The one who never leaves us.

Kris Vallotton: Peter said, “…just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies…” (2 Peter 2:1)

Malachi 2:¹³Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. ¹⁴You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

Emily C. Heath: In my 20’s I had a mentor who provoked me. She provoked me to do the right thing, to live a life of gratitude, and to serve God first. She provoked me to want to be a better person. How? By simply being herself, a good and kind and decent person who encouraged others and expected the best of them.

Anna Blake: We were hooked and it was written all over us. The first weird looks passed between our parents. We were too young to know anyone else. It didn’t matter if there were horses close by; some of us were in the country but just as many of us were in city apartments. We squealed at horsies! from car windows or stared at pictures in books we were too little to read. We cantered in the house when horses only lived inside our TV.

Shabbat Inspiration: Isaiah’s vision of the redemption is a natural one. As the next verse states, there will be death, and people will still sin. However, the people will dwell safely in their Land. They will live for an entire lifespan (Isaiah 65:20), build houses and plant fields and vineyards (verse 21), and live without fear of invasion and exile. For this alone, God rejoices with Jerusalem and the people of Israel. This summer, Israel will have another incredible reason to praise God: On May 24th, Jerusalem will be celebrating the 50 year anniversary since the Holy City’s reunification at the hands of the IDF, an incredible occurrence that has been hailed as a miracle that changed the very fabric of Israeli history. To honor this momentous occasion, HaYovel, an organization dedicated to developing the agriculture in the Land of Israel under the supervision of Jewish farmers, and Israel365 invite you for a 2 week experience to celebrate the miraculous liberation of Israel’s heartland. This unique and very affordable educational journey will introduce you to the Land and the People of Israel on the once in a lifetime occasion of Jerusalem’s Jubilee.

Pastor John Tolle: As people we want the love and benefits of Jesus, but do we want everything else he came to offer? Do we want the whole package? Can we handle who the real Jesus was . . . and is? So many can only deal with a Jesus that looks and does life to their liking.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: In the Beit Midrash Hall of the Gur chassidim, everyone pushes to get closer to the Rebbe and his table. Young and old, connected or from the periphery, you are not supposed to be bashful about pushing. Once in the crowd there was a wealthy person, who was also an accomplished scholar. The problem was he was very aware of these qualities almost to the point of arrogance. When the pushing became too much for him, he complained loud enough for those around him to hear, “Derech Eretz! Where are your manners!” In all the tumult, the Rebbe also heard and said to the chassidim, “Don’t push him.”

Phyllis Ford: In the midst of the battle that is being waged in the realm of the spirit, there is about to be a downpour of rain. We will see many small victories water a harvest of coming manifestations. This is an hour to stay watchful while advancing and praying, and while progressing. This is a “marching forth” as there will be times of much needed vigilance that will keep us alert and prepared (see 1 Peter 5:8-9). Knowing that while we are progressing, plans of retaliation are simultaneously being set in play. This is stirring up and shaking the heavens, causing His glory to come down and push back the attacks of the enemy.

Pastor Marcus Ellington: Ever found yourself in a disagreement with a friend? How about a church leader? How about a political leader? Chances are, the answers are likely “yes, yes and definitely yes.”

Anna Blake: We’re the sort who never quite settle the struggle to find our balance, drunk with horses and gasping with rude want. We’ve been loud, crying or pouting if we can’t ride. There is nothing polite about passion. Other times, while making the tough choices, we felt as old as sticks and dirt with the bitter maturity of our decisions. Still horses never change for us.

