Commanding the Angels - Updated from original posting on 1/4/24

 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: 

and he called the name of that place Mahanaim

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

And he commanded them, saying...

Genesis 32:1-4

In Genesis 32:1 the word translated angels in Hebrew is Mal'ah'kei (Strong's #4397). It certainly means angels, but can also be translated messengers. In context, we see they are messengers of God and that he saw them as God's host, or more correctly translated: God's camp. Which is why he called the name of the place Mah'cha'na'eem - meaning "Camps".

But in the very next verse we read, "And Jacob sent messengers..." Can you guess what that Hebrew word is? If you guessed, Mal'ah'keem (plural for Mal'ah'kei in Hebrew), you are correct. So why then would the translators translate this differently? Over the years, the Jewish sages have argued if this was heavenly messengers or human messengers. 

If we follow the context, I would be inclined to believe it to be heavenly messengers. Only a short time later, in the same chapter, we find Jacob wrestling with a supernatural being. At that time, God changed his name from Jacob to Israel, meaning a Prince of God. 

We often hear sermons and discourses on how Jacob was a deceiver, thief, liar, etc. but throughout his life, we see that he had power with God and men. Jacob lived in two realms. Sure, he deceived his brother from his birthright, and he deceived Laban out of his sheep and goats, and he also deceived his father. But we see God turning him around. In the midst of all this, we see him looking into the supernatural realm on many occasions. The night he fled from Esau, he saw the angels of God in a dream (Genesis 28:12).

Then we come to our current story. He has now fled from Laban. Both times, he encounters God and receives a message. God promises to be with him and return him to the land of his nativity. And both times, he sees the angels of God. 

But this time, it appears from the Hebrew text that he dispatches and commands the angels. He sends the angels of God with a message to Esau. 

How interesting that even after seeing the heavenly hosts and sending them with a message, that when they return with a report, Jacob is greatly afraid (32:7). It is following this event that he encounters the Angel of God's face (or Presence in Hebrew). 

We also find Elisha seeing the angels and heavenly hosts when Elijah was taken up and later, when he blinds the Syrian army: And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17  It would appear that Elisha's eyes were always open to these divine messengers. Even at his death, when Joash the king comes to his deathbed, the king cries out, "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." (2 Kings 13:14). It's as if the Lord opened the kings eyes to see the camp round about Elisha.

David exclaimed, The angel of the LORD encamps round about them that fear Him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7 and in another place, he declared, The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Psalm 68:17

 I'm not advocating that we are to command the angels of God. We are certainly commanded not to worship them, but I do find these passages interesting to note and be reminded that the messengers of God are ever present. There are many, many passages in the Bible where God sends them to minister to his people. The New Testament gives many accounts of the divine messengers of God intervening and providing support. 

In Hebrews 1:14, the writer says of the angels, Are they not ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs of salvation? In Matthew 4:11, after the temptations of Jesus, while He had fasted forty days in the wilderness, we read, Then the devil leaves Him, and, behold, ANGELS came and ministered unto him. Another example of how the angels ministered to God's chosen is found in 1 Kings 19 where Elijah had been hiding from Jezebel and was praying that he might die. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, "Arise and eat." And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. 1Kings 19:5-8

Then, we find numerous accounts in the book of Acts, how that the early church was visited and assisted by the angels of God. While the apostles were imprisoned for working the works of Jesus, we find But the angel of the LORD by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of the Life. Acts 5:18-19 A similar situation happens to Peter in Acts 12. An angel of God came to Cornelius in Acts 10 and told him how to get in touch with Peter to come and baptize him. There are many other examples in the book of Acts how that the early church was helped or directed by angels. 

Again, I wish to remind you, we do not worship angels. I have tried to be very cautious not to have figures of angels or pictures that depict angels, because this can become a source of idolatry in many believers' lives. They are at God's disposal and command. But I do believe it is important that we be reminded that they are present among those who fear the Lord.

The Old Country Church from my Childhood

I have had the opportunity to reconnect with some old places and people from my childhood over the past few weeks, being in Alabama. On Monday (8/5) I heard that a family friend in the area had passed away. I had just spent time reminiscing with his mother the day before. The visitation for the family was on Thursday evening and I decided after the funeral on Friday I would “trespass” on private property to see the old church I went to as a small child. 

While at the visitation, one of the deceased’s relatives introduced me to their father and informed me that he owns the property of the church. I knew this was a divine connection.

So after the funeral on Friday afternoon, I made my way over to the old church. It is still standing, although it seems so much smaller than it did when I was a child. The steps don’t seem as intimidating.  The out house was still standing, but barely could be seen because of all the overgrowth.

