The Iron Dome - YHVH our Shield!

This past summer (2014) I had the great opportunity to be in Israel for almost one month as a volunteer with Sar-El!

Operation Protective Edge started just after I arrived, and although I was based most of the time near the Sea of Galilee where there was no ongoing rocket threat, I did spend three weekends in Tel Aviv where there was a very real rocket threat.

YHVH's faithful Living Word is Israel's protective Dome!
Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem (Dead Sea Scrolls).
The roof is designed to look like the tops of the clay jars 
in which the scrolls were kept for preservation.
(I took the photo during my January 2014 trip.)

During my last two weekends in Tel Aviv, I experienced red alert sirens warning us to take cover because of incoming rockets from G a z a.

And during those two weekends, I experienced first-hand the dependability and accuracy of the Iron Dome, as well as the IDF (not just Israel's military, but more importantly Israel's Divine Father!).

When I returned home, the question I heard more than any other question was:
      "weren't you afraid?"
    or
     "aren't you glad to be back in America where it's safe?"
    or
     "why would you want to go to such a dangerous place?"
    or some similar line of questioning.

At first these questions caught me by surprise.  I never really thought that I should feel particularly unsafe or that Israel might be a more dangerous place than any other place I've ever lived or visited.   After all, I've been there enough times to know my way around and to know to expect the unexpected.  My answer was generally "no, I felt quite safe.  Perhaps I should have been afraid but am too naive to know any better."

As I began to think about the questions and my typical answer, I wondered if I really was afraid of what could happen to me during my time in Israel but somehow I was just in denial or hiding the truth from myself.  After much contemplation (and continued questioning from various people), the answer truthfully is this:
I felt safe and always do feel safe when I am in Israel.  Yes, there are rockets (currently almost on a daily if not a monthly basis).  Yes, there are terrorist attacks and suicide bombers.  Yes, there are instances of violence and crime.  Yes, I am a single woman walking around in a Middle Eastern country.
Yes, all of these things are true.

On a quick rabbit-trail/side note - really, where are these things NOT true?  I lived in Australia for six years and recently I read the news report that an i s i s plot was discovered and thwarted in Sydney.  I currently live a few blocks away from the large downtown area in Oklahoma City that was devastated by terro rism in the federal building bombing years ago.  Two years ago, Oklahoma City was named in a study as being among the top 5 US cities for gang-related violence.  And I'm sure everyone has seen the recent news report of the "workplace violence" decapitation murder that happened in metro OKC/Moore.  It is a violent world everywhere, and according to the Word of Yah it will only get worse before the imminent return of our KING to reign over His Kingdom.  Point made ... now I'll move on. 

During this particular trip, I knew that I would possibly be in harm's way at times in the form of incoming rockets.  Indeed, we could hear them booming unceasingly in the distance at times and seemingly quite close at other times.
During my time there and also later when I was asked by so many people how I felt about the incoming rockets and my own safety, I realized that I was putting much trust in the Iron Dome's ability to shoot down the rockets before they could hit populated areas.
And that is exactly what was happening.

I don't want to make light of the seriousness of the whole situation.  People were killed...many thousands were traumatized, and are still, by the constant barrage of rockets and sirens....many were injured when rockets hit "open" areas or by falling shrapnel after an Iron Dome missile did it's job and shot a rocket out of the sky (this is a very real reason for going to a safe room or going inside when one is outside and a warning siren blows!).

Smoke cloud from Iron Dome rocket interception outside
Tel Aviv.  I was walking on a Tel Aviv beach at the time.
It might not seem impressive in the photo (see top/center -
small smoke cloud from a distant Iron Dome interception),
but when it stops incoming rockets, it's impressive!

Much unthinkable damage and death that could have been caused by the thousands of rockets fired from G a z a  at Israel was diverted by the Iron Dome.
The IDF's tally is that in the 50 days of the war, armed groups in G a z a  fired over 4,500 projectiles at Israel, and of those fired over 3,600 rocket and mortar impact sites were found in Israel.
Most of the rockets fired at highly populated areas such as Sderot, Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Beersheva, Jerusalem, etc were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.

