THE WONDERS OF THE PRESENT

Life is lived in its fullness when you live in the present, taking in every moment of the day. See the beauty that comes in each moment. Ask “what can I learn” in those moments that seems challenging. The beauty of the day and the challenges of the day will keep you strong, balanced, and ready for tomorrow.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Mothers, on your Mother's Day may you enjoy every moment of the day. Remember, there are no perfect moms. Some of us have pushed through the societies and world around us and made it through with our children to the best of our abilities. Some mothers are still pushing through, and heading towards the finish line of some sorts. Some Mothers are halfway through and some are just beginning. Where ever you are on the journey, give yourselves a pat on the shoulder you did good. You are doing good. If you think you could have done more, don't fret. In the end everything will settle in its rightful place. Happiness and healing will come.

ENCOURAGEMENT

If you live in the past you cannot move on to live in the present and lay hold of your God given dreams. But if you live in the present you can look forward to even greater things God has in store for you and lay hold of it. Take in and engage in this beautiful day.

Each day given to you live in the present and take in every moment of the day. Participate in the beauty of God’s creation

Live in the present of the day and take in every moment of it.

Live life to the fullest and live it in Christ

ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT

One day I was watching TV, and a religious program came on. The Host had a guy on his program to talk about how God reveals miraculous things to him. The young man talked about himself, and his visions from God. He also made reference that he and his religious group of people were God special people from Isaac. Then he referred to another religious group as not being special to God, and came from Ishmael. Both the host and the guest were professing God to be their heavenly Father, who loves them and their religious group over all others.

Jesus was telling a parable to his disciples in which he told them that a blind person cannot lead a blind person, because they both will fall into a pit (Luke 6:39). Religion and religious people cannot accept Jesus Christ as Lord. If they do, they would have to accept the fact that God is no respecter of persons or religious groups, and that all people are equal in God’s sight and equally special to God. Religious groups claiming superiority would have to accept the fact that Jesus Christ died for the whole world – for all people, nations and languages, regardless of who you are. This would remove any partiality and superiority of any people over the other. And the Bible said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16. The Law, OT, Torah or Pentateuch tells us “The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. Deuteronomy 10:17.  

There is a notion that some people are special or partial to God because they are Abraham’s children or Abraham’s descendants. This is not a truthful notion for any modern day people or religious groups to harbor in their hearts.   So many Christians and other religious groups promote such lack of Biblical knowledge. Promoting the idea that one religious group of people belongs to Abraham and is more special to God than another is a way for that group to make itself superior to all the rest of God's people. It is clear that this is not the nature or character of God our heavenly Father to be partial.

The Law, Old Testament Bible, the Pentateuch, or Torah, opens to us the knowledge of the first people on earth beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis. Genesis also tells about the wickedness of humanity and how God had to cleanse the earth with water from a flood leaving Noah and his family a total of eight people in the world. Some people believe that there were other people in the world at that time; however, I would like to believe what the scriptures have to say about the subject. Perhaps there were others, but I cannot stipulate on my own recognizance. The Old Testament tells us that from Noah’s descendants came Abraham who hailed from Mesopotamia, which is now called modern Iraq. Well, this Abraham married Sarai who had a name change from God. Her name was changed to Sarah. So God called Abraham who also had a name changed from Abram to Abraham. Both Abraham and Sarah were called to become a prototype people for God. And through their faithfulness and obedience they would become the father and mother of the whole people of the earth. They did indeed bring forth many families. Abraham and Sarah died and their family line continued to be God’s prototype. They were to be sort of ambassadors for God. However, just like Adam and Eve sin continued to plague them. Abraham had many children. However, his Son Isaac was the one God called to continue Abraham’s work as a prototype people or ambassador for God.  Isaac died and Jacob was the son called by God to continue to carry on as a prototype people or ambassador for God. Jacob had twelve sons and like Adam and Eve, and the others, they were also plagued with sin. Jacob sons had a brother named Joseph whom they sold into slavery in Egypt.

