Today is the day Israel celebrates Rosh Hashana or the New Year. This is the day of the creation of Adam and Eve. It started at nightfall on 29 Sept, 2019 and ends at night fall on the 30th. Around the world the Shofar was sounded to designate our life and the coronation of God our King. The Shofar is blown 100 times and celebrates God in His Almighty wonder. 
It is kind of disappointing that most Christian churches do not recognize or even notice the significance of today. When looking at the lunar calendar, God began creation 5 days ago (Lunar Hebrew date of 25 Elul). Nehemiah finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem on the same day. Remember, we are a part of a much greater thing than ourselves and we should know that the occurences in Genesis do have a lot to do with us.
Have a great evening and be blessed. Spend as much time with God as you can.
Rob, Servant of God   

The Bible has just about every answer we are looking for because everything in it points us to our creator and teaches us about life. It contains science, math, history, physics, philosophy, health, and sex ed. It gives us a code of morals and ethics that are conducive to a world of peace. It even talks about certain vocations such as agriculture, metallurgy, construction, music, sailing, fishing, and many other facets making this world a better place to live in.
So tell me again why people want to continually change it??
Why do people want to mold what is already a perfect model to their own liking when they are using rotten slimy clay that cannot hold together even with the strongest adhesive? What are we doing Brothers and Sisters to stop the madness that is happening?
The Catholic Church is falling apart at the seams due to corruption of millennia finally coming to light. Denominations are splitting and breaking down due to misunderstandings and misinterpreting what is spelled out in black and white.
The Confusion of language due to the Tower of Babel has never stopped. Why do you think that people need to hear things ten different ways or times before the light turns on? This is why we cannot get along.
Have faith, Brothers and Sisters, that Jesus will soon return to shine the light in our hearts brighter than before and we will have full communion with our Father Creator as it was before the Fall.
Have patience and wait as we cannot know the time even with all the signs in the heavens.
Listen close, do not turn away from God.
In His Loving Arms,
Rob, Servant of God

This is a quick item to ponder..... If Paul were alive today would he be able to break through and get people on the right track? That is actually  very hard yet easy question. Let's look at the situation today and see if old Paul could transform lives.

Millennial Generation
The Millennial Generation would be a challenge. Paul would be dealing with many entitled and me generation individuals who would run away like the rich young ruler did with Jesus. They do not want to ruled over because they feel if it does not help me, why do it. They also would have trouble giving up what they believe they believe they are entitled to. Still, many would be enticed by the promise of a better life than they currently have because of the current suffering status they find themselves in. So this group would be both sheep and goat.
Will he be persecuted? Yes. Suffer? Yes. Redeemed? Yes.

Worldly Fantasy Group
A tough group because they are more absorbed by the thins of the world and created their own idols to worship. They see God as a super hero and not the only God but one of many. They can be won over when they see they worship like the Greeks looking towards the altar to the unknown God. Still Paul might not survive unless he convinces the ones this people type look up to to worship God alone and give their lives to Christ.

Politicians
Here is a fun group. We are separated already between political parties. One party worships Molech and abides in hate while the other has both God fearers and those who are still on the fence. One group allows debauchery while the other shuns it. One forgives while the other is so hateful that all they have accomplished is making themselves to look the fool when trying to ruin someone else's life. The current majority in the House has not done anything good for the people and are more concerned with their own political aspirations leaving the current citizenry in the bottom of the barrel. 

Paul would have a hay day with this group. Just don't let him cross paths with certain Jezebels or he may have to call on Ezekiel and Elijah.

Celebrity
Another fun group where adulterous sex and abortions are common place because to some, kids and family are career killers and would just get in the way of their greed and desires. The debauchery is worse than Corinth. God help them if Paul set foot in Hollywood, there would either be many converts or Paul would end up tarred and feathered in the modern way.

New Age Evangelists 
Remember the movie, "The Last Temptation of Christ"? The person playing Paul told the people who were following Jesus who did not die on the cross, "That is not my savior". Paul knows that Jesus had to suffer in order for all mankind to be saved. We have an infectious group that preach a Jesus of love and best life now without the suffering. Well, without the suffering servant we would have nothing and still be slaves to sin. let that sink in for a minute.