As I stood there, although it was a nostalgic feeling, I knew that there was something else happening in the Spirit. This is the church where several young girls were taken advantage by a couple of predators. There are only about three or four people still alive who were from my parents generation in that church.  Many, if not all of the children and grandchildren of that generation have been affected in their relationships and marriages. 

The next morning while praying, the Scripture from Proverbs kept going over and over in my head. I knew it was speaking, prophetically about this church:

I  went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep; so shall thy poverty come as one that travels, and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34

Learn the parable of the overgrown church: because sin was allowed to sit on the pews, iniquity took root and spread until it destroyed the congregation. There were those who were able to escape it, but none was unaffected by it.  If sun is not dealt with, it takes root and begins to spread until it destroys not only one person’s life, but the whole community. And finally, the stone walls, for the barriers begin to crumble and it spreads far and wide. 

Jesus is the only way. He is the answer to the sin problem. Only by His blood is there forgiveness and deliverance!

I Ask for the Nations

I first started this blog in October of 2009. For many years, I averaged About 25 to 50 hits a year. That was mostly from people that followed me on here, family, etc.. At some point along the way, Google was able to show statistics as to what nations were accessing the blog.  It was exciting to see when The blog first reached the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Pakistan.  I had received words of prophecy that I would minister to the Nations, and although I had an opportunity to travel to a few nations in my early adulthood, that was many years ago, and a lot of water went under the bridge in my life. 

About six months ago, I felt the Holy Spirit direct me to dance for the nations. As I danced before the Lord, I claimed this blog for His glory.  The very next day, when I opened the statistics page on the blog, I had several hundred hits from Singapore.  I continued to dance in faith and believe for the nations in my prayer time. Suddenly, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Ukraine, and other nations begin to be reached by this blog.  

There have been times when I prayed for specific nations, and only a day or two, at the most a week, that nation will be reached by this blog. In prophecy, concerning the Messiah, King David cried out, “ask of Me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psalm 2:8  At the time of this writing, the blog has over 15000 hits. 

I had hesitated to even write about this, as I know that there are so many people who suffer persecution among the nations for being a Christian. But I felt strongly that I should let my readers know you are in my prayers! I may not know who you are and sometimes even where you’re reading from, but I pray for every statistic that shows up. I may not know who you are, but the Almighty God is familiar with you. He knows your name. He knows how many hairs you have on your head, or if you’re like me and have no hair 😁. 

May Almighty God bless you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places and keep you from all evil. May He cause His face to shine upon you (smile upon you with pleasure) and be gracious (favor) unto you. May He lift up the light of His countenance (envelope you with His holy light) upon you and give you the peace of God that passes understanding!

He Sent His Word

 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall PROSPER in the thing whereto I SENT it. Isaiah 55:11

I emphasized two words, that I might make a point. The word Proper in Hebrew is tze'li'ach. It means to have much success, to break out. It's like having a full trash bin, but you don't want to take it out, so you press down the contents so that you can get more in. A good picture of this is Jesus words: give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. Luke 6:38. I have often bought flour or rice and poured it out into a solid storage container. Just when it seemed the container couldn't hold anymore, I would shake the container and tap it on the counter causing the contents to settle down. Then there was plenty more room. This is the picture of God's Word prospering.

The next word I emphasized is the focal point of this article. The word in Hebrew for SENT is Sha'li'ach. It simply means sent. But it is also the translation used for the word Apostle or emissary – one who is sent.

One of the most beautiful illustrations of this I can find in the New Testament is where the centurion comes to Jesus:

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto Him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the Word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, GO, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:5-13

Notice the words that were highlighted? The centurion realized that Jesus had the power to only speak the word and it would be accomplished, much the same way that when he gave a commandment to a soldier under him, there wouldn't be any delay. It would be done. Jesus was fulfilling Psalm 107:20: He SENT His Word and healed them, and delivered them from there destruction. God's Word calls for action. When He sends His Word, things move. Psalm 147:15 says, “... His Word runneth very swiftly.”

In John 1:1-3 we read: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. Only a few verses down, in verse 14 we read: And the word was made flesh , and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father;) full of grace and truth. Jesus was the WORD made Flesh. Hebrews 4:12 says,The Word of God is quick [living] and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Word of God is not a thing. The Word of God is HE, not it. He is the Word. The Word is a Person. 

No matter the distance in the natural, we can pray one for another, and there is no distance. It is faster than the fastest internet signal. I often find myself praying for others and claim this Scripture: SEND thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. Psalm 20:2. When we pray this prayer, we're asking the Almighty to dispatch His Word of deliverance, healing or whatever help might be needed, to the person we are praying for. 