While Joseph was in captivity, he became second in authority to Pharaoh in Egypt. A famine made way for Joseph’s whole family to come to Egypt on the request of Joseph. Later on, when they had a new Pharaoh they were held captive and enslaved by the new Pharaoh. God’s prototype group of people was taken captive in Egypt, but God would still work God’s purpose.

These people were a tribal group from Jacob and his twelve sons. I am sure he had daughters also. Although these people were called Hebrews, they did not belong to any religious group. They were simply called ‘Israelites’ or ‘the children of Israel.’ The Israelites were never called Jews, Christians or Catholics. Hebrew was the original language of the ancient Israelites. Hebrew is also the original language of the Old Testament. They were called the children of Israel or Israelites, because the God of Heaven had changed Jacob, their father’s name from Jacob to ‘Israel.’ Jacob got his name when he was hiding from his brother Esau. Jacob was camping out alone one night. Perhaps it was in a dream, and he found himself wrestling with a man or angel until daybreak. The man could not overpower Jacob so he touched Jacob in his hip and weakened him. Jacob would not let the man go even at the man’s request. It was then that the man blessed Jacob and changed his name by telling him that his name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because Jacob struggled with God and with men and  have overcome.


The ancient Israelites or Hebrews were neither Jews, Christians, Catholics nor any other religious groups. The Hebrew language of the Israelites was called the "language of Canaan." (Isaiah 19:18). Ancient Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite family of languages. Canaanite is known from the second millennium B.C. in transcriptions into Egyptian or in the cuneiform of the el-Amarna Tablets. Other Canaanite dialects from the first millennium are Phoenician and Moabite and probably Edomite and Ammonite. The Canaanite language are part of the Semitic language called after SHEM. 
In the mid-sixth century and later the first religion called the Jewish Religion used Aramaic, a family of the Hebrew language in their contacts with the society around them since it was the international language of the Persian Empire. However, they had to use the Hebrew language, to discuss religious matters, even through the Greco-Roman period. (Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)  
All these Israelites have died off. Hebrews 11:9 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth . . .   they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son. Abraham considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back.”
The Hebrew language of the Israelites was called the "language of Canaan." (Isaiah 19:18).
(HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)

How profound it is. God had given prototypes not for people to use to make themselves, religiously superior, or to make one nation feel superior over another. God gave prototypes to be examples for us to pattern our lives after. They were given so that we could also learn from their mistakes and not repeat them. However, some religious groups not only pattern their religious lives after people of the Old Testament, but they try to become the people of the Old Testament (OT). Worst of all, instead of learning to follow the good and avoid the bad they carry out even the very mistakes that led the Israelite prototype into bondage, and on to becoming a lost people, a ‘lost sheep of the house of Jacob.’  The ancient Israelites people had no religious affiliation. They were just a tribal group of people. They were God’s example to humanity.

Later on Moses, a Hebrew or Israelite boy who was raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh came to be the ‘deliverer’ of God’s prototype people. God’s plan was not yet finished. God wanted to get Jacob or Israel's tribes to a place called Canaan, which was their promised land. This was God’s prototype plan for humanity to learn from. They were going to a earthly promised land. God was showing the human example of a natural journey to a promised land. God showed the sinfulness of humanity on the journey in the earthly life, the disobedience and a way to repent and be forgiven, thus bringing salvation by entering the promise land called Canaan. Canaan was their earthly land of promise, not some special reserve or settlement to which they were to be confined. Did they reach the promise land? A whole generation of people died on the journey due to disobedience and unbelief. Some of their children made it to the promise land of Canaan. However, these wondering disobedient people became a lost generation or lost tribes of people.  The Bible named a handful of people from a couple of tribes. Please let me know the ones you fine in the Scriptures - please shear them with me.

Does their journey resembles the life's journey of humanity today? Yes, without Jesus Christ, like the ancient Israelites, God’s prototype people, we will wonder about in the wilderness of our sin without getting to the promise land, without laying hold of God’s promise of salvation for us.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their families were unable to continue to be God’s prototype, God’s ambassadors. They were just like the ancient priests who were unable to continue offering sacrifices because of sin and death. Thank God, we still have their example in the Old Testament; to follow the right and avoid the wrong. But thank God for the New Covenant, the New Testament. The ancient Israelites were just mere sinful men and women whom God used for God’s purpose. Thank God! The example did not just stop with Jacob of old, but it ended with Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus is the past, present and future. He is the second Adam. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end and He lives forevermore.