The Iron Dome just does not miss!

Well, it does on rare occasion, and when it misses, the God of Israel seems to take over!

Have you read the news story about the statement reportedly made by one  H a m a s  leader  saying that they aim their rockets at Israel but Israel's God moves the rockets so that very little harm is done.  Another story quotes an IDF Iron Dome operator whose Iron Dome battery failed three times to intercept a rocket coming toward Tel Aviv.  At the last second a hugely strong wind (read supernatural) blew the rocket miles away into the sea!     (see both accounts here  at Israel Today.)

This is a great example of the biblical truth, always true at all times and still true today, of YHVH's faithfulness to His land and His people - Israel, and more importantly His faithfulness to His Word!

During my last weekend in Tel Aviv, one of the Jewish men at the hostel where I was staying told me that the Hebrew word for dome in Iron Dome is actually the word kippah (the small cap many Jewish men wear).

When he told me that, I had an instant mental picture of a colorful knit kippah dome covering all of Israel.  It made me smile. Even more, I had an instant sense of real physical and spiritual protection that can only come from the God of Israel.

That mental picture turned to a much more vivid picture after another red alert siren and another intercepted rocket.  The picture that came to me was more than just a knit kippah covering the land - it was the Hand of YHVH covering all of Israel and protecting it from the incoming rockets... the same Hand that pushed that one rocket into the sea.

The artwork from Intercessors for Israel's 2015
International Prayer Conference Jerusalem brochure.
Find it at the website: 
http://www.ifi.org.il/events/conference/ipcj-2015/

A few months after my return home, I received my yearly invitation to attend the annual Intercessors for Israel prayer gathering in Jerusalem in January 2015.
When I looked at the artwork on the front of the brochure and the matching theme scripture, I was stunned to see a perfect depiction of what I had experienced - the Hand of YHVH covering His Land in protection, using the Iron Dome to accomplish it in many instances.
The scripture for the IFI gathering for January 2015 was Psalm 3:3 (or 3:4, depending on the version):

You, YHVH, are a Shield for me, my Glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

Here is the same verse in context:

YHVH, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah. But You, O YHVH, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to YHVH with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for YHVH sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Psalm 3:1-6

I want to focus on one Hebrew word from Psalm 3:3 - the word for shield, which in Hebrew is magen (mah-GEN, with a hard g sound) or .מָגֵן

The word magen (Strong's number H4043) used in Psalm 3:3 is also used in many other places in Scripture.
I think it is worthwhile to take a look at some of them to give us a bigger picture of how YHVH truly is the Shield over His people Israel!

Genesis 15:1 - I am your Shield - Anochi Magen
After these events the word of יהוה came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your Shield, your reward is exceedingly great.”

Deuteronomy 33:26-29 - The Shield of your help - Magen ezrecha

“O Yeshurun, there is no one like El, riding the heavens to help you, and on the clouds, in His excellency.  The Elohim of old is a refuge, and beneath are everlasting arms. And He drives out the enemy from before you and says, ‘Destroy!’  
Thus Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of grain and new wine. His heavens also drop down dew. 
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by יהוה, the Shield of your help, and He who is the sword of your excellency! And your enemies are subdued for you, and you tread down their high places.”

Psalm 18:1-3, 30-35  - My Shield - Magini

I love You, O יהוה, My strength.  יהוה is my rock and my stronghold and my deliverer; My El is my rock, I take refuge in Him; My Shield and the horn of my deliverance, my high tower. 
I call upon יהוה, the One to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies....
The El – His way is perfect; The Word of יהוה is proven; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.  For who is Eloah, besides יהוה? And who is a rock, except our Elohim? 
It is El who girds me with strength, And makes my way perfect, making my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places, teaching my hands for battle, so that my arms shall bend a bow of bronze. 
And You give me the shield of Your deliverance; and Your right hand supports me, and Your lowliness makes me great.


