Sunday, October 8, 2017

“Grace” a permit to sin?

I read a post by a devout Christian who said: “Some falsely teach that the Christian concept of salvation by grace is the equivalent of a license to sin. This is absolutely false, because Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness!” 

Take special note of the last phrase: “…because Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness.”

He is quoting Titus 2:11-12 which, in the ESV, reads:  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness…”

But let’s read Titus 2:11-15, in context, and from a version not so watered-down:

“For the all-resurrecting grace of Elohim is revealed to all men;  and it teaches us to deny that which is without Elohim and worldly lusts, and to live in this world in sobriety and in uprightness and in the Fear of Elohim, looking for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of the great Elohim and our Life-giver, Y’shua the Mashiyach who gave himself for us that he might recover us from all iniquity and purify for himself a new people who are zealous in good works. These things speak and encourage and point out with all authority; and let no one despise you.” (AENT).

Here, the verse quoted says “it teaches us to deny that which is without Elohim and worldly lusts”! In this verse, Paul, in his letter to Titus, is NOT simply saying “Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness” as if “grace” somehow negates one’s actions and magically renders all personal actions “godly”! Not at all!  Paul is saying instead that “grace” is a gift for all people who accept it and become zealous in good works!

Paul is saying that people have been given a chance to abandon, to deny, that “which is without Elohim and worldly lusts”! Indeed, Paul goes on to say  that those who are thus “purified” for YHWH are those who are “zealous in good works”!  That means that Christians who have been so taught, are, or should be ZEALOUS to obey God!  Not by “demands” or by “law”, but by the simple desire to please Him! (Leviticus 20:7 for example which reads: “And you shall set yourselves apart, and shall be set-apart, for I am יהוה your Elohim” – ISR).  Indeed, Leviticus 20:8 goes on to say: “and you shall guard [My statutes] and do them. I am יהוה, who sets you apart.”  Who, being “zealous”, would not want to guard and do God’s statutes?

Well, Christianity teaches that “grace” is some “get out of jail free” card – in Christianity there is no 7th-day Sabbat, no observance of the annual feasts, and no obedience, so absolutely YES, the Christian concept of “grace” is most certainly the equivalent of a license to sin! Few, if any, Christians are taught that “grace” only means that one’s sins are forgiven only up to that point that they accept the atoning death of the Messiah for their prior sins!  Upon acceptance, they are obligated to live a life “sin-free” as best they can! The term “grace”, simply is NOT a “permit to continue to sin and be forever forgiven”!  I’m sorry to break that news to you , but “grace” is not a blanket permit!

Folks, the fact that God said, repeatedly, “BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY”, did not change just because the Messiah was sent to die and atone for all who accepted Him! People have always been expected to live their lives in a manner pleasing to God! THAT DID NOT CHANGE with the death and resurrection of the Messiah!  The phrase in Titus 2 which in some English versions reads “Biblical grace trains us to renounce ungodliness”, is not something that “just happens” to Christians! It is something that is supposed to be manifested in Christians as a DESIRE to abandon the things of the world and to live a life pleasing to God!  We are told what pleases God! It is in scripture!  But Christians, for the most part, are taught that all behaviors are “forgiven” because of this misunderstanding of the term “grace”.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Believers, are you really separate from the world?

People on Facebook (including some so-called “Believers”) seem to have this need to constantly engage in one-upmanship. For instance, the many memes that do their best to downplay those who were struck down by the crazed killer in Las Vegas recently.

WHY do people feel the need to make and pass on memes that belittle something as horrific as that incident? I mean, WHAT causes someone to make memes that say something like, "The government faked it!" or “59 people killed by a gunman in Las Vegas, and everybody goes crazy. There are 3,000 babies aborted every day, and nobody cares!” Or, “59 people killed by a gunman in Las Vegas, and everybody goes crazy. Well, 59 are killed in Chicago every day. Why doesn’t anybody care about THAT?”

