May the Lioness of Judah Arise!

May the Lioness of Judah Arise!

by | Mar 2, 2016 | #Biblical role of women, Uncategorized

IMG_1371 (1)

The Lion of Judah will soon return to rule and reign on the earth, with His Lioness Bride by His side. There is a battle raging – the war between truth and lies, between light and darkness, between the children of God and those opposed to His dominion. The war is real, it is intense, and we need to fight with every weapon of His warfare available to us.

We are to wage war by standing strong in the LORD and in the Power of His Might by wearing His armor, that He, Himself, wears. “And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him.   For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. (Is. 59:16-21).

We must always be equipped with the knowledge that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of the dark world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. “Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore…” (Eph. 6:13-14). STAND your ground where faith can be found, STAND your ground where hope can be found. STANDING is a military term for not giving ground to the enemy. Fight with all you got, then STAND. A warrior is more than a soldier. A warrior fights with passion for a cause one believes in. A soldier is drafted, perhaps against his will, and is paid for his efforts. A warrior will fight for family, friends, and country, no matter what the cost. A warrior fights to the death, without any compensation. The passion of the cause, forces the necessity of war. As Kingdom warriors, we also fight by “praying always with…supplication in the Spirit, and watching…with all perseverance…” (Eph. 6:18).

There is no weapon formed against the Believer that shall prosper. The weapons may form, but they do not accomplish the destruction the enemy designs. Instead, that which was designed for our harm, is turned around for our good. There is no undeserved curse that can be placed on an obedient servant of the Most High. The Lioness, who has joined forces with the Lion of Judah, will demonstrate the power of God. The world will watch and wonder: “What hath God wrought!  Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain” (Num. 23:23-24).

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.  As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever” (Is. 59:19-21). His Word in our mouth is a powerful weapon of warfare. Speak the truth about the situation, the trial before you, and watch Adonai fight for you.

Fighting is an action. We must all advance when commanded, and stand still when the Mighty Warrior gives the instruction. Each day we should “Arise as a lion each morning to do the will of our Creator” (Shulchan Aruch – the Jewish code of law). This includes the heartfelt conviction that there are things worth fighting for. Whatever we place value on or cherish will be under the attack of the Enemy. Arising to defend our marriages, families, grandchildren, and ministries will cause scars, lots of scars, in our lives. Trusting in Adonai’s Right Hand victory as we fight, gives us the confidence in knowing that we have fought His battles with Him. Every victory is His.

“Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies” (Ps. 60:12 & Ps. 108:13).

“The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the Right Hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.  The Right Hand of the LORD is exalted: the Right Hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD” (Ps. 118:15-17).

Because of His victory in our lives, we have a great and awesome God to praise.

Through our God we shall do valiantly.
It is He who will tread down our enemies
We'll sing and shout His victory.
Christ is King,

For God has won the victory
And set His people free.
His word has slain the enemy.
The earth shall stand and see that...

Through our God we shall do valiantly.
It is He who will tread down our enemies
We'll sing and shout His victory.

Christ is King! Christ is King!

The X Factor – The Voice of Ruchamah

The X Factor – The Voice of Ruchamah

by | Feb 23, 2016 | #Biblical role of women, Uncategorized

bride and groom X Y

 Why, oh Y, do we still persist in thinking that all godliness resides primarily in the Y chromosome? Why do we still read Pauline letters, regarding women in ministry, through the eyes of Greco-Roman thinking, instead of the Hebraic understanding of the faith? Why do we continue to think that God made only the male in His image and likeness? Do we think the crown of creation, the woman, was an afterthought? Why do we continue to teach female suppression and male dominance to the detriment of our sisters in Messiah? Why are we following the teachings of Islam, instead of the instructions of Torah, when it comes to gender equality in the Body of Messiah? When will the Two become One/Echad?

For in union with the Messiah, you are all children of God through this trusting faithfulness;  because as many of you as were immersed into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah, in whom there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one.  Also, if you belong to the Messiah, you are seed of Avraham and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:26-29)

In Jewish understanding, mankind – both the male and female – were created at the same time, out of the dust of the earth. They were joined together as one unit, as the image of Adonai. Only when Adam could not find a helpmeet suitable, an ezer kenegdo – helper opposite him, did Adonai cause him to sleep and create a bride from his side.

Yahweh split the side of the man open, to reveal the womb man, or woman, from within.  Genesis 2:22-24 state, “And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’   Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

We mistranslate the word as “rib” in English when we denote the place where woman came out of the man. In actuality, the Hebrew word tsela is more accurately translated as a “side chamber”, as related to the temple chambers, rather than a piece of cartilage. More than just a “rib” bone came from the side of the man, flesh also. Because Adonai produced the woman, out of the man, from a revered place, as a chamber in the temple, should we not give honor to the more precious vessel, rather than degrade her to a place of subservience to the patriarchal manipulation order of things?