Psalm 28:7-9 - YHVH is my strength and my shield - YHVH uzi u Magini

יהוה is my strength, and my shield; My heart has trusted in Him, and I have been helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I thank Him. 
יהוה is the strength of His people, And He is the stronghold of deliverance of His anointed. 
Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; And be their Shepherd, and bear them up forever.

Psalm 33:10-12, 20-22 - Our help and our shield - Ezrenu u Magenu

יהוה brings the counsel of the nations to naught; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. 
The counsel of יהוה stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is יהוה, The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance....
Our being has longed for יהוה; Our help and our shield is He. For our heart does rejoice in Him, For we have put our trust in His set-apart Name. Let Your kindness, O יהוה, be upon us, Even as we wait for You.

Psalm 84:9-12 - YHVH Elohim is a sun and a shield - Shemesh u Magen YHVH Elohim

O Elohim, see our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. 
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand days. I have chosen rather to be a doorkeeper in the House of my Elohim, than to dwell in the tents of the wrong. 
For יהוה Elohim is a sun and a shield; יהוה gives favour and esteem; He withholds no good matter from those who walk blamelessly. 
O יהוה of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psalm 89:18
For יהוה is our shield, And the Holy One of Israel is our King. 

Psalm 115:9-11

O Israel, trust in יהוה; He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in יהוה; He is their help and their shield.
You who fear יהוה, trust in יהוה; He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 144:1-2
Blessed be יהוה my Rock, Who is teaching my hands for fighting, My fingers for battle; 
My kindness and my stronghold, My tower and my deliverer, My shield, and in whom I take refuge, Who is subduing peoples under me.

Proverbs 2:6-8
For יהוה gives wisdom; Out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 
And He treasures up stability for the straight, A shield to those walking blamelessly, 
To watch over the paths of right-ruling, And the way of His kind ones He guards.

Proverbs 30:4-6
Who has gone up to the heavens and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, And what is His Son’s Name, If you know it? 
Every Word of Eloah is tried; He is a shield to those taking refuge in Him. 
Do not add to His Words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.


I'm sure a couple of questions come up in many people's minds after reading these scriptures...

"How can God protect a nation that is not redeemed and for the most part not living according to His Word?  
How can anyone believe that God would protect modern Israel when most of the people living in modern Israel currently reject His Messiah Yahshua?"

The reason I am sure that these questions come up is because I have heard them asked many times.

Let me just say that we must trust in the "I will"s - we must trust in His Word, which says time and again that YHVH will not forsake His covenant with His people Israel or their land - His inheritance.  He will take His people Israel from all the nations where He has scattered them and bring them back into their own land.  He will be faithful to bring His own people to salvation, and He will protect them as their Shield, He will replace their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh.  They will be His people and He will be their God!

This is being played out physically in the modern nation of Israel every day.  It is also being played out spiritually in ways that we might not see so well right now, but all will be made very clear!
His Word has come to pass, is coming to pass, and will completely come to pass!

Another side note: If you are one who asked the above questions, perhaps it is not the Word of God that needs to be questioned.  Perhaps instead it is your understanding of the the Truth of the Word of God, the message of the Word of God, that needs to change.  Perhaps you are like I was not long ago...perhaps YHVH is putting His people and land of inheritance - Israel - directly in your path to get your attention and to confront you with His Truth, His Messiah, His Salvation as revealed in His Word (rather than what is "revealed" through the interpretations of man and religion).

If reading scriptures regarding God's love and faithfulness to Israel is confronting to you, look deeper for the reason.  Ask Him to show you His Truth.  He is faithful to those who seek His Truth!


Coming back now full-circle to the beginning - my experience in Israel during the war between and Israel and Ha mas in Ga za ...
As I began to read more of the scriptures regarding YHVH as Israel's Magen, the more I realized why it is that I feel so much Shalom, so much peace about being in Israel... why it is that I feel safe and protected there.  

