40 Days Teshuva (repentance) and Peanuts

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:27

 Shalom ♡

Only One Creator and Master over all of the universe.  He is in everything that is and will ever be.

He is Yeshua

Isaiah 43:10

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.

Colossians 1:15-17

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

 Never underestimate the will and power and authority of Jehovah Chereb.  What He says, He will bring to pass.  No one can hinder Him.  He will send His angels, if necessary, to assist Him in accomplishing His Work.

Deuteronomy 33:29

Blessed are you, Israel!
    Who is like you,
    a people saved by the Lord?
He is your shield and helper
    and your glorious sword.
Your enemies will cower before you,
    and you will tread on their heights.”

Isaiah 62:6-7

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

Our YHWH is our Shield.  

We must understand what it means to be Holy so that He can defend us and protect us.  We must walk in His Holiness at all times.

At all times.

The Holy one of Israel never sleeps.  His eyes are always on His chosen ones.  He has set them apart to display His great works to all the earth.  He may become angry at them for their rebellious deeds against Him,  but He will never forsake them.   Indeed, He is Holy forever to Israel and those grafted with them, into the Vine.

He has called for His people (including the grafted) to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.  This was not an option, it is a command.  Seek His face with wisdom as to how you and I can honor His command.  There is more to this than we can fathom right now.  Blessings will come from following His commands.

Exodus 34:14

 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 

Justice is turned back,
    and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
    and uprightness cannot enter.

Isaiah 59:14

☆

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the Law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
Hosea 4:6

Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
  

Aren't you tired of forging ahead in battle day after day?  I know I am.  Some days I just want to give up.  The more I open an article or do a search on local, national and world news, the heavier my armour feels.  The sword feels like one of those 25 pound gym weights in my hand, weighting my arm to the floor, while the shield feels like a steel door I am holding up with the other arm.  My breastplate feels full of holes and sits cattywampus across my chest, and the belt is cinched so tight I do believe it will pop at any moment.  My toes are sticking out of the worn shoes, and the treads are nowhere to be found. As for my helmet, it is pushing my head into my neck so far that I need a stool to stand on to see.  Seriously, this is too much to handle.  As I stand here ( I sure can't sit  right now) a trillion thoughts are spinning in my head.  Have you ever felt the same?   Perhaps we need a rescuer to help us out of this armour so we can rest a bit, and breathe.  Let's put the armour down for a little while, and call on Jehovah Nissi.  After a short refreshing, we will don the armour once again, and face our giants.

From the early beginnings of the Hebrew people under Pharoah, to the jewish  nation as we see and know it today, almost every nation on earth has had these precious souls on their radar for annhialation.  Up to this point, America is one of the few nations on earth who has fully supported Israel as an ally.  Israel has proven herself to be one of the strongest nations on earth, in spite of her size and militaty numbers.  Why does Israel remain in bulls eye target? 

Israel has a deep history of being a set-apart people for Almighty God.  From the moment Abraham raised the knife to slay his son, in obedience to the command of his Elohim, YHWH has kept one eye on Israel at all times. He promised to make Israel His covenant people forever, and that is just what He has done.  He loves Israel because the bloodline of Abraham flows through Israel's veins.  How remarkable is that.  He is a jealous God, not a prejudice one.  It was Abraham's faith that brought about this great mystery.

As the great reset is moving forward, those who lead the way in devious and sinister acts against humanity are doing everything they possibly can to break the backs of the people of the world through confusion, by changing that which is true, into a lie.  Even Israel has fallen to the demonic screams for blood as they have recognized abortion as a right for all women, outside of any emergency medical situation. Their streets have become littered with Pride flags and the sacredness of marriage between one man and one woman is slowly fading. The mass media has bowed down to the god of hell.  They have totally discarded$ everything they know to be honest and just, and for money, notoriety, a job, have failed their own family, friends and peers.  They have gone the way of Cain, enticing  their brother to go into the field with them, and then killing him.  From the distruction of statues and historical relics, to the re-writing of student history books and CRT, these wicked demons in flesh have  literally shattered the hearts of the children, and the conscience of those who refuse to see what is really going on. They have turned everything that Elohim said was "good", into a heap of ash.  Satan is fast approaching a day of final judgment, and he is taking everyone he can lay his stinching fingers on with him.  This includes Israel.  Satan has one goal, to be YHWH.  He desires to sit on YHWH'S throne and dictate over the entire earth.  Perhaps, much like he entered Judas Iscariat, satan  will, for a short time (according to the book of Revelations in the Bible), cloaked in the skin of man, sit as a one world leader on earth. However, he will never take YHWH'S throne.  As for Israel, the eyes of the nation that survive the great tribulation will look upon the wounds of their Messiah, and they will mourn.  Their eyes will finally be opened.  Yeshua will have returned, having conquered His enemies, and for 1000 years, Yeshua will reign from Jerusalem. 

