YAHWEH is our Rock and Deliverer

He was for Samuel, and He is for us…

2 Samuel 22:1 David said the words of this song to ADONAI on the day ADONAI delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Sha’ul. 2 He said: “YAHWEH is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, 3 the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold and my refuge. My savior, you have saved me from violence. 4 I call on ADONAI, who is worthy of praise; and I am saved from my enemies.

2 Samuel 22:26 With the merciful, you are merciful; with the champion of purity, you are pure; 27 with the honest, you are honest; but with the crooked you are cunning. 28 People afflicted, you save; but when your eyes are on the haughty, you humble them.

2 Samuel 22:33 For who is ELOHIM but Adonai, and who is a Rock but our God? “YAHWEH is my strength and protection; he makes my way go straight. 34 He makes me swift and sure-footed as a deer and enables me to stand on my high places. 35 He trains my hands for war until my arms can bend a bow of bronze; 36 You give me your shield, which is salvation; your answers make me great. 37 You lengthen the steps I can take, yet my ankles do not turn.

2 Samuel 22:47 “ADONAI is alive! Blessed is my Rock! Exalted be YAHWEH, the Rock of my salvation, 48 the God who gives me vengeance and makes peoples submit to me. 49 He brings me out from my enemies. You raise me over those who rebel against me, you rescue me from violent men. 50 “So I give thanks to you, ADONAI, among the nations; I sing praises to your name. 51 He is a tower of salvation for his king; he displays grace to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” (ISR)

Why the Apostles couldn’t, and never did, suggest that “Torah” was abolished

A MINI-STUDY ABOUT WHY THE APOSTLES COULDN’T, AND NEVER DID, SUGGEST THAT “TORAH” WAS ABOLISHED:

1 John 1:8. And if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  9. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our iniquity.  10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not with us. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:

“Elohim is light”, (1 John 1:5); therefore, it can be argued that at Creation when YHWH said, “Let there be light”, Genesis 1:3, that He in effect brought a part of Himself out to accomplish the creative act.

The “Word” does this same feat, Psalm 33:6; John 1:1; a few lines earlier we read the “Word of Life.” We have also seen before the direct linguistic relationship between the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for “Light” and “Torah” such as: “Your word (davar) is a lamp to my feet, a light (aur) to my path.” Psalm 119:105. “For the commandment is a lamp. The teaching is a light (aur), and the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines.” Proverbs 6:23

What makes this citation in Proverbs most profound is the word mitzvah (commandment), since tradition commonly calls the revelation at Sinai the Ten Commandments when in fact the Tanakh uses davarim (words)! Keep this in mind while considering 1 John 2:4. “He who says I know Him and does not keep His Commandments (poqadona) is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word (miltha) in him, verily is the love of Elohim perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him.” 1 John 2:4 (Lamsa).

Aramaic could not make a more forceful point. The fact is, poqadona and miltha are exceedingly close matches for their Hebrew counterparts mitzvah in Proverbs, and davar in Psalms. However, it is in this next passage that the full measure of John’s brilliance is shown: “My beloved, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning.” 1 John 2:7 (Lamsa) The Commandment is the Word, which comes from the beginning.

We must now realize that to translate this as “his Commandments” is wrong, but “His Commandments” is correct. “His Commandments” is the WORD which came from the very beginning of time. Many fail to understand this truth: It is impossible for Torah to have passed away during the lifetime of the Shlichim/Apostles if John himself writes about the Word they have heard from the beginning.

What else could this WORD be, except the living Torah! John is a native Aramaic speaker and follower of Y’shua who knows that the WORD (or the Torah of YHWH) comes from the “Light”; he states that Elohim is Light and that we abide in that Light when we do His Mitzvot/Poqadona/Commandments.

Furthermore, the interchanging of “Word” and “Commandment” simply does not happen in any other language except Hebrew and Aramaic, the “word that you have heard” is the Shema!

- SOURCE: Aramaic-Endlish New Testament

BEHOLD THE AWESOME POWER OF ELOHIM!

