Which God Do You Serve?

              That was the question for me!

My story continued...PART ONE.
(published a bit too hastily...edited once (okay, now twice) for some information inadvertently left out the first time)

Which of the above shows true obedience to YHVH?

Because of some recent comments made by several different people, I have decided that now is a good time to tell a little bit more of my story…how I came to the place I am today in obeying and living God’s Word literally and forsaking teachings and traditions that I perceive to go against God’s Word.

 

Today’s blog post is a continuation of the story of my personal journey with YHVH…my desire to live by His Word alone and seek to understand and know Him through His Word, the written and the Living (Yahshua)…to seek His Truth alone in the midst of many theologies, opinions, ideas, theories, teachings, doctrines, etc.

I was a Christian from a young age - not just in name, but with a sincere conscious decision to follow Jesus.

I grew up attending a local church every week, 2 or 3 times each week.

I always wanted to know, love, and serve the God of the Bible through His Son Jesus.

I kept every requirement and defended every precept, every doctrine, every….    every…… every….   
tradition.   
What??  This could lead to trouble!  
Let's continue...

This went on for quite some time.

In my 20’s I jumped whole-heartedly into everything my church was doing…every ministry, every activity, every service, every "Christian" fad and trend.  I really wanted to learn more about living a godly life in Jesus, and I was taught that my church was the way to do that.

 I was into my mid 20’s when I began to question the things I was hearing and learning and defending.  The questioning began when I realized there were many discrepancies in the teachings of different individuals and different groups and denominations, as well as discrepancies between what was being taught and what I was reading in the Bible.  But I questioned only silently and inwardly and continued to be the obedient sheep well into my 30’s.   (Obedient to whom??)

In my late 30’s I began to question even more, and I began to speak out some of my questions.

Then, at about age 40, I had a huge life-changing realization (about 6 years ago).  It took some time to develop and form, but once the realization hit, I had a choice to make – what would I do with the truth?

And the trigger point of that realization was this question:  which god do I really serve?

More about how that realization came about after this brief pause for a quick quiz.

If you, like I did, claim to know and serve the God of the Bible, then you should have no trouble with the correct answers to this simple quiz.

Let’s get a little bit more specific, just to be sure we are all on the same page.

We are talking about the Elohim of the Bible; the I AM; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Creator of the Universe; the Alef and Tav (First and Last); the only One Living God whose name is YHVH.

We are talking about His Word, the Bible – the Torah, Prophets, Writings (otherwise known as the Tanakh, or “Old Testament”), and the writings of the B’rit Hadashah (the Second Writings, or “New Testament”).

Are we all together in agreement now?

Okay, let’s proceed.

First, here is a sample question:  What is the name of the Creator of the Universe, the only True Living God, as revealed to mankind in His Word?

a. God     b.  Lord       c.  HaShem      d.  Adonai                         e. Elohim      f.  YHVH       g. Gott     h. Yah    i.  Higher Power    j. Dios   k. Abba    l. Father     m. "a" and "b"               n. "f" and "h"   o. "k"and "l"   p. none of the above

The correct answer is N (YHVH and Yah).  

The rest of the choices are titles or descriptive words.  If I asked the same question about myself and gave the following choices, which is the obvious answer?   a. woman   b. daughter   c. Gina  d. sister   e. human being   f. Miss   g. Fraulein .

Of course, I am Gina!  That is my name!  That name, although I share it with others, is MY name, and I hear it and answer to it.  

As our Creator has revealed to us many times in His Word (almost 7,000!), His name is יהוה, which is spelled with the Hebrew letters “Yud” “Hey” “Vav” “Hey” or YHVH.  The shortened form of that is “Yah” (the first two letters of the name YHVH).

Note that the name of YHVH has been replaced in most versions of the Bible (Jewish and Christian) with titles such Lord, HaShem (The Name), God, Adonai, etc.  But YHVH never said to hide His name!  In fact, He has a command, one of the 10 most well-known, that we should NOT bring His Name to naught! (Exodus 20:7)    Isn’t this a good time to ask yourself why His Name has been removed from His Word?!  (It is one of the many questions I have had….but now I’m getting ahead of myself.)