When Jesus came to the whole world our promised land was fixed once for all times through the blood that He shed on the cross at Calvary. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew of this promise land. They knew that they themselves were all just a prototype people of God, going to a temperoral promised land of Canaan. However, as children of God they knew that:

By faith they were not looking for confined settlements, but they were looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Abraham new that he became father of the world because he considered God to be faithful. It was God who made the promise. The Bible tells us that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived by faith until their deaths and yet they did not receive what was promised to them. If they are the fathers of the earthly promised land and they did not receive it, how then will anyone receive a earthly promised land? And a temporary confined settlement is not Canaan. Our earthly Canaan is the whole world sheared freely by every nations, languages and tongues. How awesome! 

God provided a lamb in place of Isaac. Had Isaac been offered up for a sacrifice for sin, the sacrifices would still continue to be offered. Isaac’s blood would not do. It needed the Holy Lamb of God who would go to Calvary’s cross and die for the sins of the whole world once for all. There was a complete work that had to be done to eradicate sin in sinful humanity.

If you believe that God asked Abraham to offer up his only promised son. I said promised son because Abraham had more than one son. If you believe this, why then do you not believe that God offered up His only begotten promised Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? Abraham is the father of the people of the earth, the whole world! So the offering of Isaac would have been on behalf of the people of the whole world. But this offering of Isaac would not do for a sin offering. A sin offering must be free from sin. Only Jesus Christ is free from sin. Jesus Christ is and was the only sin offering that would do and will do.

When God sent Jesus to earth, Jesus stated his position. He stated why he was sent to earth.  Jesus told his disciples that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Matthew 15:24. The Matthew Gospel tells us about a woman from Canaan who came to Jesus crying and begging Jesus to heal her daughter who was tormented by demon. The disciples felt disdain for the woman and wanted Jesus to drive her away. Jesus on the other hand, was overcome with compassion for the woman. It was at that moment that Jesus responded to his disciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The woman then came over and knelt at Jesus’ feet begging for help for her daughter. It was at that moment Jesus said, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."  The woman responded, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  Jesus was overjoyed to see the great faith of the woman and healed her daughter instantly.

In this story, many scholars and historians branded the woman as the Canaanite woman, the ancestral enemies of the people of the first religion, Jesus calling the woman dog, a gentile dog, a Greek, and the lists goes on. What they had missed is that when the disciples disdained the woman, and asked Jesus to drive her away, Jesus reminded them that he came to the lost sheep of the house of ‘Israel.’ The house of Israel were the lost beggars, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the bowed down and the scorned.  They were the lost sheep whose bread was the bread of healing. They were the sick ones who needed a physician, the great physician Jesus Christ the healer. 

However, Jesus was engaged first with the religious group to whom he preached the Gospel, with the hope of opening their spiritually blinded eyes. They were not the sick, they did not need the bread of healing, nor did they need Jesus. They were above the bread of healing. They were a self-righteous religious group of people. It was to this religious group that Jesus told that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. He told them to go and learn what it means when He said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I have not come to call the righteous, but I have come to call sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13. Jesus made it crystal clear for whom and why he came. He came to the lost sheep of the house of Jacob or Israel.


Ancient Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite family of languages.
Canaanite is known from the second millennium B.C. in transcriptions into Egyptian or in the cuneiform of the el-Amarna Tablets. Other Canaanite dialects from the first millennium are Phoenician and Moabite and probably Edomite and Ammonite. The Canaanite language are part of the Semitic language named after SHEM. (HarperCollins Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achetemeier)

So, when the disciples who were once of the Jewish Religion with a Jewish mentality disdained the woman, Jesus reminded them that he came for her, the lost sheep of the house of Jacob. She was a Hebrew woman from Canaan. And when Jesus said, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” It was not meant for the woman. It was sort of like when Jesus was teaching his disciples about the hypocrisy of judging others, and he told them to not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw their pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul them.” Matthew 7:6.  Indeed the religious group did trample under foot the gospel Jesus preached to them and they did maul him all the way to the cross.

