Light from the Word

I Am a Child of the King, Are You?

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader among the Jews, came to see YAHSHUA at night. He complimented YAHSHUA saying, “Rabbi, we know and are certain that You have come from God [as] a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3: 1-2). YAHSHUA then took the opportunity and said, “I assure you most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew from above), he cannot ever see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, in his carnal mind could not understand the spiritual birth and asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?” YAHSHUA continued, “I assure you most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:3-6). It is the Spirit that sustains us keeping us from falling away. YAHSHUA hours before His trials and death warned the disciples saying. “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:41). As a father to His children, YAHSHUA guides us into righteousness through His Holy Spirit. He is the Comforter, (Helper, Advocate Intercessor, Strengthener). “When He comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes from the Father, He will testify regarding Me” (John 15:26).

How can you know that you are a child of the King? First of all, you must bear fruit that shows your love for Him; by dwelling in Him and bearing fruit. YAHSHUA said, “I Am the True vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser; any branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He cuts away and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more richer and more excellent fruit” (John 15:1-2). In the letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul said, “May blessing be to the God and Father of our Lord YAHSHUA the Messiah, Who blessed us in Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm: He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy, and blameless in His sight He adopted us as His own; He planned to adopt us as His own children through YAHSHUA Messiah to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace; in Him we have redemption through His blood, the remission of our offenses, in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor, which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding, making known to us the mystery of His will… in Him we were made heritage; we were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit; He is the guarantee of our inheritance, in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1).

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EL Roi- The God Who Sees Me

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child at their old age. However, Sarah did not believe it and anxiously suggested to her husband her plan, saying, “See here, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. I am asking you to have intercourse with my maid; it may be that I can obtain children by her; Abraham listened to and heeded what Sarai said.” (Gen.16:2). This was definitely a plan outside God’s will and it carried consequences for years to come. Sarah had no idea that what she was suggesting didn’t only affect her, but the world. Today, the world pays for the consequences of that decision with no end in sight. Rivalry, jealousy, anger, wars, etc. It has shaped the world in direction to its destruction. That reminds me of another woman (Eve) who brought the entire world to fall into sin and lose its relationship with the Creator God.

Hagar, an Egyptian woman, Sarai’s maid was brought into the picture at the request of her mistress. She submitted to the idea and became pregnant. However, when she saw that she was with child, she looked with contempt upon her mistress and despised her. That displeased Sarai and she said to Abraham. “May my wrong and deprivation of rights be upon you! I gave my maid into your bosom, and when she saw that she was with child, I was contemptible and despised in her eyes. May the Lord be the judge between you and me” (Gen.16). Here we have a story hard to understand due to its custom and culture. Sarai sent her away while she was still pregnant; She dealt severely with Hagar, humbling and afflicting her. So, Hagar fled from her to a wilderness. But the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness on the road to Shur. (Gen. 16: 5-7). He promised her to multiply her descendants exceedingly and He called (the baby in her womb), Ishmail [God hears]. So, she called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing.” Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old (Gen. 16).

The story of Hagar is filled with conflict. She was a suffering woman, who met God. As the Lord promised Hagar, out of that experience, a nation was to be born. EL ROI – the God Who sees me was the name Hagar gave to God, when they were sent away at the time Ishmael, then thirteen years old mocked Isaac at an important celebration when Isaac was weaned. He showed his true personality then. Sarah told Abram to cast out the bondservant and her son, for her son shall not be an heir with my son Isaac. Abram rose early in the morning and took bead and a bottle of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and he sent her and the youth away. And she wandered on and lost her way in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the bottle was all gone, Hagar caused the youth to lie down under one of the shrubs; she sat down opposite him a good way off, about a bowshot, for she said, Let me no see the death of the lad. And as she sat down opposite him, he lifted up his voice and wept and she raised her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the youth, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said, to her, What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the youth where he is…Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water and caused the youth to drink. And God was with the youth and he developed; and dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer. (Gen21). And the story continues for centuries till the end, for they will be part of the end time in God’s plans for the Arab nations. As it was for Hagar, so will be for all of them, when they will realize that EL-Roi is the God Who sees, the only true God.

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Behold, I Tell You a Mystery

(a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God) (The Amplified Bible)

It was in the Garden that sin demonstrated itself with changes that affected the entire world. A special place where God would come to fellowship with our forefathers, became then a place where judgment was decreed, bringing to it a heavy atmosphere from then on. The serpent, Adam and Eve stood before God listening to their fate as a result of what they did. In Adam’s and Eve’s physical shame God provided for them a covering from long coats of skins and clothed them. (Gen. 3: 21). This is very significant in the fact that God’s Son came many years past as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1: 29). Amazing love was displayed for the human being amidst their disobedience. God’s plan of redemption was visible, when He provided “long coats of skin” to cover Adam’s and Eve’s nudity. Means of protection under the sovereignty of God. Because of men’s rebellion against Him, the world was judged by means of water, and now waits for its judgment through fire. However, God has provided a way for their salvation through the death of His Son to redeem those who will accept Him.

