Andrea L. Sims Ph.D. “Unfolding the Kingdom” - A Series

Art by Andrea

“Unfolding the Kingdom” - A Series 

Andrea L. Sims Ph.D.

Part I:  Unfolding “A Place for Us”

An Introduction

Have we not had a “wilderness experience” as we have walked with Yah through the years? Even before we knew Him, He knew us; even when we came to awareness of Him through the new birth; even as we are discovering the Narrow Way. 

Did not Yah draw His people out of Egypt to take them to “The Promised Land”? Is The Kingdom our “Promised Land”? Have we not been called to “come out of her my people? Is not this call our recognition of an on-going “wilderness experience” that is an increasingly trying time?

Are not the ups and downs of life’s journey a mirror (to see) and an echo (to hear) what we find in the Scriptures concerning the first Exodus? 

Has not our longing for a “place for us” kept us moving forward, either literally or figuratively? Remember what Mashiach said: 

“In my father’s house are many mansions:

if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you unto myself,

that where I am, there ye may be also.” 

John 14:2-3

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Is not our ever-growing dependence on Yah becoming more obvious to us? 

Did not Yah tell the sojourners in the wilderness that their experiences along the Way were all trials and testings—to prove their own hearts—so they would know who are his and who are not?

Did not Yah say there would be “a second time” for the qodeshiym to be called out?

Could we be in that time now? Just as events in the Revelation are more than likely not linear but rather layered, could not these things be layers also?

Did not Yah’s people in the wilderness move when the Cloud moved, and stop when the Cloud stopped? Is our Shabbat time a reflection of the Cloud stopping—preparing us for The Kingdom?

You see, I have many questions as I begin this series on The Kingdom. And I keep hearing what I heard several years ago: Nothing is as it seems.” Nothing like what we have been taught or thought we knew or had all tied up in a neat little bow and placed in our nice little boxes called Christianity. 

Art by Andrea

My story of “the farm” 

In 2013, my then husband and I went looking for acreage with a house so that we could settle down and provide a place of gathering for our growing tribe. After a couple of months of searching the area between Dallas, Texas and the Red River, we chose a 12-acre parcel. Before our offer was accepted, I picked up a flat rock as a keepsake to hold until we knew for sure. This is the reference I wrote on it in permanent marker:

“Moreover I (Yah) will appoint a place for my people Yashar’el,

And will plant them,

That they may dwell in a place of their own,

And move no more . . .”

(2 Samuel 7:10)

Once we moved in, I got busy right away planting a garden, purchasing some chickens, two miniature goats, and a couple of puppies. I dreamed of getting an orchid started the next year and hosting family outings around a fire pit that was only in my mind, at the time. So many plans; so many dreams, so much hope for a place I could really feel at home, finally. But it did not last. About 7 months into it, I discovered that my husband of twenty-seven years had been living a double life. My world came to a screeching halt. The more that was revealed, the quieter I became—sitting at my desk that overlooked the land, burying myself in a publishing project I was working on, wondering what it all meant, trying to hear what Yah would say, holding myself back from falling apart. It was not easy to think about another failure; it was not easy to see a new way forward in that season of my life. After about three months of waiting, watching, listening, I got up from my desk and packed up my stuff and left the farm. A divorce followed. Then a year and a half later, the suicide. As I write this, my heart is pounding and my eyes are tearing . . . even after ten years. With my stuff in storage, I began a pilgrimage from Georgia (staying with one of my grandsons), and from there back to Texas (staying with a dear writer-friend), to Wyoming (to a long-time school friend’s ranch), and finally ending up at my sister’s doorstep in Colorado—where I have remained since 2015. 

So, the bottom line for me is that I am no longer looking for a place, this side of The Kingdom. Instead, I am counting on the words of Messiah in Luke 13:29:

“Luk 13:29  And they shall come from the east,

 and from the west, 

and from the north, 

and from the south, 

and shall sit down in the Kingdom of Elohiym.”

Art by Andrea

I’m looking for The Kingdom.

My problem is . . . that I don’t know much about The Kingdom. And when I read what Dr. Stephen Pidgeon wrote on one of his Telegram channels that Messiah’s focus was on The Kingdom, it got my immediate attention! How could I have read the New Testament (called the Besorah in Hebrew, which means “the Good News”) literally hundreds of times over the sixty-plus years and not seen it? I was dumb founded, really. So, I made a note to myself to do a study on it and on the Besorah, which he mentioned during a YouTube teaching. He stated that the heart of the Good News could be better seen in relationship to what the Prophet had to say about the Messiah in Isaiah 61:

“The Ruach (Spirit) Adonai Yahuah is upon me;

Because Yahuah has anointed me (the Messiah, Yahusha)

 to preach the Besorah unto the meek;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

The recovery of sight to the blind,

And the opening of the prison

To them that are bound . . .” 

