Finding Jewels in the Valley Walk

his article was written in fall of 2005, but it is relevant today for all that are going through difficult times.

All of us go through trials and tribulations. Our home has been going through a valley for almost 2 years now... in the midst of it all, Yah has been teaching and growing me in His faith and His Spirit. I just wanted to share a bit of a vision He gave me while I walk in this valley... it is a blessing or ‘jewel’ if you will, that I have treasured along this difficult walk that I would like to share with you… treasure it as I have.

It has been hard to see Yah's mountain on the other side of this mucky valley... my muck boots keep getting stuck in the mire of Satan's devastation. Daily I encounter a new area of quicksand and other obstacles. I was considering this one day and thinking about how it sounds when you pull your boot out of the mud and then place it down again...you know the sound. That's how I feel as I walk this valley floor. I have told Abba so many times, "There better be a HUGE BLESSING at the other end of this valley, Lord!" Yet, as I looked far into the future I saw no end to the valley!

With each step and each day I get closer to the Father, closer to His blessings. I find that I can’t even lift my foot without His help. I am not able to lift my head to see the mountain in the distance without His help. Facing another day in this valley is devastating, yet He is with me without fail. I have to go to Him every morning, every day, every moment just to stand. I can only go on with Yah, not a single thought can manifest without His help. As I get closer to the Mountain from whence cometh my help; I am finally seeing the shadowy hint of a mountain in the far distance. Every so often, I see the Son's light glimmer on something on the side of the mountain. The more I trust in Him, the stronger my faith gets, and the more clearly I see that the tiny sparkles on the side of the mountain are increasing in number and brilliance!

I am on a blessing treasure hunt as I walk the valley... I find small blessings, pearls of great price, hidden in the muck and mire throughout the valley floor. As I find one, I grasp it and hide it in my heart, admiring it often as I walk this difficult journey. I am so tired, I am dirty, I feel weary, yet I walk, thinking that I must be the only one out here. I find another tiny pearl. And another jewel, one that shines like a sapphire. I pick each precious blessing up, and admire what Yah has done, giving Him praise and honor. I cherish each blessing, not knowing when the next one will be found or if I will even notice while I sink into the muck with each step. It is hard to search for the jewels when you are busy looking at the muck!

I look again toward the mountain. More twinkling lights are visible now and the mountain is getting larger. What was once a vast flatland, is now giving way to the mountain. It’s shadow is getting closer. I think again of the blessing the Father has for me in this glimmering mountain looming in the horizon. I look at the muck and up again, between each step. Each time I look, I can see more and more glittering stars in the mountain. Suddenly, I feel elated! Yah reveals to me that He does not have a Huge Blessing on the other side of this valley, He has a Mountain of Blessings instead! The tiny blessings that I found along the way, make up the wholeness of the mountain in the distance. Abba does not have a huge blessing, but an abundance of blessings waiting for my arrival at the end of this adventure, at the end of this difficult valley walk. His promise to me is to do exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or think. (Eph 3) All He asks of me is to stick close to His side and look for the flickers of blessings He sets out for me along the way to encourage and remind me that He is always there, I am never alone!

Keep looking for the treasure in the muck and watch for the glimmer of Yah's light shinning on the mountain side in the distance! He has a mountain of blessings awaiting your arrival!

I pray that this encourages anyone else going through a valley and seeking the Father daily to make it through as much as it has encouraged me to live it and believe it!

Weeds

What happens when the weeds grow up? The veggies don't grow! I know this from experience. Our garden wasn't tended to very well this year. Life just kept getting in the way! Business was "happenin'" both on the farm and in my life.  What a lesson! Let's look at the spiritual significance of this.

I plowed the field, made rows, and planted the garden (read my word, studied, and built a good foundation) . I weeded every couple days to keep the weeds down so that the small plants could grow strong in the new beds (I prayed to the Father daily, confessed my sin, kept the feasts and the mitzvot). But then I was distracted by life and the things that needed my attention. They were important; taking care of grandpa, Shelly's dr. appointments, errands, etc (distractions pull us away from reading the word regularly, spending quiet time with the Father, keeping the mitzvot and feasts, prayer, praise and worship). The weeds grew up and one day when I went out to see if the garden yielded any veggies, I found few veggies and lots of weeds (so the sin, left unchecked, had stifled me from producing fruit, I found myself being lax on mitzvot and feasts, prayer and no time to read my word).

In a war setting, soldiers can be distracted by the sights and sounds they hear and they will loose sight of the mission. In the army the soldiers must go through training that causes them to loose all of their senses and they must stay focused... so they hear loud music, prayers, sirens, sergeants yelling at them. They are in a black out situation where they have to secure rooms that they can't see.This is the say way we have to be, our senses will be bombarded by the enemy, we have to remain focused no matter how we might feel or what our eyes and ears are experiencing. This will be a key lesson when we come into the end times!

