STOP TRYING TO BE WHO WE CAN NEVER BE!

      I know what you are going to say. There will be those who shoot for perfection, who tell us that we are commanded to be like Christ, (which we are not). Or some will say, "We should be like Paul." Both are wrong. You have to know how I think to know who I'm going for here, and if anyone has read any of my blogs, will know I'm shooting for way less.  I'll try briefly to explain, but don't hold out hope on the briefly part.  Don't you think that Jesus knows that we cannot be like him or think like him? (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

      Jesus did NOT have a sinful nature. He was fully human but without a sinful nature. Theologically speaking, many say that GOD put Jesus in Mary's womb because the sinful nature comes from the father. I tend to believe that. Who was called on the carpet first? When did Adam and Eve realize they were naked, after her bite or his? Case closed.  This is very controversial, because many say he was perfect and without sin because he was created pure, but Grampie Heli’'s seed was in that ovary, so, he was FULLY human. The point is that Jesus never sinned. It wasn't because he couldn't, as in not physically able, it was because he couldn't in order to fulfill the purpose for which he was sent.

     In my personal opinion, although I love Paul as a brother in Christ, but, if I was going to church with him, we would not be friends. You can love your sibling in Christ and not be buddies that hang out.  I appreciate the fact that GOD chose him and trained him and used him to write 1/3 of the New Testament, but I think Christians have taken Paul way out of context and follow him as if he was as perfect as Christ. Too many Christians hang on every word he wrote when they have no context as to why he wrote it.  Reading the New Testament Epistles from Paul is like looking at a Jeopardy board, but never knowing the questions.  People who attain to be like Jesus or Paul are looking for perfection in themselves and demanding it others. That's usually when that ugly little pride virus attacks their heart, and it’s damaged sometimes for good.

     Paul’s words are Divinely Inspired, but they are not Torah within themselves. They come from a combination of the teachings of Torah, and the current Jewish mindset of that day.  Paul was taught the purity of TORAH, but, he was  taught the philosophy of Halakha. Most Christians teach as if Paul re-wrote The TORAH, which means instructions.  Even Jesus, when he went to Hebrew school, learned Halakha, hence why when he was twelve, he was at the Temple, attempting to straighten out the Teachers of the Law then.   We, like our children, have selective hearing when it comes to the Word of GOD, and we choose to hear only what we want to hear, or what we are taught to hear.  We choose what to hear from Jesus, most of the time. and it has to be to our liking, or we ad-lib a little and throw our opinion in there. People have said they find comfort in Paul’s epistles. Well I don’t, I never have.  Paul suffered and he had a sinful nature. He despaired at times, and he triumphed through GOD grace which was sufficient for his weaknesses. Just read, study and memorize Romans chapter 7, whenever you feel like you can't measure up. 

   Me, on the other hand, I choose to follow the leading of the flawed leaders, the ones who messed up, but had a heart after GOD's own heart. The Bible is full of screw-ups that GOD used to prove His grace and power working through humans who were a freaking mess. Jacob is my favorite mess, because it took 100 years for him to get it right. If I was going to live that long, it would take me longer. David, on the other hand was a bit more of a mess than Jacob. Besides being an adulterer, he did far worse things before he sat on the throne, and it was despair that made him do it.  Even before the Ziglag fiasco, he had already had three wives. He collected more after taking the throne, and even had concubines. All those wives and that male ego caused him many more errors of judgment than we will ever know.  He had sons who raped, murdered and forged an insurrection against him.  David fell into despair so many times, we can’t count them all, but the Book of Psalms exhibits quite a few of them.  David had a prodigal road in 1 Samuel 27, that would make most men today look like absolute saints.  David was promised the throne by GOD and anointed by Samuel one of the great ones, and yet, he believed that Saul would kill him so he hid behind enemy lines. He became a traitor for 16 months. He murdered for profit, and he made sure that no one was left alive to rat him out.  So, to put it mildly, David was a mass murderer, killing innocent babies, women, children, and men who were minding their own business, just trying to make a living and take care of their families. GOD never instructed or called David to this holy war, he took it upon himself, and skimmed off the top, and yet, what do we know about him?  What are we constantly reminded about him?  David knew how to repent, and repent well.  He was force fed much humble pie, and to this day, he has the best title of any ordinary flawed man, "A man after GOD's own heart."  If we make that our goal, then all our mistakes can only make us better people, not worse ones. 

 

SHE USED TO BE MINE:

But, she’s not anymore.

