The Narrow Way

"Enter in through the narrow gate! 

Because the gate is wide – 

and the way is broad – 

that leads to destruction, 

and there are many 

who enter in through it.
Because the gate is narrow 

and the way is {narrow} hard pressed

which leads to life, 

and there are few who find it."

Matthew {Mattiyahu} 7:13-14

 “For I have known him, so that he commands his children 
and his household after him, to guard the way of {YHVH}  יהוה,  

to do righteousness and right-ruling,

so that {YHVH}  יהוה brings to Aḇraham what He has spoken to him.”

Genesis 18:19

“And you shall enlighten them concerning the laws and the Torah,

and show them the way in which they should walk
and the work which they do."

Exodus 18:20

“They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them..."

Exodus 32:8

"Walk in all the way which {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim  
has commanded you, so that you live and it be well with you.
And you shall prolong your days

in the land which you possess."

Deuteronomy 5:33

"therefore you shall guard the commands of {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim,

to walk in His ways and to fear Him."

Deuteronomy 8:6

"And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is {YHVH}  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?"

Deuteronomy 10:12 -13

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:

the blessing, when you obey the commands of {YHVH}  יהוה

your Elohim which I command you today;

and the curse, if you do not obey the commands of {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim,

but turn aside from the way which I command you today..."

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

"Walk after {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim and fear Him,

and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is put to death,

because he has spoken apostasy against יהוה your Elohim –

who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim and redeemed you
from the house of bondage – to make you stray from  
the way in which {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim commanded you to walk.

Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst"

Deuteronomy 13:4-5

"For I know that after my death you shall do very corruptly

and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you.

And evil shall come to you in the latter days, because you do what is evil

in the eyes of {YHVH}  יהוה, to provoke Him through the work of your hands."

Deuteronomy 31:29

"Only, diligently guard to do the command and the Torah

which Mosheh the servant of {YHVH}  יהוה commanded you,
to love יהוה your Elohim, and to walk in all His ways,
and to guard His commands, and to cling to Him,

and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your being.”

Joshua 22:5

"However, they did not listen to their rulers either,

but went whoring after other mighty ones, and bowed down to them.

They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers walked,

in obeying the commands of יהוה – they did not do so."

Judges 2:17

"... in order to try Yisra’ĕl by them,

whether they would guard the way of {YHVH}  יהוה,

to walk in them as their fathers guarded them, or not."

Judges 2:22

"The Ěl – His way is perfect; The Word of {YHVH}  יהוה is proven;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him."

2 Samuel 22:31

"...and forsook {YHVH}  יהוה Elohim of his fathers,
and did not walk in the way of יהוה."

2 Kings 21:22

"...then hear in the heavens, and forgive the sin of Your servants,
Your people Yisra’ĕl – for You teach them the good way  
in which they should walk"

2 Chronicles 6:27

"Good and straight is {YHVH}  יהוה;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

He guides the meek ones in right-ruling,
And He teaches the meek ones His way.

All the paths of {YHVH}  יהוה are kindness and truth,

To those who guard His covenant and His witnesses."

Psalm 25:8-10

"Let Me instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

Let Me counsel, My eye be on you."

Psalm 32:8

"Wait on {YHVH}  יהוה and guard His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the earth..."

Psalm 37:34

"Blessed are the perfect in the way,  
Who walk in the Torah of {YHVH}  יהוה!"

Psalm 119:1

"I have rejoiced in the way of Your witnesses, As over all riches.

I meditate on Your orders, And regard Your ways.

I delight1 myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your word."

Psalm 119:14-16

"Make me understand the way of Your orders ..."

Psalm 119:27

"Remove from me the way of falsehood, And favour me with Your Torah.

I have chosen the way of truth; Your right-rulings I have held level.

I have clung to Your witnesses; O {YHVH}  יהוה, do not put me to shame!

I run the way of Your commands, For You enlarge my heart.

Teach me, O {YHVH}  יהוה, the way of Your laws,
And I observe it to the end."

Psalm 119:29-33 (verse 35, too)

"So walk in the way of goodness, And guard the paths of righteousness.

