February 16, 2007
One of the things that Yeshua prophesied regarding the latter days was that there would be wars, and rumors of war: "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6). In the last few years there have certainly been plenty of rumors vis-à-vis wars, and as to the 'making of wars', that seems to be endless. However, in the midst of all these end time happenings, Yeshua says to us, his disciples, not to fear or be troubled by these things for they must come, and moreover, notice what he adds here: "the end is not yet". So why are we concerning ourselves over these issues? Is it a tactic of the enemy to rob us of Yeshua's peace? Are we unwittingly replacing faith with the spirit of unbelief?
We read that "Elohim has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Our Master compassionately says: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Paul adds to this by exhorting us to
"let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Colossians 3:15).
If we have received the "Spirit of Holiness" we have also received His kingdom rule, thus His righteousness, peace and joy should be our continual reality. If that is not the case, then we are being robbed of our spiritual inheritance in Messiah. Is there something we must do in order to maintain these wonderful promises that have been freely given to us in Messiah Yeshua? Paul answers this in his letter to the believers in Corinth: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Yesterday a friend shared a very interesting concept; what we believe can many times be easily offset, or even exchanged, but what we hold as a conviction we will defend to the end. Once we know that we know that something is true, it gets fixed in our hearts and becomes our very reality, it is our life. Thusly, knowing the Word of Elohim and believing that it is true is not enough. This belief must be accompanied by revelation understanding by the Spirit, so that it becomes our conviction and life in us. For if the "Word" becomes our life we are no longer just hearers of the "word", but also doers.
No doubt these are troublesome times, whether we are personally affected, or whether it is a reality for our nation. Yet we can take confidence in our Elohim, for He will never leave us nor forsake us (ref Hebrews 13:5). "For YHVH your Elohim is a compassionate Elohim; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them" (Deuteronomy 4:31). "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). In other words, His peace will not fail us when we abide in Him, as we trust in His faithfulness to keep covenant and are confident of His sovereignty.
Yesterday, during our prayer time with our believing neighbors, we were encouraging one another in regards to the sovereignty of Elohim. I happened to open my bible and saw the following verse: "Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor" (1 Kings 22:34). When the Almighty decrees something He will accomplish it, no matter what we try to do to prevent or change it. The word that stuck out in that little sentence was "random". The bow-man did not specifically aim, he just shot and the arrow happened to find the most vulnerable spot in the armor of the king of Israel, in spite of the king's masquerading attempt. Yes, there may be wars and rumors of wars but we need not lose our peace and give in to the enemy's fear tactics. Instead we are to have unshakeable confidence in YHVH. "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of Elohim, you may receive the promise" (Hebrews 10:35-36).
Some have asked me if I have an archive of these Friday letters. Since I do not have an accessible one, I decided to post them on a blog site: http://israeliteletters.blogspot.com/
I started these Friday letters back in August of 1998, so it will take me a while to get them all into this blog. But you are welcome to read what appears there. Freely Abba has given, and freely it is made available to those who are interested.
Ephraim
One of the things that Yeshua prophesied regarding the latter days was that there would be wars, and rumors of war: "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6). In the last few years there have certainly been plenty of rumors vis-à-vis wars, and as to the 'making of wars', that seems to be endless. However, in the midst of all these end time happenings, Yeshua says to us, his disciples, not to fear or be troubled by these things for they must come, and moreover, notice what he adds here: "the end is not yet". So why are we concerning ourselves over these issues? Is it a tactic of the enemy to rob us of Yeshua's peace? Are we unwittingly replacing faith with the spirit of unbelief?
We read that "Elohim has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Our Master compassionately says: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Paul adds to this by exhorting us to
"let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Colossians 3:15).
If we have received the "Spirit of Holiness" we have also received His kingdom rule, thus His righteousness, peace and joy should be our continual reality. If that is not the case, then we are being robbed of our spiritual inheritance in Messiah. Is there something we must do in order to maintain these wonderful promises that have been freely given to us in Messiah Yeshua? Paul answers this in his letter to the believers in Corinth: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Yesterday a friend shared a very interesting concept; what we believe can many times be easily offset, or even exchanged, but what we hold as a conviction we will defend to the end. Once we know that we know that something is true, it gets fixed in our hearts and becomes our very reality, it is our life. Thusly, knowing the Word of Elohim and believing that it is true is not enough. This belief must be accompanied by revelation understanding by the Spirit, so that it becomes our conviction and life in us. For if the "Word" becomes our life we are no longer just hearers of the "word", but also doers.
No doubt these are troublesome times, whether we are personally affected, or whether it is a reality for our nation. Yet we can take confidence in our Elohim, for He will never leave us nor forsake us (ref Hebrews 13:5). "For YHVH your Elohim is a compassionate Elohim; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them" (Deuteronomy 4:31). "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). In other words, His peace will not fail us when we abide in Him, as we trust in His faithfulness to keep covenant and are confident of His sovereignty.
Yesterday, during our prayer time with our believing neighbors, we were encouraging one another in regards to the sovereignty of Elohim. I happened to open my bible and saw the following verse: "Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor" (1 Kings 22:34). When the Almighty decrees something He will accomplish it, no matter what we try to do to prevent or change it. The word that stuck out in that little sentence was "random". The bow-man did not specifically aim, he just shot and the arrow happened to find the most vulnerable spot in the armor of the king of Israel, in spite of the king's masquerading attempt. Yes, there may be wars and rumors of wars but we need not lose our peace and give in to the enemy's fear tactics. Instead we are to have unshakeable confidence in YHVH. "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of Elohim, you may receive the promise" (Hebrews 10:35-36).
Some have asked me if I have an archive of these Friday letters. Since I do not have an accessible one, I decided to post them on a blog site: http://israeliteletters.blogspot.com/
I started these Friday letters back in August of 1998, so it will take me a while to get them all into this blog. But you are welcome to read what appears there. Freely Abba has given, and freely it is made available to those who are interested.
Ephraim
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