 

I used to think that deception was never appropriate, but now, I’m starting to wonder if there is ever a time where the “sin of omission” is called for.  As usual, I decided to look into the Scriptures to see if deception was ever used by one of GOD’s servants, and I found one where GOD blessed it.  When war is declared upon one of GOD’s servants, no matter how imperfect they are, if that servant is a man or woman after GOD’s own heart then that person who declared war on them also declared war on GOD.  The story comes from 2^nd Samuel chapter 15-18.  King David was enjoying the perks of being king and ignoring his subjects who were being treated unfairly.  His next born son, Absalon, who had already killed first born and next in line, Amnon, saw this as an opportunity to usurp the king and declare himself king. So, for four years, at the king’s gate, he intercepted King David’s subjects who came with a complaint seeking justice, and Absalom saw that the victim was vindicated.  In doing this, he won the favor of many people.  David’s servants likely saw what was happening and warned the King, but the King, being the passive father that he was, ignored the warnings.  It wasn’t until it was too late that King David realized that he screwed up, again. 

Here now we have King David, on the run, again with about 600 loyal men and women fleeing the city as Absalom had gone to Hebron to declare himself king.  I learn so much about the Bible from my favorite Torah teacher (TORAH Class playlists) who explains the cultures and thought patterns of these ancient peoples, and one of the points he brought out was that back then, people went to different territories because they wanted the blessing of the  god of that territory. At that particular time in Israelite history, Hebron was the capital city of the God of the Israelites. Whenever you see a pattern or shadow in the Hebrew Scriptures, you can usually find it in the world or the Christian church today.   Many Christians go to “The LORD’s House” where they think GOD is most influential and the blessings of GOD are obviously there, to them.  Of course, man’s corrupted thought is, the bigger the church, the more GOD is blessing it.  In other words, those Mega churches must be doing something right, so we’ll go there, right?  WRONG.  Mega churches are created by men using man-made techniques and marketing tools, not just the Word of GOD.  YHVH GOD is just as powerful alone in our hiding places as people think He is on any given Sunday at the local church no matter how big the campus. Sin is so easily hidden in a mega church, but when we are alone in our room with GOD, our sin will find us out, and it’s between GOD and us and the Holy Spirit whether we confess and turn from it. 

With that knowledge, I know a man who goes to a mega-church where he is “accepted as is” and made to feel good about himself, because no one really knows him.  To his pastor, he’s just one in thousands, and likely, the pastor has never even met him, but his ex-wife by man’s law and his children know exactly who he is and what he’s done. Last Saturday night, he declared war on his family.  I won’t get into the details, but his faithful wife under GOD’s Law, and the mother of his children who he has hurt time and time again, kept trying to be the balm and the band aid that kept them stuck together.  She used to always contact this man to let him know whenever one of his children needed parental participation in parent meetings, sporting events, or musical recitals.  Yesterday was just such a day, and he was clueless about a parent meeting, and she fought with her old self, telling her old self to do the “right” thing, regardless of how he’s treated his children, and how he is living in sin, but the GIRL WHO USED TO BE MINE kept telling her no.  She had to let him hang himself, as Absalom hung himself.

2 Samuel 15-18 New Living Translation

So, where do you find the sin of omission or deception used by King David and his loyal servants?  I can spoon feed you the Bible, or you can seek GOD’s truth on your own.  I will leave you the link to the story, which is four chapters long, and you can decide for yourself whether what deception King David did was blessed by GOD or not. I don’t like to just pick out one or two Scriptures and twist them to agree with me. What I’d rather do is include the whole story and let you make your own interpretations with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  It is my personal opinion, that in times of war, deception is sometimes needed. 

Scripture is clear, that if a person digs a pit, eventually, he will fall into it.  It was when I was describing this verse to a friend who also has a relative digging herself into a pit that I saw in the metaphor of that person digging throwing dirt on the innocent. Both of us have suffered harm from relatives throwing dirt on us while digging their pits, and I know that GOD put that picture in my head.  I have tried to keep the stone from rolling over on that man’s head long enough, and it’s time to just let the ground above cave in on him.  I finally have reached the point of acceptance that you cannot save a person who doesn’t want to be saved.  You can’t help a man who doesn’t want to help himself out of the pit he dug.  If he chooses not to climb out of that pit, it’s a choice he made.  Eventually, the hole caves in and the stones fall on the one digging, and GOD will be the Savior who cleans the dirt of His loyal subjects. For such a time as this, it’s time to let go and let nature takes its course.  

 For your enjoyment, and out of my parental pride, because I’m human, I’ll include the song that my daughter sung at her high school Senior Spotlight, because it was this song that finally moved me to stop being the balm and stop receiving the dirt thrown on me and stop trying to save those who prefer warring with GOD.

