His Word

As we spend more time studying His Word and understanding what the Father's Plan is and what He wants from us ... as we begin developing a relationship with His indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach) through a daily prayer life - beginning in the morning as the first part of your day and continuing through out the day - we begin to see changes in our life. Changes that we know are supernatural; changes that come from within and not from our own efforts; changes that are being done in us by His indwelling Holy Spirit. We discover that we have a greater peace about us ... a greater joy ... and a greater level of self-control! Scriptures in the Word begin to jump out at us; we are suddenly seeing messages in His Word that we've never quite noticed before.

Further, it is here that we are separated from the power of sin ... we discover that sin is still all around us and even in us, but that it has less and less power over us ... we are being sanctified ... made righteous, in direct proportion to the filling of the Father's Holy Spirit ... which is in direct proportion to the amount of attention we are giving Him each day.


We Express Our Love For the Father Through Obedience to His Word.
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I am Yahweh

If someone who had fallen into a ditch shouted up to you, "Hey, Bud, would you help me out of here?", you would undoubtedly help him out, even if "Bud" wasn't your name, and think nothing of it. But what if, after you introduced yourself and you became close friends, he kept on calling you "Bud"? You'd find it strange and a bit irritating, wouldn't you? Yet this is exactly the way our Creator is often treated. 

      "Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and the name of His son? Tell me if you know!" (Prov. 30:4b)

How can you really love someone whose name you don't even know? This connection is directly highlighted in Scripture's parallel poetry: 

       "Because he has set his love on me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known My Name." (Psalm 91:14) 

He is commonly known as "God" and "Lord", but these are just substitutes for the Hebrew titles Elohim. At best,  "God" and "Lord" are like calling Him "the Boss" or "Sir". That may be respectful enough in some situations; there is some Scriptural precedent. But when addressing Him directly, this could be as impersonal as calling Him "the man upstairs" or referring to your best friend as "that guy".

The ten commandments are actually called the "Ten Declarations" in Hebrew. The first is, "I am Yahweh your Elohim ". The very first thing He wanted to tell His people about Himself was His proper name. Why? Because it reveals much about who He is. Linguistically, Yahweh is a composite of several tenses of the Hebrew word "to be": Hayah, Hoveh, and Yihyeh—together meaning "the One who was, is, and will remain". 

At the burning bush, He commanded Moses to 

       "Tell the children of Israel [that] Yahweh... has sent you; this is My Name and how I am to be remembered for all generations." (Exodus 3:15)

The third Commandment says: 

       “You shall not bring the name of Yahweh your Elohim to nothing.” (Exodus 20:7)

We can bring His name to nothing by claiming to be His people yet practically denying that He really has any power by relying on other securities. But we can also nullify it by failing to use it when we should. Of course we must never use His holy Name flippantly. We've seen what has been done to the name "God". He kept His true Name from widespread use until we stopped mixing true Hebraic worship with paganism. But the Psalms show that ideally He wants us to use His real name. It was used every day (yet respectfully) in ancient Israel. Boaz greets his fieldworkers with "May Yahweh be with you", and they reply, "Yahweh bless you!" (Ruth 2:4)

       "You shall not profane the Name of your Elohim. I am Yahweh." (Lev. 19:12)

Profaning His Name is more than just using it as a "swear word". It can also include substituting it with foreign names that were once used for pagan gods. 

"I am Yahweh; that is My Name, I will not give My glory to another, or My praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8)

If idols have no power, the only way His glory could go to them is by our giving other deities credit for what He has actually done! And you might even be doing this without realizing it or intending to. 

What if your wife kept calling you by her former boyfriend's name? Yet that's what we do if we call our true Master by the name by which our old master was known! You see, "God" and "Lord" are not simply neutral translations for Yahweh's true Name. They actually came from pagan sources. 

       "My Name is continually blasphemed every day. Therefore My people will know My name." (Isa. 52:6)

That was a high priority to Yahshua (Jesus). When recounting to His Father in Gethsemane how He had finished the work He had given Him to do, He prayed, "I have revealed Your Name to those whom You have given Me." (John 17:6) If it needed to be "revealed" or "exposed", it must have been hidden. The religious leaders of His day had forbidden anyone to voice Yahweh's Name. Yahshua (Jesus) disagreed with this practice, which stemmed from a Babylonian taboo of not speaking the names of their deities, since they did not want the "gods" to pay them too much attention. 