To me, that is just plain mean and callous! First of all, it’s a LIE (and lying is a SIN!) and nothing more than personal opinion that “nobody cares” about aborted babies or the endless gang-banger and drive-by shootings in Chicago! Just because everyone you know (including YOU!) doesn’t constantly post anti-abortion memes or posts, or photos showing the bloodshed in Chicago on a daily basis, doesn’t mean “nobody cares!” We ALSO don't post the hundreds who die in car wrecks or from drug or alcohol overdoses, etc., on a daily basis, so come down off your high horse and snap out of it!

By downplaying the fact that 59 people died at the hands of a LUNATIC, how are YOU any different from that vegan cook who recently made the callous comments that there were now 59 fewer meat eaters in the world, and “how many animals will live because of this?”

My goodness, what a vicious, calloused world we live in! And many Believers aren’t much nicer, judging by the hateful comments some of them post. What's pathetic is that you'll also see those same people posting all kinds of Bible verses and things designed to show the world just how "holy" they are....

Friday, October 6, 2017

Had “a word from God” lately?

I always cringe whenever anyone presumes they may speak for God - especially when all they ever advocate is the same, hackneyed "God told me He loves you, so do not fear because I'm coming soon" kind of stuff. If God WERE to speak to anyone today, He wouldn't say the usual "fluffy" stuff that so many espouse. He would say something like this:

"In case you haven't noticed, I am angry! Human beings, since the very beginning have been ignoring Me, testing My patience and fighting each other over everything, including what they THINK My Word says. Nothing has changed today. In fact, it's gotten worse than it's ever been. Nobody seems to be able to get along anymore.

You are a prideful, arrogant and despicable people, ready to kill others with your tongues and/or your precious idols called guns! You seem to have forgotten that I commanded you to NOT murder each other (Exodus 20:13). You can’t even be bothered to keep My Seventh Day Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11), let alone bother with the rest of the Ten Commandments; let alone, realize there is more to each of those than meets the eye. It’s all in my Torah. Try reading it sometime!

"You have made a mockery of My Word and decided 'bad' is now 'good' and vice-versa. You justify killing My tiny, living human beings in the womb, and insist it’s ‘just tissue’ – never mind that that ‘tissue’ is growing BECAUSE it’s alive! You promote perversion via homosexuality, adultery (Leviticus 18: 22, 1 Thessalonians 4:3) and commit other despicable acts (Romans 1: 18-32); and then sit there and pretend you’re forgiven just because My Son’s human flesh died! You’ve clearly forgotten that there’s a limit to My grace and mercy. (Some scriptures below.) It’s clear that the ONLY thing that matters to most of humanity is NOT what I commanded, but what YOU all think. Please let the following scriptures sink in:"

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim. 7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

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)

“Human being, you would do well to remember what happened in the days of Noah, because similar days are on the horizon, as I am tired of your human nonsense! You have clearly abused the 'free will' I've given you.

"None of you is as holy as you think you are, so stop judging each and start witnessing to your neighbors. Expend your energies on DOING My Mitzvot and MY Will, instead of wasting your time pushing your personal opinions on others in order to assuage your own egos.

“READ my Word and OBEY it! You are now experiencing the end times as outlined in My Word, and no one is guaranteed another day. The main thing you should do, human being, is to get yourself right with Me because Eternity consists of only two things: Eternal Life WITH me; or Eternal Life WITHOUT me. For the latter this means, it will be as if you never existed." Your choice.

“So, the next time you want to insist you have “a word” from Me, shout these following words from the rooftops."