SHE USED TO BE MINE (By my number 7 child)

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS:

Is that why we are born?

      A while back, I remember reading about how it's human nature for everyone to seek love and happiness as our main pursuits over our lifetime. Who doesn't want to be in love, be loved, or be happy?  The sad fact of this part of the human nature is that sometimes we will pursue these things at the expense of others.  While we are pursuing love and happiness, at times, our pursuit causes grief and despair for others.  So, is it ever okay to pursue these things at the expense of another or if it causes grief to a fellow human being?  I think maybe that's why our divorce rate is just as high in the church as well as outside of the church.  If we aren't happy with our spouse, or we don't feel our needs met, well, we go looking for someone else to supply that which we need. 

     As a victim of divorce, I too sought refuge with a new and future potential spouse, until GOD denied me that lifetime happiness for nine years.  For years, I struggled with that, wrestling with the Almighty like Jacob, and finally letting Him prevail.  It finally occurred to me that my personal happiness in this life wasn't in the forefront of GOD's mind or desire for me.  That was a heavy pill to swallow.  What I did realize is that the Kingdom of GOD is the utmost importance to Him and building it was just part of my assignment, even if it meant the sacrifice of my best life now, as one popular evangelist titled his book.  Should we really pursue our best life now?  I've learned, no, we should not, especially at the expense of others. Being a single parent was GOD's will for my life whether I wanted to be one or not.  Did GOD will my divorce? I would say no, He did not, however, someone with free will did.  Free will is given to us when we are born. It's after we become children of GOD that we must decide if we are willing to give up that free will totally, partially or not at all.  

     Every time I try to make sense of something in my life that hurt me or tested my resolve to follow GOD's leading, I look for a precedent in the Bible and how GOD dealt with it with His servants. Some of our contemporary struggles can be found in the Scriptures, but some of them can only be solved through the principals taught to us in the Scriptures.  Blended families is just one of those things not mentioned in the Bible, but the principals of how to deal with them can be.  I can't find blended families with shared custody in the Bible. The ONLY reference I can come up with referring to any kind of a step-child scenario is in Genesis when Joseph told his family about his dreams.  When his father  Abraham was offended by the second dream, he referred to Leah as Joseph's mother, when in fact, Rachel was Joseph's true birth mother.  So, there's a step-parent, however, the birth mother or rather other wife was already dead.   The only other reference to divorce and a "step-child," would be in Matthew with Herod and Herodias and her daughter, who seduced her "step-father" with a dance. Herodias was called Philip's wife by John,  even though she married Herod.  Marriage and divorce is the equivalent of polygamy in Bible days.  Our courts may deem our marriages dissolved, but does GOD?  Doesn't the Scriptures say, "What GOD has brought together, let no man put asunder?"  

    Apparently, GOD doesn't have a second husband for me, and until recently, I couldn't understand why, seeing how my husband divorced me and took up with another.  It occurred to me when a friend of mine told me her back story of how when her mother took up with another man after leaving their father, the two daughters didn't exist anymore, or that was how they felt. The truth hit me like a bolt of lightning. Why it didn't occur to me before that shocks me.  I could not be an excellent, superb wife to a second husband and devoted full-time mother and father, in this instance, to the five children who needed me when their father left. Likewise, that other man couldn't be a devoted husband to a third wife while trying to maintain some stability for the three victimized children from his second wife's infidelity.  Not only did she put them through one divorce, but less than ten years later, she put them through another divorce with their step-father.  Those precious children needed a devoted father for stability, and that's what they got, because GOD denied that man any true and lasting love to fill that void in his life.  His children were more important to GOD than that man's need for a woman or wife in his life.  

     Because there are no blended families with shared custody in the Bible, I took that as a clue from GOD regarding what He is doing with me or going to do with me.  My children were His priority, and my first assignment was to be a devoted parent, not another spouse, trying to make another husband happy.  It was at that point that I realized GOD's will was best, as usual, I re-committed to sacrificing my will and pursuit of personal fulfillment and happiness and just accept His will and move on from there, asking Him how I can still be a better example or servant leaving something good behind. I usually accept my assignment and consider GOD's will better for all even if it's not what makes me happy in this life. It's never about me, but it's always going to be about what's best for the Kingdom. I can accept that and still be happy even if it's not what my heart and humanity craves. 