The Hebrew letter H - ה - is pronounced “Hey, or Hay.” It is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and represents God’s Creative Power, the divine breath, revelation and light. Note that the Sacred Name of YHWH (which looks like this in Hebrew - יהוה ) includes TWO instances of the letter Hey…

Psalm 33: 6By the word of ADONAI the heavens were made, and their whole host by a breath from his mouth. 7 He collects the sea waters together in a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear ADONAI! Let all living in the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spoke, and there it was; he commanded, and there it stood. (CJB)

Ever thought about how we humans seem to do things in cycles?

EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE HUMANS SEEM TO DO THINGS IN CYCLES, every so often repeating things ad nauseam, until we’re right back to where we started from?

When you think about it, our world today isn't really any different from “the olden days.” Yes, we have great new inventions and gadgets and gee-gaws and stuff to make our life easier today, but have men REALLY changed?

(If you answer was “yes” to that, then please answer WHY do we still have wars and poverty, and racial tension, and division, and animosities toward certain people groups, and a whole gamut of other dilemmas that ebb and flow, yet never seem to go away? We ALWAYS end up repeating history!)

Take the Bible, for instance, the stories about the various kings. One king would do things according to Torah – and life would be great for however long he lived or was in power. And then his successor, recognizing how great life was, would slack off and forget all about ADONAI and His Divine Instructions, and suddenly, everything went downhill – a cycle that repeated for centuries…

Problem is, as educated as we are in today’s world, we humans STILL tend to go in cycles ... often "full circle" like a caged rodent in an exercise wheel, running round and round, going nowhere. We knock ourselves out to "do better" and have all these great ideas and remedies to situations - yet most of the time, we revert back to doing EXACTLY what we attempted to change, make better, or avoid. We really never seem to learn…

We get in ruts, doing what we “know” and are accustomed to – and if that doesn’t work, we’re willing to change things up just a little bit, convincing ourselves that THIS TIME it will work out if we “just continue along this path.”

Yet, more often than not, we end up back exactly where we started from because “life got in the way,” or there were too many "voices" and/or opinions from the "peanut gallery" telling us what to do, etc. We humans often make a million excuses in our attempts to justify our failures…

BOTTOM LINE: mankind simply never learns. We might try to "accomplish something better in the future," but in the end, we often revert back to "who we were" and "how we used to do things." Hardly anyone realizes that things would “go well for us” IF WE SIMPLY STARTED SEEKING ADONAI ELOHIM in prayer, and OBEYING His Torah (Divine Instructions in Righteousness)!

Revelation 22: 14. Blessed are they who do His (Master YHWH's) Mitzvot, that they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. (AENT)

(See Deuteronomy 27:26 and 28:1-15; Romans 1: 22-31; 2 Peter 2:19-22; and Matthew 24:3-14.)

PONDERING THESE THINGS TODAY reminded me of this little story we counselors used in a church "Singles Adjustment Seminar" (a weekend for newly divorced or widowed people). It went something like this:

Satan hates you and he wants to hurt/maim/kill you! He keeps us on a "merry-go-round" from which we cannot escape, because he knows our likes and dislikes and the "ruts" we are in. We are creatures of habit and will ALWAYS gravitate back to what we know.

Here is an example:

A guy comes to a "fork" in the road. He looks to the left and sees a lot of bumps and potholes. He looks to the right and the road looks a lot newer and better, so he takes that one. He walks for a long time with no problems, then all of a sudden, he falls into a huge pothole - one so big, it takes him days to climb out.

So, he goes back to the fork in the road, looks to the left and the right. The left has all those potholes and the right is still smooth, so he figures, now since he knows where that big pothole is, he will just walk around it, and so he takes that "right" road again.

When he gets to the pothole, he walks around it, but didn't realize there was another, even bigger one on the other side, and he falls into that one, which again takes him days to climb out of. Once he does, he goes back to the fork, but rather than to try to see where that other road leads, he once again decides to take the smoother-looking road, because now he knows where those two potholes are, and he'll just be extra careful this time...

