Tribute to My Friend

I received word yesterday that my friend Ken Daly passed away.  Through the Holy Spirit, Ken is the person who introduced me to the Hebrew roots of my faith.  Ken and I were scheduled to teach separate classes at a Leadership Training Conference (see the link to Fellowship of New Testament Ministries on this blog and on our website).  Ken's teaching was on the Talit and Tzit-tzit (Prayer shawl and its fringes).  Ken shared how Yahuweh gave the instructions concerning this garment (Numbers 28:15) and also how our Messiah used the Talit in His earthly ministry (re. woman with the issue of blood and many others).  As we implemented this new knowledge into our own ministry, we were subsequently introduced to a whole new dimension of reality in the Holy Spirit.  We saw incredible miracles from cancers disappearing to depression lifting. Over the next several years, Ken and Carolyn made trips to Idaho to host Passover dinners and to minister together in a Conference setting.  Ken and Carolyn performed a 25th anniversary celebration for my child bride and myself.  We hold these memories in places of careful protection in our hearts. 

Ken's ministry was dedicated to an introducing the teachings of Torah to the body of Messiah as a whole.  Ken thrived on the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.  It was not unusual to watch his countenance change and his speech transform from a soft spoken and stuttering individual into a powerhouse of anointing as he declared the oracles of the Holy One of Israel.  I will miss my dear friend, but we will be together again in a short matter of time.  We know that Ken is now experiencing the ultimate in fulfillment of what he taught...Namely that Yeshua has made us into "the one new man."   To Carolyn....TO BE CONTINUED!

 

Shalom

Do You Belong to a Cult?

** cult –noun

1.a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

2.an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.

3.the object of such devotion.

4.a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.

5.Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

6.a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

7.the members of such a religion or sect.

8.any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.

–adjective

9.of or pertaining to a cult.

10.of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.

**

 

Because of a recent accusation of belonging to a cult, I thought it might be profitable to examine the definition  in some detail.  While it is certainly not my practice to respond to accusations, I feel this is an opportunity to examine what we do and teach.

According to the above definitions 1-5, virtually any religious organization would fit the pattern.  Number 6, however, is the area that the I would like to examine in detail.

TRUTH

The purpose of House to Life Ministries is to be an agent of biblical truth.  We are actively exposing the falsehood that has permeated the traditional church in America.  We seek to expose the paganism and idolatry that has infiltrated places of worship. 

 ORTHODOXY

The word 'orthodox' is from a Latin word that means "to keep straight".  House To Life Ministries is dedicated to the principles of returning to biblical purity.  Scripture tells us that our Messiah will return when "all things are restored" (Acts 3:21).  We are committed to that restoration process.  We teach that Yeshua is the Only Begotten of the Father, and it is through His blood alone that our salvation was purchased.  We teach that obedience to His Word is proof that you have asked Him to be your Messiah.  In Matthew 5, Yeshua instructed us to keep the commands of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-20).  If this is not orthodox, then our dictionaries must be re-written.

CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP

Our Leader is the Creator of the Universe!  Is He charismatic?  He created it!  Is He demanding?  He said there is only one way to enter His Kingdom!  Is He fair?  No! He is just!  Can I know Him personally?  Praise His Name forever, He has allowed me that privilege!  Because I want to know Him better, I will learn about His Name and the instructions He gave to remember it.  I will call upon His Name because He instructed me to do so.

In summary, as we look at the refusal of the established church to examine themselves in the light of Scripture,  according to the definitions given above, who is more cultish?

 

Shalom

**American Psychological Association (APA):

cult. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved April 21, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

cult. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult (accessed: April 21, 2008).

Modern Language Association (MLA):

"cult." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 21 Apr. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cult>.

Its All About Relationship

What is your relationship with Messiah?  Do you know Him or just know about Him?  Is He an integral part of your daily experience or have you relegated Him to a cozy religious corner?  Does He permeate every decision that you make or have you denigrated Him to convenience?  

As the events of this world escalate toward the return of our Savior, our personal relationship with Him will continue to increase in its importance.  This leads me to an even more probing question:  What is the foundation of your relationship with Messiah? 

If your foundation is simply religion or religious experience, the building will crumble.  In other words if your faith is predicated on church attendance, what will happen when you can no longer attend church?  If your foundation is Bible study, what will happen if your ability to read is taken from you?  Your relationship with the King of Kings can never be built upon rote duty!  Relationship is work!  You can never take a short cut here.  There is no substitute for an open line of communication between you and your Creator.  The only way for that line to remain open is a walk of obedience and faith.  The faith part is simply believing that He has opened the possibility of relationship through the blood of His Son.  Obedience  is living our lives in such a way as to insure that the communication remains open.  If you don't know Him, it is impossible to obey Him!

 

Shalom

Are you Prepared?

What are we to do with what we know?  What if what we know goes against the conventional wisdom of the day?  How can we warn the hearers if there is a refusal to listen?

Many times we temper what we say based on the perceived reception of the hearer.  Yeshua told us not to 'cast our pearls before swine.'  Because of the foolishness of the concept, we may be reluctant to cast pearls at all.  I must remind myself that rejection of the message and rejection of the messenger are not necessarily one and the same.  That being said, my responsibility as a messenger has no direct tie to the responsibility of the hearer. 