There's some truth to that; Yahweh says that when His people "call on My Name, I will respond to them..." (Zech. 13:9) Why wouldn't we want our Elohim, who desires to bless us, to pay attention to us? So the Maccabees reinstated the usage of the Name. It became so widely used hat people were writing it even on business documents that ended up in the trash at times. So concerned leaders swung back to the other extreme and again forbade its use altogether, except by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. 

The Talmud (a Jewish commentary on the Scriptures) says the rabbinic leaders declared that everything possible had to be done to obscure the true pronunciation of the Name. The 8th-century Masoretic text added a system of points under the Hebrew consonants that comprise the original Scriptures, to make pronunciation easier for people who no longer spoke Hebrew every day. But in the case of the Sacred Name, they deliberately added the wrong vowels, so that no one would accidentally pronounce it correctly! 

The common English rendering "Jehovah" actually results from translators being unaware of this substitution. In 134 cases they even substituted the name Adonai where the sacred text actually said YHWH. Adonai is acceptable elsewhere, but adding to or taking away from His Holy Word is directly forbidden. (Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18) 

       "If we have forgotten the name of our Elohim, or spread out our hands to a strange god, won't Elohim search this out?" (Psalm 44:20-21)

So the only way to repair this situation is to cause the name of Yahweh our Elohim to be remembered." (Psalm 20:7; compare Jer. 23:27) 

Orthodox Jews say that one reason His name was hidden was because Israel was in exile—a concept linked in the prophets with His hiding His face. 

So now we have a more positive reason to use His real name: it means the exile is nearly over! Scripture bears this out completely: 

       "You will call me, "My husband" instead of "my Lord" [Ba'al], because I will take the names of the Ba'als out of her mouth." (Hosea 2:16-17) 

       "This time I will make them familiar with My ...power, and they will know that My Name is Yahweh." (Jeremiah 16:21) 

       "They will be treating My Name as sacred." (Isaiah 29:23)

But if both Jews and the church stopped using the actual Name that is written with no vowels, how can we be sure we're saying it correctly? 

It can't be "Jehovah", because there is no "J" sound in Hebrew. (This also rules out the possibility of a Hebrew Messiah's name being pronounced "Jesus".*) 

Others say it should be Yahveh because of modern Hebrew pronunciation.** But transliterations into other languages from when ancient Hebrew was used daily all point to "Yahweh" being the way it was said in Biblical times.***  THen, like now, there were undoubtedly some variations in pronunciation, so while we must choose according to the best evidence, we should not fight over slight differences if they do not go so far afield as to sound like the names of other deities; that He forbids.

Yahweh has overlooked our ignorance and responded because of our need even when we used the wrong name. But once we know the facts... "To whom much is given, from him much is required." (Luke 12:48) 

Yahweh knows our hearts. He knows Us by name... He loves You. I do NOT believe that in any way your salvation depends on you calling him Yahweh or not. However if your prayer is to know "God" / Elohim more... to be drawn closer to him in your relationship... don't you think Calling him by his name in the actual pronunciation and language spoken by Yahshua (Jesus Christ) is a good place to start? Elohim Reveals himself to us in all sorts of ways... some times in life changing events that draw us closer.... and sometimes something as simple as calling Elohim by his real Name, Yahweh. 

Its between you and  Yahweh. 
He knows your heart. 

Where do you start? In a typical English Bible, wherever you see the word "LORD" (in all capitals) replace it with the correct name, Yahweh. Where you see "God", begin pronouncing it as Elohim, and when you see "Lord" with only a capital "L", begin reading it as "Adonai", which simply means "Master". Read "Jesus" as "Y'shua" or "Yahshua". 

This time, let's get it right, going to neither extreme of profaning His Name or "bringing it to nothing". 

Side Note:
Holy Spirit... pronounced "Ruach" when properly translated into english would not be Holy Spirit. Spirit was also a pagan word they adapted to the translation. But when translated from Aramaic hebrew into english, it would best be described as.... "Holy Presence"... and to me that makes so much more sense... Greater is he that is IN you than that is in the world... fill me with your Holy Presence Yahweh!!! All good things come from him. 