Pastor John Tolle: Yet when we read about Jesus’ life, we notice that he did not keep his distance from lepers. He was unafraid to approach them and touch them. These humiliated lepers craved human affection and they were never disappointed by Jesus. They could feel His love and kindness. In fact, he even healed them.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: It may surprise you that healing is not necessarily a sign of the movement of the Spirit of God every time but music is. Now first of all, when it says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,” you have to remember the context. The context is drunkenness. Paul says, “Don’t go out and get drunk. Be filled with the Spirit, and this is how you’ll spend time together.” The context is what you usually do when you get drunk. Unless you’re really, really depressed, you don’t get drunk by yourself, do you? When you get drunk, you get drunk with other people, and this is the way it’s been for years. Why? It’s happened in every culture. It happens in every society. You go out, and everybody gets lit by the alcohol you’re drinking. You get happier. You begin to get less inhibited, more vulnerable. You can become more courageous. Your inhibitions go down. When joy is up, inhibitions are down, vulnerability is there, and courage is there, and you’re willing to step out and try new things. People sing when they shouldn’t. People tell stories that they shouldn’t. What he is talking about is if you are filled with the Spirit, the sociability, the singing, the music, and the creativity should put the old stuff to shame. There is a sociability in which Christians are speaking to one another about what God is doing in our lives. Paul is saying if you’re filled with the Spirit, you’ll be getting together and you’ll be speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. It’s a simple fact that there has never been a great awakening, there has never been a movement of the Spirit, there has never been a seismic movement of the Spirit, except a whole new era of Christian music has come from it. You look at the hymns and you will see they were not really written uniformly throughout history. They come in clusters. They come when the Spirit’s moving. They come out of great movements of the Spirit. This text is saying music is the creative impulse of a real movement of the Holy Spirit. Go back in the Old Testament, and you will see when the tabernacle was being built, craftsmen, the artists, were brought together. They were gifted by the Holy Spirit to do beautiful things. If you look carefully, you’ll see we are supposed to be expressing ourselves continually in the most beautiful and creative ways possible.

Kris Vallotton: In this beautiful time that the church is in I’ve noticed that sometimes even we can succumb to expecting immediacy when it comes to praying for healing and asking God for miracles. I think it’s a beautiful problem to have—the fact that we’ve learned to pray, believe God for a healing, and see Him do it right there in front of our very eyes—but have we learned to manage ourselves in the midst of favor, a culture of revival, and seeing miracles increase when we don’t see a prayer immediately answered? The truth is that we don’t always get what we want exactly when we want it.

Israel 365: Time Sensitive – we need your help now!

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: Rabbi Yehuda opened his discourse with the verse: “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing”(Psalms 100:2). We have learned that all service of G‑d that a person does, should be performed with joyfulness and heartfelt desire in order that the worship should be complete. How can it be said then, that a person who brought a sacrifice [in repentance] could be happy? Such a person has transgressed the commandments of his Master and the commandments of the Torah. What sort of face should he show in standing before his Master? Certainly it should be with a broken and saddened spirit. Where is the joy and where is the singing that he needs to bring together with his sacrifice?

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz: Sanhedrin Call on Nations to Join Fight for Passover Temple Sacrifice

Pastor John Tolle: Like leprosy, sin needs the touch of Jesus. It is why he came. When he touched the lepers, they were cleansed and healed. And when he touches us, we are cleansed from our sin, forgiven, and given a new life. Jesus’ touch removes the most stubborn sin-stain.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: This closeness could not be adequately expressed in a service that highlights the Jew’s unique spiritual capacities, for this essential bond with G-d is not contingent on the Jew’s efforts and experience; it is purely the result of G-d’s existential choice of His beloved nation, the Jews. Therefore this bond is best expressed through a Jew offering a korban, the spiritual value of which is not obvious, save for the fact that G-d has deemed it desirable for a Jew to offer a sacrifice to Him.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: However we have learned elsewhere that a person who has sinned before his Master and transgressed His commandments and comes to bring a sin offering to rectify himself, needs to feel broken and remorseful in spirit. If he weeps while bringing his sacrifice, that is better than anything else he might do – and so we see that neither joy nor singing were present. So how were these [two aspects] present [at the bringing of the sacrifice]?

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem: Jewish families react to help at Passover

Caleb Hyers: Will you take this day and dedicate it to the Lover of your soul? Will you partake of the new covenant by way of union with Christ? Will you be the intimate, fruit-bearing Bride? The harvest is on its way, will you be a vessel for its delivery? Let it be so, in Jesus name! Amen.

Anna Blake: There’s just one problem. If you don’t actually sit down in the chair, technically speaking, then you never get to create the character who saves the world. Apparently, deceiving yourself isn’t the same as tricking a reader. Good intentions and reasonable excuses don’t get words on the paper.

Elijah List: “I think this is the time when God is going to do something that is going to create a space for a reformational surge of Christian activity in America that’s going to retake institutional high places and occupy places that we virtually surrendered to secular culture,” [Lance]Wallnau tells CBN News.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: They were actualized through the Priest [Cohen] and the Levi who were also present at the offering of the sacrifice. They fulfilled the joy and singing on his behalf.

Brat: Jesus did say that we would drink from His cup.

