The influence of the Accuser is invasive. That ancient serpent, who has the power of death, is able to gain access to us through our “hostility with God” and our complicit “friendship” with the world. We are scarcely aware that the world’s wooing is, in fact, such a violent assault on our souls.
It is written that “Adonai, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”. He is jealous because He does not give away His love casually or cheaply. God’s love comes at a cost that no one but He is able or willing to pay.
Though we as believers in Yeshua are the many members of one, united Body, we nevertheless seem to have a knack for finding things to fight about. Some fights are legitimate and worth having, as we confront sin or seek to defend the fundamentals of our faith. But many controversies arise out of jealousy and factions, which lead to division.
What if true wisdom and understanding are not simply based on how much we know—and on the nature of those things we know—but on where that wisdom comes from, and how it is put into use? What if what we think of as wisdom is not really wisdom at all?
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He set in motion a perpetual cycle of seasonal changes. Mankind, then, responded to and lived closely in accordance with those changes—changes many of us can largely ignore today…
The tongue—that small, yet powerful instigator—seeks to wield control over our whole being. It finds its fuel in our innermost thoughts and emotions, and then overwhelms our self-control, unleashing its unrighteous destruction upon others. Nevertheless, the tongue has no authority of its own.
From Pope Francis’ point of view, we are to ask the Father to prevent us from giving in to temptation. The traditional rendering of Matthew 6:13, on the other hand, suggests that God actually leads us into temptation, which is an irreconcilable idea for many. Is the Pope correct in retranslating this verse?
One would think that the mouth and the tongue are necessarily subservient to the mind—that one is only capable of saying what he is thinking. But many times—too many times—it seems as if our tongue has a mind of its own. How is such a phenomenon possible? Can our tongues actually speak independently of our minds?
It can be an exhilarating experience to see something new in the Scriptures—to be reading through or studying a familiar passage, and then suddenly have the words leap off the page and grab our attention, as if for the first time. It is a stirring reminder that the Word of God is alive—that the Scriptures are a thoroughly spiritual document…. But sometimes, some of us will make a dire mistake.
When we say that we have faith in the Messiah Yeshua, what we are actually declaring—though we may not realize it—is that we are unable to resist emulating the One in whom we believe… that our beliefs are self-compelled to externalize and manifest themselves through action. We betray that faith, then, when we reduce it to simple thoughts and feelings…
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