March 11 - teachings and pics

Another valuable teaching from 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 on fleshly vs. selfless love. Selfless love looks out for one’s brother and sister. One who carries the love of the Messiah sees the resurrected Messiah in one another. The enemy wants to bring to the surface those things which are not perfected in one another. We must not speak out mistakes, but instead build each other up. His will is the perfection of His people, the body of Messiah.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Messiah compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Messiah according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Yeshua the Messiah, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Messiah, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Messiah's behalf, be reconciled to God.

What is an ambassador? An ambassador must have citizenship first. We must completely belong to Yeshua. We stand on behalf of His Kingdom. He pours His love into our hearts and we make room for it.

Cards

This afternoon we were able to buy some cards made by the children of the community. It is a wonderful project for the kids as 100% of the proceeds goes to feed poor children in Israel. I took pictures of a few of them I purchased. They're really not so crooked...just my picture taking skills!

The last teaching of the Bible course was given on Ezekiel 37, beginning with the dry bones. The bones had to come alive and experience that He is God. The bones were not a functioning part of the body anymore. They were scattered in the nations and had no flesh on them. They needed the breath...the Holy Spirit to fill them that they might know that He is YHWH.

Ezekiel 37:4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of YHWH! 'Thus says Adonai YHWH to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am YHWH." ' "

The body first comes together, but it needs the Holy Spirit to bring life -

Ezekiel 37:8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

We have come to this time when the body is being completed. God will leave not one bone behind in the completion of the body. It begins with the Word. Without the Word, nothing happens.

Ezekiel 37:10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

The picture of Ephraim and Judah coming together...two kingdoms, that they may have one Shepherd. In the physical, we need a breath to live, and the same is true in the Spiritual world. Without the Holy Spirit, we have no spiritual life. He is completing His body of Israel through His dynamite power.

Zechariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of YHWH to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says YHWH of hosts.

God's plan goes forward. It never stands in one place. He is building a Temple from living stones. In building, a living stone is one that has been prepared and made to fit for a purpose. If we have to fit this stone in a wall, it must fit together with the other stones. A dead stone does not fit. The capstone...this is the stone that is at the top of an archway.

1 Peter 2:7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"

The capstone holds the whole arch together. He is the Head. He carries all the weight. The building cannot be finished without the capstone. If you have the Messiah in you, then you have been a part of bringing the redemption here to the Land!

Evening with the rabbi

Tonight we were blessed to have a local rabbi come to the community to share some teaching. This man has been very Zionistic and in fact all of his grown children live in Samaria (West Bank). Some years ago he was discouraged by the lack of morality and spiritualism in Israel and was driving his car and asking God about this. Had the Jews chosen the wrong time to return to the Land? Where was His Presence? He rounded a corner and what he saw made him stop and pull over to watch. Here were a group of about 20 small children from the German community, clean and neatly dressed, all holding hands. The little girls had their braids flying in the wind. All very orderly with a couple of adults. He felt God said to him...Here I am. He asked, however...isn't it the Jews who are supposed to be a light to the Gentiles? Instead I see Gentiles being a light to the Jews! Today, this rabbi's wife is a teacher in the community's school and she loves it! There is a mutual appreciation between this Jewish family and the community.

The rabbi gave a teaching from the book of Esther, explaining to us how historically speaking it all makes perfect sense.