Gen 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.
Recently, my family and I have been going through a season of change. Often times, when God calls you to go to the next level, it involves change. Change is a constant in this world, yet it brings with it uncertainty and some uneasiness. We often want things to remain the same so that we can keep the status quo.
Yet no matter how we may try, change will come. It is not the change we must fear or embrace, but the One Who orders the seasons and puts the stars in their courses, He is the One we must fear and embrace.
Change comes because of time itself. Change comes because of the plans of our enemy.
Change comes because of decisions we make. Change can even come because of the plans and purposes of God. Yet, whatever the reason for change, it is and will happen, and when it does we must look to God to bring about the change for good.
In the Bible, it tells us of two people who handled change very differently. One was King Saul, the other one David. King Saul always looked at change as an opportunity for his own self-advancement. David, who soon would be king, looked at change and then looked to God for what to do with the change.
We can look at change and deny it, we can look at change and go with it, or we can look at change and ask God what to do with it. In actuality, it is not so much that David asked God what to do with the change, as it was that He looked to God constantly, and when change came he did not focus on it, but rather God.
This should be our attitude. A life of self-surrender looks to God first, and then sees the world and the change in it from that perspective. May we all become better at looking to God no matter what is happening in our lives. Amen.
A friend of ours recently asked me to write out or even record a teaching I have done several times on some Hebrew words, and what they mean. I will endeavor to tackle that here in writing, however, in order to do it justice, one must see the teaching because it involves pictures, and I can only describe the pictures in this medium.
I will define three Hebrew words in this writing: Torah, Shalom, and Yeshua.
In order to fully define these words, let me first state that every ancient Hebrew word is a picture of what it means. Each letter was a pictograph (like a hieroglyphic), and then these were put together to bring meaning and definition to a word.
For instance, starting with Torah: in ancient Hebrew Torah is spelled tav, vav, resh, hey. Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and its ancient form was that of a cross (the same as the small letter t.) Tav is a picture of a sign post, or a covenant. One may ask how could the cross mean a covenant to Moses when he lived over 2000 years before Christ? The Word of God says that they were to take the blood of the passover lamb, and apply it to the doorposts and lentils of their houses with hyssop. When one goes from top to bottom and then side to side with the blood soaked hyssop on the door, he makes the sign of the cross. Therefore, the cross has always been the sign of covenant, and the sign of the passover lamb.
Vav is a nail. Actually, to be more accurate, it is a tent peg. Vav is a word in Hebrew, and it is used for two things within the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. It is used for the hooks to hang the curtains for the tent of meeting, and it is used for the tent pegs used to secure the tent of meeting. When Jesus took the nails in His hands and feet, He secured our salvation and he hung there even as the curtains in the tent. He also gave us a solid foundation to know that we are saved, and not have to guess whether or not we were secure in our salvation.
Resh is a head. A head represents leadership and authority. Paul tells us that because Jesus was submissive to death, and even death upon a cross, that God has given Him a Name above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven above and earth below, and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Hey is a man with his hands outstretched saying "Behold'! And what are we to behold? We are to behold the leader (resh) nailed (vav) to the sign of the covenant (tav)! What then did Torah mean to Moses? It meant that His salvation was not in the keeping of a law, but rather in a redemptive work that would be accomplished over 2000 years later!
The Word of God says that Jesus was the Lamb slain BEFORE [my emphasis] the foundations of the earth. It says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus had already atoned for the sins of Moses, even though His death was not to come for over 2,000 years later!
Through Jesus sacrifice we are given shalom. Shalom has been defined as peace. It has been defined as nothing missing, nothing lacking, nothing broken. I agree with all of these definitions, however, there is more to Shalom when we look at the spelling of the word, just as there was with Torah.
Shalom is spelled shin, lamed, vav, mem. Shin is represented by a tooth. A tooth is used to chew on something, to consume it, or destroy it. When Jesus came, He destroyed the power of sin, sickness, poverty, and the devil.
