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ISSUE: #50 |
MEM(Messianic Email Message)Psalms 119:97 - 104 |
www.seekingthetruth.com |
For His Glory!
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Message |
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A Time to Love and a Time to Hate (Ecclesiastes 3:8)(Scriptures taken form NAS unless noted.) Is there ever a time to hate? If you are reading this early this month it is the time of the Passover observation. A time when we examine ourselves; to renew the covenant we have made with our Savior and the Father. It is all about being forgiven for our sin and receiving the grace of Elohim that empowers us to live a life free from the bondage of sin; to be conformed to the image of Yeshua. So we examine ourselves and see if we have been living a life worthy of His name. But is not hatred a sin? Yes if we direct it toward the Creator or his creatures. Are there then some things we should hate? Let us look at a few Scriptures: Isaiah 61:8 For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrong; ... (RSV) Hosea 9:15 All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! ... Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Zechariah 8:17 ‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,’ declares the LORD." Malachi 2:16 "For I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the LORD of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." Revelation 2:6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Reviewing the above scriptures we see what Elohim hates, evil, robbery, wrong, wickedness, divorce; therefore we also should hate the evil within and wicked deeds without. How have you done this Passover season? Or anytime for that matter. 2 Corinthians 13:4-5 For though Jesus was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. As we are weak with him, so we are alive with him by the power of God who is within you. (Lamsa) Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? 7 Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; … but that you may do what is right, ... |
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Proverb |
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Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Proverbs 3:7 …Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. And the ‘fear of the LORD’ is: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge ... Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom ... Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life... |
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Saying (s) |
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"A total commitment is paramount to reaching the ultimate performance." Tom Flores NFL coach Total commitment in the physical realm applies in the Spiritual realm also; Yeshua says: "AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’…‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31-32) That sums up total commitment! |
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Bible Quiz |
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Humility |
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"Even as we need to look to the first Adam and his failure to know the power of sin within us, we need to know the Second Adam and His power to give us the life of humility as real and abiding and enabling as was the life of pride… The life of God that entered human nature through the incarnation, is the root in which we are to stand and grow; it is the same almighty power that worked there, at the cross, and onward to the Resurrection, which works daily in us. It is of utmost importance that we study to know and trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now ours, and waits for our consent to gain possession and mastery of our whole being." Andrew Murray At the Passover meal it was Yeshua that said, "for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28) Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony... From an unclean vessel to a place of abode for Elohim, through the blood of Yeshua. Ephesians 2:1-10 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 17-22 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. |
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Did you know: |
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Amazing Bible Facts And Statistics - compiled from various sites and sources. BIBLE FACTS: A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves. According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day. The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours. There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version. A number of verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the alphabet: Ezra 7:21 contains all but the letter j; Joshua 7:24, 1 Kings 1:9, 1 Chronicles 12:40, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Ezekiel 28:13, Daniel 4:37, and Haggai 1:1 contain all but q; 2 Kings 16:15 and BIBLE STATISTICS: OLD TESTAMENT STATISTICS: NEW TESTAMENT STATISTICS: |
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Lighter Side |
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Two little kids are in a hospital, lying on stretchers next to each other outside the operating room. The first kid leans over and asks, "What are you in here for?" The second kid says, "I'm in here to get my tonsils out, and I'm a little nervous." The first kid says, "You've got nothing to worry about. I had that done when I was four. They put you to sleep and when you wake up they give you lots of Jell-O and ice cream. It's a breeze!" The second kid then asks, "What are you in for?" The first kid says, "A circumcision." And the second kid says, "Whoa! I had that done when I was born. Couldn't walk for a year." |
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The Garden Path |
