One Person at a Time

I have been silent for a while - because the LORD has been silent for a while, except for one Scripture that continues reverberating through my spirit: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4). What is this "work" we are called to while it is still day? What is the coming night?

The night is already here in many parts of the world. Persecution against Christians and Jews is so accelerated in many nations that even the missionaries are afraid to go in or to stay. The time of "night when no one can work" refers to the end of the age when Satan and his demons are given full reign over the earth. That night is drawing near, indeed. And it has been three years now since I have traveled internationally as a missionary, proclaiming the Good News of Yahshua haMashiach (Jesus our Messiah) to the nations. But what I did last week is, I feel, a picture of the "work" that Messiah calls us to do in this hour. It is best illustrated by a song that we used to sing in my former WhiteStone evangelistic ministry. The lyrics written by my dear sister, Karen Barritt, go like this:

I cannot feed the whole world or keep them dry and warm
I cannot hold the whole world in my arms
But then God speaks to me, "Do this for one of Mine,
You can feed the whole world, one person at a time."
I cannot tell the whole world of God above
I cannot show the whole world Jesus' love
But then God speaks to me, "Do this for one of Mine,
you can tell the whole world, one person at a time."
I cannot keep the whole world from the storm and rain
I cannot free the whole world of fear and pain
But then God speaks to me, "Do this for one of Mine,
you can free the whole world, one person at a time."
Sometimes I think I can do nothing at all,
the needs are so great, I am so small
Then I hear His voice calling to me,
"Go to My people, find one, two, or three!"

Last week on the beautiful island of Maui I led a Bible study for about 8 women, hungry for the Word of God. I spent time with two precious families who have adopted orphans (including Melkamu in this picture), consecrated their lives to Messiah, and love to study His Torah. On Shabbat we hiked straight up a 1600 foot mountain trail on the island (5 adults and 6 children), shared a picnic of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and then studied the Torah portion together! It was an anointed time, calling each of us to remember that Jesus' ministry looked like this - eating and drinking with one or two families, teaching them Torah (God's instruction for right living), and blessing them with His love. He included the children and taught them too. And then He went on His way, ministering to one person at a time.

We must work while it is still day; and in America we are deeply blessed to still be able to do this ministry, openly and freely. But for how much longer? Soon it will be night when no one can work. So let us not feel guilty because we are not traveling to many foreign nations to proclaim the Gospel to thousands. Let us not think we must wear ourselves out in constant travel and spend thousands on airline tickets! Let us follow the Master's example - and Karen's little song - and remember that it IS possible for us to share Messiah's love with the whole world -- one person at a time!

Not One of Them Is Missing

There is another parable we must glean from the amazing story of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. On board this flight were 150 passengers and 3 crew members. After the evacuation of these 153 people, the pilots walked the plane from the cockpit to the back cabin, being certain that all 153 were safely out and accounted for. How might this be God's living illustration of John 21:10-11? Here we see the resurrected Yahshua on the shore, watching the disciples on a fishing boat out in the water. "Yahshua said to them, 'Bring some of the fish you have just caught.' Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn."

I believe that God never, ever puts a number in His Word unless it has significant meaning for us. Why else would He bother to give us so many accurate numbers in the description of His people, His tribes, His number of days and dates? Yet, 153 is a really unusual number! I do not think it is used anywhere else in Scripture, unlike God's favorite numbers of 7, 12, 70, 40, etc. Why 153 fish? And is the number of passengers and crew saved out of the icy waters of the Hudson a message for us from our Father who is showing us that He is keeping safe every single person appointed to salvation - and even with so many His net will not be torn? Is He showing us that Adonai Tzava'ot, the Captain of the Host, (like Capt. Sullenberger) is going from the front to the back to make sure that all 153 are safe and accounted for?

I believe so. I believe that for those who have eyes to see, this whole event of the US Airways jet in the Hudson was a parable of great blessing and encouragement for believers! It was a way of showing us that as Yahshua promised, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one can snatch them out of My hand." [Or my "net"!] Not one will be missing - even as Yahweh reminds us about all of His creation - His stars, His livestock, and His re-gathered, restored people of Israel:

Isa. 40:26: "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, NOT ONE OF THEM IS MISSING!"

Exodus 10:26: "Our livestock too is to go with us. NOT A HOOF IS TO BE LEFT BEHIND."

Jeremiah 23:3-4 "I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have scattered them, and will bring them back to their pasture where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, NOR WILL ANY BE MISSING, says the Lord."

We are living in a time of the greatest harvest for Yahshua that the world has ever known. Let us be people who want to share our faith and do our part to ensure that not one will be missing!

The Song of Moses

What a powerful revelation the Spirit gave to me in our Torah study today! Several months ago the Lord gave me music for the "Song of Moses" as it is written in Revelation 15. At that time He told me our group should begin singing this "as a rehearsal" for the time to come when we would sing it together with the re-gathered children of Israel. And so in obedience (without full understanding) we've been singing this song:

"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Adonai Elohim

Just and true are your ways, King of the Ages

Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your Name?

For You alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship before You

for Your righteous acts have been revealed."

Today our study led us back to Deuteronomy 31:19-21. In this passage Yahweh instructs Moses: "Write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them. When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting Me and breaking My covenant. And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants." So Moses wrote down the song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

How does this song become a witness against those who reject God and break His covenant? Because this is a prophetic song and it represents the people of the end times - in the Second Exodus - singing again the Song of Moses. They sing it immediately prior to the seven angels who have the seven plagues, pouring out God's wrath upon the earth. Those who keep Yahweh's commandments and walk in His ways can sing this song; but those who have forgotten the words of Moses and reject God and His commandments, cannot sing this song. It is a witness against them that they have not kept God's ways.