(check it out! Isaiah 61: 1-11)

So, my study of The Kingdom begins! 

The Hebrew word for Kingdom is mamlakah (mam-law-kaw). It’s a noun and is defined as a dominion, a realm, kingly office, royalty. It can also mean to reign over a royal city. And there are several kinds of kingdoms mentioned in the Scriptures: 

The Kingdom of Yah

The Kingdom of heaven

kingdoms of this world (evil or general)

Satan’s kingdom

kingdoms as nations

His Kingdom

The Kingdom

When studying a word in Scripture, I like to find the first and final mentioned of it. For this study, I searched in the New Testament and found the following in Matthew 3:2.  John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness saying “Repent ye: for The Kingdom is at hand”. Then in Revelation 12:10, John, the Apostle, recorded this for us: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now is come yeshu’ah (salvation), and strength, and The Kingdom of our Elohiym, and the power of his Mashiach . . .’.” 

Yes, I’m not only looking for The Kingdom, but I’m longing for it. In Part II of this series of blogs on The Kingdom, I’ll be sharing what I find as I attempt to describe it and discuss what “seeking first The Kingdom" might mean for us. In Part III, I will bring what I find on the Parables of The Kingdom, as that is how Messiah chose to teach us about it. I’m hoping to get a glimpse of the similarities, the differences, the implications, connections, and if Yah permits, revelation.

Please know that I’m learning as I go through this. I’d love your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment. May this study bless and keep us until we enter The Kingdom together on that day.

Art by Andrea

Scriptures are taken from the Cepher which can be purchased at https://www.cepher.net/ and also found in any app store. 

Shemot Names שְׁמוֹת

Note to my readers:

I realize that you, dear reader, may have discovered that His name is not God, Lord, etc. The sites I share, however, do use these titles. Please take what you want and leave the rest! Thank you for your understanding.

 "Now these are the names [shemot] of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob" (Exodus 1:1).

As we study the first week's reading from the book of Exodus, we find the children of Israel in slavery. It seems at first that the God of their forefathers has forgotten them. But God has not forgotten His promises. He remembers His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and brings a Redeemer to their children's children, for the sake of His name, with love. (First Fruits of Zion).

Exodus 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Shakespeare wrote, “What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  

Essentially, he was saying that it doesn’t really matter what someone or something is called; the material essence of a thing matters more than its name.

According to Scripture, names do matter, and they have great significance since they stand for something or reveal something about a person’s character.

There are even several instances when God changed the names of His people, effectively giving them new capacities.  For instance, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Sarai’s was changed to Sarah, and Jacob’s was changed to Israel.

The names of God, as He has unveiled them in Scripture, should be particularly noteworthy to us because they reveal who He is, as well as aspects of His character, promises, authority, and power.  And because God is so great, one name is not enough to fully portray all of who He is.  But we will focus on one here—His very own personal name. (Israel Magazine)

Consider Daniel. Although he, along with other youths, was taken captive into a pagan culture and given pagan names, it did not change who they were: the Hebrew youth were brought up to fear Yah. They were rooted and grounded in the Torah and their true identity and with His true identity. I am that I am.

Let us also consider the list of names of the children of Israel found in 1 Chronicles 1:1-9, including the list of warrior heroes in chapter 11. Those men served under King David. They were important enough to be listed in this account of King David's mighty men, men of valor. Yes, names are important indeed!

.

Dr. Michael Kline says

   Naming a child can reflect ancestry, associations with the baby's arrival, and hopes and dreams for his or her future.

In biblical times, a parent sometimes chose a baby’s name from circum­stances associated with the conception (as in the case of Isaac) or the delivery (as with Jacob and Benjamin), sometimes from divine acts or attributes (all those including as prefix or suffix “el,” “eh,” “ya,” and “yahu”), and sometimes from nature (for exam­ple, Deborah, meaning bee, and Jonah, which means dove). (My Jewish Learning)

I was named after my grandmothers. Laura Day and Leaetta Gabriel. My mother wanted to add Maria to my name, but the family decided that was just too much. She sometimes jokingly calls me by all the names she desired to name me. Laura Lee Maria. 