 

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

I would like to share this to increase your faith, not so that I do my alms before men to be seen.

I am in the process of a big transition in my life. The place where I have rented for the past three years will no longer be available for rent in July. My landlady, who is an older woman moved out to help her family back in April, but allowed me to continue to rent through the end of her lease. She called me one evening to let me know that someone had wrote her a check to cover my rent for the month of May. I knew it was God and was so thankful to Him for doing this. I felt I should give tithes on this amount, even though I could really use all that money to cover some bills.

As I'm not sure what the next step in life is, I will be leaving my job when my rent is up, due to not being in the area. All of this certainly is a recipe for anxiety, but the Holy Spirit just keeps reassuring me not to worry.

So a few Sundays back, I put my tithe in the tithe box at church, which not only included my weekly salary tithe, but also the tithe of the money that was paid for my rent. The next day, I went to visit my sister and was going to stop at a store up on that side of town, but the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly and said, “Do you trust Me? Go Home!” I felt such an urgency and quickly changed lanes to get on the freeway that would take me home. I got home, prayed and read the Bible. Asking the Lord, what it was He wanted me home for. I did a few things around the house and then thought I will go to the local store to get what I needed. I decided I should take a load of things to the Goodwill (local charity) on my way to the store.

As I was putting the things into the car, I saw an envelope laying in the back floor board. It said, “Brother Jonathan H. Please use this as the Lord directs or as you need it.” My hands were shaking as I opened it, and counted out a large sum of money. I don't know that I would have found it had I went to the other store. The windows had been open in the car and it could have blown out or someone could have taken it. But the Lord had an appointment for me.

I had already felt to be singing the hymn all that week, “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know, 'Thus Saith the Lord'. Jesus, Jesus, How I love Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh for grace to trust Him more.” That is my cry everyday, “Lord, give me the grace to trust You more.”

Rejoice in Suffering

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I cannot help, but recall a story from Corrie ten Boom whenever I read this verse of Scripture. If you are not familiar with Sister Corrie, she was a Dutch woman from Holland, who was imprisoned with her family in the German concentration camp during World War 2. They were persecuted for assisting and hiding the Jewish people. During her time in the camp, she was with her sister in overcrowded barracks. They were able to smuggle in a small Bible. One morning, they read this portion of Scripture and Corrie told her sister, "How can we be thankful for all these lice?" Her sister told her that God had a purpose, even for the lice that caused them to have to shave their heads, and be tormented during the night. Sometime later, her sister, Betsy overheard the guards refusing to go into their barracks "because of the lice infestation." Betsy was overjoyed to tell Corrie that God had sent the lice to keep out the guards. Otherwise, they would not have had the freedom to have Bible studies and prayer in the barracks with all the other women.

Many times, we don't see the reason for our trials or infirmities, but we have a commandment from the Apostle Paul to give thanks in everything for this IS the will of God. 

The Apostle Paul was certainly no stranger to afflictions and infirmities. Although he never identified what the thorn in his flesh was, he said that he prayed three times for the Lord to remove the thorn in his side. But the Lord finally answered him by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness." Therefore the Apostle Paul could say, Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 This is why he told the Christian church in Rome, "But we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." Romans 4:3-4

After Paul had suffered a great amount of persecution, in fact, he had been stoned and left for dead, then he and other missionaries went about exhorting and confirming the souls of the disciples that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22  How encouraging is that? That through MUCH tribulation...? But it wasn't only the Apostle Paul who preached these things. James, the Lord's brother, who was also the head of the church in Jerusalem exclaimed, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this that trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4 And the Apostle Peter declared, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ". 1 Peter 1:6-7 Where did they get such ideas? Rejoice in suffering. Counting it ALL joy when you fall into various trials. 

Jesus taught us, in the sermon on the mount, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. REJOICE and be EXCEEDING GLAD: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  Matthew 5:10-12  It is through our suffering of trials, tribulations, and persecutions that we come to the place of perfection in Christ. It is the nature of the natural man to shrink back from these things. It causes us to be uncomfortable. But it is only stretching and discomfort that causes us to grow. 

When I was a child, I often had leg cramps. In the southern United States, we called those Charlie horses. My mother would tell me that it meant I was growing.  It took that discomfort to cause me to grow up into a man. God uses our discomfort and suffering to bring us into the stature of a perfect man - the stature of the fullness of Christ.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

My brothers and sisters in Christ, learn to embrace your sufferings, the trials that seem so difficult, the moments that feel like they will break you. They are causing you to learn to trust more on the Lord.  They bring us closer to Him. Allow Him to use those moments to stretch you; to bring you into the fullness of His purposes; into His character.