     The Ark on a New Cart

    The comparison I'm going to use here is from the story in 2 Samuel when after King David defeated the Philistines for good. He recaptured the Ark of the Covenant and wanted to bring it back to Jerusalem and restore it in the make-shift Temple, but he had no true clear understanding of the original Torah, so he just hoisted it on a new cart and pulled it back, dancing and celebrating while a pair of young oxen carried it home, until all hell broke lose and one of his buddies died by the angry Hand of GOD. (The Old Ark on a New Cart Full story)   Well, if that story was a metaphor for what's going on in the Christian church, it is going to be near impossible for me to convince people that they've been taught as wrong as David was, and get them to do like he did and consult the Scriptures to find out what's gone wrong, like he did. Yet, I feel compelled to try and rescue as many people as possible out of the corrupt incorporated churchianity. Yeshua/ Jesus, tried to rescue his people out of the corrupt Temple system invented by the Sanhedrin/Pharisees/Sadducees. They corrupted the Torah by giving the Talmud equal value in Divine Inspiration. All the laws they added were a direct violation of the words of Moses whom they held in the highest regard as the greatest prophet ever. They did exactly that by adding on top of the 613 Mosaic Laws and forcing their rules and regulations down everyone's throat, lest they be thrown out of the Temple. The Temple was the center of a Israelite life, just like church is for the "Christian." Their whole lives revolved around it. To be excommunicated from the only Temple was a tragedy worse than death itself. It's not like they could just go out and find another denomination/another church body.

     The Temple was it.  The  Sanhedrin/Pharisees/Sadducees so terribly corrupted Judaism for so many centuries that the Jews in Jesus's day did not  know the difference between the Talmud teaching and the Torah.  This angered Jesus, as you can tell by his dealings with the Pharisees.  He insulted them on every level possible.  Friends, history repeats itself over and over, why? Because we are human and we rather to create our own historical narrative so we can keep on living in denial of the hard truth.  We refused to study every detail of the past, hence, we re-write it. We re-create it in our own image of what we thought it was or what we wanted it to be to justify our own life choices.  The seminaries and clergy have to change the narrative in order to keep the brainwashed sheep in the pews and the pastors in their pockets.  I understand this may offend, but Yeshua didn't mind offending the Pharisees for all the lies they told, and this Joan-the-not-baptist-anymore feels exactly the same way. 

 

        Fast forward two thousand years.  It is the exact same thing with "Christianity" as we know it.  Generational Christians who have been sitting in pews since they were embryo's like their mothers, and their mothers before them, etc..., make the Christian church the center of all their lives.  Christianity, as they learned it, is the difference between eternity in Hell or in Paradise.  There is no difference between the church today and the Sanhedrin then, not one bit of difference.   Christianity was "invented" by corrupt church fathers, one main player was Eusebius who directed Constantine to lie about his alleged vision to win over the Christians.  

     Constantine took it a bit further, and with goal of ridding the planet of the hated  Jews. They were hated  by all the evil emperors and now the early church fathers.  So, what did Constantine do?  He pulled rank on The Almighty.  He outlawed the Torah and the Tanukh.  (The Law and the Prophets)  Can you imagine the gall it must take to outlaw YVHV's commands?  (the correct Hebrew spelling).  Not only did he outlaw the Mosaic Law, he changed the day of worship to the day of his sun god's worship and forced  Christians to adapt.  Sunday, the Lord's Day is not even the correct context.  The Lord's Day in Rome was the one day a year that all citizen's had to swear absolute loyalty and profess the emperor as Lord, or be killed.  That is why it was called the Lord's Day.  It has absolutely nothing to do with Yeshua resurrecting on the eighth day.  Here is a perfect example of the church changing the narrative to fit with their lie keeping the pew filled on Sunday and the staff's paycheck's secure for another week.  

     Over  twelve more centuries of evil murderous corruption in the Roman church bred more lies and "misinformation."  Absolute power corrupted absolutely.  When Luther came along he helped free people from the bondage of the Roman Church, but he continued the narrative.  Luther, as many know, was an angry anti-semite, because he could not convert the Jews to his way of thinking, and eventually his hatred of the "stubborn" Jews become the  inspiration for Hitler in his "Final Solution." The Roman Church also hated the Jews, so much so that they stripped the Apostle Saul/Shaul, of his Hebrew roots, and taught that he converted and changed his name to Paul to prove his turning away from being an Israelite.

     The Roman church created their own version of the Talmud. They called it the Roman Catholic Catechism.  During the Reformation, the "rebellious protestant" church just took the part out of the Roman Catechism that they didn't like, and created the Shorter Westminster Catechism. The only thing they did was delete the Jewish Torah and the priestly services and created a whole new priestly service based on their new rules. Viola, now you have the Vatican!  The Crusades and the Inquisitions evil and cruelty knew no bounds, but does the Roman Church want you to know the extend of the corruption and evil?   