For years, I hated my name. I guess that just went along with hating and rejecting myself, so I also rejected my name. When I was young, I had a few names. Fat-so, dummie, stupid, fool. I was called a whore by my brothers before I even knew what it meant. My earthly father had nicknames for everyone in my family. My mother was "Old Bat," my brother was "Meathead," I was "Tubby Pooh," and my other brother, I have no recollection. 

What about the names you have called yourself? Idiot, fat, lazy, stupid, loser, dummy, hopeless, drunk, addict, failure. Maybe I am the only one. Calling ourselves names is labeling ourselves, which, I believe, can become a stronghold in our mind, holding us back from walking in His love for us and hindering our ability to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Some people battled a critical spirit, having been brought up with hearing the name calling and criticism toward themselves or other family members. It becomes ingrained. And, it is actually verbal abuse! We learn to verbally abuse ourselves!

Not pretty, huh? 

The saddest part is many believe it. I was in bondage to what others had said about me and had done to me. I was a victim, actually, but He has called me to be a victor! He has called me out of the bondage these names kept me in!

According to the site, She Knows.

In English Baby Names the meaning of the name Lauralee is: The laurel tree or sweet bay tree symbolic of honor and victory. Old name with many variants. 

Another site states the following:

Meaning:Laurel or sweet bay tree; Symbol of victory

Lauralee is a girl's name of Latin origin. It is a modern adaptation of Laura, which means "laurel or sweet bay tree" and "symbol of victory." Steeped in history, the laurel tree is associated with sporting events in Ancient Greece. Winners of athletic competitions proudly wore laurel wreaths to showcase their triumphs and accomplishments. When baby Lauralee arrives in your life, you won't be able to resist showing off your most precious prize.

Precious prize? Not in my family of origin! However, I was named after my grandmothers, strong, intelligent women. One of my grandmothers graduated from Harvard in the 1800's. She was a fantastic artist. My other grandmother was a caring woman who served many needy people, leading a life of fruit-bearing.

My name means symbol of victory! Not victim! Overcomer, bondage breaker!

We all are given worth and dignity, created in the Creator's image. We are given talents and gifts. We are not worthless; we were bought at a price, a high price. The price of blood, sweat, and a great many tears. Not just from our mothers birthing us, but His incredible sacrifice...an execution stake. For you. For me. 

So, no matter what others have called us or labeled us, He disagrees with them. 

He has called you by name! Yes, reader, YOU!!! 

We have been grafted in! Adopted! So, no matter what names your family of origin has called you in the past or may be calling you presently, what really matters is what He says about you!

Someday, very soon, He will give you a new name!

Revelation 2:17

 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna,[a] and I will give him a white stone—and written on the stone a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”[b]

You are the:

Beloved of God (Rom 1:7)
Beloved Brethren (James 2:5)
Children of God (John 1:12)
Sons of the Living God (Rom 9:26)
Sons of the Most High (Luke 6:35)
Children of the Promise (Rom 9:8)
Dear Children (Eph 5:1)
Elect of God (Col 3:12)

The Faithful (Ps 12:1)
The Godly (2 Pet 2:9)
Heirs of God (Gal 4:7)
Holy Priesthood (I Pet 2:5)
The Just (Hab 2:4)
Little Children (1 John 2:1)
Living Stones (1 Pet 2:5)

Special People (Titus 2:14)
Slaves of Righteousness (Rom 6:18)
Sheep of Christ (John 10:1-16)
Servants of Christ (1 Cor 7:22)
Salt of the Earth (Matt 5:13:16)

Resources for your journey to the heart of our Abba!

https://acts242study.com/whats-in-a-name-three-hebrew-children-daniel-16-7-daniel-3/

https://aish.com/when-you-hate-yourself/

https://www.nacr.org/abusecenter/recovery-from-childhood-abuse

https://www.nacr.org/resource-center-on-emotional-and-relational-health

Photo by Leigh

Ancient Path of Obedience: Create in me a clean heart

Leigh Anne Caruthers

"Create in me a clean heart!"

This has been my heart cry for years now. I am embarrassed to say that before stepping onto the ancient path of obedience I never really gave thought to what it meant to ask for Father to create in me a clean heart. Let us look at the scripture I am referencing. 

Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O Elohiym; 

and renew a right ruach within me.

