Shabbat Shalom to all my beautiful family and friends. It's a day of rest, given by our Creator to prepare us for the ultimate Sabbath rest for the people of Adonai. What a gift it is but how much greater will be our appreciation, when we understand what and when the ultimate Sabbath will be.
Following Yeshua is such a fascinating journey with ongoing lessons that teach of the incredible mystery of our Sovereign Creator: Yahweh Elohim.
As all things in creation, mystery surrounds the epic eternal plans of our God, but it's in the pursuit of Him that causes such great excitement in our lives. The Sabbath rest is no exception.
This morning as I awaken to the dawning of the "traditional" Sabbath morning, (Saturday in America) I hear the Holy One say, "Your creativity is an act of war!" My mental wheels start turning, to grasp where He is leading me this morning into all truth. It is Shabbat after all.
He continues to impart a new perspective, "You are in a Kingdom war against the fallen Elohim (celestial beings who inhabit the unseen realm). The war against evil and its chaos and destruction is to strategically defeat such things with the Truth and enact creative GOOD just as Yeshua did when He came to earth."
When Yahweh created our world, of everything He spoke into being, He said "It is Good". When the original pair rebelled the one rule in the Garden and ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the door for evil to enter into the fabric of creation was opened and evil began to rule over the hearts of mankind.
The once trusted "elohim" turned into traitors and began to instruct humanity with the knowledge of evil and how to destroy what Yahweh had created. In their pride, they set up various "religions" whereby these little "g" gods could steal for themselves worship that belongs to Yahweh alone. Sadly they taught humans how to do the same.
As these fallen beings spread their corruption to humanity, chaos and lawlessness rules, and destruction follows.
Misrepresenting Sabbath is one of the ways evil has distorted "human" understanding of Yahweh's Character. The "law" given as instruction back in the day, was meant for good yet was twisted to become oppressive.
Things such as abusive power-lust led the Pharisees to use the Sabbath as an excuse to control all Israel and even limit "good" creative works on that day of the week. Perhaps, in an effort to offset "lawlessness", the ruling religious authorities piled rules upon rules in Shabbat observance. No travel was allowed limiting fellowship outside a small boundary. Plucking even a grain of wheat was included in the no-work policy possibly limiting the hungry from finding a bit of food. As Jesus began His healing ministry, that too was considered "work" and condemned by the religious of the day.
As I ponder the influence of the fallen elohim, I realize that their agenda is served by our misunderstanding of the ways of our Creator God. Yeshua came to change what was out of order in our human understanding of Holiness. His creative miracles, that eliminated human suffering occurred even on Sabbath days.
The message of this morning is a reminder that we can participate in this Kingdom battle through creative GOOD works actively overruling evil things, for the benefit of others and for the glory of Yahweh.
I am not to let anything stall my good works and creativity overcoming the evil I see, even on "Shabbat". There is a measure of temporal "rest" that can be gained when I function in my God-ordained role, accomplishing good works though creativity when and wherever I see evil destroying other lives.
Jesus came into our world to destroy the works of the devil and take back what belongs to Him. All creation is His and since the unleashing of the Holy Spirit, humanity has the ability to participate in the war for our own "Kind".
For many years on my Journey with Jesus, I have been engaged in what has been termed 'SPIRITUAL WARFARE". I see life as a great battle between 2 kingdoms, one that is good and one that is evil. God our Creator is Good, and all He created is magnificent.
In the ancient and eternal past, an enemy declared war on Adonai's kingdom, and formed a mutiny of rebellion against the Creator, Adonai. We are told in Ezekiel this enemy of God was at one time a "guardian Cherub" created to encourage humanity to seek and worship God our Creator. But that celestial being became "proud" and wanted to be "like" God and so moved on humanity to turn all the honor and respect to himself and away from the One who is worthy of all our worship. Ezekiel 28:11-15. Rather than being a guardian for God's Glory, Satan became a usurper of it.
The battle rages every day between good and evil over our lives. Focusing on the war, we might not have ever asked what the battle is really about? Lately I listened to a teaching that has really opened my eyes to the fact that I have so much to learn about the spirit realm and the fallen elohim (angels) who inhabit the unseen realm and yet are free to pass back and forth between the seen and unseen realms.
In these end times, we are witnessing an intense "collision" between The Kingdom of Heaven and the opposing forces of darkness. I hear the Lord say, "Brace for impact".
We get a few clues about these powerful beings through the account of Job. We know that Satan kept an eye on humanity and brought charges against Job regarding his ultimate loyalty to His Creator. Satan had the power to create havoc for Job but was restrained from going beyond God ordained boundaries relative to human life.
When we look at the description of the evil one in Genesis, and then again in Job, it is apparent that Satan (an adversary) has as his ultimate goal, the separation of humanity from our Creator God. Understanding God's Sovereignty enables us to stand firm when evil rears its ugly head and threatens our relationship that has been reconciled and renewed and is now protected by the Blood of Jesus.
Shabbat can be what it was always intended to be in the very beginning of time, back in the Garden of God. For followers of Jesus (as well as Israel) it can be a day of rest from the ordinary labor of life. A day to enjoy all that God created for our delight and benefit. The most important reason no matter what we consider delightful or beneficial, is that we share it with Him. And the greatest blessing and gift is our Salvation, that requires no performance or "work" on our part. He is the Creator and the Source of all that is good in our world and life.
Take the time, enjoy the day, find the good, the pleasant, the delightful and share it with The One who makes your joy possible. Shabbat Shalom!
The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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