Teshuva

Shabbat Shalom to all our Mishpatim! (Family)

The beginning of the Sixth month in the Hebrew calendar is at hand. The Babylonian name is Elul. It is during this Sixth month that we solemnly search within ourselves for sin in preparation for the upcoming Day of Atonement. It is believed that it is during this 40 days (1st of Elul to the 10th of Tishri) Yeshua spent his 40 day fast in the wilderness. For those of you who ask the question what would Jesus do? Well, he would spend the next forty days in prayer and fasting to Yahweh. Let's use His example to live by.

Jewish tradition holds that this is a solemn time to look inward, to seek the face of HaShem and ask him to reveal any hidden and unknown sins so that we might turn from those sins, repent (Teshuvah) and cleans ourselves in preparation for the upcoming High Holy Days. We must make compensation to others for sins against our brother and ask forgiveness. Daily, for the entire month, the Priests sound the trumpet at the evening (beginning of the new day) as a warning to return to Yah and repent. With warning it is implied that judgement is forthcoming. The Days of Awe (between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur) represent the days of Jacob's troubles. In the month of Elul, we should remember that we must repent and prepare for the days of Jacob's troubles that we might be protected during that time by the hand of the Almighty. Daily the Priests watched and waited for the next new moon, Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets, 'the day that no man knoweth'. On Yom Teruah, the Priests would sound the trumpet 100 times to let everyone know it was the High Holy Days and the beginning of the 10 days of Awe. During the next 10 days, any sin you still hold in your heart must be dealt with, sifted if you will, before the Day of Atonement. I will discuss Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur later. Today, let's look at this month of Elul.

Teshuvah, is from the Hebrew root 'shuv', meaning to return, repent, turn from. Let's look deeper into this word. It is written tav-shin-vav-vet-hey. In the paleo or Hebrew word pictures tav=mark, shin=tooth, vav=nail, vet=house, hey=window. It is interesting that there are 2 /v/ sounds in the word that only has one /v/ sound when it is spoken. One significance of a vav in the midst of a word is that it is nailed, secured, just as our repentance in Yah is secured by a nail that hung him from a tree. This is a common significance throughout the Torah. Looking at the whole word from the paleo perspective we have tav=ownership, to seal, make a covenant, join together, mark or sign. Shin=to devour, to consume, to destroy, something sharp. Vav=to join together (hook), make secure (nail), bound to. Vet (bet)=house or building, tent, a body of someone or something, family or household, inside or within, amid. Hey=window, to show, to reveal, to see or look. Wow! What a revelation! Putting these together...

Make a covenant, come together, joined together and secure, bound to (vav, significance of Yeshua) and reveal what is inside to destroy and devour (sin) - Repentance!

Let's spend this month of Elul returning to the face of Yah asking him to covenant with us and reveal what is inside and destroy the sin, that we might enter the High Holy Days as a spotless bride, and gain protection from tribulation that will sift us as wheat before Yah's return.

Shalom Aleichem!

What Has Yahweh Asked of You?

Before I answer this question, let's look at some things we must conquer in our walk with the Father:

Destroy 7 Nations

Deu 7:1-6 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

So first we are to utterly destroy the 7 nations and not take mercy or they will turn the people away from Yahweh. Let's take a look at what the names of those nations mean and what we are to fight against when we become believers.

Nations to overcome:

Hittites (Strongs H2845) means terror, fear

We must first destroy fear. Fear stifles us from moving forward and will keep us from conquering any of the other nations that come against us. The enemy uses fear as his first line of defense against us. If the adversary can keep us paralyzed in fear, we will not move and cannot be used. The Father has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 2 Tim 4:7

Girgashites (Brown-Driver-Briggs) means a dwelling on clayey soil, weak foundation

Second, we must build a firm foundation, built on the solid Rock, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Torah, the Word made Flesh! The adversary's second line of defense is to deceive us a set us on a brittle foundation. He knows that if our foundation is weak, we will not be able to stand in rough times. Mat 7:26

Amorites (BDB) a sayer, boaster (Strongs H567) publicity, prominence

Amorites were a prideful people. Our third step in our walk must be to overcome pride, boasting, self-importance, seeking attention and recognition. This is one of the biggest tools the enemy uses and loves to use it on believers! Human nature says, 'I am right'. So pride will easily besets us if we are not watchful and consider the workings of the enemy. Pride comes before a destruction. Prov. 16:18