Lamed is a shepherd's staff and looks much like a capital J. It represents leadership. The staff is almost upside down, because it is being used by the shepherd to retrieve his sheep who have wandered off. Jesus said that the Good Shepherd will leave the 99 sheep and go look for the one who is lost. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, so the sheep never have to worry about predators. We too can trust His hand to hold us, and we can help Him to go out and look for the lost sheep and bring them back into the fold.
I have already defined vav, so let's move on to mem. Mem is the picture of liquid. It means something massive (as in the case of the ocean) or chaotic (as in the case of a rip tide).
So, another definition that could be given to shalom is to consume or destroy (shin) the leader (lamed) of massive chaos (mem). And how was it accomplished? Through the nails (vav)!
The last word I wish to define in this teaching is Yeshua. Yeshua is the Hebrew Name for Jesus. This was the Name He was known by when He walked on the earth. Yeshua comes from a root word meaning salvation. It is spelled yod, shin, vav, ayin.
Yod is a hand or an arm. Isaiah 52:10 says that the Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations. This is actually where the prophecy that we usually start reading in Isaiah 53:1 (which reads "to whom has the Arm of the Lord been revealed") begins. No rabbi worth his weight in salt would tell you that Isaiah 52:10 does not speak of the Messiah. So my question to them is if 52:10 speaks of Messiah, why does 53:1 not?
We have discussed both shin and vav already, so lets move on to ayin.
Ayin is the picture of an eye. It means to see something. In modern Israel, many people refer to Yeshua as Yeshu. They leave off the ayin. They do not see that Yeshua is their salvation! Paul tells us that blindness has come upon the nation of Israel in part until the fullness of the gentiles comes in.
Let us once again put together the letters. For purposes of clarity, because an english sentence structure is not the same as Hebrew sentence structure, we need to rearrange the letters to get the meaning. See (ayin) the hand / arm (yod) that is nailed (vav) destroying / consuming (shin). And what has He come to destroy? The works of the enemy!
I hope that you can see from these few words that Hebrew gives a level of meaning that we cannot get out of English. These principals can all be found in an English bible, no doubt, but Hebrew gives us a new clarity on the way that God thinks and operates.
Blessings upon you and your household.
Larry King
A few words from Deborah:
Greetings and blessings in The Name of our Lord, Creator and Savior, Jesus!
Our move from Florida to Colorado is pretty much complete at this time. It has been something. While we are glad to be back in Colorado, we dearly love and miss our friends back in Florida at The River Church. The River truly is a "fueling station" and is one of a kind. As each person is different, so each church is different. The Lord we serve though is constant, thankfully. He doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. We change, learn and grow. He's always the same. I'm so glad.
When we got back here we noticed change immediately. The longer we're here, the more things we notice have changed. Businesses have come and gone, people have moved or grown or changed, and sadly some have died. We live in a world of constant change. I, at least for one, am very happy that The Master of the universe never changes. He's constant.
Constants don't change are comforting to us, like an old well worn glove or sock. It's like an old friend. It brings comfort in a world of change.
Jesus is that One that doesn't change. He's always there, always constant, always loving, always forgiving, always watching over us, never leaving us, never forsaking us. A friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is strong. He is Strength. He is Love.
Change... As one travels, we always notice the changes in the climates and terrains. Some places are flat. Some are hilly. Some are mountainous. Some places are barren and dry or muggy and hot, while some are comfortable or cold. There are places where there are rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks, springs, or other types of bodies of water. It's all different. When one sits on a deserted beach they can listen to the waves wash in on the shore in a peaceful, comforting way, or come crashing in against rocks or cliffs. One can sit or lie down on a rock and listen to a river or mountain stream gurgling or washing over other rocks or meandering peacefully through the valleys or rocks and listen to the birds call to each other or sing their songs, or watch them float or flap through the air depending on what kind of bird it is. Or one can look at the mountains and see strength and feel renewed and reminded of the strength we find in Jesus. We can look at the various types of animals and flowers or trees or other plants and be reminded of what a Wonderful Creator it is that made all we see.
