God's Got Your Back

In this post, I’d like to share with you some Hebrew words and their translation. They have some personal significance in my life. God does watch over us all.

Jeremiah 1:11-12

11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. 12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."

When God calls Jeremiah, the prophet sees an almond tree in his vision (1:11), and God responds. Just as Jeremiah sees an almond branch, God watches that His word will be fulfilled. In Hebrew, the words for almond branch and watch have the same root. God uses a play on words to show Jeremiah that His word will be fulfilled.

almond (tree)
Original Word:

Transliteration: shaqed
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-kade')
Short Definition: almond


to watch, wake
Original Word:

Transliteration: shaqad
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-kad')
Short Definition: hasten

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve shared a post of some pictures I drew and one of them was from when I had a vision. My vision had a banner in it. If you want to check it out, here’s the link. For some reason, when I was a kid, I always liked the phrase, Jehovah-nissi, but I never knew what it meant. It turns out, this Hebrew phrase means God is my banner. It’s incredible, because this was in my vision for years, and didn’t know what Jehovah-nissi meant until 2010. Like God told Jeremiah He was gonna watch out for him and use him to accomplish His will, He in similar way, He told me the same thing in His unique way. God is awesome!

Jehovah-nissi (God is my banner)
Original Word:

Transliteration: Yhvh Nissi
Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-ho-vaw' nis-see')
Short Definition: Jehovah-nissi

READ ALL ABOUT IT: PROPHETS OF OLD PREDICT FUTURE!

On tonight's post, I just wanted to share this documentary from the History Channel via Youtube. It has to do with some of the prophets from the Old Testament and their prophesies from God, and how they were fulfilled. Even the ones about Jesus, our Messiah. So it's very interesting and surprisingly error-free.

(Warning, there are some disturbing Holocaust images, so be advised. Not throughout the piece, but just here and there.)

Thoughts On A Hardened Heart

In this posting, I need you to read the scripture so I can explain this posting.

Romans 9:14-26

14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25As he says in Hosea:
"I will call them 'my people' who are not my people;
and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," 26and,
"It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,
'You are not my people,'
they will be called 'sons of the living God.'”

After reading this, some may say that that means God creates people just to use them and then send them to hell. And I don’t think that’s the case at all! ‘Cause if Pharaoh wanted to, he could have turned away from his false gods and started serving the one true God after seeing His mighty plagues. Yes, God hardened his heart. And the wrath of God came on Pharaoh. But during or after the wrath, any point in time he could have turned from his ways. The same thing goes for Judas when he betrayed Jesus. If he hadn’t killed himself so quickly, he could have asked the Lord to forgive him of his evil doings. In either case, they could have turned from their wickedness and destroyed their old way of life – with God’s forgiveness and mercy. So as the scriptures says, they would put the old man to death, which would have referred to their old way of life.

Yes, there are consequences to sin. But it doesn’t stop there. Thankfully there’s God’s love and grace. Now, I’d like to show you the scripture that brought me to this awesome conclusion.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So if you really want change, and you don’t want to live the way have been, and you want to get rid of the things that are plaguing your life, all you have to do is cry out to God and tell Him you need and want His forgiveness through His Son, who died for you and rose again. It’s all about trusting God to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. We need his Holy Spirit to help us do what we can’t do on our own. It’s not about memorizing a bunch of verses or a bunch of religious words, it’s about your heart and how desperately it needs help and be honest with God, because he knows all about you. Trust God and what He says. Start praying and have a conversation with God. Praying is just having a conversation with God. The Bible is great way for you to learn what God is about and what He wants from us. It’s a relationship, believe it or not. Life might not always be easy, but God will be with you every step of the way.

God bless and catch you later…

Yom Kippur War

Today is Yom Kippur. This is the day that the priests would go into the Temple of the Lord and enter into the Holy of Holies. This only happens once a year. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.

When I was exploring Youtube for more information, I stumbled on this documentary on the Yom Kippur war, which took place in Israel in 1973. I found this video before I started studying the 7 Feasts of the Lord. Now I see how it was such an insult to attack Israel on this Holiest of days.

Here is the documentary in full. Most Aericans aren't familiar with this war. As you watch these videos, you will see the Israelites show their resolve as Israel is often outnumbered and yet they persevere with God's hand.