In God We Trust

Recently, I walked out to the street to check the mailbox as I was getting ready to leave home for work. I happened to look down on the street at something shiny. It was a quarter ($0.25). My immediate thought was to pick it up. It was out in the street. No one to claim it. But then my thought was that the local children play ball in the street and may have lost it. I decided to at least pick it up and look at the date on it or see if there was anything significant about it.  I immediately was drawn to the phrase that is printed on every single coin and dollar minted in the U.S.: "In God We Trust".  My mind begin to tell me that God had given me this quarter and I should keep it, but Something else was saying, "Just trust me." My mind said, "but you might need this money down the road.” But the Holy Spirit just kept reminding me to trust Him, He will supply all I need, when I need it. It was a great lesson to be learned. 

We often believe that when we are in need of something, God will give us the money to purchase what it is we need. We seem to think God doesn't have good taste. But if we allow Him to choose for us, His choice is the best. 

The following day, I left earlier in the morning for church than usual and decided to pray on the long drive. As I was praying for my family, my sister called me just at the moment I was praying for her. She was on her way to an appointment where she would receive a little compensation and be able to pay for gas. As it was, she only had a small amount of gas and her low fuel indicator light was on. She passed a gas station while we were talking and decided to stop, but gas was $3.69 a gallon. She only had $3.60. I told her to pray and I would pray and she would find ten cents under her seat. When she called me back later, she had found exactly ten cents under her seat. 

It reminded me of a time when I was traveling back and forth from Alabama to Indiana in 2012 and had decided to leave my job and trust the Lord. I had some money saved up to pay my bills, but I didn't want to be frivolous. I stopped in Tennessee on my way back home and filled up my tank. I went on that tank for almost two weeks before I filled up again. That was very unusual as I filled up at least once a week and sometimes twice. I knew that was supernatural provision. 

The Apostle Paul told the church in Philippi, "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19. So many times, growing up I watched as my Mother would be concerned about paying bills or being able to afford groceries, but she would pray and believe God and He always came through and supplied the need right on time. Sometimes, it works out in a way that we don't even realize it was God or maybe it works out in a different way than we had hoped, but even in this, we should give thanks, because "we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28 We are called according to His purpose - not our own ideas or purposes.

But We See Jesus

 But we see Jesus , Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Hebrews 2:9

Jesus was seated at the Passover table with His disciples, just a few hours before His crucifixion. Phillip, who had seen the Messiah countless times discern the hearts of the people, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out devils, asked Him, Show us the Father, and it will suffice us. John 14:8.  If ever the Lord Jesus had been disappointed, I wonder if there wasn't some disappointment in His voice when He responded: Have I been so long a time with you, and yet have you not know me, Phillip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how do you say then, Shew us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake. John 14:9-11

In the book of Luke, we find Jesus saying, All things are delivered to Me of My Father; and no man knows Who the Son is, but the Father; and Who the Father is, but the Son, and He to Whom the Son will reveal Him. Luke 10:22  I have observed many fathers who have a strong relationship with their eldest son. Many times, the son will look, as we say in the south - the spitting image of the father. In other words, the son looks like a younger version of his father. They may share many of the same characteristics and traits. The son may know just how a father would handle a given situation, because he's been around his father so long that he can say, "this is how my father would do."  But Jesus wasn't beyond just knowing the Father so well or looking so similar to His Father. Hebrews 1:3 tells us He was the express image of His person. And 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, Christ, Who is the image of God. This was more than just a young man being the carbon copy of his father.  This was God Almighty incarnated in human flesh. 

Paul told the Galatians that the gospel he preached was not anything he learned at the feet of Gamliel, nor from the seminary or the apostles before him. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:12  When Jesus was standing with His disciples in the Caesarea Phillipi and He asked the disciples what others were saying about Him, they all answered, Some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But Jesus asked them very direct and pointedly, But whom say YE that I am? Simon Peter was bold and not afraid to speak up and say, Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou Simon son of Jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in Heaven. Matthew 16:13-17  Peter had a revelation of Jesus Christ. That's why on the day of Pentecost, he could boldly stand and declare, This is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel... and later in his sermon tell the others how they could receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He had a revelation of Who Jesus is. 

He commanded the people to: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the NAME of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:38-39.  But why would he contradict what Jesus had said only about 40 days before? In Matthew 28:19, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. So why then did Peter seemingly contradict the words of Jesus? He didn't. He had a revelation of the NAME.  