Take a look at Exodus 3:15 and 15:2-3:
 And Elohim said further to Moses, “Thus you are to say to the children of Israel, ‘יהוה [YHVH] Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.’ 

 “Yah is my strength and song, and He has become my deliverance. He is my El [God], and I praise Him – Elohim of my father, and I exalt Him.   יהוה is a man of battle, יהוה is His Name.
 
Psalm 83:18
 And let them know that You, Whose Name is יהוה, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.


Psalm 102:18-22
This is written for a generation to come, so that a people to be created praise Yah.  For He looked down from the height of His set-apart place; from heaven יהוה viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to release those appointed to death, to declare the Name of יהוה in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem, when peoples gather together, and reigns, to serve יהוה.

Finally...the QUIZ! 

 1.  Which one of these is commanded by YHVH to be worn by those who profess to follow Him?
 a.  fringes with a blue thread         
 b. a cross necklace                 
 c.  WWJD t-shirt with matching bracelet        d.  a Star of David             
e. animal skin clothing        
f. an ankh          g.  none of the above

2.  Which one of these items was specifically designed by God and given to man to make?

a.  the Ichthus (fish symbol )       b.  the Cross         c.  the Christmas tree         d.  the Menorah        e.  Rosary beads       f. the Star of David       g. none of the above

3.  Which one of these days is commanded by YHVH to be observed and celebrated?

a.  December 25^th      b.  the 14^thday of the 1^st month         c.  Easter Sunday       d.  the summer solstice     e. Ascension Day      f. none of the above

4.  Which day of the week was set apart by YHVH as the day of rest for those who choose to obey Him?

a.  the 1^st day   b. the 2^nd day  c. the 3^rd day   d. the 4^th day   e. the 5^th day   f.  the 6^th day   g. the 7^th day     h.  any day of the week       i. none of the above

5.  Which of the following does YHVH allow as food for mankind?

a.  lobster tail    b. curried chicken   c.  kangaroo steak    d. fried catfish   e.  blood pudding   f. BLT sandwich    g.  oysters on the half-shell     h. lamb boiled in the milk of its mother     i.  "b" and "h"     j.  none of the above

6.  What did Yahshua (Jesus) say was the “test” or “sign” of those who profess to love Him?

a.  fall down “in the spirit” at least twice per month   b.  keep His commandments   c. do not question church leadership about doctrinal matters   d.  give at least 10 percent of your money to your church    e. pray in His name      f.  sing hymns and spiritual songs       g.  "e" and "f"      h. "d", "e", and "f"     i.  none of the above

7.  Which of these well-worn and abundantly-used words and phrases is in YHVH’s Word (the Bible)?

a. “in alignment”     b.  Christmas      c. “apostolic anointing”              d. “press in”     e.  “slain in the spirit”

f.  “ask Jesus into your heart”    g.  “surrender to the ministry”        h.  “operating in the prophetic”  i.  Easter      j.  “reclaim the seven mountains”      k. “spiritual covering”        l. none of the above

8.  According to the Word of YHVH, how many times were His commandments written or carved on stone (not including the metaphoric writing of His law on our stony hearts)?

a.  0       b. 1      c.  2         d. 3       e.  4      f. 5        g. 6                  h. too many times to count           i. none of the above

9.  How many of each animal was Noah instructed to take into the ark with him?

a. 1 pair of each unclean animal + 7 pairs of each clean animal           b. 1 pair of each animal     c.  1 pair of each of his favorite animals     d.  any number of animals, as long as they each had a mate            e. none of the above

10.  According to His Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which of these is allowed by YHVH?

a.  tattoos on a person’s body      b. prophets who perform signs and wonders, even if in apostasy   c. drinking wine      d.  wearing garments made of cloth mixed with linen and wool   e.  eating animal fat      f.  putting up a Christmas tree       g. "d", "e", and "f"                h.  none of the above

11.  Yahshua (Jesus) was walking in the Temple during winter when he said these words to some fellow Jews who gathered around Him asking Him if He was the Messiah,  “I have told you, and you do not believe…because  you are not of of My sheep…My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

What was the event/occasion that brought everyone to the Temple at this time?