According to Revelation 15:2, John the Revelator says, "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and standing beside the sea those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." History repeats itself again! The redeemed children of Israel stand "by the sea" singing the victory song of Moses, having overcome the beast and his army - just as the first redeemed children of Israel sang this song by the sea, having overcome Pharaoh and his army!

My heart rejoices in this picture of the full circle of Yahweh's glorious redemptive plan in Messiah - but my heart also weeps that for some, this song will be a witness against them.

They All Became Drowsy

Driving home from work this evening I was listening to a radio show about the signs of the times we are in. One of the commentators remarked, "Most Americans are not aware of the signs because they are asleep." I nodded my head thoughtfully, and then heard Holy Spirit say, "ALL the virgins went to sleep." I had to rush into the house, grab my Bible, and turn to that wonderful scripture in Matthew 25 so see what He was showing me: "At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they ALL became drowsy and fell asleep." (Matthew 25:1-5)

Does it seem to you that our Bridegroom is taking a long time in coming? It does to me! I pray for His return every day. But when He does not yet return, do we then get drowsy and just turn on the TV? Do we seek out entertainment to escape all the bad news around us? Do we keep so busy with work and kids and activities that we manage to just stay in our own little bubbles? These are probably all pictures of the way we have fallen asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!' Then ALL the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. " (Matthew 25: 7) By that time there has been a great cosmic disturbance of the earth, as we can read from Matthew 24, Luke 21, Revelation 6, 8 and elsewhere. By this point of course ALL the virgins are awake, for the earth has been shaken beyond recognition and life is no longer as we know it! And unfortunately, half of them still have no oil - no relationship with Messiah and no understanding of His Word.

But what about right now? Life as we have always known it is pretty much still going on except that we know some folks are losing their jobs, a lot of us have vanishing 401ks, and some people in Kentucky are without power in a terrible ice storm. But Congress is getting ready to pass another $800 billion stimulus plan, so hey, isn't everything going to get right back to normal pretty quickly? If you think so, you are asleep! And you are not alone - the Bible says we ALL go to sleep - but praise God some of us awaken with the wisdom, understanding, and intimacy with Yahshua that has been planted in our hearts and sustains us through the shaking and into the Kingdom! Maybe NOW would be a good time to wake up, keep watch for the signs our Lord has given us, and put that extra oil into jars.

A Sign Forever

I just cannot hold it in any longer! I am bursting at the seams to share with everyone the unspeakable joy I am finding in truly keeping God's Sabbath. I wonder if anyone else spends their entire week looking forward to Friday evening with such mounting anticipation? By Tuesday I find myself saying, "It's only three more days till Shabbat!" By Wednesday I'm planning what I will cook to contribute to the Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) dinner, and by Thursday I am having fun cooking it and looking so foward to the very next evening when my worship group will gather together.

We meet in our homes, rotating from house to house, just as the early congregations who followed Messiah did. Some people who do not observe Shabbat tend to think of it as a day filled with stifling restrictions and as "being under the Law," as if that were something terrible and burdensome! But to those who observe Shabbat, it is a precious gift from God, a day of great joy, eagerly awaited. It is the end of the work week - and the sense that we are keeping God's commands just as He gave them and entering into the seventh day that HE set aside TO MEET WITH US is just more wonderful than words can express! There is something so very special about knowing we have set aside all the doctrines of men and chosen instead to meet with our God when HE asked us to! He said, "For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for THE GENERATIONS TO COME AS A LASTING COVENANT. IT WILL BE A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND THE ISRAELITES FOREVER...!" (Exodus 31:15-17)

During our Friday evening gathering, we light two candles, pray the Scriptures over one another, break bread and share the Cup as Yahshua commanded us to do. Rejoicing in our time of rest and refreshment, it is possible to SENSE God's Presence among us - as the Shabbat is the sign He has placed on us. Though some think this is "just for Jews," or "Jewish custom or Jewish feasts," the truth is that these are not Jewish feasts, but THE FEASTS OF THE LORD. This is a lasting ordinance that our covenant-keeping Yah never changed or abandoned. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! How blessed we are that we are no longer "separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise!" (Ephesians 2:12-13).

As the mother of the household lights the candles, we pray a prayer that lays all our concerns, cares and anxieties of the world aside. I can feel my soul and spirit let go and literally release all those cares. After a long week of work, responsibilities, news of collapsing economies, wars, and political battles, I let all that out in one great, heavy sigh, and then as the sun sinks into the west, the light of our two candles fills the room with the Light of Messiah, who IS our Sabbath Rest! We feast, we laugh, we sing, we fellowship, and we find ourselves spilling over with gratitude and delight that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath! It is a gift to us - and our meeting with Yah on His day, I believe, is a gift back to Him!

On Saturday, the day of Shabbat, our group gathers again in the afternoon to study the Scriptures (both Old and New Covenant) and to worship and pray. Thus, during this entire 24-hour period we do no work, but take delight in this most precious of all days, holy unto our Yah.

I know it may not be possible for many to literally take this 24 hours and set it aside in this way. But what if we did? What if our children were being trained up to know that this is a day of family, of rest, of joy and study, set apart to God? It would transform families, then cities, then our culture and our nation! I may be day-dreaming - but I love to envision that all would return to the Spirit of the Torah and find the profound joy and excitement I have found in keeping the Sign of the Covenant with our God and meeting with Him on HIS moedim (appointed times)!