I pray they see Christ / Yahshua in me.... That they see your Holy presence... Amen.

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"Build-a-Bear" Christianity

As Satan continues to lull the body of Christ to sleep in the last days before the end of the church age and the catching away... the corrupt fruits of counterfeit bibles, perverted gospels, and unclean spirits have come full harvest in an emerging belief that I now personally refer to as “Christ Consciousness Christians”. 

Christ Consciousness Christianity is sadly a counterfeit and perverted form of Christianity that covertly epitomizes humanism with a sort of ‘build-a-bear’ Jesus attached.

In short, Christ Consciousness Christianity is humanism with a mannequin Jesus. 

It “praises Jesus” while rejecting nearly everything God says in His word unless it can be twisted to promote their prosperity or well-being. 

In the eyes of Christ Consciousness Christians,  Biblical Christianity is often looked upon as hateful, mean spirited, divisive, causing harm to the cause of Christ (whatever that means), bigoted, judgmental, arrogant, and unloving. So how can you tell when a brother in Christ or lost person has been deceived by the easygoingness of this evolved belief? Sadly, it’s painfully obvious.

Have you ever spoken with a “Christian” or been to a “Christian church” where some of the most basic Biblical stances were either put into question or simply rejected? Even when clearly shown scripture on the issue, the “Christian” or “church” still chooses to esteem their own opinions and preferences over what God says in his word?

FUNDAMENTALS OF CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS CHRISTIANITY

Though often hidden disguised by good words and fair speeches, here are some of the basic fundamentals of Christ Consciousness  Christianity to watch out for:

• Worship is connected with humanism and not absolute truth
• Salvation is based on ‘religious experience’ and not faith in Christ alone
• Life is about the here and now, and not the life hereafter
• God is who you think he is and who you want him to be; but never who HE SAYS HE IS in the scriptures
• The spiritual realm is a realm where truth no longer applies, only feelings
• There is no higher authority than one’s own opinions and preferences
• Fear man, not God
• The Bible is a book of private interpretations and suggestions

For Example:

Is there one way to God or several?

Christianity – There is only one mediator between God and man, and that’s the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). 

Christ Consciousness Christianity – As long as a person means well in their heart, God will show them the way... What really matters is your intent to spread God’s love the best way you know how.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Romans 16:17,18 (KJV)

DON’T BE DECEIVED        

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
Ephesians 4:14,15 (KJV)

The truth is, if we're not living aware, we will be taken advantage of by beliefs like Christ Consciousness Christianity... we will be taken off guard, possibly deceived, tricked, or thrown for a loop. The enemy wants nothing more than for us to be asleep in our faith. Let's stay spiritually awake and aware of what surrounds us. God gives us discernment for a reason.
Keep standing on, remembering, the Truth of what we have believed, the Truth of what has set us free. We can't live a watered down gospel for a world that insists we tone it down a bit. We do not have to waver in our beliefs out of a longing to be accepted from the world.
Be people of courage and strength. Our world needs men and women who are willing to walk courageously. We need men and women who are willing to be brave. 
Biblical Christians know we will never be able to agree on everything with everyone, we're not supposed to, and that's not really the goal.  We should never long to look just like the world, out of the fear that we look too different than those around us.  We should not be persuaded to live in shades of gray because we don’t want to step on any toes.  We’re here to be salt.  We’re here to be light.  We're here to make a difference, to point others to Christ.  And we can be all that God calls us to be - staying strong, standing firm, living aware, walking in love, being people of courage.

No one can ever be perfect in this fallen world, but that doesn’t stop some of us from trying. It’s tempting to think that we’re perfectly capable of living up to what we believe all the time. But as we all know... That’s simply not true. 

Keep in mind that your gracious God is for you, not against you. God loves you completely and unconditionally, and no mistake you make will ever cause you to lose God’s amazing love. Do everything in love...That pretty much sums it all up. Our calling. Our purpose in this life. Everything we do, all that we say, should be done in love. Pointing others to Him. Love God. Love others. It's the very love of Christ that compels us, may we walk in a manner worthy of His calling. 

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GOD vs YOU

I’ve always been curious about how Jacob—now known as Israel—wrestled with God. I simply couldn’t understand what it meant.