For the straight shall dwell in the earth, And the perfect be left in it"

Proverbs 2:20-21

"I have taught you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in straight paths."

Proverbs 4:11

"For the command is a lamp, And the Torah a light,

And reproofs of discipline a way of life"

Proverbs 6:23

"The wisdom of the clever is to understand His way..."

Proverbs 14:8

"Train up a child in the way he should go,

Even when he is old he turns not away from it."

Proverbs 22:6

"The path {way}of the righteous is uprightness; O upright One,

You weigh the course of the righteous.

Also, in the path {way} of Your right-rulings,

O {YHVH}  יהוה, we have waited for You;

the longing of our being is for Your Name and for the remembrance of You."

Isaiah 26:7-8

"Thus said {YHVH}  יהוה, your Redeemer, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl,

“I am יהוה your Elohim, teaching you what is best,
leading you by the way you should go.

If only you had listened to My commands!
Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

Isaiah 48:17-18

"Then I said, “These are only the poor. They have been foolish,

for they have not known the way of {YHVH}  יהוה,  
the right-ruling of their Elohim."

Jeremiah 5:4

"Thus said {YHVH}  יהוה, “Stand in the ways and see,
and ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
and walk in it; and find rest for yourselves.

But they said, ‘We do not walk in it.’ "

Jeremiah 6:16

"But this word I did command them, saying, ‘Obey My voice,

and I shall be your Elohim, and you be My people.

And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you,
so that it be well with you."

Jeremiah 7:23

"And I shall give them one heart and one way, to fear Me all the days,

for the good of them and of their children after them."

Jeremiah 32:39

"And many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up

to the mountain of {YHVH}  יהוה, to the House of the Elohim of Yaʽaqoḇ,

and let Him teach us His ways, and let us walk in His paths.

For out of Tsiyon comes forth the Torah,
and the word of יהוה from Yerushalayim"

Micah 4:2

"But you, you have turned from the way,

you have caused many to stumble in the Torah..."

Malachi 2:8

“Teacher, we know that You are true, 
and teach the way of Elohim in truth..."

Matthew 22:16

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter
through the door into the sheepfold,

but climbs up by another way, that one is a thief and a robber.

But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep...

I am the door. Whoever enters through Me, he shall be saved,

and shall go in and shall go out and find pasture. "

John 10:1, 9

“And where I go you know, and the way you know...

{Yeshua}  יהושע said to him,
“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:4,6

"This one had been instructed in the way of the Master.

And being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching
the matters about the Master...

they took him aside and explained to him 
the way of Elohim more exactly."

Acts18:25,26

"And having gone into the congregation
he spoke boldly for three months,

reasoning and persuading concerning the reign of Elohim.

But when some were hardened and did not believe,
speaking evil of the Way..."

Acts 19:8-9

“And this I confess to you, that according to  
the Way which they call a sect,

so I worship the Elohim of my fathers,  
believing all that has been written

in the Torah and in the Prophets"

Acts 24:14

"There is no one who is understanding,
there is none who is seeking Elohim.

They all have turned aside {from the way},
they have together become worthless.

There is none who does good, no, not one."

Romans 3:11-12

"...and the way of peace they have not known."

Romans 3:17

"For it would have been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness,

than having known it, to turn from
the set-apart command(s) delivered unto them."

2 Peter 2:21

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 The way... 

the narrow {hard pressed} way... 

that few find but leads to life...

Torah - Messiah

The Written Torah - The Living Torah

"Enter in through the narrow gate! 

Because the gate is wide – 
and the way is broad – 
that leads to destruction, 

and there are many who enter in through it.
Because the gate is narrow 
and the way is hard pressed 
which leads to life, 

and there are few who find it."

Matthew 7:13-14 

A Whale of a Trip

Last week we were blessed 

with the opportunity to go whale watching.

It was an amazing experience.

Pulling out of the harbor

There was so much to see.

As I stood, holding on to the railing,

with the Pacific breeze blowing across my face...

I just stood in awe.

YHVH is awesome.

We just can't comprehend how much so...

All we can do sometimes is just stand there 

and try to breathe it all in.

