Category Archives: Character of God

Fear / Reverence for God, Humility, Immutable (unchanging), Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Purposeful / Intentional, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Thankfulness

We Choose Our Path, But We Do Not Get To Choose The Consequences

YHWH is no more pleased with us today when we take His blessings for granted and accept false gods among us than He was when the events in Deuteronomy 29 unfolded. He has provided us a great nation, founded in Christian principles, focused on Christian morals in both government and schools. Yet over the past 50-100 years we as a people have rejected Him more and more. We have embraced atheism (which requires more faith than accepting YHWH)… we have embraced false religions from around the world such as Islam and changed our culture and our schools and our government to accommodate their false beliefs. We have embraced paganism, celebrating Christmas and Easter and other occasions which have more roots in paganism than Christianity… no matter how much lipstick people try to put on those pigs by inventing Christian meaning to apply over pagan origins. Why not instead celebrate the appointed times that YHWH revealed in Leviticus 23?

We accept and normalize sin such as abortion and homosexuality. Rather than try to help the people who genuinely need it, we tell them they are fine and persecute the Christians who live out God’s word. As a culture, those who call themselves Christian embrace the world’s values and make excuses for ignoring or rejecting God’s word.  We see in our lifetimes Sabbath disappear from our culture, but somehow accept it and convince ourselves it is fine. We no longer even recognize the failing of our forefathers in walking away from God’s instructions over the past thousand years. One example is redefining the calendar from the Biblical calendar to the Gregorian. Man changed even how to count the days. Biblically they counted from sundown to sundown. Sabbath as Yeshua celebrated it was on Saturday, not Sunday.

We are not allowed to “hurt people’s feelings” by telling them about their sin, whether it is homosexuality, killing unborn children, gluttony, coveting, sloth… etc. All of that is unacceptable to be rebuked and all is provided many excuses. But should a Christian speak God’s word to rebuke someone or refuse to pretend their sin is ok and speak out against it… that must be punished with public shame and lawsuits.

There are many more examples. Man has continually separated himself from YHWH by adopting his own instructions rather than obeying those of YHWH.

YHWH is no more pleased about this than He was as the events of Deuteronomy 29 unfolded. After all He has done to bless His people and prepare them, a time still comes where they depart from His ways. His blessing is removed and as a nation we walk into a curse.

Deuteronomy 29

The Covenant in Moab

      1These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

      2And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land; 3the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. 4“Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. 5“I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6“You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORDyour God. 7“When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we defeated them;8and we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9“So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

      10“You stand today, all of you, before the LORD your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel, 11your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12that you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today, 13in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

      14“Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath, 15but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the LORDour God and with those who are not with us here today 16(for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which they had with them); 18so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. 19“It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry.’20“The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. 21“Then the LORD will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law.

      22“Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say, 23‘All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ 24“All the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’ 25“Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26‘They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. 27‘Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

      29“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

As a nation we need to return to YHWH and His ways. As His people we must humble ourselves and pray for our nation. Let us give thanks for the blessings and ask forgiveness for our nation. Let us intercede on behalf of our nation and ask Him to awaken people to the truth and to lead them by His Spirit to a powerful revival not just to the American roots of Christianity, though that is a good start. Let us pray He would take us back to a thriving Biblical view of obedience and faith in YHWH through Yeshua.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Fear / Reverence for God, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Humility, Jesus (hearing from God), Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Unteachable / Foolish

To Whom Shall We Go?

Sometimes God’s word is difficult for us to fully understand. That does not make it wrong, but rather reveals our own lack of full understanding. It should be an opportunity for us to humbly admit we have more to learn and to seek the Lord in prayer and study of His word. Instead, all too often people who claim to follow Yeshua instead start to assume that if scripture does not make sense to them, it is wrong and God is wrong, and instead that they are correct. In some cases they just call scripture “dated” and ignore it as if it can be come obsolete. God’s word is no more obsolete because of its age than the law of gravity.

Too many just accept public opinion or their own opinion in place of the truth of God. Are we to seek refuge in ourselves rather than God?  We must decide if we will follow the Lord or not. If not, to whom shall we go?