Paul would have a reopened wound due to the thorn in his side growing bigger and would need to be on the same mission as Jesus correcting man's interpretation of the Word. Remember, Jesus came to us as the Word made flesh so that we would understand the Word and have the truth written on our hearts. The early Catholic Popes ruined all things by perverting the Word just as the Sanhedrin did. They changed the Sabbath, they required money over goods and services. They sought slavery over holy servitude. They required indulgences to do something they truly had no power over. Paul would probably be constantly in the Vatican prison for doing what Martin Luther did but on a grander scale.

Can We Be Like Paul
 Yes we can but we must face the world with God in our hearts and a clean set of clothes wherever we go. Can we depend on others for support? Only if the people supporting have the renewed heart like so many places did. Remember, Paul would not accept support from a community whose heart was not truly God fearing and Jesus following. We must be the same and teach the supporters truth from falsehoods.

Life is Good with God in our hearts and the ministry of the twelve and the others to guide our ways.

God Bless you and Keep you. Keep His Word on your heart and love other as God loves us.
In Christ,
Rob, Ebed (Servant) of God

There is a question that many do not really know they are asking themselves, “Who am I”. As a Christian, the answer should be, “I am a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ”. This should be the common answer but unfortunately many youth and some young adults cannot even look into their own hearts and see this truth. Some are too easily influenced by worldly things and rely solely on social media do discover themselves instead of learning who they are through physical interactions and spending time with God.

Social media keep people constantly inundated with questionnaires through Facebook and Twitter asking what celebrity, fictional character, house or alliance (ex. HP, GOT, SW), animal, etc. do they resemble. People that are influenced easily can become confused and eventually lose themselves and their true identity that God had chosen for them. Society works to confuse the minds so that truth is distorted and the identity given by God is changed to meet the devil’s gain. This even includes the questions of sexual preference and gender identity. 

What is Your Name?

A name is something given by the parents to the child. Our Father in Heaven speaks our names into their minds so that we are called as He calls us. In other words, our name is given by God. When people decide to change their name does that mean they want to hide from God? Some would say, yes. But you cannot hide from God. Our Father is not like other gods who do not see in the dark nor will not travel places. He sees everything and is everywhere. He sees in the hearts of those who try to change physically. You cannot escape God, His name is written in our DNA. We are His.

Some of my children’s friends have trouble remembering what their own given name is because they dwell in the escape of fantasy or are enticed by other cultures so much that they will not answer to the name given by their parents even when the parent is using the real name to get their attention. Call it selective hearing and lack of obedient listening all you want but in truth it is the trick of the Adversary to cause anger and confusion resulting in separating families.

I Just Want to be Liked

Some kids change their truths just to be liked by others who will eventually leave them anyway. If you can’t be your unchanged self to fit into a group, you do not need to be in that group. Don’t go chasing Amy over the cliff if you cannot stop yourself. Check yourself before doing something against better judgement.

Gang members have this thing of having prospective members do something they would not normally do just to be a part of a group. In a town close by the retreat we recently had three young boys get arrested for attempted murder due to a gang related incident. Those lives are now forfeit and will have a stain for life just because they wanted to belong and be accepted. Now they wear orange.

People Like Me When I Act This Way 

Are you who you are or are you pleasing others by being something you are not? Putting on an act gives people the wrong impression on who a person really is. Middle and High School aged children are under so many influences. These influences can cause a child to act a certain way to be liked. This can unfortunately lead to changes that are detrimental to the person later in life.

If someone believes that being a certain way is the only way to make friends then that person loses the truth of being. Being like someone you admire is one thing but it can get out of control. If you are a girl and act like a Kardashian, you may find yourself being victimized and thrown away. If a young man acts like certain sportsmen or player of women he may find himself in deep trouble that will affect the rest of his life. Being something you are not is very unhealthy both physically and spiritually. Be who you were brought up to be, who God needs you to be, not what society wants you to be.. 

False Realities

I have an issue with 20 somethings and older trying to hang on to their youth through dressing and acting like their favorite television or movie characters. If you are in that age category, act like it. As those individuals get older, the characters become more adult oriented which can lead to unwanted and disastrous attentions.

