How I Started on the Ancient Path

 Back in 2008 Adonai tapped me on the shoulder and started drawing me very close to Him. He would wake me up almost every morning around 3 am and we would speak to each other about our love for one another. He was right in the room with me! I felt so alive and refreshed during this special season. After awhile, He began to let me sleep and seemed far away, yet I knew He was with me. This was the year my earthly father became very sick and and even though my fellowship with my Heavenly Father was distant, He moved in miraculous ways for me and taught me many things! Looking back, I can see how He used those times of refreshing to strengthen me for the battle I would be facing in dealing with my father's health problems.

In 2011, things began to change for me in a big way! I had known for a long time that many of the TV preachers were preaching a gospel that was contrary to the gospel I saw in the Bible. I was quite concerned that I may be a heretic! It was scary and sad to see that many things I had been taught were simply not true. I was doing a lot of fasting and praying at the time. One day, I had a dream like no other dream I have ever had before...or since. The dream happened in February and was about Israel. It had three separate scenes of violent war in it. I woke up crying and could not get it out of my mind for months. Every time I thought of it, I cried. I realized I did not know much about Israel, so I started looking at maps and wondering more about the Jewish people and the whole Middle East. I had the dream 2 days before the Egyptian riots started. I have always loved the Jewish people because I knew Yeshua was Jewish and I knew I was supposed to love and bless them, but I realized I did not know much about them.

The following month was March. One day, I was at work and during my lunch break, I decided to go out to my car and read my Bible. The Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) specifically directed me to look up Passover. I started reading a passage about it and suddenly realized that it specifically said it was to be observed forever! Am I supposed to be doing this, I wondered? I began to see that I was supposed to be doing this and it was coming up at the end of the month. The next day or so, I was home from work and I knew that if I did not call a rabbi and talk to him about this, I was going to burst!

I got out my phone book and looked under synagogues. I found one that said "Messianic" and I thought, hmmm...I think they might believe that Jesus is the Messiah like I do! I never knew there was such a thing as this. I called and a nice man answered. I nervously asked him if it was ok for a Christian to celebrate Passover and he quietly said "yes". He explained that his congregation was having a Seder meal that year and I was welcome to attend for the cost of the meal. He gave me a woman's phone number to make the arrangements with. After talking with her, I just knew I had found a new sister in the Lord and decided that I must attend this Messianic Congregation that very Saturday! I could not wait for Passover!

You see, a church I used to attend started observing "Sabbath" and then, my mother had married a Seventh Day Adventist. I was struggling with the whole "Sabbath" issue. One part of me would think, "but we are not under the law" yet the other part would think, "but when did this "law" change?". I finally knew that the Sabbath was for me and I began to see what I was missing!

Well, the people at this Congregation must have thought I was crazy when I walked right up to the front and sat in the second row! I was so eager to know more about the Lord and what He was showing me. If I could have sat right at that teacher's feet, I would have, because I knew in my heart that I was going on a great, new adventure with my precious Abba Father. He has not let me down!

That was the beginning of my journey walking this narrow, ancient path, following my Friend and Messiah, who I now know as Yeshua!

Psalms 18:2-3 (Complete Jewish Bible)
(1) "I love you, ADONAI, my strength!
(2) "ADONAI is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold.

His Word is Eternal

 I cannot stress this enough. Jesus was a Jew. He lived according to Torah and the Prophets writings (the so-called "Old" Testament). He taught us to live "by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (quoting Duet. 8:3 speaking it in Matt. 4:4). The Jewish people were never replaced!

Mary and Joseph were Jewish. John the so-called "Baptist" was Jewish and all of Jesus' (Hebrew/Aramaic name "Yeshua"-meaning "Salvation") followers were Jewish. They kept Adonai's (the Lord's) Sabbaths and Feasts (or "Moedim" in Hebrew which means "appointed times"),

Yeshua did not change anything that the Father put into motion. He did not create a new religion called "Christianity" although I see nothing wrong with being called a Christian if we follow Him. He did not create new sacraments such as Communion or infant baptism as the churches observe. He did not start new holidays such as Easter or Christmas. He simply observed God ordained, Jewish Feasts/Moedim called Pesach (Hebrew) or Passover (KJV English)  and all of the rest found in Leviticus 23.

There was no "New" Testament when Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples, and Saul/ Paul lived. By the way, Saul's ( "Sha'ul" in Hebrew) name was never changed to "Paul". Paul was the name the Romans called him. Please see Acts 13:9 and look up the name, "Paul". You will see that it is a Roman name. He stopped being a Pharisee, but remained a Jew all of his life!

Yes, the New Testament is the inspired Word of God, but if you want to truly understand it like a Berean, you must study the scriptures that they used, which would be the "Old Testament ". The Torah is alive and well and God's Word is eternal. It never changes and neither does He! It all points to the Covenant we have through the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is why we can trust Him.

Matzah Recipe

Homemade Matzah

Serves: 4-8Yield:

4 cups flour (can be half white or half whole wheat)

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional, oil will make it soft like a tortilla, No oil it will be a cracker) ~ I use the olive oil! Yum! 

Directions:

1

Combine ingredients and knead for ten minutes.

2

Roll into a ball, cut in half, then cut each half into 8 pieces.

3

Roll out each piece as thinly as possible into ovals,.

4

pierce with a fork several times, to eliminate air holes,.

5

and place on baking sheet covered with Parchment Paper.

6

Bake at 450 to 500 for about 5 minutes, or until slightly browned.