Leviticus 26: 23 If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. (CJB)

Numbers 15: 30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has had contempt for the word of ADONAI and has disobeyed his command, that person will be cut off completely; his offense will remain with him.'" (CJB)

Deuteronomy 7: 9 From this you can know that ADONAI your God is indeed God, the faithful God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot, to a thousand generations. 10 But he repays those who hate him to their face and destroys them. He will not be slow to deal with someone who hates him; he will repay him to his face. (CJB)

Isaiah 66: 24 "As they leave, they will look on the corpses of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will never die, and their fire will never be quenched; but they will be abhorrent to all humanity. (CJB)

1 Corinthians 6:9. Or don't you know, that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim? Make no mistake! Neither sexual sinners, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor the corrupt, nor men who lay down with other men, 10. Nor the oppressors, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

Revelation 22: 12 "Pay attention!" [says Yeshua,] "I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done. 13 I am the 'A' and the 'Z,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." 14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! 15 Outside are the homosexuals, those involved with the occult and with drugs, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (CJB)

Thursday, October 5, 2017

A mini-teaching of the first day of Sukkot readings

A mini-teaching on one of today's Sukkot readings:

1 John 1: 1. We announce to you that which was from the beginning which we have heard and have seen with our eyes, looked upon, and handled with our hands, that which is the Word of Life. 2. And the life was manifested, and we have seen and do testify and announce to you the life which is eternal; which was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3. And what we have seen and heard, we make known to you also that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Y’shua the Mashiyach.[1] 4.  And these things we write to you, that our joy in you may be complete.[2]

5. And this is the announcement which we have heard from him and declare to you, that Elohim is light and no darkness at all is in him. 6. And if we say that we have fellowship with him and we walk in the darkness, we are liars and walk not in the truth. 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Y’shua his Son cleanses us from all our sins. 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)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] As in The Good News According to John, Yochanan bar Zawdee (Shaliach/Apostle John) writes with a poetic flair that breaks grammatical conventions and marks his texts as both an Aramaic original and as a unique creation that could only come from his pen.

The first sentence in the Good News begins with four words that “break all the rules” in order to make a spiritual point about all divine attributes resting on and in Mashiyach, which we will briefly review here for easy comparison with his First Epistle: Breshit aytohi hwa Miltha:-- In the Beginning was the Miltha. Once again, we have the unusual and unprecedented mating of two male terms (there, was) with one female noun miltha, (word).

This usage is so unique as to constitute a literary fingerprint for John’s style, as it appears nowhere else in either the Renewed Covenant or any known Aramaic/Syriac literature, with the exception of those works that draw directly on John. Paul never breaks this grammatical rule, and the same can be said of Peter, James and Yehuda. However, in the first line of his letter here, John makes it clear that he is returning to teach:

“He who was with us from the beginning, the one whom we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, have looked upon and have touched with our hands, we declare to you is the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1 (Lamsa). Just as the opening words from the Good News, John again packs an amazing degree of spiritual depth into very few words. The first aspect is the exact poetic construction; only it is one male verb and female noun which has essentially the same effect (aytohi miltha).

The parallels continue with the word B’resheet (in the beginning), which dovetails with the first lines of both his Good News as well as that of Genesis. In fact, if we compact this text we still have the phrase, “from the beginning there was the Word.” Perhaps the greatest comparison is with the foundational statement of Torah itself: Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu, YHWH echad. Hear O Israel, YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is one.

If we examine various translations of this text, an interesting pattern emerges. Some translate this as “that which we have heard and seen,” as opposed to Lamsa’s “The One whom we have heard and seen”. Why? The answer is that this phrase in the first line of John’s Good News (eykhadaya) is implied in Aramaic. Choosing a literal translation, using the word what here gives a reading that could refer to the truth, a precept, teaching, and so on.

Lamsa takes a different view, perceptively pointing out that there is only one “Who” that has been from the very beginning, and that same Individual is the Word of Life. The “Word” then is neither a concept nor a teaching, but an all-powerful Being. However, what is not entirely wrong; English has two ways of expressing “who” but Aramaic only has one.

It is just as correct to say, for example, “the man who was good to me” as it is to say “the man that was good to me.” I favor the Lamsa rendering, Elohim is a Who rather than a That and, of course, He is the only One who existed before creation. Further, it is in this uniqueness where we find the idea of “The One” (eykhadaya) staring back at us by subtle inference.

