Grace and Obedience

I did not write this, and I would love to give proper credit, but I simply do not know where I first saw it.  If you recognize this and know who the author is, or are the author, please contact me.

Many say we do not have to obey the Lord because we have grace, but GRACE IS GIVEN to those WHO LOVE THE LORD, and THOSE WHO LOVE HIM OBEY HIM. If you do not obey Him then you do not love Him or have grace.
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Ephesians 6:24
GRACE BE WITH ALL those WHO LOVE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WITH INCORRUPTIBLE LOVE.
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(Grace is given to those who love the Lord with incorruptible love, so that means grace is for those who obey the Lord because those who love Him, obey Him.)
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John 14:21
HE WHO HAS MY COMMANDMENTS and KEEPS THEM IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME; and he WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I WILL LOVE him and will disclose Myself to him.”
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(Who loves Christ and who does not love Him?)
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John 14:23-24
Jesus answered and said to him, “IF ANYONE LOVES ME, he WILL KEEP MY WORD; AND MY FATHER WILL LOVE him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He WHO DOES NOT LOVE ME DOES NOT KEEP MY WORDS; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
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(Grace instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.)
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Titus2:11-14
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
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Romans 6:1-16
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
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For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
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knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
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and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
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Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

QUESTION:

by Terri Ann

 If following Torah is so great, why then are so many of us unchanged or only somewhat changed? I submit that we are still missing some important understandings.

We can read all the books we want on surgical medicine but it doesn't make us capable of being surgeons. Knowledge has to be applied to be truly life altering.

If Yeshua was right, then shouldn't we be walking on water, healing people, turning water into wine, etc...?
John 14:12 Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones

"Greater ones?" Most of us can't heal ourselves, much less someone else! Our personal lives and relationships are often a mess, and we spend most of our time pointing the finger at the faults of others than we do just focusing on resolving our own baggage; and honestly some of us have enough baggage to fill LaGuardia airport! Or even worse, thinking we are somehow knowledgeable enough to be teaching and lecturing others on Torah, which there sure seems to be a lot of and some who do so are down right arrogant in the process. I mean, if we are really so well versed then we surely should be fulfilling John 14:12, right?!

So, I've just been thinking, and even dreaming a little to be honest, of how beautifully fantastic things would be if each one of us were to get truly serious about applying the teachings of Torah to our own lives; and I'm not talking about just eating clean and keeping the Sabbath. I'm talking about what it would be like to focus on our own change and growth to the point of that effort becoming truly life altering. To truly love each other in such a way that we approached one another with real love, grace and mercy; accepting that others are also in the process of changing; encouraging rather than offering judgment, apathy and intolerance. I sometimes wonder how much time we waste focusing on the faults of others rather than fixing ourselves. I suspect it's quite a lot. That's time we should be using to become more like what our Creator intended us to be. And rather than being defensive when someone points out an area we need to work on, why not start asking those we love and trust to tell us what we might be missing and where we need to improve, because isn't the point to die to our flesh? Isn't the point to draw as close to Adonai as we possibly can?!!! So why wait for someone else to come tell us? Why are we not seeking out those areas we need to change with urgency? And when we haven't taken the time to really look at ourselves and someone else has the courage and loves us enough to be honest, we should hugging them and thanking them for the help, not defensively lashing out.

I just believe things should be, and could be, so very different than what we've collectively allowed things to become. I also believe we owe Elohim a true, heartfelt effort both individually and collectively. He deserves nothing less!

So, with that said, I hope and pray that each and every one of us becomes able to do those works, and even "greater ones!" I pray our hearts are so full of love for others we hold them in even higher regard than we do ourselves. I pray we get so serious about seeking out and accomplishing the changes we need to make that when we look in the mirror all we see is His light shining back at us! And I pray that when we each stand before the judgement seat that a host of angels rejoices as we are told, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I am indeed hopeful for each of us!!!

The Reward

A personal experience story by David Peters

The following incident occurred while I was filming a documentary about the power of unconditional love.

“Mommy, Mommy, we're done with our chores now can we..."

This was the beginning of a remarkable 60 minutes. A teary-eyed, "how am I going to focus my camera?" growth experience.

I mean it was pretty cool that they even had chores. I don't see that enough where I live.

But this was Brazil and this family was like no family I have ever met. Sixteen children in the process of being adopted by parents fighting tooth and nail to keep them.

