Come Seek With Me

In my last blog, we looked at the history of the Daughters of Zelophehad, God's promise to David, and God's curse on Jeconiah.  It seemed that God may have changed His mind about the Messiah coming from David's seed and royal line.  How can the promise and the curse be reconciled?  How can they both be true?  Did God break His Word?  (If you need to catch up, check out Part 1 ) So, IS God's Word broken? We know that Jesus was born.  He lived, ministered, was cut off, was raised from the dead as First Fruits, ascended into heaven, and is now our high priest. The bigger question, however, is of His legitimacy.  In order for Jesus to have been legitimate...for God's promise to David to hold true, some conditions had to be met. 1) Was Jesus of the seed of David? 2) Was Jesus of the royal line of Solomon? Let's take a closer look at the genealogy of Jesus.  You may have noticed that there are actually 2 passages within the gospels that ...

I love the way that God puts just the right scriptures, conversations, and pulpit messages together to cross our paths at *just* the right time.  That is what has been happening to me this weekend, and I am writing this blog mostly to gather my thoughts into one place.  If you are kind enough to be reading this, I hope it will spark an interest and that you will pursue God's Word in further study.  Shalom! Scripture Texts: Numbers 27: 1-7 -- Daughters of Zelophehad have a problem Numbers 36: 3-12 -- Daughters of Zelophehad area allowed to inherit if they follow this condition 1 Chronicles 17: 10-14 -- God makes David a promise Jeremiah 22:30 -- Oh no!  How will God be able to keep His promise now???? Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23 -- Why does Joseph have 2 fathers? Luke 3:31 -- Does Jesus really have blood in his veins from the seed of David? Matthew 1: 6-7 -- Does Jesus really come from the royal line of Solomon? 1 Chronicles 17: 10-14 -- Has this promise b...

Have you heard?  I am "going up" with a team to Israel...Lord willing...in a few months!  As part of my preparations, I am studying the bible and taking part in a beautiful prayer group.  We are searching the scriptures each week in order to pray them back to our Heavenly Father.  This week I have come upon a beautiful scripture in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 11:17-21 (partial) Therefore say, thus says YHVH Elohim, "I will gather you from the peoples and collect you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.  When they come there, they will remove all of its detestable things and all of its abominations.  Then I will give them one heart.  I will put a new Spirit within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow My laws, keep My ordinances and practice them.  They will be My people and I will be their God." Can I hear an AMEN? ...

Let's talk about vocabulary today and what it can show us about who we are in Jesus Christ / Yeshua Messiah. Here are some different terms that are used to describe Yehovah's people throughout the scriptures: Hebrew Israel Ephraim Judah Jew Church Let's begin with Abraham.  Believe it or not, Abraham was not a Jew.  He grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans (Gen 11:31).  That means Abraham was from the area we know today as Iraq.  The word Hebrew in the language of Hebrew means "crosses over."  Abraham crossed over the desert to Canaan physically, and he crossed over from pagan worship to the worship of the One True God as well.   Abraham was a Hebrew.   Jacob, Abraham's grandson, struggled with God and with men...and overcame (Gen 32:29).  Yehovah gave Jacob a new name: Israel.  Israel is defined in this scripture as meaning "one who struggles with God."  Jacob/Israel had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. ...

  Sha-vu-what? Shavuot! You have likely heard of it described using its Greek name, Pentecost.  The Acts 2 celebration of Pentecost is the Leviticus 23 Feast of Shavuot!  (Notice the disciples were still celebrating it after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua.  I believe this is ONE very compelling reason to learn about it). This is an exciting feast to study, because like Passover, we have seen it at least partially fulfilled in the gifting of The Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  Jewish tradition has recorded that the Torah, or Law, was given during the first Shavuot. Tradition is not scripture, so we cannot be 100% sure of the timing, but I am compelled to lean into that timeline.  It fits.  Do your own homework, and if you come up with something different, I would love to hear.  We should always be learning!   ⇩ At the first Shavuot, the Torah was given to govern the hearts of YHVH's people. At the Shavuot we all know ...

Have you ever wanted to go to Israel?  I want to tell you about an opportunity that I plan to take part in this coming Fall.  Christian Ministry to Israel (CMI) is planning a mission trip to The Land of The Bible in October 2018, and I have put my name in the hat.  Dr. Reggie Lisemby, director and head servant of CMI, will be leading the mission (his 18th!).  It is my understanding that there is still room for a few more Jesus and Israel-loving participants to join. Interested?  Let's talk! If you are not interested in travel, but are interested in ministry to Israel, please keep reading.  There are other ways to make an eternal impact on the people of The Land without a passport. Dr. Lisemby has titled our mission "From the Uttermost Back to Jerusalem," based on a scripture in Acts. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, ...

Exodus 33:11 Was there ever a man given as much as Moses?  Perhaps, but there is no denying that Moses received much from Yehovah.  As I was reading in 1 Corinthians, I was reminded of the history of Moses and the rock.  You are likely familiar.   Moses is told to strike the rock.  He strikes, and water comes forth. Moses is told to speak to the rock.  He strikes in disobedience.  He is punished...severely. So why is that? Let's look at some scriptures to put this puzzle together. Exodus 17:6 Numbers 20:8 1 Corinthians 10:4 If you just read those 3 scripture passages, you are probably having the "ah-ha!" moment that I had.  Let's break it down: In one instance, let's call it the "first" instance, Yehovah tells Moses to strike the rock ( Ex 17:6 ).  That worked.  Water came forth.  The people were saved!   In the "second" instance, Yehovah had a different plan.  His plan was for Moses to speak...