by Bruce Timpany
IF YOU LOVE ME YOU WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS {{{ Dear Friends and Fellow Servants }}}We are living in extraordinary times. Today, just as in the days of Isaiah, truth is fallen in the street; and judgment is turned away backward. On every front the truths of scripture are arrogantly disparaged while the wisdom of man is exalted and received as authoritative, and without question.Today Contemporary Christianity has not only allowed truth to fall, but it has thrown truth in the street as a gesture of religious tolerance and compromise. It has given the adversaries of scripture exactly what they need to substantiate their claims that what most present as Christianity is nothing more than redefined pagan mythology. Educated theologians know that; yet they continue to present a compromised gospel filled with pagan tradition that never had anything to do with Yeshua .Over the last two millennia, traditional Christianity has systematically laid aside the "feast days of the Lord" and established its own holidays. Christmas was established to enable pagan converts to come into church fellowship without forsaking their heathen customs and practices. Easter is a replacement for the biblical Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread.
Even the weekly Sabbath was abandoned in favor of Sunday, the pagan day of the sun, supposedly to commemorate Yeshua,s resurrection , it took place not on Sunday morning but at the end of the weekly Sabbath at sunset Saturday).
Although we should immediately recognize that overruling God's instructions is dangerous behavior, let's consider, from the biblical record, whether such inventions and alterations are acceptable worship to our Creator God. There has never been a more important time in the history of mankind for those called out as servants of our Creator to confront the philosophy and vain deceit that would lead people away from our Savior.~Yashua The Messiah{{{ Mark 7:6-8 }}} He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.7 And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the Commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men..{{{ The Definition of Love }}} Although the Scriptures clearly define love, it has been given all manner of modern definition by various institutions and religions. Most souls think of love according to its attributes because love is rather difficult to define. Many Christians assert that "God is love" and one of the popular clichés is to "just love the Lord."
But the manner of how one "loves the Lord" brings up much opinion and debate, especially since Christians often teach a love that is quite the opposite of what Scripture teaches. For example, "And by this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and follow his commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. Because, whoever is born of Elohim overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith" (1 John 5:2-4).
The definition of love is best understood through Mashiyach's life and teachings: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); and, "He who has my commandments with him and keeps them, he is who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and reveal myself to him" (John 14:21); and, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the commandments of my Father, and I abide in His love." (John 15:10). Abiding in His love is clearly connected to "keeping the commandments." The "commandments of my Father" always refers to Torah; and Y'shua taught that "if you love" him, you will keep the Commandments.
Mashiyach Y'shua clearly kept the commandments of his Father, but yet only a tiny minority of Christians would even consider the importance of these same Commandments - even though the name "Christian" comes from the same root haMishchah (the anointing) which means to be "Mashiyach like." Y'shua is the Word of YHWH, and about this Spirit of Mashiyach Moshe wrote: "And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My Commandments" (Sh'mot/Exodus 20:6); and, "Therefore you shall love YHWH your Elohim and keep His charge and His Statutes and His Judgments and His Commandments, always."
Even the weekly Sabbath was abandoned in favor of Sunday, the pagan day of the sun, supposedly to commemorate Yeshua,s resurrection , it took place not on Sunday morning but at the end of the weekly Sabbath at sunset Saturday).
Although we should immediately recognize that overruling God's instructions is dangerous behavior, let's consider, from the biblical record, whether such inventions and alterations are acceptable worship to our Creator God. There has never been a more important time in the history of mankind for those called out as servants of our Creator to confront the philosophy and vain deceit that would lead people away from our Savior.~Yashua The Messiah{{{ Mark 7:6-8 }}} He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.7 And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the Commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men..{{{ The Definition of Love }}} Although the Scriptures clearly define love, it has been given all manner of modern definition by various institutions and religions. Most souls think of love according to its attributes because love is rather difficult to define. Many Christians assert that "God is love" and one of the popular clichés is to "just love the Lord."
But the manner of how one "loves the Lord" brings up much opinion and debate, especially since Christians often teach a love that is quite the opposite of what Scripture teaches. For example, "And by this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and follow his commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. Because, whoever is born of Elohim overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith" (1 John 5:2-4).
The definition of love is best understood through Mashiyach's life and teachings: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); and, "He who has my commandments with him and keeps them, he is who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and reveal myself to him" (John 14:21); and, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the commandments of my Father, and I abide in His love." (John 15:10). Abiding in His love is clearly connected to "keeping the commandments." The "commandments of my Father" always refers to Torah; and Y'shua taught that "if you love" him, you will keep the Commandments.
Mashiyach Y'shua clearly kept the commandments of his Father, but yet only a tiny minority of Christians would even consider the importance of these same Commandments - even though the name "Christian" comes from the same root haMishchah (the anointing) which means to be "Mashiyach like." Y'shua is the Word of YHWH, and about this Spirit of Mashiyach Moshe wrote: "And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My Commandments" (Sh'mot/Exodus 20:6); and, "Therefore you shall love YHWH your Elohim and keep His charge and His Statutes and His Judgments and His Commandments, always."
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