     The Bible became so white washed by the church fathers and commentators over the centuries that it was as if the Torah was on tracing paper. That just aged me. Maybe I should say tissue paper, and they blew their snot all over and disregarded it. All of those lies about not being under Law was the devil's playground. We are still under Law. We are justified by Grace through faith in Yeshua Ha Mashiach. (Jesus the Christ), because to fulfill the whole Law is humanly impossible. That does not void it. Unless you put your faith in Yeshua, the Law will still condemn you. That was what Paul was saying throughout his whole mission. Contrary to popular believe, it is only a 1900 year old rumor that Paul made the Torah obsolete. He never stopped practicing the Law, nor studying the Torah and the Prophets. Today, in church the Law and the Prophets are a nice book of poetry, history, and foundation/basement of New Testament Christianity. Let me ask you, what happens to a house if the foundation isn't maintained, properly cared for, or worse, taken out from under the house?

     I have been isolated for ten years by the Hand of the LORD.  It's been lonely, but He had to teach me the truth without interference from what I call "the deep state church." We, the True Remnant are the  two houses of Israel that GOD is reuniting after 3,000 years. We are hated as much as the Pharisees hated Yeshua.  GOD did not choose a pew baby to go in and try and rescue the other pew babies, He has chosen an outsider, a Yankee in the Bible Belt.  This makes my calling all that much more confusing to me.  I hate what Christianity became, but it's the equivalent of Gideon taking on the Midianites with 300 men with lamps and pitchers. I can't reach generational Protestants and Roman Catholic, even though I used to be one of each of those. I spent 26 years in the Roman Catholic traditions and 26 years in the Protestant traditions.  I know how each of them think, but I also know the true historicity of the Hebrew people and Christianity, I suppose that's the confusion Moses must have had when raised as an Egyptian for 40 years had to turn his back on it, leave the Hebrews who also rejected him and spend 40 more years in the wilderness alone trying to figure out who he was, until that day when GOD called him from the Burning Bush. 

     Not all will believe that for their entire lives they have been lied to by the church for 1900 years, just like not all will believe that they have been lied to by their government, teachers, and college professors since the early 1900's.  Do you see the correlation here?  It's the narrative that is the lie.  It wasn't until I left the church and really started living in the Bible that I learned it and nothing like the way the church had taught it to me for almost three decades.  I could go into great detail about the Law/Torah and the Prophets/Tanukh, but that is not my intend.  SHOCK and AWE is what I'm hoping for here, then when the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of those whom GOD has chosen to know the truth, and they  get back up from that great big fall, I'll be there with all my best friends, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and of course Malachi.  It will be my pleasure to introduce you to them.   America in the the Bible, folks, we are Joseph's seed, what the prophets call the house of Ephraim.  YHVH, as promised is bringing His two "quarreling children" back together, and uniting the thirteen tribes.  Yes, there were thirteen, just like there was thirteen chosen Disciples.  I'll let you chew on that one for a while. 

     NO-Fault Divorce, Legal in Civil Law, Illegal in GOD's LAW

    Both my husband and I grew up in MISERABLY, horribly abusive homes from fathers who declared war on our mothers.  Both our mothers were profoundly affected by our father's actions.  Both fathers abandoned us.  When we married, we were not Christians.  Five years later, we had another ceremony and entered into a covenant marriage.  I signed those papers, and because I signed those papers, swearing to GOD that I would NEVER sign divorce papers, I must keep my word to GOD.  

     My husband and I had eight children together, each baby was dedicated in church where we vowed to raise them in a loving, nurturing Christian home with both mother and father taking equal part in their upbringing.  Henceforth, that is ten times we both vowed to the LORD not to ever divorce.  Now, I am keeping those ten vows, and whatever happens, happens.  My husband declared war on me, on his children and on GOD by going through with a civil NO-FAULT divorce.  When I first got the papers, I was absolutely devastated.  I did not even open them.  I laid them on the altar, and prayed over them, asking GOD what to do. He said to stay the course.  Then I gave them back to my husband and told him this was his war against GOD.  I did not want to deal with it.  Then, the second time papers came, I reacted the same way, and I did the same.  Again, I got the same answer from GOD, and again, I did not open them.  I knew if I did that I would hate my husband, and I never wanted to hate the father of my children, the man I swore my undying love to twice.   I will forever be devastated by his divorcing GOD, then me.   