Hold fast.  Do not let the enemy take you down.  Meditate on the scripture and let the words of truth permeate your being, down into the cellular level of your flesh.  Put away the mass media.  Be wise with social media interraction, Cleanse your mind of CRT and gender ideology.  Stand up for the unborn.  Be aware to report signs of child trafficking.  Teach your children the true history of your nations.  Remove your children from these corrupt schools, colleges and universities.  Read and study the Word of YHWH God now, so you can know the truth when the scripture is re-written by the liar from hell.  Love each other with compassion and understanding, speaking the truth in love.  Do not bow down to serve Baal and the  false gods of this world.  No one can do this for you.  You must each STAND..and be willing to die for your faith if you must.  

Remember the holocaust.  Do not think that this same evil could not happen to you.  Keep Israel close to your heart and bless this courageous nation.  From her bones came remarkable humans whose skilled hands and brilliant minds have changed the course of medicine, engineering, technology, agriculture and etc.  Israel has blessed the world. Now stand with Israel.

Can these bones rise again?

Yes they can!

An informative and factual account of the 6 Day War of 1967

Keep history true and present 

I am my beloved's  and my beloved is mine.  Song of Songs 6:3

"My YHWH"

Mine.

The Lord of all of creation is mine because I trust Him and lay down my very breath at His feet.

How can this be?  What mystery is He that He would even see me, much less know me and call me by name? 

Call me His.

*

"Your YHWH"

Oh Israel, can you not see Him.  

He has shown you His great love for you.

He has rescued you time and time again.

He has told you what he  will do and he has done it.

He still calls you out of the Egypt of your vain imaginings, where you return time and time again.

He still stands ready to defend you against your enemies. 

He still cloaks you with His banner and sings over you the song of all songs:

"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine."

He has covenanted His very life to you and yet you cannot see Him.

Your ears have become leprous and your eyes have gone white as milk.

You stand as statues of sand in His temples, leaving the stank of sulfer trailing you.

Your feet have strayed from His law and become wrinkled and soft in a cesspool of decay, tainted with the blood of innocent unborn and littered with the banners of Pride.

Have you forgotten the golden calf and the screams of those who chose rebellion over Truth?

Have you forgotten the sacred covenant of your oath?

Can you not hear the crashing and breaking of stone at the foot of the mountain of your Yah?

The same hand that writ the law on the face of stones

has now written it on the hearts of those who call on His Name.

But you, Israel, your hair has turned as ash and your flesh is consumed by worms.

Call on the Name of the Lord and be saved.

Look upon His wounds  and be healed.

Seek His face and live.

Return to the One who calls you His beloved.

So what's up with the peanuts? 

(edited) 

I was revisiting my posts today, enjoying an intimate time of praise and worship. When I came back to this post, I started to skip over it, but then decided to see if there were any new insights to be gleaned from it. My first response was

"Oh wow, I must have been in a state of hyperglycemic hyperactivity trauma from all of the fructose".

  I was 10 days into the fast I had chosen when I originally posted, and I felt as if I was reading something that Garfield's dog Odie had written.  Thus, the major edit was reduced to the following:

In considering how I should manage the 'fasting' role in the 40 Days of Teshuva, I decided that giving up and letting go of habit, routine, pleasures and comforts can help us focus on the changes that can benefit our souls and bodies in many ways.  Fasting helps to put life into perspective.  I decided a peanut would represent my 40 day journey of cracking out of my shell and letting my guts spill out, real and raw, before my LORD. Consuming them would assist me in maintaining some health benefits so that I could endure  these forty days apart from normal routine.

Today marks the 10th day on this journey, and I can say that I am learning much about myself. I am being nourished by the short morning teaching and the time of prayer on Zoom call with brothers and sisters around the world.  Throw in some peanuts and fruit juices for appetizers, and all is well.

Genesis 22:14

¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

 Whether we sit down at a table, on a blanket or bench by the shoreline, on a giant rock overlooking the rocky Wyoming landscape, or on the floor of a tent in the wilderness – all of us at one time or the other have considered the blessings that we have been given or experienced.  I think sometimes we offer prayers of thanksgiving out of habit, such as at a meal.  Not that the thanksgiving is insincere, rather it could seem a bit rehearsed.  You've heard those prayers.  Perhaps you also pray in that manner.  But what if we stop and think about the provider.  I am pushing the 'thinker' beyond the providing parent or neighbor or friend or even you and me; let's scale the heights of provision all the way to the mountain of YHWH. 