In the space of time, God called Abraam to picture His future salvation, by telling him to sacrifice his son- the son of the promise. In Genesis twenty-two we read the story: [God] said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac… whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will I will tell you. On the third day of their trip to the mountain, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Abrham took the wood for the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son and he took the fire in his own hand and a knife and the two of them went on together. And Isaac said to Abraham. My father! And he said, Here I am, my son. Isaac said, see here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham said, “My son, God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. So, the two went on together” (Gen. 2: 22).

Abraham’s heart was touched by what God asked him to do, but at the same time, he believed in the resurrection of his son, due to God’s promise that Isaac was the son of the promise. He was blessed at the end of his ordeal for his obedience and the Lord God said, In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (YAHSHUA) will possess the gate of His enemies. And in your Seed (YAHSHUA) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and by Him bless themselves; because you have heard and obeyed My voice (Gen.22). Here, my friend is the introduction of God’s eternal salvation demonstrated by Abraham’s and his son’s obedience. Abraham represented God the Father and Isaac God the Son. That was the place chosen for the sacrifice of God’s Son in a distant future. The region of Moriah is of great historical significance for the world. YAHSHUA didn’t stay in that tomb, but He arose on the third day. Paul says He is the first fruit of all those who died in Him, in the first resurrection. Because He lives, we shall live also. YAHSHUA’S resurrection guarantees our resurrection. In its order, YAHSHUA’S first and then we believers. His resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, in vain is our faith, as Paul has emphasized. “And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless” (I Cor. 15:13-14). In speaking of resurrection, Paul then said, “Take notice! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all asleep [in death]. But we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable.” (I Cor. 15:51-52). Do we have any idea how fast that is?

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The Cry of the Soul

What rain is for the soil,

Tears are for the soul,

Washing the anguish within

Awakening the feeling of hope.

For who can understand

The depth pain of the soul?

At the dawn arrival

Shining brightly the sun’s rays,

Bringing healing to a new day,

Nature cries to its Creator

On its last breath between life and death.

The world’s colors turn to gray

It’s winter dominating; all die.

Silencing the stormy wind

Sobs is the song of the troubled heart,

One after another, bringing console of relief

With bent knees, bent mind.

Holding to Him I cry, Lord!

The valley is deep and dark

No light to guide the blind eyes.

Far, far away songs of birds I hear

Faintly, yet assuring with a whisper of hope

Spring in color, dancing to the tunes,

Even butterflies waiving their wings

Kissing the flowers in bloom

The sun smiles

At the morning arrival!

Weeping may endure for a night

But joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:5b)

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A Father That Would Not Give Up

The parable of the Prodigal Son is an inspirational story to many of us, who never knew our fathers. It gives us a feeling of security desiring deeply in our soul a father such as this one from the parable our Lord YAHSHUA told to the disciples. The love of this father covers the story with hope. Hope not seen through the earthly fathers today for their lack of commitment to their children. The perfect love expressed in this story, gives us the certainty that this Father is no one else but our heavenly Father. Just as the young son of the parable, we all have left Him for the love of the world. “Our heavenly Father is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving kindness; He will not always chide or be contending, neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge; He has not dealt with us after our iniquities; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps. 103: 8-12) The prohibited fruit eaten by our forefathers represent the world and its temptations. Our Creator gave instructions how to live, but we fell into the world’s temptation, ignoring His instructions. In spite of it, He provided a plan of redemption to save us from His judgment.

As the young man of the story, little do we know what waits for us at the end of our adventure into the world’s life style. Our heavenly Father knowing all, never gives up on us. He still waits for those who continue in the world. Even though having all we need, we find it not to be enough to satisfy our fleshy desires. We want more having to do with all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These do not come from the father, but are from the world (I John 2:16). The young man from the story lived to satisfy the flesh. He followed his desires without measuring the consequences they brought him. He left home with a packet full of money, hoping to satisfy his dreams. Not too long, he was surrendered with friends to waste his inheritance with him; life was fun for a while until all was gone, and his friends with it. Realizing where he had arrived to, he had a change of heart. He had been shaken up from his sleep to the reality, when he found himself sharing pigs’ food, due to a famine in the land. That distant land was no longer a place he longed for, to satisfy his fleshly desires, but a place that had nothing to offer him, but hogs’ food. Submerged in that reality, he made a decision that changed his life. He realized that the hog’s carob pods he was feeding self were not what he intended and purposed for his life. Then he came to himself and said, “How many hired servants of my father have enough food, but I am perishing here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:11-24).