     I will not  participate in this war on the family we both vowed to protect.  It was when I came down with cancer, six months after he did that he told me that he would divorce me "after my treatments were over."  He destroyed his family and over Skype on the thirty-six anniversary of the day he asked me to marry him, which is a double offense.  Imagine, divorcing  your wife of  thirty-five years over Skype.  How low can one go?   Really, the offense is far beyond what words can even describe.    I used to love and admire my husband greatly.  I do not love my husband anymore, no wife could.  I don't want to live with him, either.  I am will to do whatever it is that GOD wills, even if that meant remaining only legally wed for the rest of my life.  My husband has admitted that he is not doing GOD's will.  Man may declare this marriage dissolved, but according to GOD's Word in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Romans, and 1 Corinthians, it remains full and intact in the eyes of GOD.  He said, let no man put asunder.  Marriage is over only after death.  GOD let it be known to me that if He allows my husband this divorce, then he indeed was  declaring war on me, on his children, on his family and on Jesus Christ. And yet, that man attends church faithfully, while I stopped attending Christian church seven years ago, and I have no intentions of ever going back.  Sin is rampant in the church, and as in Joshua 7, when one man is corrupt and allowed to get away with it, the whole camp loses.    

   No-fault divorce is a treacherous act, a heinous act, it's the murdering of the one-flesh.   It is similar to the act of abortion, selling baby parts for profit is no different then ripping families apart for profit in a no-fault divorce. He says in His Word that He hates divorce, Malachi 2:16.  It's simply amazing how many married Christians like to remind divorced people how much GOD hates divorce, whether that person is the victim or the perpetrator.  We know how much He hates it, because we hate it just as much. The United States has what is called a NO-FAULT divorce, leaving the victim with no recourse.  The only thing we have is YHVH GOD to defend us, and quite frankly, that's better than man's law.  GOD's justice is slow in coming, but, I've lived long enough to see disease ridden sinners suffer the consequences of a dreadful death.  Some are wise enough to repent on their death beds, and sadly, some are stubborn and defiant until their last breaths. 

 God does not fix what's wrong with 

His people, He starts all over again.

     Jesus did not have a mortgage, and he did not incorporate. He did not have office hours, nor did he assign his Apostles as CEO's, telling them to register with the emperor, and be ready to have all their financial records ready to be audited annually. Jesus never asked for money, he healed for FREE. He never pressured his followers to give toward the mortgage fund or a building project so he could expand his ministry. He did not hire a marketing firm to teach his disciples how to be good stewards. He did not initiate a fund raising campaign to increase the size of the campus, so the corporation could expand, and create more programs, branches, and differing kinds of ministries. Jesus did not rely on programs. Jesus did not seek converts, he taught disciples. He certainly did not have super-conferences with guest speakers and a ticket price upwards of near 100 talents. He even kept the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven a secret from those he knew were in it for only how it filled their bellies. In Matthew and Luke he said,

"To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more will shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."

     He then went on to quote the prophet Isaiah, because Jesus knew intimately what was written in the Old Testament. He not only knew it, he understood it because he inspired it. I once heard an associate pastor at the church I attended say, "The Old Testament is so hard to understand, it's a difficult read and so harsh. Besides, that’s the Law, we are under grace now, so none of it really applies." When I picked my jaw back up off the floor, I gathered my flock, went home and never went back, to any church. His answer was not out of the ordinary, it's what I hear all the time. He is a New Testament Christian, or what I call a carport as opposed to a garage with a brick siding, a foundation and a solid roof, one that does not blow off with a strong wind.

     I’m not any kind of expert in the Hebrew Scriptures, but I’ve studied it exclusively now for 12 years, inside, outside and upside down. (A little Dr. Seuss humor there) You know what my friend, in my humble opinion, I actually find MORE grace and mercy in the Old Testament than the New. The Law and the animal sacrifices did NOT save the Israelite's, nor did it cleanse them of sin, it was the grace behind the obedience of the practice of the Law. The sacrifice was supposed to be a reminder of the curse and damage that sin does, and how much GOD hates sin. It was a reminder of Whom they served and Who saved them, as opposed to other pagan religions.

      New Testament Christians say, "We are the church, the bride of Christ, GOD will never abandon us" just like the Jews said, "This is the temple of the LORD, this is the Temple of the LORD, and they thought GOD would never leave it. SURPISE, He did.  If someone tells you that he/she is a New Testament Christian, well, then you know that you are talking only to a carport with no walls, no foundation, and an aluminum roof that can easily be blown away. Do not bother to argue with them, because they have their minds made up, and everyone else is wrong. Their pastor told them to be that way, to stand their ground under their carports. We can try to educate them, but most have unteachable hearts from anyone but their CEO/pastor. They are loyal to their corporations, that's for sure. After all, they have invested much of their funds into this capital venture.