Sure, the Iron Dome might have a significant part to play in physical safety against rocket attacks.  But what is even more true is that I put my trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the God of Israel - and in the Arm/Hand of God, His Messiah Yahshua, His Salvation.
He is Israel's Divine Father (IDF) and I trust Him completely for my physical safety, my emotional security, my eternal destiny!

One final side note...That does not mean that I do stupid things to "test" His protection.  It also does not mean that I am guaranteed that nothing bad will ever happen to me when I travel to Israel, or anywhere else.  But if something does happen to me that falls into most people's perception of "something bad", even then I will trust completely in the God of Israel and in His unfailing and ever-faithful Word!

I want to end this particular blog post with a portion from Ezekiel 36...

Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
Yes, I will cause men to walk on you [speaking to the land], My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance. ”
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.  
Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ”

Thank you Abba that You are Israel's Shield and that Your Word is always and forever true and faithful!

Gina

Why do you call me "Lord, Lord"...

           ...but you don't do what I say?   (Luke 6:46)
                         
A person can have incredibly sincere faith and still be sincerely WRONG!

I should know....I have been that person!

Welcome to Part 2 of more of my own story,
as well as a look at some important parts of YHVH's Word.

(If you have not yet read it, Part 1 is the blog post called "Which God Do You Serve?")

Now, having admitted from the beginning that I have been one who was very sincere in my faith, but also sincerely wrong, I should warn you that this post will probably be stepping on the toes of some people, although that is not my intention.
(And speaking of stepping on toes...that is not what the above picture is all about.  He is not about to step on someone's toes, and he is not about to step IN something; he is about to step ON something important.  More about this farther along in the post.)

While it is not the intent of this blog post to "offend" anyone or step on anyone's toes, I must admit that having my own "theological toes" stepped on was painful enough that it actually made me take notice.
What I found was that I was not understanding and obeying the Word of God.
I was sincere in my faith in God, sincere in my trust in God, sincere in my obedience of God's Word, sincere in my desire to please God and live fully and completely for God, sincere in my desire to love others according to my understanding of God's Word (I think anyone who has known me for years would agree with these statements).

So...the next question is:
What's wrong with all of that?

Nothing...except that I was focusing on man's interpretation of God's Word of Truth and worshiping Him in ways He warned not to and not worshiping Him in the very ways that He has laid out for His people to live in relationship with Him!  So, in reality, I was not following and obeying YHVH, the Creator of the universe, the one true living God.  Instead I was following a man-made god and a religion (even if I thought I was not "religious" but rather in a relationship with my Creator).  I was actually following traditions and teachings and interpretations that have twisted and perverted and taken the place of God's Word!

Isaiah 2:22 says "Stop relying on man, in whose nostrils is a mere breath - after all, he doesn't count for much, does he?"  
(Isaiah said this to the children of Israel, specifically Judah and Jerusalem, just after he spoke of what God will do to bring down the pride of man during the age to come - the time of judgment.)

I have learned, in many difficult lessons, that this simple verse is so true in every area of life!
And I am now trying to practice putting aside the ways and wisdom of man and following after God alone.  This includes taking Him at HIS WORD - literally - rather than "spiritualizing" His Word, which is something I see happening rampantly throughout Christendom today, and something I have been guilty of myself.

See, already I'm sure I have offended someone (or at least got your attention).
Sorry.  But, really, I'm not sorry.

This figurative "stepping on toes" process is definitely painful but also beneficial...IF a person allows the pain to get his/her attention and he/she takes a look at the TRUTH beyond the pain…or the pride, or the embarrassment, or the complacency (or whatever else might cause a person to ignore TRUTH when confronted with it)!  
This is the process I have gone through and continue to go through daily.   And while I am not intentionally stepping on toes in this blog, I AM willing to speak out about my own experience and journey with YHVH, the ONE TRUE GOD.

Okay, before I get this blog post off on the wrong foot (no pun intended!), let me begin by going straight to the Word of YHVH.  This will be a familiar passage for most people...