(In “Rawhide” 23 Mar 17) Luke 22:¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.

Brat: We have been doing that and have divided it amongst ourselves.

Luke 22: ¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Brat: Jesus has fulfilled His promise when He said that we would drink from His cup. (Mt 20:23) Which one of us has not been betrayed and “crucified” with Christ? (Gal 2:20)

Quinn G. Caldwell: The only real solution is time spent in safety, where you can learn to trust again. (Well, that and maybe some therapy.) Here’s where God comes in for the Psalmist. In a world that feels like it could turn on you at any second (because it already has), God becomes a mighty fortress against the hordes, real or imagined, who want to eat your brains. God is the one, the only one guaranteed never to turn on you. Dwell there long enough, says the psalmist, and you can learn to see goodness in the land of the living again.

Jubilee Church: God’s Chosen Fast gives us the opportunity to return to His provision for all things—Jesus Christ. We can let go of all debts, both real and imagined. We return to softened hearts that can love again and believe again. We are redeemed out of our captivity and known once more as the Forgiven.

Pastor Gary Dunahoo: Art doesn’t exist for its own sake. Art is there to show the underlying reality, to show the nobility of humanity, the glory of creation, the greatness of God, and also the challenge of the human condition. People who are filled with the Spirit are people with a creative, artistic impulse because those people who find the most to praise in God find the most to praise in the world.

Luke 4:²⁴“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

Monk: Say what?

Brat: I remember Naaman. He, too, had a little help from his friends.

Monk: Lord God, it would really help to have a safe place (a hermitage in community) in which to spend time with You!

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: The joy was represented by the Priest who is always far from strict judgement [because he is rooted in kindness ( chesed) the opposite of din]. A Priest should always show himself with a shining face – happier than all the rest of the people – because his crown [literally “ keter“, of priesthood] enables him to.

Binyomin Adilman: The concept of sacrifices is one that is very foreign to the “modern” mind. We should realize, though, that every sacrifice had to be accompanied by genuine repentance before it was accepted. Only when one gives up something of himself does he make a sacrifice that is pleasing to G-d.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Every Jew has to know that from heaven G-d is always calling him. G-d is always demanding that a person elevate themselves, grow spiritually, and never be stagnant! There are always two sides to such a call. For the active person, who is already pushing ahead, who is to some extent a master of himself, the call is a challenge. You are not allowed to be satisfied with what you have already accomplished until now. Rather, you have to reach even higher.

Pastor John Tolle: Then, while looking at the woman, he spoke to his host. “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I arrived at your home you didn’t offer me the customary courtesy given to guests. There was no water to wash the dust from my feet, but this woman wet my feet with her tears and wiped them clean with her hair. You did not welcome me with the normal kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet time and time again since I arrived. You didn’t provide me the ordinary lotion to freshen up with, but she rubbed my feet with rare and costly perfume. So, I say to you, though her sins are many, they are forgiven, for she has gratefully loved much! But the one who is forgiven little, expresses little love.”

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: And he cried against the Mizbayach by the word of the LORD, and said: ‘O Mizbayach, Mizbayach, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Yoshiahu by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the kohanim of the high places that offer upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee.’ (1 Kings 13:2)

Pastor John Tolle: Their repeated questioning of him elicited a masterful response. Bending down to write in the dirt, he spoke some soul-searching words: Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. [John 8:7] They’d been caught in their own trap. One by one they walked away leaving the woman alone with Jesus.

MorningStar University: A Song From the Most Broken Place

Rusty Lee Greenmeyer: “Drop Your Stones”

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: The elated song was performed by the Levi, and this is appropriate because the Levites would sing, as we have learned.

Pastor John Tolle: The others at the meal began to say among themselves, “Who does he think he is that he can forgive a person’s sins?”

Elijah List: Cashews

Brat: (Translation: Nuts!)

Quinn G. Caldwell: Prayer
God, I trust you even more than I trust Rick Grimes. When the world goes nuts, be my might, my light, my salvation, and my fortress.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: In miraculous fashion, God accepts Elijah the Prophet’s offerings. This may be surprising as Elijah did not offer them in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the only place Israelite sacrifice is allowed to be offered, as his battle with the Baalists and offerings to God take place on Mount Carmel (in northern Israel, near the Mediterranean coast and the modern city of Haifa). The Rabbis teach that this was an extraordinary case where, because of the danger of the People of Israel being lost to idolatry, Elijah the Prophet is permitted to sacrifice outside of the Temple. As the offering is accepted and the Israelites accept God’s rule, it becomes clear to see that he was right. Sometimes prophets demonstrate that extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary actions.