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Obadiah 1:15    “For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near;    As you have done, it shall be done to you;   Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

This passage concerns the nations that would divide Israel.  To the degree that the United States of America participates in this division, we too face that division at the hand of the Almighty!   Psalm 83 speaks of a coalition of nations that come against Israel in the last days.  That day is now upon us.  Any push by the United States government for Israel to give up more land is in direct violation of the Word of the Almighty.  I encourage believers to examine their bibles for the consequences to nations that deliberately disobey.  My friends, swift and sudden destruction is headed our way.   It is very likely too late for the United States of America to repent.  Therefore a clarion call must  go out to the body of Messiah to prepare for what is coming.  The question is, "How does a human being prepare to be a participant in the Judgement of Yahuweh?"  In other words, "What must we do to be saved?"  The answer is found in the book of Acts, verses 19-21.  "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Yeshua the Messiah, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

 

Shalom

More Prophetic Signs

Israel's home defense command has scheduled a nationwide test of their air-raid warning sirens on April 8 - which according to the Astronomically and Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar (AACBHC) will be the first day of the New Year - Biblical Rosh HaShannah - Aviv 1, 2008. This test will occur two days after the Rosh Kodesh (head of the month) incorrectly calculated on the modern Jewish calendar. We always watch for prophetically significant events to occur on significant dates on the Creator's Calendar. Since Isaiah's prophesied "Covenant with Death" was annulled on the day scheduled by Heaven - before sundown, September 28, 2001 - and was accurately calculated 6 months in advance, it conclusively established the validity of the restored Creator's calendar as the foremost prophetic tool of this generation. Those who obediently look to the heavens to determine the Times and Seasons of the Most High will never be ashamed.

The preceding paragraph was copied from a recent email from Michael Rood at www.reallyrood.com.  I also received a warning from Benji Mallory at www.fntm.org  that is worth noting.  An excerpt follows:

Let me take you back to the events that led to God’s minister-priest, Eli. You know the story of him and his two sorry sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Both served under their Father, Eli, in the priesthood in the Temple of God. Now these were the ones who, by inheritance, were responsible before God, to remain pure and totally dedicated to the work of the Lord and His temple.

As I was reading about those two sons, whose lusts were without restraint and how they defiled themselves as priest, I felt myself being pulled into comparing what goes on in the ‘The Church’ today. Whoever ‘the man’ was that God sent to prophesy to daddy Eli, spoke these soul shaking words, “..and (you) have honored your sons, more than Me, to make yourself fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people.”

The time had come when God no longer would tolerate the insolence and degradation of his ministers as His representatives.

Here before my face, was a picture, to a great extent of the Church today and not only The Church but also The Government of the United States of America.

I was in the Spirit as I saw Israel taken into a battle that God had not commissioned them to fight. Truly the Philistines were a formidable threat, an enemy of God’s Chosen People,

though the Jews were God’s Chosen Ones, they were in no spiritual condition to have God’s favor in battle. When I read that 4000 soldiers were killed, I could only gasp, and remember that a few days before, the news reported that over 4000 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, a war that God certainly never told us to start.

Like The Philistines, the Muslims are threatening haters of God and His people. As in Eli’s time of rule, we are in no spiritual condition to make war on our own. To those who do not know The Lord and His ways, to go to war sounds reasonable; “They are the enemy and the worst part is they have the oil we must have. We are the military and financial leaders of the world, why can’t we win any battle, we decide to wage?”

(For Benji's entire article please email me here: bill@house2life.org)

My personal comments will be forthcoming over the next several days.  For now...Watch what Syria is doing...Lines are being drawn in the sand!  EVERY manmade government must fall including the United States of America!  Even so, Yeshua Come!

 

Shalom!

Troubler of Whom?

As I continue to ponder Gideon's call to leadership, I can't help but ask, "Have I been doing enough to trouble the powers of darkness?"  Have I waged a warfare that would cause a change in the strategies of The Enemy of our souls?  As we begin to think in these terms, it is easy to become grandiose in our ideas.  We fail to recognize how little it takes to change the world.  One simple decision on the side of righteousness can change the world for all eternity.  One man who recognizes his responsibility to be the spiritual leader in his home will effect every member of that household, and in turn, every member of that household will make decisions accordingly.  One woman who realizes her ability to make scriptural decisions can effect the outcomes of virtually everything she puts her hand to. 

Every week in America, there are hundreds of thousands of commitments made by well meaning Christians to go out and change the world.  After hearing inspiring sermons, we make our promises to the Almighty.  Much like the infamous New Year's Resolution these commitments are laid aside in frustration by Monday morning.  What is it that makes our promises so hard to keep?

The problem is that we tend to think our Creator is not very interested in the day to day decisions that we make.  We must understand that those "small" decisions are what effects the greatest change in our lives.  Example:  Instead of a commitment to "pray for an hour each day", how about a simple action to make sure the lines of communication are open between you and your Maker.  If we struggle with our temper, how about a prayer for help to recognize what it is that sends us "over the edge" and work on that.  Somehow we have fallen into the trap of thinking that we can change our lives simply by struggling a little harder.  If what you are doing isn't working, STOP DOING IT!  Relax!  Your service for the Master is a journey, not a destination.

 

Shalom