These details showcase, conceptually, the linkage between Aramaic 1 John, and the Shema declaration of Deuteronomy 6:4. In the Shema, Israel is being asked to hear; in 1 John members of Israel respond to what they have heard. Similarly, the Shema proclaims that Elohim is ONE (echad). Aramaic in 1 John reflects this with implied “eykhadaya.” In fact, “the One whom we have heard” strongly and clearly reflects the Aramaic mindset of John. It is simply a connection indicative of a Semitic mindset, in much the way Isaiah’s (26:3) use of the phrase shalom shalom (perfect peace) is.

[2] Perhaps the most beautiful pattern in 1 John has to do with another incredible implied wordplay. As shown in the section on cognate accusatives in the publication Ruach Qadim, where the multiple meaning of an Aramaic root is exploited two or more times in a phrase. A statement by Ben Franklin was used to highlight this concept where he stated, “Gentlemen we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately.” But what if, instead of a direct exploitation of hang’s dual meanings, Franklin referred to one meaning of the word while indirectly referencing its other use.

In other words, what if he had instead said: “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or most assuredly they will string us up with rope separately.” Granted while not nearly as graceful as the first foray, it would nevertheless be clever. The joke then would rely on a slight delay mechanism, since it may take a few seconds for the hearer to rationalize, “Right, string up with rope is hang too, I get it.”

The same thing is happening in these two passages from 1 John: And these things we write to you that our joy in you may be complete. 1 John 1:4 (Lamsa). There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear is tormenting. He who fears is not made in perfect love. 1 John 4:18 (Lamsa).

The key to this bit of genius is found when looking at what is described as opposed to what is being stated. Put simply, if perfect love casts out fear, or complete joy fills you up, what else can the result be other than shalom (peace)? And so, once again, we see a direct root relationship between perfection/completion (mshamliya) and peace (shlama), and the meaning of the first occurrence is clearly describing the end product of the second!

What prayers did Yeshua pray?

By Kathy Hamlett

What prayers did Yeshua pray?  This is not an exhaustive study but will give you enough information for you to study it out on your own.

To understand the prayers Yeshua prayed and taught, this has to be taken in light of the traditional prayers that were said in the pre first century Israel and beyond. Tradition is not a dirty word and there is a lot of it inside the covers of the Scriptures. This is not from Talmud but from the very version that each student of Scripture has in his/her possession.

Let us take a look at a few of the traditional, repetitive prayers.


The first prayer that Yeshua taught the people was the Amidah, or the Standing prayer. The Amidah is part of a much larger liturgy called the Shemonah Esrei. The Amidah began approximately in the 6th century BC. This prayer was to take the place of the daily burnt offerings that were forbidden during captivity in Babylon. Although the Amidah is only one portion of the Shemonah Esrei it is vitally important. All of the Shemonah Esrei is important and taken directly from Scripture.

The daily burnt offerings were forbidden by Israel's captors in Babylon. The next best thing Israel could do was to pray. Odd isn't it that prayer would be offered when all hope of offerings would have been forbidden. How would they have gotten the idea to do this? Maybe, just maybe from this verse:


Hos 14:2 Take words with you, and return to יהוה. Say to Him, “Take away all crookedness, and accept what is good, and we render the bulls of our lips.

"Bulls", is a reference to offerings.

Yeshua taught this prayer, the Amidah, to the crowds that followed him, Matthew 6:19. This prayer was said 3 times a day in place of the daily offerings and continued thru the Second Temple period in addition to the offerings until the destruction of the Temple occurred. This prayer was repeated by Israel 3 times a day, morning and afternoon and evening.
You will notice that the prayer begins "Our Father"...not "my Father", meaning this was a communal prayer to be repeated by all.

Another prayer that Yeshua said daily was the Shema. Most all of us know this prayer..."Hear Oh Israel"! This prayer is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 1 1:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41. You will notice it is commanded to repeat the Shema and to teach to our children:

Deu 6:4 “Hear, O Yisra’ĕl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!
Deu 6:5 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.
Deu 6:6 “And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart,Deu 6:7 and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up,
Deu 6:8 and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Notice there are four time periods of time mentioned in the command, when you sit in your house, when you walk and when you lie down and when you rise up. Did Yeshua use this same command when talking and teaching? Of course he did.