Do you get it? Instead of taking that "bumpy road" at the "fork in the road," we often attempt to fix ourselves the SAME way we always did - except from several different angles, doing what is "right" according to our limited human mindsets.

We like to believe we are in control, never stopping to think that, if we were to LET GO of what we THINK we know, we could begin to find some better remedies and get to our final destination a stronger, smarter person helping humanity to live in a better, smarter, more peaceful world…

The other way – with what we THINK we know - can kill us! And that is what Satan is counting on. After all, if you're dead, you no longer have a chance to "get yourself right with God!"

THINK ABOUT THAT!

Responding to a Christian pastor who seeks to “save Messianic believers” from “the law”…

BELOW IS MY RESPONSE TO A CHRISTIAN PASTOR WHO SENDS TORAH OBSERVANT BELIEVERS IN MESSIAH "friend requests" on Facebook, in his attempts to show them that they have placed themselves "under the law" and are busy “working" to earn their salvation. He has ignored any attempts at actual dialogue, and simply keeps posting things like the ones shown below:

:

SO, HERE IS MY PUBLIC RESPONSE:

Brother, you keep preaching that the Torah (Pentateuch – which is our ONLY blueprint for moral, holy living) is evil, while concentrating only on the last fourth of the Bible, as if that is ALL believers need to know. That kind of teaching – according to Scripture - is a HUGE error, leading astray those who truly wish to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

Without the Torah we wouldn’t know what holy, or set apart means. Jews keep Torah, but God doesn't expect only the Jews to be holy, does He? Problem is, their eyes have not yet been opened to the Truth of Messiah Yeshua (His Divine Son whose given Hebrew name “Yeshua” means “YAHWEH is Salvation”).

On the other hand, we have Christians – people such as yourself - refusing Torah, yet “believing in Jesus,” who supposedly came to bring a “new religion” based on nothing but faith and “grace” (as if grace didn’t exist in the “Old Testament!”) and to abolish everything His Father ever commanded, including the keeping of His commanded Seventh Day Sabbath (which is a SIGN between Him and His people - Exodus 31:16-17;and Ezekiel 20:11-12),along with the commanded seven yearly Festivals - ALL of which foreshadow Messiah Yeshua...

WHY would He have sent Yeshua to ABOLISH those things?

BOTTOM LINE IS:  NEITHER side is humble enough to admit or recognize that it takes BOTH – Torah AND belief in Yeshua – to live according to God’s Will…

So, let’s take a look at what the “New Testament” actually says about Torah - which Christians erroneously believe means “Law”; while being adamant that those laws are “evil”…

1 John 2: 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked.(CJB)

How did he walk? By Torah! Y'shua didn't make up new rules. He kept Torah and expected US to follow suit. You can only know the him through the law and the testimony! Take a look:

Revelation 12: 17 "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands AND bear witness to Yeshua." (CJB)

Revelation 14: 12 "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands AND exercise Yeshua's faithfulness." (CJB)

Please note, the above scriptures don't mention the "Ten Commandments". They simply refer to "the Commands" or "the Commandments" depending on which Bible version you use.

God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah." (CJB)

Proverbs 28:9 If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination. (CJB)

NO ONE is born into "just knowing" Torah – and they certainly don’t have it “written on their hearts” yet, because, if that were the case, ALL of us would be obeying YHWH's Divine Instructions without question, without even having to teach each other.

The truth is, you are no longer a Gentile, once you have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Messiah. You are ONE in Christ!  (See Genesis 12 where Abraham became a "Hebrew" – which, in Hebrew, means "to cross over" - when he accepted YHWH as his God, and physically crossed over into the land YHWH commanded. The same is true for you!)

The Torah tells us that myriads of pagan Egyptians followed Moshe/Moses out of Egypt when YHWH liberated His people. They ALL stood at the base of Mt Sinai and saw and heard what went on there, and God even commanded them to do EXACTLY as His people did - See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13. 