Some conventions have had so many issues they now have classes and warnings that focus on the dangers of dressing and acting certain ways. Policies have had to be put in place so deviants and predators have less chance in playing out their fantasies. Dress appropriately, some people bring their children and they do not need to be subjected to those adult oriented costumes.

Share Everything, Everybody Does It

No, they don’t. Social media controls many facets of life but it should not completely control our lives. The less we are on it, the better. I really do not care to see or hear about every aspect of people’s lives online unless you are immediate family and you are showing pictures of a recent vacation or important life event that I may have missed for whatever reason. Some people overshare and put themselves at risk. Some will share so much of their lives and have their phone number on their site so strangers can find them and not necessarily for good reasons.

God tells us to live our lives without the intrusion of others, especially strangers. He means we should keep to ourselves to avoid gossip and wrong impressions being told and seen. There is so much about ourselves that only God and our spouses need to know.

Children, imitation is the best form of flattery but that does not mean imitating what you see on the television, movies, or internet. Imitate behaviors of the people closest to you. Parents and close family, that means be on your best so that we will have better citizens growing up instead of this generation of people who do not know who they truly are. Remember the responsibility of Proverbs 22:6.

Brothers and Sisters, it is up to us to put the reigns on the youth and reel in the adults who are misleading our children. I know we cannot stop certain things but we can get the children to understand right ways of living from wrong ways. Keep an eye on what they see and an ear on what they hear. Teach them discernment. Doing so they may discover that they are Children of the God Most High and belong to Him.

May God’s loving compassion an discernment be bestowed on you with younger children in your family. May God’s Grace and Mercy shine on the older youth that they choose to live a right life. May God discipline the adults who betray our children’s and young adult’s trust that they may learn the error of their ways.

In God’s Loving Compassionate Arms, May His Grace and Mercy fill your heart,

Rob, Servant of God

When people become blinded to the truth, their judgement between right and wrong, safe and disastrous, constructive and destructive becomes even more clouded than before. The Old and New Testaments warned us of peoples viewpoints becoming so clouded that they will try and make good bad and bad good. They will look to pagan gods and false idols destroying everything people in the past worked so hard to make right. 

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. 2 Peter 3:3-4

We Are In Trouble

The United States government is in a bind because one political party has done nothing but try to override and remove the sitting president from office. No real benefits to the people have been put into action because some with influence and jealousy are putting personal agendas and vendettas above the good of the country. When a group of people have more heart for distant cousins rather than brothers, sisters, and the neighbor living on the same soil, they no longer are our leaders, they are our destroyers.

This latest batch of so called freshmen elected officials have scoffed at the Constitution, the Bible, and truth in human rights, caring less about the people in their own states while instead more about their own selfish selves. They are also attempting to legalize their sinfulness through man made laws that are placed over God’s Word and Law.

They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. Jude 1:18-19

What is bad is that many can see the lack of common sense and have made it known to the world, yet the persons still continue making fools of themselves. These people cannot see the truth, have forgotten God, so God may forget us.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6

Blind Following the Blind

And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:10-15

The Adversary has sent the agents out to manipulate us. The Sheep are following the Bad Shepherd.

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

What a Fine Mess We Are In

This mess that we call those appointed over us to make decisions for us have failed to squash those who are trying to undermine others appointed above them. Apparently most forgot whom they actually work for. I must be honest and say that I have lost faith in the government and hope that eyes are opened before it is too late.

For many years we have sacrificed our children to Molech (willing abortion). We have let the temple prostitutes (celebrity and media) guide our way of thinking instead of relying on God. We have been given to immoral desires through pornography and sexual deviants. The priests ( some religious and government officials) are filling their own coffers with goods and services which should be helping those in need. Thankfully not all of the people mentioned in parenthesis are bad but the immoral majority has given all of them a bad rap.   

What Happens Next??

The good news is that our time is drawing to a close and the Messiah is returning soon. The work of the evil doers is coming to light and more are waking up to the truth. For those that are not waking up, they are so far gone that their lives will soon be forfeit. Those who care more for the flesh will turn to dust. God will sort us out.