Consider this reference:

Mar 12:29 And יהושע answered him, “The first of all the commands is, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ĕl, יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one.

I hope each one can see that Yeshua said this was the first of all "COMMANDS". This is not an option being spoken of here. This is repeated in Luke 10.

Now the question then becomes what other prayers were given that we are to repeat and teach our children? Well, there is one famous song from Torah that was commanded to be sung and taught to our children.

Deu 31:19 “And now write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Yisra’ĕl. Put it in their mouths, so that this song is to Me for a witness against the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Deu 31:20 “And I shall bring them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they shall eat and be satisfied and be fat, then they shall turn to other mighty ones, and they shall serve them, and scorn Me and break My covenant.

This is a command given by none other than Elohim. This is a song for all to sing and teach to the future generations, for all times. Again, this is not optional. Why this would be commanded, you may ask. The answer is really many fold. Actually there are a several reasons for this, one would be that a song is easier to remember and teach. The next reason was because the people could not afford any type of scrolls that would contain the Torah. The next reason is contained in the follow up verse to the above verses:

Deu 31:21 “And it shall be, when many evils and distresses come upon them, that this song shall answer before them as a witness. For it is not to be forgotten in the mouths of their seed, for I know their thoughts which they are forming today, even before I bring them to the land of which I swore to give them.”

Now, let us not forget the Priestly blessing that was and has been spoken for centuries and will continue into "forever".


Num 6:22 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 6:23 “Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you bless the children of Yisra’ĕl. Say to them:
Num 6:24 “יהוה bless you and guard you;
Num 6:25 יהוה make His face shine upon you, and show favour to you;
Num 6:26 יהוה lift up His face upon you, and give you peace.” ’

Not only did Yeshua endorse these prayers, he taught them to his talmidim and sent ones, to be passed on in their teachings. Shaul, Kefa and Yohanan can be found at Temple 3 times a day repeating these prayers.

Act 3:1 And Kĕpha and Yoḥanan were going up to the Set-apart Place at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

The "hour of prayer" is the key. Those are the hours of set times for the liturgy or prayers to be prayed. For anyone who does not think those hours are important, I suggest that those defined times played an important and vital role in the life and death of Yeshua and the talmidim.

Consider this verse:

Act 10:3 He clearly saw in a vision, about the ninth hour of the day, a messenger of Elohim coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

What hour? The ninth hour! Don't over look these things when studying what is written. This ninth hour was the prescribed hour of prayer with set prayers. During this time a vision was given to Cornelius. Receiving these type visions happened often at the prescribed hour of prayer. Another reference:

Luk 1:10 And the entire crowd of people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

Luk 1:11 And a messenger of יהוה appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

I hope that you can see a pattern is emerging that is evident. Although this is just a short summary I hope you can see the pattern. One cannot explain any writing without knowing the "tradition" that had been established long before the first century.

It is imperative to understand these things if we want to understand what was written and taught by Yeshua. Yeshua did not come against any of the set prayers or times, just the opposite happened. Traditions are not bad, traditions that hold up the ideals of Torah are forever and beyond. I hope in some small way this helps to understand the situations and circumstances of what was written about prayer and what was taught.

Always remember the 5 W's....who, what, when, where and WHY. Without those 5 elements the study will fall short of any sort of accomplishments.

Monday, October 2, 2017

Tragedy in Las Vegas as lone lunatic opens fire, kills at least 50 and wounds at least 400 more….

Tragedy in Las Vegas!  Last night a gunman opened fire from the 32d floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and, with military-style assault weapons, killed at least 50 and wounded at least 400. I pray that all of them were “saved”; but I know chances of that are very slim.