His Word stands forever, which means that NONE of that has changed!  If  neither YAHWEH nor Yeshua changed or abolished those rules, what makes YOU think you have a right to?

Most Christians have a totally skewed view of BOTH “testaments,” which is a real shame, because Yeshua came NOT to bring a new religion, but to preach the Kingdom and do everything his Father commanded. He NEVER, EVER said he came to bring another religion that allowed people to do whatever they wished...

Please try to remove your preconceived notions, to understand what was written in the following passages:

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (CJB)

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

And here's something that seems to be totally ignored by Christian pastors:

Acts 28: 23 From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. (CJB)

Having said the above, I leave you with these questions, which every true seeker should sincerely ponder:

1. Do you love God with all your heart, mind and soul?

2. If so, what do you DO to show you love Him?

3. Are you living a holy/set apart life? How do you know?

4. Since most Christians believe that the "Old Testament" was only for the Jews, are only Jews expected to live holy lives? Show scriptural proof that Torah was "only for the Jews."

5. In your own words, explain what "the law" is and what "under the law" means.

6. Find a scripture commanding us to celebrate the Messiah's birth and that this holiday should be called "Christmas."

7. Provide scripture showing the Seventh Day Sabbath was changed to Sunday.

8. Provide scripture to show there are only two commandments.

9. Provide scripture to show why His seven Feasts/Appointed Times wouldn't apply to Christians.

10. Find scripture that says God's Divine Instructions in Righteousness (Torah) were ever negated.

11. Do you adhere to the commands of YHWH/The Father and the teachings of Jesus, or do you constantly quote from the writings of Paul to show that God's Divine Instructions in Righteousness have been abolished?

12. If the law was nailed to the tree/cross, how can it now be in your heart?

You are cordially invited to click on the link to our Christian Questionnaire and check your answers against the BIBLICAL responses on our website. 

Once you’ve done that, please ask God to help you decide what to do: to either to remain where you are in your faith, or at least become interested enough to learn about, and to “grow” in Torah, so that you can become knowledgeable enough to make up your mind as to whether accept or reject God’s “whole Bible concept” that joins BOTH the Torah AND belief in YAHWEH’s Divine Messiah who died, in part, to give you the freedom to CHOOSE…

Did you know that many of our believing brethren are duped into rejecting Messiah Yeshua?

IT’S TRUE! There are many folks on the Internet who are busy trying to get people to reject the entire “New Testament” and “convert” to Judaism…

They first start out by attacking the often-misunderstood teachings of Paul; then point out that this “mere man,” Jesus (whom they call an “idol”) has failed to fulfill ALL the prophecies outlined in Torah, which makes him a FALSE messiah. (They refuse to refer to Yeshua’s given, Hebrew name, which means “YAHWEH is Salvation, thus purposely detracting from his true character and nature!)

Ultimately, they will point out that the entire “New Testament” is an anti-Torah farce concocted by Christian churches which has helped to fan the flames of anti-Semitism…

MY RESPONSE TO THEIR ALLEGATIONS:

FIRST OF ALL, YAHWEH’s TIMING IS NOT LIKE OURS, and NOTHING says Messiah would HAVE to fulfill ALL of them in a certain time frame! However, he DID fulfill at least 300 prophecies, and there are just a few more to go (including the last three of the seven mo'edim/High Holy Days/Appointed Times), which will be fulfilled after his Second Coming, when EVERY knee will bow! (See Isaiah 45:23-24; Philippians 2:10-11; Romans 14:11 and my article on The Refiner’s Fire.)

AS FOR YESHUA, he said he came to do HIS FATHER's will; not his own!

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

YHWH said HE would send a prophet who was to do everything He ordered him to do:

Deuteronomy 18: 15 "ADONAI will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves, from your own kinsmen. You are to pay attention to him, 16 just as when you were assembled at Horev and requested ADONAI your God, 'Don't let me hear the voice of ADONAI my God any more, or let me see this great fire ever again; if I do, I will die!' 17 On that occasion ADONAI said to me, 'They are right in what they are saying. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him.