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

(the beginning of Psalm 1, King Jameth Version)

Now I will quote the whole of Psalm 1 from The Scriptures version, which uses the Hebrew word for “law” as it is actually used in the original language:

Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong,

And shall not stand in the path of sinners, and shall not sit in the seat of scoffers.

 But his delight is in the Torah of   יהוה (YHVH),

And he meditates in his Torah day and night.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, that yields its fruit in its season,

And whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does prospers.

The wrong are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind blows away.

Therefore the wrong shall not rise in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For   יהוה(YHVH) knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wrong comes to naught.

(Take careful notice of the difference between those who are called blessed and righteous and those who are wrong.)

In the order of arrangement in the Hebrew Tanakh, the book of Psalms comes after the prophets rather than before.  Malachi is the final prophetic book in the Tanakh, so Psalms follows directly after Malachi in the Jewish ordering of the books of the Tanakh. 

I want to take a look at the final verses of the book of Malachi (which then would lead directly to the first Psalm in the Tanakh).

But first take a quick look at what the cartoon man - who was sincerely crying out to God - was about to step on...

Malachi 3:13-4:6

 “Your words have been harsh against Me,” said  יהוה, “but you have said, ‘What have we spoken against You?’   You have said, ‘It is worthless to serve Elohim.  And what did we gain when we guarded His Charge, and when we walked as mourners before יהוה  of hosts?  And now we are calling the proud blessed – not only are the doers of wrongness built up, but they also try Elohim and escape.’ ”  Then shall those who fear יהוה speak to one another, and יהוה  listen and hear, and a book of remembrance be written before Him, of those who fear יהוה, and those who think upon His Name.   And they shall be Mine,” said יהוה of hosts, “on the day that I prepare a treasured possession. And I shall spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.  Then you shall again see the difference between the righteous and the wrong, between one who serves Elohim and one who does not serve Him.

(Notice again the difference between those who truly fear YHVH and are called "righteous" and those who are called "wrong."  As we continue with this passage in Malachi, you will read an oft-quoted verse about the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings...be sure to also take note of what the verses surrounding these famous words actually say!)

For look, the day shall come, burning like a furnace, and all the proud, and every wrongdoer shall 
be stubble. And the day that shall come shall burn them up,” said יהוה of hosts, “which leaves 
to them neither root nor branch.   
But to you who fear My Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. 
And you shall go out and leap for joy like calves from the stall.  And you shall trample 
the wrongdoers, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” 
said יהוה of hosts.  
“Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Ḥoreb for all Israel –
 laws and right-rulings.   See, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great 
and awesome day of יהוה .  And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, 
and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction.”

Let's look in some other key places in God's Word to see what He says about the righteous and the wrong, the keeper of His Torah and the breaker of His Torah, the blessings and the curses.

One particular Torah portion toward the end of the yearly Torah-reading cycle begins with Deuteronomy 11:26-28 and is named “Re’eh” which means “see” (after the first word of verse 26).

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

‘See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:  the blessing, when you obey 
the commands of יהוה  your Elohim which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not 
obey the commands of יהוה  your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other mighty ones which you have not known.

(Another Torah portion, "Ki Tavo" in Deuteronomy 27 and 28, lists a whole series of specific blessings and curses...all dependent on whether or not the people obey Him!)

And the Torah portion immediately before Re'eh, entitled "Eikev", ends with the theme of loving the Lord, which is equal to the call to HEAR and OBEY.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13; 11:1, 13-25
And now, Israel, what is יהוה your Elohim asking of you, but to fear יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, to guard the commands of יהוה and His laws which I command you today for your good?
And you shall love יהוה your Elohim and guard His Charge: even His laws, and His right-rulings, and His commands, always. ....
And it shall be that if you diligently obey My commands which I command you today, to love יהוה your Elohim and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your being, then I shall give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, and you shall gather in your grain, and your new wine, and your oil.  And I shall give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be satisfied.  
Guard yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other mighty ones and bow down to them.  Then the displeasure of יהוה shall burn against you, and He shall shut up the heavens, and there be no rain, and the land not give its increase. And you shall perish quickly from the good land which יהוה is giving you.  
And you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your being, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.   And you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, and shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children are increased on the soil of which יהוה swore to your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens on the earth.  
For if you diligently guard all these commands which I command you, to do it, to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to Him, then יהוה shall drive out all these nations before you, and you shall dispossess greater and stronger nations than you.  Every place on which the sole of your foot treads is yours: from the wilderness, and Leḇanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea is your border.  No man shall stand against you. יהוה your Elohim shall put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, as He has spoken to you.