Jesus knew that the woman from Canaan needed the bread of healing and that she was a lost sheep of the house of Jacob and it was for her that he came. But Jesus had a religious group of people whom he was trying to teach the truth about Word of God, the Old Testament Law or Torah, so that they could take the Good News of the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But they thought they knew the Law better then Jesus did. They were the righteous group, who thought that Abraham was their father and that made them righteous; too righteous to listen to anything Jesus had to say to them. They did not need Jesus and neither did they need his bread of healing. Thus Jesus was moved with compassion for the Hebrew Canaanite woman and saddened by the wasting of his bread of healing to a group who was self-righteous. While the lost sheep of Jacob from Canaan was begging for what he came to give her. The time for leaving the religious group and go to the lost sheep of Jacob had not yet come.

Remember when Jesus went to a wedding in Cana in Galilee? The wine at the wedding was finished and Jesus' mother Mary, mentioned it to Jesus. Well, Jesus told his mother that his time has not yet come. Jesus always say something to stir-up faith. His mother responded "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus is moved by someone's faith.
When Jesus mentioned that it is a shame to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs instead of giving it to the Hebrew woman from Canaan, it stirred faith in the woman to give her response. "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Matthew 15:27.

After the death of John the Baptist Jesus was released to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and they welcomed him. He sheared the bread of healing freely with them. He cleansed the lepers freely, he opened blind eyes, and set the captives free, healed the crippled and raised up the dead from their graves.  

The ancient prototypes have failed. And Jesus is the new prototype. He is the door through whom all must enter to the Father (John 10:7), whether you are Jews, or gentiles, Greek or Hebrew, bond or free, Christians, non-Christian or Mormons, or whatever religion you are. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and there is no difference.

Romans 3:23-31 tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. God did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle?  On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.  Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

Dear ones, sinful humanity can only uphold the law through Christ. Sinful humanity can only uphold the law when the peace of God, the shalom of God comes to them. And peace, shalom is in the Son of God, Jesus Christ your Messiah, Savior and Lord. He is our peace, accept Him, receive Him into your heart as your Messiah, Lord and Savior.

To continue

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Jesus Christ is risen! Yes, He has risen for the last 2000 years! Sunday will be the second Sunday of Easter! The Gospel of John 20:19-31 points us to the first church and showed them hiding behind locked doors on the day of the resurrection of Jesus. The irony is that the doors of the world were wide open. The world was at the door of Jesus’ grave making sure he stayed dead. But death could not hold him! For the resurrection power was too powerful for death and the world. Jesus rose victoriously over death and the grave! Death and the grave could not keep him from his small congregation of twelve hiding behind closed doors. Yes, they were scared. Yes, they were hiding behind closed doors. Yes, their faith failed them, especially since they witnessed their Pastor, leader, master, and Rabbi brutally taken from them and put to death. Who wouldn't hide! But Jesus Christ was not about to give death and the grave victory over his church. With the resurrection power, He rolled away his grave stone, silenced the world at his grave door, and walked through the locked door of his house church to give the promised ‘peace’ through the Holy Spirit to his small congregation! To rid any doubt from his congregation, Jesus encourages them, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” One member cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Today we can shout Praise God! Praise God! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The church is alive! And upon this rock, Jesus Christ, the church is built and the gates of hates cannot prevail against it! 
Because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, the church no longer hides behind locked doors. The church is no longer an inner circle of twelve. It is Christ’s Universal Church, comprised of every nations, languages and tongues. And unites together all around the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh what an awesome God! Oh what a savior!!!

THE RESURRECTION POWER

The resurrection power is awesome. It heals the sick, raise the dead, and set the captives free. And that’s what Jesus did all through his ministry. His crucifixion is fresh in our minds. He was crucified, nailed to a cross, because He had the audacity to heal the sick, raise the dead and set captive people free. 