Psalm 51:11  Cast me not away from your presence; 

and take not your Ruach Ha’Qodesh from me.  

 

  Psalm 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of your yeshu`ah; 

 and uphold me with your free Ruach.

  

 

My first shaky steps on the ancient path of obedience were at times painful. Unlearning and relearning. I felt anger at myself for not doing my due diligence to read the scripture and research for myself the understanding Yahuah longed to give me and any person seeking Him with their whole heart. I wanted to understand what it meant to have a clean heart and the knowledge of how to obtain a "right ruach" within me. I prayed to Yahuah and asked what would make it difficult for the "right ruach" to dwell within me? Yahuah answered and said to read your scripture. So I did. I also obtained the tools to help me search for the truth Yahuah was leading me to. I downloaded E-Sword with all the dictionaries, and commentaries needed to embark on this journey. To gain complete understanding and for the word to be revealed in its fullness I searched for the Hebrew word for clean.

H2889   (Brown-Driver-Briggs); טהר / טהור; ṭâhôr;  

BDB Definition:

1) pure, clean

1a) clean (ceremonially - of animals)

1b) pure (physically)

1c) pure, clean (morally, ethically)

Photo by Leigh

 When we think of ourselves as "clean" we usually only think about our external body. What about the inside? Yahuah gave us a list of clean and unclean animals. The part of scripture that is skipped over in most churches due to misunderstanding scripture or what Yahuah was telling us. 

Lev 11:1   And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them,

Lev 11:2  “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth:

Lev 11:3  ‘Whatever has a split hoof completely divided, chewing the cud, among the beasts, that you do eat.

Lev 11:4  ‘Only, these you do not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have a split hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;

Lev 11:5  and the rabbit, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;

Lev 11:6  and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is unclean to you;

Lev 11:7  and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.

Lev 11:8  ‘Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.

Lev 11:9  ‘These you do eat of all that are in the waters: any one that has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas or in the rivers, that you do eat.

Lev 11:10  ‘But all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, all that move in the waters or any living being which is in the waters, they are an abomination to you.

Lev 11:11  ‘They are an abomination to you – of their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you abominate.

Lev 11:12  ‘All that have not fins or scales in the waters are an abomination to you.

Lev 11:13  ‘And these you do abominate among the birds, they are not eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture,

Lev 11:14  and the hawk, and the falcon after its kind,

Lev 11:15  every raven after its kind,

Lev 11:16  and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind,

Lev 11:17  and the little owl, and the fisher owl, and the great owl,

Lev 11:18  and the white owl, and the pelican, and the carrion vulture,

Lev 11:19  and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

Lev 11:20  ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours is an abomination to you.

Lev 11:21  ‘Only, these you do eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth.

Lev 11:22  ‘These of them you do eat: the arbeh-locust after its kind, and the solam-locust after its kind, and the ḥargol-locust after its kind, and the ḥagaḇ-locust after its kind.

Lev 11:23  ‘But all other flying insects which have four feet are an abomination to you.

I read this list over and over. I started researching and most commentaries said this list was done away with because Yahusha had "nailed it to the cross" and that the list was a burden to keep. Why? If Father made us, would he not have the divine understanding of what was good for us and what was bad? Yahuah says we are not to eat any abominable thing. When you look at that word in Hebrew תּעבה / תּועבה tô‛êbah. It means a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable. This is a strong word Yahuah used for something that the world now thinks is irrelevant. Why would anyone think that the Elohiym that never changes was changed for any reason? 

Mal 3:6  For I am Yahuah, I change not;

I've recently come to the realization that unclean animals would have never been considered food. They were an abomination to eat. The animals listed as unclean are still unhealthy for us. They are poison to our bodies because they are all the garbage collectors of the earth. They eat dead things and they clean up the waste from the earth and waters. In doing so they consume bacteria, viruses, parasites, excrement, and many things very harmful to us in many ways. Yahuah gives us a list because, by taste and immediate physiological response, we can't discern the negative effects like we would a poisonous herb or berry. The negative health impacts are usually a gradual process over time that eventually lead to hypertension, high cholesterol, or strokes we associate with pork. Oysters and shellfish however can kill a person pretty quickly if infected with vibrio vulnificus which is a bacteria that causes immediate distress to our GI system (from the same family that causes Cholera). The world consumes these unclean animals and then prays for healing when they have heart attacks, strokes, hypertension, diabetes, or any of the long list of illnesses that are from consuming meat that has a poisonous effect on our bodies. We have been given the warning label by the Creator and still, we don't understand why we have these illnesses and diseases. 