Phyllis Ford: I heard the Lord say that during this emerging month of Nisan, that which has remained hidden must come to light so that there can be an uprooting of the hindrances that have been germinating in the darkness. The power of the glory will expose it, consume it, and remove it out of its place of prominence. That which has thrived in darkness will be uprooted and removed by the power of resurrection life.

Rabbi David Sterne (in “Success?” 20 Mar 17): Charity or Prayer?

Israel 365: Celebrate Passover With a Charitable Twist! ✡ “Observe My Commandments and Perform Them”

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: In Hebrew the word for “song” is “shir” or “zemer“, both of which mean to “cut”. The idea is that a song cuts the harsh judgement at its source. In English the word din means a loud, confused noise. Singing rectifies this annoying commotion and the resulting sweet tones uplift the spirit. In English as well as in Hebrew, singing cuts away din!

Donna Schaper: Prayer
Permit us to understand interruptions as sacraments, as ways that the Holy enters our home. Let there be wholeness to my life and let me see interruptions as commandments.

Brat: I take this to mean that God is raising ‘dem bones’ of the Church and the Jews are unwrapping the burial shroud around Lazarus.

Monk: Church, if a miracle occurred tonight while you were sleeping and tomorrow you began to live the life you preferred, what changes would you notice?

Kris Vallotton: The devil has a great strategy to disarm the church – convince her that the weapons of warfare are of the devil.

Binyomin Adilman: Is it possible that the Torah would have us believe that the stench of burning animal flesh, bones and feathers is a pleasant fragrance? Yet when the offering is brought with the appropriate intentions of humility and teshuva, then, to G‑d the smell is indeed fragrant. What seems offensive to us may indeed be a pleasing fragrance for G‑d.

Pastor John Tolle: Jesus’ search and rescue mission on planet earth has salvaged countless trapped souls – the ignorantly lost, the sinfully filthy, the morally bankrupt, the spiritually blind, the arrogantly self-righteous . . . and you and me! Can you handle that? Can you handle HIM?

Phyllis Ford: When God releases His wisdom and we apply it, we see things being worked out in their proper timing. We will see strategies released by apostolic and prophetic intercessors as well as watchmen who will move out according to Jeremiah 1:10. Also a sweeping of deliverance will move forth to uproot darkness within the Body of Christ, and these sweeps will release a glory that will fall heavy upon the people of God who desire freedom in this time. We must pray in this hour with hearts of compassion.

Donna Schaper: Another friend tells of not knowing what to do in high school so she enrolled as a shop major, becoming the first woman so to do. She has a rewarding career as a carpenter. Not knowing what to do next is often the best platform for finding the unusual. Why not you?

Pastor John Tolle: Jesus seems to attract people like the woman in this story – despised tax collectors, the woman caught in adultery, lepers, a bleeding woman and sinners of every type. These are the ones that the religious people would not allow to enter the places of worship. In other words, they didn’t have the right to approach God. Yet these are the people Jesus finds himself with.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: So both the Priest and the Levi [were present performing their roles of joy and singing when the penitent brought his sacrifice with a broken heart and] completed the person’s proper worship of G‑d. The Priest would conduct the ceremony in happiness and with heartfelt desire in order to unify the Holy Name as is fitting, and the Levi would sing. This is what is meant by [the continuation of the verse above]: “Know [in Hebrew, “De’u“, from the word “ daat“] that the Lord is G‑d.” (Psalms 100:3)

Israel365: Are You Ready to Change Your Life Forever? ✡ “Joy in My People”

Phyllis Ford: I believe it prophetically makes a statement to us as the people of God, that this new beginning carries the theme of redemption to another level. The Lord God, Almighty, is forever having compassion upon His people to forgive and redeem them back to Him. We see the heart of the Messiah in the face of this Passover Feast and His love for His redeemed. However, we are in the season to change now. That redemption has run deep and if we can lay hold of it, it will release upon us restoration going back into original intent. Look for a mighty resurgence and resurrection of His glory taking us and saturating us in all we can be in Him as we cry out. Passing over into new possibilities will break off the weariness of the winter seasons that were once upon us.

Lana Vawser: “Weary and Wounded Warriors – This Word is For You!”