John 6: 35. Y'shua said to them, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will not hunger. And whoever believes in me will not ever thirst. 36. But I have said to you that you have seen me, and you do not believe. 37. All who my Father has given to me will come, and whoever comes not to me I will cast outside! 38. For I came down from heaven,[*] not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. 39. And this is His will, that of Him who sent me, that all that He has given to me I do not lose even one. 40. For this is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him, will have life that is eternal. And I will raise him up on the last day. (AENT)

[*] As in the context of Miltha (the Word) or the "Manifestation" or the "Will of" YHWH coming down from heaven to do the Will of YHWH upon earth; his Spirit is of YHWH but his nephesh (soul) and body are human and temporal. This shows that Yeshua was NOT in charge; HIS FATHER WAS!

AS TO YOUR FALSE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT RAV SHA’UL (PAUL) – he was simply trying to explain hard-to-grasp Hebrew concepts to pagans. Unlike Yeshua, our Messiah imbued with a Divine Nature, Paul was but a mere man … who didn’t dare, nor have the right to speak against YHWH’s Torah – and, fact is, HE NEVER DID!

Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of G-d and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets.

Romans 3:31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we ESTABLISH the Law....

IN CLOSING, HERE IS AN ACTUAL EXAMPLE of one of the many ways that Messiah rejecters attempt to disprove Yeshua:

“God doesn't demand blood to atone for our sins anymore, and He especially never required human sacrifice! Furthermore, mere men can’t atone for the sins of others, anyway. Prayer and repentance are ALL that's required. Therefore, your sacrificed Jesus died for nothing. See Hosea 6:6; Jeremiah 7:22; and 1 Samuel 15:22.”

WELL, LET’S SEE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS…

Eternal life" always required that substitution or redemption of one nephesh for yours. The possibility of that substitution of an animal at the Temple is gone. You can't get that anymore. It has been replaced by your acceptance that the Messiah died for you and was redeemed for you, so you can be saved.

Leviticus 17: 11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement."

If your assumptions are correct, then we would ask you to answer this: If prayer and repentance was all that's needed, then why didn't YHWH simply have Adam and Eve pray and repent?

Truth is, blood sacrifices began to be required fairly quickly after the incident that got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden - which is why Yeshua ultimately martyred himself! … against which there is no law. (Leviticus 4:35, 5:10, 16:15 and 17:11; 2 Chronicles 7:14, Acts 3:19, etc.)

Furthermore, Yeshua wasn't sacrificed. He offered/martyred himself, against which there is NO law! How many mere men do you know whose death caused an earthquake and the sun the quit shining, darkness, with graves opening, after their resurrection? Even the demons knew who he was, as did the Roman soldier….

SO, ALL YOU “MESSIAH REJECTERS” since you believe “mere man” cannot atone for the sins of others, then please explain the following scriptures:

Exodus 28: 36 "You are to make an ornament of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal, 'Set apart for ADONAI.' 37 Fasten it to the turban with a blue cord, on the front of the turban, 38 over Aharon's forehead. Because Aharon bears the guilt for any errors committed by the people of Isra'el in consecrating their holy gifts, this ornament is always to be on his forehead, so that the gifts for ADONAI will be accepted by him.

Leviticus 6: 25 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is slain the sin offering shall be slain before the LORD; it is most holy. 26'The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting. 27'Anyone who touches its flesh will become consecrated; and when any of its blood splashes on a garment, in a holy place you shall wash what was splashed on.…

Leviticus 10: 16 Then Moshe carefully investigated what had happened to the goat of the sin offering and discovered that it had been burned up. He became angry with El'azar and Itamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, and asked, 17 "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the area of the sanctuary, since it is especially holy? He gave it to you to take away the guilt of the community, to make atonement for them before ADONAI.

BOTTOM LINE: Yeshua has already fulfilled many Messianic prophecies .. AND constantly upheld Torah! He was the living manifestation of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) within Messiah!