Be aware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. We still have many who scoff at God by perverting His Word. We still have pastors who preach living the best life now. We still have the “feel good Jesus” Christians that do not know joy comes from suffering and not materialistic rewards. These are being exposed.

Brothers and Sisters, take heed of the warnings of the Scripture as a whole. God’s Word, Command, Laws, and Salvation are written clearly. God’s Law is written on incorruptible stone, man’s additions are on perishable parchment. God’s Word is written in and on our hearts and can save us from damnation. Man’s law can cause damnation.

What is on the heart and mind is more damaging than any man made weapon. When God is not there, evil thoughts can rule the heart and cause us to sin. When God is in the forefront and encompasses the heart and mind, evil will not prevail. Sin starts in the corrupted heart and the actions of the person are the result. We cannot let the devil win.

Love one another with the Love of God, not man’s interpretation of it. Rejoice in suffering and let God have the worries of your heart. Get right with God so you are able to remove the blinders of your family and friends. Keep and Share the Love and Word of God.

Rob, Servant of God

Jesus wants us to commit fully to The Father by committing our lives to following the Way which He taught us to live. We, as humans often do, find an excuse not to do what it is that needs to be done. Rather we do things we want to do or we do nothing at all and waste away. Luke 9:57-62 tells us about two such persons who desires to follow but makes an excuse.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62

Taking Care of Mortal Things Before Following Christ

How often do we make the excuse that before we go somewhere or do something we have to take care of something else first? Sometime the thing can wait. Sometimes it really does not need done. Sometimes it is someone else’s job and you just want to be there to see it completed. The last one is the case in this man’s excuse.

Jewish burials were a two-step process. The body first goes into a cave and lays dormant until all that is left is the bones. The bones are then put into an ossuary and reburied in a family crypt. In the case of the man burying his father, the body has already been placed in the tomb and is decomposing. He probably just finished the time of mourning and wished to see the burial all the way through. There were people whom today we would call morticians who took care of the second part.

So when Jesus says, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”, He was saying that the man’s time is done and stop delaying what is required of him. To follow Jesus, everything else that is in the world no longer matters. Turning to God in full devotion is to stop focusing on things of the world and placing the whole self in the Hands of God. 

 Don’t Look Back

Why do we look back at our past when we turn towards God? The longer we wait to put God first, the harder it is not to look back and give up our foolish ways. In the case of the man wanting to say goodbye to His family Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” One cannot keep looking back and still plow straight.

 He was not saying that the person would never see his family again. When we look back into what our lives were prior to knowing God, we have a tendency to miss our previous lives. What Jesus wanted the man to do was look ahead and focus on God so he would not stumble on the narrow path. Once ready, the man could return home to get his family and help them turn to God.

 The focus must be forward and not looking back. God does not want us to ask ourselves what might have been if I did this instead of that. If we focus on the might have been instead of where we are in God’s Hands, then we are easily influenced to falter. To proclaim the kingdom of God requires one’s full and urgent commitment. There is no place for what could be or might have in matters of the flesh when God is what matters most.

Our spiritual lives are more important in the grand scheme of thing than what we do in this life. How we are in our Spiritual life will help us maintain a healthier and more memorable physical life. If we focus on the physical, material life alone what reward is there for us in Heaven, we cannot have material things as a spiritual being. 

Brothers and Sisters, When we look back in Scripture and see the direction God desired for His people, we also see the guidance He gave. Following God’s Spiritual guidance in the mortal world is not that easy so God gave us a part of Himself which had already been on and in the earth but would now have physical form. God had a name for His Word that Saves us. He gave it to Isaiah, and to Mary and Joseph. The whole world knew of the God-man. We have Him in our hearts because that is where He needs to be. The Word is in us, all we have to do is listen and let the Holy Spirit guide us.

Turn Back to God and Give up your Foolish ways. There is no excuse not to.

Rob, Servant of God

Jesus the Hebrew is so much more than what we can comprehend. To learn more about our Savior we cannot just go by our translation but dig deeper through prayer and reading translations of the original language and discovering what was left out of our translations. For those that say the King James is their only source, you are really missing out because thy, thou and other words common to the era were not used when writing this in the original language. Replacing words with common vernacular actually remove the original meaning and intent.