John 6: 59-71

Words to the Disciples

      59These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

      60Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62“What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?63“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

      66As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69“We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” 70Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

We must recognize that only those who are called by the Father will be able to see and come to Yeshua. By definition, not all will accept Him. Let us not be surprised by this, nor should we feel it is our failure when we can’t convince someone to accept Christ. We should certainly resist, at all cost, watering down the truth or changing it just to make it more acceptable to people. Yeshua Himself stuck by hard teaching and let it, intentionally, drive away those who were not sincere in seeking Him. Those who remained with Him and sought to understand more were rewarded richly by relationship with Him… by learning from Him. They knew they did not have the answers. Thus if there was hard material to deal with, they accepted that they had more to learn and put their trust in Yeshua. They changed their beliefs and understanding based on ongoing revelation of God’s word. They never redefined God’s word to fit their understanding. Humility is required. Trust and faith in Christ are required.

Ask yourself… if you will not follow Christ and follow the Word of God fully, then to whom shall you go?

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Share the Good News

The Spirit, Not Our Persuasion, Will Draw His Chosen To Him

Yeshua was not afraid to teach boldly. He did not hesitate to confront people with the truth in uncomfortable ways. He spoke with power and authority and let those who refused to accept make their choice. Too often today we think in church or personal outreach we must be incredibly sensitive in how we teach and share the message of Christ. We fear we may offend someone and then they will not receive the message. Up to a certain point, this is true and we can be thoughtful about how we share the message. However, there are many occasions today where churches have so watered down the gospel to avoid offending people, that they must surely be offending God instead.

John 6:41-58

Words to the Jews

      41Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45“It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48“I am the bread of life. 49“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

      52Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

Many churches are actively redefining or rejecting Biblical truths that make people uncomfortable. Many individuals do the same. They avoid confrontational passages of scripture, such as sharing scripture about homosexuality being an abomination to God, because they fear offending someone. If we as believers will not boldly stand for the word of God, than how shall the lost find their way?

Let us not be afraid to share God’s word directly and without watering it down to make people feel better.  We can do so with gentleness and respect, but also boldness. The Father is the one who woos and draws people to Himself through the Holy Spirit. When He is at work, we need to be sharing the full truth with these people. When He is not at work, providing a watered down, feel good, version of scripture will not help anyone anyway. It is not our job to rationally convince someone based on logic that the gospel is true. We are to pray for people, release the gospel message in its power, and let the Spirit work.

44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Salvation, Unteachable / Foolish

Yeshua Is The Bread Of Life. Those Who Come To Him Will Not Hunger Or Thirst

Yeshua had just fed 5000 people by miraculously multiplying a small portion of food. The people wanted to follow Him and make Him king. We can gain insight by reflecting on the words He spoke to them.

John 6:26-40

Words to the People

      26Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’”32Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

      35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36“But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Yeshua first addresses that this crowd is following Him not because they believe Him to be Messiah, but because the food He gave satisfied them and they want more. He warns them not to work for simply food that we consume and then we are hungry again. Instead, devote your lives to pursuit of the bread which satisfies for eternal life… the bread that is Yeshua.  Let us recognize that not all who follow Christ actually believe in Him as Messiah. Some come along yet do not believe. This is true still today. Let us be sure we are not complacent in accepting that we “go to church” and hang out Christians and read the Bible, yet have no relationship or true belief in Him as Messiah.

They ask an important question… “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Yeshua’s answer is very important… “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Our first and most important “work” is simply to believe in Yeshua as Messiah, sent from the Father. In this way we receive the bread that lasts into eternity, and satisfies… never leaving us hungry or thirsty. Of course He is referring to spiritual food that we receive in close relationship with Yeshua and the Father. We are to pursue Yeshua as bread that satisfies. There is no other “work” required. What a loving God! However, as we pursue Yeshua genuinely and wholeheartedly, our actions change and our motivations change. Our genuine pursuit of Him is reflected in our behaviors and our thoughts. We change.