"Be still, and know that I am Elohim..."
Psalm 46:10

He covers you with His feathers, And under His wings you take refuge;
His truth is a shield and armour. ~ Psalm 91:4

Let me dwell in Your Tent forever,
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
Psalm 61:4

Let the heavens and earth praise Him,
The seas and all that moves in them. ~ Psalm 69:34

Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy before {YHVH} יהוה
Psalm 98:8

For since the creation of the world His invisible qualities have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made,
both His everlasting power and Mightiness...
Romans 1:20

By the Word of {YHVH} יהוה the heavens were made, And all their host
by the Spirit of His mouth, Gathering the waters of the sea
together as a heap; Laying up the deep in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear {YHVH} יהוה;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
Psalm 33:6-8

When He set the clouds above, When He made the fountains of the deep strong,
When He gave to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When He decreed the foundations of the earth...
Proverbs 8:28-29

O {YHVH} יהוה, how many have been Your works!
You have made all of them in wisdom.
The earth is filled with Your possessions.
There is the sea, great and wide, In which are innumerable swarms,
Living creatures, small with great. ~ Psalm 104:24-25

Yeah... it was pretty amazing...

All day long I bless You,
And praise Your Name forever and ever.
Great is {YHVH} יהוה, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
Generation after generation praise Your works,
And they declare Your mighty acts.
Psalm 145:2-4

We could have stayed all day admiring the handiwork of YHVH.

"Let all that have breath praise Yah. Praise Yah!"
Psalm 150:6

Shalom!

~ Christina

We Do Not Hide Them From Our Children

My people, give ear to my Torah, Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I open my mouth in a parable; I utter riddles of old,
Which we have heard and known, For our fathers have related them to us.
We do not hide them {His Torah and works} from their children,
Relating to the generation to come the praises of {YHVH}  יהוה,
And His strength and His wonders which He has done.
For He raised a witness in Yaʽaqoḇ, And set a Torah in Yisra’ĕl,
Which He commanded our fathers, To teach them to their children;
That it might be known to a generation to come, To children who would be born,
To rise up and relate them {His works, His Torah} to their children,
And place their trust in Elohim, And not forget the works of Ěl,
But watch {keep; guard; observe} over His commands,
And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation which did not prepare {set right} its heart,
Whose spirit was not steadfast to Ěl.
Psalm {Tehillim} 78:1-8


As I sat this morning with our children, reading from the Torah,
I thought of the above passage... about the command we have to teach our children
{found in various places throughout Scripture}...
and my heart filled with a renewed joy... and humility.
What a responsibility we have to teach them His instructions... His Torah...
and tell them of all His mighty works...
but, oh... what a blessing it is, as well...
to not hide His Torah from our children...
to raise up a generation that loves Him and keeps His ways...
returning to the old path, where the good way is {Jeremiah 6:16}.

Abba, help us to train them up in the way they should go.

May we give ear... listen...
and may we rise up... obey.

Shema!


~ Christina

Setting Apart Shabbat

I love Shabbat. I look forward to it every week. It is such a delight!

My life has not been the same since Abba opened my eyes to His set-apart day of rest.

It has been about a year and a half since I began keeping Shabbat

and I suspect it will be a lifelong process of learning just how to set it apart.

Something we enjoy doing (though not a command) is Kiddush.

Kiddush, in Hebrew, means sanctification - to set apart.

We enjoy entering into (setting apart) His day of rest by 

breaking bread, enjoying the fruit of the vine, and blessing YHVH.

I hope that in years to come, our children will look back on this as a fond memory,

as they continue to walk in His ways into their adulthood and with their own families.

     Blessed is He and blessed is His Name.

And it shall come to pass that from one rosh chodesh to another,

and from one Shabbat to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says YHVH.{Isaiah 66:23}

YHVH is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

YHVH is the refuge of my life; whom shall I dread? {Psalm 27:1}

For You Yourself light my lamp; YHVH my Elohim makes my darkness light. {Psalm 18:28}

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. {Psalm 119:105}

Therefore Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.