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: The sacrificial ceremony [from the Hebrew, “korban“] caused mercy to draw in [in Hebrew, “lekarev“, the root of the word “korban“] the judgment so both were in equilibrium [under daat].

Kris Vallotton: For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:15, 19-20)

Pastor John Tolle: 1 Cor 4:¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians [those who wanna make theology] in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

Katie Barker: I heard the Lord say, “I am pruning and refining at this time to prepare My people for the time ahead. I am readjusting, repositioning and realigning. Those that embrace this process will be prepared for My purposes ahead and will be used powerfully by Me. They will walk in abundant life.”

Breaking Israel News: You can be a part of the Passover redemption story

Kris Vallotton: Many of the heresy teachers have become the very thing that they are warning everybody about. As Job said, the thing they feared came upon them. (See Job 3:25)

Katie Barker: I heard the Lord say, “I am transforming the hearts and minds of My people so they will be more effective for Me in the days ahead. I am burning off the dross in their lives. I have called My people to walk in freedom and life. Many are carrying what they do not need to carry. Many are weighed down by worries and obstacles as they have not released them to Me. Many are hindered by incorrect mindsets and roots of fear, bitterness and unbelief.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: On a more spiritual level, we can understand this in the reverse way as well. This is the merit our generation and why our efforts now, at the end of this long and dark exile are so important. This generation is called by the Rabbis as the “heels of Moshiach” because compared to all of the spiritual geniuses of the past, our righteous and holy forebears (…skilled artisans…), we are like the heel of the foot without those really special skills and attributes. Nevertheless, we do have one very, very special quality. Be’H, it will be our generation that will complete the work that will bring the final redemption. And therefore on our generation will be ascribed the coming of Moshiach and all the revelations, success and merit it will bring.

Ella Onakoya: Friends, there is no higher calling or aspiration than to walk in manifest oneness with our King Jesus as we live lives surrendered to Him. The beauty of His person, His love, humility, glory, and power is what the world longs to see and experience. What an honor that Heaven has bestowed on us to become one with the Master…this is a holy invitation that we must all do and heed!

Jubilee Church: God’s Chosen Fast disengages frustration, impatience, and control, bringing in its place, peace, love, and trust. We all start in faith because we hear promise and we begin in the Spirit being carried by grace. But, over time we can move into works of the law, striving with our flesh and others. No longer are we In grace, but debt. Debt with ourselves, debt toward God, others in debt to us, inside there striving self-righteousness that leaves us miserable.

Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles: He begged and pleaded to be admitted to the rebbe’s presence for an audience, but the rebbe had left orders that this was not to be. Seeing him weep day and night, one chassid advised him to stand outside the rebbe’s window, where the tzaddik would be able to hear his anguish for himself.

Anna Blake: Snap out of it. Get over yourself and your artistic tantrums. Like any other skill, practice is the key to fluency. Criticism is the key to self-loathing. What if you let it be as simple as a choice?

Adel: “Hello” [https://youtu.be/YQHsXMglC9A]

Foursquare Church: How to Respond When You Don’t Like What a Leader Says

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Please let us know if you will be in Israel for the holiday. Ascent wants to offer you a program good for the individual, the couple or the family. Safed is magical. Let us be your guide.

Monk: And the kohen? The priests? I’m not alone in this rodeo.

Anna Blake: Now that I’m older, there are some rides I make myself refuse. There are days that it breaks my heart to cautious, but I have a herd that depends on me. It’s lead mare logic; I wasn’t born knowing it. I do all that I can and then remember the kindness that good horses past their prime deserve. I practice that kindness on myself but notice it’s easier with horses.

Phyllis Ford: Everything is coming into full view. There is a crying of repentance and that which is coming out of the fiery place of His presence. Things that seemed small will become very big overnight. This re-ordering is part of the balance of unjust weights which is the order of the day. The fact that we will see an uprooting and a springing forth will be evidence of the change.

Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: In these days, [when the Temple is destroyed, and] we can’t bring sacrifices, one who has sinned and wishes to return to his Master, certainly should have a bitter soul, and be full of remorse and weeping and have a broken spirit. But if this so – how can he fulfill the requirement to serve G‑d with joy and with song, especially since he doesn’t feel it?

Pastor John Tolle: Once awake Jesus spoke creator-type words, “Peace, be still!” The ensuing calm was beyond comprehension.