The Bride of Messiah was also created from the splitting of Yeshuah’s side. She is the Queen of Proverbs 31, whom the King shall seek. She is the one who will rule and reign alongside her Bridegroom in the Kingdom to Come. One day the Y chromosome beings in the Kingdom of God will know their identity as the X factor.

Can we not see the significance of the female image of God? It is the X Factor in the days to come. The days of Ruchamah are at hand. The days of the tender mercy of God, coming forth from the seat of compassion, the God imaged womb of His being.  This Good News message will be proclaimed and it will transform this earth, and bring about the return of Messiah. One day soon, He will return to Zion in compassion (racham). Let us taste of this sweetness by letting the Voice of Ruchamah be heard in the midst of the congregation.

Let the Lion of Judah arise, with His Bride by His side to rule and reign over the Kingdoms of the earth. 

lion-and-lioness-9646

Psalm 102:13   Thou shalt arise, and have mercy [racham] upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

Psalm 119:77   Let thy tender mercies [racham] come unto me, that I may live: for thy Torah is my delight.

Zechariah 1:16   Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies [rachimim]: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. 

Ruth – The Eshet Chayil – Woman of Valor

Ruth – The Eshet Chayil – Woman of Valor

by | Jun 8, 2014 | #Biblical role of women, Role of Women

Image

The Hebrew word for the woman of “noble” character, cited in Proverbs 31 is “chayil” and it means to do valiantly, with the power, strength, wealth, and resources of an army. Many women in Scripture are virtuous or chayil women. One, a nearly destitute woman, during the times the Judges ruled Israel is Ruth, the Moabitess.

The Book of Ruth is an intricate picture of the Messiah and His Bride. The mystery of Ruth, a foreigner, being joined into the Covenant family of Israel, is a great story of redemption and restoration. Boaz, Ruth’s kinsman redeemer, was a mighty man of wealth/chayil, who sought a chayil woman to be by his side.  Ruth, along with her mother-in-law, Naomi, returned to the land of Boaz, to the town Bethlehem (meaning the House of Bread),  and Ruth was known, by the people of the city as an eshet chayil, or virtuous woman.

Ruth determined to be a woman of valor, long before she met Boaz. Ruth’s decision was made, independent of the bonds of marriage. She was a widow, who chose to love and cleave to Naomi, her people, and to her God. Ruth’s words, ring throughout history, as a call to all those who are strangers to the Covenant, to come and join in the promises given to Israel. “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge: your people shall be my people, and your God, my God…” (Ruth 1:16-18).

As a result of following after the blessing, being faithful to her extended family, and being in covenant with the God of Israel, Ruth was remarried. This time, to the well respected wealthy man, Boaz, from a town in Judah. The wedding guests who witnessed the blessed event had this to say, “The LORD make the woman that is come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily/chayil in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem” (Ruth 4:11).

Ruth joined the God of Israel, along the road to Zion, when she made a confession of faith, as she walked by the way with Naomi. At her marriage to Boaz, the community recognized her, as a woman of chayil strength. No longer known as a stranger to the Covenant and a forbidden Moabite, Ruth became so connected in the community of faith, that she is now identified with Leah and Rachel, as a mother to Israel.

Choosing life, the valiant/chayil way, makes a woman a bride of honor. “A virtuous/chayil woman is a crown to her husband” (Prov.12:4). The arrival of Ruth into Boaz’s home increased his wealth and his military might, as Ruth joined him as his bride. Her strength of character and trusting faith gave her the witness needed to be accepted into the House of Judah. She is the picture of the woman who is “far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10).

Ruth understood the need to choose the ways of God. She knew that she could press in and take hold of His promises. She grabbed a hold of the tallit of her Kinsman Redeemer and He delivered her. Ruth learned that “through God we shall do valiantly/chayil” (Ps. 60:12). Do not let anyone dissuade you from the path to Zion. Don’t let anyone tell you, that the Torah is only for the Jews. Or that the Gentiles will never have a place in the Torah honoring community of faith. Look at Ruth, from the most rejected people group to a complete grafted in believer, by her Kinsman Redeemer. Boaz is a picture of Messiah Yeshua, showing tender mercy/rachem and grace/chesed on those desire a relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Returning to and accepting the Covenant is what the marriage of Shavuot is all about. It is the season of the Torah being written on our hearts by the finger of God. When Torah, the Ketubah of Adonai, is written on your heart, no man can take it away, and nothing can keep you from your Beloved Bridegroom, Yeshua the Messiah.