I am a bit stunned at first by the dialog where they ask for a sign. Had He not just performed a great sign by the feeding of the 5000?  He will address this starting in verse 36. Never the less, Yeshua continues to address them. However, He does not perform a sign just because they asked for one. He had already performed a sign. We can learn from this. Let us not always demand signs from YHWH but rather look to acknowledge the signs and wonders already at work in our lives around us.

Starting in verse 36 Yeshua addresses the fact that some have seen Him and seen Him perform signs, but they still do not believe. They still ask for signs. Not all have been given to Him by the Father, but listen to the beautiful closing of this section of scripture in regards to those whom the Father does give to the Son.

37“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

It is an amazing thought for those of us who desperately want to take some sort of credit for our own salvation, even by simply choosing the Lord when He reveals Himself to us. Let us remain humble. Let us first and foremost pray the Lord help those who are not walking with YHWH, who have not accepted Yeshua. For we see that all the Father gives to Him, will come to Him. Yeshua accepts all of us, and we must choose to accept Him, but recognize that the Father first calls us.

This can cause some difficulty for some. They struggle with their idea of “fairness” that the Father gives some to the Son and others He apparently does not. Let us trust the Father as we seek to understand. Ask Him as we would a loving Father whom we trust deeply. But remember that He is ultimately in control and His ways are far beyond our own.

Romans 9:19-24

    19You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Courage / Fear, Faith / Trusting God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Miracles, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God

Read The Bible Like You Are Searching For Treasure

John 6 documents a time when Yeshua walked on water. This is a fantastic miracle, but there is more to the story than that. Let us put that aside for a moment and dig beyond the surface of the scripture to see what treasure we can find and apply to our lives.

After feeding the 5000, Yeshua realized that the people were wanting to come to Him to make Him king. However tempting that may be for all of us to deal with, Yeshua chose to withdraw to avoid this because He knew that this was not what His Father had called Him to do. He did not seek power for Himself, but only to do the will of the Father. If we take the time to really think about it, this may be almost as stunning as walking on water. How many of us would really seek to avoid the distraction of thousands of people praising us and trying to give us power? How tempting might it be to just let them follow you and cheer for you?

If I flip the situation to the other side, we can also appreciate the passion of the people to follow Yeshua as they did. They recognized Him for what He was and did not want to simply go about their regular business as if they had not encountered Him. This is another challenge for us to consider personally. Do we passionately pursue Christ?

Finally, a third point to consider… the disciples were afraid, but they trusted Yeshua when things looked frightening to them. Once they had trusted Him, their situation was quickly resolved.

John 6:15-25

Jesus Walks on the Water

      15So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

      16Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

      22The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

There is a lot of activity going on in John 6 besides just Yeshua walking on water. How will you apply what you have read today in your life? Pray for the Spirit to guide you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Fear / Reverence for God, Learning To Pray Effectively, Loving / Kind, Miracles, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God

YHWH Still Can And Still Does Perform Miracles

Thousands have witnessed His miracles and many have documented and recorded the events. These are not stories, but real historical events. Yeshua demonstrates both the power and the desire to perform miracles in this world. Why do we so often assume He no longer can or will do so?

John 6:1-14

Five Thousand Fed

      1After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 4Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” 6This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

When seeking the miraculous from YHWH, don’t do so with an attitude of “prove yourself to me”, as He likely will not answer. Yeshua did not perform when someone demanded He prove Himself. He performed miracles consistent with the will of YHWH. If you need His help, ask Him, believing all the while that He can not because He need prove Himself, but because you already believe and you are humbly seeking mercy and grace.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Curse, Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Guide, Obeying God

A Blessing or A Curse… Which Will You Decide To Choose?

YHWH repeatedly emphasizes that we have a choice. We can choose blessing by following all of His commands faithfully, or we can choose curse by living our own way or redefining His instructions to our own making… changing some, ignoring some, claiming others are obsolete.

The bad news is that this does not work like a menu where you pick and choose what you will obey. It works like a choose-you-own-adventure book where you choose to submit to Him, seek Him, and obey the fullness of His law / instruction… or you don’t.