The father who never gave up on his son, as a matter of fact, while he was still a long way off, saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness and he ran and embraced and kissed him (vs.20). There was no discussion in that atmosphere, there was no why. Only forgiveness with the reward of receiving him back as his son with all its privileges. He was dressed with the best robe, and given him a ring, and sandals; they celebrated his return with the [wheat-fattened calf]. Because, he said, this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to revel and feast and make merry (vs. 22-24). YAHSHUA said, even so, I tell you, there is joy among and in the presence of the angels of God over one wicked person who repents. (Luke 15:10).

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In Betrayal, in Denial- A crown of Thorns; In the Crown of Thorns – Crucifixion

“Betrayal in a relationship is a breach of trust that violates expectations, commitments, or emotional safety, causing deep hurt and a sense of abandonment.”

Betrayal causes pain in the soul of man like that of a sword piercing deeply through the body. The soul seemly is affected for a long time, causing the body to suffer diseases lodged in the anguish of the soul. The Lord experienced the worst betrayal the world can offer. “…He who eats My bread with Me has raised up his heel against Me.” After YAHSHUA said these things, He was troubled in spirit and said, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, one o you will be false to Me and betray Me” (john 13:21). Judas was called the “Son of perdition.” (John 17:12). In His priestly prayer YHASHUA referred to him as the “son of perdition.” He prayed: “While I was with them, I kept and preserved them in Your name. Those You have given Me I guarded and protected, and not one of them has perished or is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 6:70-71 YAHSHUA said, Did I not choose you the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was about to betray Him. He was one of the twelve. In Psalm 41:9 King David experienced betrayal in a prophetic way concerning the Lord YAHSHUA’S experience: “Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” We see the same language applied by our Lord many years later, fulfilling the prophecy. When our forefathers sinned, the Lord God pronounced judgment for them and the serpent, saying, And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring (serpent) and her Offspring; He (YAHSHUA) will bruise and tread your head underfoot and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel (Gen. 3:15). Before Jacob’s death he prophesized of his children, in particular of the tribe of Dan saying, “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. He shall be a serpent by the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites at the horse’s heels, so that is rider falls backward…” (Gen 49:16-17). This prophecy was fulfilled in YAHSHUA at the cross, when He disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them in triumphing over them in Him and in in it (the cross). Judas then served as the son of the devil, when he bruised the Lord’s heel by betraying Him.

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O Send Out Your Light and Your Truth, Let Them Lead Me (Psalm 43:3)

In the midst of a society filled with lies and deceit, this prayer serves us well to make it our own in times when we only have to turn to television to notice the fakeness the world of news and TV, and every electronic garget offer us. False and shallow Bible prosperity teachings have misled the masses to the road of no return. This is a society covered with tattoos, covering whom they truly are. As they dress in black, expressing their dark beliefs. Children reared without the love and biblical instructions to guide them in the direction God instructed in the Bible, as it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6). Today’s generation carries a degree of insecurity lodging in their soul. They are all part of high tech. They are a mute society, with no communication outside themselves from the time they awake to the time they close their eyes to sleep. The Bible warns us not to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (I John 4:1). According to John, the spirit of the antichrist is already in the world. His spirit permeates and guides those who follow him. It’s time for Christians to wake up and take action against Satan to protect ourselves and our children. We have been given the full armor of God to fight with, for our wrestling is not with flesh and blood, but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere (Eph. 6)

Light serves to show the way, as the lamp is to guide our steps. YAHSHUA declares: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). When darkness permeates the church, the truth is clouded with confusion and none embraces it. It is precisely in the midst of this confused society that we fervently must pray: “O Send Your Light and Your Truth, let them lead Me.” God has sent the Light and the Truth. YAHSHUA said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life” (John 8:12).

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Joshua, a Filthy Priest

Then [the guiding angel] showed me Joshua the high priest (clothed with filthy garments) and was standing before standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him (Zech. 3). The position of a priest or High Priest was one of great spiritual responsibility toward the people. He acted as a mediator between God and the people; the High Priest was the only person to enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the nation’s sin. He was the spiritual leader of Israel; he led the worship and maintained as custodian of Law, upheld and taught the Law, making sure that the people followed the commandments. Not everyone took the position of High Priest, for it was a hereditary position, from the tribe of Levi. This tribe was set apart to serve God in the way of the temple and the spiritual wellbeing of the people. It was a unique tribe, for it was set apart to serve God. Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah (Gen.29:34).