Ever since the inception of the Jewish State in 1948, it seems as though Israel gets a lot of flack for merely defending itself. As you watch this documentary, which seems unbiased, you'll see that the Israelite's ferocious self-defense is necessary in order to survive, even to this day.

So when you hear someone griping about Israel, remember that Israel is surrounded by countries that want them dead. How can Islam say Israel has always belonged to them, when Islam was created 300 years after Jesus Christ, who was a Jewish man living in Israel, where it is now.

Rosh Hashanah Add-On Post

This is sort of an add-on to the Rosh Hashanah post I published on Friday.

I was curious about the foods Jewish people enjoy on Rosh Hashanah and found this informative video on youtube.



I also was interested, since the trumpet or shofar is so closely related to Rosh Hashanah, I wanted to hear a sample of it. So here is a video featuring a shofar.

Thoughts on what church should be about.

This is a great scripture from the New Testament. It’s an incredible example of what church should be about. Sometimes we need a reminder of what church is supposed to be like, because there are a lot of churches who have veered away from the pure essentials. The scripture is very self-explanatory.

Colossians 3:1-17

Rules for Holy Living
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This scripture pretty sums up what life and our relationship with the Lord should consist of. I know it’s one thing to read and a whole other thing to live it. But I know with the help of God’s Holy Spirit we can attain this lifestyle.

May the Lord bless you and have a great day!

We Must Not Forget 9-11

My heart goes out to every family that was affected by the extremist Islamic act of terrorism. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob bless you and fill your life with the joy of His love.

Ay! Did You Just Hear A Trumpet?

In this post I’d like to share with you about Rosh Hashanah, one of the fall feasts of the Lord from the Old Testament that is still significant to Jews and Gentiles today, especially as it correlates to the Messiah. Rosh Hashanah, in Hebrew, means “Day of Blowing”. It is also known as Yom Teru’ah, in Hebrew, meaning “Head of the Year”. The origin of this holiday goes all the way back to the Torah.

Leviticus 23:24-25

Feast of Trumpets23 The LORD said to Moses, 24 "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.' "

Rosh Hashanah started Thursday the 9th of September and ends on the 18th, when Yom Kippur starts. Some more info about Rosh Hashanah: It marks the beginning of the Jewish year; it lasts ten days; each day there is a special service where trumpets are blown a hundred times, If I’ve learned correctly; also a time of repentance and remembering God’s atonement for our sins as well as His mercy. It can also be a time to remind us of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites in the Old Testament when He brought down the walls of Jericho after they marched for 7 days and blew the trumpets.

It’s so amazing all the things this one holiday represents. One of the greatest things it represents is Jesus Christ, our returning Messiah. I can’t wait for us to be caught away when we hear the trumpet blast of God.

Mathew 24:29-31

29"Immediately after the distress of those days" 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Before I leave you with one more scripture, I wanted to say it’s neat that Jesus celebrated this same festival. And He’s going to fulfill it, prophetically, someday. I hope this gives somebody some new insight. It’s something I just learned about. I was very excited to get this post published. So, please no hate mail if I left something out. I’ll leave you with this encouraging scripture. Ay! Did you just hear a trumpet?

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in 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. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Thoughts On Tradition

We need to be careful and not let tradition rule our lives.

Mark 7:1-23

Clean and Unclean
1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.' 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
9And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")
20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

Philippians 4:8

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

James 3:17-18

17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Tradition can be as bad as trying to earn your salvation. That just doesn’t happen. How can we possibly do enough things to impress God? No. We must rely on his grace and forgiveness. His grace is like mercy, giving us what we don’t deserve. Forgiveness and reconciliation from the curse of sin through the crucifixion death and resurrection of Yeshua, the Son of God is all we need to know and believe in to receive a spot in heaven. So next time we hear a style of Christian music we don’t like, we shouldn’t get so upset. I’m talking to me, too. Let’s try to do something fresh and new for the Lord, not something old and dusty. But that doesn’t mean old things are bad, necessarily. We must learn from history so we don’t make the same mistake twice.

Everybody have a good day. And I hope this blog spurs somebody forward to do something new for Christ.