Most were the sons and daughters of prostitutes and drug addicts, some with aids, all of them victims of things unspeakable. Yet, these children were happy, joyous even, brimming with affection and peace.

And so when they asked for permission it wasn't to play games, watch TV or ride bikes, they were asking their mommy for permission to worship!

Stunned, I ask their mom if that's really what they said.
“Oh yes” she said, “It's their reward. It's what they enjoy doing.”

I turned to my cameraman, “Johnny, you finish the interview. I'm going with them!"

They paid little attention to my intrusion. Crawling up a ladder into a tiny cubby hole the three girls, 10, 8 and 4 lost themselves in gratitude and adoration of their beloved hero - Jesus.

They were in love with Him. He was their Papa. They raised their heads and hands and talked to their Daddy.

I tried not to sob out loud and struggled to focus my camera through the blurry tears. I have never witnessed anything so sincere and beautiful. My legs eventually turned numb cramped in that tiny space but I didn't want to move. I didn't want it to end.

When a stranger puts a camera in front of an abused and broken child you normally see fear and distrust. Not here.

I asked the parents "How could this be?"

They responded "God erases their memory." That's the only answer I could possibly believe.

This beautiful couple, themselves the recipients of massive amounts of grace and forgiveness, instilled in these children not just a belief, but a deep and intimate love for Jesus. These children delighted themselves in Him and spending time with Him was the reward they cherished.

I came to this house as a curious filmmaker, but I left as a grateful student, instructed by three little girls in the power of God's healing love.

Postscript: I too fell in love with Jesus during my stay in Brazil. It was there that I realized how wide, how long, how high and how deep the love that Christ has for us really is. For all of us. No exceptions.
I saw gangsters, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes respond to that love and become transformed by it.
The Bible says “We love him because He first loved us." I witnessed that, I filmed that, I know it’s true. It’s an outrageous love and it’s free and it comes without judgement.
No wonder worship was the orphans reward. They found a love that brought them life.

Do you have a story of unconditional love? We want to hear it! Share your story here:http://buff.ly/1PUYITa

Israel

by Gary Moore

When you serve the God of Israel you are called "Israel."

When you believe in YHVH, the God of Israel and accept the redemptive blood of His Son for your sins, Y'Shua/Jesus the Messiah of Israel then you are known as the people of Israel. Remember Y'Shua's own words in Matthew 15, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

All those great promises and covenants given by YHVH that He said would last forever now apply to you. If you were taught that the Sabbath was only for the Jews or taught that the Christian church has now replaced Israel because the Jews rejected the Messiah then you have been misled.
False teachings have kept you from knowing your true identity and how to receive all the blessings from the covenants that you were told were not for you or simply done away with at the cross.

For instance the 7th day Sabbath Rest is a "sign or mark" upon YHVH'S People forever!
He gave His People, Israel that covenant sign that He said would identify them by setting them apart as His People "forever." It is the goal of Satan to twist the truth through false teachings of men that you would never discover your true identity as "Israel."

"You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, above all...you shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, YHVH, set you apart." ~ Exodus 31:13

YHVH is restoring His truth by restoring His People, Israel!

Spiritual Parallel

by Jeannie Ladd

I often listen to talk radio, while I'm in the car and as I listen to the pundits and callers, I am struck by the STRIKING spiritual parallels, as I have been for quite some time, now.

Most "conservatives and or Christians" are aghast at what we are watching happen right before our eyes, under the current administration. I will admit it IS shocking and unsettling, but what MOST are blinded to is the absolute mirror of what is happening in the spiritual. I have been saying for years, that as people cry about how the Constitution of the United States is being ripped to shreds and trampled on, what of YHVH's Word, His Torah?!?

Ezekiel 22:26

“Her priests have done violence to My teaching and they profane My set-apart matters. They have not distinguished between the set-apart and profane, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst".

How much more violent could we be to YHVH's Torah, than to say it was done away with???!!!

And now, those very same people are crying about the Constitution!!

They are concerned about leaders, thinking that a different leader will change things!! Oh how foolish we are to trust in men!! To think a mere man can change the course of things.

The ONLY thing we can change is to fall on our faces and weep and mourn over our sin, which is the transgression of His Torah!! To accept His redemption and RETURN to HIS Ways!!

A president, king or congressman cannot change the course that we are set on!!

Daniel 2:20 - 22

"Dani’ĕl responded and said, “Blessed be the Name of Elah forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons. He removes sovereigns and raises up sovereigns. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who possess understanding.
He reveals deep and secret matters. He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him".