You more than likely have heard or read about Abraham of the Bible who was tried by YHWH.  He told Abraham to take his son Isaac, his only son, the son he loved, to the land of Moriah to offer him on the altar as a burnt offering.  Can you imagine that moment? He had to have all kinds of images running through his mind.  This same YHWH had met with him prior to Isaac’s conception and revealed to Abraham that he was going to father a son at 100 years of age (let that sink in a few moments), and through him, Abraham would become a Father to many nations.  So Abraham tosses down his bow and walks away from YHWH, mumbling choice words under his breath, right?   On the contrary, Genesis 22:3 says Abraham rose early in the morning, split firewood, saddled his donkey, took a couple of young men and his son Isaac and headed to the place YHWH commanded him.  Hopefully you know the rest of the story.

So what does this have to do with thanksgiving?

Abraham had so much faith in YHWH that he absolutely knew there would be only one outcome in this situation; Abraham was going back down that mountain with his son and the unscortched firewood he had split just three days prior. And he did just that! YHWH took him to the outer limits of no turning back, and then intervened at the exact moment of unwavering faith.  

Is that not the most incredible act of trust?

Can you hear the songs of thanksgiving coming from a very old man and his young son?

I would like to think they danced.

And then YHWH did something else.  YHWH honored Abraham for his faith.

Genesis 22:18 tells us:

¹⁸ And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

Faith brought about obedience and obedience brought provision.

Some use YHWH as if our Qadosh One (Set-apart One) is a slot machine arm, raining pennies from heaven.  He has the authoritative power to do that if he so chose, but more than pennies, He desires our trust. These people fail to see that YHWH is to be revered.  The scripture uses the word "feared".

Malachi 3:16-18 reads:

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.

¹⁷ “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. ¹⁸ Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

I would rather have my name written on His scroll of remembrance, than all of the gold and silver on this planet.

 Follow YHWH Yireh in obedience and see if He does not keep his covenant with you, and make specific provision for you.

 He is our Provider

♡

 YHWH Yireh

We do not deserve you, but somehow you love us so very much.

I cannot begin to imagine putting my life into the hands of another.

There is only One.

You are that

One

for me.

You are that

One

for all of us

if we will just

Believe.

Genesis 17:1

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life."

Ok, that is a "biggie". 

"a blameless life"

Do you know anyone (and I mean anyone) who lives a blameless life?

 I am not certain if I am more bumfuzzled about the charge to live a blameless life, or the fact that this dear soul was 99 when he received the charge by El Shaddai.

Most men at 99 might respond "El Shaddai, I am standing on the precipice of a great divide, a divide that separates life from death.  You are charging me NOW to be perfect?"

So Abram gets the charge.  Then a little later Abram would get the news that he was going to be a daddy--at 100 years of age.  And of course there is Sarah at a youthful 91.

Blameless?  

El Shaddai must have a strange sense of humor.

But nothing is impossible with the almighty God.  If He wants to get your attention at nine or ninety nine, He will do it. He can and will do it, no matter the circumstances.

  If any of Abram's tribe were looking for a sign or miracle from YHWH, like people do today, you can bet this scene would be a viral hit on social media.

BREAKING NEWS

This is a breaking news report from Beersheba! The local Beersheeba midwife has reported that a 91 year old woman has just given birth to a baby boy.  Her 100 year old husband was reported to say that both mom and son are doing well.  When asked what his next few days looked like, he fell on his face laughing and simply replied "prayer".

Seriously, if living a blameless life is impossible, YHWH would never have charged Abram with that task.  Abram was flesh as we are.  He lived in a tent city caravan  with a large group of family and extras.   That is living pretty close to chaos. YHWH's ways are indeed  not like ours.  And I am thankful for that.

No excuses, folks.  You cannot use age as an excuse to stop living a full, fruitful, blameless life. Every breath has YHWH's name written on it.  Through His beloved Son Yeshua, He created everything visible and invisible.  I guess living a blameless life, compared to that, is a 'piece of cake'.

 If YHWH has a plan with your name sealed to it, get ready.  

And laugh with joy!

(blamelessly, of course)!

Exodus 33:13

¹³ If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.”

Thoughts/Prayers

Show us Your ways, El Elyon

Your thoughts are not our thoughts,

Neither are Your ways, our ways.

You are a set-apart God

Qadosh (Holy)

You dwell in unapproachable light

How precious that we are known by You.

You call us by name.

Is there anything that You cannot do?