WARNING: (“COUNTER-MISSIONARY” RHETORIC IS AKIN TO THE SERPENT SPEAKING TO EVE IN GENESIS 3: “DID GOD REALLY SAY….?” So, if you're contemplating rejecting Yeshua, please re-read the entire Bible first!)

Let’s talk about the “F-bomb” and those who defend the use of foul language…

QUESTION: Can we truly call ourselves holy whenever we allow cusswords to glide across our tongues? Is it really okay for filthy language to come out of the SAME mouth that confesses YHWH and Yeshua?

For any true Believer, the answer to both of the above questions can only be a resounding NO!

YHWH has set the standards for moral, holy living!  Torah constantly warns us to "be holy for I am holy" - Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26, etc.); 1 Peter 1:16 reiterates this: ...because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY"; and Romans 10:10 says: “For the heart that believes in him is made righteous; and the mouth that confess him is restored to life.”

Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." First Peter 3:10 declares, "For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."

James 3 brings home the fact that “our tongue can at once be a friend and enemy.”

James 3: 6. Now the tongue is a fire, and the world of sin is like a forest. And this tongue, which is one among our members, corrupts our whole body; and it inflames the series of our generations that roll on like a wheel; and it is itself on fire. 7. For all natures of beasts and birds and reptiles of the sea or land are dominated by the nature of man.

8. But the tongue has no one been able to tame: it is an evil thing, unruly and full of deadly poison. 9. For with it, we bless Master YHWH and Father; and with it we curse men who were made in the image of Elohim: 10. and from the same mouth issues forth curses and blessings. My Brothers, these things should not be.

11. Can there flow from the same fountain, sweet and bitter waters? 12. Or can the fig-tree, my Brothers, bear olives? or the vine, figs? So also salt waters cannot be made sweet. 13. Who is wise and instructed among you? Let him show his works in praiseworthy actions, with modest wisdom. (AENT)

Yeshua explained that what comes out of our mouths is that which fills our hearts. Our speech will always indicate what is in our hearts. “From a good man the treasures that are in his good heart brings forth good things, and an evil man the evil treasures that are in his heart brings forth evil things. For the abundance of the heart speak the lips.” (Luke 6:45).

Why is it a sin to cuss /swear /curse? Sin is a condition of the heart, the mind, and “the inner man” (Romans 7:22), which is manifested in our thoughts, actions and words. When we use “bad language,” we are giving evidence of the polluting sin in our hearts that must be confessed and repented of.

Thankfully, our ELOHIM is merciful and “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The truth is, we CANNOT have the Holy Spirit within while refusing the command to “BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY!” and choosing to continue living “in the world!” Doing so is considered deliberate sinning” – for which there is no sacrifice!

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

The key is to use some common sense and ask ourselves if we would use a certain word in YHWH’s or Yeshua's presence. If the answer is “Sure, we can, because there’s no Torah command against it,” then it’s high time for us to re-read the Bible as “one entity” instead of the erroneous two separate “Testaments” - because the “two” are an ECHAD that cannot be separated or cherry-picked!

For those who attempt to defend their actions by saying things like, “Well, we do see some cussing in the Bible – and besides, Torah does NOT say that we can’t cuss!” – I offer the following food for thought:

The Bible cannot possibly "define" foul language since words come and go. Some words become obsolete, and fade from the human vocabulary (in any language) with the passing of time, and new "words" become the norm.

However, filthy words such as the “F-bomb” are DESPICABLE and downright DISGUSTING as it degrades the sex act YHWH created for humanity to pro-create beings that reflect HIS IMAGE!  (See Genesis 1:26-30, 2:7, Psalm 139:14; and John 1:12.) That particular word, unfortunately has forced its way into becoming the norm in the English language – so much so, that even supposed “Believers” think nothing of using it. 

YHWH is surely NOT very happy with that behavior!  Why?  Read on.