a.  a Bar Mitzvah    b.  a Christmas Pageant    c. Hanukkah/Feast of Dedication    d. a baby dedication   e. a Super Bowl watch party and pot-luck dinner    f. none of the above

12.  The Book of James (and the author of the book) is misnamed.  What should the correct English translation of his Hebrew name be?  (Hint:  look at many language translations other than English, especially the Hebrew and Greek, and it will be written correctly.)

a. John   b. Jonah   c. Joshua   d. Judah   e. Jimmy   f. Jeremy        g. Joel   h. Jacob   i. George   j. none of the above

13.  To whom did YHVH give permission to change the Sabbath from Shabbat (Saturday) to Day One (Sunday)?

a. the Catholic church   b.  the Protestant church   c. the early church   d. Mary Magdalene   e.  Simon Peter    f.  Constantine         g. Prince Charles    h. "c" and "e"       i.  none of the above

14.  What event/occasion was happening at the time that Yahshua (Jesus) died and rose from the dead?

a. celebration of Easter      b.  an egg hunt    c.  celebration of a fertility goddess    d. observation of the Feasts of Pesach and Unleavened Bread     e.  celebration of the vernal equinox                         f. special sales event at IKEA   g. none of the above

15.  Which of YHVH's appointed times is about to occur during the biblical seventh month?

a. Shavuot     b.  Purim        c.  Hanukkah and HaBikkurim              d.  Rosh HaShanah and Sukkot     e.  Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot    f.  Day of Atonement and Purim      g.  Lent    h.  none of the above    i.  all of the above


16.  If you grew up around the same time period as I did, you are probably familiar with the song made popular by Amy Grant, part of Psalm 119 put to music:  “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

This is from the section of Psalm 119 of the Hebrew letter “nun”.    Each of the eight verses of this section of Psalm 119 begins with the letter nun (in Hebrew).

Do you know what the some of the verses in the sections before (letter mem) and after (letter samech) say?   (Hint:  it is the overall theme of Psalm 119.)

a.   “Light of the world, You stepped out into darkness…opened my eyes, let me see beauty that made this heart adore You…hope of a life spent with You”

b.  “give me oil in my lamp, keep it burning until the break of day…sing Hosanna to the King of Kings”

c.   “Oh, how I love Your Torah, it is my meditation all the day….I have inclined my heart to do Your laws forever”

d.  “Your love is amazing, steady and unchanging…Your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet…halleluyah ,halleluyah, Your love makes me sing”

e.  “Lord, I give all that I am to You that every day I can be a light that shines Your name”

f.  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims deliverance…break forth into joy, sing together”

g.   "a" and "e"
h.  none of the above

17.  While Yahshua was on His way to Jerusalem, someone asked Him the question, “Master, are there few who are being saved?”  And Yahshua replied, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, because many shall seek to enter and shall not be able….When the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He shall answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from.’   Then you shall begin to say, ‘we ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’   But He shall say, ‘I say to you, I do not know you where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’”  (This passage is from Luke 13.)

Another similar passage in Matthew 7 states it this way:   “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he who is doing the desire of My Father in heaven.  Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’  And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work iniquity.’” 

About whom  was Yahshua  speaking?

a.  the Pharisees and Sadducees    b.  all the Jews     c. those who don’t speak in tongues          d. those who say they believe in Him but do not obey Him        e. those who belong to the wrong church         f.  His 12 disciples    g.  none of the above

This last question is where I want to leave this quiz and delve deeper into this very important answer.

(For the answers to the other questions, see the answer key at the end of this blog post.)

When Yahshua said that He will tell those He did not know to “depart…you who work iniquity”, the word that He used that is here translated iniquity was the word anomia in the Greek.  Anomia means lawlessness (as in “without the law” or “not keeping the law” or “void of the law”, etc). 

So the better translation is “Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness.”

During my late 30’s and early 40’s, when I really began to search what I had been taught as “truth” in Christianity and what YHVH’s Word actually says, this is one of the many questions that really hit me hard.

I had to ask myself….”is God talking to me when He says ‘depart from Me, you lawless one’?” 

He seems to be speaking to those who say and really believe that they are following Him and know Him, but somehow they missed what it takes to actually know Him, or more importantly, to be known by Him.

How do I know I am one that He knows?