The Bible says in Psalms that the heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. When you look around at the things of nature we are indeed reminded of these things. It took a Creator with infinite imagination to create all that we see. Yet, even the things we see in nature and the feelings that are evoked from looking at and enjoying creation all change in subtle or dramatic ways. A leaf will fall. A flower will die or a new one will bloom. Storms will blow in or sunshine will glow. A star will fade or a new one be born. Everything is in a constant state of change. But God... He never changes. He's always constant. We can always depend on Him. A friend may die or move away, but, Jesus never changes. He never fails. He's always there.
We go through things in our lives that change us or the things around us. We go through times when we may feel nothing, perhaps feel He's not listening or there. We change. Feelings change and are not dependable. Jesus never fails. He's always there. He is always dependable. His feelings for us never change. He always loves. He always forgives if we ask. We never have to beg Him. All He asks is that we love Him first and foremost and serve Him. He's not a hard taskmaster. He doesn't beat us up physically or mentally or play head games. He doesn't remind us of our past. He forgives and forgets. He seeks us and holds out open arms to us at all times. When we need to be held, He holds us. When we need to laugh, He gives us joy. When we need a smile or to smile, He gives it to us through something we see or hear. He knows all of our needs and He will supply. Why? Because He loves us. He loves us so much that He didn't spare His Own Son but delivered Him up for us all so we can have abundant life, life eternal.
That's not to say we won't have rough or tough times we go through, but, it does mean that we don't have to go it alone or in our own strength. We have a Friend Who is Constant and NEVER changes. He's always there, always loving, always forgiving, always keeping, always providing, etc. ALWAYS! CONSTANT! NEVER CHANGING GOD!!! Thank You Lord!
So, don't go it alone and don't look at all the change. Remember GOD NEVER CHANGES and HE NEVER FAILS!!!
Keep growing and spreading your wings and mount up like eagles!
Remember Isaiah 40:31
With love and prayers - your friend and sister in Christ,
Deb
Recently, my family and I have been going through a season of change. Often times, when God calls you to go to the next level, it involves change. Change is a constant in this world, yet it brings with it uncertainty and some uneasiness. We often want things to remain the same so that we can keep the status quo.
Yet no matter how we may try, change will come. It is not the change we must fear or embrace, but the One Who orders the seasons and puts the stars in their courses, He is the One we must fear and embrace.
Change comes because of time itself. Change comes because of the plans of our enemy.
Change comes because of decisions we make. Change can even come because of the plans and purposes of God. Yet, whatever the reason for change, it is and will happen, and when it does we must look to God to bring about the change for good.
In the Bible, it tells us of two people who handled change very differently. One was King Saul, the other one David. King Saul always looked at change as an opportunity for his own self-advancement. David, who soon would be king, looked at change and then looked to God for what to do with the change.
We can look at change and deny it, we can look at change and go with it, or we can look at change and ask God what to do with it. In actuality, it is not so much that David asked God what to do with the change, as it was that He looked to God constantly, and when change came he did not focus on it, but rather God.
This should be our attitude. A life of self-surrender looks to God first, and then sees the world and the change in it from that perspective. May we all become better at looking to God no matter what is happening in our lives. Amen.
A friend of ours recently asked me to write out or even record a teaching I have done several times on some Hebrew words, and what they mean. I will endeavor to tackle that here in writing, however, in order to do it justice, one must see the teaching because it involves pictures, and I can only describe the pictures in this medium.
I will define three Hebrew words in this writing: Torah, Shalom, and Yeshua.
In order to fully define these words, let me first state that every ancient Hebrew word is a picture of what it means. Each letter was a pictograph (like a hieroglyphic), and then these were put together to bring meaning and definition to a word.