These days, if we aren’t hit by some natural disaster, then we’re plagued by lunatics with vendettas. I’ve been saying for years that Scripture warns us about events of the end times (which we are in now), where things would happen so quickly, we won't have a chance to clean up from one disaster before the next one hits. Check out Y'shua's warning in Matthew 24:

Matthew 24: 3. And while Y'shua was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples drew near and were saying among themselves and to him, "Tell us when these things will be and what is the sign of your coming and the end of the world." 4. Y'shua answered and said to them, Beware, let no man deceive you. 5. For many will come in my name and will say that "I am the Mashiyach." And many they will deceive.

6. For you are bound to hear of revolutions and rumor of wars. Watch out and do not be disturbed, for it is necessary that all these things happen, but it is not yet the end. 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in different places. 8. But all these things are only the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then they will deliver to afflictions and they will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

10. Then many will stumble and will hate one another and will betray one another. 11. And many false prophets will arise and deceive many. 12. And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold. 13. But whoever has patience until the end, he will have life. 14. And this Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.... (AENT)

2 Timothy 3: 1. But know this: That in the latter days hard times will come: 2. and men will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money, boasters, proud, revilers, unyielding towards their own people, deniers of grace, wicked, 3. unloving, addicted to irreconcilable malicious gossips, ferocious, haters of the good, 4. treacherous, rash, inflated, attached to pleasure more than to the love of Elohim, 5. having a form of respect for Elohim but wide from the power of Elohim. Them who are such, repel from you. 6. For of them are they who creep into this and that house and captivate the women who are plunged in sins and led away by divers lusts, 7. who are always learning, and can never come to the knowledge of the truth. (AENT)

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Don’t let others ruin your relationship with God!

Been perusing Facebook today, and, as always, I end up saddened for those who either return to Christianity, become atheists, or look toward traditional Judaism to fill their need for God, just because they are turned off by all the fights and various clashing teachings in the realms of Hebrew Roots/Messianic Judaism. Yes, these "movements" are a total mess - but is that YHWH's fault?

I once saw a great bumper sticker that said: "If you allow a hypocrite to come between you and God, then he is closer to God than you are!" So, if you've stopped being Torah observant, or decided to deny Yeshua because YOU chose to hang with the "wrong crowd" who were teaching falsehoods, then you need to look inward and ask yourself why you would turn your back on YHWH/Yeshua just because certain people have turned you off.

Instead of fleeing to find yourself a new group you can fit into, get into SCRIPTURE with all your might, so you can know what it says and doesn't say. That will allow you to become knowledgeable enough to be able to discern "good" from "bad" teachings, and the next time someone attempts to shove their "exalted knowledge" down your throat, you'll be able to recognize whether or not it's sound, and then act accordingly.

"Acting accordingly" does NOT mean you turn your back on God or return to "religion" and "religiosity" or - God forbid, you decide to become an atheist. It means you dig into Scripture and read it through the lens of the Ruach, so you can get ever closer to Him and stand on the whole Word when you encounter some loud-mouth with skewed theology.

You must be willing to constantly learn and grow so you can stand your ground while telling the Truth ... and if people aren't willing to hear THE Truth, then you simply smile and turn around and "shake the dust from your feet" (Matthew 10:14). Your job is NOT to convert anybody; your job is to explain your faith (via personal informed and diligent study) and let YHWH deal with those who insist on adhering to their ideology.. We are not to waste our time arguing (Titus 1:13-16 and Matthew 7:6).

Titus 3: 9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile. 10 Warn a divisive person once, then a second time; and after that, have nothing more to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a person has been perverted and is sinning: he stands self-condemned.(CJB)

And, in the meantime, don't forget that YOU don't have the market cornered on Truth, either. Nobody does! We must always be willing to learn and grow - from SCRIPTURE, not from random people on Facebook or wherever.... But whatever you do, do NOT turn your back on God! If you do, you might as well get used to the "smoking section" of Eternity.

I’ve fought the good fight, and now I’m tired…

SIGH! SOME DAYS I'M LEFT WONDERING why I've bothered spending the last 3 decades trying to get people to actually STUDY the Bible f...