 And the weekly Torah portion immediately before that, called V'etchanan, includes the Sh'ma ("hear and obey") that says, "Hear Israel, YHVH is one....


(from Deuteronomy 6)

Yahshua was, is, and always will be a Torah-keeper 
AND the Torah-fulfiller!

“Hear, O Israel: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!  And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.  And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

This particular Torah portion also includes the 10 Commandments.


Yes, the same 10 Commandments that Christians around the USA fought to have posted in public schools.
But do these same Christians know what the 10 Commandments say?  And if they know what they say, do they obey them?  (Well, obeying "most of them" counts...doesn't it??)

If you are not 100% completely sure what the 10 Commandments say, perhaps now would be a good time for a refresher (located in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).

So what are the common threads in these scriptures (and pretty much throughout the entire Old Covenant, and for that matter the New Covenant)?

God is serious about our obedience!
Yahshua is serious about our obedience!

Yahshua said twice in John chapter 14 that if we love Him we will keep His commands. (vs 14, vs 21).

“He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.” 

Yahshua was only about His Father's business.  He completely obeyed His Father in every way.  And He commanded us to do the same!

John, who listened to Yahshua's teachings AND obeyed Yahshua's command to obey YHVH's Torah, said this in 1 John 5:

By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands.  For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy, because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief. 

Now back to my own personal journey in being a YHVH-loving, Yahshua-following, Torah-keeper:

You would think that growing up going to church, teaching Sunday School classes, teaching in a private school with a Christian worldview, living the "Christian life”, working with an evangelical Christian organization, etc... all these things would at some time point me in the direction of understanding what it means to OBEY GOD! 

But I actually stumbled into the TRUTH of what God's Word says (literally, not spiritualized) in another way. 

Really though, I did not stumble into the TRUTH.  God put His Truth in my path...a path that was taking me on a winding journey AWAY from His Truth.

The "discovery" that I cannot trust man's traditions and wisdom and can really only trust God began to sink in very deeply while I was living in Australia and became aware of a painful health issue. In my quest to find doctors and procedures to treat my problem, I also began to do some major in-depth research on the internet.

After surgery neither "fixed" my problem nor alleviated the pain, I decided to try some of the "alternative" choices that I had read about online.  These alternative therapies were actually based on changing eating habits and lifestyle to rid my life of every possible toxin and chemical that I could.

To make this long story a little shorter, I radically changed my eating and lifestyle patterns...and it worked!

As part of my research regarding eating habits and toxins in our food, I found out some absolutely disgusting things about what eating pork and shellfish (and other "bottom dwelling scavengers") will actually do to our bodies!  I stopped eating pork and shrimp at that time (but I did not completely obey God's law...I still ate things like mussels and kangaroo steaks) as well as many other toxic foods, such as processed foods and foods with chemical synthetics and additives.  At this point, it was not because of what YHVH says in His Word about eating pork or shellfish, it was solely because of my health research and the experiences of others that have shown the dangers of filling our bodies with toxins from eating bottom-dwellers and scavengers. 

At the same time, I was given a booklet about the holidays that Christianity have adopted as their own and celebrate as if they were commanded by God (Christmas and Easter). 

I might not agree with all that the booklet said, but it opened my eyes to the pagan roots (and lack of biblical roots) involved in these holidays.  I came to a point while reading the booklet when I had to admit the truth and thus had to make a decision about my participation in something I knew to be against God.  It was at this point in my life that I decided to no longer observe or celebrate Christmas or Easter.  But I still had not come to the point of reading the TRUTH in God’s Word about what HE wants us to observe and celebrate!  Not quite yet…that would come soon!