For instance, starting with Torah: in ancient Hebrew Torah is spelled tav, vav, resh, hey. Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and its ancient form was that of a cross (the same as the small letter t.) Tav is a picture of a sign post, or a covenant. One may ask how could the cross mean a covenant to Moses when he lived over 2000 years before Christ? The Word of God says that they were to take the blood of the passover lamb, and apply it to the doorposts and lentils of their houses with hyssop. When one goes from top to bottom and then side to side with the blood soaked hyssop on the door, he makes the sign of the cross. Therefore, the cross has always been the sign of covenant, and the sign of the passover lamb.
Vav is a nail. Actually, to be more accurate, it is a tent peg. Vav is a word in Hebrew, and it is used for two things within the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. It is used for the hooks to hang the curtains for the tent of meeting, and it is used for the tent pegs used to secure the tent of meeting. When Jesus took the nails in His hands and feet, He secured our salvation and he hung there even as the curtains in the tent. He also gave us a solid foundation to know that we are saved, and not have to guess whether or not we were secure in our salvation.
Resh is a head. A head represents leadership and authority. Paul tells us that because Jesus was submissive to death, and even death upon a cross, that God has given Him a Name above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven above and earth below, and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Hey is a man with his hands outstretched saying "Behold'! And what are we to behold? We are to behold the leader (resh) nailed (vav) to the sign of the covenant (tav)! What then did Torah mean to Moses? It meant that His salvation was not in the keeping of a law, but rather in a redemptive work that would be accomplished over 2000 years later!
The Word of God says that Jesus was the Lamb slain BEFORE [my emphasis] the foundations of the earth. It says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus had already atoned for the sins of Moses, even though His death was not to come for over 2,000 years later!
Through Jesus sacrifice we are given shalom. Shalom has been defined as peace. It has been defined as nothing missing, nothing lacking, nothing broken. I agree with all of these definitions, however, there is more to Shalom when we look at the spelling of the word, just as there was with Torah.
Shalom is spelled shin, lamed, vav, mem. Shin is represented by a tooth. A tooth is used to chew on something, to consume it, or destroy it. When Jesus came, He destroyed the power of sin, sickness, poverty, and the devil.
Lamed is a shepherd's staff and looks much like a capital J. It represents leadership. The staff is almost upside down, because it is being used by the shepherd to retrieve his sheep who have wandered off. Jesus said that the Good Shepherd will leave the 99 sheep and go look for the one who is lost. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, so the sheep never have to worry about predators. We too can trust His hand to hold us, and we can help Him to go out and look for the lost sheep and bring them back into the fold.
I have already defined vav, so let's move on to mem. Mem is the picture of liquid. It means something massive (as in the case of the ocean) or chaotic (as in the case of a rip tide).
So, another definition that could be given to shalom is to consume or destroy (shin) the leader (lamed) of massive chaos (mem). And how was it accomplished? Through the nails (vav)!
The last word I wish to define in this teaching is Yeshua. Yeshua is the Hebrew Name for Jesus. This was the Name He was known by when He walked on the earth. Yeshua comes from a root word meaning salvation. It is spelled yod, shin, vav, ayin.
Yod is a hand or an arm. Isaiah 52:10 says that the Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations. This is actually where the prophecy that we usually start reading in Isaiah 53:1 (which reads "to whom has the Arm of the Lord been revealed") begins. No rabbi worth his weight in salt would tell you that Isaiah 52:10 does not speak of the Messiah. So my question to them is if 52:10 speaks of Messiah, why does 53:1 not?
We have discussed both shin and vav already, so lets move on to ayin.
Ayin is the picture of an eye. It means to see something. In modern Israel, many people refer to Yeshua as Yeshu. They leave off the ayin. They do not see that Yeshua is their salvation! Paul tells us that blindness has come upon the nation of Israel in part until the fullness of the gentiles comes in.
Let us once again put together the letters. For purposes of clarity, because an english sentence structure is not the same as Hebrew sentence structure, we need to rearrange the letters to get the meaning. See (ayin) the hand / arm (yod) that is nailed (vav) destroying / consuming (shin). And what has He come to destroy? The works of the enemy!
I hope that you can see from these few words that Hebrew gives a level of meaning that we cannot get out of English. These principals can all be found in an English bible, no doubt, but Hebrew gives us a new clarity on the way that God thinks and operates.