Easy Baked Salmon

About 4-6 pieces of salmon fillets depending on size and thickness)

Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Minced onion ( as much as you like, I use a small one)
1 heaping teaspoon ( or more) of Beau Monde seasoning or you could use Old Bay seasoning
Parsley ( chopped -  I use kitchen shears)
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 425
Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small pan on top of the stove and heat until onions are soft.
Layer fillets in a 9x13 pan and pour sauce over salmon.
Bake for 20 -25 minutes

Enjoy!

~ I add a thin slice of lemon on top of each piece to make it pretty

The Christmas Thing

People often wonder why I do not celebrate December 25th. They know I love Jesus (who I call by His Hebrew name, Yeshua) so they can't understand why I would be opposed to honoring His birth.

In a nutshell, I do not celebrate December 25th because of Exodus 32.

Many people know the story of the golden calf - even those who do not study scripture are somewhat familiar with it. Moses was up on the mountain talking to Adonai. Aaron, the priest, made an idol of a calf from the gold jewelry the people gave him. What many people do not realize is that Aaron took it upon himself to proclaim the next day as a "feast to the LORD" (please see verse 5) How can you make an idol, which is a false god, then use it to worship Adonai?

Oh sure, he had built an altar so the people could offer some sacrifices on it, but Adonai never told him to do this. It all looked and sounded a tiny bit holy but it was really just putting some "lipstick on a pig" as the saying goes! The righteous sounding festival was really just a party of human reasoning, idol worshipping, sinful, flesh that quickly turned into a full blown mess. To make a long story short, it did not please Adonai and did not end well for the people.

I have gone into the town square and sang "Oh Christmas Tree" with the crowd as they lit up the beautiful idol. I have put the idol in my home and greatly admired it along with the beautiful gifts underneath it. I used to go to the family gatherings and we even had a cake that said, "Happy Birthday, Jesus" on it. It was ok because I made sure to celebrate Jesus' birth...right?

Yeshua quoted Duet. 8:3 when He said, "...man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4) God's Word is the Bible. I do not see where He has told us the date that Yeshua was born - let alone, where He says we should celebrate it.

Adonai said to Moses, " the people...have corrupted themselves!"(Ex.32:7) and later in the passage He calls them a "stiffnecked" people. This is certainly not a compliment and it is very evident that He is not happy with what the people did.

I want people to know that I love Yeshua with all of my heart but I have made the choice to forgo the man made traditions and to honor His Sabbath and appointed times instead (please see Leviticus 23) . I hope people will not take my word for this but study the passages and search the scriptures for themselves. Truly the Lord does look at our hearts but we must strive to have hearts that only want to do things His way. May it not be said that we are corrupt or stiffnecked!

Oh, and I forgot to mention; Santa just creeps me out!

Perilous Times

I think most believers are aware that we are living in perilous times...such as have never been seen before in our lifetime. Many may feel helpless but there is much we can do. 

#1. Stay away from sin. Live as pure and as holy of a life as possible. Do this by staying in prayer and imitating Yeshua's example. Learn to listen for His voice to direct us and wait on His timing...do everything as if we are doing it to Him personally.
#2. Continue to get the Word in your hearts as one day, it may not be available. Learning scripture songs are one of the easiest ways.
#3. Pray, pray, pray for our brothers and sisters. Pray for YHVH's Kingdom to come, His will be done. Pray we have the faith of Stephen when the time of testing comes, and the strength to endure whatever torture may come our way. 

~ May Abba have mercy on us and help us to always act in such a way that everyone knows we are the children of the Great King. ~ Selah

Angels Watching Over Me

My friend was in a car accident yesterday and it reminded me of something that happened to me about 4 years ago. Miracles happen every day, yet we refuse to acknowledge them.

My husband and I were in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, enjoying a vacation with my father and mother-in-law. We decided to go out for a drive one evening thinking the old boy (my husband) would be doing the driving, however, father-in-law decided HE would drive, and that is usually not a good thing. Let's just say that his eyesight is very bad, his reflexes have slowed down considerably, and I have said many a desperate prayer while being chauffeured around by him! 

The old boy was up in the front seat and I was in the back, chatting with my mother-in-law, when we came to a busy intersection. It was dark by now, and I looked up suddenly to see the old boy grab the steering wheel and jerk the car over as I felt a large bump. It all happened so fast, and as dad slowly pulled the car over, they were discussing how bad the damage would be because we had hit another car. I was sure that we had hit no one and said so! It had happened right where I was sitting and we had only gone over the curb of the cement island that separated the lanes, but they insisted that we had hit the other car. 

Meanwhile, the other car involved turned around, came back, and all of the men went over to look at it. They kept going back and forth between vehicles, looking at the damage, but lo and behold, there was none! There was not a scratch on either vehicle! 

The other man had just bought his car the day before, so he was very relieved, as you can imagine. The guys were all visibly surprised and shaking their heads. They were positive we had collided. As the men were checking out the car, us women were talking together. The other driver's wife was a sweet, Southern woman and we talked about what a blessing it was that no one was hurt. She was obviously a Christian, and we were all very thankful to the Lord.

The men all shook hands and we got back into our cars. As we drove off, I made a point to say how blessed we were that nothing had happened to us or to that man's brand new car and how amazing it was, considering how they were all so sure we had hit each other... oh, but now the men's story had changed!!!

They now said, "After all, we did not hit him, we only went over the curb!"

Right. :)

Psalms 34:7 (KJV)

7 The angel of the Lord encampeth

round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.