And at the same time, I joined a prayer group who was very serious in praying for and standing with Israel as GOD'S chosen land and people.  They showed me the scriptures of Old Testament prophecies that were being fulfilled in this day (fulfilled in the most literal way)!   Up to that point, I had read the prophets in relation to ancient Israel and in relation to the Church as having stepped into Israel's place.  (I am now amazed and ashamed that I actually fell for that church-is-now-Israel-and-Israel-is-no-longer-relevant Replacement Theory lie!)

All of these realizations happening at the same time had one giant effect on me:

I realized that I cannot trust man (not even the "experts" in medicine and the "experts" in theology).

I can only trust God.

And then God led me a step beyond.  He brought up all the questions that had been troubling me all my life: the questions about what His Word says compared to what Christianity teaches.

And then God led me to the next step…He re-introduced me to His Word.  But this time He gave me new eyes of understanding to read His Word literally and not try to “spiritualize away” what He clearly said.

It was a moment of stark realization:

God must have been serious, and literal, about telling us what we can eat as food and what to stay away from.

God must have been serious, and literal, about commanding that we keep the Sabbath holy to Him.

God must have been serious, and literal, about His command to observe the Appointed Times that He gave His people forever.

God must have been serious, and literal, about choosing ISRAEL as His people and His land forever.

It was at this point that I "woke up" to the literal words of God's written Word...from beginning to end.

It was at this point that I really began to question why, if Christianity really is all about loving and serving and following God through His Son Jesus, then why is that we Christians snub our noses at so much of what is obviously so important to God - His precepts, His commands, His statutes...His TORAH?  

Why is the Christian list of "things we obey in God's Word" so different in so many denominations?  Why can we pick and choose which parts of the Old Testament we pay attention to?   Why do different "streams" of Christianity come up with their own versions of "what God is saying to the Church today" that are so different from each other (and so many times going against God's written Word)?
 It seemed that the only response I got was a brick wall of hostility and horror that I would even raise such questions against traditional Christianity!

I could not reconcile these questions with the answers I was being given by Christianity as an organized religion.

So I did what I did when the doctors' attempts to help me failed....I went searching.  
And I found the WORD of GOD!  

I discovered that YHVH’s Name has been suppressed in and removed from His own Word for centuries.

I discovered that a relationship with YHVH, according to His Word, has everything to do with obeying Him.

I discovered that Yahshua (Jesus) was and is a Torah-keeper!  He IS the LIVING TORAH!
I discovered that the religion of Christianity changed the YHVH's commanded Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week (and then refused to observe it!).  Nowhere in YHVH's Word does HE change the day of rest, the Sabbath.

I am still on this journey that started with a crash course in testing God's Word in the most literal sense.
That was 2006.  Now, 6 years later...I have been keeping Shabbat (the Sabbath) for almost 6 years.  I have been eating according to God's biblical plan for almost 5 years.  I have been celebrating God's commanded appointed times (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, Sukkot, etc) for almost 4 years now. 

Am I out to prove something?  No!
Am I bitter or angry toward the Christian church?  No!

The reason I am speaking out is because my life experience has been one of believing lies in the teachings of the religion and traditions of modern-day Christianity, and I want to simply live by the Word of YHVH.   Because I have been guilty of speaking out to others what I now know to be traditions of men that go against the very Word of God I want to obey, I now want to speak out what the Word of God says, literally!

His Word spoke directly to me from Matthew 7 during the time that I was searching for answers of Truth to all my questions about discrepancies in what I said I believed.  This is when I “hit the wall” and came face to face with the seriousness of my situation!

Matthew 7:21-23

      Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord [Master, Master],’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.    Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, 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 lawlessness!  [‘lawlessness’ = without the law]

When I read this passage, after all the realizations I had just experienced, I had another realization:  Yahshua was speaking to those who said they believed in Him…those who thought they were Christians, redeemed, saved, born-again (whichever term you would like to use)! 