Blessings upon you and your household.
Larry King
A few words from Deborah:
Greetings and blessings in The Name of our Lord, Creator and Savior, Jesus!
Our move from Florida to Colorado is pretty much complete at this time. It has been something. While we are glad to be back in Colorado, we dearly love and miss our friends back in Florida at The River Church. The River truly is a "fueling station" and is one of a kind. As each person is different, so each church is different. The Lord we serve though is constant, thankfully. He doesn't change. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. We change, learn and grow. He's always the same. I'm so glad.
When we got back here we noticed change immediately. The longer we're here, the more things we notice have changed. Businesses have come and gone, people have moved or grown or changed, and sadly some have died. We live in a world of constant change. I, at least for one, am very happy that The Master of the universe never changes. He's constant.
Constants don't change are comforting to us, like an old well worn glove or sock. It's like an old friend. It brings comfort in a world of change.
Jesus is that One that doesn't change. He's always there, always constant, always loving, always forgiving, always watching over us, never leaving us, never forsaking us. A friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is strong. He is Strength. He is Love.
Change... As one travels, we always notice the changes in the climates and terrains. Some places are flat. Some are hilly. Some are mountainous. Some places are barren and dry or muggy and hot, while some are comfortable or cold. There are places where there are rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks, springs, or other types of bodies of water. It's all different. When one sits on a deserted beach they can listen to the waves wash in on the shore in a peaceful, comforting way, or come crashing in against rocks or cliffs. One can sit or lie down on a rock and listen to a river or mountain stream gurgling or washing over other rocks or meandering peacefully through the valleys or rocks and listen to the birds call to each other or sing their songs, or watch them float or flap through the air depending on what kind of bird it is. Or one can look at the mountains and see strength and feel renewed and reminded of the strength we find in Jesus. We can look at the various types of animals and flowers or trees or other plants and be reminded of what a Wonderful Creator it is that made all we see.
The Bible says in Psalms that the heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. When you look around at the things of nature we are indeed reminded of these things. It took a Creator with infinite imagination to create all that we see. Yet, even the things we see in nature and the feelings that are evoked from looking at and enjoying creation all change in subtle or dramatic ways. A leaf will fall. A flower will die or a new one will bloom. Storms will blow in or sunshine will glow. A star will fade or a new one be born. Everything is in a constant state of change. But God... He never changes. He's always constant. We can always depend on Him. A friend may die or move away, but, Jesus never changes. He never fails. He's always there.
We go through things in our lives that change us or the things around us. We go through times when we may feel nothing, perhaps feel He's not listening or there. We change. Feelings change and are not dependable. Jesus never fails. He's always there. He is always dependable. His feelings for us never change. He always loves. He always forgives if we ask. We never have to beg Him. All He asks is that we love Him first and foremost and serve Him. He's not a hard taskmaster. He doesn't beat us up physically or mentally or play head games. He doesn't remind us of our past. He forgives and forgets. He seeks us and holds out open arms to us at all times. When we need to be held, He holds us. When we need to laugh, He gives us joy. When we need a smile or to smile, He gives it to us through something we see or hear. He knows all of our needs and He will supply. Why? Because He loves us. He loves us so much that He didn't spare His Own Son but delivered Him up for us all so we can have abundant life, life eternal.
That's not to say we won't have rough or tough times we go through, but, it does mean that we don't have to go it alone or in our own strength. We have a Friend Who is Constant and NEVER changes. He's always there, always loving, always forgiving, always keeping, always providing, etc. ALWAYS! CONSTANT! NEVER CHANGING GOD!!! Thank You Lord!
So, don't go it alone and don't look at all the change. Remember GOD NEVER CHANGES and HE NEVER FAILS!!!
Keep growing and spreading your wings and mount up like eagles!
Remember Isaiah 40:31
With love and prayers - your friend and sister in Christ,
Deb
Tzelem Ministries
"Created in the image of Him"
"Created in the image of Him"