Bottom line:  There are plenty of Bible passages that speak to “filthy” talk. (The term “filthy” means “behavior that flouts social and moral standards, shamefulness, obscenity” while “shameful speech” denotes “speech of a kind that is generally considered in poor taste, obscene speech, dirty talk.”)  Here is one perfect example:

Ephesians 5: 1 So imitate God, as his dear children; ² and live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave himself up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance. ³ Among you there should not even be mentioned sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or greed; these are utterly inappropriate for God’s holy people.

⁴ Also out of place are obscenity and stupid talk or coarse language; instead, you should be giving thanks. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: every sexually immoral, impure or greedy person — that is, every idol-worshipper — has no share in the Kingdom of the Messiah and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty talk; for it is because of these things that God’s judgment is coming on those who disobey him. ⁷ So don’t become partners with them! (CJB)

If foul language is your “idol” then you are in trouble!  When one cannot express themselves without the use of the latest common “gutter words” then they are guilty of using "foul" language, and consequently come across as rude, crude and ungodly … plain and simple!

No matter how much the “pro-cussers” will argue and defend their usage of gutter language, the bottom line is that NO ONE unclean can appear before YHWH!  Matthew 15:11, Mark 7:15 make it clear that we “own” what comes out of our mouths, and it is that which makes us unclean.

Matthew 15:18 makes the stinging addition: "But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean."  Would we really want Yeshua telling us that he knows our heart by the language we used during our life on earth?

Few today seem to realize that their language expresses the darkness of their heart…

2 Peter 2: 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them.  22 What has happened to them accords with the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit.” Yes, “The pig washed itself, only to wallow in the mud!” (CJB).

Hebrews 10: 28. For if he who transgressed the Torah of Moshe, died without mercies at the mouth of two or three witnesses; 29. how much more, do you think, will he receive capital punishment who has trodden upon the Son of Elohim and has accounted the blood of his covenant by which he is sanctified, as the blood of all men and has treated the Spirit of grace in an insulting manner? 30. For we know him who has said, Retribution is mine and I will repay: and again, Master YHWH will judge his people. 31. It is very terrible to fall into the hands of the living Elohim. (AENT)

Why we named our website “The Refiner’s Fire”

THE STORY OF "REFINING SILVER" is part of the reason why I decided to call my website "The Refiner's Fire"...

I remember praying really hard back in 2001, when YHWH (Hebrew: most likely pronounced "Yah-way") caused me to quit my job and build a website (with no "donate" buttons!) designed to explain what Scripture was really all about. This website was to lead Jews to Yeshua, Christians to Torah, and introduce the truth of ADONAI ELOHIM and His Divine Messiah to atheists.

Having been "Messianic" for only about 5 years at the time, I had no clue what to call this kind of a website - much less try to figure out how to actually build one!

All I knew was that I wanted YHWH to be involved in every detail, right down to the name of the website. And so my late husband (Bill Welker) and I prayed hard about it.

During that time a Messianic song entitled, "Refiner's Fire" which we knew from the congregation we were attending, kept coming to mind - and, ironically, at the same time, a certain e-mail kept reappearing in my e-mail inbox, entitled, "Refining Silver."

Its meaning - though simple -was extremely powerful. In short, it was a quick lesson on how a silversmith refines silver - a message that can be applied to the many ways YHWH "refines" His own Creations.

HERE IS THE STORY contained in the email that ultimately became the reason for the name of my website:

REFINING SILVER: Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the scriptures, and make them the subject of conversation. While reading the third chapter of Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." One lady's opinion was that is was intended to convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them what he said on the subject.

She went accordingly and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know the process of refining silver, which he fully described to her. "But Sir" she said, "do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" "Oh, yes, madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured."

The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Christ sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come at random; "the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith called her back, and said he had forgotten to mention that the only way that he knows when the process of purifying is complete when he sees his own image reflected in the silver....

--Author Unknown

SO, THERE IT WAS IN A NUTSHELL! As YHWH's Creations, most of us have gone through "fire" in one way or another and, hopefully, we learned from the experience. Through our trials and tribulations, rough edges were smoothed and sharp edges were sluffed off, until we more closely resembled what we were meant to be.