That was part of his purpose in the world and in the church. Jesus had the awesome power to bring to life dead things. He had the audacity to demonstrate the resurrection power by calling his friend Lazarus to come forth from his grave after he had been dead for four days. Not only that when Jesus called Lazarus from the dead, other dead people took advantage of the call and walked away from their graves. 

When God calls the child of God, ordains and sends him or her to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to all nations, and promise to be with him or her always to the end of the age, God will empower that person with the audacity to set free those who are held captive by sin. 

Jesus instructed bystanders at the grave site of Lazarus to take off the grave clothes off of Lazarus and let him go. Jesus is a friend of sinners, and he wants to remove sin from the sinners lives. The grave cloth is symbolic of the bondage of sin. And God wants to remove the grave cloth of sin with all of its stench and set the sinner free from the grip of sin. 

If you do not yet know Jesus, He is reaching out for you today. If you let him, he will remove your grave cloth of sin and set you free.

As children of God, as church leaders, let us take off from our church grave cloths that hinder and prevent the Holy Spirit from being welcomed in our midst. When grave cloths are removed broken people are made well.

The church is the hospital where Jesus lives and Jesus is famous for removing grave cloths. If you do not know Jesus, He is your friend. And he is calling you like he called his friend Lazarus; He is calling you to come forth from sin and death to a new life in Jesus. 

PENTATEUCH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Pentateuch Questions and Answers:

What is the Pentateuch? 
The Pentateuch is the first five Books of the Old Testament Bible

What are the names of the first five Books of the Bible called the ‘Pentateuch’?

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Who is the Author of the Pentateuch? 
The answer is Moses

Where does the term Pentateuch comes from?  
It comes from two Greek words:

The Greek word ‘pente’ meaning ‘five’ (5) and

The Greek word ‘teuchos’ meaning ‘volume’ or ‘scroll.’

How does the Jewish religion refer to the Pentateuch or the first five Books of the Bible? 
They refer to it as the Torah

What is another name for Torah? 
Law

Is the word Torah in the Bible? 
No. however, the Scriptures refer to ‘the book of the law of Moses.’

Genesis is referred to as? 
A Book of Beginnings

What does Genesis deals with? 
It deals with:

The world as the habitation of humanity, the origin of the human family, marriage and home life, and civilization (Gen. 1, 2, 4 ).

The ‘fall’ or human sin (Gen. 3)

The promises of redemption (Gen. 3)

Diverse human languages

God’s ‘call’ of Abraham from Haran to the land of Canaan.

The beginning of the twelve tribes of Jacob, or the house of Jacob, or the children of Jacob  

What is another name for the twelve tribes of Jacob? 
The children of Israel

Why was the twelve tribes of Jacob called the children of Israel? 
It was because God changed Jacob’s name from ‘Jacob’ to ‘Israel.’ Thus Jacob and his twelve sons and their children were called ‘the children of Israel.’

Are Jacob’s children of the Jewish Religion? 
No. The Jewish Religion had not yet started.

Did Jacob and his twelve tribes read the Torah? 
No. They are the Torah. They are the Pentateuch. They are the history of the Pentateuch -  the Torah.

Who is the father of Jacob? 
Isaac 

Who is the father of Isaac? 
Abraham

  

What were the names of Jacob twelve (12) sons which made up the twelve tribes or the children of Israel?

Reuben

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Zebulun

Issachar

 Dan

 Gad

 Asher

 Naphtali

 Joseph

Benjamin

Are any of the twelve tribes of Israel alive today? No. The Bible has no record of any of the twelve tribes of Israel who are alive today, and the descendants of the twelve tribes of Jacob seems to be untraceable to the modern worlds.

Does the Bible refer to any relatives of the twelve tribes of Jacob? Yes. The Bible refers to Paul the Apostle as being a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin. Paul was a First Century follower of Christ. (Philippians 3, and Romans 11). Mordecai the adopted father of Hadassah or queen Esther was from the tribe of Benjamin.  

The Bible also refers to Joseph and Mary as being from the descendants of David, who is a descendant of the Tribe of Judah. (Luke 2:4). So, we could trace some Bible characters from the descendant of David, such as Solomon, David's son, who is from the tribe of Judah. Jesus, John the Baptist and his family are from the tribe of Judah.