     The more we understand the history of GOD's people, the more we can see GOD repeating Himself, over and over, again. The book of Ecclesiastes, lately, has become one of my favorites, because basically it says, “Don’t expect GOD to do anything He has never done before, because there is nothing new under the sun that GOD hasn’t already done.” Yes, you will have to get your Bible out and find that passage, also. The purpose in doing that may just help you find some wisdom GOD wants you to have before and after those verses. GOD's people throughout all generations kept becoming too corrupt to reform or repair. Over and over again GOD pulled out a remnant and started all over again.

    As the metaphor Mama that I am, if you need a picture, I have a good one for you. The church today is like flour. There is all-purpose, there is self-rising, and then there is this “whole-wheat,” that’s really not whole or in it’s original form. No, my friends, the Remnant is the whole grain, straight from the ground, exactly how GOD made it, in it’s original form. It’s not bleached, it’s not ground into fine powder that just becomes dust, rather in it's natural state, it has all the nutrients needed to feed the flock.

     Where does wheat grow? Does it grow in a building, on a huge cement campus, in programs, does money grow it? It grows where the gospel was meant to go, in the fields, outside where the Wind can take it where the Wind intends for it to go. The pure Gospel is the protein in the whole grain, it’s the muscle that makes the Remnant strong. It’s not supposed to be holed up in four walls and a ceiling, keeping it contained. Jesus said "Go and make disciples," not "gather and convert people." Beloveds, GOD made sure that the Temple was completely destroyed in AD 70, because the Temple was now the Holy Spirit living in us, and the Temple is meant to have arms, legs, and wheels, and it is supposed to be moving at all times.

   

     Satan entered the church in the very first century to begin the corruption. Paul and Peter and Jude all mention false teachers and prophets. The doctrine of Balaam is alive and well and has been since the days in the wilderness. Corrupt within, because an outside attack is not effective enough. Christianity today is an offshoot of the corrupt religion invented by Constantine. He created his own brand of Christianity, one with the political advantage he needed. He was just another false convert, using the work of Yeshua for self-advancement. He wiped clean any signs or practices of Judaism that GOD Himself ordered and commanded and outlawed all the appointed feasts and the seventh day Sabbath. Imagine an emperor so bold as to take what GOD instituted and outlaw it in the name of Christ. Constantine incorporated pagan practices, slapping a Christian name on them, and the corrupt papacy only added to this man-made delineation of the Word of GOD.

  

 I'm sorry to say, but evangelism has been the downfall of the church. Satan always takes a little bit of truth and slides in his brand of lies to convince man that he is doing the right thing Today, the church's recipe for salvation is NOT Biblically sound. Just saying a prayer saves no one. The only one who can initiate salvation is GOD Himself. He decides who becomes His true children. He enters our hearts before we "pray Him into it," then our outward appearance and actions reflects that change.

John 1:

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 6:

“Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Matthew 16:

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

 

 Oh, Not So Holy Night!

I do NOT enjoy bursting the bubble of Christians, but once I learn a truth, I’m obligated to share it.  You are free to disagree with me if you like, but  research and search the Scriptures to either prove me right or wrong in your own minds, hearts, and conscience.   I don’t answer to GOD for what anyone else does in their relations and worship of  YHVH GOD, I only answer to Him for myself and my actions.  I have to do what I’m led to do, based on the truth YHVH reveals to me through Scripture, revelation (Rhema’s), and what I can discover based solely on historical facts.  Believe me, this was NOT an easy decision for me to make. 

It was one man about 1700 years ago that decided in order to coaxed the pagans into this new state religion called Christianity, it was best to adopt their pagan practices, "baptize it into Christ," the Pope Julius I said. That gentile pope found nothing wrong with slapping a Christian name on a pagan practice, because those gentile clergy hated everything about the Hebrew Scriptures. Many of them wanted to dispose of the Hebrew Scriptures entirely, but if not for the Grace of GOD, we would never have even had them in our Bible today.  In those days, when the Bible was inaccessible by the common man,  because the corrupt Roman Church had made it illegal for common man to have access to that which GOD wanted read by every man, the people were deceived into believing that these clergy were vicars for Christ and infallible when it comes to revelation from GOD.    The roots of Christmas actually comes from pagan celebrations to the fertility gods of the pagan, and once, I learned of just how offensive the whole Yuletide season was to GOD, I just could not enjoy doing it anymore. We still give them gifts, because to take that away just seemed too cruel, however, I do not call them Christmas gifts, I call them, "end of the year," gifts. I answer to GOD for what I know, as do you. 