He who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but possess the light of life. {John 8:12}

He was the true Light, which enlightens every man, coming into the world. {John 1:9}

    - Blessed are You, YHVH, Eloheinu, King of the universe,

Who has set us apart by Your Word, commanded us to keep the Shabbat,

and to be a light unto the nations, and has given us Yeshua, our Messiah, the Light of the World.

Shabbat Shalom, Israel {His set-apart ones}!

~ Christina

Why I Observe the 7th Day Sabbath

Reason #1: My Creator did

"In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1 
...

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.
And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, 

and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, 
because on it He rested from all His work 
which Elohim in creating had made." Genesis 2:1-3

Our Father, our Creator, set the pattern, the example, the principle for us.
A time to cease from work, a time to review, acknowledge,
celebrate the beauty of the creation that He pronounced "good".

It belongs to Him from the very beginning.
The 7th day Sabbath honors, remembers, Elohim {God}, YHVH, as our Creator.
He blessed the 7th day and declared it holy, set apart to Himself.

The Sabbath distinguishes YHVH from false gods.
It identifies WHO we worship...
The Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.



Reason #2: It was reaffirmed in the Ten Commandments

"Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath of {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim. 

You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, 

nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, 

nor your stranger who is within your gates. 

For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, 

and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. 
Therefore {YHVH}  יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart."
Exodus 20:8-11 (Deuteronomy. 5:12, too)


The 7th day is the sabbath of YHVH, not the Jews... but of YHVH.
The cattle were not Jewish, neither were the strangers,
yet, He commands them all to remember the Sabbath.


"Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, 
as {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim commanded you.
Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, 

but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim. 

You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, 

nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, 

nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, 

so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do.  

And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim {Egypt}, 

and that יהוה your Elohim brought you out from there 
by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. 

Therefore יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. "
Deuteronomy 5:12-15

The Sabbath reminds of the Exodus from Egypt,
which is an example and picture of His salvation.


Reason #3: Blessed

"Jew", "NON-Jew", stranger alike... is blessed in keeping this command.

"Thus said {YHVH}  יהוה, “Guard right-ruling, and do righteousness, 

for near is My deliverance to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. 

Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it, 

guarding the Sabbath lest he profane it, 
and guarding his hand from doing any evil...

 ... Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to {YHVH}  יהוה, 

to serve Him, and to love the Name of {YHVH}  יהוה, to be His servants, 

all who guard the Sabbath, and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant"
Isaiah 56:1-2, 6



“If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, 

from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, 
and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’  

the set-apart day of {YHVH}  יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, 

not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, 
nor speaking your own words,
then you shall delight yourself in {YHVH}  יהוה. 

And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, 

and feed you with the inheritance of Yaʽaqoḇ your father. 

For the mouth of {YHVH}  יהוה has spoken!”
Isaiah 58:13-14


It's supposed to be a delight. It is His set apart day... esteemed/honored.



Reason #4: It will be observed in the time to come

"For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me, 

declares {YHVH}  יהוה, so your seed and your name shall stand.
And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon, 
and from Sabbath to Sabbath, 

all flesh shall come to worship before Me, declares {YHVH}  יהוה. "
Isaiah 66:22-23


Sabbath observance in the new heaven and earth...
... in the beginning... and in the end... what happened to in between?



Reason #5: It is a sign between Him and His people

"I am {YHVH}  יהוה your Elohim. Walk in My laws, and guard My right-rulings, and do them.
And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, 
to know that I am יהוה your Elohim."
Ezekiel 20:19-20


It is HIS Sabbath, not any particular people's.
It is a sign between Him and His people, that they/we will know HE is our God.




He ordained it, blessed it, set it apart, set the pattern for it,
commanded it, reminded of it, called it His, and blesses those that keep it.

--------------------------------------------------

And His Son? He came to do the Father's will...

"{Yeshua}  יהושע said to them, 

“My food is to do the desire {will} of Him who sent Me, 

and to accomplish His work." ~ John 4:34


Reason #6: The Son - The Messiah - kept the Sabbath.

"And He came to Natsareth {Nazareth}, where He had been brought up. 