Canaanites (Strongs H3669) humiliated

We must overcome humiliation, debasement, feelings of lack of worth. The adversary will cause you to stop trying by telling you that you are not worthy, capable, nor smart enough to do what the Father is asking of you. He will say that the path before you is too difficult, too big, too everything for you to overcome or complete. He will bring you down and stifle you by making you feel hopeless and helpless, not worthy to fulfill your mission. But the Father, creator of all things says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made! Ps 139:14

Perizzites (Strongs H6522) a breach in the wall of a village

We must overcome the breaches in our wall, the breach of our promise to Yahweh to walk in His way, His commands, His right rulings. The enemy will distract us with small fires, busy-ness, activity, worries. These open breaches in the walls, get us off the path, entice us to other places. We must be 'repairers of the breach' and 'restorers of the paths'. Isa 58:12

Hivites (Strongs H2340) dwellers of the high places, their capitol was on Mt. Ba'al Hermon (Strongs H1179) which means lord of destruction!

We must tear down the high places in our lives, idols, images, pagan symbols, false mighty ones, sports, tv, entertainment, video games, computers, ______ (you fill in the blank). The enemy loves to get us to put other things before our Father! He encourages us to be work-aholics, computer-holics, in love with self, in love with our family more than we love the Creator of all things! We are to fight against the principalities and powers in high places! Eph 6:12

Jebusites (Strongs H2982) trodden down, threshing, desecrate, utterly reject (Greek form tribulum, where we get the word tribulation)

Finally, cast down rebellion. Once we have conquered the first 6, we must utterly destroy rebellion and its affects: destruction, division, evil toward one another, disputings, witchcraft, tribulation. We need to watch the adversary's suggestions of rebellion, they are subtle and start out small, creeping in like a small bit of leaven in the air attaching itself to us and growing without our knowledge! It is our responsibility to clear out the leaven regularly so our soul will not be 'cut off'. Just as the people were to clean the leaven from their houses before the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, we are to clean the leaven out of our lives daily and fill ourselves with the Father's Word. Exo 12:15

So these different 'nations' must be destroyed completely from our lives. Yah gives us a warning.

Deu 7:21 Thou shalt not be frightened at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

So these changes in our lives, these strongholds, if you will, will not be overcome at once, but gradually, lest the enemy multiplies and comes upon us all at once. Remember if we clean the house and do not refill it, a worse situation will be for that person.(Luk 11:21-26) Father will reveal the enemy to us gradually, we will overcome each 'nation' one by one, and refill, regroup, and prepare for the next battle.

Over and over in these passages in Deuteronomy 7-11 we witness Moses' call to be obedient, to

hear and obey (Sh'ma). Well, as we fight the enemies Yah places before us we must be able to hear Him so that we can obey Him. 1 Kings 19 tells us how to hear the Father. He is the still small voice. But our original question was, 'What has Yahweh asked of you?' How can you know the answer if you don't hear His voice? Now, how do we do this? Well, first of all we start by yielding ourselves completely to Him in all parts of our lives (those steps we discussed above) As we work on each step and listen for the still small voice, seek His face and fill up with His Word, we will begin to hear.

So now let's look at the answer to the question:

Deu 10:12-21 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. (emphasis is mine)

We can sum all these words into two words Hear and Obey, or better yet, one word, 'Shema'. The ultimate promise to us through the Torah Portion this week is that if we Hear and Obey, we will be given the blessings, we will be protected, we will flourish when all else is destroyed.

So, what does the Father ask of us? Only that we Hear and Obey... My question to you is this...

Do you Hear?

Lessons From Geese

I live on a small farm and each day Yah teaches me something about Himself through our farm. This past week or two we have had a gaggle of geese visiting on their way to their summer home. It amazes me how geese will visit the same places year after year on their journeys, never forgetting where they stayed last time they came through. A lesson many of us should learn as we read through Yah's word year after year, keeping our journey straight, not straying from truth, following Yah's instruction and guidance so that we will be safe and have all our needs met.

There are so many lessons to glean from these wonderful creatures. How do they choose where to stay? Are they led by the Holy One, as we should be, to safe, abundant places? And why have they chosen here, now? We have lived here for 10 years and only this past year have the geese chosen our pond. Has Abba sent them to us for a time in the future that only He knows, like quail in the wilderness? Maybe I have more questions than answers, but as I contemplate the geese, I will listen to Abba's leading and teaching to learn more lessons from the geese.

Yah's Lessons Along the Way

This is a blog spot for some of our mishpachah (family) in Yah and the wonderful, hard and amazing lessons He is teaching us as we walk a strange and interesting path toward our Creator.

We hope you enjoy and learn from our experiences and that your journey with us will help enlighten your walk with the Creator of All things, YHVH!