Lev 11:44  For I am Yahuah Elohaykem: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

Lev 11:45  For I am Yahuah that brings you up out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohiym: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Lev 11:46  This is the Torah of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps upon the earth:

Lev 11:47  To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Photo by Leigh

Wait a minute. He says to sanctify ourselves to be holy like Him and not defile ourselves. Why is this not understood? Sanctify ourselves. What is sanctified in Hebrew? 

H6942   (Brown-Driver-Briggs)

קדשׁ

qâdash

BDB Definition:

1) to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be set apart, be consecrated

1a2) to be hallowed

1a3) consecrated, tabooed

Now we are on the right track. "To be set apart, be consecrated." Yes, this is where my feet were leading me. Sabbath day is a day sanctified by Yahuah forever.  When observing Sabbath, we are set apart and consecrated to him. Now we see that following His food laws also sanctifies us. HalleluYah! As I progressed through this study in those early steps out in Faith, I realized our bodies were His Temple. A place he could not be if it was defiled in any way. 

1Co 6:19  What? Know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Ruach Ha’Qodesh which is in you, which ye have of Elohiym, and ye are not your own?

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Elohiym in your body, and in your ruach, which are Elohiym’s.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Elohiym by Yahusha Ha’Mashiach.

Rom 12:1  I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Elohiym, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Elohiym, which is your reasonable service.

The picture came into focus. Create in me a clean heart. One where I am willing to give my body up as a spiritual sacrifice for the "right Ruach" to dwell within me. The Father cannot be where there is no obedience and discipline to him and his ways. Many think Yahusha came to do away with the commandments. The "Old Testament" is put on the back shelf because in our society things that are "new" are better. Yahusha came to take away our death sentence and to be the last perfect sacrifice for sin. We have been allowed to choose to walk like Yahusha in his footsteps or to give lip service claiming to do so with our lips but not with our lives. Yahusha tells us exactly what His purpose is. 

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:18  For amein I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one yod or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Torah, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Parashiym, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yahusha fulfilled the Torah because He kept it perfectly. Fulfilled does not mean completed, made void, or done away with. One of the meanings of the Greek word for fulfill (πληρόω plēroō) is "to fully preach." He came to fully preach the Torah and set right what was the true word instead of what had been added by man. The traditions and doctrine of man.  He knows we cannot keep the Torah perfectly on our own, however, through Him and with Him in our lives, we can follow in His footsteps as closely as possible. 

John 1:1  IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with את Elohiym, and Elohiym was the Word.

John 1:2  The same was in the beginning with את Elohiym.

John 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

John 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5  And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:6  There was a man sent from Elohiym, whose name was Yahuchanon.

John 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

John 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

John 1:9  That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.

John 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of Elohiym, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Elohiym.

John 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the yachiyd of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Yahusha is the word made flesh. That word was everything in scripture before His birth, death, and resurrection. So to deny the Torah (instructions) of the Father is to deny Yahusha and His purpose for each of us. To deny Yahusha Ha'Mashiach is to deny the Torah. You can't choose to follow one without the other. I chose this path because it is the path my Savior took. I want a clean heart that the right Ruach will dwell within. I believe the biblical food laws are part of how we obtain that infilling of the Ruach Ha'Qodesh! 

Photo by Leigh

Here is a link to a presentation we did concerning eating clean (under our previous name Between the River and the Ravens). 

https://www.youtube.com/live/8qZWoT6C99w?si=9LYklHdbBBK0HaY7

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Thank you for taking the time to read and please share this message if you know someone who would benefit!

Scripture used (both can be found on E-Sword): 

(App available. To order go to https://www.cepher.net/shop.aspx?itemid=2406&prodid=97023&pagetitle=%D7%90%D7%AA-Cepher-Scriptures-Millennium-Edition-2022-)

 

VAYECHI AND HE LIVED

 Blessings and Cursings

In this week's Torah Portion, Jacob speaks both blessings and curses over his sons before his death. Some of what is spoken is shocking, stirring up ponderings such as the relationship between Jacob and his sons. Was there an undercurrent of seething anger and resentment? Did he suspect they may have had a role in Joseph's demise?  Then we read the famous words of Joseph...

I was shocked the day my earthly father slapped my tender teenage face, drawing both blood and bitterness. His powerful, angry voice sank into my young, impressionable soul. "You are just like my mother". The words he spoke over me that day were a prophetic curse.