God allows us to go through hard times so that we may grow and become smooth and shiny. His goal is for us to become a reflection of Him that not only He can see, but also so others can see Him in us. The sooner we realize that, the quicker we become a valuable member of the Family of God....

WAIT! HANG ON! There's one more thing:

Ironically, when my husband tried to buy the domain name "Refiner's Fire," we discovered, to our dismay, that it was taken, and that there were hundreds of "Refiner's Fire" websites on the internet, ALL of which were Christian (not Messianic) sites.

BUT YHWH CAME THROUGH! After a lot of diligent searching, Bill found the domain name "THE Refiner's Fire" ... and the rest is history....

After 23 years, The Refiner's Fire is still going strong - and we've never asked for, or received, one dime for it, because we've always made it all about HIM. Halleluyah! All glory goes to our amazing CREATOR!

How do we know that Saturday is the “seventh day on our Gregorian calendars?

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT SATURDAY on our Gregorian calendar is the "seventh day of the week?" The answer is just one click away - Here is the answer on our website!

Seventh Day Sabbath keeping is a great way to start your journey toward becoming Torah observant!

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO TORAH, one of the first things you can do to “become Torah observant” is to start keeping God’s Seventh Day Sabbath. Why the Seventh Day? Because ADONAI Himself commanded it! (Please check out our website’s article - and read all the pertinent Scripture references at the end of this article.)

Be aware, however, that your pastor, friends and family will do their level best to keep you from doing this, because they cannot understand that the Torah (first five Books of the Bible that contain all of God’s original commandments – His “do’s and don’t’s) is our ONLY blueprint for moral, holy, set-apart living; and that He COMMANDED us to keep His Seventh Day Sabbath Rest and the seven yearly High Holy Days (Festivals - all of which foreshadow Messiah Yeshua, whom Christians call “Jesus”)…

Learning to become Torah observant will require you to not only read, but also STUDY the Bible (in sequence, from Genesis to Revelation) so you can get a true grasp of what it actually says.

It will also require you to stay strong and try your best to NOT listen to your detractors, who will attempt to convince you that “you’re putting yourself back under the Law”; or that “It doesn’t matter what day you keep the Sabbath because Jesus was our Sabbath rest!”; or that “Jesus rose on a Sunday, and that’s why WE worship on Sunday”…

Truth is, YES, you CAN “worship on Sunday!” In all honesty, you can and SHOULD “worship” EVERY day! But YAHWEH's Sabbath - His commanded day of rest - always was and will continue to be the SEVENTH Day! That is, after all, one of the major things that sets us apart from the rest of the world…

REMEMBER: NO “religion” can claim they have the right to change ADONAI’s Sabbaths or Festivals/Feasts - His Appointed Times! After all, it's the "anti-Messiah" who does these things:

Daniel 7: 25 He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. (CJB)

Who are "the holy ones"? YOU are! Those who obey His Torah are “holy” because they obey His Divine Instructions in Righteousness (1 John 3:4).

So, stay strong and simply learn to recognize that the people who try to prevent you from keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath (or any of the other Torah commands that apply to us today) don’t realize that it’s not only a blessing, but a wonderful feeling to actually DO something for our Awesome Creator!

SO, WHY SHOULD YOU KEEP THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH AND HOW CAN YOU DO IT? It’s not very hard. Please read the scripture passages below, and then check out our website’s article for some suggestions ... and then prepare to be BLESSED!

(All Bible passages were borrowed from Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible.)

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.

Exodus 31:16 The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'"

Daniel 7: 25 He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. (The "holy ones" are those who obey His Torah!) He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.

Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my laws and showed them my rulings; if a person obeys them, he will have life through them. 12 I gave them my shabbats as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I, ADONAI, am the one who makes them holy.

Isaiah 56: 2 Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. 3 A foreigner joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people"; likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." 4 For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: 5 in my house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 "And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

Isaiah 58: 13 If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI'S holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. 14 If you do, you will find delight in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken."

Isaiah 66: 23 And it shall be that from one New Moon to another New Moon and from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 17: 21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work…