In contrast with the position of a High Priest, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the Angel of the Lord. “Is not this [returned captive Joshua] a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zech. 3). Does the term “filthy garment” imply spiritual as well as physical? If his life style called the attention of Satan himself, it could imply spiritual. Joshua was before God to be accused by the devil, the accuser of our soul. But the Lord spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him. I caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel.” And I [Zechariah] said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head, so they put a turban on his head and clothed him with rich garments.” And the Angel of the Lord stood by and protested and affirmed to Joshua saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in My ways and keep my charge, then also you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts and I will give you access [to My presence] and places to walk among these who stand here” (Zech. 3).

The Lord is compassionate and gracious and ready to forgive. He did not condemn Joshua, but forgave him and dressed him with a holy garment and warned him. Joshua was warned not to continue in his sinful life, but to return to God and his responsibilities before Him. When yet sinners, YAHSHUA did not stand condemning us, He cleansed us with His blood and imputed in us His righteousness, making us His redeemed children. We however, have a cross to bear in order to follow Him. The prodigal son’s father did the same to him when he returned home. He removed the world’s smell from him as he confessed his sins repenting, his father said to the bond servants, “Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet; and bring out that [wheat-fattened calf and kill it’ and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to revel and feast and make merry” (Luke 15:11-24). The prodigal son was reinstated into his family without condemnation. The best garment was offered him; a ring and shoes. Celebration came after to welcome him home. Sealed forever into his family with the ring, symbolic of the Holy Spirit’s ring guaranteeing our salvation when we become His children. The old is gone, the new has come. “Therefore, if any person is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come” (II Co. 5:17). A person can be a pastor or a Sunday School teacher and yet not be part of the family of God; but condemned and lost. A person who professes faith in YAHSHUA and yet continues living a sinful life, has not yet been born again. Joshua, had the position of a priest, responsible for the spiritual life of the nation, and yet lost in sin and at the mercy of Satan’s accusations. But the Lord told those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him. And He said to Joshua, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel; He said, If you will walk in My ways and keep My charge, then also you shall rule My house and have charge of My courts and I will give you access [to My presence] and places to walk among these who stand here” (Zech. 3).

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Nations in Trouble

“The Lord was grieved in heart” (Gen. 6:6b). That was not the fact that He didn’t know the outcome of His creation; that was not the case of surprise. But it was the case of men’s evil heart and intension continually. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually, and the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in heart. So, the Lord said,” I will destroy blot out and wipe away mankind, whom I have and created from the face of the earth- not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air- for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6). YAHSHUA declared in His prophetic utterance, saying, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so, will it be in the time of the Son of Man. [People] ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Ao also as it was in the days of Lot, [People] ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the [very] day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed [them] all. That is the way it will be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17: 26-30).

Nations are in big trouble today. Men have forgotten God as the Creator and have taken the time to worship their electronic gadgets every minute of the day. They are even marrying robots, AI and whatever pleases them. For certain YAHSHUA confirmed an end to the world’s evil when He comes to judge it. The early pains of the tribulation have begun, but many are too busy with the affairs of the world to notice it. By the time they will notice, it will be too late, when they will be under the control of the surveillance state. What does it mean for all of us? It means that every word, every action, people’s faces, everywhere we are via telephone and business transactions already have been recorded. As it is now, We are under the control of the surveillance state.

John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute, is an attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law, human rights and popular culture. He has observed the following:

“The surveillance state reached a new level of sophistication and reach. Government agencies consolidated financial records, biometric identifiers, communications metadata, travel histories, and online behavior into centralized intelligence systems, often facilitated by private contractors. Artificial intelligence tools generated risk scores and predictive profiles, flagging individuals not for crimes committed, but for behaviors, associations, and speech deemed suspicious.”

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The Valley, a Place for Relationship with God

In the silence of a valley of suffering the mind brings circumstances we face with anxiety fear and worries. Long nights, as if there was no day around the corner, we submerge in the solicitude of our thoughts. A prayer is directed to God with questions without answers. Alone we remain in doubt, without faith to alleviate the pain, bringing hope for that moment in the valley. God’s promises sound clearly, but His voice overtaken by anxiety, we cannot hear. God, where are you? I then lift up my eyes and see Him suffering my pains in a horrible cross, body covered with blood disfigured beyond recognition. Then I realized, no, I am not alone, He is suffering with me here in this valley so deep. He Said, “the reproaches and abuses of those who reproached and abused you fell on Me” (Rom.15:4). There are many patriarchs that walked the valley of life before their deaths. I think Job, a righteous man, who loved God and walked in His ways, suffered the worst valley one would do. Job, lost everything, family riches, he was left with poor friendships, who served to accuse him. Body filled with sores, still did not curse His God, even when suggested by his wife. At the end of his ordeal, Job, when facing God, repenting, said, “I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore, I loathe [my words] and abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42: 5-6).

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