Idols cannot speak,

they are carried into the winds forever by Your breath.

But You, Oh Lord spoke everything into existense.

We will take refuge in You, and seek to do everything according to Your law.

You ask only that we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.

Show us Your way, Oh Lord, 

and help us to walk in it.

Thank You, most high God.

Bless Your qadosh 

Name!

 Exodus 34:6-7

 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,

“Yahweh!  The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy!  I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Thoughts/Prayer

Let the incense of a pure heart and clean hands rise up to You, oh YHWH.

Through You alone we have our breath, our lifeblood.

Rise up, praise!

Rise up from your deathbed, oh my Soul!

Rise up and give praise to the One who set in motion all things,

and will bring to an end all things that war against His Holy Name!

Pass before us, oh compassionate, gracious and patient God.  Pass before us so that we can fall under your shadow and live!

Sing to Him, dry bones!

Oh sing you vacant carcasses in the earth!

You are gracious in kindness and Truth, YHWH

offering forgiveness to the generations who return to You in repentance.

You hold back Your judgement on the nations who turn to You.

But Your righteous judgement will prevail against the nations of people who rebel against You.

Rise up from your sleep of despair, Oh soul, and praise the merciful One!

 Through You, YHWH,

everything has breath and has its being!

Praise YOU!!

Praise YHWH!

²⁸ Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord^[h] wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments^[i]—on the stone tablets.

Thoughts/Prayer

We long to be 'there' with You, YHWH. 

There.

Nowhere Else.

Any other place is nowhere.

We long to feel the flame of Your countenance upon our faces.

We long to sit, stand, kneel before and beside You.

We long to breathe in the fragrance of pure holiness,

to inhale the sweet perfume of Your clean garment of righteousness.

We so long to be there with You, our Elohim.

Clean these stained and calloused hands.

Purify the tainted hearts of a world you so love, so that we can be 'there' and here with You always.

²⁸ Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord^[h] wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments^[i]—on the stone tablets.

²⁹ When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,^[j] he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. ³⁰ So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him.

³¹ But Moses called out to them and asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over, and he talked with them. ³² Then all the people of Israel approached him, and Moses gave them all the instructions the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴ But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, ³⁵ and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord.

 Thoughts/Prayer 

Exodus 34:31

Call out to us YHWH.

  Call out to us.

  It is getting harder to recognize You, YHWH.

  The blistering, blinding, artificial light of this world's lies has hidden Your face from us.

  Call out to us, YHWH!  Call out!

  If we can hear Your voice, we will not just come to You,  we will RUN to You! 

Call out to me, Elohim.

Call out my name so I can know it is You. 

Call out to me!!

Michele Bachmann and her dedicated friend and assistant, Anita Reed, along with other faithful partners of Regent University, have hosted a much desired and needed time for the fellowship of believers and  followers of Christ to join in a world wide call to prayer and fasting. 

The shofar has sounded and the call for teshuvah (repentance and return) is echoing throughout Israel and Jewish families and communities around the world even now.  As a matter of fact, as I type this post, Elul 2 on the Jewish calendar is almost over, ending at sundown today. 

Isaiah 58:1 of the First Covenanat (Old Testament) of the Bible reads: "Cry aloud, do not spare. Lift up your voice like a ram's horn.  Declare to my people their transgression, and  the house of  Ya'aqob (Jacob) their sins".

Read the rest of the chapter to get a full vision of what Elohim (our righteous judge) says to the people.

It is a joy and a true privilege to join in with this wide community of people who have heard the call to bend the heart's knees to our Father in heaven, recognizing the state of our own souls and that of the nations of the world.  And so, we seek our righteous judge and merciful One together each morning (and for some, each evening) linking virtual spirit arms as we cry out for the soul of our homelands. 

Each day, I have committed to a short post of a thought or prayer as I search Spirit of Truth to lead and guide me into a clearer understanding of my need for repentance, and the call of my heart for the state of our country and those around the globe.  Join me as I pour my soul out to our YHWH (Merciful One) these 40 days, and for more information, check out the link to the 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting on our home page.  Perhaps you can jump on in with us and strengthen the chain of intercessors as we gather in our individual dugouts, surrounded by spiritual enemy fire, singing songs of praise and thanksgiving to our mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, calling out to Him for rescue.  This time is a real and raw moment in my life and in the lives of all gathering together.  Remember, the Jewish calendar day begins at sunset, and ends at sunset of the following day (just as YHWH expressed in the first chapter of the book of Genesis, of the Bible).  So don't get confused by the calendar dates I post.

Heavenly Father, show mercy on us all!!

And teach us to pray