GOD had prescribed certain religious observations to Him in the Torah in the book of Leviticus.  Many of them we cannot observe to the letter of the law, because there is no centralized Temple any longer.  Some Jewish holidays such as Purim and Hanukkah are not commanded of GOD, but are man's  celebrations of GOD's deliverance of His people.  Hanukkah was was referred to as the Festival of Lights, and the gift giving aspect of it came out of the Jews wanting a gift-giving excuse as the Gentiles had. Back before Christmas was established, it was a Jewish tradition based on the celebration of the Maccabees defeat of Antiochus IV of Epiphanes.  Even Jesus honored that Festival of Lights in John 10:22, as he went up to the Temple in the winter to acknowledge the deliverance of GOD’s people from a tyrannical murderous ruler.  I am not saying that all man's traditions are bad, but what I am saying is that copy-cat worship is not something GOD is okay with, as stated in many places in the Hebrew Scriptures, in particular Deuteronomy 12.   

Every time I mentioned this conviction to someone, I get the same argument that I used to give, that we are honoring the birth of Jesus, even though we know for a fact it did not happen on December 25th.  GOD’s definition of idolatry is any time His people  adapt the religious practices of the false gods of the pagan nations into their worship of Him. Now, someone who is truly adept at the New Testament will bring up Romans 14, when Paul declared one man’s unholy day an another man’s acceptable holy day. At least, I would have, and did, until I read the Scripture more closely and studied the Hebrew Scriptures as they were meant to be studied and understood.  I am surely not going to poo-poo your celebration of Christmas, but in good conscience, I can no longer observe it in the intent of which it was given, knowing what I know about GOD now.  What you choose to do with your knowledge is between you and GOD, and what you choose to ignore as possibly offensive to GOD is again, between you and Him alone. 

This realization of the offense of Christmas to GOD hasn’t been easy for me to accept either, because I love those traditional Christmas songs from “Last Christmas,” to “Oh Holy Night.” My children and I used to belt out our favorites with my speakers jacked up to full volume as we danced around the room, having the time of our lives, doing what we do every Christmas.  It was a difficult decision, and I miss the fun of it.  Sometimes, we have to sacrifice the traditions of men to prove our loyalty to YHVH GOD, like Jesus said in the Bible.  With GOD, it is always a heart thing, and never a performance thing, so celebrating a pagan’s traditional worship to their pagan gods is essentially the same thing eating foods sacrificed to idols.  Paul said that if they knew the food was sacrificed to an idol or a false god, it was strictly forbidden, then in essence  us knowing that celebrating Christmas is essentially the same sin. When I learned the absolute truth about this and saw it in black and white in the Torah, which means instructions, not LAW, by the way,  I just could never see Christmas the same way ever again. It went from a sacred event in my mind to a very unholy season, and for the rest of my life, I just cannot perceive it as a joyous event if the LORD says in Scripture that it is an abomination to Him. 

 What I thought for five decades was worship, now I know was an offense.  We are responsible for what we know at the time and what the LORD teaches us, when we are taught it, not before. Revelation from GOD is progressive, so we are only guilty of sinning when we are shown what we do is a sin.  There are unintentional sins in which we will not be held guilty of, and then there are the outright rebellious sins we know to be wrong, in which we will stand and give an account. 

I just can’t do it anymore, knowing what I know, now,  because my conscience before GOD won’t let me.  I would rather offend man, even though it’s NOT what I like to do, than to risk  offending GOD.  I teach my children the truth, now, and some day, GOD will convict them of His Revelations when they are ready to obey Him fully.  As I advise all parents of adult children, they are not your children when they are adults, they are GOD’s, and you have to give them back. They now become just your offspring and any advice or counsel you want to give them must be sought out by them, not offered freely or oppressively, because you are not their mommy anymore. You do not answer to GOD for what they do as adults. You are only obligated to the LORD for teaching them what you do know while they are still under your stewardship. When the LORD teaches us new things, it’s because we have come to him to seek new things to be taught. He never oppresses a man into morality, it is always a choice on our part out of the love in our hearts for Him. For that is your bodily act of worship, and the only kind of sacrifice he wants from us.

For you information only, I always revisit this wonderful teacher this time of year, and every year, I'm more convicted that celebrating Christmas is offensive to GOD.  David Pawson The History of Christmas  Part 2 is here David Pawson The History of Christmas Part 2