Yahshua was speaking to ME!

Have you ever put this verse in context with the verses surrounding it?

In the verses just before, Yahshua is speaking about knowing a tree by the fruit it produces.

In the verses just after, Yahshua says that those who hear His words and DO THEM will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock, and those who hear and do NOT do will be like the fool who built his house on sand.  

Now, I am not a theologian, and I am terrible at debate.

You may say to me, “But Gina, what about Colossians 2:14 where Paul says that Jesus nailed these things (the law, etc) to the cross and freed us from them?”

Well, when I read Colossians 2:14 and look at the meanings of the original words (not the English words), I see that what Yahshua freed us from is the curse of breaking the law and the debt owed because of the breaking…not from the law itself.  Yahshua never freed us from keeping the Torah, keeping His own Word!  He was a Torah-keeper Himself!

(And for those who choose to use examples from Paul's writings to negate the rest of God's Word, keep in mind that Sha'ul/Paul wrote with complexities and language that is difficult to understand...even Peter warned about this in 2 Peter 3:15-16.)

And since I am a simple person and no good at complexities or debating such issues, I must stand on what I know as Truth in these cases.  Let's go back to the book of Malachi for  a dose of TRUTH.

What I know as Truth is this:  Malachi 3:6 – “For I am YHVH; I shall not change….”

I take this at face value, literally, to mean that YHVH does not change.  And to prove that His statement, made here in the Tanakh (“Old” Testament), is also relevant to the “New” Testament and today’s followers of Yahshua, just take a look at the rest of Malachi 3…both before and after YHVH’s strong statement in verse 6.  The surrounding verses describe the Messianic period still to come in the future!

James (Jacob) speaks this truth in chapter 1 and verse 17:

  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of turning.

But isn't the keeping Torah restricting and confining...isn't it legalism...isn't it a yoke that's impossible to bear? 

No!

YHVH does not change.   His yoke is easy and burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30; Jeremiah 6:16).  

Not like the yoke of Rabbinic Judaism (or Pharisaic Judaism of His day).  That yoke is impossible to bear…so many rules added to YHVH’s Torah.  
Not like the yoke of modern day Christianity.  That yoke is impossible to bear.  The rules certainly do not go along at all with YHVH’s Torah.  The rules (expectations) are different from denomination to denomination, from church to church, from leader to leader…and then the rules change without any warning.  It cannot be done.

HIS yoke is easy and HIS burden is light!

James 1:21-22
...receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your lives.  And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
(refer back to Malachi 3)

Deuteronomy 30:10-16
...if you obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.  It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’  Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’  For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it.   See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess.
The verses after this in Deuteronomy 30 and other places in the Torah give warnings of what will happen should YHVH's people choose not to obey Him.

Not to end on a negative note, but rather to end on a convincing note:  let's briefly look at some other warnings regarding not heeding YHVH's Words, His Torah, His commands.

 Jeremiah 10:2-6 warns against the ways of gentiles such as setting up decorated trees cut from the forest.  (sound familiar?)

Matthew 7:  the entire chapter, part of the Sermon on the Mount, is an extended warning to go along with the verses about those who call Yahshua "Lord" but are not recognized by Him.

Daniel 7:25 warns against those who will change YHVH's appointed times (Sabbath, festivals) and law (Torah), which amounts to lawlessness.

Deuteronomy 12:32 and Revelation 22:18-19 warn us not to add to or take away from YHVH's Words!

And a final thought (for now) from Revelation...
YHVH is True and Righteous...and He will judge each person regarding Truth and Righteousness according to his/her works!

See Revelation chapters 2, 3, 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22...

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged from what was written in the books, according to their works.   
 
 Revelation 22:11-12
 He who does wrong, let him do more wrong; he who is filthy, let him be more filthy; he who is righteous, let him be more righteous; he who is set-apart, let him be more set-apart.  And see, I am coming speedily, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work.

Loving and obeying my Master Yahshua through His Word - from beginning to end!
Gina