It was “the workers of lawlessness” part that really struck me.

And, at those times when I was willing to be honest with myself and take a hard look at all those beliefs and traditions I clung to so tightly, I had to realize that I had been living a life that was NOT according to God’s Word, but instead was according to man’s teachings and the church’s traditions.

This was a hard realization!!!   I was devastated.  All I wanted was to know and love and serve God.  How could I have not seen or heard God’s Word for what it plainly says???

Of course, I realized that it was because my vision had been clouded by the teachings and traditions of mankind and of religion.  Yes, religion.  I know Christianity is “not a religion – it’s a relationship”, but if we take an honest look at what Christianity teaches and compare it with YHVH’s Word, we must be willing to say that one is not in line with the other in too many ways.  
This is what I did…I took an honest look.  I put aside (as much as I could at the time) the beliefs I had been clinging to and asked YHVH to show me His Word and the areas that I had been disobeying His Word.

And because I really do love YHVH with all my heart and all my being, and because I really do want to know Him and follow Him and obey Him on HIS TERMS, I decided that the only path from this point was to change my lifestyle and my habits and my traditions and my beliefs and my HEART to obey what HE SAYS to do and not do. 

For me it was that simple.   
I want to follow YHVH.  I must obey Him as He commands in His Word.

It was the outward part that was not so simple!

First, I stopped celebrating Christmas and Easter. 

(That was more of a relief than a difficulty!  However, when friends and family did not understand, it quickly became a difficulty!  I would soon discover this to be true of all the changes about to happen in my life!)

Then  I began to keep the Sabbath on the 7^th day and do what the Sabbath is for – REST in YHVH according to His Word!

Then I began to read about and try to keep God’s appointed times such as Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, etc.  This took much more time to change because as I researched and read about these Feasts, I was inundated with information from Rabbinic Judaism about how to keep these Moedim  (the Hebrew word for God’s Set-Apart times).   
I soon realized that I would get as stuck in Judaism’s ungodly traditions as I was stuck in Christianity’s ungodly traditions.  So it took some time for me to weed out man’s traditions and learn to follow only YHVH’s Word when observing and keeping these Moedim.

And I must tell you that keeping these Moedim according to YHVH’s Word has been SOOOO fulfilling and so enlightening and so enriching in my understanding of Yahshua and my relationship with Him!  You can probably tell that from the other blog posts I’ve written.

Then I began to eat only that which YHVH says we can eat.  This was probably the most difficult part (it seems the appetite is always a battle!).    Putting away traditions long held in my “church family” such as Christmas pageants and Christmas carols and Christmas decorations and Easter pageants and Easter services etc, etc…for me these things were not hard at all to put aside.  I had been weighed down inwardly by these things for years.

The harder things to put aside were the inward things that I still clung to, such as beliefs and doctrines….and then there was the inward thing of food.  As we all know, there is something addictive about food!  

But every time I had a difficult time in deciding whether to follow and OBEY YHVH or to do my own thing and go back to the way of man, I would only have to remind myself that YHVH calls for obedience as a sign of my unadulterated, unwavering, completely committed and faithful love for Him.

And that is what I have wanted all my life…to love YHVH completely!   

So at those difficult decision times, I am reminded of my commitment to Him, and the decision is no longer difficult.

I will continue this discussion and my story in part two:   "Why Do You Call Me 'Lord, Lord'?".

Don't forget to check the answers to the quiz!  More importantly, don't neglect to check YHVH's Word on these questions!!

Quiz Answer Key:

1. A  (fringes with blue thread – Tzitziyot).  See Numbers 15:38-41; Deuteronomy 22:12; also Malachi 4:2 and Matthew 9:20-22.

2. D  (Menorah).  See Exodus 25:31-40; 37:19-24; Numbers 8:1-4; also see Zechariah 4 and Revelation 1 and 2, 11:1-4.

3. B (14^th day of 1^st month – Pesach/Passover).  See Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:1-5; Numbers 9:1-5,14; Deuteronomy 16:1-8; see also Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.