As a child, if someone asked me what my father's name was, I would say, "Daddy". That's what I called him, but that was not his name. And of course that person would laugh at my childish answer, because they knew that Daddy was not a name. And my name was not son. Peter had received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. He didn't need anyone to teach him because the Holy Ghost had already revealed to him Who Jesus was.

The Truth About Christmas

In Jeremiah chapter 10, YHVH instructs us not to learn the practices of the pagans. He goes on to elaborate on how they follow astrological signs and how they go out into the grove and cut down a tree and deck it with silver and gold. However, it is no different than a scarecrow in a cucumber patch. It's deaf, dumb and unable to do good or bad.

Many people have used this scripture to argue their beliefs against the christmas tree. Yet, with a little careful research, we understand He's speaking of carving an idol. So, why is the christmas tree idolatry?

The pagans of long ago were sun worshipers. They believed that every year around December 25th, the sun died and was reborn. We understand, as did they that the shortest day of the year is December 21st. The following day is a new beginning as the days began getting longer and longer, until it climaxes on June 21st.

For hundreds of years, the Roman empire forced the nations that they conquered to recognized the Roman Emperor as the supreme god on earth. Finally, in the third century C.E. Constantine assumed the title of Emperor. He came to study and believe in the fastly growing Christian faith, which for many years had been outlawed by the Roman empire. In his desire to make Christianity the universal religion of the Roman empire, he begin to adopt pagan practices into the christian faith so that other religions would more easily accept the Christian faith.

On 325 A.D., the council of Nicea met and adopted many of the well known traditions of what we now call Christianity. This was the birth of the Catholic church. For those who are familiar with the term “Catholic”, it means universal. December 25th, which had been regarded by many to be the birthday of the Sun, now became the birthday of “our lord”. You only have to read Luke 1:26 and do the math to decide Yeshua (Jesus) could not have been born in December.

The angel Gabriel came to Mary and informed her of her pregnancy in the sixth month of the Jewish year. Whether the year was agricultural and began in April or whether it was the new year at Rosh Hoshanna, she could not have given birth in December, unless she had a premature birth or carried him past nine months.

The traditions of praying to saints came from idolatrous practices of many faiths, such as ancestral worship, praying to idols, etc. The term “Santa” in latin means “Saint”. Decorating a tree comes from the pagan practices of sacred groves and such. YHVH commanded us in the Ten Commandments not to worship idols or have any other gods. In Exodus 23:12, He commands that not even the names of other gods should be spoken by us.

So, the next time you go out to “the grove” to cut down your christmas tree, or you “deck the halls”, remember where these traditions come from. The apostles never celebrated such pagans “holidays”.

Choose This Day

Choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Josh. 24:15

...Today if ye will hear His voice... Ps. 95:7

And He said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me. Lk. 9:23

Every morning that we wake up, God sets a choice before us. Will you choose to serve Him, or will you choose to serve yourself and idolatry. If you choose Him, you choose good and life. If you choose to serve yourself and idolatry, you choose evil and death. Yesterday is past and absolutely nothing can be done to change it. Tomorrow is in the future and you don't know if you'll even be a part of it. But today, while it is called “today”, you must make the choice: Will I choose God and life or will I choose self and death?

In Deuteronomy 11:26-27, God told the children of Israel through Moses, “Behold, I set before you THIS DAY a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD you God, and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out out of the way which I command you THIS DAY, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” The choice is yours – a blessing or a curse, but it depends on the choice you make. I capitalized the words DAILY and THIS DAY so that you can see the connection. We must DAILY choose right or wrong; good or evil; life or death. So many want to have the best of both worlds or “ride the fence”, as the old saying goes, but you have to choose. You can't choose to love God and love the world, too.

I recently saw an illustration, where a man had two ladders standing opposite one another, which looked like a V shape. He had one foot on one ladder and another foot on the other. He demonstrated that you can only go so high before you are stuck and must choose between ascending one ladder or the other. Jesus told us, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24 The Apostle James, who was also the Lord's brother said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8

When the prophet Elijah had brought the prophets of Baal and Israel to the top of Carmel to demonstrate the power of God by fire, he cried out: “How long halt you between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21 The prophet Joel saw in a vision and declared, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14 Now is the time to choose. Get out of the valley of decision. Choose to serve the Lord and you will choose life. But if you choose otherwise, it is death. The apostle James also said, “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.” James 1:14 The apostle John taught us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2: 15-17

Consecrate yourself fully to God. Give your mind, will, emotions, plans, thoughts, everything that you possess over to Him and He will not disappoint you in any way. Choose His way for you.