Why is it important to know Hebrew? It is the language which was spoken to the people chosen by God after the separating of languages at the Tower of Babel. Was it the original language spoken by all? Of that we cannot be 100% certain. Some say that Sumerian Sanskrit is the first. It may have been the first written language from which all written comes from. That may be true as Abraham came from the land of Ur of Sumer. But Hebrew is the language that we must learn to become closer to God until He endows us with His truth.

Malach HaShem

Literally messenger of God, Malach are His angels that come with His Word (guidance and direction) meant for specific people at specific times. Scripture tells us that the Malach HaShem came to many in a form pleasing to the eyes. There were instances where God Himself came to speak.
Scripture talks about fire or smoke and voices that come out from them. These are instances of God delivering personal guidance because no human can physically look upon the true face of God and live. Another way we read of God specifically speaking was in dreams or directly into the mind and heart.

Our understanding of the Triune God is found in the God breathed Scripture and other writings from which the Old Testament is formed, but it was not stated in that way. Our understanding is that God had not yet released the Word fully into the world. Does this mean that who we would later know as Jesus was in motion during the Ancient times? Yes and no. It appears that God still desired a personal relationship but had to do so at a distance and personally unseen because of sin in the world.  

D’var HaShem

When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, they took the third Commandment serious enough to not even speak the name of God. To avoid taking the Lord’s Name in vain they substituted His Name with HaShem. The Hebrew for Word is D’var and is found a lot in Scripture but not where the Angel of the Lord is said to have come down. Isaiah 55:11 talks about God sending His Word:

                                               so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
                                                                   it shall not return to me empty,
                                                    but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
                                                and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

God does things on His time for the purpose of guiding us in His direction. The Book of Joshua tells us that God wants us to remember His Word in our hearts in order to do things of and for Him with our hands. The Israelites had made physical reminders for studying and memorizing the Word. These items were worn and placed on the doors. The Word may have been memorized but many did not truly have it in their hearts as the guiding factor of their lives.    

God in the Flesh

Isiah 53 speaks of God’s direct Malach and D’var coming to the world and being rejected by the people Israel. What we understand today is that it is all part of the plan. The person whom we call Jesus was rejected by the very people He was sent to bring back to God. This appears to be a part of a bigger plan for us because our sins were taken upon Him so that God would be able to reestablish the personal link between Him and us. The D’var HaShem became flesh and returned to God in the original form in which we will become.

Brothers and Sisters,
I understand that some things may be a bit uncomfortable to learn but we have been told so many things through the mouths and hearts of man who departed from the will of God. We need to get back to the basics to learn the truth. Part of that is knowing that The one called Jesus has many names but the one name that is His is D’var HaShem. Above this is the Only name which we know as I Am.

Rob, Servant of God

There are many books, devotionals, studies, and sermons that cover the Jewishness of Jesus. This is all great and good but there is something that most miss. Jesus was not just a Jew from Galilee, He was the physical body that held the Word of God given to Adam and his family, then Noah on down through the ages to the Hebrews. The Hebrew Nation held on the Word of God the best they could and when God came down Himself in the form of Jesus, the Word spoken to the nation Israel was the exact words used by God to the Hebrews but made to be understood by the people of that time.               For the next few weeks we are going to just barely break the surface on Jesus in the Old Testament. Now some may already think that Jesus was the Angel of God which came down to many and delivered instruction or warnings, it was not really Jesus just yet but an embodiment of the Word still in the angelic form. At that time the flesh body was not needed so we cannot say it was Jesus.                God's angels were given tasks to move the people forward in His plan and bring people back to Him. The Word was carved in stone, written on tablets and scrolls. The problem was man's misinterpretations of God's meanings because man has always tried to make human physical sense of the Holy, Spiritual meaning and desires of God. This coming week we are going to look at the burial of the people and what Jesus means when He said, "Let the dead bury their own".                                 See you tomorrow,                                                                                                                                                                Rob, Servant of God