4. G  (7^th day – Shabbat/Sabbath).  See my blog post about this very important Set-Apart time of YHVH.

5. B (curried chicken).  See Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 12:23-25; 14:1-21; see also Acts 10.

6. B  (keep His commandments).  See John 14:15-21; 15:9-10; 1 John 5:2-3; 2 John v6

7. L  (none of the above)  You might think I made a mistake by not answering “I – Easter”.  It is true that “Easter” is actually mentioned in the King James in Acts 12:4.  However, if you look at the Greek word here, pascha (Strongs number G3957), which is the Hebrew pesach or Passover, then you realize that the word in this verse is mistranslated as “Easter”.  In fact, the word pascha (G3957) appears 29 times in the New Testament.  Every time, in the King James, it is translated as “Passover”, except in Acts 12:4 where it is written as “Easter”.  Since Easter/Oestre is a pagan festival to the goddess Ishtar/Astarte/Ostara, I sincerely doubt that the translators of the King James Bible got this one right! 

8. D (3).  Two times Moses came down the mountain with the “Ten Words (Commandments)” carved into stone tablets.  The first time, the tablets were carved by YHVH.  The second time (after Moses destroyed the first tablets in a fit of anger) the stones were hewn by Moses and written upon by YHVH.  The third time YHVH’s Torah was written on stones by  Joshua after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan into the land of Israel.  See Deuteronomy 27:1-10; Joshua 8:30-35. See also Exodus 31;18; 34:1-28

9. A (1 pair unclean, 7 pairs clean).  See Genesis 7:1-5; 8:18-22.

10. C (drinking wine).  See Leviticus 19:28; Revelation 13:17, 14:1; see Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 18:18-22; see Deuteronomy 22:11; see Leviticus 3, esp v. 16-17; 7:22-25; obviously there is no place in the Torah that speaks about Christmas trees by name...however, it is interesting to look at YHVH's warning in Jeremiah 10 about decorated trees.
There are many verses in the Torah about drinking wine (in a positive light)...obviously, according to Scripture, being drunk is not of YHVH, and those who take the Nazarite vow must avoid anything to do with grapes.

11. C (Hanukkah/Feast of Dedication).  See John 10:22-31.

12. H  (Jacob/Ya'akov)  See James/Jacob 1:1  "Yaʽakov, a servant of Elohim and of the Master יהושע Messiah, to the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion: Greetings." (The Scriptures version); see also the Strongs reference to the corresponding Strongs number listed for the name of James: G2385 Iakobos/Jacobus.

13. H (none of the above).  All of the above, except Simon Peter, Mary Magdalene, and the early church, had or have obviously thought they had permission to change the Sabbath to Sunday.  Put the question "who changed the Sabbath to Sunday" in your internet search browser and see what you come up with.  (One interesting list is found at  http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html   Please note I am not endorsing the website, just the list on this page.)  There are no scriptures saying God allowed His Word, His Sabbath, to be changed to a day other than the one He commanded!

14. D (Pesach/Feast of Unleavened Bread)

15.  E (Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot).  See other blog posts for more information on keeping these 3 important moedim of YHVH as well as when YHVH's commanded "Head of the Year" (New Year) is.

16. C (Oh how I love Your Torah…”).  See Psalm 119:97-120.

17.  See the blog discussion above!

Hopefully, you will have more questions after reading through YHVH's Word regarding some of Christianity's traditions and teachings.  
This list of questions, and especially the answers, includes many that helped bring me to the realization that I was following and serving a god other than YHVH, the Author of life and Author of His Word.  Traditions can be harmless and even helpful....but NOT when they go against YHVH's Word, NOT when they end up in outright disobedience, NOT when they lead to pagan worship!  This is the realization that led me to a critical point of decision:  which god will I serve?  
I choose YHVH!!


There are so many scriptures I could add to this discussion, but I will save many of them for Part 2.
Let me end Part 1 with these two scriptures:


Deuteronomy 30:11
For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you nor is it far off.

Malachi 3:6-7
“For I am יהוה, I shall not change, and you, O sons of Jacob, shall not come to an end.  From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My laws and did not guard them. Turn back to Me, and I shall turn back to you," said יהוה of hosts.....

And there is so much more to hear from Yahshua's own words!  
So....tune in to Part 2 (coming soon).

Simply obeying YHVH's Word, just as my Messiah Yahshua commands!

Gina