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I hate to give up on a plant. This past week though I relegated seven plants to their end in the compost pile. It all started with one Algerian ivy cutting that had scale. I knew it had scale when I got it, but I thought, "Oh, I can live with that, I’ll wash it off and cure it." Nope, that didn’t work. Scale is a tiny invertebrate that hides beneath a hard shell while sucking the life out of the plant. The shell or scale protects it from water, dish soap and sometimes, even alcohol. I had to scrape the little creatures off with my fingernail and if I missed one or didn’t get all the eggs, they would be back with a vengeance and spread on to the next plant. So with ten infested plants, I threw seven away and the other three are in isolation far away from living green foliage and are being dosed with neem oil and subjected to regular fingernail scrapings. I hope I will conquer this scale, as these plants are a large schefflera, an orchid, and a bonsai fig tree. I had a thought this past week as I was carefully inspecting each leaf of my fig. Do I hunt out sin with this same fervor? Am I getting all the scale out of the nooks and crannies of my heart? If I don’t, sin will suck the joy right out of my relationship with Yeshua and cause my edges to yellow. |
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A Story |
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Bobby was playing in the sand box in his parent’s back yard. Making a roadway in the sand with a toy bulldozer he uttered whirring and clunking noises as most six year old boys do. He did not notice a pair of blue eyes peering at him from a dirty little face with a disheveled head of golden hair. She was clinging to the chain link fence that separated Bobbie’s yard from the others. "What cha’ doin’?" came the voice through the fence. Startled, Bobby looked up to see the urchin. "Nothing," he replied. "Then why ya’ makin’ all the noise?" came her reply. Bobby shot back, "Cause." "Kin I play too?" she asked. "Nope," said Bobby. "Why? And why don’t you talk more?" asked the little girl. "Well first you are a girl, then you are dirty, your jeans are dirty and have holes in them, your hair is all messed and girls play with dolls. There, was that enough talk?" Bobby shot back. A tear started to trickle down the little girl’s face, leaving a clean white trail. "I have no one to play wit’, I don’t know who my fad’er is and my mod’er is hardly ever home. I have no doll or clean cloths without holes. Could we be friends? My name is Goldie, what’s yours?" was her plea. "Yuck! We don’t associate with people like you; besides you talk funny." Bobby came back without even looking up. "Besides it is almost time to go in and get ready for church." "Church? What’s that, and why do you go there?" asked the little one. "We go there to learn about God, to learn how to be good, to sing about Jesus the Savior." Now that was quite a mouth full for a six year old. Surely his parents must have drilled all that into his little head from day one. "Kin I go wit’ you?" "No way, I told you, you are dirty and you do not have clean clothes without holes, besides you do not even know about church and probably don’t know Jesus." Bobby felt he had put and end to the little pest. "When you levin’, I could go to the house and wash, maybe get some cleaner clothes, and comb my hair, I don’t have a brush. I want to lern abo’t Jesus and how to be good." She begged. "No," he replied, "I have to go; besides, you would get our new car dirty; go bug someone else." As he jumped up and started toward the house, she called after him asking how long before he would be back and would he tell her what he learned about Jesus. He looked back with a shrug of his shoulder, "I do not know, maybe" as he began to run. He saw Goldie still clinging to the fence and tears streaming down her face; by now he could barely hear her soft whimpering sobs. On the way to church Bobby told his parents about his encounter with the filthy, little golden haired girl named, Goldie. They warned him to stay on his side of the fence and not to get involved with those that were the result of living the sinful way of life in this world, without the loving Christ. That afternoon Bobby went out to play; he had gone to church, after that to a fancy restaurant, and then he took a nap. He had forgotten about Goldie. But there she was sitting on the ground with her back against the fence; when she heard him coming she jumped up with a smiling face, asking him about the Jesus he learned about at church. Bobby was going to tell her how sinful she must be because she did not have good clothes or a father and was dirty when he noticed she had tried to clean herself and her hair was somewhat neat. Her clothes were cleaner but still wrinkles and a few holes. He recalled the words of the preacher telling about how Jesus had to die on a cross to save sinners, that believing in Him they could have eternal life. Was Goldie a sinner he died for? He went to the fence and looked her in the eye. He pressed his hand against the wire links to touch her hand. "I will tell you as much as I know about Jesus." He said. "Did you have anything to eat?" "Yes, I had the last slice of bread, there was nothing to put on it, but that is ok, tell me about Jesus." She was stunned when she saw Bobby spin around and run to his house. A couple of minutes later he returned with a white box, "Here," he said, as he handed it over the fence by climbing up and reaching over, "this is what was left over from my meal today. It is yours." Sitting cross legged on the ground Goldie opened the carton; her eyes grew wide as she saw the food inside. "Please eat, I will tell you about the one who came from God the Father to pay for our sins by dying on a cross, so we can be free from sins and know Jesus as our Savior and live forever." Matthew 21:16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?" |
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Quiz Answers |
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1. Acts – Acts 7:56 2. Daniel – Daniel 2:44 3. Bethany – John 12:1-3 4. Sin – 1 Corinthians 15:56 5. Yes Genesis 27:19 6. Esau – Genesis 27:19 7. the Pharisee – Luke 18:11 |
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