Free to Obey

by Jeannie Ladd

I have heard people on several occasions say that its impossible to keep the commandments, because we don't live in a theocracy, therefore we can't keep the Sabbath, etc. and that it's perfectly alright to keep Jewish or Christian synchrenized holidays, because they mention Messiah or YHVH.

I think Daniel would beg to differ.

Those of us in the "free" world do not have imperial leaders forbidding us to keep YHVH's Sabbaths, at least not yet.

What will we do when that is the case, if we can't even keep them when we have freedom?

We have freedom to choose His way and not bend the knee to other mighty ones. What happens when they will 'force' us to bend the knee or die?

We ARE being tested NOW!!

If you think that there is no harm in synchretism, then you aren't reading the same scriptures that I am.

Remember out of the multitude that left Mitsrayim/Egypt, TWO men were able to enter the promised land. TWO!!

Daniel 6:10

"And Dani’ĕl, when he knew that the writing was signed, went home and in his upper room with his windows open toward Yerushalayim he knelt down on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his Elah, as he had done before".

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I found this on a Facebook Post

Today at Good Neighbors I was approached by a woman telling me how offended she was that we ask that she pay $2 in order to come to our farmers market. She was clearly very angry and very aggressive in her comments holding nothing back. She said that she has lived all over the United States and has never before been asked to pay a dime and that we are the only Market in Central Florida that asks for money. I let her know that I did understand where she was coming from and tried to explain that it takes a great deal of effort to put on such a weekly event and that we spend over $2500 a week in payroll in order to do so. I tried to explain that we are not a city funded market and that each and every dollar that comes into the farm goes to run the farm. I tried to explain that when we average 30 vendors during the summer and we charge 25 dollars per vendor, that we only take in 750 dollars a week. I tried to explain that 750 dollars a week doesn't even come close to covering payroll much less anything else on the farm. When I tried to explain that other markets take place on city property with the city paying for maintenance, taxes, insurance, labor, etc, etc, she then, almost violently yelled out, “WELL DO IT SOME WHERE ELSE THEN”, to which I didn't quite understand what she meant and had no response for; when suddenly my Nephew replied in my stead, “well we can do that, where is this free land your talking about”. The women then replied angrily that we “are stealing from people and from farmers by making people pay $2”. To this I politely replied, “Well if we don't have enough money to pay for expenses, how are we to put on a farmers market in the first place”. I asked her, “who is to mow, who is to mulch, who is to feed the animals, who is to trim the trees, repair the fences, fix the tractors, etc, etc, etc,”. I then asked her if she had a job. She replied quite proudly that she did and she has held her job for 28 years as an anesthesiologist. I asked her if she works for free or does she charge for her anesthesiology services; to which she said “YES OF COURSE I CHARGE PEOPLE”. This is the part of the story that takes a turn for the worse and really underlines the problem with peoples perceptions of farmers in today's culture. She said she went to school for her job and “deserves” to get paid for her services; she then said very loudly “IT DOESN'T TAKE AN EDUCATION TO THROW DOWN A BIT OF MULCH AND MOW A LITTLE GRASS, THERE'S NO REASON YOU HAVE TO CHARGE $2”. This is the part that hit home the most. I have often heard fellow farmers and ranchers refer to themselves as “just a dumb farmer”; of which I didn't quite understand what they meant, as I know it takes a great deal of brains, common sense and intelligence to run a successful farming operation of any kind. Today I finally got what they were trying to say. Through experience, they understood that people looked at farmers as being dumb. We as a society, wonder why there are fewer and fewer farmers around. Its because the public in general doesn't value their services enough to care about them. How can someone understand why $2 needs to be collected when they consider the person asking for it to be worthless and ignorant. Would this lady have said, “it doesn't take an education to pick an ear of corn, or to pick a head of lettuce” in the same way she dismissed someones work in mending a fence or shearing a goats hooves? Probably. What the lady failed to understand today is that if it wasn't for a farmer somewhere on planet earth, she wouldn't be alive. The irony of her remarks is that she is putting her life in the hands of someone she considers dumber than herself. Farmers can survive on their knowledge, the question she should be asking herself is can she survive on her knowledge. I sure hope for Americas sake that these type people we call neighbors, are able to rethink their positions on who is valuable and who is not, before it's too late. Nothing in this world is free, that includes your choice of what you eat. If this means something to you, please share it.
Sincerely, Just a dumb farmer.