And according to His practice, He went into the congregation  

on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read."
Luke 4:16


"And they went into Kephar Naḥum {Capernaum},
and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the congregation and taught."
Mark 1:21


"And Sabbath having come, He began to teach in the congregation."
Mark 6:2a


Not only did He keep the Sabbath but He is Master of the Sabbath...
"And He said to them, 
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
So the Son of Aḏam is also Master of the Sabbath."
Mark 2:27-28



He was our example...walk as He walked...

"The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked."
1 John 2:6

--------------------------------------------

His disciples, apostles?

They observed it...

Reason #7: His disciples observed it

"But passing through from Perge, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, 
and went into the congregation on the Sabbath day and sat down."
Acts 13:14


"And when the Yehuḏim {Jews} went out of the congregation, 

the gentiles begged to have these words spoken to them the next Sabbath...

... And on the next Sabbath almost all the city 
came together to hear the Word of Elohim."
Acts 13:42,44


"And on the Sabbath day we went outside the city by a river, where there used to be prayer."
Acts 16:13a


"And according to his practice, Sha’ul {Paul}went in unto them,
and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures"
Acts 17:2


"And he was reasoning in the congregation every Sabbath, 
and won over both Yehuḏim and Greeks."
Acts 18:4


------------------------------------------------



Yeshua {the Messiah} said...

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.

I did not come to destroy but to complete. 

For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, 

one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.
Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, 
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; 

but whoever does and teaches them, 
he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens."
Matthew 5:17-19


John tells us...
"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"
1 John 5:2-3



I love Him.

Enough to obey.
Enough to observe.
Enough to honor.
Enough to identify.
It is not grievous.


It is a delight!

The Aaronic Blessing - Pictorial Meaning

The Aaronic/priestly blessing, found in Numbers 6:24-26, is fairly well-known.
Lesser known, however, is the deeper meaning found
in the pictorial language of the ancient Hebrew.
Do we "have" to know and search for "the deeper meaning"?
No. ... But... what additional, beautiful pieces of the picture we are able to see!

This past Shabbat, we enjoyed the pleasure of learning more
about the various pictures and meanings found in this blessing
through the ancient, pictorial Hebrew.
It was fascinating.

I am, surely, not a Hebrew scholar (in fact, I barely know the alef-bet, so far)
but I am excited to share what I did learn during our meeting.
In my excitement, I attempted to create flashcards, of sorts,
to help "paint the picture".
I know there are variations in the Hebrew language
so please forgive where there are mistakes.
But I hope that the general idea and the beautiful pictures still come through.

I hope that you will find it interesting and fascinating, as I did!
Blessings!

--------------------------------------------------------------------


Aaronic blessing in Hebrew

The flashcards below present information in the following order:
Hebrew word(s)
English word
Ancient pictorial Hebrew language symbols
Name of the above symbols
Meaning found in the above symbols
Pictorial meaning of the word

------------------------------------------------------------------

May YHVH bless you...




and keep you...




YHVH make His face...




shine...




to you (upon you)...




and be gracious to you...




YHVH lift up...




His countenance...





to you...




and give you...




peace...




All together...
The Aaronic blessing, in pictorial meaning...

YHWH, the head of the house with His own work 
strengthens His own hand-

by His work He binds and overpowers the destroyer 
using the authority in His hand-

YHWH, the Chief Ruler, He secures life and order, 
His teaching strengthens,

His work secures the hedge of strengthening life-

YHWH's strong pressing hand lifts up, His work adds living utterance,

He strengthens authority, His hand destroys chaos,

His authority covers destroying the authority attached to chaos.

Shalom!
~ Christina

The Practice of Raising Children - A Blueprint

{a checklist, of sorts, from a book I am currently reading}

• Accept that your children are both unique and ordinary
• Teach them to honor their parents and to respect others - family, friends, community
• Teach them to be resilient, self-reliant, and courageous
• Teach them to be grateful for their blessings
• Teach them the value of work
• Teach them to make their table an altar - to approach food with an attitude of moderation, celebration, and sanctification
• Teach them to accept rules and to exercise self-control
• Teach them the preciousness of the present moment
• Teach them about Elohim

... Some things to ponder.

Abba, grant us wisdom that we may train them up in they way they should go.

Shalom!
~ Christina