Until now…

For the past few years, I have been wrestling with God. I have wrestled night and day, asking for a fresh vision of who he is and what he wants for my life. I’ve had a particular situations that has caused me to lose many nights of sleep—nights spent wrestling with God in prayer. I’ve begged God to give me clarity because I know that God is the author of peace and not confusion. I’ve spent countless hours in tears, seeking God’s face.

And I’ve finally reached a place of blessing—a place of peace where I know God has revealed himself to me, a place where I can walk forward in confidence knowing that he is in control.

As I began reading through my Bible this year, I came across this little verse tucked away right after Jacob’s wrestling match:

And he set up an altar there and called it “God, the God of Israel” (Genesis 33:20).

Do you see it? Right after Jacob—now known as Israel—wrestles with God, he built an altar and called it the “God of Israel.”

Still missing my point? Let me take you back to a few passages before the divine wrestling match.

Yahweh was standing there beside him, saying, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac…” (Genesis 28:13).

Notice anything? Let’s try another one:

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly' (Genesis 32:9).

How about now? Here’s yet another one:

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed… (Genesis 31:42).

There is a common thread throughout these passages: God is the God of Abraham. God is the God of Isaac. But, it does not say that God is the God of Israel until after he wrestled with God. 

You see, until Jacob had a divine wrestling match with God—until he had a very personal struggle with God—his faith was not cemented. It was not his own. Yes, he knew of his father’s faith. He had most definitely heard the stories of his grandfather’s faith. But, he was only living his faith vicariously through their faith; it had not been solidified in his life.

We find a similar sentiment in the book of Job. After literally losing everything—his kids, his wealth, his health—and spending untold hours arguing with God and his friends, Job finally sees things from God’s perspective. He says this:

I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen you (Genesis 42:5).

I have been a Christian my entire life. I gave my heart to Christ at the age of six and never looked back. I have spent my entire adult life teaching scripture, encouraging others to hold on to God as they walk through the fire. However, I had never truly been through the fire myself. As I have found myself walking through a season of trials—a season of losing dreams, my finances, my marriage—my faith has become my own. It has been a long, painful process, but I completely understand Job’s sentiment. As I look at my relationship with Christ today in comparison to what it used to be, it is as if I had only heard about him before. Today, I have tasted and I know that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)!

Right now, I find myself in a new season of testing. As I enter the fire this time, I have an overwhelming sense of peace. I know that God—my God—has seen me through before and he will see me through again. I have been through a divine wrestling match with God, and he touched me—just as he touched Jacob’s hip. I am not the same person that I once was.

I can tell the change in myself as I talk about God today. I find myself so frequently referring to him with terms of endearment—something that never would have happened before my divine wrestling match. Thoughts of my Savior spontaneously cause a smile to sweep across my face. I find such joy in sharing how God has seen me through trials—and in reminding others of how he longs to redeem their situations. There is simply a sweetness to my relationship with Christ that never existed before I wrestled with God.

As we move to the end of Israel’s life, there are a few hints that he experienced a similar change in his relationship with God.

"We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone”(Genesis 35:3).

You see the personal relationship, the recognition that God was with him throughout his life. It’s that sense of closeness to the One who has walked with him faithfully.

Again, as Israel is dying and blessing his grandchildren, we see a tender moment as he reflects on his relationship with God:

Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day, The Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys…” (Genesis 48:15).

I can see the smile creep across his face as he remembers all the years with his Savior, his Yahweh. I can hear him telling his children and grandchildren gathered around him about the night his life changed, the night he wrestled with God and took his faith as his own. I can sense the peace in the room as he prepares to breathe his last breath, to forever enter the presence of his Savior.

Are you struggling with your faith today? Do you find yourself in a divine wrestling match with God? I know the battle is raging. I know the pain and the fear. I know the frustration as you try to come to peace with God’s plan for your life. I understand the fear of letting go of every burden and turning them over to God.

I also know the change that takes place in your heart when you have taken the time to engage God, to get to know his heart. I know how he touches you and changes you and blesses you when you seek him with every ounce of your being. I know the joy of a relationship that is fully yours, that is truly personal.

Are you in a wrestling match today? Hang in there. He will change you forever.

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