Though some of the commandments can not be completed due to the lack of a temple and priesthood, we are to obey to the extent we can the rest of the commandments and instructions.

Deuteronomy 28 is a bit long, but don’t dismiss it as repetitive or redundant without taking time to contemplate and reflect on why YHWH takes to much time to emphasize this point. This is not the first chapter focused on the blessing of obedience or curse of disobedience. He repeats it, and with dramatic emphasis, for the same reason we would do so… to make an important point… so that people would really hear and understand this is important. Treat it as such.

Deuteronomy 28

Blessings at Gerizim

      1“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2“All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:

      3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

      4“Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

      5“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

      6“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

      7“The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8“The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 9“The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10“So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.11“The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12“The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13“The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Consequences of Disobedience

15“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

      16“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

      17“Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

      18“Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

      19“Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

      20“The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. 21“The LORD will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. 22“The LORD will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish. 23“The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24“The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

      25“The LORD shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26“Your carcasses will be food to all birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

      27“The LORD will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28“The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; 29and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you. 30“You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. 31“Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat of it; your donkey shall be torn away from you, and will not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you will have none to save you. 32“Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and yearn for them continually; but there will be nothing you can do. 33“A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually. 34“You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. 35“The LORD will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils, from which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. 36“The LORD will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. 37“You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you.

      38“You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39“You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them. 40“You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. 41“You shall have sons and daughters but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. 42“The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. 43“The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44“He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.

      45“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46“They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.

      47“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; 48therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

      49“The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, 50a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. 51“Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. 52“It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the LORD your God has given you. 53“Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you. 54“The man who is refined and very delicate among you shall be hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain, 55so that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children which he will eat, since he has nothing else left, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in all your towns. 56“The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and refinement, shall be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, 57and toward her afterbirth which issues from between her legs and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns.

      58“If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, 59then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. 60“He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. 61“Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62“Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63“It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64“Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65“Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66“So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67“In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68“The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus (hearing from God), Salvation, Trinity, Unteachable / Foolish

The Father Has Testified About The Son

Yeshua declares multiple witnesses declaring His coming. He provides a good summary… John the Baptist, the works that Yeshua performed, the Father, and the scriptures all point to Him as the Messiah. Sadly, some reject Him altogether, despite the evidence. Others cling to only the law and reject Christ. The law points to and leads to Christ. Yeshua is the word come to life to walk amongst us. Yeshua is our path to reconciliation with the Father.

John 5:31-47

     31“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. 32“There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

Witness of John

      33“You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34“But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35“He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

Witness of Works

      36“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.

Witness of the Father

      37“And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38“You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.

Witness of the Scripture

      39“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41“I do not receive glory from men; 42but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? 45“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47“But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Let us embrace Yeshua in full recognition that it is He who saves. Let us embrace Him with the understanding that He fulfills and abides by the law and does not change or abolish it. He is our savior and the example we should follow.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Justice / Judgment, Salvation, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

We Will All Face Judgment Before Him

All of us will die, unless the Lord returns before we do. All of us will face judgment before Him. Our deeds will reflect our heart and obedience toward God, or against Him. Our deeds will reflect whether or not we have submitted to Christ and asked forgiveness, turning our lives over to Him.

John 5:25-32

Two Resurrections

      25“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

      30“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

      31“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. 32“There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

We know not when our time will be to face Him. We should make ourselves prepared to face Him now and remain ready any time thereafter. If we live in the light we will find joy in this world and the next. If we live darkness we may chase contentment and joy in this world and may even catch it from time to time, but we will face judgment and punishment which Yeshua warns us not to take lightly.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Trinity

Yeshua Is Equal With God

John 5 is just one of many passages that clearly define Yeshua as one with the Father. Some will claim He is but a prophet or a teacher, but this can not be. He claimed to be son of God… to be one with God. The Jewish leaders understood this. This is why they claimed it was blasphemy and sought to kill Him. One who claims to be God is either God, a liar or a madman. It is not an option to be a teacher or prophet of God and claim to be God.

John 5:18-24

Jesus’ Equality with God

      18For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

      19Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 20“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

      24“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.