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: The answer is as we have learned. When a person prays and praises his Master and rejoices in his learning Torah and sings his learning out loud in a melodious way, that is the gladness and singing referred to in our text.

Pastor John Tolle: You would think the disciples would have begun hugging Jesus, or one-another, or shouting “hallelujah.” But “no,” while their greatest fear had been laid to rest, they instead began to question who this Jesus was. Amazing!

Quinn G. Caldwell: “Does anybody remember why we bury our alleluias during Lent?”

“Zombies?”

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: In one of the Bible’s most powerful images, Elijah the Prophet leaves this world and ascends to the heavens in a fiery chariot. The Rabbis teach that Elijah left this world alive. Because he remains alive, he maintains contact with the world below. He is thus able to understand the needs of every generation. This constant connection is part of what makes him one of history’s most beloved prophets. Tradition teaches that when God decides it is time to reveal the Messiah, Elijah will return to proclaim his arrival to the world. According to the prophet Malachi, after he returns “he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (II Kings 3:24).  Elijah will bring peace to the world, creating the right environment for the arrival of the Messiah.

Brat: I believe that the Holy Spirit has been revealing the Messiah through the work of the Holy Spirit and Elijah has been working overtime to turn the hearts of the fathers and children. The priests have been involved in this. There is one Mediator. The mediator doesn’t take the witness stand, does he? Isn’t it the job of the elders to enforce the peace? Pastor John Tolle said that God will enforce everything that Jesus did upon the cross. God works through us as He uses our hands and feet, bodies, minds, and spirits to do it.

Pastor John Tolle: Father God, through your son Jesus, everything was created. Your amazing power has no limit. So often I desire for all the external things (storms) to change to accommodate me. But your desire is to change me to accommodate your will. I confess my love for you as Savior and recognize my need to surrender to you as Lord. Help me to place my whole life under your supreme authority. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day (28 Mar 17): For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. ~ 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV)

Brat: I believe the Funny Bunnies are saying they have witnessed this for themselves, so I take this as a “yes.”

Phyllis Ford: Proverbs 24:6-12, “For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?”

Simcha-Shmuel Treister: And when he arrives at the place of viddui / confession in prayer he should then pray with a broken and contrite heart.

Rick Joyner: Returning to the scene John witnessed before the throne of God, the seven seals released the unfolding events. As John also witnessed, Jesus alone is worthy to open this book and release the seals because He purchased the earth by His sacrifice on the cross.

Pastor John Tolle: What a Jesus!

Johnny Enlow: In the name of Jesus: I decree that the protected darkness will now lose its cover. Mighty angels fight on with new intensity and new ferocity. Kingdom come!

Pastor John Tolle: These disciples feared while in the storm and feared after the storm in the ensuing calm. They’d never seen such powerful authority.

Donna Schaper: Jesus is an interrupter, not just a disrupter. There is a difference. Disrupters tear down; interrupters build up. They let you enter the unknown feast.

Pastor John Tolle: Many are the works of God! Jesus powerful miracle should have had a major life-altering effect upon those men. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what change, what “peace” transformed those men’s “inner” souls. What fears do we need quieted today?

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon: The Hebrew word used for insignia in the verse is ‘aydut.’ This term, ususally translated as testimony, is often used to refer to the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written and the ark that contained them (see Exodus 32:15 and 26:33). As the Ten Commandments are representative of the entire Law, Rashi explains that in this verse, the term ‘aydut’ hints to the fact that the new king is not only given a crown, but a Torah scroll as well. This is in line with the command for a king to write a Torah scroll and have it in his presence at all times (Deuteronomy 17:19). The king must always remember that he is subservient to God, who is the King of Kings, and is expected to follow His Torah. The Torah is the testimony and insignia of the People of Israel. When they observe its laws properly they are then deserving of God’s promise to possess the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter: Afterwards, the Rebbe said to this person in a tone of apology, “This is the way of chassidim, that they push around a person who is kosher.” (The inference is that a kosher person (a compliment) gets pushed around, meaning he is forced to reevaluate his view of himself when he is among chassidim). With something like false humility, the wealthy person responded, “I am a kosher Jew!” And the Rebbe answered, “Therefore I told them to stop pushing you…” The first thing to decide when you realize G-d is calling you is whether you are on the top of the ladder or at the bottom.

Brat: Now, really, with all that up and down traffic, who’s writing down the story?!

Anna Blake: Hold tight. They always circle back.

John 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

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