 I, indeed, became just like his mother. An angry alcoholic, involved with one abusive man after another, never finding true love.  

My mother's many years of tearful prayers were heard by my Heavenly Father. He rescued me from that curse. On my earthly father's deathbed, Heavenly Father poured forth His Ruach through me; sweet words of blessing poured forth over my father as he went the way of his father's before him.

 Fathers have a crucial role in the lives of their young, impressionable children. The words spoken can establish a healthy self-image, or cruel, hasty words can devastate a little heart, planting a seed of self-doubt and self-hatred. These bad seeds can be the bedrock of various addictions to either illegal or legal substances. (Please consider other methods of silencing those curse words. Addiction comes in many various forms.)

The good news is this~

Perhaps some of you have shared my experience of hearing the Aaronic Blessing. Rico Cortes has a recording on YouTube. I  listened to this blessing every morning for weeks.  Sobbing, I rewound the recorded blessing repeatedly; the Ruach ministered to that little girl within me who never received her father's blessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN8K96twMQo

I also attended a week-long Be in Health seminar in Thomaston, Georgia. There was a significant deliverance/healing activity attendees were led through, you guessed it! A Father's Blessing. The leader stated that one of the most significant wounds in a child's core is not receiving their father's blessing. During the healing activity, men volunteered as our fathers' stand-ins. Oh, the weeping and howling from the deepest parts of the women, releasing the deep pain pent up in the souls of these precious daughters. The lack of their daddy's love created a father wound. 

Core wounds. Soul wounds...

      The men responded just as deeply emotionally..not a dry eye with the brothers.

The very wounding the enemy has caused through a father's lack of loving care has held so many hostages for generations!

Hostage to bitterness, resentment, anguish, low self-esteem, self-hatred, shame, and blame numbed in a thousand different ways. 

Prisons are filled with men and women who yearn to hear "I love you" from their fathers.  Juvenile detention centers are filled with youth who also yearn for love and acceptance.  Both youth and adult, acting out the pain of empty hearts and wounded souls... core wounds. Some behind physical bars, some behind emotional bars. 

I have had the privilege of serving in jails and prisons...I have had the honor of hearing sorrowful stories of abuses of all sorts and the human drive to survive, forcing way too many to step into the parent role to protect younger siblings and provide for their needs neglected by absent parents.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences show us through solid research that core wounding has a lifelong impact, leading to all sorts of addictions and dysfunctional coping mechanisms. Even ill-health is connected to early childhood neglect. 

The Creator designed each of us to be loved and accepted and to belong somewhere safe, surrounded by people who love and appreciate us. The foundation is our families; our fathers and mothers are the primary providers for these needs to be met. When these needs are unmet, we seek ways to meet those needs. 

 The good news is that it can be healed! (Please see the resources below. If you are interested in learning more, reach out to me, and I will help you in any way I can.)

This week, I want to share a poem that depicts the impact of a "father wound."  I hope it blesses you. 

My Father’s Daughter

My father

A child in a grown man's body
selfish, self-absorbed, fearful, hypervigilant
arrested development rendering him immature
stuck in another time, another era
that of a child, rejected, abandoned by 
his own parents...alone, in a house of death
as he calls it...
built by his grandpa's own hands...
a place I called home...
till I fled as a teen...pregnant
fearful, self absorbed, 
filled with the same stuff...
that of arrested development...
stunted maturity...

addicted, afflicted by the same haunting
sins...of our fathers handed down...
alcoholism, shame, rage, pain...
addicted to food, to anything
to numb, to hide, to die...
a slow death 

Yes, you are your father's daughter...
I hear Father say...
but...I want you to be 
My daughter...
filled with My characteristics
Let Me give you a new heart
with a right Spirit
Let Me empty you of all the dross
and fill you with My love

Exodus 34:6
Berean Study Bible
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Sins-Of-The-Fathers

JPS Tanakh 1917
The LORD is full of compassion and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Nehemiah 9:17
They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

Here are some resources that may help you on your journey to the heart of our Father. Shalom til next time!

PS  I would love to hear from you!

amoderndaysamaritanwoman@gmail..com

https://woundstoscars.com/

https://surehopecounseling.com/the-father-wound-understanding-problems-in-the-child-father-relationship/

Jack Frost Experiencing The Father's Love Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFByVMXxWMg&t=35s

Jack Frost Experiencing The Father's Love Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txdxv3Syw-c